Social Media and Video Tips from the 2011 PRSA Chesapeake Conference

November 16, 2011

Jenn

If you noticed that the TUOutreach Facebook and Twitter accounts were quiet on Thursday November 3,  good observation! I am the social media manager around here, and I spent Thursday at the 2011 PRSA Chesapeake Conference, learning about social media and other marketing, public relations, and advertising media.

I could go into an in-depth discussion about my day, but I’d like to instead focus on a few of the sessions that I attended, and what I learned from them.

I started my day with a video presentation by Ed Beckett and Sharon Brown from University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). My top take-away ideas from this session:

1. If you don’t have a good space for video, you may be able to rent production space from a local public television station.
2. Try to include experts in your videos, this allows for strong content.
3. Be selective about who you interview on camera and make sure they’re comfortable on camera.
4. Take a thumb drive with you to video meetings so that you can collect photos, presentations, and other visuals to include in the video.
5. Be sure to have the visuals in your video complement the spoken words (for example, if you say “dog”, show a dog, and if you see a dog, say “dog”).
6. Use phrases like “you”, “as you can see here”, and “take a look at this” to draw audience attention.
7. Use your video in other outlets such as emails and social media to maximize efficiency.

After the video session, I sat in on a Twitter session presented by Governor O’Malley’s New Media Manager, Zoe Pagonis, as well as Lori Livingston, New Media Manager for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Some key take-aways from this session include:

1. Use presentation platforms like Prezi to switch it up from PowerPoint.
2. Use a hashtag so that the audience can tweet about your presentation.
3. Have a laptop on hand during the presentation so that the presenters can answer questions received via Twitter.
4. Integrate social media with other departments to maximize efficiency.
5. Include videos in press releases.
6. Use videos to personalize your message.
7. Use websites like Vimeo for paid and free background music for your videos.

While the conference had several sessions, these two stuck out as my favorites. As you can see, the sessions of the 2011 PRSA Chesapeake Conference left their audiences with some great take-aways. This event was a valuable experience, and I hope to return next year.

Logo for the 2011 PRSA Chesapeake Conference


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Posted by Jenn Lake

5 Tips for Using Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs for Event Marketing

October 13, 2011

Jenn

1. Create a Facebook event page
A Facebook event page allows you to publish essential information about your event (time, location, etc.), and track who will be attending. This is a great place to post relevant articles and resources that will further engage the audience. It also gives the audience a place to make comments on the event and share the event with their Facebook friends. The sharing feature is essential because it allows your event to reach more potential attendees.

2. Connect with Guest Speakers or Event Sponsors
If your event features a notable guest speaker, be sure to mention him/her on social media. For example, you can mention the individual on Twitter or tag them on Facebook. You can also mention sponsors in the same way. Mentioning a notable speaker or sponsor on social media will associate them with your event, thus creating increased awareness and credibility. Blogs are also a great place to connect with guest speakers. For example, you can have a guest speaker do a guest blog post about your event.

3. Publish Event Updates on Social media
Social media can also be used to keep your audience up to date as the event approaches. For example, you may want to let your audience know about agenda changes, new sponsors, new speakers, or new attractions. You can also use social media to countdown to the event, and to let your audience know when the event is close to selling out.

4. Publicize Social Media URLs
Be sure to include Facebook, Twitter, and Blog URLs on all websites and/or print collateral that are used to market the event. This should result in increased traffic to your social media websites since the consistent appearance of social media icons and URL’s will remind the audience to connect with your event.  Be sure to create a hashtag and let your audience know about it through your marketing efforts. Hashtags allow the audience to follow conversations about your event if they search the hashtag on Twitter.

5. Use Social Media for Crowd Sourcing
You can also use Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to interact with the audience. For example, you can poll the audience by asking what they’d like to see at the event. This will allow you to hear the voice of your audience and to ultimately present content that is relevant to your audience, creating greater satisfaction with the event.

Check out how DECO is using social media!

Image Credit: fotographic1980

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Posted by Jenn Lake

Social Media for Entrepreneurs

August 25, 2011
http://tuoutreach.com/author/clayhickson/

Clay

Over the past few years, social media seems to have become an essential part in our lives.   Networking sites have changed the way we interact with the world.  While many sites were created mainly for personal uses, it did not take long for companies to discover the potential for business growth.

Amongst those who have benefited greatly from social media are entrepreneurs and small business owners.  Why?  Because of extensive reach and relatively low cost.   After all, sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn offer access to 1 billion users combined at minimal costs.  And while big corporations have the means to invest in large marketing campaigns to gain recognition, small businesses and start-ups must focus limited funds on more affordable resources.

Social media has become a key marketing tool allowing for more honed targeting of specific new markets.  It can help build awareness and exposure relatively rapidly both locally and internationally.

Lisa Drouillard, owner of My Hopeful Journey, a web-based application for managing infertility treatment programs, says, “Social media has been my primary method of connecting to both my customers and other stakeholders in the infertility community.  I have connected much more easily through social media than by making a cold call.”  Regarding the impact it has had, she says, “Without social media, launching My Hopeful Journey would have been nearly impossible.”

Mark McTamney, owner of BuffTees.com, a small graphic T-shirt company, adds that social media not only has made the process of attracting customers much more organic but also has facilitated customer interaction with the company, allowing him to be more responsive to customers’ needs.


Despite these benefits, many businesses do not explore social media’s full potential because of how time consuming it can be.  It takes time to create a plan that will be effective, and that will offer results over a short period.  People often mistakenly believe that their initiatives will pay off almost immediately while spending a limited amount of time online.  Nowadays, many companies are creating positions in social media marketing because of the important role it plays in gaining exposure and communicating with customers.

While many start-ups and small business owners cannot afford to hire additional employees, having someone dedicated to managing social media efforts could pay off in the long-term.  Both McTamney and Druillard agree that while they do not spend huge amounts of time online, they try to make the most out of their time networking.  “Social media is what I enjoy the most about my business” McTamney says.  “Interacting with my customers is the best part and it is probably the one thing I’d like to continue doing myself.”

Having a business page or blog does not guarantee success.  Like everything else, it takes time, effort, and planning to see results. As Druillard says, “You can’t just put up a Facebook page and expect people to find you”.

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Posted by Clay Hickson

Being Social, too much of a good thing?

May 2, 2011

Dawn

At a recent presentation I attended on Social Media, one of the speakers noted that just as “we” did a few years ago with adding “e” in front of everything (e-commerce, e-business etc.), “we” are now doing it with “Social.”  Of course the skeptic in me thought, no we aren’t.  I mean there is Social Media, Social Worker, Social Studies, Social Class but what else is there?  After a 5 minute search on the web, I now realize we are a lot more social than I originally thought. Here are just are a few of the terms I found:

Some Social Terms

Social Networking Social Policy
Social Psychology Social Contract Theory
Social Responsibility Social Constructivism
Social Law Social Development Theory
Social Investment Social Media Monitoring
Social Media Ambassador Social Learning
Social Recruiting Social Etiquette
Social Technologies Social Gadget Developing Tool
Social Capital


Really what do some of these things mean?
and Does adding the word “social” in front make them that much different if we didn’t add social? According to the American Heritage Concise Dictionary, Social means: living together in communities or groups. As I perused the web trying to find a clear cut meaning of the use of social when added to something else, all I could find was the same thing, the use of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.   So I guess because I check my sons’ Facebook pages, I’m social parenting and when a friend asked peoples’ opinions on Facebook about an iPad versus a Xoom he was social researching?

We seem compelled to over use a term, just because it has popular connotations. There is probably a time and place to use the word Social to increase the impact or to provide a clearer meaning.  Recruiting used to be about finding and placing eligible employees now Social Recruiting is  when companies and recruiters use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media sites to source and recruit candidates for employment[i]. Networking and Social Networking are two related, but slightly different things, but networking is networking.  How it is done doesn’t change the fundamental meaning of it.  Social Etiquette was another social term that gave me pause, shouldn’t etiquette be etiquette?  I’m not sure how adding social here makes or changes its original meaning.

For someone like me who gets confused and overwhelmed easily, I think we should use some discretion when adding to our already complicated lives or maybe I’m just a person who just isn’t very social.

[i] Definition from About.com

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Posted by Dawn Bott

Businesses (and TV Shows) Embrace Twitter

February 9, 2011

Sharyn

I heard about a series taking place on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly last week where Regis was learning how to “tweet” in 15 minutes a day. Then, on Sunday morning I was catching up on some DVR’d television shows, and while watching Grey’s Anatomy I picked up on the storyline that Chief Webber was upset with Bailey because she was “tweetering” during surgery. Both Regis and the Chief ended up seeing the benefits of Twitter for their business by the end of the storyline.

Similar circumstances and fears that Regis and Chief Webber faced seem to affect employers in the real business world. They are usually intimidated, don’t understand Twitter, or think that all this social media stuff is just for college aged students, but with a little research and guidance they begin to see how Twitter can add to the marketing plan for their business.

I talked about this with my colleague, Bobbie Laur, who is a project manager with the Integrated Marketing Team and also dabbles in teaching the ins and outs of social media. She has a few tips for the small business owner who is entering the twitter world:

  1. Know your audience—using a twitter search app you can easily identify and begin following the influencers in your region and industry.
  2. Perfect your profile—Having an articulate and intriguing profile will be the key to attracting followers.
  3. Manage your tweets—Twitter can be overwhelming, especially initially, so use a management tool like tweetdeck or hootsuite to assist in scheduling and managing your tweets.

Twitter is just one of many applications available to businesses today to assist with increasing brand recognition, building customer relationships, and increasing sales.  IMT helps clients evaluate their social media marketing efforts and consider which social media tools will benefit them the most.

To find out more about social media strategy development, visit the Integrated Marketing Team’s website.

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Posted by Sharyn Kuczka

Maryland’s Broadband Map makes finding the right broadband Internet service faster and easier.

September 21, 2010
Steven

Steve

Unhappy with your current Internet provider, but not sure what your options are? Recently moved, or house hunting, and want to know if broadband Internet access is available at the new location? In the past, finding answers to these questions would involve a significant amount of Internet research and you still might miss potential service options. The new interactive Maryland Broadband Map makes answering these questions much easier.

The development team at Towson University’s Center for GIS (CGIS) spent an arduous summer working with our partners internally and at the Maryland Broadband Cooperative and Salisbury University to bring the map application to fruition. We’ve blogged about the data collection effort, and the initial grant award in previous posts.

Getting started is easy.
Visit the Web site, type a Maryland address into the address textbox along the top of the map, and hit “GO.” The map will zoom to the address, and a green highlight will outline the census block for the location. The Results tab in the left panel will then display information about the types of broadband service available in the area. You’ll see an abbreviation in parentheses for each service type, which you can then match to the providers who deliver those services. Hyperlinks to provider Web sites help you quickly find more provider-specific details.

What else can you do with the map?
Besides the address search and service report, the map offers a number of additional features.

  • Get information on any location in Maryland
    By single clicking anywhere in the state, you can initiate the service report for the location of interest. If an address can be linked to the location, you’ll see the full street address. If no address can be linked to the location, you’ll see standard latitude and longitude coordinates in the results.
  • Revisit previous locations
    The Results tab includes a drop down list of locations you previously visited during your viewing session so you can easily return to a location.
  • Report unserved areas
    Two buttons on the Results tab let you communicate potential errors on the map. You can use the error reporting buttons to let us know of errors on the map, such as service types or a specific unserved location (such as your home). We strive hard for accuracy, but sometimes our data isn’t perfect. Your input helps make the map better.
  • Use social media links
    Currently, we provide links to share the Maryland Broadband Map URL through Twitter and Facebook. You can also share the map through email, with an option to include the address or location information and map view just as you see it on your screen.
  • Print out reports
    By clicking the yellow Print icon in the Results tab, you can print the map, service, and provider information to a one- or two- page PDF, allowing you to take the results with you. The PDF report also includes phone numbers to contact the providers about their service options.
  • Explore data
    The Data tab in the left panel lets you view the statewide coverage of various service types on the map. You can see how close a given service type may be to a location, as well as view the availability of a service type over a region (such as your county).
  • Use the Help section to answer questions
    Along with additional information regarding working with the map, the Help documents include a glossary of terms and simple definitions of service types.

 

Why do we show the census block?
In most cases the Internet providers supplied their broadband coverage data to the Maryland broadband mapping team by census blocks. A census block can be bounded by streets, roads, or creeks, and can include no or many households. This means that while your census block may be reported as being served by a particular service type or provider, your individual address or site might not be served. This problem of precision exists most typically in rural areas and along the outer edges of provider service areas. If this problem exists at your address, please let us know by using the “Report an unserved area” button on the Results tab.

I hope this overview helps in your personal search for broadband. If it does, please let us know by emailing us or leaving a comment.

Visit http://www.mdbroadbandmap.org/ for more information regarding the Maryland Broadband Mapping Initiative.


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Posted by Past Bloggers

Getting in the Integrated Marketing Game

September 15, 2010

Sharyn

In recent months, DECO began to offer a new and exciting set of services. The Integrated Marketing Team (IMT) was formed to provide comprehensive solutions for communications and media challenges. Social media strategy and web site analysis and development are the focus of the team.

Just last week, the IMT completed a project where tactics, management strategies, and website integration approaches for implementing a Social Media Marketing Strategy were provided to six start-up businesses. Months were spent analyzing the companies and their industries. In turn, the IMT was able to provide a comprehensive strategy that included:

  • An overview of the social media landscape and how Web 2.0 has impacted the way consumers and businesses interact with one another.

    Click here for a one page reference sheet about the IMT services.

  • Specific social media tools that will work most effectively for each company.  Management and measurement strategies were suggested to ensure that implementing these tools are both time efficient and quantifiable.
  • Website analysis that includes improvement recommendations on navigation and functionality.  Also, social media tool integration recommendations were provided.
  • Tactical outreach, blogging, and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies provided additional advice on how to implement the suggested social media approaches effectively.

  • A Tool Kit provided summaries of each of our favorite social media tools.  The summary includes costs, usefulness, key features, step-by-step guide to get started, and helpful resources.

If social media is a marketing avenue your company would like to explore, don’t hesitate to contact me (I am one of the Project Managers for the IMT) for the guidance your business needs to take a strategy and run with it!

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Posted by Sharyn Kuczka

What do you DO all day?

March 9, 2010

Sharyn

A few of my fellow bloggers (Raquel, Lisa, and Jimmy) here on TUoutreach have touched on what they “do all day” and now it’s my turn. My title is multimedia supervisor. Most people wouldn’t even dare to guess what that means so I’ll provide you with some background and then dive into the type of work I’m doing now.

When I first started working at the Center for GIS, my title was graphic design specialist. My primary job responsibilities included

  • supporting the design requests associated with the development of web mapping applications and
  • promoting an annual event that required the creation of a theme based logo, and several printed pieces to encourage proposal submission, exhibitor commitment, registration, and a program for the event, as well as other design related tasks.

Over the years, my role has expanded quite a bit! This is due to the creation of our division (DECO) and the increase in graphic design support requested. I still support CGIS projects needs, but I also support requests that include:

  • maintenance of the DECO web site
  • creation of print materials to promote new initiatives
  • e-marketing campaigns for events or programs
  • blog and social media application oversight (with Bobbie)
  • event planning support
  • deco client design requests

So, you’re still wondering what all this means? Let me provide you with a couple of examples of two projects I really enjoyed working on.

  • Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) web site – CUMU’s international headquarters are housed at TU. In 2006, I was approached about designing their site and provide continued maintenance. The really fun part about this web site is that each year they host an annual conference and I have the opportunity to work with the conference host on designing the site for the year’s event. CUMU is planning to add an enhancement to the site in the next six months that will provide a library of best practice resources to their members. We’re excited about the opportunity to implement this for them.
  • Mapping Solutions Microsite – As part of Towson’s “Thinking Outside” campaign, mapping solutions CGIS has created were highlighted. Many of you may have seen the commercial while watching Raven’s games in 2008. When you caught the commercial and wanted more information about what you just saw, you would have visited the microsite to find out more. The site was a team effort where I worked with several people across campus to get the site up. It was an exciting project because of variety of content that was incorporated and the impact it would have on the university.

Every day is different when I enter my office which is the main reason I do love my job. I may be working on a web site for an upcoming event, designing a survey tool for a project, or creating a logo for a new initiative, but whatever it is, I’m always on my toes and ready for the next challenge.

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Posted by Sharyn Kuczka

President Caret on Social Media and What He Can’t Live Without

March 3, 2010

Dr. Caret

When it comes to technology, I have always been willing and excited to try something new. Back when I was Dean of Sciences and Mathematics, I set aside money in my budget to bring some of the first personal computers to Towson’s campus by helping set up our own facility to build and serve Towson University’s own brand—“Bullet Train” PC’s. Through the years I have owned and tested the gamut of personal devices and gadgets and today, I couldn’t live without my laptop, my Blackberry and my Kindle. For my busy lifestyle, technology isn’t a toy or something to do in my spare time, but rather it keeps me organized and connected. So quite naturally I was also an early-adopter of social media because I see it as a valuable professional and personal tool.

My approach to social media isn’t unlike my experience with gadgets. I have dabbled with everything from Second Life to Linked In to podcasts.  It didn’t take long to realize, however, the more time and energy you invest into social media, the greater your return. So, I narrowed my scope to those most relevant to my needs—Facebook and Twitter.  Everything I do, funnels back to my Facebook, whether I post a new blog or highlight a recent TU accomplishment.  I use Twitter to follow the latest news and events, and to occasionally check out what the FakePrezCaret aka “Bobby Carrot”–my unauthorized cyber troll–is doing.

To say that social media is becoming the new norm may be an understatement. I read in the NY Times this week about a university that is inviting its applicants to use YouTube for their optional essays.  If you are not involved with some kind of social medial tool right now, pick one to join today.  Without it you are missing a connection to an entire world of real-time information, breaking news, and interesting people.

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Posted by Guest Blogger

Got Social Media?

November 23, 2009

Sharyn

Last week I had the opportunity to return to one of my alma maters, University of Baltimore, to attend an event hosted by the Public Relations Society of America’s Maryland chapter. “10 Questions to Ask When Developing a Social Media Strategy” presented by Sean Carton of idfive was exactly the new information I was looking for. I’m eager to keep learning more and more about social media and how it can be used in a business capacity. What I liked about Sean’s presentation was that he spent a little time on the basics of social media and then he posed questions that really made me think and evaluate the strategy that we have in place for DECO. I was smiling and even laughing out loud throughout the presentation because Sean was able to share his 10 tips in a humorous, yet informative manner. Below I’ve highlighted a few of the questions he posed.

from fresherthan.com

Why chose social media?

Don’t think jumping on the bandwagon is a good enough answer. Just because everyone under 25 is doing it, make sure your organization is doing it for the right reason. You have to know your audience, or have a desire to build stronger relationships with that audience. Maybe you’re an organization that attracts a certain niche or you do something better than your competitors. We found that within our organization that offers services like economic analysis, it solutions, GIS consulting, business incubation, small business development and education, that we have a story to tell and we wanted to make sure the region was hearing about it.

Are you ready to give up control?

This is something that can be tricky. You can’t control what people say about your organization. And today, it’s easier and easier for people to say what they want in forums, twitter, blogs, and really anywhere. So don’t be scared of that, join the conversation. The whole point of social media is that it should be a two-way conversation. As Sean pointed out during his presentation, the truth can hurt, but it may be worth hearing.

How do you plan to get users to visit?

You can build it, but will they come? How will you spread the word? We’ve found that the content we create on our blog can help generate tidbits for our quarterly newsletter and twitter account. We’re asking university and business partners to help promote our blog and we’re sending relevant blog posts to clients hoping they will be enlightened or even share the information with other colleagues. Since the blog’s launch we have received more and more comments and also had our articles picked up internally at TU. You could say our approach is a little more on the grass roots side right now.

Who’s responsible for maintenance?

This is the tricky, but critical part of an organization’s social media strategy. At DECO we didn’t want to jump in head first and just hope the blog would work. We spent an entire summer talking with our team in DECO to find out who was interested in working with the blog, impressions of social media, and developing policies. We reviewed other blogs for what we liked and didn’t like, and then started building the framework. Since the launch, we formed a user group and meet monthly to talk about our posting schedule. This helps to keep all the contributors in the loop of the expectations. Editing and posting the articles then becomes a pretty easy task. It’s a good idea to make the maintenance part of someone’s job responsibilities so that it gets done. It’s also important to establish criteria of your social media, allow autonomy to your staff who oversees the social media and integrate it with all the forms of communication you are currently using.

Hearing this presentation gave me a few things to think about and I have a better idea of how to evaluate our social media strategy and make our presence stronger.

Click here to view the presentation

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Posted by Sharyn Kuczka

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