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Oct
19

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Strengthening your online presence: 3 things every Association can do right now

Category: Internet Strategy, Social Media Tags: , , , , , Leave a Comment

Are you scared or tired of everyone using the terms “social media” or “web 2.0″?  Do you recognize that you need to jump in to the world of social media but don’t know where to begin? Do you need to strengthen your online reputation?

The online world these days can be confusing at best – and for those with limited resources and big dreams – it is an overwhelming task to figure out where to begin. I have been in these shoes over and over-again, and have found that a simple, practical approach is best. Here are 3 simple initial steps to take that do not require a significant amount of resources:

1. Make your existing website more SEO-friendly.

While reassessing your current website for a rebuild is probably optimal, it is also overwhelming. We need results NOW. This approach will help you get better over time AND, if you do this right, you will see recognition in your Google organic search rankings.

  • Write better (SEO friendly) content for your home page and main landing pages.
  • Update these pages regularly
  • Publish feed(s) from your blog(s) and other social networking sites (Flickr, YouTube, etc) throughout the site (see below)

2. Launch a blog.

Blogs give your organization a voice, and if done right, make you more approachable and personal. More than anything, they are all about inspiring conversations around topics and issues important to you. Through this, you will help to increase understanding around your messages and topics – and eventually strenthen your brand on (and off) -line.

Pick a topic that you are most passionate about. Recruit a few passionate, inspired folks to write posts (these can be folks on staff, or part of your membership). Publish feed(s) from your blog(s) on pages throughout your main website. Encourage comments and respond to them. Cross-link to other industry or issue-related blogs.

3. Launch a Flickr and/or a YouTube Channel.

You have photos, lots of them. Photos from events, luncheons, activities. Every photo that you have should be uploaded to flickr and ‘pushed’ to your other online properties. For $24.95 per year, you have a highly functional photo repository that not only enables you to easily publish them anywhere you like, it gives your organization a “face” and exposes it to the millions of folks on the web. It works for you while your are sleeping. The same concept works with YouTube for video content.

Using this approach also makes you more efficient. You do not duplicate effort by having to post the same content (photos/video) to each online property. You have one central repository where all of this lives, and you simply publish it to your other sites.

    Oct
    17

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    IAEE Presentation on Event Websites

    Category: Internet Strategy, Social Media Tags: , , , 1 Comment

    Last week Margaret Core and I presented to a great group of people at the IAEE luncheon on Web 2.0 for Event Websites. Since then, I have had several requests for the slides.

    In part of my presentation, I discussed the use of public social networks such as YouTube for Video, Flickr for photos and encouraged the audience to use Slideshare to share powerpoint presentations. Right after the presentation, I uploaded it to Slideshare and it seems that the site is having technical problems accross the board.

    No one said this web 2.0 stuff was perfect.

    So folks, here is a link to the presentation

    Oct
    16

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    Grab your digicam and video your voting experience

    Category: Digital strategy, Social Media Tags: , , , Leave a Comment

    YouTube and PBS are asking us to video and post our voting experience.

    Read the announcement here.

    The videos will be collected on YouTube. It will be interesting to see what folks come up with – collectively this will become a great social documentary and testament to the power of social media.

    I’m excited, are you?

    Oct
    15

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    Old Website Concepts: Just Let Go!

    Category: Internet Strategy Tags: , , , , Leave a Comment

    Recently, CNET published the article:  Five old-fashioned Web concepts that need to die, and included the following list:

    1. Refresh: Don’t make people have to reload the page to see new content.
    2. Save: When systems are built correctly, everything you do can be undone and rolled back, and there should be no need for a save button per se (although many apps will still need a way to milepost versions of files).
    3. Log-in: Keeping track of passwords for all the sites we visit is becoming unmanageable. There are better solutions.
    4. One-size-fits-all design: Make sure you design for mobile devices and not just computer screens.
    5. Blocker ads: Don’t allow ads to block the content people are trying to access.

    Great article, although I would add:

    • Sites that don’t let you leave when you hit the back button
    • Sites that have too many moving parts
    • Automatic audio or video that launches upon loading a page
    • Contact us pages that do not have any real information – providing only a form
    • Dynamic navigation that is too difficult to click

    Oct
    15

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    5 Reasons Why a ‘Social Media Approach’ is Critical

    Category: Digital strategy, Featured Articles, Internet Strategy, Social Media Tags: , , , , Leave a Comment

    Working for a large trade organization, I am challenged by the typical mix of technology early-adopters, agnostics, and, of course, those who just don’t understand what the big deal is when it comes to Social Media – so they would rather not. Trying to explain why this is important critical is often difficult and frustrating – at best. Nine times out of ten, I walk away trying to remember why I am in this line of work in the first place.

    So I came up with the ‘elevator speech’ version of why adopting a social media approach is so important for any organization:

    1. Gives you a voice, makes you personal & approachable
      Blogs and other social networks have a different tone, they are informal yet informative. Inspired, passionate blog posts and conversations allow your audience to connect with you on a whole new level.
    2. Increases understanding through conversation
      The old school of communications was a one-way street. No matter how good your content, messages, and imagery, its ability to really impact the level of understanding is minimal compared to the world of social media. Because messages and content are being discussed, or used in a context that makes sense to the audience, it immediately increases understanding. It’s all about messages within the ‘human context’.
    3. Increases Discoverability – so people can find you and learn about the good works that you do
      There is a ton of data behind this – the fact is, if you adopt a social media approach, Google (and other search engines) will love you. And there is no love like Google love.
    4. Broadens your reach
      Having a presence on existing social networking sites works for you while you are sleeping. Using sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and Delicious gives you a exposes you to communities that you would have never found otherwise.
    5. If you don’t participate in existing online conversations and activities, they will happen without you
      The world of social media is crazy and out of control – and makes many organizations feel uncomfortable. All the more reason to pick a few insightful networks, blogs, and sites and join in. Do this–and start a few of your own–then earn the respect of your existing audience as well as develop new relationships along the way. Don’t get left out.
       

    Oct
    10

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    Will you help me to prevent suicide?

    Category: Doing good things Tags: , , , Leave a Comment

    Tomorrow morning, I will be joining hundreds of others for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Out of the Darkness community walk.

    It’s a short walk — only six miles (nothing like the 20 mile overnight dusk-till-dawn walk I did last year (see the video on my blog – link below).

    Those of you who know me well understand that this cause is near to my heart, as I lost my mother to suicide when I was 21 (she was only 48). I also lost two childhood friends (brothers) to suicide, and just this past spring, my son tragically lost a high-school colleague as well.

    There is still time to donate! I am asking all of my friends and colleagues to support this cause. To do so, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/5h4nzb

    You can also read my full blog post about this and take a peak at the AFSP video.

    Oct
    7

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    The Blurry Line of Social Media

    Category: Digital strategy, Featured Articles, Social Media Tags: , , , 1 Comment

    As many of you – I spend a lot of time online both personally and professionally.

    In the age of Social Media, I use a variety of community outlets such as facebook, flickr, youtube, linkedin, twitter, stumbleupon, de.licio.us for both aspects of my life (personal and professional) – and the line between the two is becoming very blurry.

    For instance, I use facebook quite regularly in my personal life, and now I am beginning to set up facebook groups for my employer, etc. If I make another facebook profile with my work info, then there will be 2 of me – which sort of defeats the whole purpose of social connections, etc.

    On the other hand, do I care if those folks in my professional life know that I am an obsessed Harry Potter fan? Or an Obama supporter? Or the fact that I am pro-choice? What books I read? Do I need to be careful about the applications I use and how they may be perceived? Does this have an impact on me professionally?

    I really don’t know if there is one clear answer here – but certainly this is something to think about.

    Any thoughts?