Lori Woehrle gives an overview of using social media to benefit your community
During this afternoon's pre-conference session at the 2009 SNAP Conference, Lori Woerhle, director of corporate relations, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, gave attendees a quick run-down of what the most popular social media platforms have to offer. Here's a breakdown of what she had to say:
LinkedIn gives members a place to visibly connect with their association. LinkedIn displays your direct connections, as well as a list of their connections to help you find new contacts. If you tell LinkedIn where you're going and when, it will remind you of who in your network will be there to help you connect in your industry.
Facebook is not just for kids, despite what you think. It features 160-character status updates, photos, videos, events, 52,000 applications, fan pages and more. The main message for using
Facebook: Don't be afraid to go outside the box with your page, because it can always be changed.
YouTube is continuous video broadcasting and video storage. Upload and share videos, save your favorites, create a playlist, comment on videos and create a page to brand your organization. You can load YouTube videos to your Facebook page, blogs, Ning site and more. Autism Speaks and Anaheim Ballet are two organizations that have cracked the YouTube branding code.
Twitter is simply a platform to post 140-character status updates. You can link to Web sites and brand your Twitter page to suit your company, and use your account to track trends for stories in your magazines. Here are a few examples of how Twitter can help your association publication:
• Editors can test hypotheses and find interviews.
• Get feedback and new thoughts about your association publications.
• Find others who are passionate about your organization.
• Seek out people with similar passions and invite them to join the conversation.
• Watch for complaints and find out what your members are saying about you.
Tips for getting the most out of Twitter: Get engaged, read replies, respond, start as a listener, treat it like a microblog and, most importantly, remember to post a picture!
Ning--The SNAP pre-conference community site was created through Ning. Attendees created a profile where they could post photos, videos and blogs, meet other attendees and preview the conference sessions to decide which to attend. Ning is perfect for creating a buzz before an event like the SNAP conference.
To close, Woehrle reminded listeners that to connect with readers, social media must do the following:
If you missed Lori's presentation, check it out below or download it from Slideshare.
During this afternoon's pre-conference session at the 2009 SNAP Conference, Lori Woerhle, director of corporate relations, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, gave attendees a quick run-down of what the most popular social media platforms have to offer. Here's a breakdown of what she had to say:LinkedIn gives members a place to visibly connect with their association. LinkedIn displays your direct connections, as well as a list of their connections to help you find new contacts. If you tell LinkedIn where you're going and when, it will remind you of who in your network will be there to help you connect in your industry.
Facebook is not just for kids, despite what you think. It features 160-character status updates, photos, videos, events, 52,000 applications, fan pages and more. The main message for using
Facebook: Don't be afraid to go outside the box with your page, because it can always be changed.
YouTube is continuous video broadcasting and video storage. Upload and share videos, save your favorites, create a playlist, comment on videos and create a page to brand your organization. You can load YouTube videos to your Facebook page, blogs, Ning site and more. Autism Speaks and Anaheim Ballet are two organizations that have cracked the YouTube branding code.
Twitter is simply a platform to post 140-character status updates. You can link to Web sites and brand your Twitter page to suit your company, and use your account to track trends for stories in your magazines. Here are a few examples of how Twitter can help your association publication:
• Editors can test hypotheses and find interviews.
• Get feedback and new thoughts about your association publications.
• Find others who are passionate about your organization.
• Seek out people with similar passions and invite them to join the conversation.
• Watch for complaints and find out what your members are saying about you.
Tips for getting the most out of Twitter: Get engaged, read replies, respond, start as a listener, treat it like a microblog and, most importantly, remember to post a picture!
Ning--The SNAP pre-conference community site was created through Ning. Attendees created a profile where they could post photos, videos and blogs, meet other attendees and preview the conference sessions to decide which to attend. Ning is perfect for creating a buzz before an event like the SNAP conference.
To close, Woehrle reminded listeners that to connect with readers, social media must do the following:
- Develop story ideas and stories
- Ask questions; follow trends
- Extend stories
- Make announcements about your association
- Give your association a personality
[See photos from the pre-conference workshop on Flickr]
Very interesting breakdown! It's easy to lump all of these sites together, but it's good to know that each has a unique niche. Sounds like the secret is knowing how to use each medium to its fullest potential. I especially love how Twitter is changing the way reporters find leads. Wish it had been around when I was covering the education beat at a local newspaper!