What we need to know about social media changes all the time as nonprofits change how we use online tools and share. This workshop will help those who supervise work with external audiences as well as those doing it day to day to think through some of the challenges it presents to the organization as well as one or two of the most significant new hands-on skills to have.
In this session you will learn:
• How and why nonprofits are leading in adopting Facebook, Twitter, blogs and more social media tools
• Listening techniques—simple ways to ensure your organization is participating in online conversations that relate to you and your work areas
• Common issues that come up as nonprofits add social media to their communications toolkits and how to lead your organization through them
Whether you run your organization or not, find out what kind of changes using Web 2.0 tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs may bring to your organization and assess how to lead you’re your group through those changes.
About Emily
Before moving to Chicago in 2008, Emily Culbertson was Web managing director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where she co-led a re-launch of RWJF.org in June 2008 and helped coordinate the foundation’s social media. Prior to that she was a senior account manager and eHealth strategist at I-SITE, a Philadelphia-based web agency, and she began her web career as a multimedia editor for the University of Pennsylvania Health System’s consumer Web site. She has also covered federal courts for the Associated Press, several Philadelphia suburban daily newspapers and Philadelphia’s legal daily newspaper. Culbertson is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in urban studies.
The panelists for “How Weblogs are Transforming the Media Landscape,” at the Community Media Workshop’s Making Media Connections conference: (left to right) Andrew Huff (Gaper’s Block), Barbara Iverson (moderator, Columbia College Chicago) and Eric Zorn (Chicago Tribune). (Photo by Jason Pettus on Flickr.com)
The web has made it easier for us to get our stories out, but what about our events? Most journalists will admit that covering a nonprofit event such as a fundraiser won’t make the headlines unless you have some untouchable “newsworthy” guest or if you are savvy enough to bridge the event to current breaking news features.
But what most people don’t know is that news sites often have “community calendars” where users can submit their own events or tips to be published on their site and in some cases featured in the day’s news broadcast or news publication. Read the rest of this entry »
Getting On Air, Online & Into Print
9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, January 12
Presented by Demetrio Maguigad, REGISTER
Learn to incorporate the 2010 Getting On Air, Online & Into Print media guide into your communications plan as well as how to get the most from the digital portion of the guide, from installation to basic and advance media searches along with other tips and tricks. LuAnn Wing of Aid Africa’s Children said of this session recently, “I learned about sources to check out and examples of how people solved their marketing/PR problem. It was very helpful in understanding how things work.”
Last week Mark Pickering of the Bloomington Pantagraph spoke at length as part of a panel discussion that covered much more than pitching–we also talked about how his newspaper has incorporated social networks by implementing its own network, My Pantagraph.com with help from its parent, Lee Enterprises.
While Pete Moore, Jamahl, and Vikki Baptiste of MidCentral Community Action looked on, Mark talked about an issue that comes up basically all the time–when to call him and when to email him. His candid thoughts in this video remind us that, while it’s important to make sure you are not being a pest, it’s just as important to be persistent, and to know when it’s not just OK but probably a good idea, to pick up the phone.
There’s many ways to contact news outlets about news they can use. One way is through news outlets’ websites. Submit press releases and media alerts to Chicago and other Midwest news outlets using the links below. A word of advice: Be selective when choosing news outlets to send your news too. Consider the geographic area the outlets cover and the readership/viewers they serve. Consider publications’ frequency. Will your news be timely by the time it might be published?
Chicago-area Outlets
• ABC Television
WLS-TV (ABC7-Chicago) does not accept press releases via email. All documents should be faxed to (312) 899-8019. For a directory of links for ABC New’s various national programs click here.
• American Bar Association Journal
All press releases should be emailed to releases@abanet.org.
All firms with more than one employee should have a clearly written media policy that spells out who in the organization may respond to media inquiries, what kinds of information can or should be released to reporters, and what information must be kept confidential.
It’s important to assure your employees that talking to the media, and establishing good relationships with reporters, can and should be constructive. It can help to establish an accurate public perception of who you are and what you do. There’s no need to feel intimidated: Reporters need you as a source of news and background information as much as you need them to give you publicity and clarify your point of view. Read the rest of this entry »
As the corporate Web site becomes a powerful communications center, public relations practitioners should make sure the site effectively supports the media relations function. Here are several strategies to ensure that reporters can easily find your site when they need information about your company, locate useful information within your site, and feel encouraged to contact you.
Make sure the press can find your site. Try to register all possible names for your company. If possible, a Web site name should be the company or organization’s name (or appropriate abbreviation or acronym) followed by .com, .org, or .firm. Most reporters will try that before utilizing search engines. Make sure your meta tags (hidden HTML code that provides information for search engines) include critical key words related to your organization, and ensure that your home page title includes both your company name and major business category. For example, the page title for XYZ Company, which an HR software vendor would access, might read: “XYZ Company delivers HR software solutions to businesses worldwide.” Include your Web site address on everything — business cards, product literature, press releases, e-mail signatures, etc. Read the rest of this entry »
HOW CAN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS GET MEDIA ATTENTION DURING AN ELECTION YEAR?
Given that news about various political campaigns will consume much of the media’s ink and air time during an election year, Kevin Lampe of Kurth Lampe, a public relations and political consulting firm based in Chicago, offers his advice on how nonprofit organizations can gain media attention for the important community issues they are addressing. He suggests:
Nonprofits can use an election season to deliver their message through political campaigns. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a respectable way to express your point of view and gain exposure in the marketplace.
Writing a letter to the editor is a great way to (1) correct a mistake, misquote, or distortion in a recent news story; (2) illuminate one or both sides of a controversy involving your profession; or (3) comment on how proposed regulations or policies may affect your clients. Read the rest of this entry »
Media outlets are businesses just like any other. As a result, the media must provide stories that are important, detailed and interesting in order to maintain customers. For this reason, an important but potentially dull public policy story must take an arduous journey to get some form of media coverage. At a recent panel discussion at the Community Media Workshop’s annual Making Media Connections conference, Cornelia Grumman of the Chicago Tribune and David Schaper of radio station WBEZ explained the best ways to get generally unexciting yet important stories into the media.
As a reporter for the Tribune, Cornelia Grumman understands the inherent problems with a newspaper. Familiarization with the quirks and shortcomings of the print media may very well be the first step to getting an article published. The more you know about your disadvantages, the more you can do to combat them. Read the rest of this entry »
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