GTS Tool Box

When Social Networking Goes Bad

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Have you ever had one of those days when you accidentally send an email that one was only supposed to go to one person and contained either personal or business classified information, but end up sending it to a giant list? Or you forget to "bcc" everyone? Worse yet, you send a private email, but it ends up being spread all over the internet (a story of a law student applying to Harvard comes to mind...needless to say, that student did not get into Harvard or any other law school for that matter)? Well, one of the people I follow on twitter sent along the story of James Andrews, someone who considers himself a "key influencer" who did something along those lines.

It’s a story about a PR account executive/vice president named James Andrews from Ketchum in Atlanta who flew to Memphis to visit FedEx, one of the agency’s biggest clients. Andrews’ mission was to — now, this is important — talk with the corporate communications people at FedEx about social media.

Upon landing in Memphis, Andrews posted this message on the popular social media, mini-blogging service, Twitter, that’s widely followed by business people worldwide:
“True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, ‘I would die if I had to live here.’”

Andrews openly used his Twitter monicker - @keyinfluencer.

Someone inside FedEx was following Andrews, and that person shared the post among the top executives at the FedEx front office, and the company’s corporate communications staff. At that point, a person in the FedEx corporate communications staff apparently took umbrage to the post by Andrews and responded with this personal message to Mr. “KeyInfluencer:”

You'll have to read the article to see what the FedEx Communications person wrote. But suffice it to say, Mr. Andrews didn't make the presentation.

James Andrews is (or was?) an account executive for Ketchem. Based on Mr. Andrews complete lack of judgment, the article then rightly questions what this guy actually knows. Then again, we all need to keep in mind what exactly we write when using something as simple and impersonal, or sometimes very persona,l as facebook or twitter. A few years back I remember reading in the L.A. Times about how colleges and employers were using MySpace to figure out if they wanted to accept a potential student or a hire a potential employee. So just a word of warning, sometimes an innocent comment made by you, may not be so innocent to a potential client or employer.

What Will It Take to Reshape, Rebuild the GOP? - The Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:13:00 +0000

So now the answer to what needs to be done. Is this an exhaustive list? Far from it, but it's a start and the conversation that is going on can only be good for the party in the long run.

First, the GOP needs to understand that they do indeed have an age problem. This isn't perception. It's reality. Part of that is because the GOP has been so reliant on fundraising, which isn't a bad thing. It got them Congress and the White House for almost twelve years (save for that brief time the Democrats took back the Senate in the early part of this decade due in large part to Senator Jim Jeffords switching parties to become an Independent and caucusing with Democrats.) Plus, the GOP's "Get Out The Vote" (GOTV) efforts were unparalleled especially with "values voters" in key races in 1998, 2000 and 2o04. But the GOP needs to reinvigorate by also reaching out to younger voters as Democrats were able to do by meeting them where they are. How is that done? As younger people enter the work force Republicans need to interact with them on their level and with their issues. That means increasing their presence online, specifically within the area of social networking, and also speaking in plain but real terms about issues that are directly impacting them such as the economy and education. Some of you may be wondering about social issues. I see some of those issues as "luxury items" that may have some support but not within certain age ranges and certainly not in times when other issues flying right in everyone's face. That doesn't mean they are ignored, but sort of "put on the shelf for later".

Second, they need to be better at communicating their message. Barack Obama, and to a certain degree Ron Paul, with their presidential campaigns and Governor Mitch Daniels in his re-election bid here in Indiana, were able to do this with their campaigns. Again, this means speaking in plain but very real terms. That is why these candidates were able to connect with their constituency. In addition, they used the technological means by which the vast majority of the energized electorate could be reached. And that was through the internet and through Obama's very smart use of text messaging. This leads to a greater development of the grassroots especially on the internet as Democrats have so clearly dominated this area in the last five to six years. It encourages younger people to look into and potentially join College Republican and Young Republican networks who then can get them involved in local, state and federal campaigns. All because someone knew how to put a website together (that link is the website I put together for the Young Republican group I Chair).

Third, there is a movement afoot to recruit younger and more engertic candidates to run for office. In the "Rebuild the Party" movement this is what they have to say:

A "40 Under 40" initiative. Undoing the damage to our party's brand among America's youth will take more than new slogans and hip spokespeople. It will mean making young voters the face of the Republican Party, and not just another target group with its own bulleted list of "outreach" talking points. To that end, the next Chairman should commit to a simple goal: working towards a Republican Party where at least 40% of our challenger and open seat candidates for Congress are under 40. Such a party will send a signal to all Americans that the GOP is once again the party of the future.

It's hard to argue with their points here. If the GOP wants to be seen as the party of ideas and the party of the future, they need to recruit candidates who can better reach out to a greater mass of people. Now all of this should not be done or seen as a way to alienate the base of the party. But it should be seen as a way to educate the base on the needs of the party as well as the greater good, the needs of our nation.

(Apologies for not getting this posted yesterday. Technical difficulties kept me from getting much of what I wanted to get accomplished done.)

What Will It Take to Reshape, Rebuild the GOP?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:41:00 +0000

I was inspired by a blog post over on Next Gen GOP on how to effectively reach out to and bring in younger voters to the GOP. It's a tough question that currently plagues Republican parties all across the United States. What is it exactly that turns away young people from the GOP?

Abby Alger, who wrote the post, points out some pretty obvious "perceived" (remember, when it comes to politics, perception is reality) problems we as Republicans face. Namely we are:

"overwhelmingly old, white, racist, sexist, classist, and many other bad “-ists”
Uninspiring and party communication to supporters
Lack of an online presence that if it exists at the county level is only asking for money

Ms. Alger hits the nail on the head for the most part. And much has been written when it comes to the GOP working to re-brand itself. But we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking this is the first time a major political party in America has gone through a self-inflicted identity crisis.

The same could be said for the Democrats in 1994 after the Republicans took Congress back like Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf went into Iraq in the first Gulf War and again in 2004 after George W. Bush not only won the popular vote in the 2004 presidential election, but took it by a decisive margin. The difference is that combined with national and world events, it only took the Democrats fully four years to take everything back.

But along the way, they learned what they had to do. They had to energize their base and move beyond donation to fully utilizing volunteers who previously had been ignored because of their lack of expendable donor cash. Now Republicans find themselves in an almost identical boat.

So what must be done?

Find out tomorrow as I return to actually updating this site on a regular basis! (Hard to believe, but I'm going to hold myself to my New Year's Resolution...I mean it!)

Papa John's Meet Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:46:00 +0000

Facebook, the wildly popular social networking platform, was originally started exclusively for college students to stay in touch and network. Now everyone uses it, from average people like you and me, to politicians, celebrities and businesses. And we're not just talking small businesses, but large companies like Papa John's. Business First of Louisville has the story:

Papa John’s International Inc. has cooked up a new promotion to reach the tech savvy.

Beginning today, any Facebook user who becomes a “fan” of the official Papa John’s Facebook page will receive an online redemption code for a free medium pizza with any online pizza order.

Louisville-based Papa John’s (NASDAQ: PZZA) also will provide the deal to the more than 10,000 Facebook users who already have signed up as “fans” of the brand.

It’s the latest attempt by Papa John’s to reach computer users. Earlier this year, Papa John’s launched an online ordering widget and text-message ordering.

I know it probably seems funny that Papa John's is trying to reach computer users. When you or I think of computer users, especially those who use Facebook, we're probably thinking of a slightly younger generation. I know that when I was in college, I worked at a place in my dorm that sold Papa John's pizza. But I think that this shows us that we can never underestimate or assume who we can or cannot reach through the use of new media. By the way, I'm now waiting for my free offer code for becoming a fan of Papa John's on Facebook. They certainly got my attention.

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

My wife and co-blogger here at GTS Tool Box recently sent me a link to a post that claimed the average time a person spends on a blog is 96 seconds. For some businesses or campaigns, that's all they need to get their message out. For others, you better hope that what the reader scans is all the pertinent information they need to make an informed decision.

Interestingly, even though the average read time on a blog is 96 seconds…

* …that drops to 37 seconds for the largest internet blogs.

* …79% of readers scan pages rather than read them

* …16% read the whole page.

Now, if you've gotten this far and have read our previous posts, you'll may think that brevity is not one of our stronger suits. The thing is, if you were interested it what we previously wrote about, you probably read the whole thing. If not, you may have scanned them and left. But to maximize your readers time, keep things short. How do you do that?

Keep your topics simple - Even if it's a complicated topic remember this simple rule: "Keep it simple stupid." In today's day and age, attention spans are short. If you start complicating matters, your readers will tune out. According to the Informatics Review research tells us that to communicate effectively with a general audience in the U.S., we need to write at a 6th-8th grade reading level. Just be sure not to talk down to your readers.
Make your pitch in the first paragraph - Remember back in high school writing the purpose statement had to be in the first paragraph? Yeah, that rule still applies even in blogging.
Break up your posts - If you have a great topic on which to write, but could be lengthy, break if up into a series of posts. If your readers enjoy the topic, chances are they will come back to read "the rest of the story".

Remember, as Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, "brevity is the soul of wit."

Transforming the Art of Political Communication Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:15:00 +0000

Earlier this week, I wrote about how Barack Obama has, through his most recent presidential campaign, transformed the art of political communication. Much like JFK in 1960, Obama was able to successfully use the internet via social networking and other means, to galvanize his core constituency to promote talking points, his views on issues and raise money. Now that he's president, he will be able to do this from the White House.

But what about Republicans? Or for that matter, what about third party options? Do they have a way to combat this? Can they level the playing field? When you're stacking yourself up against a email list of 10 million, it could appear daunting. The GOP has long relied on grassroots operations to raise money and to get out the vote (GOTV). They were hugely successful in accomplishing this in the late '90's and the early part of this century. But for the most part they did not make any gains or make any movement, really, on the internet.

Now it would seem the GOP is trying to make headway. Some individuals realized after election day (actually, they'd probably tell you they saw it way before then) that something had to be done. Republican bloggers and other online activists started a website called "Rebuild the Party" with it's number one priority, over the next four years, being the internet.

Winning the technology war with the Democrats must be the RNC's number one priority in the next four years.

What's Wrong -- And How to Fix It

* Recruit 5 million new Republican online activists. Even a compelling message won't go anywhere if we have no one to communicate it to. The next Chairman must undertake a crash program to grow the RNC's email file organically -- no spam and no "e-pending" from voter files. This will likely require a two-pronged strategy -- 1) engaging grassroots Republicans directly in the fight against the Obama agenda, with creative grassroots actions that make Republicans want to stand together with members of their party, and 2) integrating e-mail signups into everything we do at the grassroots level, ensuring that everyone who goes to an event and or is contacted by a volunteer is given the opportunity to join our network.

This goal seems daunting, but it forces us to think creatively about creating the sharpest, most compelling messages that will make people want to join us by the millions. If Newt Gingrich and T. Boone Pickens could each build an army of 1.4 million activists around energy, and Barack Obama could recruit 3 million to receive his VP selection by text message, then we know this is possible. If anything, given where the Internet will be in 2 or 4 years, we are low-balling the potential to create a new Republican online army.

* Hold campaigns and local parties accountable. As important as it is that we invest in new technology at the national level, we must remember that the RNC's primary objective is to win races state by state and district by district, not build up its own brand.

To pursue this essential mission, individual campaigns must be held accountable for the number of emails they collect and the money they raise online. As much high-level attention must be paid to candidates' online strategy as with the number of voter contacts made into a particular district or if the right media strategist is working the race. We must end a sense of dependence on the RNC at all levels -- in which the RNC simply turns over its lists -- and set goals that the campaigns must find creative and aggressive ways to meet:

In target 2010 Congressional races, we recommend setting a standard of at least 5,000 in-district online activists recruited, and a minimum of $100,000 raised online.

In target 2010 Senate races, we recommend a standard of 7,500 in-district online activists recruited and $150,000 raised online for each Congressional district.

* A more open technology ecosystem. As tempting as it is to believe that there is a silver bullet to solve all our technology problems, this is very rarely the case. The technology gap will not be solved by funding multimillion dollar white elephants, but by unleashing free market competition among trusted entrepreneurs and volunteers who want to help the party. The RNC should open its technology ecosystem so that trusted partners can develop on top of GOP.com and Voter Vault. We must build a corps of outside technology volunteers who compete to write applications that actually improve party operations -- and invest in the best ones. We must look beyond conventional political approaches to the Web, learning from technology hubs like Silicon Valley, and being unafraid to be the first in politics to adopt the changes in technology that are revolutionizing the consumer market.

It's an aggressive yet realistic plan to move the party forward using technology as the backbone. Not to be outdone, though, Barack Obama, this week, will begin making his weekly radio addresses also available via Youtube. Now I've got to ask you: when was the last time you listened to a weekly presidential address on the radio? I never have and I've been involved in politics and campaigns in some fashion since high school. Obama is revolutionary. He's truly making the White House his own, his administration distinct, and whether he turns out to be a good president or a bad one, history will show that he communicated like no other American president has before. Usually if you're a good communicator, history shows you in a good light. This is the struggle for the GOP to get over. Will they do it? They're getting off to a good start but they are two to four years behind the curve. Fortunately for them, with the internet it's easy to catch up. What's difficult is keeping up with the innovations.

Naked Conversations: A Blogging Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:11:00 +0000

In their 2006 book "Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk With Customers" authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel explore how businesses from local mom and pop operations to international companies can use New Media such as blogging and podcasting to build trust, establish a brand, connect with customers, and manage crises.

As might be surmised from the title, the book focuses on blogging's unique conversational tone. The authors contend that businesses of the past built trust through building personal relationships with customers, a practice that is increasingly difficult today especially in larger companies. Blogging's converational nature, based on reader interaction in comments and linking, has a tendency to build trust quickly.

Excellent bloggers aren't necessarily using their blogs to sell something, but rather to establish their expertise, ignite interest, and constructively use feedback from their target customers. As other blogs link to interesting posts, the message has the potential to reach millions of readers quickly and cost effectively. This in turn can lead to dramatic increases in revenue as a wider pool of customers becomes familiar with and trusts your brand. Scoble and Israel note that "no form of viral marketing matches the speed and efficiency of a blog."

The authors discuss the important question of return on investment (ROI) in regards to blogging, and give several striking examples of how blogging can boost revenue, but they also frankly acknowledge that the biggest investment a successful blog requires is time. Blogging can save vast amounts of advertising money, and can reach more people who are weary of traditional marketing (and now have the technological tools to tune it out), but it costs time to do it right. Effective blogs require consistent, interesting, and well-written posts, lots of research, and willingness to respond thoughtfully to reader feedback through comments and follow-up posting.

Businesses that are willing to devote the time to blogging often find that customer feedback can help them improve a product, repair their image, or stay in front of customer needs and desires. Even negative comments give a company a chance to respond instantly, thoughtfully, and openly, which is an invaluable opportunity to project a positive and responsive image, further building trust with your customer base.

That same ability of instant response will serve your company well in the event of a crisis. Scoble and Israel discuss companies that sustained high losses and lost credibility due to product failures that they were unprepared to address in real time through the internet. If a problem arises in your product or business, having a pool of blog readers with whom you have already established trust gives you a platform to quickly and effectively reassure customers and keep them informed on how you're making the situation right. Even a small acknowledgement and reassurance may be enough to prevent a viral spread of negative information about your company.

Although books on New Media quickly become outdated, the core points in "Naked Conversations" are valuable and may provide an impetus to more companies to establish a New Media presence, or overcome management objections and resistance where New Media strategies are being considered.

As always, if New Media is something your company or organization would like to look into, we would be happy to help.

Transforming the Art of Political Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

A while back, I wrote a post about Tech Campaigns and how those running for office are using social networking to their advantage. With the election now over and our nation reaching historic heights in electing Barack Obama president, we also saw what will be an ushering in of social networking into the White House. In my previous post, I mentioned how Obama's team wasn't just tech savvy, they were tech geniuses. And now that he's been elected president, we could see internet outreach also reach historic heights. The Washington Post writes:

Just as John F. Kennedy mastered television as a medium for taking his message to the public, Obama is poised to transform the art of political communication once again, said Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist who first helped integrate the Internet into campaigning four years ago.

"He's going to be the first president to be connected in this way, directly, with millions of Americans," Trippi said.

The nucleus of that effort is an e-mail database of more than 10 million supporters. The list is considered so valuable that the Obama camp briefly offered it as collateral during a cash-flow crunch late in the campaign, though it wound up never needing the loan, senior aides said. At least 3.1 million people on the list donated money to Obama.

Millions more made up the volunteer corps that organized his enormous rallies, registered millions of voters and held countless gatherings to plug the senator to friends and neighbors. On Election Day, they served as the backbone of Obama's get-out-the-vote operation, reaching voters by phone and at the front door, serving coffee at polling stations and babysitting so parents could stand in line at voting precincts.

After Obama declared victory, his campaign sent a text message announcing that his supporters hadn't heard the last from the president-elect. Obama conveyed a similar message to his staff in a campaignwide conference call Wednesday, signaling that his election was the beginning, and not the culmination, of a political movement.

What's amazing is what he can do with that list now that he's in office.

The process is just beginning, and many questions remain unanswered. The simplest approach might be to convert the campaign organization into an incarnation aimed at 2012 and an anticipated run for reelection, but some inside the Obama team are concerned about appearing too overtly political. Another course could be to create a nonprofit organization. Obama officials said all options would be examined over the coming weeks.

Over the course of the campaign, Obama's e-mail list gathered not only names and contact information, but also details about issues important to those supporters.

In past years, such lists were considered useful tools for political campaigns but not particularly helpful for governing. But Peter Greenberger, manager of political advertising for Google, said such information could be a boon for Obama in building public support for policy proposals.

The White House could "geo-target" ads so they appear online in congressional districts where members remain undecided. Obama could use Internet ads to solicit signatures for petitions, or he could place display and video ads contextually -- so they would appear on the screen next to news coverage of his proposals.

"If there's an article in the New York Times or The Washington Post about health-care legislation," Greenberger said, "the administration or a pro-Obama advocacy organization could run an ad right alongside it."

It truly is amazing: we are in a new communication age and we have a President who is willing to master the technology. What that means is, he also has far more control at shaping his message and his agenda without filters than any other President or any other elected official before him. He has supporters who follow him by the legions on websites such as Facebook and MySpace. Will Obama ultimately be successful at controlling his message and his outreach? Time will tell, but if he does as well as he did during the campaign, there really is no telling how successful he could be as President.

Tomorrow: the GOP counter punch.

Your Business Needs a Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:00:00 +0000

A recent Washington Post article on corporate blogging highlighted the increasing numbers of businesses of all sizes that are using weblogs to foster customer communication and confidence in their product or brand. The article references how blogs can help customers see your point of view, develop trust, and sell more products. As an example, the Post cites Marriott International CEO Bill Marriott's blog, noting, "Marriott has made more than $5 million in bookings from people who clicked through to the reservation page from Marriott's blog. "

Although large corporations benefit from the transparency a blog can lend to their company, smaller businesses also benefit because of the affordability of New Media strategies. A well-conceived and well-executed blog can provide far more value than traditional print, radio, or television advertising and is often a far better choice for a small to medium-sized business.

If you're interested in finding out more about how your business can benefit from blogging or other New Media platforms, contact us.

Social Networking for Business

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:00:00 +0000

As you can see, I use Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin on this site alone. I'm also using Digg and Stumbleupon for the client sites. What do you use?

Judicious use of social networking serves your business by getting your message out to greater varieties of people, multiplying the ways in which customers see your message, and allowing your core customers to spread news and information about your product or business to their families, friends, and associates, thus adding the value of their positive personal review to your established message.

Social networking is a time investment, and requires clear and focused goals to be effective. If you're not sure about your social networking position, would like to add social networking to your business, or have other questions, contact me.

Please #dontGo

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Wikipedia describes Twitter as:

...a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

If you haven't yet joined Twitter, or if you aren't using it for your campaign, to advance your organization's public policy goals, or to get the word out about your business, it may be time to reconsider.

Twitter lets you stay connected and keeps your customer/constituent excited about your cause.

For example, when Nancy Pelosi cut the Congressional session short before the Representatives could debate the issue of domestic oil drilling, John Culberson of Texas started Twittering to cover the debate. Pelosi had ordered the C-SPAN cameras shut down and the lights turned off, so House members resorted to Twitter and qik.com to cover the event live, under the Twitter hashtag (means of following a particular discussion) #dontGo.

Although some Democrats have suggested that federal legislators should not be allowed to blog, use Twitter, or make use of other New Media platforms, the list of legislators and other government entities on Twitter continues to grow, and even the White House is on board.

The short and instant nature of Twitter posts, combined with the popularity of following individuals, groups, or causes through hashtags, make Twitter ideal for providing regular updates, linking to relevant articles, keeping people updated on product roll-outs, and other breaking news. Although it can't take the place of a blog in terms of depth and scope, Twitter can serve as a catalyst and a gateway to a wider New Media strategy, and can increase your group's visibility and relevance with your target audience.

If you're unsure if Twitter is right for your group, feel free to contact us. We'd be happy to help you determine if and how Twitter could work for you.

Tech Campaigns

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

I have been utterly amazed at the increase of tech toys...so to speak...in this year's election cycle. Just four years ago, no campaign would have considered having Youtube or MySpace accounts, let alone blogging, Twittering, being on Facebook and texting! But now you can hardly find a statewide or federal campaign without a New Media strategy. Even races for State Representative are getting in on the New Media craze.

By far the best example of new media use has been Barack Obama. His team hasn't just been tech savvy, they've been tech geniuses.

Between John McCain and Barack Obama, only Obama's campaign has an official Twitter account, his Facebook page has over 1 million supporters (to McCain's 200,000+) and he tantalized supporters, antagonists and the media with the promise of a text message of who his VP choice was before it got reported to the media (it would have worked too, had the information not been leaked early via the blogosphere once the Secret Service started guarding Joe Biden's residence).

I think we will see more and more campaigns at all levels using New Media to get their message out, fire up their supporters, and stay relevant and agile in the fast-paced whirl of election season.

Further, I think more organizations should leverage New Media to advance their goals in addition to traditional lobbying, and I think businesses and industries would be well served to use New Media to advance their public policy goals as well.

Don't let your candidate, organization, or business get left behind on this one!

My Interview With BizVoice Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Back in July, I was interviewed along with a few others (Indianapolis Star columnist Matt Tully, Abdul Haki-Shabazz from Abdul in the Morning and Ft. Wayne blogger Jeff Pruitt) by BizVoice, the official magazine of the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce. It was a great time to spend with colleagues of all stripes talking politics and to give our views of what could or couldn't happen in the 2008 races.

In the wide-ranging interview, we were asked to give our thoughts, opinions and predictions on the upcoming general election. Due to the publication schedule, some of what I had to say in July seemed a bit dated by the September publication date. For example, our July discussion didn't take into consideration vice presidential choices or the events of the Republican and Democrat conventions, as it doubtless would have were the discussion held today. Still, our collective observations were generally astute and still hold quite of bit of water even in light of what has gone on nationally and statewide since this summer.

Definitely take the time to read the entire BizVoice political predictions article - I think you'll enjoy it! (Just to warn you, the link is a PDF file.)

I would also encourage you to check out the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Business Blog. It's very well done and has excerpts of the article that didn't make it into the final printing.

Sharp Increase in Business Use of Social Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Want to know just how important social networking is becoming in the modern business marketing strategy?

Via Mashable:

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research recently released the results on the usage of social media in the Inc. 500. Of note here, “Just over one quarter of the Inc. 500 reported social media was very important to their business/marketing strategy in 2007. That number has increased to 44% just one year later.”

Increasingly, we are seeing businesses and campaigns taking to social media such as Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter to attract new business and new voters as well as keeping customers and voters/supporters informed. I've written previously how Barack Obama has been stellar in his use of new media and social networking sites. As we're seeing, social networking is not just for political campaigns. There is a concerted effort by businesses to use social media and networking as a means of reaching out, not only by small businesses who are unable to afford a big budget marketing plan, but also as Fortune 500 companies see the benefits of investing in new media with their marketing dollars.

Want to make social networking part of your business or campaign strategy? Contact me to discuss the best strategy for you.

Lack of Technological Creativity Downfall of GOP?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Earlier this month Politico.com, one of my favorite websites for politics and news, ran piece called "Why the GOP fell so far, so fast". It was a hard and honest look at the Republican Party, which, as recently as 1994, was a force to be reckoned with and espoused values that a majority of Americans held. Fast forward to 2008 and the party looks radically different.

Politico listed five reasons why the GOP fell like it did. One of the explanations that really caught my eye (not that they all didn't) was reason number three:

Technology Glitches

One of the biggest reasons that it may take years for Republicans to steady their ship is that they have fallen way behind Democrats when it comes to exploiting new technologies to raise cash, especially online.

It is the Democrats who now are the innovators in this area. First Howard Dean and now Barack Obama have built massive programs for raising money, usually in small chunks, online. They have bigger e-mail lists and many times more donors familiar with sending money over the Web. They also have generally shown more sophistication in their online approach.

ActBlue, a Web hub for Democratic fundraising, has directed more than $60 million to candidates since 2004. Republicans don’t even have an equivalent.

The technology gap transcends fundraising, however. Democrats, in general, are embracing the Web more eagerly as a way to communicate — and gather — information. Daily Kos, a popular stop for Democratic officials and activists, has registered more than 1 billion page views in six years. Redstate.com, a similar kind of Web community for Republicans, has recorded fewer than 50 million.

Republicans often seem kind of retro. Talk radio remains a more powerful communications device for conservatives, with Rush Limbaugh maintaining a weekly audience of as many as 20 million. But the talk radio audience has slowed in growth over the past 15 years, and no one thinks it will be the dominant medium of the future.

While ActBlue is a sensational Political Action Committee (PAC) that Democrats developed years ago, the Republicans now also have an option with Slatecard, developed by Tech Republican founder, David All. Is Slatecard raising the coin to match Actblue? Hardly, but it shows that some Republicans are willing to move into a 21st century technology base that can reach potential donors candidate campaigns might not otherwise be able to tap.

Although all is not lost technologically for the Republican Party, there is still a long way to go. After being a grassroots powerhouse for years, the GOP urgently needs to feed and nurture the growing netroots that support their cause. They will find New Media to be a great tool towards candidate recruitment, fund raising and general messaging.

So far, only the messaging seems to be making a difference.

How Visible Is Your Site?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered how effective your website or blog really is? If so, check out Website Grader by Hubspot. Website Grader gives you a detailed overview of where your site ranks in the vastness of the internet and helps you discover how to better optimize your presence to reach the maximum number of people with your product or message.

Website Grader is fairly easy to understand. The tool ranks your site on a scale of 0-100 by looking at readability, interior page analysis (it digs beyond your home page), your Google traffic rank, inbound links (those who are linking to you) and a host of other factors. The higher your score, the better your site is performing.

To give you an idea of where two of my clients rank, Hoosier Access scored an 87 out of 100 while Stop Governing Like This!, after less than a month of existence, scored an amazing 57 out of 100. The Website Grader rankings gave me a clearer sense of where the sites are working and where I might need to tweak a few things.

Curious about improving your website's visibility? Contact me!

Next Generation Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

In addition to downloadable podcasts from iTunes, my client Hoosier Access broadcasts live interviews and commentary via a live stream on the internet. While these forums have been effective for us, I'd like to see more businesses, organizations, and campaigns move into next generation radio.

Using an internet capable phone (such as an iPhone or Blackberry) and plugging into their vehicle's dashboard, customers and constituents can easily listen to the internet instead of the radio. Your political, policy, small business, or industry-related podcast can thereby reach your target audience while they are in the car, and will catch and hold their interest wiht far more success than traditional radio advertising.

While it's wise to have your podcasts available for static download from your websites or iTunes, live streaming reports on issues relevant to your audience can strengthen your brand and engage your audience in a whole new way through next generation radio.

Quick Takes: Political Speeches and Media Mentions

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:22:00 +0000

Today's Quick Takes:

First: I loved the speeches last night. Rudy Giuliani was fantastic in his defense of Senator McCain and Governor Palin. As for Governor Palin...wow! Before Governor Palin got on stage, I have to admit that I was nervous about her ability to pull off a speech. Once she got started though, I was floored by how far she hit the ball out of the park. The GOP did a great job last night.

I attended a "Palin Party" put on by a group of conservative and moderate Republican women to support Governor Palin in her historic nomination. It was interesting to see how the nomination brought different wings of the party together. We'll see if McCain's choice continues to unite the GOP base as the campaign progresses.

Second: I was mentioned in an Associated Press article for my work with MySmartGov and Stop Governing Like This.

Third: I was also mentioned in an article in the Ft. Wayne News Sentinal for my work with MySmartGov and Stop Governing Like This.

Why Michelle Obama’s Speech Was Good For the DNC

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Gillespie) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:58:00 +0000

The mainstream media as well as internet pundit sites were abuzz with speculation as to why the headline speakers of the Democratic National Convention's first night, Senator Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama, didn't go for the jugular. Why did they choose to let their opponents off so easily?

From a political strategy perspective, the more pertinent question is not "why were they singing kumbaya instead of going for blood?" but rather, did the strategy work?

You’re not going to see a poll bump after day one of the convention (notice it didn’t happen after the VP announcement either), but the first night of the DNC convention was a healthy start to the final 70 days of a campaign season in which the vast majority of Americans were finally starting to pay attention.

If you’re a political junkie then you’ve heard all the rhetoric, and could probably give the speeches on behalf of the candidates and argue the merits of each candidate's proposals (or lack thereof) until you’re blue in the face.

The simple fact is, the vast majority of American voters are not political junkies.

Voters who are only now starting to pay attention don’t want to see Ted Kennedy bashing President Bush or Senator McCain even if they aren't particularly fond of them. People who are tuning in for the first time want to know what the Democratic candidate is all about. They want to hear Michelle Obama describe her family and give insight into what makes her husband tick, not crowing about defeating Hillary Clinton.

More than likely, people watched the Democrat Convention because they were curious about the the candidate. Consider that Obama gave his first interview after announcing his vice presidential pick to that stern political tome, People Magazine. That was a shrewd move not because of the softball questions the magazine lobbed his way (let's be honest, he's not getting harder stuff from the rest of the mainstream media either) but because more people are likely to get interested in a political article sandwiched between celebrity relationship news and ads for miracle diets than one in a strictly political journal.

The decision to skip the tough talk in favor of highlighting Obama's hardknocks upbringing and cute family was a smart way to define his campaign right out of the gates. Having established who the candidate is, the party was then freed up to define their opponent later in the convention lineup.

(Cross posted to Hoosier Access)