tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25691477330355725322024-03-13T11:18:20.138-07:00Natalie Zensius: Marketing Communications Strategynzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-92063132232019518142017-01-23T14:25:00.005-08:002017-01-23T14:31:07.936-08:00Newsjacking Done Right<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFk-Lbq3SqLGrsL_OouCokPMa2-ZxQo-zycm3AUQfcokQLvvImvy6xsLFrth0GLf1fAGaNkHFAhcn_U98pWnhbXxAtfX96it_EaRQOZ2L1IPuwPQ1GmtRyDPsDjmHokSivn87Fc1J9o0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-23+at+2.19.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFk-Lbq3SqLGrsL_OouCokPMa2-ZxQo-zycm3AUQfcokQLvvImvy6xsLFrth0GLf1fAGaNkHFAhcn_U98pWnhbXxAtfX96it_EaRQOZ2L1IPuwPQ1GmtRyDPsDjmHokSivn87Fc1J9o0/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-01-23+at+2.19.24+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This is a GREAT use of newsjacking for a nonprofit. The meme comes from a cat shelter, <a href="http://www.communityconcernforcats.org/" target="_blank">Community Concern for Cats</a>, looking to get more cats adopted. They used Counselor to President Trump <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/jan/23/kellyanne-conways-back-and-forth-chuck-todd-alter/" target="_blank">Kellyanne Conway's claim</a> that there are no lies, just "alternative facts", to further their cause. Well-played.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. <br />Learn more at <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius." target="_blank">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></span></i></div>
nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-12922186577661034632015-01-23T14:31:00.000-08:002017-01-23T14:48:11.685-08:00The Social Media Age Debate Continues<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Right on cue, after the Cathryn Sloane firestorm, an article appeared in Inc. magazine this past weekend-<a href="http://www.inc.com/hollis-thomases/social-media-dont-put-intern-in-charge.html" target="_blank">11 Reasons a 23-Year-Old Shouldn't Run Your Social Media.</a> As with Ms. Sloane's article, this one generated a lot of comments. Can you say link bait?<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius." target="_blank">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i></div>
nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-48530663497823559152012-08-08T16:53:00.000-07:002012-08-08T17:10:04.419-07:00Facebook Launches Facebook Stories-Is It About Us Or Them?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
Facebook recently launched <a href="http://www.facebookstories.com/" target="_blank">Facebook Stories</a>. It's a website "dedicated to sharing the extraordinary, quirky and thought-provoking
stories and ideas from the more than 950 million people around the world
who make up Facebook's community." </div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
The plunge of Facebook stock after its IPO seems to indicate that it has more of a cultural significance than an economic one, so I'm not surprised to see that they're employing user stories to promote their social clout. The
<a href="http://www.facebookstories.com/stories/30/video-people-you-may-know" target="_blank">first story</a>, about a man who completely lost his memory after he contracted tubercular meningitis, then used the "people you may know" function to piece his life back together, is
a remarkable example of Facebook's power.<br />
<br />
Congrats to the team who conceived of this and put it together. I just hope that they are able to nuance the messaging and positioning on the site so that it doesn't come across as a platform to say "thank goodness we're here," (which is somewhat sinister in a Big Brother-y sort of way), but more of a means to show how people are using Facebook to make a real difference in each other's lives.<br />
<br />
And for Zuckerberg et al, that's always a thin line to walk...<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius." target="_blank">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i></span></div>
</div>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-31681435366734107002012-07-26T15:03:00.001-07:002012-07-26T15:07:09.784-07:00The Cathryn Sloane Firestorm-Where Are You Ms. Sloane?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The technorati are not
amused over recent college graduate Cathryn Sloane's <a href="http://nextgenjournal.com/2012/07/why-every-social-media-manager-should-be-under-25/" target="_blank">blog post</a> that all social media managers should be under 25. I wont enter the fray on
that argument; suffice to say that in my experience, usage of social media for
personal interactions does not equal qualifications gained over time managing a
brand. (One of the complaints I often hear from Marketing and Communications
Directors who have young staff working under them is that their team excels at understanding
<i>how</i> new media tools work, but they don’t
always know <i>why </i>they should be using
the tools in the context of brand management.)<i><u><o:p></o:p></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">What fascinates me about
this story, is that more than 500 people commented on Ms. Sloane’s article and numerous
folks took the time to write articulate rebuttal articles, and even linked back
to “prebuttals” such as <a href="http://problogservice.com/2010/11/02/social-media-is-not-an-entry-level-position/" target="_blank">this one</a>. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;">In short, it’s been a
veritable link fest, engendering the kind of response to a piece of content
that most of us who work in social media hope, and work hard for. Yet the crowd
that she so successfully engaged has received nothing but radio silence from
Ms. Sloane since the article was posted. She even went so far as to block
followers on <a href="https://twitter.com/cathrynsloane25" target="_blank">her Twitter account</a> who had a dissenting opinion to her article. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;">This
is a problem.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I tell my clients to compare
"engaging" on social media to going to a large, in-person networking
party. There’ll be important people there that you should get to know, as
perhaps they could be the key to the particular nut you’re trying to crack at
the moment. You may know a few people already, so you shouldn’t ignore them, but
you also have to have conversations with people you don’t know–whether it’s by
listening in on an existing conversation to see where you can add something of
value, or approaching a stranger and striking up a dialogue. And you have to do
this in a respectful way; you have to be smart, interesting, funny and a really
good listener and someone who can keep a conversation flowing. You must also hold
people’s interest, so they feel a connection and start to see something in you.
You never know who’s going to be there, and what role they could have in your
life and career, so you wouldn't go to this party dressed in a risqué outfit,
you wouldn't share intimate and inappropriate details about your personal life and
you certainly wouldn’t start throwing out incendiary remarks to get attention
unless you really had a good reason for doing so, and were prepared to defend
them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">What </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ms. Sloane</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> did was the social
media equivalent of dropping a politically incorrect bomb at an important cocktail party, then making a run for the door. While the dropping of the bomb itself might
have been a strategic move to encourage link bait, her response seemingly was
not. Not only did she not explain her position further–something anyone who has
taken an undergraduate critical thinking class knows is, well, critical to
credibility–she also missed a golden opportunity to engage and continue the debate
with her detractors which could have created meaningful dialogue and provided a
lot of value across the Internet. The fact that she eschewed such rigorous
discourse is more damaging to her reputation than her actual article because we
have to surmise that she’s either intellectually lazy or thin-skinned, and maybe a
bit of both–it certainly doesn’t help her argument that young people just
“know” how to be social, better than their older counterparts, because they are
digital natives who’ve been using social media from a young age. Ultimately, the fact that she hasn't yet
stepped up to the plate to take responsibility for and address the impact of her
provocation, makes her look, at best, inconsistent and certainly not someone you’d want to be
in relationship with–which is still a lot of what being in business is all about. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The mind boggles as to what exciting things may have come her way–interviews, speaking engagements, job offers, book deals, etc., but </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;">I hope that no-one offers </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;">Ms. Sloane</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;"> a job in social media–at least, not yet, anyway–until she’s learned (or displays)
better etiquette. Her behavior is the
antithesis of how networking and making real connections works, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;">whether it’s in person or on the Internet. I</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;">n professional settings it could seriously damage relationships and ultimately a brand’s
reputation. In any case, it’s behavior that shouldn’t be rewarded.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And that’s true, no matter
how old you are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius." target="_blank">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i></span></div>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-87016376953479161382012-05-02T09:35:00.000-07:002012-08-09T09:21:29.033-07:00Content Creation and Curation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="line-height: 1.625;">How do organizations maximize their limited resources and take advantage of various online channels to not only put out information they themselves create, but to recycle content – content from their community, and also content from other organizations and resources that are relevant to their work and useful to their community?</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a _mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Curation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Curation" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625; text-decoration: none;">Content curation</a> (the act of finding, grouping, organizing and sharing the best and most relevant content on a specific issue online), can be very resource and capacity-friendly if done strategically. The challenge is in the strategy however: which channels should be used for which purpose? What kinds of content works best? What kind of volume? Frequency?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
According to a forthcoming report: <a _mce_href="http://www.idealware.org/articles/email_comm_mix.php" href="http://www.idealware.org/articles/email_comm_mix.php" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625; text-decoration: none;">“Content Creation and Curation in Your Communications Mix”</a> by the <a _mce_href="http://www.nten.org/" href="http://www.nten.org/" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625; text-decoration: none;">Nonprofit Technology Network</a> and <a _mce_href="http://idealware.org/" href="http://idealware.org/" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625; text-decoration: none;">Idealware</a>, <strong style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">78% of nonprofit organizations do not have a curation strategy.</strong> Yet time-strapped organizations are still using lots of channels – almost four each on average: websites are the most widely used, followed by broadcast email, then direct mail. Facebook is the next most widely used, followed by Twitter, YouTube, then blogs.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Regardless of whether you are a nonprofit or a for profit company, how can you maximize your time and be strategic about giving your audiences the best of what's out there through the right mix of content creation and curation?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<strong style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">1. Start with your goals.</strong><br />
For each "stream", ask your self:</div>
<ul style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 1.625em 2.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">Who is the target audience?</li>
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">What does that audience care about?</li>
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">What's going to encourage them to engage?</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Identify the channels you're planning to use, and what audiences are going to be the main focus of each.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<strong style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">2. Aggregate potential content into a single place first.</strong><br />
Pull in good resources so you have them all in one place, and then decide from there how to parse them out to different channels.</div>
<ul style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 1.625em 2.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">Find an aggregating tool that works best for your team (workflow, ease of use), and your end goal (what kind of content? for what use?)</li>
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">Divide things to follow across team members, according to their interest, so that it becomes more manageable and part of everyone’s workflow</li>
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">Assign someone to define what's in the queue and where the curated content goes– what makes sense for your Twitter feed, Facebook, eNews, etc.</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
In addition, repurpose the queue wherever possible; you’ve spent the time gathering resources, be sure to pull the best resources out and use them elsewhere as much as you can.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<strong style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">4. Find the "ideal" mix of created-to-curated-to-promotional content.</strong><br />
Not all social media tools are created equally. Twitter and Facebook, for example, have the most complex mix of use and not one type of content; while for blogs and e-newsletters, original content is typically more dominant. A good informal rule of thumb for content: aim for 1/3rd curated, 1/3rd new content (including curated new resources), and no more than 1/3 promotional.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<strong style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">3. Match each tool to the kind of content strategy you have there.</strong><br />
Don't start with the tool and ask "what can I use it for?" Ask "what do I want to accomplish?" first, then match the right tool and strategy. Some examples:</div>
<ul style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 1.625em 2.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">On Twitter, re-tweeting is really important, but make sure you're adding to the Twitterverse value rather than just pinging the same info around that everyone's already seen elsewhere</li>
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">For blogs, people expect original content, but a really useful blog could have its primary purpose be to round up information from elsewhere and put it in context for readers</li>
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">Publish a "Best of the Web" newsletter to round up other good nonprofit tech blog posts and articles from around the web</li>
<li style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">Send a daily e-mail with links to the best articles of the day, as well as news from other sources</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em;">
<strong style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">4. Use fewer channels more strategically.</strong><br />
It doesn't make sense for busy small and medium-sized nonprofits to be experimenting way out at the bleeding edge of tools. Let large nonprofits and the business world figure out what seems to make sense, and what's a good return on the time, and then do that.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; margin-bottom: 1.625em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Organizations that take the time to be strategic about content on their various online channels are more efficient and ultimately ensure the ongoing relevance of their work.</div>
<a _mce_href="http://idealware.org/" href="http://idealware.org/" style="color: #1b8be0; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625; text-decoration: none;">Idealware</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625;">has a</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625;"> </span><a _mce_href="http://www.idealware.org/reports/nonprofit-social-media-decision-guide" href="http://www.idealware.org/reports/nonprofit-social-media-decision-guide" style="color: #1b8be0; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.625; text-decoration: none;">free Social Media Decision Maker’s guide</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625;">, that includes a lot of research, demographics, and a workbook that can help you decide what social media channels make sense to use for what.</span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius." target="_blank">Learn more about Natalie.</a></span></i></div>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-59255455846008111162012-04-26T10:22:00.000-07:002012-05-09T07:56:29.546-07:00May The Burning Bridges Light Your Way<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s always been true that success in business is predicated
on one’s ability to build enduring relationships. And people’s reputations have always followed
(or preceded) them. But now, as the walls between our personal and professional
lives continue to crumble due to social media, we’re still connected online
socially to people we no longer work with, which makes relationship and
reputation management an ongoing concern.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not only easy to trace a person’s path and network of
relationships online, it’s even easier to draw conclusions about whether to recommend
someone do business with them from how they conduct themselves there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take note of people’s behavior online, because according to
a <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/study_your_facebook_personality_is_the_real_you.php" target="_blank">recent study</a>, it's very likely consistent with who they
are offline. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius." target="_blank">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i></div>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-49935657698968700162012-02-22T11:35:00.000-08:002012-05-09T14:56:45.182-07:00Infographic Of The Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here's a great infographic, created from this <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/create-content-ideas/" target="_blank">Copy Blogger</a> guest blog post, that can help with content creation–something we all struggle with from time to time.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/create-content-infographic/" style="font-size: small;"><img alt="22 Ways to Create Compelling Content - Infographic" height="4111" src="http://netdna.copyblogger.com/images/copyblogger_infographic_1.png" title="22 Ways to Create Compelling Content - Infographic" width="500" /></a><br />
<small><span style="font-size: small;">Like this infographic? Get more <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/content-marketing/">content marketing</a> tips from <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/">Copyblogger</a>.</span></small><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</span></div>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-67142937754328020222011-06-07T13:25:00.000-07:002014-03-20T16:35:10.838-07:00Non-Profit Shouldn't Mean "No Money" - 15 Ways Non Profits Can Create Economic Sustainability<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
These aren’t easy times for non-profits. External pressures from the economy are compromising the philanthropic sector and most non-profit leaders report that there just isn’t as much money to go around anymore.<br />
<br />
Like the small businesses that are weathering this economy, non-profits are saying yes to projects but not necessarily yes to more staff. Small business owners and non-profit leaders alike are rightly nervous about adding more fixed costs, but one essential difference between non-profits and small businesses is that even in good economic times, most non-profits revenue sources are inherently break-even, or worse, losses. How many small businesses could stay in business by providing a product or service, which routinely cost them more than they were paid to deliver? Not many, yet this hand to mouth existence is the norm for many non-profits. No wonder their leaders are also dealing with the internal pressures–such as burn out and high turnover–that come with trying to do too much with too little, especially when community needs are higher than ever.<br />
<br />
Being funder/donor driven means most non-profits have historically had a lack of agency over what they could say no to. It’s hard to stop doing things with expenses to worry about, even when there’s a huge amount of work involved in getting a donation or grant. One Executive Director I know wryly notes that there is often an inverse relationship between the size of an award and the amount of staff time that has to go into getting it. But the old screen of: “Is it on mission?” “Is it funded?” doesn’t work anymore. Just because a project has a funder attached to it, doesn’t mean it’s sustainable.<br />
<br />
Not surprisingly, there’s going to be a <a href="http://www.bridgespan.org/finding-leaders-for-americas-nonprofits.aspxhttp://www.bridgespan.org/finding-leaders-for-americas-nonprofits.aspxhttp://www.bridgespan.org/finding-leaders-for-americas-nonprofits.aspx">dearth of non-profit leaders</a> in the next 5-10 years. It’s tough out there, but the good news is that times like these present opportunities for non-profits to rethink how they do business.Whether funding is restricted versus unrestricted isn’t really the question or the issue anymore – now it’s about working to get beyond break-even and aiming for modest profitability.<br />
<br />
Granted, it’s hard to report a cash reserve to funders without them saying, “you obviously don’t need our money”, but struggling to get by no longer works – there needs to be change in how business is thought about and conducted in this sector so it can thrive. This will happen when non-profits start evaluating the opportunity cost of every project and say “no thank you” when it’s appropriate. What does this change look like? Here’s some ideas to take back to your organization:<b> </b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Understand that foundations are trying harder than ever to spread the wealth.</b><br />
Mobilize around this and decide to agree not to take on any projects that will pay less than the time you have to put into securing them.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Realize that profit is not a dirty word.</b><br />
Think about the language you’re using. Are you really about no profit? Is that inherently sustainable? What alternative terms would be more powerful and accurate for you and your funders?<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Get better at saying no, by not making decisions alone.</b><br />
Listen to your staff; not just through financial metrics but also in how the delivery of service is going.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Discard the notion that saying no means resources will go away, (but be ready if it does).</b><br />
Foundations might have been pulling you along because you’ve been in their portfolio. Re-shifting is happening with everyone right now.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Look at the bad habits/ assumptions you need to eradicate going forward.</b><br />
Don’t be afraid to sit down and talk about what’s not working.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Abolish financial illiteracy</b>.<br />
There are four or five things about a non-profit balance sheet that you should know. <a href="http://www.compasspoint.org/" target="_blank">CompassPoint</a> has excellent fiscal literacy classes for non-profits.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Embed economics into your strategic plan.</b><br />
What kind of stuff did you say yes to this year that hasn’t taken your organization where you want it to go financially<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Build clear revenue goals into your operational plan.</b><br />
If you haven’t hit your revenue goals for May, re-evaluate your budget and plan for the rest of the year.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Create 3 budgets – optimal, maintenance and contingency.</b><br />
Use values-based decision-making in your approach to budget cuts. If you don’t have the cash it takes to do the work, and be modestly profitable, it’s not sustainable<b>.</b></li>
<li><b>Stop thinking of your organization as a pass-through for other people’s resources.</b><br />
If grants require you to be break even, round things out with donations or earned income. A hybrid business model is key.</li>
<li><b>Make financial surplus a line item in the budget.</b><br />
Talk to funders transparently about wanting to have a surplus to be sustainable. Economic sustainability means you can be around for longer to do the work.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Work towards modest profitability.</b><br />
Aim for at least 3 months reserve in the ban<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Understand which funders see you as being core to their strategy.</b><br />
Deeply understand how they think about their impact and whether you are central to that impact in their eyes.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Stop writing grant proposals, start interviewing clients.</b><br />
Share your client’s stories with funders. It’s not about your organization and what it can do; it’s about the impact you’re having.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Be clear about your purpose and be passionate about it.</b><br />
People naturally support leaders. If you’re engaged, excited and not burnt out, or worse yet, bored, they are more likely to support the cause you’re stomping for. </li>
</ol>
In good times or bad, social change and economics shouldn’t be at odds in this sector – they’re intrinsically connected and critical to its success and sustainability.<i> </i><br />
<br />
<i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius"> http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i></div>
nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-58831902323362630042011-05-09T10:29:00.000-07:002011-06-20T21:37:25.807-07:00A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The act of creating images, diagrams, or animations to get a message across has been an effective way to communicate both abstract and concrete ideas since the dawn of man. Visualization is an indispensable tool for marketing communications professionals, especially when there are large amounts of data that the intended audience needs to absorb quickly.<br />
<br />
This video, from <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/philanthropyguy">Ben Klasky,</a> does a great job of conveying the reach and impact of the non profit sector in a compelling way. (Non profits play a significant role in the economy - US non profits alone generate upwards of $1 trillion every year).<span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: #6d6900; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"> </span>It's aptly called <i>Know Your Sector </i>and really is worth the 3:40 it'll take you to watch it; especially if you work for a non profit, volunteer your time, or donate money to one, which, according to Ben's statistics, is many of us. The <a href="http://philanthropyguy.blogspot.com/2010/06/test-post.html">bibliography</a> of the sources he used to create the piece can be found on his <a href="http://www.philanthropyreports.org/index.html">website</a>.<br />
<a href="http://philanthropyguy.blogspot.com/2010/06/test-post.html" target="_blank"><br />
</a><br />
<object height="320" width="520"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0myNj8BHt_4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0myNj8BHt_4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="320"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i></div>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-1717577278139450942011-04-30T22:37:00.000-07:002011-06-20T21:41:17.761-07:00Mad Libs For Non-Profits: Sample Follow Us On Twitter Copy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPy-BzLfMlYoH4vsLSTUFBNwstBy-ChJV5ztrkPNRorFfJDTppyk_asLBJyXaIH-J14n4sWORfkn9Z3U71xDSb89ZYxp4srUOsR5FsE9QTZ2JPZ-zMRfoi5ebjDM-koh-IVsyF6o7xO8/s1600/tmpphpbmkgx1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPy-BzLfMlYoH4vsLSTUFBNwstBy-ChJV5ztrkPNRorFfJDTppyk_asLBJyXaIH-J14n4sWORfkn9Z3U71xDSb89ZYxp4srUOsR5FsE9QTZ2JPZ-zMRfoi5ebjDM-koh-IVsyF6o7xO8/s200/tmpphpbmkgx1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Sometimes, when I'm under the gun to write marketing copy, I wish I could pluck exactly what I need from the internet. I'm not suggesting plagiarism, just getting ideas from what other people did well before me. Below this paragraph is some copy I put together for a non-profit looking to introduce their new Twitter account to their members. I used the copy on <a href="http://www.espares.co.uk/news/a/1228/why-you-should-follow-us-on-twitter.html">this page</a> as my starting point to get inspired. If you're under the gun to get something out about Twitter and need some text to get your juices flowing, feel free to use what I wrote as your starting point. Just let me know as I'd love to see the end result.<br />
<br />
You’re busy. We understand. If you don’t have time to go to our website regularly and check in to see what’s new, consider creating a Twitter account and follow <b>[<i>insert your organization's name here</i>]</b> at <b>[<i>insert your organization's twitter account here.</i>]</b><br />
<br />
Twitter allows you to exchange information quickly and in real time between <b>[<i>insert your organization's name here</i>]</b> and fellow <b>[<i>insert issue, activity, etc. her</i>e]</b> lovers. We tweet about breaking <b>[<i>insert issue, activity, etc. her</i>e]</b> news, plus activities and events at <b>[<i>insert your organization's name here</i>]</b> that will keep you informed about our work. <br />
<br />
Twitter facilitates real-time interaction. Do you know you can send and receive tweets by text on your mobile phone? Tweet any message to <b>[<i>insert your organization's twitter account here</i>]</b> and quickly send us things we should be aware of: comments, critique, questions, or simply let us know what you love about <b>[<i>insert issue, activity, etc. her</i>e.] </b>We’re interested in you and what you have to say.<br />
<br />
We don’t just do ‘corporate’ tweets so you’re just as likely to hear about <b>[<i>insert issue, activity, etc. her</i>e] </b>as you are to hear about <b>[<i>insert issue, activity, etc. her</i>e.] </b>We also promise that you won’t ever get inundated with tweets; we’d rather tweet about things that we find genuinely interesting enough to share, (even if that means we tweet less often), or that we want you to comment on and pass along.<b> </b><br />
<br />
We’re interested in using Twitter to get to know our members better and we will follow everyone if it looks like they have a real Twitter account. And you needn’t worry, if you do start to follow us you won’t get a spammy automated direct message that tries to <b>[<i>insert issue, activity, etc. her</i>e.]</b> We’ll only direct message you if it’s a relevant message that only you should see.<br />
<br />
See for yourself by visiting the <b>[<i>insert your organization's name here</i>]</b> Twitter page. If you’d like to follow us you can also do so from that page.<br />
<br />
We hope to see you soon on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/nzensius">Twitter</a>!</div>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-5115707038563510112010-12-20T23:27:00.000-08:002010-12-22T10:00:43.524-08:00Curation Is The New AggregationAs 2010 comes to a close I’m betting many marketing communications professionals have had a challenging year hitting their goals. Organizations that I work with all express a desire to attract more customers, members, engagement, donations, etc. in 2011. One strategy that keeps coming up as a means to accomplish this is to bolster efforts to become the ‘go to’ place on the web for all the information stakeholders need about a product, service or issue. What this generally translates to is a bigger, richer, denser website–full of information, media and links, created, collected and fed from around the web.<br />
<br />
This is all well and good, but it isn’t necessarily going to help reach the goals listed above, even if the effort is undertaken with more gusto next year. There are organizations that envision themselves as central content hubs, with others providing them funds, attention, time and patronage as needed because of their hub status. The danger of this worldview is that it's at odds with the realities of a society that’s both energized and exhausted by social media and connectedness. As Seth Godin points out in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/dp/1591843162">Linchpin</a>,</i> being the information hub is no longer a differentiator because anyone can now find and learn almost everything–and then some–on the Internet. Plus, other organizations are just as busy generating and collecting content based on their own needs and interests; creating a glut of information on the web, much of it overlapping and all of it competing for people’s attention. Web 2.0 technologies have given organizations the ability to collect and share content easily. This can be stimulating, but it can also become repetitive and tiresome.<br />
<br />
Smart brands know that they must figure out how to integrate to be relevant in a socially connected world but not overwhelm or fatigue their constituents in the process.<br />
<br />
One way to do this is to take a step back and analyze the usefulness of the content being aggregated. Mechanized “more” is not necessarily better–it’s far more powerful when organizations use their expertise to make selective choices about what’s relevant and what will engage their core audiences. This is where the art of curation comes in. If aggregation is about collecting content somewhat indiscriminately, curation––very much a human, and sometimes time consuming, endeavor ––is about choosing content; it’s condensing overwhelming complexity into easily digestible, enjoyable and useful chunks. Or as Tom Foresnki puts it, <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/foremski/curation-versus-aggregation-represents-human-web-versus-machine-web/1569">“curation versus aggregation represents human web versus machine web.”</a><br />
<br />
As the web evolves, people will increasingly look to the people behind the organizations that they have relationships with and trust them to make choices about what content they get to see based on the things they care about and the depth of their interest levels. The organizations that have success in 2011 might just be those that can delight their constituents by being good curators for them. One caveat about curating: the right to deliver anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them has to be earned. It's power comes with permission.<br />
<br />
Aggregation will still have its place, (any organization that hasn’t developed the expertise needed to set up the automated collection of specific content on their website should make it mission critical for 2011), but to have added value, there should be a layer of curation over it so that it's more selective and customized; as the web evolves, it’s part of what customers will come to know and trust a brand for.<br />
<br />
Regardless of whether it’s aggregated or curated, all website content requires a strategy that aligns with the larger organizational goals. It's critical to know why content is being put together, who will use it and how they will use it; whether constituents are able to get it somewhere else; what the internal staffing implications are for managing it and what the potential outcomes might be.<br />
<br />
<i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-19631397382605866852010-12-01T18:48:00.000-08:002010-12-02T09:41:40.244-08:006 Ways Holiday Cards Can Be Strategic CommunicationsToolsThe holiday cards started arriving in the mail today. For the next few weeks they’ll show up in clusters, hitting peak volume about seven to ten days from now. Even though <a href="http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i39c0981244e131291de24a88207181a7">direct mail spend</a> has been trending down, there's <a href="http://www.directmarketingnewswire.com/2010/August/Young-Adults-Strongly-Prefer-Offline-to-Online-Sources-for-Marketing-Offers-Research-Reveals.htm">evidence</a> to suggest that people are still very responsive to this type of printed advertising. Judging by the increased activity in my mailbox already, it's clear that holiday cards aren't going away anytime soon and are something that most companies will consider this year as part of their direct marketing mix. <br />
<br />
As I’ve written <a href="http://nataliezensius.blogspot.com/2010/09/its-little-things.html">before</a>, the simple gesture of sending a card–whether it’s for the holidays, to acknowledge someone’s birthday or just to say thank you–can go a long way in fostering positive relationships between a business and its customers. Cards show the recipient how important they are and reinforce for them why they do business with a company. <br />
<br />
The problem with holiday cards, is that even though they’re a necessary marketing expense, it can be difficult to justify the expenditure of time and money it takes to produce them, especially if they aren’t doing a good job of furthering the goal of helping keep the company top of mind when it’s time to make the next purchase decision or donation. In this current economic climate, when many marketers are opting for smaller mailings to select stakeholders, or even sending e-cards, how can they be sure to make this tool work strategically for them?<br />
<br />
<b>Set A Goal</b><br />
As with any advertising, there should always be a specific goal for the piece. Perhaps it’s to update the organization’s mailing list, for example. If that’s the case, it may be worth the extra investment to use the mailing to get notified of any bounces or returned mail, address changes, etc. Or maybe it's to build name recognition with certain customers that haven't been in contact for a while. The card could then serve as an opportunity to put the business' name out there again, along with the website. Whatever the goal, it should be quantifiable and measurable in some way.<br />
<b><br />
Differentiate</b><br />
If 'everyone' is sending out holiday cards it makes sense to try and approach the project in a different way. <a href="http://www.caldecott.com/">Caldecott Properties</a>, a San Francisco bay area real estate brokerage firm, sent me a “Happy Thanksgiving” card over two weeks ago; a full week before the actual holiday. While their card was fairly standard from a design perspective, the fact that they had the foresight to get out ahead of the pack by sending their card earlier than most, (and choosing a different holiday than most businesses do), made their piece of mail jump out from the usual bills and publications in my mailbox much more than it would have had they sent it this week or next.<b> </b>Try to do something different than everyone else:<b> </b>perhaps a "New Years" greeting would be more appropriate?<br />
<br />
<b>Don’t sell, acknowledge</b><br />
Some marketers recommend placing coupons, etc. in holiday cards. As I’ve said before, I don’t think it’s a good idea to put an ‘ask’ for more business in a card, even if it is indirect and disguised as a benefit. The card should be sent purely to acknowledge the relationship with the recipient. One exception to this could be to offer a small, downloadable gift (not to be confused with a discount offer!) as a token of thanks that could be obtained from the company website, thereby creating a way to measure response rate.<br />
<br />
<b>Make it memorable</b><br />
Cards should be designed to visually appeal to the audience so they don’t just become throwaways. People are more likely to hold onto a piece of direct mail (which it goes without saying should have contact information on it for future reference) if it’s beautifully designed or has some functional value. Another idea would be to use the card to make an announcement (new office? New campaign?) Getting useful information that they might need later gives recipients another reason to hold onto the card.<br />
<b><br />
Use it as an opportunity to partner</b><br />
Purchasing cards from a charitable organization or non-profit is a great way to do some small scale cause marketing by making a donation that’s tax deductible. Customers like to know that their desire to make the world a better place is shared by the organizations they do business with. This will also potentially help customers feel good about partnerships the business has with other organizations. There are plenty of great looking <a href="http://www.greencharitycards.co.uk/pages/business-christmas-cards-gallery.html">charity cards</a> available, which, depending on how a recipient list is segmented, could also make the card more memorable or worthwhile. If, for budget reasons, an e-card is more cost-effective, it could be purchased from an environmental organization and positioned as a choice to mitigate negative environmental impact.<br />
<br />
<b>Measure the ROI</b><br />
The emotional return on investment – how warm and fuzzy customers feel about the organization – is something that all organizations should measure whenever possible. Since a holiday card is not technically an acquisition tool there aren't many way to measure its impact aside from the idea already stated above. Businesses who manage to get their cards out in the midst of the busy end of year season tend to come across as organized and timely and these positive feelings might help influence purchasing/donation decisions later. One way to measure this would be to include questions about customer's perceptions of the card as part of larger attitudinal surveys.<br />
<br />
Finally, what should a holiday card say?<br />
<br />
Start with the truth. Customers appreciate authenticity. They don't all celebrate the exact same holidays so a card going out at the end of the year should most likely have a generic greeting in it. Be sure to check the customs of any international clients: as always, a little <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_holidays_by_country">research</a> can save on embarrassment. <br />
<br />
<i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-90732715072291346742010-11-30T12:40:00.000-08:002010-12-02T10:10:35.467-08:00A Quick Review Of Jumo, The New Social Network For Non-Profits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQf3Y7knvAB3NlL0_TXSZTvoZ6S_U5fIyJm5CY-Hr0FOLRZqVeontPbFnfG3Wg2ndBmPI9bW2VB3nN2AEjR-_SjuizFuSC8w3rux5Nnrljq2hjdMT2MNc1jxzFRLThWIKZReh0yG_ej1g/s1600/Picture+7%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQf3Y7knvAB3NlL0_TXSZTvoZ6S_U5fIyJm5CY-Hr0FOLRZqVeontPbFnfG3Wg2ndBmPI9bW2VB3nN2AEjR-_SjuizFuSC8w3rux5Nnrljq2hjdMT2MNc1jxzFRLThWIKZReh0yG_ej1g/s400/Picture+7%25282%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Relationship maps have developed and continue to deepen all over the web: <span class="blippr-nobr">Facebook m<span class="blippr-nobr"><a class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336650-Facebook" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336650-Facebook.whtml" target="_blank"></a></span></span>aps our personal relationships, Yelp <span class="blippr-nobr"><a class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336857-Yelp" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336857-Yelp.whtml" target="_blank"></a></span>maps our relationship with local businesses, Amazon m<span class="blippr-nobr"><a class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/516754-Amazoncom" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/516754-Amazoncom.whtml" target="_blank"></a></span>aps our relationships to products. <a href="http://www.jumo.com/">Jumo</a>, a new social media network, which launched in BETA today, maps the relationships between people and non profit organizations. It's an attempt by creator Chris Hughes (who co-founded Facebook) to foster more long-term and sustainable relationships between people and organizations that are working to make a difference.<br />
<br />
Steve Mclaughlin provides a very thorough <a href="http://www.nptrends.com/nonprofit-trends/what-is-jumo.htm">overview of Jumo</a>, so I wont go into too much detail here, suffice to say that the platform is broken up into three main components: Find, Follow and Support. Jumo helps the user find non-profit organizations by learning the types of things that interest them and making suggestions. The site then helps users follow those organizations by receiving a stream of updates about the work they’re doing and how that work is affecting real people. When they're ready, Jumo helps users support the organizations with which they’ve built a relationship.<br />
<br />
After setting up an account and playing with it briefly this morning, here's my first impressions, typical buggy issues aside.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>It allows people and organizations to build a more organic connection with one another.</b><br />
The donate button on many non profit websites can often be intrusive and email calls to action are sometimes insistent and urgent, all of which can be off putting for many potential supporters and make them feel like they are viewed as little more then an ATM machine. Jumo just might help organizations that aren't too savvy about this move to where they now need to be–in an era where relationships must be forged and cultivated first before a financial ask for support is made. <b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>It integrates nicely with other social media platforms and devices. </b><br />
Jumo helps the end-user see all of a non profit's social media otposts in one place to get a complete picture of their digital presence. It also streams conveniently to people wherever they are, be that email, Facebook, mobile or elsewhere. <br />
<br />
We're all somewhat unnerved by the plethora of options now available to us in the promotional mix and here's another social network for non profit marketers to worry about. So, is it worth jumping on the bandwagon yet?<br />
<br />
Hughes has said that he sees this helping out small non profits that don't have a lot of resources to devote to their social media presence. In her <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/facebook-co-founder-chris-hughes-officially-launches-jumo-social-network-for-social-activism.html">Los Angeles Times article</a> yesterday, Jessica Guynn wrote that "the site could potentially benefit smaller charities which don't have in-house social media experts." Unless I'm missing something, I don't see this. Each non profit still has to spend time creating their Jumo profile and must continue adding content to all their other media outposts in order for it to be aggregated on Jumo, so it's not really a time saver for them. The benefit, as I said earlier, is for the end-user who gets to see all the content in one place. The real benefit for small non profits will come when Jumo starts making user segmentation information available to them, assuming they can afford to pay for it.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, there's no guarantee that all of this activity will bolster a non profit's social capital sufficiently to lead to donations of time and or money. Money quote from McLaughlin in today's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/technology/30jumo.html?_r=1">New York Times piece</a> about Jumo:<br />
<blockquote>"It’s still not clear whether or not followers translate to volunteers and donors. But people that are more engaged with nonprofits are most likely to become a donor or support them in another way."</blockquote>Users who may be suffering from social media fatigue could be reluctant to adopt one more social network but if anyone can pull this off, Hughes may be the man. Aside from his stint at Facebook he was also the former director of online organizing for Barack Obama’s successful 2008 presidential campaign. Whether this network will succeed and take off, where others like <a href="http://forgood.yahoo.com/">Yahoo For Good</a> and <a href="http://www.globalgiving.org/">GlobalGiving</a> have failed to soar, remains to be seen. <br />
<br />
Hughes’ presentation at the <a href="http://mashable.com/un-week/social-good-summit/">Social Good Summit</a> earlier this year below.<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="295" id="lsplayer" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://cdn.livestream.com/grid/LSPlayer.swf?channel=mashable&clip=pla_04179fcc-f802-4c42-a6d8-1729a12902b7&color=0xe7e7e7&autoPlay=false&mute=false&iconColorOver=0x888888&iconColor=0x777777"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed name="lsplayer" wmode="transparent" src="http://cdn.livestream.com/grid/LSPlayer.swf?channel=mashable&clip=pla_04179fcc-f802-4c42-a6d8-1729a12902b7&color=0xe7e7e7&autoPlay=false&mute=false&iconColorOver=0x888888&iconColor=0x777777" width="480" height="295" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br />
<div style="font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 480px;"><a href="http://www.livestream.com/mashable?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" title="Watch mashable">mashable</a> on livestream.com. <a href="http://www.livestream.com/?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" title="Broadcast Live Free">Broadcast Live Free</a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i></span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-72540813811269606482010-11-23T10:17:00.000-08:002010-11-23T10:17:38.514-08:00What Marathon Running And Business Have In Common, CtdDean Karnazes talks to Forbes, as part of their Sales Leadership video series, about how to apply lessons learned from running to sales and marketing. <a href="http://video.forbes.com/fvn/sales-leadership/dean-karnazes-marathon-runner-sales-approach">Watch the video.</a> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rYDwlVdMzHqQBldNrzcOC1_0MfCGHseng-TwXsU4VvoieQFgjq9zx8XRyxc5PIErUq8GnMfDawBKNR63-mODua74WbdkUMO4nqLhQ3KM1mXnCnBA46sGVN0c0NT4YfH7Qc4WFpHGHvw/s1600/Picture+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rYDwlVdMzHqQBldNrzcOC1_0MfCGHseng-TwXsU4VvoieQFgjq9zx8XRyxc5PIErUq8GnMfDawBKNR63-mODua74WbdkUMO4nqLhQ3KM1mXnCnBA46sGVN0c0NT4YfH7Qc4WFpHGHvw/s400/Picture+7.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span></span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-51141454730663005432010-11-20T11:26:00.000-08:002010-11-23T10:19:17.952-08:00Marketing Campaign Case Study: How The President Of The United States Helped SlurpeeThe best marketing communications professionals think on their feet, mobilize rapidly <i>and</i> do it in an authentic way that aligns with their brand image and delights their customers. I’m impressed by what the <i>Slurpee</i> team did in the last few weeks with their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Slurpee?v=app_171309566218941">Unity Tour marketing campaign</a>, which wrapped up a two-week-long cross-country journey from Dallas to Washington D.C. on Thursday.<br />
<br />
Here's 6 things they did right with this campaign:<br />
<br />
<b>They were nimble enough to seize a great opportunity quickly</b><br />
The genesis of the tour began during the heated rhetoric of the 2010-midterm elections, when President Obama used an analogy about Republicans sipping on Slurpees while Democrats get the car –aka the nation–out of the ditch. This was manna from heaven for the Slurpee marketing team and they jumped right in to capitalize on it; White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs maintained that 7-Eleven (coyly, I'm sure) "declined to comment specifically that Slurpees were a Republican drink." <br />
<br />
<b>They created a campaign that is not only clever but upbeat and positive </b><br />
The day after the elections, Bloomberg reporter Hans Nichols jokingly asked President Obama if he would have John Boehner and other Republican leaders over for a "Slurpee Summit." The President laughed and then quipped that Slurpees are delicious drinks and that he might very well serve Slurpees during the conversation with leaders from both parties. <br />
<br />
Slurpee launched a new grape flavored slush drink to take on a nationwide tour called "purple for the people." The color was chosen based on the idea of mixing red for Republicans and blue for Democrats in hopes the parties would work together in passing legislation on the Hill.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBctuCP8tXkVnRexwdmBY8JQHge1TPg3ChhM2ntdh8Ibu7hXS9rzcGzwnVJanfP8tuOE-maVkDGvzWNKRYFojFEgUDhgbl1-1xIhTuH9erF5co8NoCZQNYo9P1qcjUS62RbDhJBXrB3gc/s1600/Picture+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBctuCP8tXkVnRexwdmBY8JQHge1TPg3ChhM2ntdh8Ibu7hXS9rzcGzwnVJanfP8tuOE-maVkDGvzWNKRYFojFEgUDhgbl1-1xIhTuH9erF5co8NoCZQNYo9P1qcjUS62RbDhJBXrB3gc/s320/Picture+5.png" width="178" /></a></div><b>They combined social media and traditional marketing seamlessly</b><br />
The national tour, documented <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Slurpee?v=app_171309566218941#%21/video/video.php?v=139212522797315">with video</a>, was replete with special offers, customer interaction, and giveaways, and was complemented beautifully by humorous and authentic social media marketing that represented the latest trends in marketing.<br />
<br />
<b>They maintained a strong and consistent brand voice </b><br />
Throughout the campaign, whether it was on the website, various social media outposts, or in comments they made to the media, Slurpee found exactly the right tone and stuck with it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkdGyuHSsdJyqhn2NZK8DBBjzDU5VqDf_V_vfQr6PDv49-WWF3mcF8_nl39YRaYl-4qjbXOxHWWvHZyH8bf0eh9wlf6TP4zaa80NmEHGPD2-GUhva7ZotxFWVoKK40yrnGPmBagk-CXs/s1600/Picture+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkdGyuHSsdJyqhn2NZK8DBBjzDU5VqDf_V_vfQr6PDv49-WWF3mcF8_nl39YRaYl-4qjbXOxHWWvHZyH8bf0eh9wlf6TP4zaa80NmEHGPD2-GUhva7ZotxFWVoKK40yrnGPmBagk-CXs/s320/Picture+6.png" width="316" /></a></div><br />
<b>They were not afraid to be real</b><br />
Slurpee gave people an insider look into the tour with some behind the scenes footage.<br />
<br />
<object height="365" width="440"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AE0Oc1VWFXs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AE0Oc1VWFXs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="440" height="365"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<b>They made sure the campaign was consistent with the personality of the product</b><br />
These slightly tongue-in-cheek comments from 7-Eleven Marketing Manager, Daniel May, show how Slurpee doesn’t take itself too seriously. The team knows the product is fun and is willing to take some risks:<br />
<br />
"We are hoping there will be a Slurpee summit…The tour has sent formal invitations to everybody and everybody is welcome…We truly hope there is one and if they want Slurpees there, we will make sure to bring them."<br />
<br />
All of this obviously caught the attention of the media. Here's video below of some news coverage of the President's comments. <br />
<br />
<br />
<embed allowfullscreen="true" bgcolor="#ffffff/" flashvars="&player.releaseURL=http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=4Pbs64vS_NXTSd_I_9mv5rs0BRkPL7JX&&MBR=true&&zone=home" height="360" src="http://www.necn.com/common/CSN/necn/NECNembedplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="440"></embed><br />
<br />
<img border="0" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyODk*MTM1MDM5MzUmcHQ9MTI4OTQxMzUxMjg2MSZwPTEyNTg*MTEmZD1BQkNOZXdzX1NGUF9Mb2NrZV9FbWJlZCZn/PTImbz1kODk1YTNkZGQ3NDk*MDcxYjZlN2NlYTIzNWUzNjJhNiZvZj*w.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.</a></i>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-92140033800058131242010-11-18T14:17:00.000-08:002010-12-09T23:29:59.725-08:00What Marathon Running And Business Have In Common<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Barring some life circumstances and various states of injury I've been a devoted runner my whole adult life. Until recently, a half marathon was the longest distance I'd ever run; I'd always had my sights set on a marathon but couldn't commit to the time needed. Once I sent my youngest kid off to college a year ago, I began serious training and completed The Marine Corps Marathon with my friend and running partner, Amy Keller, in October. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJPFw9gLvAPoBKwV45bSJ9P4jx-ax_NIbZQZTmsUjhrj_YbzMet1mEKSrF1Rh1B2FuzFW_3KqvkMlrVU8xSVOChYE1947NvcGnDW84DPwFTNJqQhr49lJoucWSVgUoBeDVkphM8IFras/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJPFw9gLvAPoBKwV45bSJ9P4jx-ax_NIbZQZTmsUjhrj_YbzMet1mEKSrF1Rh1B2FuzFW_3KqvkMlrVU8xSVOChYE1947NvcGnDW84DPwFTNJqQhr49lJoucWSVgUoBeDVkphM8IFras/s320/Picture+2.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
It's often said that the hardest part of running a marathon is training for one. It's also said that the first 20 miles on race day are just a warm-up for the last 6.2. Both of these truisms were definitely the case in my experience. There’s no faking it–you have to pay your dues and put in the time and discipline and run to the training schedule. Ultimately that's the only way to get good enough and strong enough to complete the race. And on race day it takes both smarts and determination to get over the finish line.<br />
<br />
There's a lot to be learned when we physically push ourselves in this way. The strength and confidence gleaned from stretching to accomplish extraordinary things carries over into how we live up to the challenges of our professional lives; lessons learned from athletics can just as easily be applied to business. Some days the job is easy, other days extremely painful. Knowing when to conserve energy and when to go for broke is a key skill whether you're participating in endurance events, trying to ship a product or ensure a non-profit's sustainability. In all cases it's important to keep your eye on the future and your longer term goal in mind while preventing burnout in the present moment. In business, just like long distance running, you need people you can trust will be there for you when you're losing steam and you need to be there for people, even when you may want to zoom out ahead–teamwork is important, even for solo endeavors. And once a particular race is over it's not possible to rest on your laurels because you have to get out and run again or risk falling back on what you've gained.<br />
<br />
Someone who understands all of this well is ultramarathon runner and businessman <a href="http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/">Dean Karnazes</a>. Dean has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits: he ran 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley, CA in 120°F temperatures, and ran a marathon to the South Pole at −40°F. He completed a feat that is staggering to comprehend for ‘normal’ marathon runners like myself: running 50 marathons, in all 50 U.S. states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the New York City Marathon, which he completed in three hours and thirty seconds. Most recently he won the <a href="http://www.4deserts.com/">4 Deserts Race</a>, a series of 7 day ultramarathons across some of the harshest conditions on the planet. 4 Deserts has been called the ultimate test of human endurance. Needless to say, he’s a very inspiring person.<br />
<br />
Earlier this week I attended the excellent <a href="http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/events/schedule-of-events">North Face Speaker Series</a> to hear Dean talk. Here’s a few fun facts that Dean, who Men’s Fitness magazine called “quite possibly the fittest man on the planet” shared with us:<br />
<br />
• Researchers found that he is, quite literally, made to run–his biomechanics are perfect and his body pushes out lactic acid (the bane of any endurance athlete’s existence) the more he runs<br />
• Unless he’s running or sleeping he stands. He finds sitting “tiring”<br />
• He can sleep while running if he has to<br />
• His idea of a good day is to run a marathon distance before he makes breakfast for his kids and takes them to school<br />
<br />
The guy is clearly in a league of his own. But, Deans asserts that he’s just an ordinary guy doing extraordinary things. <br />
<br />
Not surprisingly, Dean isn’t just good at running; he’s also a successful entrepreuner who holds graduate degrees in Science and Business. He’s worked for Fortune 500 companies and startups and founded a natural foods company of which he remains president to this day. Like many famous athletes, he’s put his celebrity to good use and has founded a non-profit organization. It’s called <a href="http://www.active.com/donate/karnokids">Karno Kids</a> and raises awareness about childhood fitness and activity. I’m guessing that this philanthropic venture benefits greatly not only from his business acumen, but from his proven ability to excel in a competitive, and often challenging world.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-33322616944046299312010-11-17T21:42:00.000-08:002010-11-17T21:42:18.993-08:00Save "Save The Words", CtdHarkin <a href="http://verbalbranding.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/verbal-brander-seeks-visual-experts/">responds</a> to my<a href="http://nataliezensius.blogspot.com/2010/11/marketing-case-study-save-words.html"> blog post</a> and makes an excellent point (italics mine):<br />
<blockquote>When I said the campaign shimmered, I meant the idea. I meant the logocentricity of the site. And I forgot that, as a linguistic type, I am easily blinded by words. I was so busy drinking in obscure words I almost choked on the interface, architecture, and execution. </blockquote><blockquote>Thank goodness I work with great graphic designers, web coders, interface and architecture experts, and visual creatives who can point out the importance about things beyond my linguistic world. <i>Because the synergy between words people and picture people is where great branding really happens.</i></blockquote><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-3444634306031908912010-11-16T13:52:00.000-08:002010-11-16T15:27:32.276-08:00Save "Save The Words": A Quick Marketing Case StudyIf you spend any time on the web and are connected to relatively erudite people (aren’t we all?), chances are you’ve been sent the link to <a href="http://www.savethewords.org/"><i>Save The Words</i></a>, a new website developed by marketing communications company Y&R's Singapore office. <i>Save The Words</i> is an advertising campaign created to stimulate sales of the latest version of the Oxford English Dictionary in Malaysia.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn07SCUbLZr2hLTi8uHwSoYJaWECwT9p4cAMLntKMdb8qt5M3ntAbfDXNPfow_ZmYykj9ZESSPloww0ndkUQhoyYXVLlBBeSokhIdxVWtHPauWkcQs9RrpbgW9NbQrhIMBGgY2YlD_SPk/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn07SCUbLZr2hLTi8uHwSoYJaWECwT9p4cAMLntKMdb8qt5M3ntAbfDXNPfow_ZmYykj9ZESSPloww0ndkUQhoyYXVLlBBeSokhIdxVWtHPauWkcQs9RrpbgW9NbQrhIMBGgY2YlD_SPk/s400/Picture+2.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
There’s a reason the site has gone viral–it’s creative and cute. Users can choose and “adopt” a word to keep it alive or just click on words and learn their meanings. When they find a word they like enough to adopt, they promise to use the word, “in conversation and correspondence, as frequently as possible.” There’s even an option to purchase a t-shirt with the chosen word on it.<br />
<br />
Verbal branding consultant and word expert Christine Harkin enthuses that it “<a href="http://verbalbranding.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/meta-linguistics/">simply shimmers with brilliance</a>” and “greets its audience with a protest-connoting march of signs which all cluster in the foreground and beg readers, “pick me!” While I agree with Ms. Harkin (disclosure: I have worked with Ms. Harkin previously and she’s an esteemed colleague) that this is a clever idea, I can’t get quite as worked up about it as she does because the execution, from a communications and web usability standpoint, diminishes my experience. Plus, I’m not fully on board with the strategy either.<br />
<br />
Here’s what’s bothering me:<br />
<br />
<b>Design</b><br />
The Flash-based design will be difficult for some computers and mobile users. Flash also makes deep-linking impossible and individual words unsharable – a tragic missed opportunity in today’s social world. <br />
<br />
<b>Usability</b><br />
Designers love small font sizes and light grey type but it’s impossible to read, especially for older people who read and write a lot and love words (aka the site’s target audience). The fixed font size on the site is not only deadly for older eyes, it's a usability no-no for the disabled too. On the FAQ page, the link to the Facebook group doesn’t go to Facebook, but to the Oxford Press online store; creating possible confusion and frustration for users.<br />
<br />
<b>Navigation</b><br />
The red arrows that indicate that the screen moves in all directions are so small that it’s hard to see them. Plus there’s no language to tell users that the screen can move in all directions. The main navigation is extremely small and hard to read. Also, two words–no search.<br />
<br />
<b>Content</b><br />
It’s assumed the user will figure things out by clicking around which quickly becomes a tiresome exercise. Not answering users questions - such as what this site is about or specifically where they can buy a dictionary is frustrating. If users are searching for an interesting word to help them say a particular thing there’s no thesaurus function to help them do that. What’s also missing are some fun facts about word usage and the dictionary–the brand image and relationship with the Oxford English Dictionary isn't really being strengthened here.<br />
<b><br />
Registering and Lack of Social Interaction</b><br />
It’s clear from a marketing perspective why users are required to register but it can be a turnoff for some people, especially since there’s no apparent reason here why they should have to. If user information is being collected it should be integrated on the site to show people who've adopted words and it should be fun and social–read Facebook and Twitter–in terms of who has taken on the most words, etc. <br />
<br />
<b>Strategy</b><br />
“One of the problems we were facing,” says Creative Director Edward Ong, who reportedly came up with the idea in a bar with friends after work, “is that many people prefer to use the online dictionary. So we thought, why not get them to develop a love for words online and push them back to the physical dictionary?” Aside from a brief mention in the FAQ section the website does little to push users back to the physical dictionary or reward them for using one. I wonder if it’s actually doing the opposite by allowing them to fall into the web again.<br />
<br />
Ong claims that there have been 3 million website mentions of this site and a 12 percent increase in sales of the dictionary since the campaign launched so the things that are irksome for me about this site may not be an issue for most people. I've certainly seen some interesting words get slung about on the internet this past week and anything that helps increase awareness of the richness of our language can only be a good thing.<br />
<br />
Y&R, (formally Young and Rubicam), is an industry giant so I expect them to know and implement the best practices for marketing communications and web usability. I'd like to see them come up with some social media strategies to encourage use of the dictionary and/or thesaurus offline (Youtube anyone?). Hopefully they can continue to improve on the site; it could become a great resource for people and help bridge the gap between surfing the web and the tactile and delicious experience of leafing through a "real" dictionary.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-33032353830577837782010-11-11T13:21:00.000-08:002010-11-11T13:23:49.735-08:00Take A Non-Profit Executive Leadership Survey<a href="http://www.compasspoint.org/" target="_blank">CompassPoint</a> needs nonprofit executive directors and CEOs to complete their <a href="http://bit.ly/cKHQ7R%20" target="_blank">Daring to Lead</a><i><a href="http://bit.ly/cKHQ7R%20" target="_blank"> </a></i><a href="http://bit.ly/cKHQ7R%20" target="_blank">research survey</a> before the deadline on next Friday, Nov 19.<br />
<br />
<i>Daring to Lead</i> helps the sector understand the career paths, tenure, challenges, and professional development needs of nonprofit executive directors.The first two <i>Daring to Lead</i> studies, published in <a href="http://www.compasspoint.org/assets/5_daring.pdf" target="_blank">2001</a> and <a href="http://www.compasspoint.org/assets/194_daringtolead06final.pdf" target="_blank">2006</a>, are some of the highest-impact research on nonprofits and leadership available. <br />
<br />
It takes just 20 minutes to participate. Please pass this along to the executive directors you know.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-15436571583790175132010-11-11T12:14:00.000-08:002010-11-16T14:52:06.206-08:00What Major Retailers Are Missing Out On This Veterans DayEverywhere today, people are acknowledging the fact that it's Veterans Day and talking about how much they value and appreciate the service of the men and women in our armed forces. Everywhere except, it seems, the marketing departments of major retailers. This morning I looked at the top 10 U.S. retailers' websites to see what they were saying about Veterans Day and if they were running any promotions for veterans. Not sales for the rest of us, but discounts that benefit veterans and veterans alone. The results are mostly disappointing and somewhat surprising.<br />
<br />
Here's the rundown:<br />
<br />
<b>Rank #1: Walmart</b><br />
No acknowledgement of Veterans Day. <br />
<br />
<b>Rank #2: Kroger</b><br />
There's a clickable link to tell us to remember veterans. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfY0batgiVpsynfVgdF6ch9Rs3jWzCm2IqLz8ATSRXQI0aIL3e0OIbPnDbDFwAmMQdwg5Bbq5wZCsAggvlbnMk3ohGunUtpme6pK-_z5TWMtsy6k-27YybR-mpyqtwOym89b3EUqXgyx0/s1600/Picture+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfY0batgiVpsynfVgdF6ch9Rs3jWzCm2IqLz8ATSRXQI0aIL3e0OIbPnDbDFwAmMQdwg5Bbq5wZCsAggvlbnMk3ohGunUtpme6pK-_z5TWMtsy6k-27YybR-mpyqtwOym89b3EUqXgyx0/s400/Picture+8.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
When you click on it, however, the company merely toots it's own horn about what a veteran friendly employer it is. No promotions for veterans.<b> </b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSAfghJGMJcErkdRV3UAG0P4Yh3bynaQlIb_1-xCPWQPmomQXLRcCeCALsDXvSurCnLK_h_ZQykweXdN0Xsblx4qMfRZxA0_TAG7UF5YvI0Xo7T8afJ0wAQPHdW2SjF4k6HixEaD7X88/s1600/Picture+9.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSAfghJGMJcErkdRV3UAG0P4Yh3bynaQlIb_1-xCPWQPmomQXLRcCeCALsDXvSurCnLK_h_ZQykweXdN0Xsblx4qMfRZxA0_TAG7UF5YvI0Xo7T8afJ0wAQPHdW2SjF4k6HixEaD7X88/s400/Picture+9.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Rank #3: The Home Depot</b><br />
The Home Depot does fairly well. When you click on the flag on the homepage it takes you to a page that acknowledges the holiday and thanks veterans for their service. Home Depot has a year round veteran discount program but nothing special for the holiday. <br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYuiLcQJ1_20Kip8gpFesI7iqToiaynFguu0L63dr8MHLYhldkEq7pbUTZ8OaWaPxXPeQuLvBd78fvlVysRdNpC-kpbQFlfOFF-QK4Ji3modxMCUAiVATOQXB93xblBhJqf9cnFCR6ko/s1600/Picture+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYuiLcQJ1_20Kip8gpFesI7iqToiaynFguu0L63dr8MHLYhldkEq7pbUTZ8OaWaPxXPeQuLvBd78fvlVysRdNpC-kpbQFlfOFF-QK4Ji3modxMCUAiVATOQXB93xblBhJqf9cnFCR6ko/s400/Picture+4.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8agde0ZUNX6wsOtePq98Efh-D2MVLeXNPmEW1ag4iA-7u9zj3mByVXBkdaNBQkDNPrywmhBnqaD6Zk4kC2S6Q9ZFDYoB5sUwicl__tcQyxrH3-xPkw5o1Qh-WL7rTxn5Ck4PY2hrzZ-4/s1600/Picture+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8agde0ZUNX6wsOtePq98Efh-D2MVLeXNPmEW1ag4iA-7u9zj3mByVXBkdaNBQkDNPrywmhBnqaD6Zk4kC2S6Q9ZFDYoB5sUwicl__tcQyxrH3-xPkw5o1Qh-WL7rTxn5Ck4PY2hrzZ-4/s400/Picture+5.png" width="400" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Rank #4: Costco</b><br />
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day. <br />
<br />
<b>Rank #5: Target</b><br />
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day. <br />
<br />
<b>Rank #6: Walgreens</b><br />
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day. <br />
<br />
<b>Rank #7: CVS Caremark</b><br />
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day. <br />
<br />
<b>Rank #8: Lowes</b><br />
Lowes does well. It's promotion is communicated clearly and it's generous to boot - it's extended to both current military personnel, veterans and their family members.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTKuoUyVA7h-eqNIxUp3w3pFvatv9zevjzUtEGBZ1_SHuW2GMbgKHb41Wava-yGOauTEAajpLmNdKRD2jwh5XDwNK7jRrFmxLlfJo96nvcXSgAKm5CDy_XqfpRtRIMUA07mraMZeakCE/s1600/Picture+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTKuoUyVA7h-eqNIxUp3w3pFvatv9zevjzUtEGBZ1_SHuW2GMbgKHb41Wava-yGOauTEAajpLmNdKRD2jwh5XDwNK7jRrFmxLlfJo96nvcXSgAKm5CDy_XqfpRtRIMUA07mraMZeakCE/s400/Picture+10.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Rank #9: Sears Holdings</b><br />
Sears offers a 3 day sales promotion, but it's for everyone, not specifically for veterans<b> </b>and it doesn't thank veterans for their service.<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3TSO1mC989TQxwJFO5dmXHgsAQOui0Zhk-ujXCZnqlHY4tfQJw9udageWBk6_5AuSvXD56DS9U9R8PwJ0LZNGYMsgsucZ91iWrmZkoh_HcwQr191kjFrzfxzynLDAsT_gY2ph0uMhOw/s1600/Picture+12.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3TSO1mC989TQxwJFO5dmXHgsAQOui0Zhk-ujXCZnqlHY4tfQJw9udageWBk6_5AuSvXD56DS9U9R8PwJ0LZNGYMsgsucZ91iWrmZkoh_HcwQr191kjFrzfxzynLDAsT_gY2ph0uMhOw/s400/Picture+12.png" width="400" /></a></div><b> </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Rank #10: BestBuy</b><br />
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day. <br />
<br />
While it's not in the top 10, Kmart is another notable offender who cynically offers sales for the rest of us (with no words of thanks), but nothing in particular for veterans or their families.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByY0wrf_joZ_Yr8DR0RY3VaPJCrX8LfGc-8W54veetvit-oPlBGi4l45kDBCeyObUYcfmDLrofzQepHy22YsCnnhdrVtnoMk4VbpfTBKCvzNXz9iBLbczdOkT-GFuq5tPMj_jZvkRO8k/s1600/Picture+13.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByY0wrf_joZ_Yr8DR0RY3VaPJCrX8LfGc-8W54veetvit-oPlBGi4l45kDBCeyObUYcfmDLrofzQepHy22YsCnnhdrVtnoMk4VbpfTBKCvzNXz9iBLbczdOkT-GFuq5tPMj_jZvkRO8k/s400/Picture+13.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It's hard for me to believe that there isn't money in these retailers' budgets to offer some sort of promotion for servicemen and women. I'm also pretty sure that their marketing communications staff could be nimble enough to add something to their websites today so that, at the very least, they are acknowledging today's significance to their customers; many of whom, I'm sure, are military families. So I'm nonplussed. What a missed opportunity to strategically drive sales and simultaneously improve their brand images while strengthening relationships with their customers.<br />
<br />
Schools are closed, government workers are sitting at home in their fuzzy slippers and National Parks have opened their gates to the general public. A day off from work or school or a chance to visit one of the country's most beautiful spots is great for those of us that can benefit from it, but many of our vets are still going to work today because they have to put food on the table. And for some, that can be a real struggle. Is Veterans Day <i>really</i> about veterans or is it more about the rest of us? In this economy especially, doesn't it make sense that marketers should offer veterans something to acknowledge their service that will impact their pocketbooks?<br />
<br />
<b>UPDATE:</b> At least some of the restaurant sector seems to get it. Allison Linn offers a <a href="http://lifeinc.todayshow.com/_news/2010/11/11/5449680-thank-you-offers-for-veterans-">list on her blog</a> over at MSNBC of some major restaurant chains that are offering deals and giveaways to active military personnel, veterans and their families.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-49786835275876454092010-11-09T21:14:00.000-08:002010-11-10T08:53:55.003-08:00Guidelines For Using Photos As Web ContentBack when I started this blog, I made the conscious decision not to include images unless they were directly illustrative of the point I was trying to make. Flash forward a few months later and if I'm not writing a case study I’ve found myself starting to use images to ‘pretty up’ most, if not all, of my posts. Research by web usability guru <a href="http://www.useit.com/jakob/">Jakob Nielsen</a> indicates that I should have stuck with my original plan.<br />
<br />
Nielsen’s <a href="http://www.useit.com/eyetracking/">eyetracking studies</a> document a dramatic gap in how users approach website (and blog) images. Here’s the major takeaways:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Some types of pictures are completely ignored by web users </b><br />
This is typically the case for big feel-good images that are purely decorative.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Other types of pictures are treated as important content and scrutinized </b><br />
Photos of products and real people (as opposed to stock photos of models) often fall into this category.<br />
<b><br />
3. Visual bloat annoys users</b><br />
Even with high-speed Internet connections and sub-second download times, users still prefer websites that focus on the information they want, rather than images and visual design, especially when they are using smartphones.<br />
<br />
According to Nielsen (whose <a href="http://www.useit.com/">website</a> is an exemplary model of web usability), pictures can make a positive difference to the user experience in some cases. In e-commerce for example, product photos help users understand products and differentiate between similar items. On corporate and personal websites and blogs users want to see the person or team behind the site, organization or company.<br />
<br />
What it comes down to is that users pay attention to information-carrying images that show content that's relevant to the task at hand. They ignore purely decorative images that don't add real content to the page.<br />
<br />
Aside from these practical tips there’s a larger lesson for communications professionals here. As marketers we sometimes get sidetracked and try to give our customers what we think they <i>should</i> want as opposed to what they really need. We usually have the best intentions–we want to delight our customers–but it can have the unintended consequence of negatively impacting their brand experience. Graphic design should always be used judiciously and only in service of the goal we're trying to accomplish, not the other way around.<br />
<br />
I’ll admit it, I got seduced by the power of visual assets and graphic design. I was worried about what marketer <a href="http://lightboxcollaborative.com/we-collaborate#lauren">Lauren Girardin</a> calls <a href="http://lightboxcollaborative.com/six-c-s-for-choosing-right-photo-for-your-blog-post">the deadly “nothing but text” screen. </a>Plus, social media guru <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/about/">Chris Brogan, </a>in a <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/a-sample-blogging-workflow/">great post </a>about blogging best practices, says that "using pictures makes the posts pop". But Nielsen reminded me that while blogs are a unique form of website, they are websites nonetheless and normal website usability guidelines apply to them too. From here on in, I'll be following his <a href="http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html">blog usability guidelines</a> to the letter.<br />
<br />
What do you think? Do images enhance your user experience on this blog or would you rather do without them unless they are directly adding to the content value or brand experience?<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-20474056616794027482010-11-04T08:17:00.000-07:002010-11-04T08:17:46.205-07:00What's Your Marketing Approach?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVrWv1NxErjy1tJNWWSz52TV2M6iz_YGQDgMKw4m_l8TO0oM4lefAe6mbNjjIq3fmrlg9MKpoQuSevTXnVo7Atlrz8_aN-J2uoQTb6BdS860KTsc3tAmCUWyiRImI4wumwbGOigRKgDaw/s1600/2378397693_0d471b0514_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVrWv1NxErjy1tJNWWSz52TV2M6iz_YGQDgMKw4m_l8TO0oM4lefAe6mbNjjIq3fmrlg9MKpoQuSevTXnVo7Atlrz8_aN-J2uoQTb6BdS860KTsc3tAmCUWyiRImI4wumwbGOigRKgDaw/s400/2378397693_0d471b0514_b.jpg" width="262" /></a>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/louderthanadam/2378397693/">Louderthanadam</a><br />
<br />
You can be cynical in your approach to marketing or you can be generous. <br />
<br />
I went through 4 airports in as many days this past weekend and had to pay to get on the Internet at every one except Denver International, which gives free (and fast) access to passengers. The exchange? Watch a twenty-second ad by the wi-fi sponsor. <br />
<br />
I don’t have the numbers in front of me, so I can’t judge whether it’s a better decision financially to nickel and dime every passenger at the airport who wants to get on their laptop, or accept sponsorship dollars from a corporation so they can put an ad of their choosing in front of every customer before they can surf the web. <br />
<br />
What I do know is which decision would make an airport authority come out looking more generous, even while they’re getting paid for being so.<br />
<br />
Do it right, and being generous can be a win-win all around.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-69276049055379896612010-11-03T10:02:00.000-07:002010-11-09T19:53:44.094-08:00Customer Experience Impressions From TravelWe don’t give much credence to what we’re being told unless it lines up with what we see in action.<br />
<br />
The hotel guest information book tells me you want me to enjoy my stay, but if I have to walk outside the hotel and find the bell boy myself so I can get my luggage, I don’t believe you want me to enjoy my stay.<br />
<br />
The signs all over the airport tell me you take my safety seriously but if I see your male employees snickering when your female employee pats me down for a body search, I don’t believe you take my safety seriously.<br />
<br />
The in-flight video (from the CEO himself, no less) tells me you care about my customer experience, but if I’m standing at the back of the plane and I hear your employees complaining about their customers, I don’t believe you care about my customer experience.<br />
<br />
Next time you think no-one is watching, or think no-one will notice or care, think again.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-10591557301105244172010-11-02T10:20:00.000-07:002014-06-17T12:06:54.402-07:00Social Media and Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJ_0-uIrCBSQRWWZ_zd2BY-XW8OG9pl6Y3-IBgCtYeHWWNmDZX6MOYLy0kmyyFF5eeaBVKznN3gzfjFR2CXgN0_tlv0wUHBWcyFCW8K1L6jnHK5fdtEmtUS9jEevzY5IQ6RbaLZ3_85s/s1600/politics-social-media.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJ_0-uIrCBSQRWWZ_zd2BY-XW8OG9pl6Y3-IBgCtYeHWWNmDZX6MOYLy0kmyyFF5eeaBVKznN3gzfjFR2CXgN0_tlv0wUHBWcyFCW8K1L6jnHK5fdtEmtUS9jEevzY5IQ6RbaLZ3_85s/s400/politics-social-media.jpg" height="467" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Image: <a href="http://mashable.com/">Mashable</a><br />
<br />
When I was a kid, it was practically impossible to get away with being naughty and even harder to lie my way out of it when I'd done something wrong. My grandmother, who babysat me after school while my mom was at work, would knowingly say, "the truth always finds it's way out", and my mother, ever her daughter, would build on that with, "tell the truth, because you’ll be found out eventually." My husband’s mother always told him growing up, “don’t do anything that you wouldn’t mind being splashed on the front page of your local newspaper.” Wise women–all of them. And now, more than ever, aphorisms to live by.<br />
<br />
Social Media makes it hard to get away with anything. It's in our nature to want to exaggerate or pretend to be something we aren't to advance an agenda, but today’s world is a tricky place to do that. Both individuals and organizations need to be careful what they disseminate on websites and other outposts because people are paying attention, and, let's face it, most of us dislike being lied to. It's human nature to want to call out falsehoods when we see them and social media gives us the perfect outlet to do that. I think we feel just as strongly, if not more, about hypocrisy, lying's ugly sibling. So why then, aren’t people more careful about what they do behind closed doors or about representing themselves to be something they aren’t? <br />
<br />
I am convinced that most people–regardless of their age–haven’t fully grappled with the reach of the Internet yet. Social media is still fairly new and technology in general is moving faster and changing our lives in more ways than we can wrap our heads around. (It might even outpace us soon; Kevin Kelly's latest book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Technology-Wants-Kevin-Kelly/dp/0670022152">What Technology Wants</a></i> has great insight into this.) Attitudes, while slowly changing in regards to what’s acceptable to publicize and what isn’t (and what it all means about a person’s character), still haven't adjusted to the reality of the information age in which every detail of our lives is suddenly fair game. <br />
<br />
A large part of the job in communications used to entail controlling the message and the public personae of the leaders that we represented. Thanks to the explosion of social media, reputation management has become somewhat more challenging. We are all now public figures–the CEOs of our own lives and reputations–even when we're not officially working, and it can be difficult to keep things off the record. Anything we say or do in private can easily be used to besmirch us.<br />
<br />
The people who are struggling the most with this are the boomer and x generations. Millenials, on the other hand–who aren’t running the world yet, but soon will be–have grown up with technology and have much different attitudes vis a vis their privacy and what is acceptable to be made public. They may face judgment from hiring managers as they navigate the shoals of today’s workplace but that will most certainly change over time as they and their peers move into management positions. All in all, it's not really an issue for them. They just don’t criticize others’ “off the clock” behavior as harshly as previous generations. Consider for a moment that Bill Clinton had to deny inhaling, yet it’s common knowledge that Barack Obama, who enjoyed large amounts of support in the last general election from young voters, not only smoked-but publicly enjoyed-marijuana and cocaine.<br />
<br />
Speaking of politicians, it's only a matter of time once someone announces their intention to run for public office before something gets surfaced from their past and splashed all over the Internet; social media is amplifying the reach and impact of our desire to throw stones at people who live in glass houses. <br />
<br />
Christine O'Donnell seems to be this election cycle's poster child for negative press. Why? Ms. O’Donnell has been very public with her views in the past and there's lots of fodder available to lampoon her with when human nature rears it's ugly head. Consider the most recent story that Gawker published about Ms. O’Donnell’s antics at a Halloween party a few years back. Whether or not you agree with their approach, it's clear what <a href="http://gawker.com/5676725/why-we-published-the-christine-odonnell-story">Gawker's intent</a> was behind publishing it: they saw it as an opportunity to call out hypocritical behavior. (Plus, Gawker was very upfront about their profit motives–no hypocrisy there.)<br />
<br />
I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for the media strategy session regarding this incident, especially since Ms. O'Donnell's communications team should have known that there is <a href="http://tv.gawker.com/5677295/christine-odonnell-halloween-is-a-satanic-holiday-about-human-sacrifice">footage of her </a>(courtesy of Bill Maher) saying explicitly that she doesn’t celebrate Halloween because it’s a paganistic and satanic holiday. Team O’Donnell’s response–that Gawker was being sexist–was a red herring that just added lies to the hypocrisy (Gawker has lambasted many male public figures for their regressions too and can hardly be called sexist).<br />
<br />
People make choices that others question, or that they regret, or they change their positions over time. I’m not saying that they shouldn't run for elected positions because these facts may come to light through social media; we'd be hard put to find applicants for the job if that were the case. I’m merely pointing out that it’s more important then ever to be honest about who you are, and what you've done, as the truth will eventually find its way out. At the very least, you should fess up when it does and not try to detract from what’s really going on. Social media shines a light on authenticity, or lack thereof.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to my final thought. I wonder how my colleagues in PR deal with the challenge of managing the reputations of politicians who run on public platforms that are disconnected from their private actions and behavior. There seems to be lots of them on both sides of the aisle. If I were Ms. O'Donnell's Communications Director, I'd have wanted to know the truth ahead of time so I could figure out how to spin it in a way that didn't make her look even less credible.<br />
<br />
But then, I'm not Ms. O'Donnell's Communications Director.<br />
<br />
<b>UPDATE: </b>Wisconsin voters are sending 39 year old Sean Duffy, a contestant on the sixth season of <i>The Real World</i>, to congress. NY Mag wryly <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/congress_welcomes_its_first_fo.html">points out</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
Kids, take this as the inspiring lesson it should be: Don’t let anyone scare you into thinking there are embarrassing things you can do on television that, given the right amount of time and effort, you can not live down.</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569147733035572532.post-6001316763329640102010-10-31T18:19:00.000-07:002010-11-02T12:17:28.978-07:00How Sport Is An Important Part Of Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYAC9g0f7UsvI-ST6zCGpNsSudWIFcxsU1V4gK9aJaIo2Nsms7t9C-A3UVa8TiKl9s3EkkGdBjbnvJuAejauY0ObTgPTpuhoc4W_n4hIr_grCLnY3uyays3BjAY91msgRywFqtXZ46XQ/s1600/world+series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYAC9g0f7UsvI-ST6zCGpNsSudWIFcxsU1V4gK9aJaIo2Nsms7t9C-A3UVa8TiKl9s3EkkGdBjbnvJuAejauY0ObTgPTpuhoc4W_n4hIr_grCLnY3uyays3BjAY91msgRywFqtXZ46XQ/s400/world+series.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/randychiu/">Randy Chiu</a><br />
<br />
What do baseball and football (or any other sport for that matter) have in common with business? They're fail-safe things you can talk to your colleagues and customers about.<br />
<br />
Your work most likely takes you around this great country to various organizations where you no doubt meet and interact with people of all stripes. When you sit down with your clients or vendor partners for a meeting, in the first few minutes there will invariably be two types of people in the room: the ones who are talking and the ones who have nothing to say. Why? Because before you get down to the brass-tacks of business (and while you're waiting for stragglers to arrive) the ice-breaker is more often than not, sports. Some people feel that sports is beneath them and so don't deign to follow which means they can't participate in this important part of the business ritual. <br />
<br />
According to this <a href="http://ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=5969">study</a>, college educated women enjoy sports as much as their male counterparts but men watch more sports than women and have a greater grasp of sports trivia. Sadly, there are still more men than women in leadership positions in the U.S. (source: <a href="http://www.catalyst.org/press-release/86/rate-of-womens-advancement-to-top-corporate-officer-positions-slow-new-catalyst-tenth-anniversary-census-reveals">Catalyst research</a>) but the chances are, for your client or colleague of either gender, sports is a great water-cooler topic to chat about. The same holds true for vendors, regardless of whether they have a college education or not. Plus, it's much safer ground than politics, or religion, or what kind of car you drive.<br />
<br />
I'm not just talking about sports, really. Think communication, connection and preparation; all things you need to be good at to make it in business. If you really care about your various stakeholders and you want to forge a strong bond with them, or strengthen an existing relationship, demonstrate that you care what they care about, be prepared and spend some time reading up on their sports teams. <br />
<br />
Go Giants!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius">http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius</a>.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>nzensiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02568301009334604502noreply@blogger.com0