MoFo Comms Toolkit
Welcome to the Mozilla Foundation's Communications Toolkit.
In the 21st Century, everyone at an organization is a communicator and has a role in the communications strategy for engaging stakeholders -- from writing and responding to emails, to updating an events calendar, to social media requests, to making the case for impact to a potential funder. This guide is intended to make creating and writing clear communications a bit easier.
Use this guide to: stay consistent in messaging about Mozilla; get tips on how to know your audience; write more compelling content; and access helpful templates.
Questions to consider when using this toolkit to craft communications:
- What is the goal of your activity?
- Who is the audience?
- What are the best channels to reach your audience?
- How does this activity support the overall strategy?
Have a quick communications question? Hop in our Slack channel: mofo-comms.
Core Messaging
Below, is the official and approved language to use when talking about Mozilla and our work. Have a specific style question, like whether to capitalize “Internet”? Check out Mozilla’s Style Guide.
Mozilla -- Mozilla is a nonprofit that believes the Internet must always remain a global public resource, open and accessible to all. Our work is guided by the Mozilla Manifesto.
The direct work of the Mozilla Foundation focuses on fueling the movement for an open Internet. We do this by connecting open Internet leaders with each other and by mobilizing grassroots activists around the world.
The Foundation is also the sole shareholder in the Mozilla Corporation, the maker of Firefox and other open source tools. Mozilla Corporation functions as a self-sustaining social enterprise -- money earned through its products is reinvested into the organization.
Tweet-length definition: Mozilla is a global nonprofit that believes the Internet must always remain a global public resource, open and accessible to all.
Note: The MoFo/MoCo distinction is mainly an internal distinction -- and one we avoid bringing up publicly, to avoid confusion. Simply use “Mozilla” in your communications whenever possible.
Need more language to describe Mozilla? Pull from mozilla.org/foundation
Internet Health -- The Internet's ability to provide a platform for economic opportunity, creativity, personal connection, free expression and democracy around the world. A healthy Internet is a global, public resource that belongs to us all equally.
Mozilla has identified five issues that contribute to Internet Health: Online Privacy and Security; Open Innovation; Decentralization; Digital Inclusion; and Web Literacy.
Tweet-length definition: A healthy Internet belongs to all of us. It creates freedom and opportunity.
Online Privacy and Security -- A healthy Internet is private and secure. Internet users should be able to have greater choice over what information they share with what organizations and for what benefit. They should have the freedom to express themselves online without unwarranted surveillance. And, they should be able to safeguard their information against attacks.
Tweet-length definition: The ability to understand what is happening to our data, and the ability to control how it is used.
Need more language? Pull from the Privacy and Security issue brief, or section of the Internet Health Report
Open Innovation -- A healthy Internet is open, so that together, we can innovate. People who want to change the world should be able to build products and understand different points of view through open source code and idea sharing. Copyright and patent laws should be reformed so that in this digital age, they foster collaboration and economic opportunity.
Tweet-length definition: Anyone can publish or invent online without permission, and the technologies used to run the web are transparent and understandable.
Need more language? Pull from the Open Innovation issue brief, or section of the Internet Health Report
Decentralization -- A healthy Internet is decentralized. There shouldn’t be online monopolies or oligopolies. Instead, big and small businesses -- and individuals from around the world -- should all be able to contribute to and provide online services. Internet users should be able to reap the benefits of competition and exposure to different ways of thinking.
Tweet-length definition: An Internet controlled by many. No one actor can own it, control it, or switch it off.
Need more language? Pull from the Decentralization issue brief, or section of the Internet Health Report
Digital Inclusion -- A healthy Internet is for everyone. People -- no matter where they live in the world, their income, their language, the color of their skin, their political affiliation, their religion, their physical ability, their sexual orientation, or their gender -- should have unfettered access to the Internet. They should be able to both consume and create online so that the Internet reflects the diversity of the people who use it.
Tweet-length definition: Everyone has equal opportunity to access the Internet, and can use it to improve their lives and societies.
Need more language? Pull from the Digital Inclusion issue brief, or section of the Internet Health Report
Web Literacy -- People everywhere should have the knowledge they need to tap into the full power of the Internet -- and to use it to make their lives and the world better. This means that everyone needs the skills to read, write and participate online. For this to happen, web literacy must be foundational in education, alongside skills like reading and math.
Tweet-length definition: The skills to read, write and participate in the digital world; the ability to shape, not just consume, the web.
Need more language? Pull from the Web Literacy issue brief, or section of the Internet Health Report
Mozilla Network -- A diverse, multi-disciplinary coalition comprised not just of makers, but also of artists, public policy advocates, industry leaders, scientists, teachers and people of all walks of life who care about Internet health and its role in society.
Tweet-length definition: A diverse and broad coalition of individuals fighting for Internet health.
MozFest -- The world's leading festival for the Internet Health movement. Three days each year, members gather together and discuss, debate, create and hack to build a better Internet. We’re a diverse crew: Scientists from the UK. Educators from Kenya. Technologists from Shenzhen.
Need more language? Pull from https://mozillafestival.org/about
Know Your Audience
In communications, we talk not only about our audiences (those who are the receivers of information) but more specifically about target audiences. Target audiences are those group of individuals whose behavior or attitudes you need to influence to reach your goals (such as donating, attending an event, etc.). It can be helpful to segment your audiences or sort them into groups so you can plan what messages, strategies and tactics will be the best match for them. One useful exercise to help you get to know your target audiences and build empathy for them is to build a persona for each. Personas are archetypes of people in your target audiences. Building personas can help you think like, feel like and behave like your audience. You can then refer to them when developing your communications materials, be it an email, a flyer, an invitation to an event, or the like.
Building personas for your target audiences
For this exercise it’s important to suspend disbelief. The more you are able to put yourself in the shoes of a target audience that will help achieve your goals, the more likely you are to reach them through your communication efforts.
- Choose one target audience and draw a picture of this person in the middle of a sheet of paper
- Imagine that this person has come to life and write a list of adjectives that describe this person around your picture. A man or a woman? What is he/she like?
- What is their daily environment? Where do they go regularly? Who to they talk to?
- What motivates him/her? What are they passionate about?
- Who do they respect, trust?
- Where do they get information?
Messaging by Target Audience
Tailoring what you say depending on whom you are talking to (i.e. which target audience) is crucial to achieving impact. While starting with the core message (refer to Mozilla's core messaging above), you consider what other details to add that will be of interest to that particular audience that relate to your goals. What would you want to tell them to help you achieve your goals?
When writing any communication, refer back to your personas and think through:
- What part of your mission might resonate with this persona?
- What action can you encourage them to take?
Templates
How to write a successful Mozilla blog.
How to write a successful Mozilla tweet.
How to prepare for a speaking engagement.
Channels
Have a blog, tweet or artwork that’s ready for the world? The Comms team can help share it through external and internal channels.
Below, an overview of the Foundation’s chief communications channels and how they’re used. If you’d like your work to show up, Lotta Rao (lotta@mozillafoundation.org) and Kevin Zawacki (kevin@mozillafoundation.org) can help determine how and where.
Blog | blog.mozilla.org | Mozilla’s chief blog for big announcements, like product releases, new research reports and executive hires. Content here should be newsworthy and relevant to a broad audience.
Blog | Internet Citizen | A consumer-facing blog for Internet Health content. Content here should be accessible for Internet users of all skill levels.
Blog | Read, Write, Participate | A staff- and network-facing blog for web literacy and digital inclusion material. Content might be a reflection on a network event attended, or profile of a fellow network member.
Blog | MozFest | A blog for all things MozFest. Content should pertain to the Festival directly -- like reflections, recaps or photos.
Web | Network Site | The Mozilla Network’s homebase online. Content featured here should be submitted through Pulse, and then flagged to Kevin.
Web | Story Engine | A repository of biographies of Mozilla Network members. Use the Story Engine to find collaborators for your project, or real-life exemplars for your communications. You can also add yourself, and others, to the repository. Note: Pull relevant quotes and information from the Story Engine; don't link the broader public to it directly.
Social | twitter.com/mozilla | Mozilla’s chief Twitter handle. Content here should be newsworthy and relevant to a broad audience.
Social | facebook.com/mozilla | Mozilla’s chief Facebook account. Content here should be newsworthy and relevant to a broad audience.
Internal | All-MoFo email | If you’d like to share a capstone achievement with the organization, Lotta and Kevin can help.
Internal | Project Call | If you’d like to share a capstone achievement with the organization, Lotta and Kevin can help add you to the wiki and write a script. We also have a handy Project Call Playbook
Additional Resources
MoFo Press Placements | Browse all the stories being written about our work.
Project Call Playbook | If you're appearing on Monday's all-hands meeting to share a project or achievment, this guide can help you prep.
MoFo Email Calendar | Learn when and what we're sending to our email list, from advocacy messages to fundraising appeals.