“Demonstrate your impact. Use your tweets, blog posts and Facebook updates to forward this narrative [about a specific person's story] and reinforce the effects of your programs. You’ll be more successful asking for donations if you’ve cultivated a relationship with potential donors, said one attendant.”

This very good tip from blogger John Haydon definitely seems worth a try for those of you who are responsible for both an e-newsletter and a Twitter account. He does a good job of explaining how to do it in a short video.

These tips from nonprofit blogger Kivi Leroux Miller are pretty much common sense, but still it’s helpful to have them assembled in this clear way. Check ’em out.

“Mistake #2. Not segmenting email lists for tests

Many marketers have large email databases, but don’t know a lot about the records held within. In these cases, they may conduct an email test using their entire database — and create a muddy results picture.

‘Without segmented lists you don’t get good test results,’ says [Corey] Trent [research analyst, MarketingExperiments]. ‘You get all these people responding differently to your emails, which pulls your results in all different directions.’

Spend the time to segment your database and understand the different characteristics of the segments before you embark on email testing. The more you know about unique segments within your database prior to testing, the better chance you’ll have of finding the right messages to appeal to them.

Mistake #3. Stopping tests after one big win

‘With email more than anything, we see people get a big win and stop testing,’ says Trent.

As exciting as those big wins may be, they shouldn’t be the end of your testing process. The makeup of your email lists is constantly changing; external factors, such as the economy, also impact subscriber behavior; and your competitors’ campaigns and tactics are always changing as well.

This constant state of change means you must routinely work on the messaging, layout, calls-to-action and other elements of your email messages to ensure you’re getting the full benefit of a testing program.”

The researchers analyzed 41.7 million publicly available user profiles, 106 million tweets and 4,262 trending topics. Two of the key findings that back up their conclusion are:

• Only 22.1% of users follow each other, which, they point out, is much lower than other social networks like Flickr (68%) or Yahoo! 360 (84%)
• About 85% of tweets were news related

Of course, the important missing piece in this research is all the private profiles that they couldn’t access, where presumably more actual social interaction is going on. I’m not sure what the ratio of private to public Twitter profiles is (though that’d be good to know), but I suspect the vast majority are public.

“Email messages that include a social media sharing option generate a 30% higher click-through rate (CTR) than those without sharing options—and messages with three or more sharing options generate a 55% higher CTR. -GetResponse ‘Email Marketing and Social Media Integration Report‘ (2010)”

Here’s an excerpt:

“Narrow your focus: Instead of trying to support every platform out there, set out some goals for your site and your potential customers. For instance, if you know that most of your users are going to be using an iPhone, focus on making an iPhone-enhanced version of your site first. Conversely, if you get a lot of traffic from parts of the world like Asia, the Middle East and South America, you may want to focus your primary efforts on Symbian.”

P.S. If you have Google Analytics embedded on your site, you’ll be able to see which mobile devices are most frequently accessing your site. For the UW home page, it’s the iPhone by a pretty wide margin. Between late April 2010 and late June 2010, there were 11,500 visits by iPhone users and just 1,000 by BlackBerry users.

This quote from Sophia Aladenoye, a digital strategist at Ogilvy Public Relations, is a good example of the advice you’ll find:

“My top tip would be to always engage with people. I have seen this, time and time again, that those who are in the social media industry and who wish to break in are individuals who actually like people and like talking to people. Those are the ones who I see thriving in this industry — it is called ’social’ for a reason. Even if you consider yourself an introvert, there should be a part of yourself that still reaches out to people.”

This article (called “Attention, marketers: Please don’t ruin mobile!”) on the Mobile Marketer Web site provides some helpful insights that are important to bear in mind before you begin sketching out a mobile marketing strategy for your unit. Though it’s aimed at for-profit businesses, it makes points that are relevant to us, such as this one:

“A mobile device is a very personal, intimate part of a person’s life. You have to push yourself to answer the question, ‘Is this idea going to improve my customer’s mobile experience?’ Are you going to be interrupting them or providing value?”  

The author goes on to give a great example of a company he thinks is managing to market itself mobily and add value: Charmin, the toilet tissue company, has branded a mobile app that allows people to find and rate public bathrooms. As the article author puts it: “It is simple, on-brand and very useful for their customers – a complete home run.”

Of course Buzz is still very much in its infancy, and the powerful potential of its integration with Gmail should not be underestimated. So we’re definitely keeping an eye on it.

“Freedom of speech is important, but you have to make a tough decision about when one person’s inflated ego and political or social beliefs trumps thousands of others in your community. There are many, many other places on the Web where they can go rant. You will need to decide when you no longer want them ranting on yours for the greater good of your community.”

• Boosting your search engine optimization.
• Promoting your blog feed.
• Creating LinkedIn ad campaigns.
• Using events to engage.
• Using groups to connect.
• Getting recommendations.

“‘Raising money takes a lot more than getting Ashton Kutcher or someone with a lot of followers to tweet about your charity,’ said Twestival creator Amanda Rose. ‘That’s not Twitter fundraising; that’s creating buzz and awareness. Twitter fundraising is getting people involved with your mission on a real grass-roots level.’

“Whether it’s a tweetup, a festival, a rally, or a concert, having an offline component tied into your fundraising practice is vital. … Rose says that having a strong offline component is what makes people want to donate their time and energy to Twestival. … ‘I’d like to see charities start to use apps like foursquare to tie in geo-tagged fundraising initiatives, or Social Scavenger for charity challenges,’ shared business consultant Danny Brown. ‘A user online could be following instructions on a web feed, and directing the user on the ground to where a challenge is for donation dollars or items.’”

“Effective communication in every medium unfolds in a logical, orderly way. A comedian would never start a joke with a punch line, a magician would never start a trick by showing his assistant already sawed in half, and marketers should never start an email message with a direct sales pitch.

“Effective email messages that drive customers to action are little more than engaging conversations. By assigning a goal to each piece of your email (’From:’ field, subject line, headline, etc) that allows it to build on the piece before, you can guide your customers to the desired action.”

2012

• August
• May
• February

2011

• November
• June
• March

2010

• November
• June
• May
• Special Edition (April)
• February
• January

2009

• December
• November
• Sept.-Oct.
• August (Special Edition)
• June
• April-May
• March
• January

2008

• November
• October

1. There is a 21% decrease in spam on Christmas Day and a 32% decrease on New Year’s Day.
2. They’ve seen the word “Viagra” spelled at least 956 different ways to try and trick spam filters.
3. Facebook is the second most phished organization online and, if current trends continue, is on track to take the top spot in 2010.

“Colleges with the most popular Twitter presences (measured by number of followers) were frequently not among the most active (measured by the number of tweets and number of accounts following). A high number of followers was generally correlated with an extremely strong academic reputation or extremely large student body. The 10 colleges with the most followers are all either prestigious private schools or massive public universities. The colleges with the fewest followers were generally smaller and lesser known schools.”

• 72.5% of all users joined during the first five months of 2009
• 21% of users have never posted a Tweet
• 15% of Twitter users who follow more than 2,000 people identify themselves as social media marketers

It’s worth taking a look at the rest of their data if you’re interested in understanding the Twitter universe.

Thanks for the tip, Andre!

My thanks to Hall Health’s Heather Larson for bringing this to my attention by posting a link to this New York Times article.

Usernames have to be at least five characters long and can only contain alphanumeric characters. FYI, they don’t say there’s an upper limit on characters but I was unable to register “UniversityofWashington” so I had to go with “UofWA”—kind of annoying.

While you’re at it, be sure to register your personal Facebook profile too, if you haven’t already.

1. Pringles
2. Coca-Cola
3. Starbucks
4. Adidas
5. Red Bull

The author concludes: “The key takeaways are that you have to know your audience, you have to provide quality, regular content, you need to encourage discussion and engagement, and you must not take yourself too seriously.”

Still, I thought y’all might be interested in their findings. Here are a couple:

• “82% of survey respondents (vs 77% in 2007) state that their institutions are relying more on electronic publications (Web, blog, email, PDF, RSS, etc) to reduce the budget of print publications”
• “There is a significant trend across most publications to have them in electronic format only. The main publication types showing this trend are: Newsletter (43% vs 29% in 2007), Press Kits (21% vs 10%), Financial Aid Handbook (19% vs 8%) and Student Handbook (25% vs 18%).”

1. They are their brand’s conscience
2. They don’t sell – They share
3. They are real human beings (Elise chiming in: This is my personal favorite.)
4. They write well
5. They commit

An immense new laboratory of human relations is taking shape. Millions of us are playing, working, flirting, and socializing online—and producing oceans of data. Duncan J. Watts, a Columbia University sociologist now on leave and heading a research unit at Yahoo!, marvels at the change. “When I started network research 12 years ago, we had virtually no data,” he says. Now he and his team can study the network behavior of 295 million e-mailers and legions of the 200 million Facebook users. For social scientists, Watts says, this flood of data could be as transformative as Galileo’s telescope was for the physical sciences: “It gives us a new understanding of our world and ourselves.” …

Others find value in a sizable following. Earlier this year, Jason Calacanis, founder of the search engine Mahalo, offered to pay Twitter $250,000 to put his account on a recommended list for the service’s users. He says he was “half joking” but believes the investment would have paid off. He figures the recommendation would have steered 5 million to 15 million new followers his way within two years and that many would have made their way to his company’s Web site. “If 10% click on a link [to Mahalo] once a month,” he writes in an e-mail, “you have about 1 million visits a year. … I’d pay 5 cents for a follower.” Lots of businesses, he says, could benefit from such followings. An airline such as JetBlue could offer discounts to the first 1,000 people who respond and “never [have] another empty seat.”

“Adopting a double opt-in process, which requires users to click on a link emailed to their inbox after they provide their address, will ultimately result in a smaller email list. We estimate that 50%-70% will click on a link to confirm their email address. … while a double opt-in will produce a smaller list, it may be a more valuable list. One B2B marketer in the [Email Marketing Essentials 101 workshop] audience said that she chose a double opt-in process to focus on higher-quality subscribers, which was worth losing an estimated 40% of names that drop out at the subscription confirmation stage.”

• 58% of seniors said Email is more useful to them than the phone
• 48% of senior said Email is the best way for companies to communicate with them

Unfortunately, they didn’t include specifics about the number of senior citizens surveyed nor how they surveyed them. But I’m sure they let you know if you pay the $400 to order their benchmark guide. Actually, it’s a good resource (I have the 2007 version), but it’s one that can perhaps wait for a healthier budget year.

1. Get the facts straight about your existing publications.
2. Ask readers and target audiences about their preferences.
3. Determine possible cost-saving options for mission-critical print publications.
4. Figure out different electronic options for other print publications.
5. Share your decisions with stakeholders, target audiences, and readers.

“… social media is allowing fans to directly participate and relate to teams and players in real ways never before possible. Consumers like to associate with people they know, like, and trust, and social media allows the public to interact with sports organizations and high-profile personnel that may have otherwise been inaccessible because of time and security constraints.

“Thus, targeted use of social media, especially when used consistently with other marketing and publicity activities, may exponentially expand fan involvement and loyalty for sports programs. Sports organizations and players that are actively engaging fans via social media are generally finding that use to be a net positive, and the most progressive among them realize that social media will be a vital part of fan outreach in the future.”

“Unlike Twitter and Myspace, which have had vanity URLs since the start, Facebook is releasing this feature with over 200 million users. The inevitable result will be an online gold rush for common names, key phrases, and brand names. We can imagine users stealing the brand names of rivals just to keep it out of their hands, leading to a lot of headaches, complaints, and a mess to clean up.”

P.S. I forgot to mention something important about vanity URLs for pages (not profiles). This option is only available to pages with 1,000 or more fans. Also, this option becomes available at 9:01 p.m. Pacific Time on June 12.

“If you are tweeting or blogging on behalf of an organization sign your name at the end of the post so your community makes a connection to the different people blogging or tweeting. Don’t pretend you’re somebody else like the Executive Director. People can see right through it and will call you out on it which can be embarrassing. For example, when Joe Trippi is not able to be on Twitter, he asks his staff to tweet timely news on his behalf and sign their own name at the end of the tweet.”

My thanks to Zoe Williams from the UW Dept. of Economics for bringing this to my attention!

Here’s the link to the rest of his article: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-marketing/the-6-dangerous-fallacies-of-social-media/

“‘One interesting theory alluded to by several people in last week’s discussion was that the mainstream media attention on Twitter is really helping fuel its growth.’ Andrew Lipsman, an analyst with ComScore, wrote in a corporate blog posting on April 15. ‘And there may certainly be some merit to that. It seems you can’t get through a typical newscast anymore without some mention of Twitter.’”

It contains a wealth of links to helpful articles such as “The Dos and Don’ts of Promoting Your Business on Twitter” and “Tracking Your Traffic from Twitter.”

Thanks for your tip about these tips, Andre!

http://www.onlinedegreeworld.com/blog/2009/top-100-edu-tweeters/

Thanks for the tip, Richard!

Help the UW save trees and money; send e-mail instead of print. The Office of University Advancement and Creative+Communications are partnering with UW units to send professional-looking email messages to large lists of people, using a centralized Web-based tool called Convio.

Learn more. Check out our E-communications toolkit >>.

(Thanks, Harry!)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/29/myspace-facebook-bebo-twitter

• A site for professional networking
• Users post resumes, recommend colleagues’ job skills
• Has more than 36 million members
• Organizations create groups to bring together people who want to be associated with their brand

Examples: Uses of LinkedIn

• For Q&A opportunities
• Monitor the competition
• Facilitate networking
• Provide profile information, like statistics, demographics, key links

• University of Washington (Seattle, Bothell)
• Foster School
• UW Medicine
• School of Law
• iSchool
• Libraries
• Alumni Group (not run by UWAA)

• Use print if:
  • It has shelf-life value
  • Absolute consistency of appearance is important
  • You know your audience doesn’t use or doesn’t respond well to e-mail
• Use e-mail if:
  • The turnaround time is tight
  • Money is tight
  • You need to contact your audience frequently

Factors to Consider

• Before you go for the “cheaper” e-mail solution, talk to Kathy Hoggan about ways to do print economically
• Do a hybrid approach:
• Small print run for high-value, non-technical target audience
• Send e-mail to everybody
• Get feedback:
• Ask your constituents how they want to receive info
• Keep an eye on e-mail performance metrics; make sure it’s helping you achieve your goals
• How many e-mail addresses do you have?
• Can your audience receive HTML e-mail?


• Most e-mail programs can


• But Outlook blocks images by default


• What about WebPine? Percentages of WebPine use*:


• UW Staff: 76%


• UW Faculty: 69%


• UW Grad Students: 60%


• UW Undergrads: 54%

The RBI brand and messaging should be consistently displayed throughout the Web site and its content. The use of standardized templates and design elements will reinforce the brand and enhance the overall image of the UW. Every page should have the same skin and consistent positioning of key elements so that access to information is easy and quick and the user will know where to find key information.

Well-written stories that capture the brand message and feature the work being done offer the opportunity to “capture the moment of decision.” The also give the user the ability to individualize their content. Highly visible “Give To” buttons should be displayed in the same location so users are always just one click away from making a donation when the “moment of decision” happens.

Traditional printed material should have the same brand and messaging consistency and should always direct the reader back to the Web site for information and action. (Note: traditional Obama bumper stickers, campaign posters and lapel buttons clearly featured the campaign Web site as the primary source of information, not a phone number or mailing address). The Web site, therefore, becomes the source of all information, not just another information channel.

The site content must be user-driven

Everything on the site should be structured, organized and built in a way that allows the user to define what information is important to them (and actionable!) and where they are going to get it. Multiple ways of navigating (hot links, top navigation bars, side bars and search engines) will make it easy for anyone to find their way based on their personal interests.

Functionality must allow for content to be personalized or individualized as well as permit seamless interaction with various mobile devices. Clean, user-driven, believable content is critical. Create functionality around geography, demographics, interest groups, etc., and allow group members to populate the site with information according to their interests.

Your marketing efforts have to be viewed as a total system that incorporates all of the Web 2.0 tools. Don’t view mobile communication devices, for instance, as “add on” features. The Obama campaign utilized virtually every tool available in the Web 2.0 toolkit, giving the user total control over how to consume the information and interact with the site.

Assume there is no cohesiveness of thought and/or action among your target audience – assume that everyone belongs to a splinter group of one. Note: the Obama campaign leveraged more than 5,000 “community” groups – each bonded by geography, occupation, special interest groups, age, gender, life stage, etc. – to spread their message.

Provide content in formats that can be used on mobile devices

Even though UW messaging might not be as compelling as the politics of the moment, iPod/MP3-like devices and iPhones are growing in popularity and content should be designed and coded to be compatible with numerous mobile formats. All information on those applications must be menu driven and be capable of individualization. One of the most popular applications of the Obama campaign was the MyBarackObama downloadable iPhone application available from Apple’s App Store. Users could easily access information and content from anywhere, pass it along to others and personalize updates, etc.

Empower individual users through social networks

Viral fund raising is gaining momentum and rapidly becoming the new standard in the educational community. The user must be empowered to manage his or her own content and encouraged to share it with friends in whatever way they choose. Creating “Share This with Friends” real estate on each page (links, tiles, buttons, switches, etc.) in the same place each time makes that easier. Several vendors currently make this technology available.

On the fund-raising side, the “ask” should increasingly be tied to specific issues, events, human interest stories or individual objectives of members of a social network. Also, as mentioned above, it should be “up front” and in the same place on every page. Note: this strategy was developed by Obama pre-campaign advisers as early as four years prior to announcing his candidacy, making it an integral part of his overall strategy, not just another “after the fact” information channel.

Videos on Facebook (and other social networking sites) allow “personal appearances” everywhere at virtually the same time, creating a timely, inexpensive, yet personalized marketing opportunity.

Note: All of these social networking tools allow a sort of “power to the people” mentality to virally spread “the word.” However, remember that none of them is necessarily technology-driven, but more philosophy inspired.

Execute flawlessly

Embrace a 21st century communication strategy and concentrate resources on executing new media strategies and tactics as perfectly and seamlessly as possible. Marketing strategists, political experts and even technology professionals all seem to agree that the most distinguishing characteristic of the Obama campaign phenomenon was not the technology, but an almost flawless execution of available technology tools.

For more information and examples of the items cited above, visit www.MyBarackObama.com.

Ideally, all University of Washington Web sites should be part of the “edu” domain. This affords credibility and authenticity in a world where Web naming can be confusing and even misleading. It also celebrates the vastness of the UW family. The UW’s major top-level URLs include: www.washington.edu, uwmedicine.washington.edu, admit.washington.edu. URLs also can have other extensions, including .org, .com, .net , .us. Keep in mind that the extension on a URL conveys information about what kind of site it is (commercial, organization, etc.) Give some thought to what the extension says about your site before deciding to use something other than .edu.

How are URLs assigned?

The UW has clusters of servers used for different purposes, and the URL of a Web page will be assigned depending on where the Web page lives. It’s complex, but works well. Here’s a peek behind the scenes: http://www.washington.edu/webinfo/behind/

The UW home page lives on the “Bank” server, which also is home to top-level administrative pages. These pages start with www.washington.edu and have a top-level directory in which to upload the Web pages. For example, www.washington.edu/president and www.washington.edu/provost

Many departments, schools and programs are on “Homer:” http://depts.washington.edu. Staff pages can be found at http://staff.washington.edu. There also is http://courses.washington.edu and http://faculty.washington.edu. And those are just the UW servers. Some departments have their own servers, which can affect their naming schemes.

My URL is cumbersome. Can I shorten/change it?

Masking: The UW Technology URL Forwarding and URL Masking Service enables you use a customized domain name for your Web site. For example, College of the Environment Web pages are on Homer and are uploaded to this URL: http://depts.washington.edu/coenv/ But the public Web address has been “masked” to this simpler URL: http://coenv.washington.edu

Forwarding: You can also “forward” a longer Web address to a shorter one. For example, http://depts.washington.edu/yourdepartment/ could be forwarded to http://yourdepartment.washington.edu

To better understand the differences between the two services, visit http://www.washington.edu/computing/web/publishing/url-forwarding.html

Is there a cost associated with changing a URL?

UW Technology charges $50 a year for each custom domain name added to its URL Forwarding or Masking Services. (Amount current as of February 2009.) For details, updated information and to request the service, go to http://www.washington.edu/computing/web/publishing/url-forwarding.html

The University of Washington, as part of a Reputation Building Initiative, is working on a comprehensive style guide with information on preferred fonts, colors, layouts, photo use, messaging, etc., for both print and Web. The projected roll out of the style guide is mid-2009.

The new style guide will reflect an updated look and feel for the UW. A new logo (”Block W”) and new “word marks” already have been approved. To learn more — and to download art packs — go to: https://www.washington.edu/externalaffairs/uwmarketing/RBI/logos.html (Net ID required).

Please note: The old “column” logo has been retired and you are encouraged to begin using the Block W and new word mark immediately on all of your Web sites, print publications, etc.

The value of a UW style guide

Pros: A consistent style distinguishes a page as UW authentic and conveys credibility, reliability and authority. The new style guidelines will help achieve a common look and feel, enhancing the university’s reputation and standing as a world-class higher education institution.

Cons: Some owners of UW Web pages want to retain their “identity.”

Flexibility: The new style guidelines are intended to be flexible, and options will be available to use standard “headers” at the top of your existing pages (new logo and basic site-wide navigation). In addition, UW Marketing will work with individual units to see if a hybrid is possible to elevate the stature of both individual units and the UW while preserving your identity.

Getting Started on the Web

The new style guidelines will be available in mid-2009. More specific information will be released as it becomes available through the UW Web Council and the Marketing Roundtable. The new guidelines will replace (and in some technical cases supplement) existing Web guidelines that were published a number of years ago. The old “webguides” still have some valuable information about how the UW Web works, including:

• Request an account: http://www.washington.edu/webguides/guidelines/start.html
• Installing – making your pages public: http://www.washington.edu/webguides/guidelines/install.html
• Guidelines for mailto forms: http://www.washington.edu/webguides/guidelines/forms/
• Accessibility guidelines: http://www.washington.edu/accessibility/
• Developer information: http://www.washington.edu/webinfo/
• Writing a privacy statement: http://www.washington.edu/webguides/guidelines/forms/privacy.html
• Free html editor with built-in Tidy: http://www.chami.com/html-kit/tools/
• Html tidy (clean up code): http://www.washington.edu/webinfo/tidy.cgi
• Finding broken links: http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html
• Setting up a random image and link: http://www.computerhope.com/j18.htm

Examples of the new logo and wordmark

The UW home page (http://www.washington.edu) and top-level administrative pages (http://www.washington.edu/president etc.) already have adopted the new logo (Block W) and wordmark. Other schools, departments, units have as well. Examples:

• Arts & Sciences: http://www.artsci.washington.edu/ (full header)
• College of the Environment: http://coenv.washington.edu/ (thin header)
• School of Social Work: http://depts.washington.edu/sswweb/
• Diversity: http://www.washington.edu/diversity/
• Public Records: http://depts.washington.edu/pubrec/index.shtml

Also see: Naming Web sites/selecting URLs

A blog, which is short for Web log, has about as many different uses and formats as there are users — and there are millions. Blogs typically consist of regular posts on a subject, issue, topic or theme (think online journal) and include images and links to other blogs or Web content. Many blogs are interactive – they are open to comments from readers.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Blogs are an ideal way to communicate information quickly and simply, and they are Web savvy. Once set up, you do not need to know html (Web coding), and often blogs have built-in tools to easily add Web 2.0 (multimedia) and to share with social networks (Facebook, etc.). Blogs can work well for a niche audience (a class, for example)

Cons: To be valuable and sustain your audience, blogs should be updated regularly and kept current. This is a negative only if you are unable or unwilling to keep your blog fresh. Also, there are so many blogs that yours will have to be compelling/relevant to gain a foothold.

How do I start a blog?

You will need software and server space for your blog. WordPress is one common blog platform. Many UW blogs run on the WordPress platform on UW servers. UW Technology does not support WordPress, but has good instructions on how to set it up: http://www.washington.edu/computing/web/publishing/wordpress.html

Consult your IT department or Web developer for technical help. If you don’t have either of those, find a UW blog you like and ask the author how s/he did it. Some UW bloggers use Wordypress (http://wordyblog.com/), which will host WordPress blogs for a fee, and Blogger (https://www.blogger.com/start) , which is free. There are many other blog options and many solutions. We do not recommend one over the other, but have found UW bloggers to be very willing to share their experience and advice.

When does it make sense to use a blog?

Blogs are ideal vehicles to communicate regularly with classes, groups, stakeholders or any clearly defined audience that shares a common need, interest, passion or desire to follow a blog about a given subject, theme, etc. When deciding whether to start a blog, consider whether your target audience has the commitment, desire and/or need to follow your blog regularly. A blog written for an audience that doesn’t exist is a personal diary. Make sure you understand the differences before venturing into the blogosphere.

Examples of UW blogs that show different uses

• Law School: http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/blogswa.html
• Computer Science & Engineering: http://ugradnews.cs.washington.edu/
• KEXP: http://blog.kexp.org/blog/
• Oren Sreebny staff blog: http://staff.washington.edu/oren/blog/

Learn more about blogs and blogging

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI
• WordPress: http://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging
• Knight Digital Media Center: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050929/
• Google search: http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+blog&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7

Wikipedia defines Twitter as a “social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as ‘tweets’), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them.”

Another way to look at Twitter is that it functions as an interactive, personalized news feed that anyone can contribute to. You decide whose feed you want to “follow”, and whether you want them to follow you.

What are the pros and cons of using it?

Pros: You can establish an ongoing, yet relatively unobtrusive presence in a Twitter “follower’s” routine. A typical Twitter user will monitor their feed for updates on a daily, hourly or real-time basis. For example, you can be in a restaurant and send a tweet on your mobile phone telling your followers in real time what you think of the place. Your followers reciprocate (a best practice), and the twitter cycle is complete. New tweets are seamlessly integrated into the flow.

Cons: “Tweets” are limited to 140 characters, which can be challenging. Detailed announcements must be truncated or linked to a more comprehensive new release, Web page or blog post for further elaboration. Additionally, your tweets compete for attention with potentially hundreds of other tweets in a user’s feed.

How do you get started?

Simply go to http://twitter.com and create an account. There are options under “settings” that allow users to customize the look and feel of their profile page. One best practice is to create a background image that conveys a user or organization’s visual identity and/or brand, rather than using the stock backgrounds offered by Twitter.

When should Twitter be used?

Twitter is best for organizations that can provide a steady stream of content, including (but not limited to) news and events. While you want to avoid overwhelming or “spamming” your followers with dozens of updates a day (unless they are warranted and interesting), tweeting daily builds familiarity with your organization and brand.

Another common use is to provide “play-by-play” updates throughout conferences, important lectures, sporting events, etc. This allows your followers to participate vicariously and helps to build community around your organization.

In either case it’s important to remember that engaging and interacting with your followers creates a richer face for your organization. Twitter is much more than one-way publishing and doesn’t realize its full potential when solely used in that manner.

Examples of some good tweeting going on out there:

Henry Art Gallery: http://twitter.com/henryartgallery
UW School of Public Health: http://twitter.com/sphcm
UW Law School : http://twitter.com/slireton
UWTV: http://twitter.com/uwtv
ResearchChannel: http://twitter.com/researchchannel
Pacific Science Center: http://twitter.com/pacsci
Comcast Customer Service: http://twitter.com/comcastcares
NPR News: http://twitter.com/nprnews

Flickr is a Web site where you can easily and quickly post and share photos and videos – up to 20 MB a month for free. You simply create a profile, upload photos and video and tag the content (add a caption, for example). You can also connect with other users and share your content on services like Facebook.

Your free account includes three photosets, photostream views limited to the 200 most recent images and storage of smaller (resized) images. Flickr also offers a Pro Account for $25 a year, featuring 2 GB monthly upload allotment, unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited photosets, permanent archiving of high-resolution original images, the ability to replace a photo and ad-free browsing and sharing.

What are the pluses and minuses for using it?

Pros - Flickr offers several choices to upload a single image or series of photos (batch photos). The interface is intuitive and relatively easy to use. There are multiple options for uploading and organizing content. Advanced users have the opportunity to program widgets to display content on their own Web sites.

Cons – The free account offers a limited feature set – only shows the last 200 images you have uploaded, limited uploads per month and limited options for organizing the content. But for many uses, 200 photos is plenty.

How do you get started using it?

Visit http://flickr.com to create an account. Then you can upload photos through a Web browser or by downloading the desktop uploader tool (http://www.flickr.com/tools/). Photos can be tagged, added to Flickr user groups, organized into themed sets and linked to from anywhere once uploaded.

What are your recommendations for when this vehicle should be used?

A service like Flickr is a good option if you need to store/display photos online and there are limited technical resources available to accomplish this task.

Who are some of the leaders at UW using this tool effectively?

Foster School of Business – http://www.flickr.com/photos/fostermeansbusiness/

Are there any Web sites that have good information about the use of it?

CNET – http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9703620-2.html
Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr
Flickr Blog – http://blog.flickr.net/en

Common FAQs

http://www.flickr.com/help/faq/

Across all three campuses, units have found that the use of video content enhances their teaching, online marketing and Web experience. Use of video content ranges widely in subject matter, production value and channels of distribution.

Use of Video at the UW

The desire to use video and the ability to quickly and cheaply produce video is increasing throughout the university community. Video is currently being used in the classroom to preserve lectures and guest speakers. Special events, like public lecture series, symposia and topical panel discussions, are also captured for broadcast or streaming video on demand. Video is being used for holiday greetings, newsletter features and short interviews with UW experts. Media Relations and Communications produced a large collection of campus scenes, including aerial views, for use in enriching other video productions. They are currently available through UWTV, but may be available on the Web in the future. MR&C also produces a quarterly video message titled “Office Hours” for President Emmert; worked with Provost Wise on a series of six videos explaining the UW’s mission, vision and values; and produced a compilation to welcome new employees.

Distribution channels

Distribution channels are widely varied. UWTV and the Research Channel produce and distribute lectures, special events like the Dalai Lama’s visit and original programming for UW Medicine. Content from UWTV and multiple units is shared with the public through the UW’s iTunes U site and a YouTube channel. Many units also have their own YouTube channels. Video clips are gaining popularity in departmental online newsletters and e-mail promotions. Video clips are used in training and distance learning by facilities, educational outreach and other central units. Video clips are also used on the UW and President Emmert Facebook pages.

Production values and producers

Production values for video created at the UW and the costs of production cover quiet a wide range. UWTV produces high-definition, TV quality productions. At the other end of the spectrum are short low-definition clips done with pocket video cameras and cell phones. Output forms include: Quicktime, Flash and Windows Media Player. Video producers include UWTV professionals, hired agencies and production companies, UW staff with production backgrounds, student producers and editors. Among the UW leaders in producing video are UWTV Production, dxarts and the Master of Communications in Digital Media program.

Equipment and post-production facilities

UWTV has four professional editing suites, talented editors and production crews, and a complete soundstage with lighting grid www.washington.edu/uwtv/production/

dx arts has several Final Cut Pro editing stations, available to students www.washington.edu/cartah/equipment_list.php

Editing stations and a sound mixing facility are available in Odegaard Library and Mary Gates Hall, managed by Catalyst catalyst.washington.edu/learning_spaces/digital_audio_workstation.html

Catalyst also provides training in audio and video production
catalyst.washington.edu/workshops/video.html

catalyst.washington.edu/workshops/audio.html

Video cameras, tripods and sound equipment are available to students at Classroom Support Services www.css.washington.edu/STFEquipment

MCDM provides graduate-level instruction in digital media production and the business of filmmaking mcdm.washington.edu

Positives and negatives

Video is a rich storytelling medium. The popularity of video in Web applications and marketing is expanding rapidly, and it is getting easier to do without specialized skills. It also is becoming more and more accepted, especially when the content is “user generated” or looks like it.

However, it is not for everyone, and has little application for the blind and deaf. Closed captioning and screen readers can provide some enhancements to the experience, but it is clearly a visual medium. Video files can be very large and hard to download for people with dialup modems and slow computers.

Recommendations for use

Video can be used in many kinds of situations to enhance the viewer’s experience. Short news clips, interviews with experts, lectures and other events and campus life scenes are just a few opportunities. The barriers to entry are low – newsletter editors can add video to electronic publications without a large capital outlay and with desktop editing software. Consider video when the subject of the interview is photogenic and has something interesting to say that will be stronger in visual form than in print.

So, you want to get started?

• Take time to carefully define the project, the audience and the distribution medium – is this for broadcast, Web site, YouTube?
• Write a brief description of the project, including locations, talent and the creative tone of the production.
• Contact UWTV Production if the project involves broadcast, live streaming or high-level production values and complexity.
• If the production is a lecture or event, will you need to record speakers at the lectern? If so, work with Classroom Support for connections to the sound system in the auditorium.
• If your production is for the Web or digital distribution, grab your movie camera and script and get going!
• Editing the video you have captured is possible on a number of software platforms like Windows Moviemaker and Apple iMovie. Follow the program instructions to make your movie. If you get stuck, ask one of the Catalyst digital gurus at Mary Gates Hall or Odegaard Library.

Questions? Contact:
Harry Hayward
Director of Electronic Media and Special Programs
E-mail | 206-685-2647

• Is your target audience primarily students or young alumni?
• Do you have the resources to monitor the page daily, answer fan questions and update it at least monthly?
• Do you have content that is specific to your unit and doesn’t duplicate content on the UW page?
• Do you have Facebook friends who will become fans of the page and help promote it?

Do you have a strategy for addressing controversies or crises related to your unit that might lead to increased activity on your page? For an example of what can happen, see: http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i22/22a00104.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

How can you use Facebook? Here are some reasons UWAA, for example, might use Facebook:

• Connect current honors students with mentors.
• Provide a network for honors alumni.
• Alert students to upcoming events and deadlines.
• Foster a more personalized community for students in a place where they’re already spending a lot of time.
• Enhance minority recruitment.
• Drive traffic to key pages on the UWAA Web site.
• Give students another outlet for getting answers to their questions.

OK, I’m in, now what?

• If you aren’t already signed up, join Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/
• Take a look at the UW page to see what types of things you can do: http://www.facebook.com/UofWA
• Create a new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/create.php
• Also consider sharing content with the UW page (such as videos, photos, events and Facebook applications).

Questions or more info:
Elise Daniel
UW Marketing
eperdan@u.washington.edu
6-8923.

The following downloadable documents offer guidance to help your unit create and maintain an effective and successful e-communications strategy—or revamp any existing e-communications that aren’t meeting your marketing or communications goals.

Note: These guidelines are a work in progress. So, if you have a suggestion for information that needs to be added, corrected, or updated, please send an e-mail message to Elise Daniel at: eperdan@u.washington.edu

Guidelines and How-Tos

How to Create an E-newsletter: From Beginning to Send: a step-by-step guide to creating an e-newsletter from scratch

Glossary: definitions of commonly used terms (including technical terms) related to sending they many not know what HTML means newsletters through e-mail

Best Practices for Developing Effective E-communications Content: guidance for planning and composing a compelling e-newsletter

Best Practices for E-communications Design: guidance for planning and designing an attractive and effective e-newsletter

Sample Documents

Sample Schedule: an Excel document that outlines the typical steps and deadlines for producing a quarterly is it just monthly or do we have quarterly or other timeframes? Is recurrence the issue? e-newsletter, which will be the most sustainable frequency for under-resourced units

Sample Performance Report: an example of how to present to a nontechnical audience information (such as open rates and click-through rates) about how subscribers have responded to and used your e-newsletter

Sample Presentation: a PowerPoint deck you can use to introduce your e-newsletter to stakeholders and other interested parties who are not on your core e-newsletter team. Topics covered include goals, audience, process, and timeline.

Questions? Contact:
Elise Daniel
E-communications Marketing Manager
UW Marketing

E-mail | 206-616-8923

• What % of your audience do you have e-mails for? Are they from the group you care most about?
• Benchmark yourself against other UW groups and overall – look at your trend line. Find out how many e-mails you
• collected last year and where they came from. How did you get those (events, forms, phone, direct mail, Web, publications, etc.)?

Audit how you currently collect e-mails and how you use the ones you have. Look at how you currently send them (Convio or other system) and how you store them (Advance or other system). What has worked and what hasn’t?

Next, set realistic goals and develop ways to measure the results of your future activities so you can see what works. Closely track your trend line.

Decide what information you need. At a minimum, get first name, middle initial, last name, e-mail and zip code. Think about other information that would be helpful, such as degree(s), year(s) of graduation, mobile phone number, land line phone number, physical address, employer, etc. There also may be other information necessary to suit your unit’s needs.

Strategies for acquiring email addresses

Give them something in return. Offer valid reasons for providing the information (going green, helping the UW be more cost efficient, opportunity to get a new name@uw.edu e-mail account, etc.).

Leverage existing publications. Write a story, run an ad, add a link, blow in, etc. to promote e-mail acquisition in ongoing publications Always include a URL directing the reader to Web site for more information (NOTE: This should not be a onetime activity, but an ongoing one).

If you are trying to reduce spending on printed publications by cutting down on the number of issues, etc., add a story, ad, link, blow in, etc. to promote e-mail acquisition in the editions you do publish. Add e-communication in lieu of the issues you no longer print and mail. Try smaller formats like a postcard or shorter newsletter and push the reader to the Web. Here’s an example: http://www.washington.edu/externalaffairs/uwmarketing/bestpractices/Libraries_News_Postcard.pdf

If you are totally discontinuing a publication, send a postcard or letter explaining why, soliciting e-mail and pointing out other communication activities that will substitute for the publication. At the same time, prominently promote your e-communication on your Web site.

Add a line asking for e-mail address on every form you use (event RSVP/check in, pledge forms, gift receipts, change of address, thank you notes, etc.).

Leverage your Web presence. Add a button, link, tile, ad, etc. to collect emails and put that on all pages of your site consistently (not just home page). Offer sign up for e-newsletters or other online “publications.” Example: http://www.uwtv.org/newsletter/index.asp. Invest in your Web site to make it a destination your audience will find valuable. Drive people to an online form for customer self service
Example: http://uwfoundation.org/convio/subscriber.asp. Put a change of address link in the footer on all pages (http://www.washington.edu/alumni/membership/addresschange.html).

Take advantage of the activities of other units like Advancement and UWAA. Use Advance to input data (send e-mails to updates@u.washington.edu) and the Convio e-mail system.

Important things to remember

• Properly steward e-mail addresses that you have.
• Strictly adhere to all privacy standards.
• Provide opt-in/opt-out language and monitor opt-out metrics as an indication of how well you are doing.