WebServes September Newsletter
What’s Happening at WebServes
WebServes has finished implementing the online ticketing and reservations system for the seventh annual Black and White Gala hosted by the Seamen’s Society for Children and Families (SSCF). The organization’s largest annual fundraising event honors former president Bill Clinton as the guest speaker, and foster parent Laura Graham as this year’s honoree. Reserve your ticket here, and check out their facebook page to see who else might be attending. At the end of October, we will follow up with the launch of a completely revamped website for SSCF at their new domain.
WebServes and Hello Tomorrow have finalized the development of the new brand and logo designs for this media agency’s website. WS has incorporated the re-visualized designs on their new landing page at hellotomorrow.tv. WS will be launching their inaugural website in late October.
WebServes has launched a limited public beta for the Bare Naked Bake Sale site this month. Built on a customized drupal platform, this innovative crowd-sourcing site is being tested and reviewed by select users. Read the editorial about BNakedB on the blog, Crowdsourcing and visit their facebook page for any updates. Keep an eye out for the public beta release in October!
Camp Kinderland was severely impacted by the heavy winds and rain brought by Hurricane Irene. For over 80 years now, their organization has provided thousands of children with enriching and enjoyable summers (where else do you find a Peace Olympics?). Unfortunately, the road leading into camp has been destroyed by a water surge, and several other structures (including the lake’s dam) were also heavily damaged. As a long-time client (and Technology Partner) of ours, we would like to support them in the rebuilding of the camp. Please consider donating funds to assist Camp Kinderland.
Tips of the Month
Here are a few ideas from Kivi Leroux Miller’s webinar on social media strategy. A downloadable PDF version is available.. Try not to overwhelm your fans with information, instead, give them “snack-sized” bits of info. Not only will it help them to understand things more quickly, but it will also allow them to gather more information. Social media is all about quick updates, so be sure to keep your updates short and frequent. In sticking with this theme, we’ve created a short guide to social media.
According to Mashable, a great way to draw attention to a cause is through pop culture and memes. Even though a cause is serious, nonprofits are not limited to promoting them in a serious manner. Since pop culture is always trending, it’s easy to grab the audience’s attention with a notable catchphrase or image. Take a look at how the American Red Cross was able to use Charlie Sheen’s famous phrase, “Tiger Blood”, to promote blood donations.
Social Media Strategies: 4 Ideas on How to Engage and Grow Your Fanbase
Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend one of Kivi Leroux Miller’s free webinars on social media strategy. Although only an hour long, a lot of great ideas were shared, including statistical data on which media channels were best for marketing. Unhinging the myth that Facebook is the number one place to deliver your message, the two best marketing channels are actually your own website and e-newsletter. You have to remember that Facebook and Twitter are only secondary outlets for information, and your website is the most important part of your company.
But, don’t ignore your social media channels just because they are secondary. Here are a few tidbits that I’ve gathered from the webinar:
1. Update your social media channels regularly
Just having a Facebook and Twitter page are not enough. You won’t get a following by just having a page. People will follow you when you offer them useful or fun information that they can share with friends. It may be hard to come up with content sometimes, but you can always retweet someone, or share a link that someone else has posted.
The frequency of updates depends on where you are posting. For Facebook, once or twice a day is perfect, it gives time for others to comment, and reassures that you are not posting spam. Twitter can be updated several times day, depending on how many people mention you, and the types of trends you want to participate in.
2. Deliver “snack-sized” information
I found this to be one of the best tips from the webinar. Kivi used a very sweet metaphor comparing the amount of information to snack-sized candies. No one wants to read a two page long e-newsletter, or a 2,000 word blog post. The information may be interesting, but people want to read and understand it quickly. Having small chunks of information at several intervals is easier to digest than having one large informational package in one sitting, perhaps why social media has grown so rapidly.
For your newsletters, focus and frequency are the things to remember. You can try to create more focused content, while sending more frequently. So, split your content and send a bi-weekly newsletter instead of a monthly one. Yelp does an amazing job with their newsletters. They usually send out bi-weekly newsletters, and instead of having an array of popular places to go, they focus on a specific category. So, their first newsletter can be Greek places around Manhattan, and the next one will be Spanish food in Queens.
Facebook Controversy!
One of our clients, Bare Naked Bake Sale’s facebook ad got banned yesterday for the image included in the ad was deemed unsuitable to appear on Facebook…what are your thoughts? Do you think it is appropriate? Check out their facebook page along with some links they posted.
