Is your organization caught in the chicken-and-egg technology cycle? (image credit: cocoip, Flickr Creative Commons)

I admire every nonprofit I encounter. They always do so much with so little. They take a dollar and stretch it in ways that teach even the most penny-pinching entrepreneur a thing or two. The question persists today, though, as to the proper allocation of resources dedicated to outreach, community relationship development, and communication technologies. While this paragraph is obviously self-serving for my company, it’s also proving to be true. Nonprofits who wisely invest in outreach and communication technologies and methods with their audiences and supporters experience a groundswell of positive responses, a connected community which is interested and engaged, a measurable return on investment, and even improved financial performance.

One of Ms. Tsai’s focus areas in her article explores the increase in oversight and lack of a mandate from an agency’s donors, expecting their donation to be used on actual program and service costs, not the overhead costs or infrastructure of the agency. Tsai highlights the dangers in such spending, however:

“An article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review underscored some of the [nonprofit] sector’s unfortunate behaviors. According to the article, “The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle,” nonprofits exhibit a “chicken-and-egg-like quality that makes it hard to determine where the dysfunction really begins.” The cycle typically starts with the unrealistic expectations of funders – or what the ASPCA’s Froelich ironically calls “the charity watchdogs.” Pressured by the need to secure funding, nonprofits strive to conform to these expectations, an effort that often depresses spending on infrastructure. Antiquated systems lead to subpar performance, which only serves to intensify the oversight.” (Jessica Tsai, “Helping Hands,” CRM Magazine, February 2010. Link»)

The article provides some key takeaways. First, nonprofits need to take that initial step into investing in outreach and constituent relationship development technologies. Secondly, and more importantly, agencies need to use those technologies to communicate with audiences, informing them of needs and ask them for help. The problem here is the prohibitive cycle of outreach: without the tools, it is difficult to communicate. Without communication, it is difficult to obtain the resources necessary to acquire the tools. Agencies finding themselves in this trap are left with archaic and often chaotic communication procedures and no real ability to invest in new outreach methods for fear of breaking the bank. That chicken-and-egg paradox persists.

Without strong outreach channels, it is difficult for agencies to communicate need to supporters or actually make the donation ask: their network is limited to the infrastructure’s capability. With advances in social and outreach technologies today, nonprofits are increasingly able to reach out to a growing community of supporters, eliminating the traditional barriers that once existed. With online and other social networks that are by nature high-speed, connected, and not limited to a single level, agencies can connect with supporters that transcend the first level of supporters, encouraging new followers to adopt the mission and goals of the agency.

I’ve recently been hearing the phrase “run your nonprofit like a business.” While it seems like an obvious statement, I see many improvements that can be brought to the nonprofit industry. By investing in the connection with constituents, nonprofit agencies can plant the seed that encourages support at a later time, even if the individual has no ability or intent to give or support at the time. By fostering relationships through positive messages, engaging dialogue with the agency, and providing value to the supporter, these relationships can grow into full-fledged financial supporters of the nonprofit organization.

Today’s technologies finally allow for the development of the valuable relationship with an agency’s service communities. With tools such as a constituent management software, donor tracking and relationship, and communication channels such as web and social media, nonprofits stand to increase their efficiency and see a larger ability to serve. It’s not just about saving money: it’s also about reaching out further and developing current, new, and even lost supporters to increase the financial capability of the agency. Increased outreach and communication efforts require an investment, but they can provide results that are far reaching even beyond the life of the measured campaign life.

Justifying technology and outreach can be a tough choice. The research is out there. The case studies are out there. All agencies have to do is take that leap of faith and trust supporters to take care of them. Continuing in that cycle of chicken-and-egg outreach only persists the dearth of productive communication with supporters. 2010 is a great year to build an agency’s communication infrastructure, allowing them to reach out more effectively than ever. Let’s discuss possibilities for a vision of effective outreach in your agency.

Is your organization or company doing what it can to maximize the web’s potential to reach out to people? In many discussions I’ve had the past two weeks I began to see a common trend in thinking, that you either have a web presence or you don’t. Hearing this, I wanted to write a bit of a primer and thoughts on what levels of web involvement are out there today and hopefully spark a discussion among local business and organizational leaders on what small businesses/organizations can do to improve their communications and marketing efforts.

On the surface, the observation is that you either have a web presence or don’t. Any website, marketing agency, or general conversation both online and offline will show that companies and organizations that lack a website are throwing away a variety of contacts, relationships, and other opportunities to reach out to their audiences. We’re 10 years into the new millennium, the Internet is not going away, and any group that creates positive web solutions for their operations will continue to experience success. Web communication has become a dominant form of communication alongside good ol’ face-to-face conversation.

This yes/no description of web presence, however, is not accurate any longer. There is a difference between a website and a great website, and those factors which are used to build great websites should be no secret. Highlighting the differing degrees of web involvement, this article is designed to aid local/small business, organizations, and agencies (and really any other group who doesn’t have thousands of dollars to perform research and web development) get a grasp on where they fall in the spectrum, what can be done to improve web communications, and how to become more efficient in their marketing and outreach efforts.

While this binary web paradigm of yes or no web presence is obviously still prominent as many businesses and organizations haven’t taken the next steps to improve their web presence and outreach efforts on the Internet, there are varying degrees of involvement and use of tools that can invariably improve a group’s outreach efforts. Industry leaders today strive to increase both the incentive for visitors to use organization or company web resources/ locations as well as help create a collaborative experience with those visitors that can be valuable to the visitor and lead to stronger relationships.

The spectrum

There are five distinct levels of involvement on the Internet for companies and organizations. These levels can be pictured and compared on a linear spectrum in terms of involvement. Academic and corporate research is still attempting to discover quantitative data to illustrate the positive effects and benefits of increased involvement and outreach using internet channels. What is exciting is that the preliminary data suggest that there is an increased effectiveness in marketing and outreach efforts when a company increases their involvement in web efforts.

Illustrating this effect, the recent ENGAGEMENTdb report ranking the top 100 global brands by The Altimiter Group and Wetpaint (www.engagementdb.com) cite a correlation between involvement with internet channels. They frankly ask and answer, “why do social media? We finally have a good answer: Because it pays off” (Engagementdb report, p.6). They further report that “companies that are both deeply and widely engaged in social media [and other channels including their own website] surpass their peers in terms of both revenue and profit performance by a significant difference. In fact, these Mavens have sustained strong revenue and margin growth in spite of the current economy” (p. 6). Using the data collected from a comprehensive survey and analysis process, The Altimiter Group and Wetpaint are researchers that are finding that there is numerical, solid data to back up claims that “being involved is worth it.”

What does it mean to be involved? The image below illustrates the five distinct levels of involvement ranging from zero web involvement (no website, social media, or other web involvement) to very active and engaged web involvement (through a interactive website, social media channels, web resources, and discussions/conversations with audiences). From level zero to level four, each level builds on the other, with the development of new efforts augmenting past efforts. For instance, if a company is at level two (optimized static strategy), they will take everything the have done from level two and integrate it with additional strategies and resources to achieve level three. As an organization or company increases along the spectrum, it naturally increases the resources needed and involvement required to maintain the web presence and involvement.

This spectrum is simple, but it illustrates well the direction that companies and organizations can take to increase their involvement and hopefully their outreach effectiveness.

The five levels build upon each other, and as companies and organizations move to the right increasing their involvement, visitors expect all other levels below the current level to be present as well.

A good reason why many companies and organizations have yet to achieve higher levels of involvement could be due to two primary reasons. First, business and organizational leaders as well as marketing managers may not have the resources available to both develop and maintain such a presence as the level of expertise for internet involvement has not become prominent yet in our advertising culture. As research continues to develop in internet practice, this will eventually become common knowledge, as a host of informational resources (such as this one) will become readily available, teaching business leaders how to maximize their efforts, make them efficient, and receive a high return-on-investment in their strategies.

Second, many companies and organizations may simply not have all of the tools and information available out there on how to get involved, what methods to use, and how to do it effectively. This article helps to address this issue by offering a variety of ideas on how an organization or company can engage audiences and visitors.

Remembering that greater involvement generally bring greater success and effectiveness, companies and organizations should strive to move to the right as far as possible without over extending themselves. The most important initiative should be to move to at least be a one on the spectrum having a static web solution. No web presence in today’s economy and society could almost be lethal for any group. For these companies and organizations in the 0-2 range, it’s important to focus on maintaining information, keeping content up to date, having smooth and eye-friendly layout and design, and incentives for visitation.

Companies and organizations should continuously attempt to move to the right on the spectrum and improve their outreach efforts whenever possible. Great care must be taken, however, to keep information current, relevant, and transparent. As a group increases its involvement in the web, it becomes increasingly transparent as well. Also, when moving into social media channels for greater involvement, great care also has to be taken to remain conversational, social, and friendly. If this social component is forgotten, the primary requirement for social media is forgotten and the campaign has a high chance for failure.

Visitors and the population of the internet have greater ability to detect marketing efforts and sniff out ads. In a social environment, regular advertising loses its effect and is generally ignored. The goal of social networking and media is to share valuable information among those in various social circles and traditional marketing and advertising find it rather difficult to survive in these channels. However, companies and organizations that positively engage their visitors and audiences as friends in this social atmosphere are increasingly finding that those visitors are more interested in the group’s web presence. These visitors can also potentially become influential within their own social circles, possibly promoting the organization or company.

Static – A great first step

Levels one and two of web involvement consist of static strategies. When using the word ‘static,’ this just describes strategies that are designed and do not change over time without a systemic overhaul or redesign of the website or campaign. Content is not updated regularly or changed based on participants’ use of the site. In short, static involvement does not change each time a visitor views the website or campaign.

Level 1- Static

Static solutions are a great first start for any organization or company looking to get past level zero and get on the web. They essentially provide the organization or company’s brochure to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, always up for viewing and consumer research. The always-available information allows visitors to view company/organization information on their own time, at any hour a day, without having to make a phone call, request information, or visit a physical location. The internet is quickly becoming (if it already isn’t the primary) the preferred method for conducting initial research on products, services, and other things related to economic decisions that may be made.

The goal for static is to get important information online and available to any and all who may be seeking it. It’s best if it’s kept simple and not too wordy, but also needs to be descriptive enough to be of use to the visitor. Vague and ambiguous information may be just as frustrating as no info at all.

These static solutions provide consistent information to visitors who may get involved with an organization or company. Some of the most common and important factors of a static site or solution include the following:

• Contact Info. The visitor should have ample opportunity to find contact information for an organization or company. If the intended marketing effect for the website is to encourage a visitor to contact staff or a physical location, it needs to be prominent on the website with multiple options to achieve this goal. All actions should eventually point to this for more information. An email address specifically for information that visitors can write to is a good idea. Also, an email form integrated in the website would be a valuable asset as well as visitors wouldn’t have to leave their browser.
• About Us. Information about the company/organization, its people, its policies, its history, and its vision, values, and mission should all be present on static websites in a clear area. Visitors who are conducting initial research on an organization or company and making a decision to deal with the organization/company stand a better chance of making an informed decision if information is readily available instead of having no information at all.
• Services/Product Info. It is absolutely necessary to clearly describe any products, services, programs an organization or company offers to help in the decision-making process and initial research of the visitor. Being clear, concise, and descriptive in this information proves to be more useful to visitors and can potentially aid in the decision-making process more effectively.
• FAQ. Anticipating the questions of the audience is a great way to address common questions and concerns that they may have. An FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page provides answers to common questions that visitors have. By anticipating their needs, companies and organizations can show that they care to keep visitor concerns close and are committed to providing the highest quality of service.

Level 2 – Optimized Static

Building on level 1, an organization or company can create a stronger solution by optimizing their level 1 static solution. While keeping everything in level 1’s description, level 2 assumes that additional steps are taken to improve exposure of the website, increase traffic, and start to move forward to more advanced models of outreach and involvement on the web.

Since a static website by default does not grow or further develop, level 2 strategies can be employed to increase the effectiveness of a static solution:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Considered one of the cornerstones of web guruism, SEO improves the chances of a website to be spotted in a search when a visitor uses a search engine like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The higher a website is on a search, the increased likelihood it is visited by the searcher. While countless books have been written on this topic, some basic things to remember will help SEO in any strategy:
  • Good keywords in the title tag.
  • Good keywords in headers. These hold more weight than other text on page.
  • Good keywords in IMG ALT tags, the alternate text that is attached to images.
  • Having around 200 words in the body of a page and have it keyword rich.
  • Having text links instead of links that say “click here” or “more.” Instead, use text for links that describes the page that it will link to (e.g. “about us”, “info on products”)
  • Inbound links. A site is ranked higher when it is listed as a link on other websites and URLs. This can be achieved by asking affiliates, partners, and other groups or individuals to link the site from their sites.
• Appropriate listing with organizations and searches. Submit the organization or company to Google Maps (www.googlemaps.com). Joining a local chamber of commerce or other trade/professional organization may offer an opportunity to link from to the company/organization website. Do what is possible to find partnerships and affiliates that won’t hinder progress or positive growth. Avoid submitting sites to link farms and other websites that promise to increase SEO or exposure. Google doesn’t like pages full of links to increase page rank.
• Promote the website on all other promotional material. This includes any other advertising such as print materials, business cards, TV and radio ads, internet ads, envelopes, newspaper articles, emails, and billboards. Find ways to increase traffic by promoting visitation to the website in all promotional and marketing opportunities.
• Paid advertising. Perhaps more of an extreme for a static page, paid advertising on the internet on Facebook, Google, or other search/social options may be an option to help promote visitation to a website.
• Initial Social Media (unintegrated). Social media presences that are not integrated with each other (e.g. not feeding/working off each other and a company/organization website) can be employed to start the move to a more dynamic web presence and promote the static website. Beware, however, as a company/organization begins to move toward social and dynamic options, static solutions become less effective and can even be detrimental to the functionality of a dynamic presence. A company/organization should be ready to make the move into dynamic, collaborative web efforts if it begins to dabble in social media. By its nature, social media is dynamic and a company/organization should have matching web presences.

Dynamic – more engaged, more effective

Dynamic solutions, or those that are able to change regularly and provide visitors with a greater incentive to return and regularly be involved, are becoming more popular and proving to be more effective with both companies/organizations and the visitor. Visitors enjoy dynamic strategies because they have the ability to stay fresh, relevant, and interesting. If these criteria are met, visitors are encouraged to participate and take intended actions by the organization or company.

The term Web 2.0 implies this dynamic, changing, and constantly improving trait of the internet. While the previous years of the internet assumed success by a simple web presence and that many consumers were not active on the internet compared to traditional counterparts (TV, radio, face-to-face, print), Web 2.0 strategies are centered around involving individual participants and communicating with them on a personal level and providing them valuable information and involvement. This degree of communication essentially gives the visitor a piece of ownership in the organization or company, increasing their interest in the company/organization (which translates to loyalty and continued support).

Today, as a large portion (between 70 and 80 percent) of Americans are using the Internet regularly, dynamic solutions are emerging as the feasible option and standard for web involvement. While there is no set standard for what an organization or company’s strategy should be, tools for communication and involvement are continually emerging that can help aid in the outreach to target audiences and visitors, encouraging them to both take intended actions and develop meaningful relationships. For an organization or company, increased relationships and interest using dynamic strategies translates to an improvement of the bottom line, specifically revenues, use of services, and discussion/exposure of a product or brand, much more so than using static strategies.

By their nature, dynamic solutions should not be cut and dry. While static strategies mostly follow a common theme across the entire web, dynamic solutions should be uniquely tailored for each case, allowing maximum personalization and brand identification, a trait which is greatly valued on the web. Templates, how-to guides, and out-of-the-box solutions should be treated with care as a lack of customization tend to defy the principles of dynamic solutions and almost push efforts back down the spectrum of involvement.

The goal of dynamic strategies is to 1) provide useful and interesting material, resources, and opportunities for target audiences; 2) maintain a close level of communication with visitors as to increase the value of relationships; and 3) encourage the sharing of information, products, or services with one’s family, friends and social circles. Dynamic strategies all work toward the betterment of both parties, focusing on a level approach to communication (potentially one-on-one) rather than a top-down and impersonal strategy of communication and advertising.

The social web and dynamic solutions work best with personalization and user value. Participants place high value on resources and information that can directly benefit them or their social circles. Attempt to provide this.

A great way to imagine this strategy as compared to face-to-face interaction is the golden rule: Treat others the way you’d want to be treated. Give more than you receive. Try communicating, marketing, or advertising by being a true friend of the audience. Promote the positive benefits of services or the betterment of others. Selfish, non-mutual attempts and efforts are sniffed out and abandoned by participants of dynamic solutions and the social web. By focusing on an idea of friendship, an organization or company has the ability to discover the needs of their friends and respond to those needs, just as a friend would do.

A good example of serving others to help promote services can be illustrated by the recent 5,000 Campaign by the Grasshopper Group (http://grasshopper.com/5000casestudy/). Instead of focusing on the bottom line, revenues, or their profits, Grasshopper instead focused on empowering others (specifically entrepreneurs, one of their target markets), showing true friendship among efforts to promote its brand and services. In essence, the campaign to empower others was the primary effort, its branding and service promotion came in second.

Many dynamic efforts are actually most effective when they do not have a focus of an organization or company’s bottom line. While focusing on the needs of the audience may be an old principle of marketing, it has become ever important in developing strategies for the dynamic social web. Remember to find ways to empower, build up, and provide value for customers and visitors to remain successful using dynamic solutions.

Level 3 – Dynamic

New tools have emerged that make it easier than ever to update and provide fresh content and resources on organization or company websites. Those that do so achieve Level 3 of the web involvement scale: they are experiencing dynamic delivery of content to visitors.

It is important to remember that one size does not fit all in determining dynamic solutions. Because it worked for one organization or company does not mean it would work for another. Case studies and practical examples, however, are great ways to learn more about available tools and discover their benefits and limitations. They also provide great insight on how to apply these tools to certain circumstances and maximize the benefit for the tools. Just remember to clearly outline goals and measurements to determine the achievement of those goals. Also, adjust the use of tools along the way to respond to the shifting needs of the audience, using audience feedback to determine improvements.

Some of the most popular tools used in dynamic websites are listed below. Again, this is not a comprehensive list nor are they tools that should be used for every situation or every campaign/website. It would perhaps be best to consult with experts in the field of internet marketing and outreach to determine the best combination of solutions for an organization or company.

• Blog with targeted valuable info. An organization or company blog on the main website would be a great way to reach out to target audiences, provide valuable information or resources, and publish commentary on current events, sales, services, or projects of interest to visitors. Enabled comments for feedback from visitors are essential for this tool to remain as effective as possible. Companies and organizations need to be ready to hear feedback from customers, visitors, or others to be able to respond to the needs of target audiences. They also need to be able to identify influencers in online communities, and blog comments provide one way to spot thought leaders and social influencers. Blogs can also be enabled to have more than one staff member posting, allowing different, more specific commentary or information to help target a greater variety of market segments and targets. This also allows for greater discussion and one-on-one conversation between visitors and the organization or company.
• Email newsletter/email marketing. Tools are readily available now for any company/organization to have database email marketing and newsletter capabilities at their disposal. This is extremely valuable as it is a way to promote a company/organization website, programs, services, products, events, or other items of note in a fashion that is not considered spam. Participants sign up for the service, indicating an interest in the material. It is regularly distributed, keeping readers interested and stimulated. It would be best to work with an agency or expert who specializes in email marketing/newsletter design to determine the best options and strategy.
• Calendars. Offering a calendar of upcoming events and specials is a great way to have visitors returning for more information. Google offers a great calendar as a service to developers, can be placed on websites with code already developed, and can integrate with Outlook (www.google.com/calendar).
• Podcasts/radio shows. Offering an option to communicate directly with visitors through the regular production of audio shows, also known as Podcasts or radio shows, gives an organization or company to provide interesting, relevant, and valuable material to its listeners. Examples for utilization can be interviews with thought leaders and other special guests, discussion/debate on important issues, or highlight of products or services. Another exciting option is for visitors to automatically integrate iTunes/other media player to download the podcast when new ones become available for listening directly on a media player or iPod, iPhone, or other device. Many options for this tool exist – consult with an expert to find out more.
• Webinars. Seminars on the web = webinars. Many tools exist that allow the hosting of seminars on the web, allowing organizations and companies to reach out to target audiences without consideration of distance. Many include voice and video components, as well as sharing of powerpoint files and other slideshows. Teach, learn, and discuss with target audiences using this innovative tool by combining it with other outreach and dynamic strategy efforts.
• Video/audio/photos. These three media items make up a bulk of the dynamic web. Using services such as YouTube or posting images/audio of events, programs, or other items of interest on a company/organization website, the audience is allowed to interactively participate using visual and audio stimulus rather than just reading text descriptions. That old saying pictures speak more than a thousand words applies more than ever on the dynamic web.
• Surveys. Regular or special surveys that are well written or are relevant to a target audience are effective in creating interest and driving traffic to a website. Use this tool as part of a comprehensive campaign.
• Branded social networks. An advanced tool, but worth stating nonetheless. Branded social networks are those that are housed on organization or company web space that utilize some or all tools seen on popular social networks with a bent toward the organization or company in question. These options are generally more expensive as they take much resources to develop and require quite a bit of promotion. A long-term outreach plan could have a branded social network in the mix if it would have potential to drive itself and provide valuable content for visitors.
• Discussion boards. Used to target questions from staff, discussion boards were generally around before blogging and were one of the first components of the dynamic web. On a discussion board, a topic or question is posed and users answer the question or discuss the topic at hand. This option would be useful for targeting specific questions toward target audiences but would require promotion and participation to encourage these audiences to visit. If engaged properly, a discussion board could provide very valuable information on target audiences and their needs.
• Wikis. Encyclopedias are not just bound books anymore. The world’s most popular wiki, Wikipedia, houses thousands of pages of knowledge on many topics, from the general to the very specific. Companies and organizations can implement wiki software to house specialized knowledge, events, media, and history on their own web presence. The most exciting part about this option is the ability for visitors to correct information and participate in discussion revolving around the collection of knowledge, further engaging visitors to perform intended actions on a website or develop a stronger relationship with the organization or company.
• Documents & Publications. Regularly researching, publishing and distributing documents, resources, publications, and other useful items would provide value to audiences and encourage involvement with an organization or company. By increasing the value of the visitor, an organization or company can encourage the development of quality relationships with audiences by distributing knowledge and information to those who need it. Published materials also establish greater credibility of an organization or company.
• Live Chat/VOIP. Some options exist now for companies and organizations to implement live voice chat (VOIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol) or text chat (instant messaging) to communicate directly with their audiences. This would be an excellent way to communicate with visitors who need to discuss items with staff directly and quickly.
• Contests. Used as an incentive to take intended actions on a website, contests for both prizes or prestige can be used to increase exposure and excitement around dynamic web services.

Level 4 – Social Dynamic

The integration of social media channels into a dynamic web solution presents the most comprehensive web involvement and outreach options available to an organization or company. Research on involvement in the web streams is showing that companies and organizations that integrate fully with dynamic, social web solutions will meet with the highest level of success in both revenues/financial performance and in relationship building/exposure.

Social media channels allow an organization or company to take a persona on the web, giving them a feel and look of an individual participating in larger communication. It is important to remember that on the social web, everyone is an equal – everyone has individual rights and is expected to follow a code of etiquette. Don’t be mean. Respond positively to problems and work with criticism or feedback. Work well with people: Some basic things that people learn in dealing with others face-to-face. It all comes down to this: the social media streams are simply an extension of face-to-face conversations on epic levels.

We’re finding that the traditional hierarchies between companies and consumer don’t exist in the social web. To be successful, messaging has to be uplifiting, valuable, interesting, and not self-serving. Advertising is easily identified and generally ignored. Most effective with social media is the active participation with its participants. In other words, to be successful with social media one must be social.

Being social with social media. It’s simple. Just have a conversation.

Social media is not the fix-all. Like outlined above in the description of the spectrum, all levels build on each other. For social media to be successful for an organization or company, the foundation should be present to help back it up. Having a dynamic resource for social media participants to fall back on for more information is more than helpful, it’s necessary for effective outreach. Combining the social media tools along with dynamic web tools on a company/organization website is a powerful combination of strategies that can take a company/organization’s message from weak to incredible if given the right forethought and development.

It would be best to consult with a social media expert or marketing agency that specializes in developing social media solutions to integrate with traditional marketing campaigns. Social media should not replace traditional marketing efforts. All tools combine to develop comprehensive efforts to reach out to target audiences. Social media is just an emerging, effective method to reach out to the millions of users on the web and begin discussion around products, services, or brands.

Some of the most effective social media tools that can be integrated with a dynamic web strategy include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and to now a lesser degree, MySpace. More comprehensive primers and descriptions of these tools are available in countless locations on the web by completing a simple Google search. Millennial Associates will be developing specific information on each of these tools and others from the perspective of their implementation by small/local business and organizations. Visit the Millennial Associates resources page to find out more (www.millennialassociates.com/resources).

There are countless other social media solutions emerging every month. The most important thing to remember when concerning social media solutions is that one size does not fit all. Special consideration and strategy needs to be taken for each case. What works for one company will not work the same way for another company.

Know the limitations and benefits of each tool while developing strategy, as well as resources that will be required to both develop and maintain a presence in the social media streams.

***

Millennial Associates specializes in developing outreach and internet involvement strategies for clients that may not have the in-house knowledge or resources to determine the best course of action. More information can be found at the company website www.millennialassociates.com.

Aside from the standard spotlight on the fact that social media is changing the face of traditional marketing (which we all know already), the data that they collected in their survey show a couple of things that stuck out.

Somewhere in the middle of the data analysis section (there are no page numbers), the authors discuss authenticity and believablilty of brands on the social web. This describes how consumers and audiences view a brand (defined as an organization, company, product, service) and if they trust it or view it as authentic. From what I have seen over the last few months, this is an area of social media research that has been lacking in terms of case studies, numbers and data.

The report shows that from the survey group, blogs had an “inauthentic” rating of 42% and a neutral of 37%, while brands on social networks were rated inauthentic by 36% and neutrally-held by 42% of respondents. These are very high numbers for what we’d think would be a very effective medium for companies and organizations to reach out and become more genuine to their audiences. However, as these numbers illustrate, brands are not working in the right way to become more authentic. And this is kind of obvious: it’s really easy for a brand to not have that feel as a “friend” on social networking, lacking the sense of personalization or connectivity that a social media participant would expect from one of their human friends.

This quick bit of data shows us that companies and organizations can do much more to create more personable and authentic interactions with their social media and other marketing efforts. When working with clients, I believe the key to this is abandoning the one-size-fits-all idea of traditional marketing and develop ideas and campaigns that genuinely try to connect with the intended audiences.

The fluent report states this very well, reminding us that “actions speak louder than advertising” and that “brands can’t simply push messages anymore. Brands must do.” If they’re not doing it already, companies and organizations need to actively participate in the areas in which their people participate. If an organization or company is already working on these efforts, there are always ways to improve. Poll some sample customers or members, find out what they need. Try becoming one of your clients. Think in terms of what they’re looking for.

If you were your own customer, would you find your efforts cheesy, fake, or unauthentic? Usually that’s a good litmus test for starters…

How can you start to make things less fake and more personable? It takes thought, action, and custom application – no article book will tell you one way or the other. However, by reading articles like this and reports such as the fluent report, you can gain an understanding of what has worked for other organizations and collect ideas that can be applied in your own efforts.

Simply put: I’ve been frustrated lately at the lack of solid evidence that supports all of the claims of social media and new marketing techniques. This is definitely not to imply that I don’t believe in the potential of these methods and completely stand behind any of the methods that are coming available today. Instead, I just want to illustrate the fact that nobody is an expert because we’re changing too fast.

Hardly any research exists yet because things are moving faster than we can assemble data and analyze. I feel the term “thought leader” is a more appropriate term today than the word “expert,” as I feel anyone that studies the marketing arts today is learning just that – an art of communication. There is no set model or method anymore. For something to go viral, it HAS to be against the mold, has to be creative. It has to be new. It has to be exciting.

I heard a saying this weekend at a conference: “gain knowledge faster than the world is changing.” Successfully pulling this off is getting to be more and more difficult. Daily on my twitter stream are thousands of articles that attempt to make sense of the social media revolution. Speaking in academic terms, many of them still range in the area of just “hypothesis” since there’s been no real lab yet for experimentation – we’re all seeing it unfold.

Every case I do see, however, is exploding with results. Every nonprofit I see that utilizes social media as part of their overall marketing efforts are experiencing great results. This hits me directly with my scout group I volunteer with and provide pro bono marketing work for – our social media efforts can pretty much be attributed to providing a huge spike in membership interest, involvement, and activity. For businesses and companies (especially local), I am seeing an increased interest in community development and connection between audience and company – an invaluable asset. Imagine finally having a method to connect with your people on a daily basis! It’s so very exciting and promising.

But it’s just that at the moment: theory. Traditional marketing techniques have not changed drastically over the last few decades, allowing for deep analysis in the limited number of applications. Naturally, much research has been conducted and the data analyzed to provide “best practices” and metrics to ensure return on investment. With the huge transformation of the Internet with the evolution to interactive applications such as social media, we’re seeing things we haven’t seen before in technology. We all see the potential, yet nobody knows where the wave will take us. This rapid change has not permitted us to research in depth the founding principles and best practices, but instead has caused us to literally run to catch up and not miss the opportunity to reach our audiences.

In essence, we’ve been trying so hard to keep up that we haven’t had any opportunity to look at it from a bigger picture.

To be successful, we must continuously study and be on the top of emerging technologies, methods, ideas, and techniques. We need to know the ins and outs of any new idea so that we can apply them creatively to today’s challenges and audiences. For local businesses and organizations, this is especially exciting since new tools open the doors to countless combinations of applied methods to create marketing and outreach efforts that have never been possible before.

This sense of continued learning a value that I’ve established in Millennial Associates when I started it, taking heart that saying I mentioned earlier to “gain knowledge faster than the world is changing.” We want our clients to have the best, as well as every option available. For us, being “thought leaders” and daily students of our methods is very important.

I am excited to see the development in the academic literature on how the Internet and particularly social media has affected societal communication models and styles, as well as behavior of participants of social media. To put that into business terms, continued research in this area will start to tell us how our society values interactive communication, new media, and social networks. This in turn will allow us to find out how we can best reach our target audiences and reach out to them. While the tested literature and data is weak right now, we’re going to find some common denominators that will allow marketing departments, business owners, and just plain ol’ anyone to have the framework to create an effective message.

We’re not at the stage yet where we’re able to review hundreds of effective case studies. There just hasn’t been enough time that’s passed. But when that time comes, that’s exactly what they’ll be – case studies. We’ll be able to see what worked for a certain organization or company, but we will have to remember one important observation about social media – that the dynamic nature allows for an almost unlimited combination of applications of tools today, something which we value greatly (creativity). There’s no one-way method to market anymore. And that’s the exciting part (and even hopefully academics will study the multiple methods as well!)

I’m just being impatient. We’re seeing all of these exciting, promising social media applications and new marketing campaigns that are mixing with traditional marketing methods to create communication channels that haven’t before been opened. I guess what I’m feeling is that I want to read about the long-term success right now before the long-term success has even happened.

We know that these trends are just continuing and all statistical forecasts show increased use of social media and the Internet. We’re on the cusp of this change and don’t know where it will take us. However, we know it will be somewhere exciting where interaction with companies is commonplace and the word “advertising” could imply feelings of fun and interactivity.

Until then we just have to keep studying and testing. The best part about this field is the creative nature – because there aren’t many boundaries formed in the world of new marketing, we will most likely see incredible campaigns developed. In five years, we’ll see a different approach, a more hybrid model that combines these exciting social media and other new media methods with those of traditional marketing to have captivating marketing efforts that have people talking.

Note: This white paper was recently published by our company as part of a larger educational campaign called the “Millennial Success” series. We’re doing this as an effort to increase awareness of the changing dynamic of communication principles in our society and how these changes affect businesses and organizations. We feel that the Internet was developed as a collaborative tool and feel that this spirit continues today. We’re developing these resources for our friends in small/local business and organizations to help them cope with these changes and develop successful campaigns of their own. For a downloadable copy of this white paper, visit our Resources page.

It’s all about conversation

Our ways of communication in our society are shifting. Due to communication tools such as the Internet, email, mobile phones, text messaging and others, we are seeing a large amount of data and conversation occurring where none used to be. Over the last five years, the ways that consumers, households and individuals communicate have been altered by technologies and tools that allow for anyone to now participate in a global conversation – something which has affected the ways businesses and organizations have traditionally marketed or reached out toward their target audiences.

While little data exists to show this trend yet because of the sudden shift in communication styles and methods, observations are showing that success in marketing for companies and organizations is realized more through a conversation and relationship with audiences than the traditional top-down, lecturing style of advertising. Simply put, organizations are successful if they hold a conversation with their audiences rather than advertise to them. This is not to say that companies and organizations have always wanted to “lecture” to their people, but mostly due to the limitations of advertising over the last many decades we saw that model arise. With modern emerging technologies, we are seeing individuals become empowered to craft their own message, to discuss their own decisions, and have the world to listen.

Specifically, emerging social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Myspace and others have equipped individuals with the resources to hold conversations within their realm of social influence more efficiently than ever. Individuals are gaining influence over others, information is readily available about any product or service at a moment’s notice. Businesses and organizations are scrambling to join in this global discussion and find ways to develop a message that will be receivable by their target audiences. Because of this individual empowerment, we’re seeing a move from one-way marketing conversations (e.g. traditional advertisements) to two-way communications between the individual and the organization.

Businesses and organizations have already been meeting with success in responding to these changes in our society. All over the United States and the world we see successful social campaigns that identify the parts of successful social messages and leverage those parts to deliver a genuine, meaningful message to target audiences. Marketing departments and traditional marketing firms need to respond quickly to these rapidly-changing dynamics if they are to remain successful in their message development strategies.

Comprehensive marketing approaches are necessary today. Using all available tools to them, companies and organizations can strategize and create new ways to have their message delivered in a world where independent participants are beginning to hold the keys. In other words, we search for ways to have messages work on their own, to be carried word-of-mouth and go viral as a message that genuinely helps the target audience – not just an advertisement.

While much research needs to be done in this area of new communication and the Internet, the Millennial Associates team has identified four realities that exist now today that are essential for any modern communications campaign. The Internet was designed years ago to be a collaborative effort. Today, it has achieved that goal, with millions of users creating millions of messages that have the ability to develop communities in ways never before seen.

THE FOUR REALITIES OF MARKETING IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM:

Reality 1: Customized websites with fresh content are essential

Any organization or business that is looking to increase exposure and get their message out there, the simplest way to do this is through the creation or improvement of a website. Complete with custom information on the organization or company, it’s the first step to getting your message out to the web’s citizens.

With more and more households in America using the web on a daily basis, it makes smart business sense to get a custom website. Fresh, accurate content on a website is the first opportunity an organization or company has to impress or establish a relationship with many potential visitors. Unfortunately, many small or local businesses and organizations are priced out of the market of custom web projects or don’t know where to start. If they get on the web at all, they’re forced to select template websites that compromises their credibility and image. Moreover, keeping content fresh and accurate has always been a difficulty since once web projects are complete, those responsible for maintenance must have web coding knowledge for successful updates.

This is not so anymore. Current trends in web design today allow for completely custom websites at more affordable prices for small and local businesses and organizations. Companies such as Millennial Associates also offer additions in their web projects to allow for in-house updating and content generation of websites to keep content fresh without knowing any web code and without having to call a web guru. This display of flexibility shows your visitors that you’re committed to innovative ideas and changing for the better, a business trait that is undeniably valuable in today’s economy.

Custom websites speak more than words to potential customers, clients, donors, or members. They say that the customer’s needs are a priority by avoiding template design that doesn’t account for visitors’ individual interests. They say that the organization or company cares enough to look professional and respond to changes in business trends and remain flexible. Websites speak wonders for an organization or company. After all, it’s now the first line of research for people; the Internet is the new phone book. Instead of a small, impersonal advertisement, however, businesses and organizations have the chance to give their visitors information they want to see.

Reality 2: Advertising is no longer a one-way line of communication

We’re used to being advertised to: on the TV, on the radio, in the newspaper, in magazines. Everywhere you look, we are being told what to buy without really having any ability to participate in the process other than making the purchase, and then the relationship is over. The Internet and other tools have emerged in recent years, encouraging a leveling of the communication structure. No longer do people have to be dictated to – they know that they can tune out ads and only participate in discussions that they’re interested in. People can discuss products among their friends with great ease more than ever through email, social media, and mobile technology. There is huge potential for reaching out to people today, however, old methods of marketing simply won’t work if people can just tune it out.

Just look on the Internet today to see examples of the two-way communication. People from around the world are discussing products and services, and organizations and companies are scrambling to become a part of the conversation. Companies and organizations today must develop messages that are well-received by their people. If not, the message will be simply lost in the flood of other advertisements. The most successful will actually be social in nature, being carried naturally along person to person with the organization or company being as actively involved in the conversation as possible. These new tools allow us to see word-of-mouth marketing be more powerful than ever.

To be successful, companies and organizations need to develop effective messages that have the potential to be carried from person to person using the Internet, email, and social media tools. As these resources have only started to become prominent in everyday life, acting now to become social in your marketing efforts helps your success in the future by following this undeniable marketing trend.

Reality 3: People want to be noticed and feel needed

This has always been the case, but is more evident now than ever with the Internet empowering the average individual and giving him or her an equal voice. People want to feel like their decisions matter, and because of the ability to research companies, products and services at the click of a button, people are bound to decide on companies that offer true service and relationship over those that simply offer one-sided communication.

The Friend Model by Millennial Associates illustrates this well. Simply put, it’s the assumption that an idea or message will not succeed in social media channels if it is not friendly and oriented toward the betterment of others. In other words, you cannot be selfish.

Messages are more apt to go viral and be carried word-of-mouth if they are not an overt attempt to market or advertise to an individual or group. You must be true, genuine friends of those who participate for them to see you as the same and thus carrying your message further. Fake “friends” or those who are deemed to be simply advertising are not successful. The Internet is full of ads – the only way to combat this is to avoid “advertising” altogether and create a conversation around message, programs and ideas. Friends tell friends about these things, creating the network effects.

Social media offers the opportunity to connect with friends. Participants do not wish to be advertised to or have ideas promoted to them. If a message is interpreted as such, it will be passed over just as thousands of popup and banner ads are ignored.

More than ever, people want to know their purchases are the best. When given an option between one or another, they would most likely choose the company or organization that is interested in them and is actively seeking to improve their product or service based on that person’s needs. Tools today provide the opportunity to businesses and organizations that want to truly engage their people and serve them.

Reality 4: New outreach and marketing methods are not difficult or strange

In fact, we’ve known how to be successful in marketing since we were kids. Tools like websites, social media, and traditional marketing are most effective when following the golden rule and taking a genuine interest in a person’s well being. It’s easier to talk to a person about a service, favor, or product if they are your friend. It hasn’t always been this way. Up until the last five years, communication was traditionally one-sided, encouraging unidirectional advertising to be dominant and occupy the majority of marketing textbooks.

The Internet has empowered people to participate in their economic decisions. Companies and organizations that fail to realize this will find their people going to alternatives that practice it. People simply want to be treated like we want to be treated. By following the golden rule, businesses and organizations can increase value in their relationships with people.

This article is a part of a larger series of resources that will be published called the “Millennial Success Series.” To download a copy of this white paper, visit our Resources page!