SOCIAL MEDIA, MARKETERS' TERM FOR TECHNOLOGIES
THAT INCORPORATE FEEDBACK AMONG PARTICIPANTS AND WORK TO BUILD COMMUNITY, ARE TAKING THE WORLD BY STROM
According to a recent article in B to B Magazine, the number of blogs has passed 50 million and MySpace membership has soared past 100 million. While social media such as blogs, podcasts, and wikis offer opportunities for participant feedback, they are much more than simply social or entertaining. In fact, scores of organizations, including associations, are finding ways to use social media to meet their business objectives.

"Social media creates dialogue and conversation," said James Spellos, a 20-year veteran of the meetings industry and president of Meeting U., a technology training firm for associations. "Associations have to be able to better understand their audiences and get through the noise. They're going from, 'Let's blitz our audience with something really cool,' to 'Let's establish dialogue with our audience so we can create relationships.' It's more sophisticated than sending out e-mails, fax blasts, and brochures."

"Every association is trying to figure out new and better ways to get their messages out there, and [social media] tools can be useful for that," added Jeff De Cagna, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation. "Associations are looking for ways to engage members in conversation and get them working together, and they can do more with social media than with traditional ways of communicating because it is more interactive."

Associations are finding that blogs, podcasts, and other forms of social media can meet varied goals and serve numerous purposes. And in many cases, even if social media is primarily used with other objectives in mind, associations find creative ways to incorporate the technology into their meetings and events.

"Using these tools around meetings is a great way for associations to get started," De Cagna said. "For instance, if you create a blog for your annual meeting, it adds value immediately and gets people excited about the meeting. Also, it can be finite in nature with a specific start time before the meeting and a specific end time after the meeting; it doesn't have to go on forever. Also, creating a blog for your meeting can be an inexpensive way to experiment with social media, and there's often the possibility of sponsorship, particularly when the blog is affiliated with a meeting. Some companies want to associate themselves with a conference blog, and it's another thing to offer potential sponsors."

A blog associated with an association's annual meeting can serve a variety of purposes. In addition to generating buzz about the meeting, "it can be used on site as a daily show newspaper," Spellos added. "An attendee sitting in a meeting room can actually send blog postings back to people at his/her organization who couldn't attend the meeting, and people at their office can ask questions or ask the attendee to get more information; the blog can extend the reach of the meeting far beyond the walls of the meeting and become an ongoing dialogue tool."

Other types of social media can also fit nicely into the work of the meetings department. For instance, "many associations are already doing some recording at their meetings, so it's just another few steps down the road to take that audio and add a few interviews with speakers or other types of content, and do a daily podcast at the meeting or a podcast leading up to the meeting," De Cagna said. "This can also be on a finite timeline. Starting with your meeting is a great way to try out social media technologies."

Here, several associations shared with Convene how they are utilizing social media to fulfill their specific objectives, the results they've seen so far, and their advice for others who want to get in the game.

American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
In August 2005, ASM launched its MicrobeWorld Radio podcast. The show can be automatically delivered to home computers and portable digital audio devices by subscribing at www.microbeworld.org.

Goals: Intended for professionals, science enthusiasts, educators, parents, and students, MicrobeWorld Radio has two goals. They are "to promote the science of microbiology to the general public and to increase public understanding of the vital role microbes play in daily life," said Chris Condayan, manager of public outreach for ASM.

Results: Since its launch, more than 1 million episodes of MicrobeWorld Radio have been downloaded, and since Jan. 3, 2006, approximately 350,000 episodes of the especially popular video podcast series, "Intimate Strangers: Unseen Life on Earth," have been downloaded. "In addition to raw numbers, we have had some great anecdotal evidence of success," Condayan said. "For example, we have received many e-mails from teachers and professors who are using our podcasts as lecture launchers or have built them into their curriculum. Also, many podcast directories allow listeners or viewers to rate and write comments about the podcast. One comment I am particularly fond of came from Apple's iTunes Music Store: 'Everything you wanted to know about microbiology prior to your even knowing you wanted to know it.'"

In addition to the show's popularity - or perhaps because of it - ASM has also received sponsorship dollars for the podcast and related products, so the program is now generating income for the association.

Incorporation With Meetings: ASM is currently considering ways to incorporate social media technologies into its meetings program, "whether it's promoting the MicrobeWorld Podcast at the meeting itself, which we currently do, or podcasting press events from these meetings," Condayan said. "Everything is under consideration."

At the 2006 meeting, the society hosted a podcast listener's appreciation party. "We did it in such a way that you could only find out about the event if you were a podcast listener," Condayan said. "We didn't promote the event anywhere else, just in the audio file. We had about 25 people show up for the party, which was great considering this was really an experiment and there were many other competing events that evening. Plus, it was a great way to meet our audience and get some feedback and suggestions on the show."

Future plans: In addition to its podcast, ASM also offers an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed of the latest in microbiology, biotech, and life science-related news, and has just launched a phonecast. The phonecast offers users the ability to subscribe to the podcast via a cell phone, without the use of a computer. "If you use a cell phone, you will receive a text message each day telling you what the latest episode is and then you can decide if you want to listen to it or not," Condayan said.

Advice: Condayan's advice to other associations that are considering using social media is to "get into it now, especially if you are a niche-focused organization that has a real level of experience in the subject area," he said. "If you don't, someone else will and you will miss the opportunity to establish your organization as a leader in this new medium. Once you have made that commitment, the kinks and finer points of the process can be worked out as you develop a relationship with your audience and you get to know their needs and preferences."

After a year in the podcast business, Condayan believes social media is crucial to the work of associations. "In essence, this movement allows people to make an end run around traditional media and to explore niche topics in depth," he said. "Also, all this user-generated content is on demand, meaning it is accessible to everyone, anywhere, and at anytime."

National School Boards Association (NSBA)
Three years ago, three young professionals working at NSBA "decided that the organization needed to have a voice in the blogosphere," said Barbara Hunter, director of communications for NSBA. "One was associate editor of our magazine, one was a lobbyist, and one was an attorney. It was a great metaphor for ultimately how we wanted our blog to operate - different perspectives and voices from across the organization who contribute to the daily writing."

Goals: Launched in January 2004, NSBA's blog, Board Buzz, "is a nimble and quick communications vehicle that NSBA uses to comment on daily developments on public education issues and the personalities associated with them," Hunter said. "Readers get updated on the latest news in public education in a lively and interesting way. It also provides a venue for NSBA to promote its services to readers, including new publications, upcoming conferences, and advocacy efforts, and in that way, is a great reminder to members of NSBA's value."

Results: NSBA closely tracks its number of unique visitors, which has grown dramatically; from October 2005 to October 2006, monthly readers grew from about 11,000 to 70,000. "BoardBuzz was also named one of the best association blogs [in 2005] by Association Management magazine," Hunter said. "Additionally, we plan to launch advertising opportunities soon to give our corporate partners another way to reach our audience, and we'll be tracking ad sales as another measure of success."

Incorporation With Meetings: "Once Board Buzz was up and running, it was natural to explore how blogging could enhance other areas of the association such as our conferences," Hunter said. The association now has two more blogs that are exclusively focused on two of NSBA's meetings, and they differ from Board Buzz because they're time-focused - they are launched about a month before the conferences and continue for a couple of months following the conferences.

"We wanted a way to get both attendees and non-attendees engaged about what was happening at the conferences," Hunter continued. "Before the conferences, we recruit a number of attendees who agree to be daily conference blog writers where they share their impressions of keynote speakers, workshops, and the conference experience itself. We have a booth in the lobby of the conference area called Blog Central, where our blog writers can use a computer to write their entries, and conference attendees can log on, read the entries, and leave comments. We've discovered that our conference blogs are a great way to stir interest about the conference beforehand, and enhance the conference experience once under way."

Advice: "It's absolutely essential for associations to consider using blogs as another way to get out their message," Hunter said. "As a society, we're now accustomed to getting reliable and current information anytime, anywhere through the Web. Blogs are a great, low-cost way to meet this demand, and demonstrate to members that associations understand their information needs."

American Institute of Architects (AIA)
AIA used its 2006 National Convention and Exposition as the launching pad for PodNet, the association's first series of educational podcasts targeted toward its audience of AIA members and other design professionals. "The AIA National Convention and Exposition, with approximately 180 educational workshops and seminars, is a natural and concentrated source of content and presenter expertise for the podcast information exchange," said C.D. Pangallo, managing director of AIA continuing education.

Taped during the three days of the convention, the podcasts were developed and released on a weekly basis over the three months following the meeting.

Goals: "The AIA, as a knowledge organization, is constantly seeking ways to promote information and knowledge sharing among its members and the profession," Pangallo said. "The objective was to use this type of social media to increase accessibility of information. We took a very structured approach, similar to establishing an instructional program, and decided on the interview format for soliciting the information and knowledge from the content presenter."

Results: Based on AIA's goal of sharing information and knowledge, the association measures its results by the number of individuals it has reached and on informal feedback from those listeners. "The number of individual listeners, as measured by podcast downloads, has been phenomenal since the AIA launch of PodNet in mid-June 2006," Pangallo said. "We have averaged more than 50,000 downloads per month over the three months [the podcasts] have been available. Anecdotally, we have received positive feedback from individuals."

For example, one listener wrote, "I enjoyed your podcasts and find them to be a very valuable tool in education and advocacy."

Future Plans: The future is "wide open" to creative application of social media and its related technology, Pangallo said. "From a meeting planning perspective, we plan to continue and expand our podcasts created during our annual National Convention and Exposition. Conventions and meetings are but one venue for content, and our focus will continue to be on content - sharing information and knowledge about the profession and practice of architecture with our members and others who may be interested from whatever sources or resources may be appropriate.

"As a resource for its members, it is incumbent [upon an association] to embrace advances in technology, such as podcasts, to reach its members and society with knowledge and resources that are readily available and useful at the time and place that is convenient and needed by the individual seeking it," Pangallo continued. "Podcasts are just one of many options for meeting member information needs."

Advice: Before associations launch a podcast, they should "do their homework first," Pangallo said. "The natural thinking is that 'all we need to do is put a tape recorder in front of a content expert and let him or her talk for 15 minutes.' [But] it requires much front-end preparation to do it successfully."

Pangallo recommends using many of the same strategies to design a podcast that one would use in designing any other educational program. "Decide on format and flow of the podcast," he said. "Know what you want to accomplish and focus efforts in that direction. For example, our purpose was to create small, focused content presentations on current or hot topics of interest to our members. For each podcast we created learning objectives and worked with the speakers to help them prepare for the podcast taping."

It's also important to develop a script of the key points to be covered; install a director who can coordinate production needs and be physically present during the taping; and to use professional quality equipment, technicians, interviewers, and copy editors, Pangallo said.

Contributing Editor Nancy Mann Jackson is a freelance writer in Birmingham, Ala.

Making Social Connections of Another Kind
Sure, the skills you may acquire in educational sessions are important but it is the interpersonal and political skills that you learn from those with more experience than you that can prove to be invaluable in setting your professional course.

Attendees of this year's PCMA Annual Meeting in Toronto had the opportunity to "connect" with others with the help of PCMA Connect, a "matchmaking" tool created by Leverage Software. This innovative online service allowed users to easily find other attendees in advance of the meeting who shared common interests, problems, or expertise. Some connected with peers from a specific country, region, or part of the industry. The tool then gave them the opportunity to arrange face-to-face meetings in Toronto with those they had met online.

Diana Jameson, senior sales manager at the Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa was able to connect with Anne Hamilton, who has been with the Walt Disney World Resort since 1996 and oversees corporate/alliance sales, association sales, executive conferences, leisure group sales, as well as meetings, charters, and group sales for Disney Cruise Line.

Although Jameson has been in the hospitality business for 10 years, she felt like her career was at a standstill as far as meeting people outside of her sales region was concerned. PCMA Connect looked like a tool that could help her widen her network.

"We got together for breakfast before the start of the general session and spoke about important trends she should be focusing on. We also discussed opportunities for her to pursue within the industry. We had a thought-provoking discussion," explained Hamilton. "I tried to give her direction and advice. We hope to get together at PCMA's Leadership Conference at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. She knows my door is always open. It is important to me to give back. I've been in the business for 30 years and if I can make it easier for someone than it was for me, that's what I would like to do."

Jameson took Hamilton's advice to heart. "When I spoke with Anne, I learned about her career and how getting involved with an organization like PCMA can be a benefit both professionally and personally. She suggested that I get involved and I did. I am now a new committee member of the Philadelphia PCMA Chapter," explained Jameson. "My tidbit of advice is to not be afraid to reach out and ask for help or offer help. Once you have the advice, use it and pass on your knowledge to the next person. We all need someone to look up to regardless of our status with our individual companies."

Joan Eisenstodt, chief strategist, Eisenstodt Associates, said, "I loved the [PCMA Connect] tool and I did in fact connect online with some folks - some I knew, some I didn't. I'd like to see it expanded into more of a listserv-based tool so we didn't have to go there. I'd love to be able to use it for pre-session work. Bill Host and I wanted to do a 'book club' session but it didn't happen. This tool would allow pre- and post-discussion for a session about books."

Along with mentoring and enhancing their learning experiences, PCMA Connect helped attendees achieve a better ROI at the annual meeting. Brad Kent, vice president of sales, business development, AVW-TELAV Audio Visual Solutions, was able to "secure four confirmed appointments with members I did not know, three customers I had never met nor would recognize (short of accidentally bumping into them) that have created new business for my company, and one interview with a potential employee. With the cost of attending meetings being so expensive and challenged in today's marketplace, salespeople can't rely on accidental bumps as a sales plan," he said.

One of the people Kent met was Renee Lewis, CMP, director, publishing & event services, American Concrete Institute. A PCMA member for seven years. Lewis has been attending the annual meeting for the last six. "I'm very involved in my chapter and with the Annual Meeting Program Committee, so I felt like I knew a lot of people. Meeting Brad and other attendees through PCMA Connect made me realize that you can never stop building your network and getting to know others in our industry."

Andrea Doyle is Convene's senior writer.

Beyond Blogs and Pods
While blogging and podcasting are two of the most frequently used types of social media among associations, there are plenty of other technological options for building communities and forging relationships. They include:

• Wikis - a collaborative Web site set up to allow user editing and adding of content, a wiki usually allows users to make modifications without restrictions. According to Spellos, wikis represent a generational divide, as younger people believe a user-generated online resource has validity, while some older users don't. However, many organizations have created wiki manuals to serve as self-regulation tools to ensure that only accurate information is posted. An example of a wiki that is often updated by users is De Cagna's www.associationsocialmedia.com, which strives to document the use of social media in associations.
• Tag tools - tools such as del.icio.us (www.delicious.com) allow people to tag items on the Web with keywords and share those items with others who have like interests (such as fellow association members). "Tag tools are all about people helping other people find valuable information," Spellos said.
• RSS feeds - almost any association that provides headline news information to its members is using an RSS feed, although many members and even staff may not know what RSS is because users simply see a Web site with updated news headlines. An abbreviation for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication (there are advocates for both names), RSS is basically one of any XML file formats suitable for disseminating real-time information via the Internet. It's a cheap, easy way to keep your Web site updated - and "a Web site is only useful if the content is updated," Spellos said. Google and Yahoo both offer very accessible, free RSS readers.