Tommy's blog

A quick look at my class schedule for this quarter as an Ohio State University senior is enough to confuse anyone:

• Corporate Finance
• Graphical World Urbanization
• Product Design
• Geo Physics

How on earth are these courses related? It’s a good question. When people ask me what I did this summer, it adds even more confusion to the puzzle. I don’t know much about computers, I don’t know the tech community in Columbus, and I sure wasn’t a proponent of Twitter. I was the first intern in ShinyDoor’s history. I would need pages upon pages to communicate a complete list of my experiences. What follows is a highlight reel of projects, challenges, successes, failures, lessons learned and events that stick out in my mind.

I met Angela Siefer, owner of ShinyDoor, in May 2009. I had been told she might know of some possible jobs and internships around town through her huge network. Little did I know this first meeting was an interview. I walked out having agreed to intern for Angela’s company. She won’t admit it, but she’s very persuasive.

A local government agency has decided to be proactive, and they have followed through! Recently, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) contracted ShinyDoor, to consult on social media strategy and education for the agency. As an intern at ShinyDoor, I was not involved with this project. I met with Laura Koprowski, Director of Public & Government Affairs at MORPC, to try and find out how the process went, from start to finish. As an outsider looking in, with an understanding of what our company does, but no knowledge of this agency or its needs, I asked questions anyone would have. Laura’s insight is both very interesting and valuable.

My first inquiry: What led to MORPC’s decision to explore social media?

• Laura replied that communication has become a big priority for the agency, not just internally but externally with the people that they serve. They want to find where people are in order to better reach and serve them.
• MORPC feels, as a government agency, exploring the newest technology will help them stick out. Being reactive, as opposed to proactive, in government business has become the norm. Utilizing the newest tools makes MORPC’s news both fast and very mobile.
• Reaching a younger audience is an ongoing challenge for MORPC. The organization believed becoming active in social media would allow interaction with the younger generations. This goal led to some surprises.

Next: Describe the process of developing your strategy and how ShinyDoor was involved in this.

• “We brought Angela in originally to do basic training on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter with the staff. The staff and Angela began to see possibilities, and the trainings snowballed into implementing the new technology into MORPC’s State of the Region luncheon event.”
• Angela helped accelerate the learning curve the staff was facing. Setting up a Facebook Page to highlight the State of the Region luncheon brought an event with momentum for the staff to see immediate usage and feedback.
• MORPC began to see itself at a plateau point with its social media efforts. They set everything up, checked for new followers and group members, but knew something was wrong. Angela advised on methods of breeding participation. When the staff began implementing these methods, they saw immediate climbs in comments and questions, hits, and fans. The staff began asking questions, not just waiting for public communication. Their interaction bred interaction on each of their social networks.

Instead of hiring an outside experienced social media director to assume a full time position of social media efforts at MORPC (as more and more companies are doing), the agency decided to train each of its employees to use the networks. Laura had several thoughts on this:

• As any government entity, non-profit, or small business, the budget MORPC, operates on would not allow for such a full time hire. Angela’s initial trainings encouraged the confidence the leadership needed to go forward with the current team strategy.
• Laura believes having employees directly interacting on the networks gives MORPC authenticity, which is very important in creating value with these tools.

There were several challenges in initiating the social media strategy. They included:

• Control: People were worried about what might be said on the networks. The agency realized that having its employees adhere to a social media policy was important. They have developed an official social media policy that employees can reference and use as their guide. It gives them guidelines, but does not sternly censor them.
• Time: Many companies believe that social media use can be a time waster, and it can. By clearly setting goals, MORPC has established guidelines for employees use. They are result oriented. 
• Staff Participation: Not every employee has embraced the social media charge. Surprisingly, age has not been an indication of participation. There are older employees who actively participate and young employees who do not. The opposite is true as well, making MORPC social media representation varied in age and experience.

As a leader of government entities in social media, MORPC has had several inquiries about their plans and strategy. While they admit to, in no way, being pros with the tools, their willingness to experiment, make mistakes and expand their network has lead to exposure and interaction with community they would not have otherwise had.

When I asked Laura about her thoughts on the way Angela guided her staff, she explained, “Angela learned our culture and made it work for us, she didn’t make us learn her system.” This is key for organizations getting started in social media. Social media is another way of showing the public who you are, and being as genuine and accurate to your organizations identity can really make or break the effort.

Talking to Laura gave me some great insight about the whole process of social media strategy implementation. MORPC is a model example of a government agency proactively asserting itself into the new age of marketing and communications.

In this uncertain economy, while the financial and auto industries are headlining the news with their struggles, it’s easy to forget the entities that are feeling the last ripples of the recession. Non-profit fundraising is down, but the demand for their efforts are at their highest levels ever. I recently had the opportunity to learn about how groups like the Mid-Ohio Foodbank are innovating to find new ways to promote and increase donations to their cause.

Christina Christian, the Foodbank’s first Digital Marketing Manager, has been tasked with bringing the 30-year-old non-profit up to speed on new social networking and marketing tools. A young and energetic woman, Christina knows that these methods of interacting with the community and donors are a big part of building relationships and campaigns in the future. Her job description includes “leading the Foodbank’s on-line marketing strategy, with special emphasis on engaging ‘digital millennials’ (the 18-26 year old demographic)”. This recognition by the Mid-Ohio Foodbank that young people learn and explore their interests through social media is part of a growing trend in the non-profit sector.

The Central Ohio Down Syndrome Society, The United Way of Central Ohio, The Salvation Army and The American Red Cross all have begun using social media as an extension of their marketing and communication strategies aimed at young people. Currently, Christina is utilizing several social media tools in her efforts to keep news, events and happenings at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank up to date and relevant:
•    Facebook
•    Twitter
•    USx8, a mobile donation program
•    The organization’s website

Each of these methods has the potential to reach people that would not otherwise take notice of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank’s traditional marketing. As with many non-profits, the Mid-Ohio Foodbank does not have a large marketing budget, so creativity and efficiency are always a priority when devising a new initiative.

Christina says that she looks to the Austin Capital Foodbank as a model of what can be done in Columbus with social media. While the Austin Foodbank is larger then Columbus’, one of the features of social media is that it allows smaller entities, no matter the industry, to compete with the big boys without breaking the bank. With a move to a new, larger facility slated for October, Christina is hoping that the digital marketing efforts and its effects will grow proportionately. Since setting a group on Facebook, using Twitter and keeping an up-to-date blog the Foodbank’s homepage has seen a substantial increase in visits.

Christina also told me about the USx8 program that the Mid-Ohio Foodbank has initiated. The program has been aimed at young people to donate $5 to the Foodbank using their mobile phones. Texting is an easy way for people to make a contribution that they may not otherwise have time to do. Based on the way the Mid-Ohio Foodbank receives donations, cash is up to eight times as valuable to them, thus the USx8 effort. They say that donation the $5 is really worth $40 to them, which they can use to feed a family of five for an entire day. This program has real potential, and started to gain momentum in the spring.

Christina has a very unique job. She must keep up with all of the new technologies coming out and take advantage of what each has to offer. At the same time, she is still working for a non-profit that, like most, is stretched thin in terms of staff and resources. She feels lucky to be a part of an organization that sees the value of social media and has taken steps to utilize these great tools that are revolutionizing how all businesses operate. Here’s to Christina, part of the new age of advocacy!

How does a design and manufacturing company in rural Ohio find itself receiving $100,000 worth of consulting? Recently I had the opportunity to talk with someone that most would not guess to be an innovator in using social networking for business purposes. From the onset of our conversation, he talked about how his town, Gnadenhutten, located in eastern Ohio, is the second oldest established settlement and oldest permanent settlement in the state’s history. A town of 1,300 found in Tuscarawas County, Gnadenhutten’s largest employer is the local school district, followed by Tusco Display.