Spring Ahead With a Fresh Look

Day one of daylight savings means you moved your clocks ahead by an hour and switched the batteries in your fire alarms. At least that's what happens in my house. It also means that you've got a good cleaning on your mind, renewed enthusiasm at work and at play, and a fresh look at life - and this goes for your website too!

Here are five quick steps to make sure your website doesn't look like the last vestige of winter:

1. Double check the "In the News" section of your site and move everything older than two weeks to your "archive" page. (1-A - create an "archive" page if you don't have one)

2. Read through EVERY page of your site to ensure accuracy, clarity, and consistency. If your website is anything like most it wasn't created in a single day by a single author which means the tone and consistency throughout may be slightly different. Check for spelling and grammatical errors too. (My biggest challenge.)

3. Click through every page and every link. Some links may be broken or no longer be available and this is a huge pet peeve for me and many others. There's nothing worse than not being able to access what you want.

4. Changed your logo lately? Then you better make sure the old version has been completely removed and the updated version everywhere it needs to be.

5. Changed staff or leadership lately? Update the "Contact" or "Board" page. Chances are you'll need to.

In our quest to stay on top of technology we often forget to do those things that matter most so take some time to walk through your site and make sure your house is in order. Your clients, members, and visitors will appreciate your efforts.

Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of www.public-domain-photos.com

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.

Hashtags for the association world

Here is a list of hashtags for association exec's who enjoy Twitter. Please feel free to add to this list or recommend to me and the rest of the world where to locate a larger, more robust collection. Cheers!

#eventprofs
#assnchat
#asae09
#MPI
#meetings
#nonprofit
#amgtco
#sponsorship
#nimble
#associations

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.

Team Chemistry Beyond Sports

As baseball inches closer to "October ball," and the NFL gears up for its season, ESPN is screaming about an interesting and often unmeasurable asset to any team, CHEMISTRY.

As an avid hockey fan I live by the notion that chemistry means everything, especially around playoff time. I wholeheartedly endorse the belief that locker room relationships can be the X factor and secret weapon for any organization.

But how does this impact the rest of us nine-to-fiver's who don't earn the big bucks but are often part of a team. In an article on this topic, Tom LaForce explores how building trust with coworkers can often lead to building chemistry and ultimately lead to successful projects.

(coffee break)

So how do you make sure there's chemistry on your team? I'm not entirely sure. My team is made up of anywhere from five to ten members depending on the individual project. When appropriate I try to focus on each of my team members' individual strengths, letting my colleagues shine in front of others which, I hope, allows everyone to develop their own levels of trust within the team.

This approach requires a unique understanding of the personalities that make up my team but that's what I'm good at so it works for me. I'm a people person and have come to terms with how to leverage that crazy talent beyond the "oh you should be in sales" gig. I build my team by making everyone feel so comfortable that they don't even know they're shining, they just see themselves as contributing.

How do you build your team?

Bridging the "Bookends" and Creating Dialogue

I'm a 38 yr old professional who is having a great deal of fun learning about how to incorporate social media & and rapidly changing technologies into my personal and professional life. The biggest challenges for me have been learning the nuances of the tools (Twitter, Hootsuite, Seesmic, etc.), considering the whole personal/professional brand approach, and integrating what I've learned over the course of my professional career.


Fortunately for me, and largely because I've been working longer than some of my coworkers have been alive, I feel I understand my company's culture and brand to the point where I can work through these challenges. But it got me thinking about the other side of this equation and the recent online chatter over "bookend" generations.

Do younger professionals who possess the technological skills struggle with grasping the culture and/or brand of their respective organizations? Do they have enough "worldly" experience to understand the long term implications of their actions, posts, comments, or approaches? Or is their interpretation of the organization a true (or truer) reflection of the organization's personality or brand?

Perhaps by posing these questions we can introduce a new solution to closing the generational gap and filling the space between the "bookend" generations. By finding value in, and utilizing the stregnths of both (all) generations, we can begin to introduce new pathways for meaningful dialogue about the value in combining technology with experience and insight.

For the time being I'll continue to sit down with my younger colleagues to explore their interpretation of our organization and, when possible, steal a tip or two about how to manage multiple Twitter accounts. I will also work hard to help them understand the culture of our company, the importance of seeing the world through an old, wise man's eyes (not that old) and the value of engaging in a dialogue with those who may not know about Flickr, but know about the importance of teamwork, developing meaningful relationships, and the nuances of interpersonal communications.

Examples of Two Smart Marketing Approaches

Twice this weekend I was struck by events that I thought were so cool that I just had to write about them. Oh, and both can be applied to non-profits and outreach strategies and neither, sadly, came to me through SM.

The first is the "Do You Bleed Eagles Green" blood drive sponsored by the American Red Cross. Obviously the AMR has some pull so it probably wasn't too hard for them to partner with the Philadelphia Eagles, but it was the approach that I like most. The AMR is setting up a blood drive at Lehigh University where the Eagles hold their training camp. There are a few incentives for those who donate including a fan pack, chances to win VIP field passes, and additional chances to win tickets to a home game. However, this is a good idea because of what the AMR did for its organization, not for who they partnered with.

The most impressive part of this program is the AMR's decision to go to their constituency, to not sit back and hope that people show up at one of their preplanned blood drives. I love it, a group that says "yup, we're a non-profit but we're aggressive and we're gonna get what we need."

The message - if your members aren't coming to you, then go to them literally; and don't limit your search to those areas that you think potential members will be. Spread out, have fun, and take a leap of faith. Then came Dan Deacon, a pool at an airport, and some pre-kid flashbacks of what life was like before serious responsibility smacked me in the face.

Today, the family I were invited to join some friends at an outdoor pool at, of all places, an airport. In fact, the pool was in the shape of an airplane. It sounded fun and differenct so we went and what an experience we had. As it turns out, the airport has not only figured out how to stay relevant and unique (pool, resturant, lounge, and hotel), it has also figured out how to secure its longevity by hosting a three-band summer jam with one of the hottest alternative artists in the Northeast.

Of course, we had no idea what was happening as flocks of young hipsters rolled into the pool area and parked themselves in front of a stage that largely went unnoticed for the better part of the day. After a brief inquiry I learned that Dan Deacon was playing later that evening. WHO?

Now, his music isn't really my style but what we hear was good. More importantly, by the time we left there were more than 600 people around the pool and more were being bused in.

The plan was brilliant. A tiny little airport in Southern NJ just introduced its uniqueness to more than a 1,000 FUTURE customers. It figured out how to tap into a market that in all likelihood would have never considered visiting the Flying W airport in Medford, NJ. On most Saturdays, families can be found poolside while small planes and helicopters buzz down the runway to the amazement of little kids. But on this Saturday, a funky indie artist out of Balitmore brought with him a non-traditional crowd and it was a huge success. Most of the people I spoke to remarked how cool the venue was, bet they'll remember it in ten years when they're looking for a spot to bring the kids on a hot summer day. By the way, admission was $10 a head.

The message: think ahead, go outside of your comfort zone, and don't be afraid to introduce a new set of demographics to your organization.

BJR

New construction and building community

A little over two years ago my wife and I realized we had outgrown our small rancher and needed to find something bigger to accomadate our growing family. Our second daughter had joined us rather unexpectedly and we needed more space.

We decided we would build a home in a growing but mostly rural community about 30 miles outside of Philadelphia. Our home was number twelve or so of seventy six, five of which are still under construction.

For the first year my wife struggled to find comfort in the new community. We moved in during winter and none of the neighbors spent much time outside. As winter gave way to spring we began to develop a network of friends and then, as if it happened overnight, our entire neighborhood discovered Facebook and the ability to create groups and engage in discussion after hours and beyond our front lawns.

Rather quickly our site was secure and our neighbors began discussing everything from defects in our homes to who needed a sitter. Social media revolutionized the way developments are developed, neighborhoods interact, and how communities are formed.

I've marvled at how these relationships that began online have grown stronger during our early evening walks and how quick those conversations on the front lawns of the neighborhood carry back over to group dicussions.

To this end I began to think about how this same concept, the concept of newness, experimentation, community solidification through social media, and the core value of trust and sharing could apply to non-profits and associations.

Let's imagine for a minute that an association is a suburban community and each house represents a member of the organization. Each homeowner, or member, has a vested interest in the success of the community, each member (for the most part) wants to be heard, and most importantly each member is truly interested in building relationships that are built on trust, friendship, and a common interest.

Organizations, like neighborhoods, will evolve by interacting, trusting, and experimenting. There is value in participating in online communities, particularly with those who you will see at an upcoming event, conference, or professional development opportunity. Social platforms help to fill in the gaps, build trust, and develop relationships between those front yard meetings.