Trafcom News

Third Tuesday does social media measurement

As Joe Thornley says in his blog post, measurable results in the realm of social media are hard to come by. But guidance is at hand. At the Third Tuesday Toronto meetup on May 20, you can learn from a panel of measurement experts, who’ll tackle this tricky concept: Measurement queen Katie Paine, President of KD Paine and Partners and author of Measuring Public Relationships; Marshall Sponder, the Chair of the Web Analytics Association’s Community and Social Media Committee; and Marcel Lebrun, President of Radian6.

The panelists will be coming to Third Tuesday straight from the Roundtable on Social Media Measurement and Metrics, which Joe has spearheaded.

Visit the meetup page for details. See you there!

PodCamp Toronto 2008

Thanks to Connie Crosby, Dave Fleet, Eden Spodek, Jay Moonah, Katherine Matthews,  Rob Lee, Sean McGaughey and Tommy Vallier for organizing PodCamp Toronto 2008. I was able to attend only on Saturday, but was glad I did, especially for:

• Chris Brogan’s stream-of-consciousness presentation on “Social Media and Networking,” which was punctuated by a phone call from Mitch Joel, who was obviously bereft at not being in Toronto. Chris speaks with passion, knowledge, generosity and humour. We were fortunate that he made the trip from Boston to be with us.
• Whitney Hoffman’s fast-paced and information-packed talk on “Making it Stick,” in which she shared tips on making our ideas (and our podcasts) memorable to our audiences.
• Victoria Fenner’s inspiring “Soundwalking and Creative Listening” session, which filled my head with ideas for incorporating more ambient sound into my work. I’ve collaborated with Victoria on a few projects; she’s a very talented audio artist.
• Wayne MacPhail’s case study of “How the Alzheimer Society of Ontario Fell in Love with Social Media …” was a fascinating look at how he helped this organization transform its intranet (and soon its external Web presence too) with a wiki and other social media tools. Wayne is one of those multi-talented guys who can communicate in the written and spoken word, photography, audio, video, you name it. He speaks geek too.
• “Video Podcasting for Beginners” with Vergel Evans and Bill Deys, where these two answered lots of questions about how to use video to spread your message. The consensus is that Blip.TV is one awesome tool.

Late in the day, I participated in an informal roundtable discussion with Victoria Fenner and Wayne MacPhail on “Corporate Podcasting Best Practices.” Because many of those who streamed into the room were involved in nonprofits, we devoted some time to talking about podcasting in this sector. Another hot topic: “selling” the podcast to clients, and discussing the contentious issue of measurement and ROI. Thankfully, Connie Crosby saved us from white-board-less-ness with her quick creation of a live slide deck as we talked. Wow. You’ll find it on Slidehsare. Thanks to Connie, and to Victoria and Wayne! Also take a look at Michelle Sullivan’s blog post about this discussion as well as several other PodCamp sessions.

If you missed PodCamp Toronto either in person or the live stream, watch for the media archives, which will be posted soon.

Photo credit: Wayne MacPhail

Shel’s top five reasons why companies resist social media

Shel Holtz knows his social media. He’s also an expert on organizational communications. In a blog post today, he lists the most common reasons for companies to resist wading into the social media waters:

1. IT won’t let us

2. It will be abused

3. Management fears loss of control

4.  Legal and regulatory risks

5. We don’t have the time or resources

From my experience, I agree wholeheartedly with Shel’s list, with reason #5 being the most common lament. Most of the corporate communicators with whom I work are drowning in projects, struggling to keep their heads above water. What do you think?

Big Ideas, Small Budget

What’s the big idea?
Big Ideas, Small Budget will be a discussion about how nonprofit organizations can communicate better without spending wads of cash. Big Ideas, Small Budget will start as a conference call, the contents of which will become a special episode of the Trafcom News Podcast. You are invited to participate in this conference call.

Who can take part?
Anyone who works for or with a nonprofit organization can contribute – whether you’re a board or staff member, volunteer or consultant (writer, PR specialist, graphic designer, Web expert, podcaster, and so on). If you are involved in any way with communicating for nonprofits, we’d love your help.

When?
The conference call is at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time on Friday, February 15, 2008. Dial 1-605-772-3285, then key in the access code 877696#. Don’t forget the pound key (number sign) at the end.

How will the call be structured?
I will pose one question at the beginning and invite callers to join in. For starters: What are the biggest communications challenges faced by nonprofit organizations with small budgets? After a discussion about that, we can talk about problems and solutions.

What kinds of things will we talk about?
Creating a communications strategy with a tight budget in mind; developing a Web presence; using traditional and social media; hiring internally or contracting out; training staff in communications tactics.

How long will the call be?
I’m planning on 45 to 60 minutes for the call. The eventual podcast will be shorter.

Can the knowledge gained in the Big Ideas, Small Budget discussion be transferred to government and for-profit organizations?
In a word, yes!

Do I have to RSVP?
If you’re fairly certain that you’re going to take part, please let me know by commenting on the blog or sending me an email at Donna AT Trafcom DOT com. Of course if your schedule suddenly frees up on February 15, you’re more than welcome to dial in even if you haven’t alerted me in advance.

Who came up with this big idea?
Big Ideas, Small Budget was inspired by Tina Hansen, a frequent commenter on the Trafcom News Podcast. Tina volunteers her time and talents, particularly with the National Federation of the Blind. She and I have enjoyed an email exchange on this topic, and I’ve decided to run this conference call and then create the subsequent podcast to help her and others. I am a volunteer, too, and I know that communicating on a small budget can be challenging.

Who designed the nice logo?
Registered Graphic Designer Branimir Zlamalik created the Big Ideas, Small Budget logo. He and I often collaborate on projects. In fact, we both work on communications for a nonprofit organization here in Oakville, Ontario. Check out his GBCom Unlimited Web site.

Do I get any glory for participating?
I will ask everyone who dials in to send me their full name, organization name and URL, which I will include in the detailed show notes for the podcast. Even more, you’ll know that you’ve done something to contribute to the greater good, and what’s better than that?

What’s next?
Please mark your calendar for noon Eastern on February 15. And spread the word too!

Share your wisdom

The folks at Raw Voice are creating a Podcast FAQ and they’re inviting podcasters to contribute content. Check out the list of resources (which is soon to grow) if you want to learn more about podcasting.

And speaking of learning, Dave Fleet and friends have been busy building the Social Media Training Wiki, which is fast becoming a valuable resource for those who want to expand their knowledge about social media. Dave is seeking more contributors, so join in the fun. I plan to -- soon!

Attention all chicks!

Guys too. Come to Third Tuesday Toronto (held on Wednesday, January 23) to meet ChickAdvisor co-founders Alex and Ali de Bold, who will share a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges and experiences of establishing a Web 2.0 site.

Check out Joe Thornley’s ProPR blog for details.

See you Wednesday night!

Advice for would-be CEO bloggers

If you're working with a CEO who's thinking about blogging, please read Todd Defren's post right now.

On a related note, I'll be blogging/podcasting about CEO podcasts next week.

Talk is Cheap: successful all around

Gary Schlee and his team from the Corporate Communications and Public Relations program at Centennial College in Toronto did an amazing job running the Talk is Cheap social media unconference on November 15. Almost 200 people came out to hear people talking about social media in the real world. I enjoyed the sessions by Tara Wood of the World Wildlife Fund Canada about using social media to augment a traditional awareness campaign; Rick Spence of Canadian Entrepreneur on the power of blogs vs. print; and Jen Maier of Urban Moms  and Michelle Kostya of Cuisinart, who spoke of building community as a way to ultimately build sales.

I regret missing Joe Thornley discussing best practices in social media relations, Wayne McPhail talking about video and Dave Fleet sharing his insights into social media and crisis communications (with a case study about the California wildfires).

Thanks to the Toronto chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for stepping up to sponsor this first-time event.

Here are my impressions as an attendee and speaker:

• The students were so very helpful. From the moment you walked through the doors, you could always find a fresh young face to direct you to the right place; those of us who are directionally challenged are grateful for this.
• Nice food, especially for a free conference. Much appreciated.
• Kudos for keeping everyone on time. Twenty minutes seemed to work well for the presentations.
• Allowing 15 or so minutes between sessions was a smart idea to encourage networking; there seemed to be plenty of this going on.
• Mixing seasoned pros and young students keeps both groups on their toes; this is a good thing.
• No one was selling anything. Hallelujah.
• The evening went by way too fast for me and left me wanting more. So what’s the deal for next year, Gary?

Congratulations to Gary and the students.

Social-media training via social media

I wish I had more time today to dive into Dave Fleet’s new creation: a wiki focused on social-media training (I’m on deadline, so it’ll have to wait).

Dave is inviting the online PR community to join him in developing this Social Media 101 training program.

Check it out.  I hope to get involved. Next week!

Using tech to talk during a crisis

Dave Fleet, who blogs at Fleet Street, does an excellent job of analyzing the use of new media in the communications around the terrible wildfires in California. Those who work in the public sector can learn a lot from Dave and from the other sources to which he links.

(Hey, Dave, maybe you could cover new-media crisis communications at the Talk is Cheap unconference in Toronto next month?)