a michael social networking panel aip 032510v2

Social Networks: Growing Up Is Hard To DoAIP Assembly of Society OfficersMarch 25, 2010

Ann Michael

ann.michael@deltathink.com

Twitter: annmichael

Agenda

• Why should societies & associations care about social networks?

• How have social networks been used to support membership organizations?

• Getting Started• Measuring Impact

Why should societies & associations care about social networks?

•What do societies and associations do?•What do social networks do?•Is there overlap?

AIP was “created for the purpose of promoting the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of

physics and its application to human welfare.”

Common Vocabulary

• Promote, advance, disseminate, and apply knowledge

•Educate•Collaborate/Cooperate•Community•Engage•Support (practitioners)

Social Networks are Another Engagement Channel

•Already publish, conduct meetings, send emails, etc• Social networks supplement existing channels with new

capabilities:−Support multi-directional communication & connection−Provide a human face for the organization−Enable users to personalize activities & communication

Focus on the customer (by the customer)

Examples of Existing Platforms

More Focused•Nature Networks•iMedExchange•ResearchGate•Connotea

General Purpose•Twitter•Facebook•LinkedIn

(Groups)•Delicious

Building a Platform

Getting Started

• Have a social networking strategy & objectives• Develop & execute an engagement plan• Define how to measure impact• Adjust as needed

• Create an organizational role to drive the effort

Strategy & Objectives

• Strategy should be tied to the organization’s mission

• Objectives can vary:− Increasing awareness− Extending the impact of society programs (publications,

meetings, conferences, etc.)− Member support

Where to Engage

Should you participate on existing platforms OR build your own?

•At minimum, participate on an existing platform first−Learn etiquette−Develop a strategy and refine objectives−Refine approach to community−Build organizational support and understanding

Find, Follow, Interact

How to Engage

•What are your members doing? With whom?−What do they like/dislike? Why

• How can we participate without becoming a billboard?

−Subject Matter Expertise: research pointers−Connecting members to each other

• How can you blend the social networks and resources available to achieve your objectives?

Measuring Impact

•Increase traffic to our website by …− # of visitors to our website originating from social

networks− Increase # of mentions of our product on social

network sites− Start X # of new relationships− Convert X new relationships to members/customers

Increase Awareness

•Customer feedback received•Insights from other organizations•Meeting registration increase (offers)

Refresh Product/Program Development

Member Support

•# of issues addressed through social networks•# of connections made between members•Ratio of positive to negative feedback

Measuring Impact

Measurement Tools

Twitter− Klout− Twitalyzer− TweetLevel

Social Media − Webtrends− Radian6− Lithium

Web Analytics− Webtrends− Coremetrics− NetInsight− Google Analytics

Questions?

Ann Michael

ann.michael@deltathink.com

Twitter: annmichael