Introducing the Digital Strategy Guides
By Jo Clifford
2022.01
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Introducing the Digital Strategy Guides
By Jo Clifford
When I first began my work in media in SIL, I was still producing cassette tapes. The idea of distributing media online, whether through websites or social media, seemed a long way off due to internet costs in my context and the technology that was available at the time. As low tech phones became more available locally, I remember having a conversation with a Translation Consultant about whether it would be possible to send texts with Scripture verses that had been translated, to people that wanted them. One challenge was that the letters in the languages we worked with were not all available on the keyboard. It was also not possible to send audio at the time. Since that time the internet has become cheaper, smart phones are available, and some aspects of social media are free to a certain extent!
So I found myself having to move from a context where one could follow strategies that had been in place and used for many years, to suddenly needing to rethink my whole strategy. Media was becoming easier to create and distribute because it was possible to do it all digitally. Suddenly people were not asking for cassette tapes, but for audio and video tracks to be put on their phones.
"We don’t have a choice on whether we digitally transform.
The choice is how well we do it."
Erik Qualman
As I continued to think about this development, I realised that now it was possible to use digital media throughout the lifetime of a translation project. Also, it could be used in different aspects of the work, such as literacy and partnership, not just for getting Scripture out there. How would I do it? Unfortunately at the time there was very little advice, so I often worked on strategy by trial and error.
Thanks to the SIL Digital Strategy Team we now have a set of Digital Strategy Guides to help language teams think through different questions relating to digital media.
How can the Digital Strategy Guides help you?
The guides are intended to help you in your planning as you meet with project stakeholders. They do not assume in-depth technical knowledge, but they do assume a general understanding of language programmes and Scripture Engagement. They aim to help with deciding which elements of digital strategy should be part of a project plan and which broad direction to take. You may not need to look at all the guides.The general structure of the guides is to present the main questions for planning on each topic along with some useful background information. For further information on a particular topic, please connect with the appropriate specialist in your area, or follow links in the guides to other documents and resources that are more specific. The guides themselves are intentionally short.
What Guides are There?
Digital Planning Overview – What are the guides and how do we use them?
Audience – How do we connect with the audience we hope to reach?
Partnerships – Who can be a part of our digital strategy?
Design – How could we design our products?
Distribution – How will we distribute our products?
Promotion – How will people know about the products we are distributing?
Digital SE – How can we make sure people engage with the products?
Monitoring and Analytics – What can we learn from how people use the products?
Training – Who can we train to both maintain our products and create new digital media? Does our target audience know how to use the products?
Digital media strategy is something that we should all be thinking about in our projects from the beginning to end. We cannot ignore digital media anymore, whether we live in a low tech society or in a high tech society. Start out very simply with thinking about some key topics: understanding your audience, working with partners , working out what you are going to create and what it will look like, thinking about how to use what you are creating well, and equipping and training others to be a part of this process. Digital media strategy does not have to be complex; it does not have to be the most difficult media to create. Innovation cannot be done alone. I am sure you are familiar with the saying, “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” Please make sure that all in the language project are involved in raising and carrying digital media strategy.
Jo Clifford is a Vernacular Media Consultant who has been working with the SIL Tanzania branch for the last 11 years. In 2020 she took on the role of International Media Services Coordinator, coordinating the work of media worldwide in SIL. She is currently based in Germany. You can contact her at ims_intl_coord@sil.org.
Video Production Course Wrap-Up
IMS Training Director Andreas Ernst (left) led several students through the process of participatory video drama, which resulted in the production of a short film. The students' film is up on YouTube. For more information about the course, click here. 
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