LLL Group Publicity Strategies
Melia Boyer
Lufkin, Texas, USA
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 37 No. 2, April-May 2001, p. 36
At the 2000 Texas Area Conference
session titled "Outreach to Health Care Professionals" participants
discussed Group publicity and shared successful ideas.
Plan and Network
Talk with other La Leche
League Leaders; devote part of an Evaluation/Enrichment Meeting to publicity
brainstorming. Develop a plan. Speak with health care professionals
you already know. Mothers helped by phone or in person and those attending
Series Meetings are our best advertisers. Give them extra copies of
Series Meeting flyers or the Leader's business cards.
Publicity?
Where can you publicize?
Anywhere expectant women or mothers go, and in any media they read,
watch, or listen to:
- Doctor's offices: obstetricians,
gynecologists, family practice, pediatricians
- Hospital childbirth classes,
nursery and community education departments
- Childbirth educators, lactation
consultants, midwives, and doulas [li]City/county health departments
- Well baby clinics
- Women, Infants, and Children
(WIC) programs
- Participate in health fairs
and expositions - be visible
- Radio, television, and newspaper
community calendars
- Support groups: Mothers
of Multiples, mother's clubs, teen pregnancy outreach
- Chamber of Commerce (lists
of community contacts)
- Retailers: department stores
and children's clothing/furniture resale shops
- Day care centers, preschools,
mother's day out programs
- Public bulletin boards:
libraries, grocery stores, etc. (Remember to ask permission before putting
up posters or flyers.)
Contact Health Care Professionals
Contact local health care
professionals, then develop those relationships. It may take a lot of
"smiling and dialing" to get your foot in the door. Be persistent
and consistent. Make three to five phone calls to different health care
professionals each day for a week. Follow up on those and then call
some more. Find one person in each health care professional's office
to be your contact. Call the office and ask to speak to whoever handles
breastfeeding inquiries. Take their name, telephone number, and extension,
and what days and/or hours they work. If possible, speak to that person
directly and make an appointment to meet briefly in the next week.
Let the Breastfeeding-Aid
Sales Program advertise for you!
In the USA, Leaders who
participate in LLLI/Medela's Breastfeeding Aid Sales Program will
receive a useful "fill-in-the-blank" letter of introduction
that can be sent to local health care providers. The Leader's name
also will be listed in LLLI's database if someone calls for breastfeeding
aids or breast pump information.
Preparation and Presentation
Practice in front of a
mirror with a tape recorder or video camera. Anticipate questions
health care professionals are likely to ask and prepare answers ahead
of time. Ask your spouse or a friend to role-play the situation with
you. Watch and/or listen to yourself afterward. Note body language,
grammar, and habits of speech that may be distracting to others.
Consider this to be a job
interview. Dress for success, conservatively, and apply make-up sparingly.
File your fingernails so they are clean and neat. Pay attention to
the condition of your shoes. Dress like a professional and you will
be treated as such.
Be prompt, courteous, positive,
and professional. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
Now is not the time to critique hospital policies. You are there to
offer your expertise as a resource, give them basic information, and
leave them wanting to know more.
Don't be intimidated. They
are experts in their field and so are you. if you don't know the answer
to a question they ask, say so. Tell them you will check your resources
and get back to them within a couple of days-then keep your word.
Keep the visit brief. Their time, as well as yours, is valuable.
Prepare a manila envelope
or folder with printed materials to leave with the health care professional
at the conclusion of your meeting. Consider including LLLI tear-off
sheets; A Mother's Love brochure, and Ten Steps to Successful
Breastfeeding; your Group's Series Meeting schedule, and your
business card. Whatever you choose to include in the folder, remember
that after you leave, those papers represent you and LLLI-quality
and appearance count!
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:16 UTC 2007.
