What We Learned: Evaluating New Media Effectiveness

The January 2011 meeting of Public Policy Communicators NYC focused on Evaluating New Media Effectiveness – What are the best ways to measure and track the impact of new media [...]

Zithromax 500mg

Zithromax 500mg, The September 2010 meeting of Public Policy Communicators NYC focused on “Communications Integration.” We examined what are some of the best methods and technologies to coordinate communications efforts so that work flow and content for websites, e-newsletters and social media are seamless and but not repetitive.  We had thoughtful presentations from systems experts representing Convio, Blackbaud and Network for Good, on streamlining marketing and communications efforts, which was followed by 45 minutes of Q&A that brought forth many great inquiries from PPC attendees.

In preparing for the session, we had asked each of the presenters to cover the same basic territory but from their own perspectives.  We asked them to:

-       Define the key terms that are often thrown around (i.e. CRM)
-       Talk generally about the range of options that are out there for bringing more efficiency and effectiveness to communications efforts (not just “donate now” functions, but online community building, Zithromax for acne, functions that assist in advocacy and guide constituencies to action, ticketing/events management online, etc.)
-       Talk about how new technologies and services can help organizations better coordinate their social networking efforts and help save time
-       Quickly note the services their companies offer that can help get the job done

First up, Blackbaud’s Brooks Matthews and his colleague Jeff O’Toole.
(Contact Brooks at: 843.343.9442 or brooks.matthews@blackbaud.com)

The Blackbuad team emphasized something they called “TrueCRM” v. basic CRM.  There are lots of Customer Relationship Management systems out there, buy zithromax 500mg, but TrueCRM is a system like Blackbaud’s that provides real-time data flow between your organization’s website and your CRM system so that there are seamless connections that thread your online information exchanges, email marketing, web content management and web strategy. This kind of “TrueCRM” system should ideally also be woven together with the organization’s utilization of data analytics, fundraising, relationship cultivation, membership development, events management, donor cultivation, advocacy and direct mail, zithromax 500mg.

From Blackbaud’s perspective, Z pak pneumonia, there are 5 Key Components of Effective Communications:

1. Integrating online and offline communications systems


2. Learning about your supporters’ communications preferences


3. Targeting and personalizing all communications


4. Reporting on communications outcomes, which is key to determining future strategy


5. Diversifying communications methods.

Many organizations have their information in separate silos, Matthews said, and this is a big challenge for them.  In talking about the first point, O’Toole showed a screen-shot of a Blackbaud client’s database interface.  It showed over a dozen tabs that allowed the user to slice and dice data about an individual’s interactions with the nonprofit.  These tabs included: bio, addresses, zpak dosage, salutations/affiliations (etc.), relationships, appeals, notes, Can you buy zithromax over the counter, gifts, attributes, media, actions, honor/memorial, prospect and NetCommunity, z pak bronchitis. As O’Toole talked about a typical communicator’s needs around information integration, he showed how the system allowed the user to see in real-time exactly what kind of information the individual had received, how they had responded to the information (if at all) and how the individual was interacting with the organization through a variety of media.

As Blackbaud proceeded through its presentation, Buy zithromax 1000mg, they showed how their system could be used to personalize messages to targeted audiences and to develop a better understanding of how messages are received.  They emphasized the importance of having a system that allows the organization to easily create reports on data flow and constituent response – not just whether or not certain pieces of communications had moved individuals to make donations, but whether or not they had shared information with others or taken other actions that are important to organizations trying to spread their messages beyond their established constituencies.  They finished their presentation with a short discussion of how their system could be used to track and utilize information about the organization’s social network viewers on sites like Facebook and YouTube.

Next up, Convio’s Christian Varano.
(Contact Christian at: 570.573.4659 or cvarano@convio.com Zithromax 500mg, )

In Convio’s presentation Christian first talked about how most organizations maintain several systems for tracking information, but which aren’t integrated.  These include a basic CRM or other donor management database, a direct mail database, a CMS system for managing website information, an email point tool, separate online fundraising tools, a system for managing an online store, an ERP/Finance/GL system, and an events tool.  An integrated system, such as one that could be provided by Convio, can tie all of those systems together to help build relationships and drive response rates higher. An integrated communications system recognizes key linkages with fundraising and other functions. It helps the organizations segment by demographics, buy z pack, by issue or by other chosen variables. And this ability to easily manage data is key to crafting and sending communications messages that build relationships.

One Convio slide showed a quote that many nonprofits may have heard on more than one occasion: “I only hear from them when they want money,” said the annoyed donor.  Convio’s presentation emphasized that an integrated communications system pulls information from online marketing elements (such as online fundraising, What is z pak used for, advocacy, e-commerce, peer-to-peer networks and special events) as well as offline marketing elements (such as campaigns, traditional fundraising, volunteer management, contact management and events) to form a fuller picture that can be viewed from many angles, zithromax over the counter, as well as from either 1,000 feet up or the microscopic level.

Varano said that most clients come to Convio with a scattered set of existing systems that have grown up as technology evolved, zithromax 500mg. He said Convio strives to create “holistic platform” solutions that help organizations personalize communications and establish ongoing dialogue with constituencies. These platforms also help organizations avoid spamming their audiences, Buy zithromax single dose, which is the frequent result of messages coming out of an organization’s many communications silos.

He finished by noting that Convio’s platforms are based on open technology systems, which is important in a technology environment where the popular modes of communications are always changing.  Facebook, Twitter and YouTube may be popular today, he said, but who knows how folks will be communicating in the future and Convio’s open systems will allow for greater flexibility and change in the future, generic zithromax azithromycin 500mg.

Our third presenter was Network for Good’s Rebecca Higman
(Contact Rebecca at: 240.223.2648 or rebecca.higman@networkforgood.org)

Rebecca started by noting that Network for Good has a particularly rich understanding of the needs of nonprofits because it is one itself.  She then moved to the core of her presentation that emphasized that the point of communications integration is not to play with fancy software, but to bring greater efficiency AND effectiveness to one’s efforts.  She said that there are lots of new ways to communicate that some might not even know are options that can be integrated, such as tell-a-friend tools, share links (through social media) and online tools for tracking, Azithromycin 250 mg, reporting, “receipting,” donation pages, email outreach, online events, donor databases and more.  All of which can be coordinated with Network for Good systems, z pak online. Zithromax 500mg, NFG has three systems – DonateNow, EmailNow powered by Emma and EventNow powered by givezooks – which can be used together or separately.

From Network for Good's perspective, the bare essentials of an effective communications effort include:

-       A well-branded, easy to use website
-       The ability to process secure donations
-       An email campaign tool that complies with federal anti-spam laws (this was necessity that Higman emphasized as particularly important)
-       A website analytics tool
-       Great follow-up for online donors and supporters
-       Smooth integration of online and offline efforts
-       Regular reporting on all communications efforts so you can learn and correct as you go.

She said that it was possible for an organization to cobble all those things together, Azithromycin zithromax, but a system like Network for Good’s makes it very easy and less likely that any of the pieces will fall through the cracks.

Higman moved beyond talking about just the systems, which were not dissimilar to those of the other presenters, to provide several helpful hints for communications and marketing efforts.  One that many meeting participants seemed to jot down was this: Donation appeals should go out at a 1:3 ratio. To avoid sounding like you’re always asking for money, your nonprofit should send at least 3 messages providing news, azythromycin, updates and program information for every one email that asks for a donation.

The Network for Good PowerPoint presentation also included “10 Ways to Amp Up Your Website,” “11 Ways to Amp Up Your Donate Page” and “9 Ways to Amp Up your Email Outreach.”  She also talked about ways of focusing on “superstars” within your constituencies – the 5 percent or so who are the most engaged and active – to help make your organizations case.  Higman gave several examples of how Network for Good’s services can help in that regard, including a brief overview of how it is helping organizations integrate its social network efforts with their other methods of communicating and developing stronger relationships, zithromax 500mg.

The three presenters fielded questions for the next 45 minutes, which yielded rich insights.  One question was about whether or not any of the systems allowed users to integrate information from external media databases nonprofits and foundations commonly use such as Cision, Vocus and Burrelles/Luce. Z pak 250 mg, The general consensus from the presenters was that one could download information from those systems and import the information into the organization’s central CRM system, but keeping that information current would be a challenge. And, the nature of communications to media people is generally so different and separate that it didn’t seem to warrant the effort to integrate that information.

Several questions revolved around whether or not organizations subscribing to these integrated systems were expected to ditch all of their existing databases and move all of their information into new systems.  The presenters generally agreed that, while having all data under one unified system might be ideal, zythromax, it is quite common for organizations to be attached to certain components of their existing systems, but that the new functionality can often be brought in piece by piece to work with existing systems.  Convio’s Varano said, “real integration in one system, that’s the nirvana, Zithromax 500 mg, but it’s not the reality for most organizations.”

A strong attachment to existing systems and a desire to not “waste” resources that had already been spent on them was a strong undercurrent.  The presenters emphasized that it need not be an all-or-nothing scenario. Zithromax 500mg, For most organizations, the presenters seemed to agree, integrating donor databases with a high-functioning email program is the absolute barest necessity. If an organization were to embark on a truly comprehensive effort to work with a firm to design an optimally functioning system that integrates all of the functions discussed over the course of the presentations, it would probably take about nine months from beginning to end. There are a lot of questions to be asked over the course of such a project, but in the end, those answers and the process can dramatically sharpen the organization’s communications efforts, buy azithromycin zithromax.

We promised to make the speakers' PowerPoint presentations available online.  However, our WordPress-based website won't allow that much data on a page. So, if you would like to view any of the 3 presentation, please email mremaley [at] ppcnyc [dot] org to request a copy, zithromax 500mg.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

----

We usually end our PPC sessions by distributing a short survey on possible topics for future meetings.  Since previous surveys indicated a strong interest in the topic of “What Goes Into an Effective Annual Communications Plan?” that will be the topic for our November meeting. I ended the meeting by soliciting recommendations from the group on any potential discussion leaders for that topic. More recommendations are welcome.

We again live-tweeted the session from our official Twitter account: @PPCNYC.  If you can’t make it out of the office to the next PPC, follow along via Twitter.

Thanks again to all of our presenters for providing a GPS for this challenging communications integration terrain and to all the great PPC members who came and made the discussion so worthwhile.

Similar posts: Zithromax without prescription. Where can i buy zithromax. Buy cephalexin without prescription. 500 mg cephalexin. Zithromax buy online. Where can i buy zithromax without a prescription. Apo cephalexin 500mg. Levaquin for urinary tract infection. Cephalexin 500mg alcohol. Buy cheap zithromax online.
Trackbacks from: Zithromax 500mg. Zithromax 500mg. Zithromax 500mg. Zithromax 500mg. Zithromax 500mg. Buy zithromax 1000mg. Buy zithromax without prescription. Buy zithromax online without prescription. Cephalexin 500mg pregnancy. Levaquin 5.

Levaquin 750mg

Levaquin 750mg, The best nonprofit and foundation websites are not just great at providing information to visitors but also allow key constituencies to discuss and contribute to the thinking presented on the site. Levaquin 5 mg,  More and more organizations are creating social media presences that encourage two-way communication and adding blogs that allow their audiences to comment and add their thoughts.  But what happens when commentary goes way beyond open dialogue to unproductive rudeness or even offensive hate speech, levaquin 250. Levaquin 500 mg iv, The folks at the blog Nonprofit Tech 2.0, A Social Media Guide for Nonprofits have written a very helpful blog post on this topic that I would like to recommend, what is levaquin 750 mg used for. Levaquin 150 mg,  Titled "HOW TO: Effectively Manage Hate and Anger on Social Media Sites," the post provides important insights and concrete advice on how to manage social media applications to address gross negativity and hate speech, levaquin 500 mg uses.

Here is some thinking about offensive "contributors" from the post.., levaquin 750mg. Cost of levaquin 500 mg,

These folks are rare, but they sadly exist, levaquin 500 mg and alcohol. Levofloxacin 500, They are not interested in discussing the issues. They only join your page to rant and incite, levaquin 1000 mg. Levaquin tablets 750 mg, They want a fight. Levaquin 750mg, The more people argue with them, the more active they will get on your page. Not only will they bring you down, levofloxacin 750, Levaquin 50 mg, they will bring the entire community down. I can’t stress that enough, levaquin 750 mg price. Levaquin 250mg, Giving such a person their freedom of hate speech will ruin it for the rest of your community. More people are reading your Status Updates on Facebook than you might think (I have discovered), buy levaquin without prescription. The vast majority are silent, levaquin 750mg. Levaquin 500 mg price, When asked, your fans want you to block the haters and racists because at a certain point your fans become so disgusted that they disengage from the Page to avoid seeing the hate, levaquin 5. Buy levaquin 500 mg, Out of 8,600 fans, azithromycin 500 mg chlamydia, I have now had to block a little more than 30. They were blocked for either really foul, hateful language full of 4-letter words, for uploading obviously racist images, or for being repeat offenders

The post goes on to give exact instructions on how to deal with those sorts of people on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace and your own blog.  It also suggests posting "community guidelines" to your online sites and provides a link to an example.

It is a very thoughtful post and essential, quick reading for anyone who is managing an organization's online presence and monitoring online discussion.

Similar posts: Buy levaquin. Zithromax without prescription. Where can i buy zithromax. Buy cephalexin without prescription. 500 mg cephalexin. Levaquin tablets 750 mg. Buy z pak. Levofloxacin 500. Where can i buy zithromax without a prescription. Apo cephalexin 500mg.
Trackbacks from: Levaquin 750mg. Levaquin 750mg. Levaquin 750mg. Levaquin 750mg. Levaquin 750mg. Levaquin 500 mg dosage. Ic cephalexin 500 mg. Buy zithromax no prescription. Cephalexin 500mg acne. Levaquin 250 mg.

500 Mg Cephalexin

500 mg cephalexin, The January 2010 meeting of Public Policy Communicators NYC at the Ford Foundation had a great turn-out.  As always, we started with half hour of informal networking meet-n-greet, and I was very happy to meet some of the new additions to the group.

The topic of the day was “How to Use Low-Cost Multi-Media to Maximal Effect, Ic cephalexin 500 mg, ” which was chosen by members at the last PPC meeting before we went on hiatus. While many of our meetings rely simply on the experiences of our own members, this time we had an expert (even though she insisted that I not call her that) to help us think through the topic: Susan Herr, cephalexin 500mg strep throat, President of PhilanthroMedia. Cephalexin 500 mg per capsule, Susan started with the core point that thinking about what is “low cost” should take a step back from the costs of relatively inexpensive items like video cameras and video editing software, and look more broadly at the many other cost elements associated with producing good multi-media.

Using the example of her work organizing the “Gorilla Engagement Squad” at The Communications Network annual conference, cephalexin 500 mg uses, she talked about how inexperienced and experienced camerapersons using Flip Cams and Tweeters could use inexpensive technologies in combination to extend the reach of a conference outside those present, Cephalexin 500mg and alcohol, as well as develop relationships among those on-site. But she made clear that the real cost was not the video cameras, etc., but the human resources to plan the video capture strategy, corralling interviewers and interviewees, and putting the pieces together into a compelling story.  It takes a lot of time (and someone fairly experienced in pulling it all together), 500 mg cephalexin. This link features some of the participants in that effort talking about how it worked: Gorilla Engagement Squad 2009 http://vimeo.com/8174186

Then she talked about Video Skype and using it to produce “Diavlogs,” which, cephalexin 500mg alcohol, for the uninitiated, Levaquin for urinary tract infection, are essentially synched video of two people doing an interview showing both on-screen (usually from separate remote locations). The point here was that doing interviews and putting them up online is exceptionally easy and a potentially great way to share ideas/information in a conversational format. But just like any other interview – it has to be interesting to the audience!  Two people talking is easy to produce, cephalexin 500mg and alcohol, but to get people to watch, Cephalexin capsules 250 mg, there has to be great content, on both the interview and interviewee sides.  Here is a link to some examples of diavlogs: Beyond Branding http://vimeo.com/8265230

Next, she explored an example where she herself was a one-person camera crew, uses for cephalexin 500mg, working for the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, Cephalexin 500mg strep throat, gathering footage for an effort to get Presidential candidates focused on urban issues.  As an admittedly only “moderately” experienced camera person and interviewer, but having access to a really well-connected producer and experienced logistical coordinator, she was able to interview 10 mayors of major American cities about the challenges facing urban centers and use that footage to produce a compelling, cephalexin 500mg cap lup, cohesive message, Cephalexin cap 500mg, which was picked up by The Nation, netroots bloggers and many well-trafficked .org sites.  The point here was how key a well-connected producer and logistical-coordinator were, not the expense of the technology and other aspects of “video production.”

Finally, cephalexin 500mg pregnancy, she showed a new website that she has created as an example of how easy it is to do man/woman-on-the-street interviews on a Flip Cam, Cephalexin 500 mg for sinus infection, along with Flickr to host picture slide shows.  She also talked about the social networking aspect (in this case Facebook) of quickly building an audience when you have simple but compelling content.  This is the site (which is based on a $69 template) that she used as an example: http://www.dapperq.com/

As we opened the conversation up to the group, I added a few thoughts of my own.  First, I made the point that, cephalexin 500 mg per capsule, while everyone wants to produce a “message” video that is witty and gets people’s attention so much so that it goes VIRAL and everyone is convinced of your point, Cephalexin 500mg cap, there are lots of other possible uses of video.

This is a classic example of a “message” video (we didn’t show it at the meeting because the video didn’t show well on the projection screen): Lost Generation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA&feature=player_embedded

But you can do lots of other stuff with videos and other forms of multi-media, like…

--Highlighting organizational programs showing the programs in action.  Here’s a great teaser from the Anaheim Ballet that meeting participants loved: Anaheim Ballet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2XmRzaCFFY&feature=player_embedded  This is obviously great for arts organizations, cephalexin 500mg acne, but you can do it with panel discussions and other events relevant to policy-related organizations.

--Using multi-media to extend the reach of conferences/panel discussions 500 mg cephalexin, , etc. Cephalexin 500 mg uses, (i.e. Philanthromedia's work on Comnet09, Public Agenda's policy breakfast series online videos, macrobid for urinary tract infection, TED Talks)  Here is one example of a Public Agenda video highlighting programming: America\'s Financial Future http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mapR6TK8_Fo&feature=player_embedded

-- To tell an organization's history (for fundraising purposes)

-- To take on powerful interests, critique leaders in a witty way

This is one that participant Michael Falco of Pro-Media Communications offered: ABA Showdown http://www.youtube.com/user/ABAShowdown  It is a great example of “taking it to the streets” and then taking the street online to spread virally.  It got a lot of hits.

-- "instructional" : telling people what you want them to do and how to do it, for example: The World Sucks: Help it Suck Less http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeAUQslfFP4&feature=player_embedded

-- To recruit volunteers For example: Into Darfur: A Young American\'s Journey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BQcSyG7bOQ&feature=player_embedded

-- To sell a policy direction For example: A New Sound: Green For All http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNszFwmSg2Y&feature=player_embedded

The conversation ranged over a lot of territory after that and people talked about their own experiences producing multi-media, including best ways to produce slideshows.  Fenton Communications’ Lisa Witter offered that the organization Duarte is amazing at producing such multi-media slide shows and maintains a blog called “Slide:ology” at http://blog.duarte.com/

She also shared this very inexpensive, provocative video called Milking Cancer http://vimeo.com/6675967 It was produced for $5,000 – which included the actors and editor.

It was noted by several participants that every organization should have a YouTube channel by now, but that Vimeo is also quite valuable because of the cleanliness of the presentation.

Lots of folks offered other examples.  I apologize that I didn’t catch who offered what.  This one is a good example of using lots of forms of media capture and putting it all together on one cohesive piece: MQ2 http://mq2.org/

The conversation ranged across many of the challenges of utilizing multi-media, but several themes kept reoccurring:

1, 500 mg cephalexin. The importance of investing wisely in human resources, and knowing what you can do in-house and what you need to pay an expert for.

2. The ultimate fact that you need to start with interesting content or a compelling story.  You can throw lots of stuff up on a website, but if it isn’t witty or emotionally compelling, no one is going to watch it.

3. Dissemination is not to be overlooked.  We only touched on this topic, which should perhaps be revisited in a future session.  But we did talk about how the first step of getting something to “go viral” (after producing something interesting) is to start with your core audience and creating incentives for them to re-post and share through social networking sites.

I hope these notes are helpful.  They capture only a small part of what I learned from my colleagues at the session.  Another thing I learned is that I need to have someone dedicated to taking notes at the session.  Next time.

Similar posts: Levaquin 750 mg. Buy levaquin. Zithromax without prescription. Where can i buy zithromax. Buy cephalexin without prescription. Buy zithromax single dose. How to get zithromax without a prescription. Buy zithromax 1000mg. Levaquin tablets 750 mg. Buy z pak.
Trackbacks from: 500 mg cephalexin. 500 mg cephalexin. 500 mg cephalexin. 500 mg cephalexin. 500 mg cephalexin. Erythromycin for urinary tract infection. Cephalexin suspension 250. Levaquin 750 mg iv. Levaquin 500 mg sinus infection. Levofloxacin 750.