“Change is the only constant in life.” –Benjamin Franklin

Change in how we communicate is certainly a constant in our life today. How are you and your organization adapting to that change? Are you taking advantage of the ways to more efficiently communicate with your employees or with your customers?

The Vandiver Group has utilized the evolving social media technologies to enable change in the way we communicate as employees and as company representatives. TVG’s Pulse program and proprietary software creates an online, social space for more efficient and engaging conversations. Learn more about the Pulse program from our online Pulse booklet.

Pulse for Focus Groups
Instead of taking weeks or months to set up a focus group, Pulse efficiently brings together an online group, facilitates conversation, identifies key trends and builds summary reports. Pulse can gather valuable information from global audiences at the same time.

Pulse for Public Engagement
Managing public comments and responses is tedious. Pulse streamlines the process by taking large quantities of data and creating charts and graphs that capture public comment results.

Pulse for Brainstorming
Instead of scheduling multiple meetings and conference calls, Pulse uses an online platform to facilitate communication and collaboration. Employees in the same office or a network of offices can share ideas and opinions 24/7.

Pulse for Employee Engagement
Pulse engages employees in a two-way conversation to identify hot topics within an organization. Conversations allow employees to become more connect to the organization and builds the employee brand.

Along with the measurement and metrics Eileen discussed in our last post, a major topic of interest within the industry is corporate planning and policies around WOM and social media. 

As the social media craze took off in the business world, many organizations rushed into creating network accounts and blogs.  Now as we enter 2010, companies seem to be taking a step back and ensuring the proper planning and policies are in place for social media strategies. 

The Vandiver Group has been working with companies to develop and implement these social media policies and is now offering a Social Media Policy Workshop for organizations.

The workshop will review the following:

• Ethical standards for bloggers, social networks and online marketing.
• Creating an environment where consumers trust you in social media- the importance of ethical online practices.
• Case histories where  employee guidelines and corporate standards could have avoided a brand and communications crisis.
• The new FTC guidelines for online marketing and promotion.
• How to develop and implement a corporate social media policy.
• Managing employee use of social media- guidelines and training.
• How to maintain brand consistency and standards within social media
• Special considerations and guidelines based on your industry.

The TVG workshop can be scaled for an organization’s communications staff or for an entire employee population. All attendees will also have the opportunity to work with the TVG social media team to develop a complete and customized social media policy.

To schedule your workshop contact TVG at 314-991-4641 or info@vandivergroup.com.

In November I attended the 2009 Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Summit in Las Vegas.  As a member of WOMMA, it has been interesting to watch the Association grow and transform as the social media era has taken hold of communications.  WOMMA conferences provide some great face-to-face collaboration and bring together an interesting mix of brands (large and small), agencies and industry experts.

There was a reoccurring topic among presentations and participants this year- measurement. 

Measurement and return on investment is a concern for every business function, and this applies to word-of-mouth and social media communications.  Just as with traditional public relations and marketing, social media ROI does not always have a clear cut definition.  At the 2009 Summit companies and organizations continued to share their best practices for ROI within social media. A few key takeaways:

• A greater level of ROI accountability is being placed on social media programs as budgets are expanding into 2010 and more investment is being made.
• Engagement number (such as page views, number of members, comments) does not equal ROI. ROI is a business result, such as earnings, decreased expenses, etc.
• Social media benefits are often long-term and don’t fit into the short-term measurement lenses of traditional communications.

There is so much information and ideas around measurement and metrics in social media that WOMMA has developed a new guidebook for best practices and lessons.   Go to the WOMMA site to download the guidebook and I’ll continue to share some of my favorite info I discover here on the blog.

What does social media mean for employees? Paul Van Klaveren, Director of Branding and Social Media at TVG, addressed this topic in his recent presentation at Webster University titled: Engaging Your Employees: Web 2.0. Below is a quick summary of the presentation.

Even if your organization isn’t formally using social media to communicate, you can bet that your employees are already using it. They are using Facebook, Twitter and Glassdoor (just to name a few) to talk about their experiences while on the job. Using the power of social media, organizations have a unique opportunity to become part of the online conversation and create two-way dialogue between employees and organizational leadership. Some examples of ways that social media can be utilized in the corporate world include:

• Capturing Employee Feedback
• Training & Education
• Employee Recruitment
• Project Collaboration

Not only does social media allow organizations to collect real-time data, but it is often a cost effective solution to allow employees who do not work in the same office to connect and share ideas. Social media can also have an impact on the overall culture of an organization by creating an environment that acknowledges employee input and values their comments.

But, before jumping into social media as a means of employee engagement, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Remember the importance of monitoring social media for mentions of your organization.
• Develop Web 2.0 policies and training to establish expectations and guidelines for employees using social media.
• Make sure to get buy in from C-level executives. They should be participating in the conversation and letting employees know they are listening.
• Instead of employees starting their own conversations on various social media outlets, create the space for them. This could be a micro site available on the company intranet or something as simple as a designated Facebook page. As long as you create a means for engagement, conversations will begin and a community will start to build.

Thank you to everyone who came out bright and early to listen to Paul’s presentation and thank you to the team at Webster University for hosting the event. Click here for more information on TVG’s social media or employee communications programs.

This month St. Louis Small Business Monthly  (SBM) asked local business owners how to most effectively use Twitter. In addition to sharing some local small business success stories on Twitter, SBM features Donna Vandiver’s suggestion of the one-third rule when tweeting.  Check out more information on the one-third rule and other suggestions at the SBM web site.

You can follow the TVG team on Twitter at the following accounts:

@VandiverGroup - General Account

@DMVand - Donna Vandiver

@KellyFerrara - Kelly Ferrara

@TVGMediaGuy - Andy Likes

@TVGBrandGuy - Paul Van Klaveren

@LauraVandiver - Laura Vandiver

@EileenMacLean - Eileen Buleza

@CassieMcCloud - Cassie McCloud

@ShelleyLester - Shelley Lester 

@KannaTaylor - Kanna Taylor

@Grow_Life - TVG’s Agriculture Communications

@TVGEnviroGuy – Our newest account on Sustainability & Environment Communications from Max McCombs

For those of you who still think social media is just a fad that will eventually fade away, don’t try selling that idea to members of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) – St. Louis, or to regulars of Social Media Club – St. Louis (SMCSTL) events. I attended two successful events last week put on by these organizations that covered topics concerning social media.

IABC Luncheon

Nearly 100 people showed up to the IABC luncheon that focused on social media in the B2B workplace, a presentation put on by Dora Smith, the director of global social media for Siemens Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Software.

Smith covered:

• Social media effects on communications from a location, influence, quantity and culture perspective.
• Siemens’ (a B2B software company) approach, goals and objectives in social media.
• A technology launch integrated with social media that won an IABC Gold Quill Award.
• Her recommendations on social media frameworks and resources.

Some of Smith’s tips:

• Consider social media’s impact on search and the new Social Search.
• Follow Forrester’s 4-step Social Media Approach: People, Objectives, Strategy, Technology.
• Survey your customers first before venturing out into social media and monitoring a conversation.
• The most important aspect of Twitter is that if you do things right, you begin to surround yourself with a great group of people.
• Social media road map: Listen, train ambassadors, engage, train bloggers: start internally, talk externally, energize.

SMCSTL
The SMCSTL event later that evening featured speaker David Garland, the founder and host of The Rise To The Top on ABC in St. Louis. His discussion, titled “Maximizing Content Marketing: Creating, Promotion, and ROI,” focused on how to create and take advantage of the content you put online and achieve measurable results to execute your strategy. Garland was a great speaker and interacted with the crowd well. “I approach social media like working the room at a cocktail party,” he said.

As a member of IABC’s Professional Development Committee, we have seen that events focused on social media tend to increase attendance due to the high interest to learn more about how to use social media as a communication tool. Judging by the turnout at both of these events (and the fact that they were on the same day) I think it’s safe to say that social media is sticking around for a while and is constantly gaining popularity in St. Louis.

Upcoming Social Media Programs in St. Louis
Webster University and The Vandiver Group, Inc. (TVG) will also be putting on an event focused on social media. Webster’s School of Business and Technology and TVG will present a social media seminar, “Engaging Your Employees: Web 2.0” on Friday, December 11, at Webster University. This event is free and open to the public and includes a free continental breakfast, which will be served at 7:30 a.m. The seminar will begin at 8 a.m. At this seminar you will learn the benefits of the latest social media platforms when engaging with employees. Seating for this event is limited, so RSVP today!

IABC – St. Louis (@IABCstl on Twitter) puts on events, panels and speakers on the last Thursday of every month and SMCSTL (@SMCSTL on Twitter) holds events on the third Thursday of every month. Due to the holidays, IABC will be putting on a special event on Tuesday, December 15, again focused on social media at the Schlafly Tap Room. Schlafly Co-Founder and Vice President Dan Kopman will present “See What’s Brewing at Schlafly: Social Media” and he will share Schlafly’s experiences in Web 2.0 and how your company can get results with social media. This program is open to both members and non-members, and you can register here.

We all know that social media is transforming the way we communicate and the way we do business. Twitter and Facebook numbers are growing as businesses are determining how to navigate these spaces and reach new audiences.

But where are we going as businesses in social media, what’s the next way we should utilize this space? The Vandiver Group sees one of those next big things to be micro-social networks. Social networks like Facebook operating at a smaller, more topic driven level. A micro-social network for a specific brand, product or issue.

The platform Ning.com is a way consumers have been creating these micro-socials since 2005. Now we are seeing more and more businesses and brands create the networks for employees and customers.

The micro-social network is a way to approach corporate web sites and consumer interaction. Check out my article from the most recent issue of Enterprising Women magazine to learn more about micro-social networks and the changes taking place in social media.

It’s been an interesting couple of years for the business world. The global recession has impacted us all. Marketing, media and public relations firms, perhaps more than some other industries.

Most of us are looking at fourth quarters that are pretty slow, especially if our clients have had their budgets cut. But, perhaps like us, you are seeing an unprecedented number of RFPs issued for January start dates. (If only they paid us to write these wonderful proposals!)

The Council of PR Firms released their third quarter survey. It indicates that most firms thought their revenues would be lower or flat against 2008, but also indicated they expect client budgets to be higher in 2010. Leading economists say the recession is already over and that’s good news for everyone, so I’m passing that along as much as I can and believing in the power of positive thought.

A couple of years ago I authored a piece on success for members at Pinnacle Worldwide and I think it still holds true, so with your indulgence, I’ll reprint it here:

Success

“I think all of us who are successful in business share common traits. First, we have a vision of what we want our companies to be and we stick with it. Second, we stay committed to the concept of lifelong learning for everyone in our companies. It makes employees better at their job, moves them along the education curve, and encourages them to grow as professionals. Third, we are pioneers. We go above and beyond what everyone else is doing. We create cultures and workplace environments that break the mold. Finally, we have made a commitment to doing business responsibly and ethically.

Mixing Good Work with Good Works

Success in business is only a part of true success. There is added satisfaction if we also make our communities better places. In that spirit, we participate in numerous causes that are important to our employees, our companies, and our communities. We serve on boards, we give money, we loan our executives and employees to good causes and we try to make a difference.

The Three C’s

We all understand that our competition is not only other PR and marketing firms in our respective areas, but the national and international companies that play in our space. We need to think and act globally so we can get our piece of the action, and we need to innovate to create new action. To effectively do this we have three “C’s”:

Communicate – we need to know what types of work we are all doing and how we can better work together to snag big clients, share best practices and share information with one another quickly and easily;

Consult – we all have experiences – both positive and negative – as well as different areas of expertise that we should share so we collectively get better and smarter individually, and as a network; and

Cooperate – we should be looking for opportunities to pass on leads and potential work to our peers in other markets and to find ways to collaborate.
A successful industry is a benefit to all of us. It’s in our collective best interest to make it work.”

I am President of Pinnacle Worldwide (PWW), a group of independently-owned PR and advertising firms from around the world. PWW as an organization has always been about helping one another. And, our partner in the Phillipines—Romeo Virtusio of Virtusio Public Relations along with his staff, friends and neighbors– has endured a typhoon and torrential rains that have caused loss of life and property. Although Romy reports that his family and staff are fine, we recently announced we were collecting money to send to Romy to use to help his fellow countrymen rebuild. If you haven’t already, please click here to donate.

We have major challenges and opportunities in the coming year. We won’t know what a recovery will look like and how our clients will respond. But, one thing we can be sure of…it’s going to be interesting.

Every day I receive e-mails inviting me to attend various conferences and training sessions related to social media, marketing, public relations, or all of the above.  Some days the e-mails are so frequent I simply delete them.

My question is– with all the professional development opportunities within the field of communications- how do you determine which events will be most valuable?

Here is my personal filter process to determine which conferences and webinars are worth attending:

• Is the event topic relevant to me?
• Is the topic something I need to learn more about? For example, a training session on a new social network platform would be of more interest to me than one on an established platform that I have experience with.
• Does the event content match my level of experience? Some events are for beginners, some are for experts- make sure you know the difference.
• Have I heard of the speaker(s)? What is their reputation in the space?  Do they have relevant experience on the topic? Have you heard positive reviews of their speaking engagements?
• What is the networking opportunity? Who else will attend the event? Would the opportunity to meet these new people be of value?
• What is the cost of the event? Professional development event costs range from free to thousands of dollars- is the content worth the cost? Are there any extra costs such as travel?

Even after considering all these elements, taking time out of your busy schedule to learn can be a guessing game.  I’ve participated in webinars I thought would be extremely interesting, that passed all my filtering questions, and still ended up offering me very little value.

One of the most important, unpredictable elements I’ve recognized is your fellow attendees.  Workshops can often fall flat if the attendees aren’t engaged or are asking questions that veer the conversation off topic.  Stay engaged and speak up if you feel an important topic hasn’t been covered.

What do you use to evaluate professional development opportunities?  Have you attended any great events lately?

On a related note- Have a conference or training session you really want to attend but can’t for various reasons? Find out the Twitter #hashtag for the event and listen to the key ideas from those who are in attendance!

Have you ever wondered what it was like to work for a strategic communications firm, or wanted to get the inside scoop on how things are done in a firm like The Vandiver Group, Inc. (TVG)? Well, look no further. Senior Account Executive Cassie McCloud, Account Executive Shelley Lester and Account Coordinator Kanna Taylor provide an inside look into what it is like to work for TVG. Each employee has less than 4 years of experience, so they provide a fresh insight on what TVG means to them and why they enjoy TVGs team-based structure, among other aspects. Watch the video to find out more!