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Archive for the ‘Communications News’ Category
Friday, March 30th, 2012 by Autumn Jones
TRENDS, in partnership with Qrisp Media, has released this analysis, designed to allow association social media decision makers to benchmark their levels of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube activity against peer institutions. These comparisons can be made overall and by association size and subject area. Any association that purchases the report will be added to the survey data and will receive a customized Social Media Summary Report. Details here.
Posted in Communications News | 4,739 Comments »
Thursday, October 13th, 2011 by Autumn Jones
By Colin Delaney
Whether or not hashtags will win anything for anyone in 2012, we can be sure that every major event related to the elections will be live-tweeted, just as the Occupy Wall Street protests have been. Over at the New Organizing Institute’s blog, my friend Melissa Ryan has some excellent advice for people using Twitter to cover rallies and other gatherings as they happen. Some of her tips:
- Don’t worry about covering everything (just cover what you can).
- Promote the work of your fellow live-tweeters.
- Stay with the (hashtag) trends. Respect the hashtags being used by your fellow tweeters and be aware that they sometimes change or evolve.
- Stay charged (with electrical power).
- Have a backup (networks fail at the worst moments).
I’d definitely echo her points, particularly the ones about covering what you can and about promoting the work of others. When we’ve live-tweeted events for my day job at NWLC, I’ve typically stayed in the office to retweet posts from our participants over the organization’s main Twitter feed. This way, we get individual perspectives that add up to much more, particularly when we supplement our own posts with retweets of those from outside activists and organizations.
Every piece helps to create a fuller picture of what’s happening for people around the world who are following along, often literally, since different people will tweet photos of different aspects of the event. Plus, retweeting other activists helps you share the love, which they’ll likely do in return. And you never know who’ll be the one to capture that magic Macaca moment.
Cross-posted from ePolitics.com. Colin Delaney is founder and chief editor of Epolitics.com, a site that focuses on the tools and tactics of Internet politics and online political advocacy.
Tags: grassroots advocacy, rallies, social media, social media advocacy, twitter
Posted in Communications News | 1,547 Comments »
Thursday, October 6th, 2011 by Autumn Jones
The biggest challenge for an association publication is how to provide information that is relevant to the industry, reliable to the public, and maintains journalistic integrity.
Association communications professionals joined other media practitioners in a panel discussion of the future of news at the Activism + Media + Policy Summit, last week in DC. The discussion was moderated by Huffington Post’s Peter Cherukuri.
Jim Barnett, in-house advisor to AARP Bulletin, discussed the rise of the nonprofit model in journalism. “As legacy models are crumbling, nonprofits – new and old – are jumping into the business and they’re doing news,” Barnett said. He asked the question that many critics of association news outlets are asking: “How can we have [objective] news within an advocacy organization?”
“An organization has to decide immediately: do you want to support journalism,” Barnett said. If the answer is yes, Barnett acknowledged that associations face the same issues the rest of the media industry is succumbing to, including funding challenges and organizational politics. He suggested that “the case for philanthropy [should be] attached to a mission for journalism” that furthers the association’s purpose. He also stressed the importance of reporting on issues that might contradict the association’s interests, to maintain credibility.
Chronicle of Higher Education editorial director Jeff Selingo suggested that part of the new industry model is a decentralized news organization, which is heavily reliant on contributors and freelancers, and in which news and commentary is shared across multiple platforms – a scenario with which many association publications are familiar.
Referring to mobile devices, Journal Register Co. social media director Steve Buttry said, “The tools of publishing are in everyone’s hands, so the community is creating content.” He said the job of the publication editor now is to gather content from the community and determine what to do with it, though industry professionals are still trying to work out the vetting process.
Barnett emphasized that, particularly for advocacy organizations, such as associations and nonprofits, transparency is increasingly more important. “Technology is accelerating the need for transparency,” he said. “People are willing to see you as a source, but they want to know where you’re coming from.” He added that it is permissible to have multiple voices write on behalf of one association, but authors must identify who they are and their interests in an issue.
Buttry added associations must concentrate on reporting within their own public service or industry niches, while localizing bigger stories to make the issues relevant to the audience. “Cover your slice, and cover it well,” he advised. Establishing the association’s publication as an authority on a specific issue or perspective will create credibility and position the organization as a reputable source on the issue.
Selingo had tips for organizations looking to monetize content. He proposed that some content be free – 40% in the case of The Chronicle for Higher Education – such as opinion pieces, which disseminate the association’s stance on a specific issue to a broader audience. Teaser articles to promote data-driven content also should be in front of the firewall, as should breaking news, which is likely available for free on other sites, anyway. But hefty data and survey results that are valuable to industry professionals should be kept behind the pay wall, requiring subscription or some other pay-to-view model.
All of the panelists agreed that organizations need to ensure content is good, trustworthy and not available elsewhere.
Tags: Activism+Media+Policy summit, association publications, future of news
Posted in Communications News, TRENDS Attends | 1,478 Comments »
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 by Autumn Jones
With the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)’s decision to approve the .xxx domain, a whole new realm of possibilities as it relates to domain name registrations has been opened, and associations — like other groups – are beginning to weigh the possibilities as it relates to their members.
For many associations, though alluring, generic top level domains are cost-prohibitive. The official price for a generic top-level domain application is $185,000, but National Restaurant Association CIO David Matthews admonishes associations to consider that appropriate consultants should be sought to help with filing the applications, which can add another $200,000 to the application price tag. Once one considers the possibility of dispute and auction fees if multiple entities go after the same domain, and takes into account that there will be a minimum charge of $25,000 per year to maintain the domains, the cost of registering top-level domain names alone may out-price many associations’ budgets.
Still, the possibilities available by registering a top-level domain name could prove invaluable for associations that can afford to make the investment. A top-level domain name could do wonders for an association’s brand and reinforce the organization’s prominence in the industry, or it could draw more attention to the industry as a whole. ICANN’s initiative will introduce new top-level domains in generic terms (such as .architecture), which will enable distinction for the industry overall, as well as for brands (such as .aarp), which will increase visibility of the association itself. Some associations are considering moving to register the domains with hopes that there will be a way to monetize them in the future. For some, it is a question of infrastructure, says John Nicholson, an attorney with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. For others, he contends, it is more a matter of capitalizing on the opportunity before someone else does.
Software and Information Industry Association president Ken Wasch remains skeptical, calling ICANN’s initiative “a solution in search of a problem. I think it will go down as one of the biggest blunders ICANN has ever made,” he says.
Among Wasch’s primary concerns is how associations will be able to recoup the cost and monetize domain registrations. He suggests that perhaps associations could create a standard by which all groups seeking to register with their new specific domain should comply, but says that this will not offer real value, and certainly not enough to justify the cost of generic top-level domain name registration. Wasch worries that the cost of registration will prove to be a tax on members, who will inevitably bear the many burdens associated with the investment.
Generic top-level domain registration was among the topics discussed at the recent TRENDS Live annual technology update in Washington.
Tags: .xxx domains, association technology trends, generic top-level domains, ICANN
Posted in Communications News | 5,187 Comments »
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 by Autumn Jones
The tremendously popular Association TRENDS All Media contest, which generated 447 entries from 158 organizations last year, is now open for entries! This year’s categories have been completely revamped, and organizations can enter monthly magazines, journals, other periodic communications (daily/weekly or monthly), direct marketing pieces, CD/Video/Podcast/PSA, Advertising kit, exhibitor sales kit, convention promotion package, convention program, promotional items, membership promotion kit/campaign, directory, book/manual/catalog, annual report, commemoration/tribute, educational program, social media, or website for judging.
Tags: All Media Contest, association media awards, association media contests, Association TRENDS, salute to association excellence, salute to excellence
Posted in Communications News | 6,243 Comments »
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 by Autumn Jones
The annual TRENDS Compensation Report results were released this week, and the findings concluded that overall, association communications professionals are paid more in DC than in other parts of the country.
For more information on the TRENDS compensation report, visit here for the DC report or here for the National version.
Tags: advertising manager, artist salary, association salary information, average salary of communications personnel, communications paid, communications salary, Director of communications, marketing manager, PR Manager, production manager, public relations
Posted in Bottom Line, Communications News | 6,008 Comments »
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 by user
By Richard Brasser
There are two very interesting trends that will have a dramatic effect on your organization.
1. Social networking is growing at an astounding rate. (not surprising)
2. People are starting to organize themselves into themed niche communities. (big opportunity)
Let’s take a quick look at why these are important and what steps you can take to maximize the impact for your organization.
Social Networking is growing at an astounding rate. We all know this and the media loves to point out how feverish the growth has been. However, there are very strong forces starting to change the social networking landscape and you need to be aware and prepared for these changes. The first premise is that people (humans) need “meaning” in their lives, we all need to feel significant, we need to feel like we are making a difference and we need to be connected. When social networking first came along, it provided those things in a way that was easy for you to access. You were connected to lots of people. You found meaning in the conversations that were going on. You could be involved with things even though you were sitting at your desk or on your couch. However, as communities like Facebook have grown to unimaginable sizes, and the amount of “friends” that we all have has grown so big, it all starts to lose its meaning again. Compare the difference between living in an 800 person town and living in the middle of New York City. The bigger the crowd, the more anonymous the environment becomes. The fact is that Facebook is starting to become a vast city and it is starting to lose its meaning for many of us.
People are starting to organize themselves into themed niche communities. This is a natural phenomenon. When the world around you becomes so big, you start to define yourself as part of a much smaller group. For example, think of the Italian community in the boroughs of New York…they even defined themselves by what street they lived on. It is not surprising that in the social media world, people are starting to lose a bit of interest in the super large worlds like Facebook and LinkedIn and gravitating towards more meaningful and personally relevant communities. For example, there is a thriving online community for high-level marketing professionals that I am a part of…and a great community of .NET developers that my CTO is a member of. These niche online communities are dialed into our exact needs, perspectives and audience. Because of this, they inherently bring much more of the “human” stuff that we all want and need (meaning, significance and connections).
Nice trends but why should I care about them?
Knowing what is happening and what drivers are causing the changes in behavior is important. However, it is much more valuable to understand how it will affect your own organization and how you can leverage these trends to bring value to your audience. If you think that your organization is capable of resonating with a particular group of people or becoming a leader in a certain specific topic, a custom online community just might be an incredible opportunity. Here are a few steps to quickly sort out whether a custom online community is right for you.
5 Questions to ask when creating your online community
1. Differentiation – What is your niche? You are probably well aware of this but it helps to clearly understand it in the context of an online community. What skills, perspectives, knowledge or interests do your members share with each other that differentiate them from other people?
2. Competition – What other communities online offer a place for people like your members to interact? Do the research! You might be surprised that someone already owns your audience. Here is a quick example – a luxury German car company dragged their feet (for two years) while trying to decide whether or not to build their own online community. In the meantime, a community emerged that offered almost everything that these passionate car enthusiasts wanted. When the company finally decided to launch their own community, their audience yawned and found no need to leave the already thriving world they had come to love. If the company would have known about the other community, they could have taken a totally different approach and participated in that community instead of building their own.
3. Value Proposition – What are the top 3 things that a member of your community could gain from joining? Is it unique knowledge that your internal team can provide? Is it access to the other members in a much more efficient way? Is it the ability to participate and help without having to be in person? Whatever it is, you have to clearly understand WHY people will want to join your community and what will keep them coming back.
4. Business Objectives – What are you hoping to accomplish? Imagine that you have already created a community with lots of members…what value does YOUR organization get out of it? Is it the “living” database? Is it the ability to sell sponsorships or advertising around the discussions? Is it a “value-add” for the membership fees that you charge? It is CRITICAL that you answer these questions because the technologies might not cost a lot, but this will take money, time and resources. You have to know why you are doing it and what value you wish to gain from it.
5. Resource Planning – Don’t underestimate the work effort this will take! If you answered number four, you will already know the value and what resources are available based on the expected results. Make sure to challenge your assumptions, test market ideas with members and make sure to overestimate how much time and effort it will take. Bad things start to happen when this kind of initiative is tossed in the lap of an administrator who is already maxed out or an intern that is helping for the summer. Make sure you have enough time and people to manage the community, analyze the data and metrics and constantly refine the strategy.
*Quick story about #5 – I recently worked with a very large association and met the person in charge of social media. She explained that she didn’t track any posts, use hashtags or any analytics because she didn’t have any time. She was communicating constantly but gaining NO value as a result. My suggestion? Pretty simple, post 50% less and spend that time on reporting, analytics and metrics. Don’t fall into the time trap and lose out on the biggest value.
What is the gist? At the end of the day, there is a huge opportunity brewing for you to expand your audience, increase revenue and create a long lasting connection with your members through the use of a well-designed online community. Take the necessary steps to design it right, leverage people and resources that know how to put these together and you could create a legacy of value for your organization.
The storm is brewing…are you going to be ready to take advantage or is someone else going to own your audience?
Tags: B2B social networking, online community, private online communities, social marketing, social media, social networking
Posted in Communications News, Social Media Matters | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 by user
by Mike Gallagher
‘Oh, that’s not what I meant.’
‘Bob from sales didn’t think it was hard-hitting enough.’
‘The ad was supposed to target attendees and exhibitors.’
‘Our CEO hates yellow.’
‘This isn’t it, but I’ll know it when I see it.’
They’re responses to creative work we’ve all probably heard at one time or another (or even delivered ourselves). Responses intended to be constructive, but when born out of subjectivity instead of strategy, they rarely help make the work perform better.
They’re all part of a syndrome commonly known as ‘Ready, Fire, Aim.’
We all know that every show, every event is a huge undertaking. Mobilizing the people, places, materials, budgets and logistics–efficiently and effectively–takes careful planning. Your communications and creative should be approached in the same fashion. Whether it’s an attendee ad, an exhibitor prospectus, a floor plan, a website, a logo, an e-blast a booth design or an entire campaign, the clearer the upfront direction and the more focused the goals, the better (and more affordable) the results.
So where does this direction come from? This strategy for the creative work? It comes from you and your team of stakeholders, usually in conjunction with your marketing or communications firm. And it’s important that everyone with a say in the creative work has a say in the direction. So if you’re going to be sharing the creative with your sales team, get them involved with the strategy upfront. If your CFO’s opinion of the work is important, do the best you can to make your CFO aware of the strategy beforehand. Discussions about direction and goals are best had before any creative work is started.
Below is an example of a document that can help crystalize the direction and goals for the creative. Documents like this can be called a strategy, a creative brief, a creative plan or any number of things. And while it may take some thought and wrestling of ideas and opinions, having agreement on the information in this kind of document prior to any creative work being started is the most efficient way to ensure effective creative.
When the creative is complete, be sure to have this document on hand when reviewing the work. Use it as your scorecard. Does the creative achieve the goals set out in the brief? Does it connect with the audiences established in the brief, utilizing the right rational and emotional motivators? Is it the right tone? Use this as the filter for judging the work – and as a filter for any other comments that may come. After all, even the most adamant CEO can be convinced to like yellow if it’s shown to be stragetically supportive of achieving communications goals.
Creative Assignment & Support Brief
Assignment: Here you articulate the big picture perspective on the project. If it’s for a new campaign that all show materials for the next 18 months will fall out of, state that. List the elements, the time frame, and goals for the campaign. If it’s for an element of a campaign that’s already been created, like a direct mail piece, state that. And include some refresher on the campaign itself.
Product/Subject: Your show, event or initiative – then perspective on it. Dates, location. What’s new this year? What’s better than last year? Who sponsors the show? Why do they sponsor it? How does the industry feel about this event/initiative?
Convince: This is where you describe your target audience(s). But not just by job function or demographic. Ideally, there is some insight into what makes your show compelling to your audience(s) – a common need that motivates behavior within the competitive set. (For example: Our target says they come to the show to learn about new products, but for them it’s really about the industry camaraderie.)
That: Here is where you state the action you want your target to take – whether it’s to believe one show is better than another, go online to look for exhibit space or sign up for sponsorships.
Because: This is the most important aspect for all stakeholders to agree upon. Here you state the rational and emotional reasons why our target(s) will take the action stated above. It helps if it is linked to the insight articulated in the Convince section. In the trade show business, our customers tend to be more rational – they need past attendance/past leads/etc. numbers to justify their actions to their superiors. However, linking the why to the target insight brings a more compelling, emotional reason for taking the desired action. (For example: XXXX highly qualified attendees, so you are sure to reconnect with friends, mentors and respected associates).
Support: This is where all of the important statistics come in. The facts. The figures. And anything else you think is important to support your Because rationale.
Must-Know: This is where your logo & graphic standard requirements come in, your website url, phone #, etc. This is also where any pet peeves (eg: the CEO hates pink), industry requirements (eg: the show is sponsored by 2 associations – both must be treated with equal weight in layouts) and historical landmines (eg: trying to get quotes from past attendees is impossible) need to be spelled out so your creative team knows what to maneuver around while developing the work.
Mike is Creative Director at Fixation Marketing, the largest full-service agency specializing in creative strategy, design and interactive solutions for association events and trade shows.
Mike can be reached at Mike@Fixation.com
www.fixation.com
Tags: ad design, creative briefs strategy planning collaboration marketing insights, designing creative, marketing strategy
Posted in Communications News, Design | 6,481 Comments »
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011 by Autumn Jones
The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet is holding a hearing on “ICANN Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Oversight Hearing,” at which ICANN’s Kurt Pritz is testifying. The hearing, happening now, has sparked an outcry from pro-intellectual property advocates. Excluding Pritz, all other witnesses are strong supporters of trademark interests.
Venable’s Jacqueline L. Patt, whose practice is focused on intellectual property protections, with a heavy emphasis on Web-based communications, says “The real impact of the [generic top-level domains] program will be in the additional burdens it creates on trademark owners in protecting their brands online. There is a potential for an increase in infringement of brands under the new gTLD program, and, as a result, associations will have to be even more diligent by monitoring the gTLD process and taking action when necessary to protect their brands.”
For more information on how intellectual property laws impact your association’s communications efforts, register for “Intellectual Property on the Web: Proactive Approaches to Compliance and Safeguarding Your Organization’s Communications.”
Posted in Communications News, Legal Issues | 5,157 Comments »
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011 by user
If you have been following The Road to a Paperless Workflow series, so far you have assembled your team, managed the transition through critical questions, tested with a small sample of the affected groups, and challenged existing procedures and job descriptions. Effectively, you have passed the Ready and Set stages. Now, it is time to go!
But, no so fast! In order to achieve a sustainable workflow, you will need to properly maintain the employees that you have mobilized. Make sure that the workstations of those who will now be staring at a computer monitor for a majority of the day will accommodate for this kind of change.
According to www.youreyesite.net, the latest ergonomic standards for computer vision include the following:
Control your environment: The recommended distance you should be from your monitor is an extended arm length to the tips of the fingers.
Adjust the alignment of the monitor to accommodate for your height: Line up the monitor so that the eyes are looking down slightly at approximately 10-15 degrees
Make sure your workspace utilizes proper lighting: Most offices were designed to provide sufficient light required for a paper-dependent workflow. Such light, in addition to the glare that may be caused by a nearby window, can negatively impact your ability to stare at a monitor for extended periods of time. Adjust screen brightness and contrast to provide balance with room lighting. Consider using filters and adjusting shades and blinds in regular intervals.
Incorporate the use of rest or alternate task breaks throughout the workday: This will allow employees to relieve the stress on their eyes caused by shifting focus from a distant point source, like a person walking towards you in the hall, to a near point source, such as the text displayed on a computer monitor.
www.youreyesite.net is the blog for Shady Grove Eye and Vision Care, Optometrists serving the Rockville, Potomac and Gaithersburg suburbs of Washington, DC for over 40 years.
Randy Townsend is a team leader in journals production at the American Geophysical Union. He is currently securing a Master’s Degree in Publishing at The George Washington University. Randy is also a freelance writer. See his interview with Basketball Wives’ Shaunie O’Neal in the latest issue of A-Game Magazine.
Tags: digital delivery, e-records, electronic documents, electronic workflow, going green, paperless office
Posted in Bottom Line, Communications News, Digital Delivery | 6,949 Comments »
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