Social Media, Marketing, Communications

Last week, Winn Maddrey, Executive Vice President at Topics Education, presented to the International Association of Business Communicators on "Social Media: Part Of Your Marketing & Communications Plan." Embedded below is the slideshow.

IABC-Social Media in the Mix

View more presentations from topics education.

Ten Social Media Tips for Non-Profits

1. The recent success of Text 2 Give for Haiti is not a case study that is replicable. Not on scale, response, impact (nor do you want your organization to resemble Haiti pre-earthquake). Align any T2G program to your organization AND have realistic goals (think direct mail response rates...).

2. There is no silver bullet. There is no one channel or tool that will allow you to stop doing the work you do every day. Yes social media can make you more efficient, but it will not let you coast. Can you ditch your direct mail, your fax machine, your volunteers, your board and have engaging events, fund raising, programs that are successful?

3. The board doesn't know everything. Any and all directives from the board to engage in social media need to have concrete outcomes aligned with some business strategy. Such as increase donors by xx number, boost volunteer engagement by xx%. (To measure you need before and after numbers.)

4. YouTube (or insert any social media tool here) can be a great tool. YouTube can also destroy your brand. How? Think of using an irreverent video of an event and sending to a top donor or foundation as part of an ask - does the whole story get told? YouTube - or any tool - can help the cause. BUT, you need to be measured in your approach and your experimentation.

5. Try different things. Often. For example, my dentist recently told me that the $7.99 grocery store toothbrush wasn't cutting it and I needed a $119 Braun. So I changed the way I used the $7.99 toothbrush and kept the change. This week they commented that they could tell I'd stepped up to the $119 unit. Use social media in different ways and see what results.

6. Social media planning is like classic media planning. You have a message, you have a target audience, you have a budget, you have goals. So do the same thing here, substituting time for budget.

7. Plan to waste time. Not sure an explanation is needed, yet... As the social media world evolves, adaptation of channels and tools does too. See what you can learn and adopt. Realize your results will be different. Especially since execution will differ.

8. Social media needs to be part of the overall communications mix for your organization. It is not a stand-alone strategy, it cannot serve as stand-alone tactics (i.e. we will have a FB page). You need a plan to (a) create, (b) integrate, (c) execute, and (d) measure.

9. Brand management is more important than ever. Now you've unleashed internal people, external people and anyone out there can write, comment, post on your organization. Great? Right? Maybe. You need to balance the democratization with good oversight. (It is OK to relinquish control AND monitor. It's uncomfortable at first, but so is riding a bike.)

10. Social media expertise is a myth. This stuff changes every day. There is not enough data to prove true impact. So that means you are in charge and with a little research (see #6 and #7), you can shape your organization's direction(s). There are people out there who can help but no one who can hand you a solution (see #2).

Good luck.

Please share any good/bad experiences with social media.

Social Media for Social Good

Catching up on the massive flow of social marketing information coming out of SXSW, I came across David Spark's top ten video interviews from the conference, including two about how technology can motivate people towards a greater social good.

The first video is of Joe Jaffe discussing how the newly popular geolocation apps (Foursquare, Gowalla) can be used to help social causes. He essentially says geolocation apps create challenges for people and when those challenges incorporate a purpose, communities can rally around a cause, make a difference and raise money. He references the mobile app, CauseWorld, as an example of how a game is presenting challenges to people and raising money for all kinds of causes.

The second video is of Randi Zuckerburg, Manager of Marketing Initiatives for Facebook. She talks about how the Haiti earthquake was expressed through Facebook:

• 15,000 posts a minute with the word "Haiti" and
  
• according to Nielson 39% of people polled on Facebook donated to cause.

She sees this as proof that people are putting "virtual endorsement into real world action."

03.17.10: Sign Me Up, I'm Healthy Now

In today's WSJ, "Who Could Eat All This?," the article cites Denny's upcoming Grand Slam award announcement, where the winner will receive winning a weekly free meal. The math, and here's where it's fun, equates to 862 calories/grand slam breakfast or -- according to my math (the WSJ number is different) -- 44,824 calories per year (excluding the syrup). There were 600,000 entries in the contest. Crazy.

So many eggs. So much bacon. Four feet of pancakes. So little time.

03.16.10: Early Childhood "Education"

From the Triangle Business Journal, "A technical glitch at Time Warner Cable caused promotional video for The Playboy Channel to air on two channels devoted to children on Tuesday morning, the company’s local spokeswoman confirmed.

Melissa Buscher said that equipment failure led to ads for The Playboy Channel to appear in the promo box for Channel 552 Kids on Demand and Channel 555 Kids Preschool on Demand. The Playboy promos ran from 6:15 a.m. until 8:14 a.m. in parts of Cary, Morrisville, Garner and Goldsboro.

“We apologize to our customers that this happened,” Buscher said. A service call from a concerned parent alerted the company to the problem. “We took the initial call seriously and began to fix it immediately,” she says. “It was a technical failure that caused the programming to be rerouted.”

Ooops. That's growing up fast.

03.16.10: What's on Your Sheepskin?

I think it is interesting that a regular question, one that does not seem to age out, is that of one's college major. I think I am asked frequently this question and often upon delivery of the answer - History - I am greeted with a knowing sound.

Hmmmm. History. That explains a lot. Very interesting. I bet you use that a lot.

I think, how much can a degree decision, made at age 19, really tell you that much about who someone is. I am unsure how my degree comes into play each day. And yet, I think there is an interesting angle here.

What if the question was more like:

• How do you use your college degree each day?
• How has your history degree and those studies influenced your world view?
• Based upon your area of history expertise - Napoleon & French Revolution - how do you view certain current events?
• What has your professional and personal work leaned on your history degree?
• etc.

Just thinking...

03.13.10: Who Really Wins?

On Saturday, after the St. Patrick's Day Parade, we decided to try a new tavern in our neighborhood. It's worth a try, you know to support new/neighborhood establishments, especially those we can walk to. So we set out.

Upon perusal of the menu, I realized that this was not any menu. In fact here was an opportunity to see if I could beat the system/swing for the fences/take on the man. Alas, my doctor won't let me eat beef, pork, or anything that is measured in pounds plus complete digestion. Ed's Challenge (see photo) is a 2.5 pound burger, 12 strips of bacon, 12 slices of cheese, 2 pounds of fries, 2 pickles and a soda. Whew, I am both sweating and feeling heavier thinking about it.

The crazy thing is that consumption of said cholesterol bomb results in being recognized on the wall in an ironic way to point out that eating such will not make one live longer, except on the wall at Ed's Tavern. Although when Ed's is extinct, what then?

03.11.10: Getting Your Fill

I attended our local community foundation's annual meeting, when the typically bring in a luminary, a speaker to both tell a persuasive story with a connection to a local initiative and/or to spur our community to step up, to do more. This year was no different.

Geoffrey Canada, creator of the Harlem Children's Zone, told of being engaged block-by-block in trying to answer the question of "What Would It Take?" about how to help the lives of inner city NYC. His unceasing commitment to real goals - college graduation as the benchmark - make him a model reformer. (Pres. Obama has vowed to reproduce this model around the US.) To learn more, read Paul Tough's Whatever It Takes.

PS - Ironically, during a lunch that talked about economic hardship, trouble in the world, and rebuilding Harlem, our lunch consisted of the biggest slice of dessert I have ever seen (see photo).

Using Film to Create Social Change

Below is a video and article with the latest from Participant Media on using film to create social change. We worked with them a bit ago to create the education outreach component to their film, An Inconvenient Truth, and are glad to see they're still at it - using film to engage and move people to action. And congrats to them on winning the Oscar for best feature documentary for The Cove. This video is a "4-minute interview with Christopher Gebhardt, GM and Exec VP of TakePart -- the digital arm of Participant Media -- about the organization's efforts to spur the public to action through Hollywood productions and online campaigns."

Moving movie audiences to take action from JD Lasica on Vimeo.

Read complementary article here.

Where Does Ketchup Come From?

Oh dear, this clip from "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" clearly demonstrates the urgency we need to place around health and food education for youth. These kids can't recognize a tomato from a potato, yet can all spot ketchup and fries. Hopefully between this show (airing on basic cable for the masses to watch, thanks to ABC) and Michelle Obama's campaign to fight obesity, the nation will become better aware of our food system and personal health. Jamie Oliver's series starts March 26th, for more information see the ABC website.

03.03.10: Nutrition

Today I went to my children's elementary school to have lunch - early, of course - with them. When I went through the line, my kindergartner, aged 5, grabbed this. I quickly corrected him, took the plate and put it back under the window and instructed him to choose something other than dessert.

Then the cafeteria worker let me know that I was out of line and that my son had, in fact, selected a fruit - pineapple - as part of his meal. That I needed to understand that the next shelf up was the dessert row, this was from the fruit and salad shelf.

To my digging, the pineapple puff - aptly named, I might add - might have had some pineapple in there, but the bulk of the 'fruit' was marshmallows and whipped cream. Quite nutritious; I hope the new White House effort, led by First Lady Michelle Obama, places the current school lunch realm in its sites...

Video: Phelps on Sports & Science

In light of the the Vancouver Winter Olympics coming to a close, Phelps Sprinkle, Partner at Topics Education, discusses how sports can help teach lessons in science and math and how these lessons can in turn spark greater interest in sports.

Phelps Sprinkle on Sports, Science and Deeper Engagement from Topics Education on Vimeo.

Top Five: Websites That Get Us Off Topic

At Topics, we don’t always stay on Topic. With lots of curious folks in the office, we like finding and sharing websites with interesting content. Sometimes we share these finds in our blog posts titled, “Topics Off Topic,” but this month, we’re going to share this select post for our eNewsletter readers...

1. Very Short List
"Each weekday, we recommend a single gem from the vast mass of films, TV shows, books, websites, music, and more. The focus is on products that deserve attention but haven’t already been subject to giant media pile-ons."

2. GOOD
"GOOD is a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. Since 2006 we've been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn."

3. Gorilla vs. Bear
Texas-based music blog where we go to find new and interesting tunes.

4. Gizmodo
For our techie side

5. The Cool Hunter
"The Cool Hunter celebrates creativity in all of its modern manifestations."

What are your favorites?

Video: State of the Internet

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from Jesse Thomas on Vimeo.

This recently released video “The State of The Internet” created by Jessie Thomas, shows the most current stats and figures around global Internet use. It should come as no surprise that these numbers are bigger than ever and that social media use is rising quickly.

Why We Like It: The well-designed graphics and animation that demonstrate stats around Internet use help showcase how quickly Internet and social media use is escalating around the world. With so much change happening so quickly and so much of the world spending most of their time on the Internet, it makes you think, what are we no longer doing and what’s next?!

Just in Time? Or a Little Too Late?

By Bruce Nofsinger, Co-founder, Topics Education

How many phone numbers do you have committed to memory? Unless you’re likeour Rain Man-like project manager Scott Wilkening, your list is probably limited to your own phone numbers that you frequently share with others, cell phones of immediate family members, and those you remember from childhood.

Okay, first thing: Scott’s Rain Man-like qualities end with his incredible ability to remember phone numbers. So don’t expect him to accompany you to Vegas or to stop everything he’s doing to watch Wopner or today’s equivalent! Now, more important: assuming you’re more like me, you don’t need to store phone numbers in long-term memory because they’re all stored in your phone, instantly accessible. Why waste the brain space?

In fact, whether we’re conscious of it or not, many of us are embracing what’s sometimes referred to as just in time information — using tools and resources (such as phone apps, Wikipedia, etc.) to access critical information at the exact moment it is required. We know it’s there, we know how to get it, and we know we don’t have to retain it. And in the process we’re able to free up extra brain RAM.

Before expanding on the idea of expanded brain space, I think it’s important to make a distinction. My example of phone numbers is a case of just in time information. Phone apps and other digital resources have embraced and enabled our growing preferences for getting the information that we need just in time. But my interest goes farther than that — from information gathering to learning experiences.

Just in time learning goes deeper than finding a quick fact or accessing an address and driving directions to a positively-reviewed restaurant. It’s an exploratory process that is driven by interest in learning about something and then rewarded with a new level of understanding. It’s more than acquiring a simple fact. It’s information with context and application, acquired through an exploration more in-depth than is required for finding a phone number.

A recent culinary example comes to my mind when I think about just in time learning. Normally, I’m the sous-chef and dishwasher of the family. When I took the reins for dinner, I went to the farmers market and bought ostrich meat, bok choy, and some other ingredients that struck me as tasty and interesting. I needed to learn quickly how I could make a meal out of my selections! I went online and found recipes and reviews, and then watched some videos on YouTube that helped demonstrate some cooking techniques. It was amazing — a whole new world for me in the kitchen.

My experience relied on tracking down different and disjointed resources to learn how to put together a meal. More and more, though, I think the expectation will be for self-contained learning experiences in which everything is within a click — to flow easily and intuitively. Strong instructional design enables that type of learning exploration..

First, because people initiate the process for different reasons, there must be easy and intuitive accessibility that invites that exploration. Then because people gravitate toward different depths of (and paths to) understanding, the experience must be inviting and rewarding in ways that account for these variables. In the best scenarios, the instructional design actually draws people to a greater depth of understanding than they originally intend!

The immediacy of just in time information and learning has its clear advantages, including freed-up brain space. But with immediate access comes little processing time — time to reflect, time to synthesize, and time to project on ways to apply a new level of understanding. And while good instructional design may embed a stage for reflection and synthesis, it is rarely enough by itself — especially if we don’t know how to “do” reflection and synthesis adequately.

Then to get the most out of these opportunities, we also need to emphasize the development of these higher order thinking skills so that we may bring them to all our learning opportunities and use them appropriately when we need them. Without the development of these skills, we lose the ability to get the most from a learning opportunity. And because these opportunities are occurring “just in time” we may forever miss that chance to learn something valuable.

I hope that we all will embrace the potential of just in time learning — that we understand what’s required for just in time learning experiences and understand what’s required to help everyone develop and strengthen their processing skills. We’ve got all this extra brain space now, right? Let’s use it!