Gracie Communications

by Jennifer Stringer

I think whatever your craft is, you learn to spot and respect good work by your industry peers. My craft is marketing, so I’m starting a monthly blog series called “I Spy with My Marketing Eye” to admire creative, memorable ways my fellow communication professionals speak to their audiences/customers.

At the recent Competing for your Attention Conference, Karen Crotchfelt, publisher and president of Star Media, shared that we see an average of 3,000 brands a day. As a marketer, I am always looking at ways that brands can stand out in the crowd.  As my “I Spy” finds illustrate this month, making people take notice can be as simple as sharing a few words on a sign.

This billboard makes me think hey “I’m an interesting person with different interests. Maybe I should check out NPR, which I thought was only for self-absorbed, know-it-alls before I passed this sign. Now I know NPR is for people just like me!”

According to NPR, this campaign, which they’re testing in Indy and three other cities, is aimed at showing the diversity of public radio listeners. Mission accomplished, according to this red-Converse wearing, Hoarders fan.

By Jennifer Stringer

I LOVE to read. I read books, magazines, newsletters, blogs, cereal boxes and everything in between. So do millions of other people. Recent headlines would make one believe people are only reading Facebook posts and other quick nuggets, all online.

Thankfully, people are still reading good, in-depth content. Yes, they’re reading more online from digital devices. According to Newsweek, which just published its last print issue, 70 million+ people in the U.S. use a tablet, an increase of 13 million in two years.

But they aren’t just reading online. Case in point: the magazine rack at Books A Million. I had a Sunday afternoon to enjoy at the bookstore, and I couldn’t find the books I wanted so I ventured to the back of the store. The entire back wall of the store was stocked with magazines – about six levels of magazines. I was blown away by the number of specialized magazines.

You don’t just have a two or three general cooking magazines anymore; now you have Living Without, Clean Eating and Gastronomica. And you don’t have a general crafting magazine, you have specialized magazines like Wire Jewelry and Green Craft magazine.

According to VOCUS, 195 online and print magazines launched in 2011; 50 of these were online only. The new publications have a very specific reader in mind. Do you have a specific reader in mind when you write your content”? Or, like many companies, do you send out the one monthly e-blast or print newsletter and try to cover all your audiences – staff, clients, donors, Board members and the general public?

The reality is different audiences are looking for different content. For example, let’s say you’re a nonprofit that helps people who are unemployed get back on their feet. Your staff and potential clients may want to read a feel-good story about a specific client named Darren who came to a job fair last month and found a job. Staff want to know they’ve changed lives, sometimes one life at a time. Potential clients want to see that someone like them achieved success. Donors want to know their contributions are making a difference on a larger scale. These are different stories for different audiences. Why not write two or three different articles (one for staff/potential clients and one for donors) and target who receives each message.

After all, with limited time and so many reading options, which would you prefer? A one-size-fits-all story or one that has you in mind?

Our first frost of the season, and I’m already looking back at the long, hot summer of 2012! This summer I faced my own “inconvenient truth”: I am a wader, not a jumper. No matter how hot it was, not matter how much better I knew I would feel once I got in the pool, I couldn’t jump in.

You probably have a client or two who is a wader. They love the idea of social media, mobile apps or some other new tool, but they’re just not going to jump in. What can you do if you are dealing with a client who is a wader?

1. Don’t push them in. Just like people really hate being pushed into a cold pool, a client doesn’t want to be “pushed” into trying something just because you say, “C’mon on in, the water’s fine.”

2. Show them other swimmers. Give them examples of how social media worked. And if you can show them how it worked within their industry that’s even better. If your client is a small nonprofit, don’t show them how some big, corporate entity with a million-dollar budget and a huge marketing department added 10K followers in a week. Show them how a non-profit with 10 full-time people built excitement for their annual walkathon using social media.

3. Key an eye on the lifeguard. Look what happened to JCPenney’s when they listened to the “experts” and not their customers.

4. Encourage them to get their feet wet. Let them start with a blog a week, a post a day, one photo on Instagram…you get the idea.  As they begin to feel comfortable, suggest how they can increase their social media presence.

5. Show them the progress they’re making.  Their initial focus will be on how many likes, followers or mentions. Take the time to educate your client about the variety of social media metrics tools that can help capture their true success.

Some clients are always going to be waders. They may have a large organization, management or staff that is reluctant to change or other priorities competing for the same dollars and time. As you work with your client—and listen to their concerns (a Gracie specialty!) – you create trust and build a great foundation for a long-term relationship with your client.

 (Photo from www.daytonachamber.com)

by Jennifer Stringer, who provides content marketing, social media and direct communications management for Gracie Communications’ clients

In an ideal social media world, we would add new fans and followers every day because our posts, exciting videos and thought-provoking questions would result in consistent likes, comments and retweets.

In the real world, social media growth often occurs in a cyclical pattern, not a linear one. For some organizations, there’s a natural rise and fall to their organization calendar.  For example, if your organization has a big 5K or fundraiser planned in May, you’re probably going to have a period of growth prior to and leading up to the event, a gradual decline after the event and a significant drop a month or two after the big event.

If your nonprofit seems to follow a cyclical pattern, here are a few tips on how to survive each social media “season.”

Spring-Planting Your Seeds

How you know you’re in this season:

You are moving from brainstorming to developing and committing to a plan. You are letting your staff, partners, donors and partners know about your plans.

What you can do during this season:

Create a plan that is easy to follow and execute. Create an editorial calendar for posts, blogs and tweets. As you fill in your calendar, use Gracie Communications’ story arc model and develop a beginning, middle and end to your organization’s story.

Create your copy, shoot the videos and pre-write the posts and blogs.

Build excitement and relationships both online and off.

Summer-You’re Hot, Hot, Hot

How you know you’re in this season:

You’re launching your new service or the BIG day of your event or fundraiser is here! Your issue is “in” because it’s the latest, greatest thing, because a celebrity is talking about it, because it’s making national news and you’re a local expert, etc.

What you can do:

Take pictures and create videos and new copy as the event happens so you have info to share during and after the event.

Post, share and blog. Repeat.

Ask your fans and followers to post their photos, comments and reactions.

Comment and RT on others’ posts, blogs and tweets about the topic so you’re part of the conversation.

Fall- Sow Now, Reap Later

How you know you’re in this season:

You’ve pulled off your big event but the online buzz has moved on to the next big thing. Your Facebook posts and mentions start to dwindle.

What you can do:

Remind everyone about how successful your product launch, event or program was, how much money was raised after the final tallies, what programs can now be funded, how people can be helped, etc.

Check your harvest. Jay Baer, owner of Convince and Convert, offers these six tips for measuring your social media efforts.

Promote your partners and their events and programs now, and they’ll support you later.

Winter-Going Underground 

How you know you’re in this season:

Your Facebook page says no one is talking about you. You can’t get your BFF to RT a tweet. You don’t know what to post besides, “Happy Monday, everybody!”

What you can do:

Remind people of the work you do all year.

Reach out to potential new partners, donors and fans and invite them to be a part of the next event.

Experiment with new social media tools so you can use them for your next campaign. Check out Pinterest or other sites that are attracting new online buzz.

Go dormant – for a little while. Resist the urge to post just to post. Our friends at Firebelly Marketing emphasize that you should make sure content is relevant.

Peek through the soil – let people know you’re working on new programs and events and you’re excited about sharing more details soon.

In every season, you can be growing.  At times, the growth will show in your numbers, and at other times you will be growing underground in preparation for the next spring!

(Photos courtesy of IN.gov, atgeist.com, and indyhomesblog.com)

Posted by Lisa Sirkin Vielee

Ask anyone who has worked with me. I LOVE staying organized. I have a task list in my Franklin planner. I have calendars online and on my refrigerator. I keep Post-It notes of things to do all over my desk.  Some call this Type-A control freak. I call it being prepared.

I apply this freakish methodical approach to my work projects as well.  For more than 20 years, I have some version of a production schedule to keep projects progressing and teams on task. Whether you use a third-party program like Basecamp, go to Google for shared calendars, or just have an Excel spreadsheet, there are many benefits to using a scheduling tool.

1. Deadlines create a sense of urgency. It is human nature to procrastinate. I don’t know about you, but there is nothing like a schedule – and people checking it – to keep me on task.  With a production schedule, you can know what to work on and when.

2. A schedule keeps the whole team on the same page. Very few marketing projects are done by only one person. Whether you are in corporate communications, a large agency or a freelancer, you may have a designer, web developer, editor, or account supervisor involved in the work. In this day of virtual offices, you can’t count on a weekly, in-person team meeting to stay up-to-date. There are several great (and sometimes free) online project management tools to help.

3. A schedule keeps the client accountable as well. Customer input is a necessity for effective marketing and public relations products.  Interviews have to happen. Photo shoots are scheduled. Vacations have to be accounted for. The C-suite has to sign off on the copy. Etc. Etc.  Be sure to build in time on your production schedule for the client to complete her own work. And make sure he also knows that his tardiness has an impact on the whole schedule. (Say it in a nice way.)

4. Deadlines help create priority. A production schedule is as much for your other clients as it is for the customer who is receiving the final goods.  Having a good scheduling system helps you manage multiple projects and the time you spend on all of them.

5. Without a schedule, who knows when you’ll get the job done? An ambiguous deadline is not something you find in the retail industry. Imagine ordering a Christmas present from Amazon.com and NOT being told when it will arrive? So why should it acceptable for professionals to hedge their bets and not give a delivery date for, say, website copy or new signage?

Yes, any project schedule can be flexible. Things do happen that require deadlines to shift. But you have to start with a deadline in order to know if you have to move it.

A good friend of mine once told me that he liked to surround himself with people smarter than himself. He said we’d all be in trouble if he were the smartest person in the room. While there is plenty that this friend is the smartest about, I have taken that advice to heart and try to hang out with ubersmart people. I’ve found the really smart ones are also the ones most willing to share what they know.

That was definitely the case at Blog Indiana 2010. The two-day conference was filled with smart presenters who gladly shared their knowledge and expertise with everyone in the room.  With 35 speakers, I wasn’t able to attend every session but there were two in particular that stood out. (more…)

 I had the honor of speaking at Blog Indiana 2010. My session was about why using a community of real people might be the right strategy for your organization’s blog. After creating and managing the FitCity Moms blog, I am a firm believer in letting your own consumers be a voice of your brand.  But doing that also means giving your consumers control over your brand.

Here’s the thing about control…it comes down to trust. Can you trust a bunch of people to stay on message? But then again, can you entrust your message to those within your organization? (more…)