K Street Cafe

Several years ago our Innovate to Motivate conference hosted then Gallup Managing Partner Ron Balmer to talk about Gallup’s research on customer engagement and how it applies to grassroots organizations. It was one of our most highly rated workstorms. Gallup has been at the forefront of engagement research; they define it as the degree to which people will work for or against your organization or brand. I think most of us would agree that definition of stakeholder engagement is worth pursuing. They have published recent research which reinforces Ron’s prescient admonitions.

Engagement matters because the world is driven to distraction. With engagement, your stakeholders give you the benefit of the doubt when you screw up. They also have your brand as a part of their own identity. They can’t imagine a world without your organization or cause, and criticizing your organization means criticizing themselves.

Gallup conducted research with over 17,000 social media users to determine how people interact with social media and its effectiveness as a marketing tool. Gallup doesn’t conduct shoddy research, so I think it’s worth our time to see if there are applications for those of us in the grassroots persuasion business. After all, we are marketers of ideas and action.  (more…)

By Iverson Gandy

Cross-posted from the Adfero Group blog

With the quick popularity of Google+ (G+), many social media gurus are proclaiming the slow but sure downfall of Facebook. To that, I say one thing: not going to happen. Here’s why:

1. Too little, too late

In a very rare and embarrassing moment (and for what feels like the first time), Google made a really big deal about a really bad product. Google Buzz was a complete failure on multiple fronts. From privacy lawsuits to simply bad aesthetics, Google’s seemingly invincible persona suffered a breach in its armor with a subpar product that was clearly a reactive idea in contrast to their usual forward-thinking, proactive approach – and people noticed. The best team in the league showed a weakness, other teams capitalized on it, and now they’re playing catch up, with Facebook remaining the “face” (pun intended) and authority on social networking. (more…)

By Kalee Miller and Caroline Sheedy of Adfero Group

With 800 million active users, Facebook has earned the title of most popular social network around the globe. At the f8 conference a few weeks ago, CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg announced some big changes, the latest in the site’s constant evolution. It’s hard for a lot of users to adjust to the new features and, for organizations using Facebook in advocacy efforts, it may seem like things are changing just as they were getting the hang of things. Despite the growing pains, Facebook is a valuable tool that can raise awareness and inspire action.  

Here are a few rules to live by:

1.       A Few Can Activate Many

Engagement, not number of fans, is key. On average, every time someone shares a link to your organization’s website on Facebook, two to five people will visit it. In any online campaign, it’s imperative to utilize social context. People care about what their friends are doing and are heavily influenced by actions. If you can show Facebook users that their friends “liked” or engaged with your page, chances are high that you can get them involved, too.  
So, now the question is, how? 

 
• Use Facebook Questions. Asking your fans a question leads to viral exposure. If you ask a question, it will appear on your fans’ newsfeed. If they answer or follow that question, their friends can also see the activity. This is also a good way to get direct feedback from your fans. 
• Use Facebook to live stream your events or town halls. Free tools like UStream allow you to broadcast your event to all of your fans. Also, if you use event materials to let people know they can tune in on your Facebook page, you are likely to get more fans.
•  Make everything you can an event.  All of your organization’s events should be shared on Facebook. You should also use this tool for virtual events or calls to action (i.e. “Call your congressman by noon today!”).  Again, this allows your fans’ friends to see their action, making them more likely to join in. (more…)

NJ Gov Christie Pushes Agenda in Campaign-Style Videos (ClickZ)
While online videos are frequently used by political candidates, it’s rare for an elected official not facing an immediate electoral challenge to utilize this tool. But Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is taking a new approach and using online video to complement his broader communications strategy.

Google+: ‘Don’t fight it’ (PR Daily)
Still searching for answers on why you should join the new social network? This two-and-a-half minute video provides (some of) the answers.

Keep Your Social Media Strategy Simple
(Business 2 Community)
By getting involved in too many social media platforms, you run the risk of not fully engaging your audiences.

The war of the social networks (The Washington Post)
Learn how they differ, what they offer, and the impact they are currently making.

How to write a perfect blog post: 10 tips (PR Daily)
Don’t just focus on the content of your blog post. The way you format it is crucial in gaining attention and keeping people reading.

6 of the Top Mobile Trends to Watch (Business2Community)
In today’s world, it’s become all about mobile apps and having social networks at your fingertips whenever and wherever you may be.

The Convergence of Search and Social (ClickZ)
Search engines are becoming like social networks and vice versa. Learn what this means for your digital marketing efforts.

8 ways not to pitch a blogger (Ragan)
Capture the attention of bloggers by avoiding these 8 mistakes.

On Twitter, Conservative (or Liberal) by Association
(The New York Times)
Active Twitter users reveal their political leanings even if they don’t post about politics, a group of researchers at Duke University says.

Startup Helps You Create a Sign-Up Page In Minutes (Mashable)
LaunchRock offers budding companies a custom launch page that allows interested parties to sign up, invite other friends to join, and push the page to their social networks.

Hillary and Che? (Marc Cooper blog)
A State Department rep said recently that today’s equivalent of a leader like the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevera would be engaged communities of many, specific social networks.

Twitter Used for Ad-Hoc Disaster Relief in Indonesia
(Tech President)
A discussion of how effective Twitter is for use in communication during disaster relief.

The Tech-Politics Divide (The Boston Globe)
A discussion of what can be done to bridge the civic divide between government and tech.

Orientation Week (Tech President)
The 112th Congress could be the most tweeted, Facebooked and Flickred one in American history, as these tools become more prominent in politics.