ShopTalk

Gratitude.

Earlier this week, I received a note from a client with a one word subject line: gratitude.

I can’t remember what I was doing at the time, but I know I stopped to read her email. She was offering her thanks for a recent lunch, but she left me feeling like the thankful one. The word kept circling in my mind for the rest of the day, and I started to think about all that I have to be grateful for, especially at the close of this year.

As we round out our seventh year at C.Fox Communications, I simply want to offer my gratitude for all of the people who made an impact on our agency this year.

2011 was one of significant growth for us—a situation that I very much recognize was not the norm, and I shall never take for granted how special that is. We made some very special hires, worked on some fascinating projects, launched a fellowship program with American University, won some remarkable clients, doubled our office footprint in Silver Spring; set up a second office in D.C. and still awarded over $30,000 in pro bono services.

I owe significant thanks to our clients for letting us play a part in their successes of this past year. I owe thanks to my staff for believing as much as I do that ‘inspired’ work begets good work, and I owe thanks to our friend and colleague Don Foley for joining our team this year—marking one of the most special moments of my professional career.

One of my more favorite Steve Jobs quotes is this one… “The only way to do great work is to love what you do...If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."

We love what we do, and we’re pretty sure it shows. So, with my gratitude, thanks for letting us be a part of your story.

Photoshop Basics Part 1: Creating a custom profile image for your Facebook page

Profile images for your Facebook page can be so much more than just a company logo. The profile picture of a Facebook fan page can be maximum 180 by 540 pixels, so get creative with that valuable real estate! Here is part one of a two-part video tutorial on how to use Photoshop to create a custom profile image for your Facebook page. Stay tuned for Part 2!

 

 

Photoshop Basics Part 2! Creating a custom profile image for your Facebook page

Profile images for your Facebook page can be so much more than just a company logo. The profile picture of a Facebook fan page can be maximum 180 by 540 pixels, so get creative with that valuable real estate! Here is part two of a two-part video tutorial on how to use Photoshop to create a custom profile image for your Facebook page. (You can view Part 1 here)

 

When Online Messages Create Offline Action

The best PR and marketing tactics engage a key audience and disseminate information to shape a belief or behavior. Messages are typically pushed from one voice to the masses – but PR at its best utilizes two-way communication to truly interact with the audience. 

Spreading a message to create a behavior is the strategy behind event marketing. The requested behavior is for the target market to come to the event.  C.Fox Communications recently planned, marketed, and hosted a two-part event for the Maryland-based nonprofit Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC).  Since 1976, AHCMC has been Montgomery County’s designated local arts agency. Through their programs and services, AHCMC provides the infrastructure and support necessary to maintain a robust creative community that includes over 350 cultural organizations and 1,200 artists and scholars. 

Our two-part event series "Bootcamp: Kicking Up Your Social Media” and “Blogger Brunch" aimed to provide social media and online media tools to individual artists, cultural organizations, production houses, and festival organizers so they can self-promote more effectively and efficiently.  The goal was not just to engage in-person attendees, but allow people to tune in via social media, and easily track the conversation from wherever their location.

Campaign impact started online through social media channels and cumulated in-person.  The majority of our outreach was conducted online due to a tight budget and association members spread out over a large geographical footprint. We only utilized the digital channels AHCMC already had in place which were email, website, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  Each served established networks to engage attendees with tips such as the ones included in this event recap.

The measurable impact on AHCMC’s Facebook page was a 30% increase in post views and a 31% increase in post feedback during the campaign timeframe. Compared to the average, AHCMC’s Facebook page received 55 more likes during the event marketing campaign. 

To complement Facebook, we pushed out specific and shorter messages on Twitter in addition to establishing a hashtag for this campaign push.  AHCMC's Twitter handle had a 12% increase in followers during this time.

With a mix of pre-drafted and original content, we also drove followers to creativemocmo.com, which reported an increase of traffic during the campaign.  The information page about the Bootcamp had the highest average time spent on the site at 4:54 minutes – quite an impressive length of stay considering today's fast-paced world.

Within the outreach, our impact was felt not just with the 20% of members that typically does 80% of the listening, but instead the repetitive and targeted messages prompted action from a wider group than AHCMC had ever seen.  46% of attendees to the Kicking Up Your Social Media workshop were not “regulars” at AHCMC educational seminars, and 59% of attendees to the Blogger Brunch were not “regulars”.   Many of them were attending their first AHCMC event, representing industries outside of the arts.  The wider audience at these events gave AHCMC an unexpected opportunity to expand its reach.

With the right message and targeted digital channels, online outreach can and does create offline action.   To make this possible it is all about the plan – a written plan featuring a day by day timeline and specific messages for each social media network is key.   And remember social media is a two-way channel, so listen, speak, and interact if you want to gain offline results.   

To see a full review of the two events, check out creativemoco.com/bootcamp.  Once the Blogger Brunch got started we kept the in-person event alive online through a live stream of Tweets.  Review the Twitter Chat featuring the live comments made by USA, Washington City Paper, TBD, Patch, Greg’s List, A Parent in Silver Spring, and the Washington Post. 

Leave a question on creating offline action through online messaging or share your comments below.  

A Look Back: Washington Journalism and Media Conference

Last week, high school students from across the country came to Washington D.C. for the opportunity to connect with some of the biggest names in media. With featured speakers like Hoda Kotb of TODAY and MSNBC's Chuck Todd, the Washington Journalism and Media Conference presented by George Mason University was the place to be for rising communications professionals.

Just a few years removed from the experience myself, I was invited to sit on a panel to discuss the current climate of public relations. My fellow panelists and I offered insight on the evolution of PR, tips for executing a variety of tactics, and advice for what to expect upon entering the PR field, and while I was there to inspire them, the experience left me a bit inspired, too.

This industry is ever changing and the job market is tight, so to be told that their generation, with their social media know-how, has the ability to outperform seasoned professionals caused a universal sigh of relief for many whom already have their sites on what comes after the diploma.

Students asked smart questions, and through the process, I realized how critical it is to always have people willing to guide you through your career.  No matter what industry, mentors have the ability to transform students into leaders, dreamers into doers, and fresh minds into innovators.  Being a mentor goes beyond teaching skills to complete a task, but rather providing the encouragement to think big and self belief. I say this as someone lucky to have encountered many mentors along my professional path. The potential I saw in the conference room last week was limitless and I know there are big things in store as these students start their journeys. I hope that no matter where their careers take them that they never close the door to learning new things or accepting a guiding hand and the rewards both bring.

Organizational Transitions and the Double Down Approach: A Communicator's Guide

In recent months, C.Fox Communications has guided several of our clients through critical transitions. Many of these transitions were signs of positive growth: the appointment of a new CEO, or the acquisition of a complementary organization.  Others were far less positive, and required employee furloughs and layoffs.

We can often get a good read on an industry at large by the very similar experiences of our clients.  These past several months have been no exception.   Whether an organization is focused on education, environment, health or homelessness, it tends to require the very same communications tools to navigate organizational challenges from sector to sector. Among those tools:

• The development of crisp, clear messaging about WHY changes are taking place and WHAT IT MEANS to each person involved.
• The personal and consistent communication to key stakeholders.
• The coordination of a public announcement, if appropriate, that happens only after all internal staff, board, donors and investors have had time to digest and understand the planned changes. 

There are also some important rules of thumb that can apply in almost any organizational transition, a few of which I’ve outlined here:

Change Takes Time.  Whether you’re the CEO or Director of Communications, as a member of your organization’s transition team, you will have knowledge of an organizational change before most others, and as such, you will be given additional time to digest and understand the changes that will soon take effect.   When the time comes to share the news, do it carefully and tactfully, and leave time for questions and conversation.  It will take time for the rest of your team to catch up to where you now are.

Hear Them Out.  When corporate messaging requires shifting, it is often useful to test out the new messaging on a subset of stakeholders. The forms of listening vary greatly by organization, and can include focus groups led by a third party moderator, employee surveys or a series of roundtable lunches or one on ones with the CEO. Find the vehicle that fits best within your organizational culture, and use it.

Cater to the Team. In the case of layoffs, it is rightly appropriate to be concerned about the people that you’re letting go, but in many ways, you need to be more concerned about the people staying behind.  These employees need some comfort that their jobs are secure and that the ship has been righted. There is a good chance that they’ll be asked to take on more work, at the same pay grade, perhaps without an immediate feeling of what their future inside the organization looks like.

Double Down on Internal Communications. There is no more important time to communicate effectively with your staff than during an organizational transition.  Positive or negative, staff like to feel informed and part of the process.  Ensure that the transition is properly messaged in employee newsletters, video blogs, letters from the CEO and in departmental meetings.  Most importantly, ensure that the entire senior team speaks about the transition in a similar way. It’s typical for staff to want to interpret what they’re seeing and hearing especially during times of transition, so cut down on confusion and chatter among groups by being consistent in your messaging.

Keep Clarity in Communication.  Larry Page’s “Rip The Band Aid Off Approach” as described in this recent Fast Company story,  may not be for everyone (“Do it quickly and all at once- sure, it’s painful. And you might scream a bit. But it’s over quickly, and then you can get on with things”) but the concept of clarity in communication should be universal.  Be as clear as possible about the transition – good or bad – and you’ll see far greater buy in from your team.

Facebook Tips from the Experts Part 2

The speakers at PRSA-NCC’s “Facebook for Government, Business, Associations and Non-profits,” event shared some terrific information at their recent event. Below is Part 2 of my favorite tips all from Amy Ganderson of the Nature Conservancy. If you missed it yesterday, be sure to check out Part 1.

• Amy Ganderson, associate director of digital marketing, The Nature Conservancy
  
  • Treat your Facebook page like a website. You should have a custom landing page. If you don’t have the budget for a paid program, there are plenty of free options out there; you may just have to deal with the program’s branding on the page.
  • Facebook is very visual. Photo content often ranks higher in clicks than any other posts, so be sure to incorporate pictures into your strategy.
  • Facebook is a chance to be fun and funny. The Nature Conservancy tried a “choose your own caption” post for a photo and saw great interaction. Play around, and if it works, why not make it a weekly feature?
  • Leverage eager participants in your organization. When your organization is made up of different parts and/or has multiple locations, every niche may want its own Facebook page. Not only does the Nature Conservancy pass out guidelines, but it requires that all pages go through an application process that forces potential participants to lay out strategy, how often they’ll post, content ideas, etc.  That way, you’re not stifling any group that is willing to put in the work, and you’re filtering out groups that would be in over their heads. Amy has a monthly call with all the page leaders to check in and share tips. Very useful!
  • Don’t forget about Facebook ads. The Nature Conservancy directly attributes a significant spike in fans to Facebook ads. They’re cheap, and if you want to test the waters, start with targeting friends of your page’s fans (friends of friends).

Thank you to all the speakers at this event. The full podcast is available here.

Facebook Tips from the Experts Part 1

Recently I listened to “Facebook for Government, Business, Associations and Non-profits,” an event hosted by PRSA-NCC. The speakers had a lot of great information, so I’m sharing Part 1 of my favorite comments and tips today and Part 2 tomorrow –- stay tuned.

• Read Holman, new media strategist, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • A Facebook page is not the same as a Facebook presence. What’s more important than your actual Facebook page is increasing the ability of people to share information (with Share buttons) from your website and blog. The easier you make it, the greater your social media presence.
  • Images on every website and blog post are key. Once people paste a link to Facebook, a description and image from that page automatically populates. If you don’t have an image associated with each page of your website and every blog post, that dramatically decreases sharability.

• John Wolf, senior director, public relations, Marriott International   
  
  • Always ask, “What are my business objectives?” Because Facebook (and social media as a whole) is resource intensive, you need to be able to identify how your social media strategy is going to help you meet those objectives. 
  • What else do your fans care about? When trying to think of ways to engage with fans, research what your fans are fans of. Marriot fans tend to like football, so Marriot posts about football.

• Laura Hubbard, International CES, Consumer Electronics Association
  • Deal with incorrect comments. Instead of deleting non-factual comments, see them as ideas for your next post; something to correct.
  • Check yourself. Worried you’re posting too much? Check Facebook Insights to see if people are hiding your feed.

• Steve Wymer, president, Senate Press Secretaries Association, communications director to Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.):
  • Know your brand. When you’re a public figure, especially when you’re in the political realm, you have to strike a balance between being authentic and personal brand reputation – in other words, between intimacy and getting in trouble. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) have had success making their pages more personal, but you should always beware of the risks.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow.

·         Read Holman, new media strategist, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

o   A Facebook page ¹ Facebook presence. What’s more important than your actual Facebook page is increasing the ability of people to share information (with Share buttons) from your website and blog. The easier you make it, the greater your social media presence.

o   Images on every website and blog post are key. Once people paste a link to Facebook, a description and image from that page automatically populates. If you don’t have an image associated with each page of your website and every blog post, that dramatically decreases sharability.

 

·         Laura Hubbard, International CES, Consumer Electronics Association

o   Deal with incorrect comments. Instead of deleting non-factual comments, see them as ideas for your next post; something to correct.

o   Check yourself. Worried you’re posting too much? Check Facebook Insights to see if people are hiding your feed.

 

·         Steve Wymer, president, Senate Press Secretaries Association, communications director to Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.):

o   Know your brand. When you’re a public figure, especially when you’re in the political realm, you have to strike a balance between being authentic and personal brand reputation – in other words, between intimacy and getting in trouble. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) have had success making their pages more personal, but it’s not recommended for everyone because of the risks.

 

·         John Wolf, senior director, public relations, Marriott International

o   Always ask, “What are my business objectives?” Because Facebook (and social media as a whole) is resource intensive, you need to be able to identify how your social media strategy is going to help you meet those objectives.

o   What else do your fans care about? When trying to think of ways to engage with fans, research what your fans are fans of. Marriot fans tend to like football, so Marriot posts about football.

Enchantment

Recently Entrepreneur Magazine hosted Guy Kawasaki's talk "Enchant and Engage More Customers with Social Media" just outside of DC. The session was based on Guy's current book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. The event wasn't your typical social media conference, which I highly valued, and it highlighted one core truth - no matter the tools or message the act of PR is enchantment.

This idea was solidified when post-event I started reading Guy's book and saw that the first few chapters reinforced that enhancement is present whenever people are trying to make the world a better place. Making the world a better place is why we work with mission-driven companies and organizations here at CFox. We tell our client stories as our small part in making the world a better place, and we can tell more stories the more enchanting we are.

Below are a few enchanting tips from Guy's presentation, you can buy his book here, and check out the TwitterChat from the session using the hashtag #smallbizworkshop.  Agree or disagree with these tips? Leave a comment below or tweet C.Fox (@CFoxcomm), me (@TMStrategy) or  Guy (@guykawasaki). 

 1) Be Perfect - be deep, intellectual, complete, empowering, and elegant.  This applies to the work you produce as well as you as a person.

2) Messaging - always make your messaging short, sweet, and swallowable.

3) Mission - think mantra not traditional mission statement for your business and your personal brand.

4) Prepare - don't wait for an issue to arise, conduct a pre-mortiem. Pretend you fail and figure out what you can fix before you actually fail.

5) Audience - enchant all influencers. Don't assume who is the decision maker, interest and engage all members of your audience.

6) Proof - provide social proof of your messaging. Example is the white earbuds of Apple products - they grew in popularity because seeing more white earbuds made you think more people thought Apple was best.

7) Case Studies - Guy said best enchantment case study is the movie Never Say Never and companies to study using premiere PR and social media campaigns are Virgin America, Ford, and Comcast.  The event sponsor, Hiscox, also unveiled their new video campaign called Leap Year (leapyear.tv) which is an online TV show which never mentions their brand - something to keep an eye on for sure.

8) Greatful Dead - not my cup of tea musically but loved hearing how they enchanted and evangelized their concert goers.  They would set up taping stations at all concerts so that fans could take their favorite songs home and share with others.

9) Social Media - sure Guy gave some tips like using holykaw and posterous as far as social media tools but his most important tip was to think like a "baker not an eater" when it comes to social media. Bakers look at what they can create for others and eaters look at what is immediately available to them.

10) Main Takeaway - have the likeability of Richard Branson, the trustworthiness of Zappos, and the quality of Apple.

 I'll leave you with a quote from Guy that can apply personally, in planning social media tactics, and for overall brand strategy: 

"I don't do anything by accident - I am always thinking...."

Excerpts from my #ConnectChat Lecture: Kickstarting Social Media Efforts for Nonprofits

Last week, I was pleased to sit in as PR Newswire’s guest in their #Connect Chat series, a 90 minute Twitter discussion, which fosters active and engaging conversation between communications professionals, experts and the media. #Connect Chat asked me to focus on the topic of Nonprofits and social media- one topic that we know very well at C.Fox Communications, and the conversation was fantastic.  Many questions were the same as those we’ve heard from clients and potential clients – including how to overcome the fear of social media, to fundraising efforts – so I thought I’d offer a quick recap in this blog post, plus a few additional thoughts that didn’t make it into the online conversation. I invite you to read the entire transcript at PR Newswire’s Profnet blog, located here.

 

Many in the #nonprofit world still don't use #socialmedia due to fear. How do you convince them or naysayers to start using it?  #Digitalcomms + #socialmedia aren’t going away. If you don’t start now, it’s going to be much harder to catch up later. There's definitely a lack of control, and a big learning curve. You have to be OK with other people telling your story for you. 

How does #socialmedia make a real difference in the #nonprofit world?  #nonprofits are on tight budgets (as are many for profits).  #socialmedia levels the playing field. All it takes is creativity, consistency and yes, time, to build a surprisingly strong donor base online. #connectchat

What's the first step in creating a #socialmedia plan for a #nonprofit?  Get buy in from the top. #socialmedia shouldn’t be seen as a little project on the side. To be effective, it must be part of the total nonprofit comms plan.

What questions should you ask yourself at the start of a strategy session?  First, identify the specific audience to reach. Do you want to focus on cultivating donors, communicating with members, the general public, or your industry? Too many orgs overlook this critical question, which sets the groundwork for the #socialmedia strategy.

Other questions that we advise: Set goals and objectives that can be measured, and figure out which platforms are being used most often by your target audience.

Also, a lot of time goes into social media development, so think about campaigns that have power to live from year to year, so you can be most efficient in your planning and execution.

 
How do you decide which tools are best for your organization?  Listen to where your target audience is strongest, and first focus your efforts there.  Do that by spending time on various platforms, and following others that you know are in similar fields.  Or, survey your members/donors.

How does a #nonprofit use a social network for communication between their members?  It’s all about engagement, and bringing the unique attributes of that nonprofit to life in an online medium. Many nonprofits we work with use Facebook Causes as a successful fundraising and advocacy tool. Others use social media to organize volunteers or simply keep the cause top of mind.

What are some common mistakes people make & how do you avoid them?   Social media doesn’t stop before 9 and after 5, and it def doesn’t stop on the weekends.  While we advise limiting the number of pre-drafted tweets, and facebook posts, they are helpful especially when resources are tight, and a certain level of activity at nights and on weekends will help your cause remain top of mind.

How would you use each of the big three (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) in a #nonprofit?  Twitter is great as a platform to connect with #journos.  Offer breaking news there and give your Exec Dir a voice as industry leader. Facebook is all about member and donor engagement. Give incentives for members to like your page, and then offer regular contests to a free show, if you’re an arts nonprofit, or lecture, if you’re in the #ed space. Spark conversations, and request feedback. LinkedIn is critical for your exec team. Make sure all board members note their involvement in their profiles, as does the exec team.  It’s a great way to cultivate new donor relationships, and find/attract new staff, when hiring.

How can you make your company stand out from the rest who are trying to do the same? Creativity, relevance and simplicity win in socialmedia. Give people a different way of engaging, but don’t be overly complicated about it. If you’re hosting an event, give a back stage tour to your Facebook community via an embedded ustream feed, or if you’re in the health space, have your resident Doctor step in and offer insights, like we’re doing here, for the industry. But, whatever it is, do it often.

A huge concern for a #nonprofit is fundraising and how to do it successfully. How can they use social media to raise funds?  First, a tight deadline always spurs action online.  Give people four weeks to donate, and incentivize it by tying it to a Board or anonymous donor match.

Also, the best campaigns cross-pollinate. Use Facebook, direct mail, Twitter and email blasts in a tightly integrated fashion. Take a mix ‘n match approach to the tools you use so that you hit the most people possible.

Be clear in your ask. As opposed to showing first-time Facebook fan page visitors the default “Wall” tab (which has no clear call to action), create a pseudo “New Fan” landing page that includes three simple buttons:

• “Click ‘Like’ above to join the conversation!”
• “Join the Cause”
• “Take Action”

 And finally, think from the end user’s perspective. Everyone wants to know “whats in it for me”, so tell them.

Are donors really online?  Did President Obama win the presidency?  Yes, donors really are online.  The percentage of donors is if course different per organization, but I expect the number will only rise in the coming years. Orgs like NetworkforGood and DemocracyEngine make it so easy to collect funds online, so if you’re not tuned into them currently, you should be.

Will these suggestions help a one-person fundraising department?   Of course. Even if you’re only one person, engage your best volunteers, or org’s Board of Directors to support the efforts online.  You really only need one strong person leading the charge, but find ways to engage staff, board, or volunteers to support efforts.

Now that we have some basics down, how do you go back to your staff and start implementing the strategies? Call a meeting, and bring some of these questions to the team…”What are we trying to achieve via #socialmedia? What will we provide of value that our fans cannot find on our website? 

 What reason(s) will we offer to bring them back on a regular basis? What reason(s) will we offer to share our cause with their networks? How much time can we reasonably devote to social media per week? How can we include our fans/followers in the process? (hosting a video contest, inviting testimonials, etc.)