Social Media Flower for Volunteer Leaders

In my role at Association Headquarters I often assist our client partners in developing strategies that implement social media into their communication plans. Shortly after seeing David Nour map out a communication plan at ASAE 2009, and after several conversations with Maddie Grant from Social Fish, (who I am eternally grateful) I got to work.

With the help of two of my colleagues, Elizabeth Cies and Mark Denato, I came up with the following illustration.

Please feel free to distribute this to your groups and a special thanks to Steve Drake ,whose constant efforts in the world of SM continue to focus on moving forward.

The Six Primary Components of the Social Media Flower

The Seed - Content Leaders: These are the experts of an organization and typically consist of members of the board, but can also include general members who are willing to submit original content on behalf of the organization. They are the seed and are responsible for the cultivation of the social media flower.

The Soil - Your Association: The association or professional society serves as the soil and field for the seed and provides the environment for the content, and future content leaders, to flourish.

The Stem – The Content: When original content is created it serves as the support system (the stem) for the flower. It flows from the content leaders, through the association, and directly to the Web site or blog (the stigma).

The Stigma – The Website or Blog: The website serves as the center of the flower whereby all things emanate. It hosts the original content and serves as the hub or home base for the petals.

The Petals – Social Media Tools: The petals represent the various social media tools that can be used to drive interested parties (members & nonmembers) to the Web site. These tools serve as:
• Communicators – relaying messages to the public
• Directors – pointing your audience to original content
• Marketers – raising awareness for the organization. The main purpose of the petals are to attract raindrops (members) and bumble bees (messengers).

The Bumblebee – Additional Messengers: The ultimate goal is to reach new individuals and new audiences, and social media tools make it easy to have someone else carry and convey your message for you. By creating original content, posting it to the web site, and employing social media tools to attract and direct members to the site, more and more individuals will learn about the organization.

Role of Volunteer Leadership
As outlined above, volunteer leadership plays a vital role in the success of online social media initiatives. It is our recommendation that a key group of individuals are appointed to play a highly involved part in the implementation of the associations social media strategy. This could be comprised of:
• One or two Board or Committee members
• Key enthusiasts from the organization’s Facebook page
• Technologically-savvy members responding to a “call for volunteers”

By having several members initiate and participate, the organization can experience increased success in grassroots awareness of its’ online presence.

Camaraderie & Humility at AMCi & ASAE 2009

Here are my three takeaways from two terrific meetings.

1. Camaraderie - As I approach my second anniversary with Association Headquarters I am still amazed at the level of camaraderie, respect, and consideration members of the AMC industry have for eachother. Not only does it make for a terrific meeting where members, who are often competitors, let there gaurd down and share with eachother but it also provides an opportunity for everyone to contribute to a positive culture throughout the industry. It was wonderful to reconnect with those I met in San Diego, have run into throughout the year, and have chatted with over industry-related issues.

2. Humility - I will be the first to say that even after working at a museum for several years and having spent the last two years with association management (AM) professionals, I am still humbled by the amount of energy, creativity, and dedication it takes to run an association or professional society. In my role at Association Headquarters, I often straddle the for-profit and non-profit world, never spending too long in either to fully appreciate the role AM professionals play in their respective organizations, in ensuring their own society (ASAE) moves forward, and in building relationships among their peers. As hard as I think I work I am humbled by what goes into running an AMC, and running a volunteer run organization.

3. AMCi & ASAE 2009 were full of terrific examples of camaraderie, professionalism, and for me, humility.