Blue State Digital

Blue State Digital DC’s Inaugural Social Media Week Event

Katy McKegney — 2012-02-02T22:31:46+00:00

What do It Gets Better, Occupy Wall Street, and the Arab Spring have in common?

They all demonstrate the power of social media to build movements and transform our world for good. Next Wednesday, as part of Washington, DC's first-ever Social Media Week, Blue State Digital will host a panel discussion about the increasing role of social media in driving offline change. Two social media thought leaders -- renowned author and professor Clay Shirky and Facebook's Associate Manager of Public Policy Adam Conner -- will join BSD's Director of Social Media Ryan Davis to examine the lessons learned from the organic movements of 2011 and discuss the new tools can we expect in 2012 and beyond.

RSVP now to join us on Wednesday, February 15 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for this exciting discussion at BSD's new office in Chinatown.

What: Social Media Panel Discussion with Clay Shirky and Adam Conner

When: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Where: Blue State Digital, 406 7th Street NW, Floor 2, Washington, DC

We'll be dishing out snacks from our friends downstairs at Hill Country BBQ and serving tasty beverages, so bring your appetite. And we'll also be looking for your questions in advance over Twitter and Facebook. You can send us questions by hitting up @BSDWire with the hashtag #AskBSD or post them on our Facebook wall.

While our new office is roomy, space is limited, so please RSVP.

BSD Talks Site Production with Expression Engine’s Showcase

Katy McKegney — 2012-02-01T21:07:36+00:00

Blue State Digital’s production team has built their fair share of websites, and time and time again they’ve chosen to create client sites using Ellis Lab’s ExpressionEngine (EE) Content Management System (CMS). While BSD has built incredible tools to execute digital campaigns, when it came to finding a flexible, reliable, and user-friendly CMS, the production team didn’t hesitate in choosing to work with the ever-evolving EE.

Given our longstanding relationship, just last week the BSD team had a chance to chat with Ellis Labs as part of their Expression Engine Showcase about one of our more unique EE clients, The It Gets Better Project. What many people don’t know is that thanks to some seriously dedicated staff members, the BSD production team was able to launch the first iteration of the It Gets Better Project site in just 3 days!

Said BSD Head of Production, Cameron Corda;

“Due to the overwhelming response to Dan’s video, we knew we had to act fast. Perhaps one of the most incredible and little known facts is that the team at BSD built the itgetsbetter.org website in a stunning 72-hours. BSD utilized some of our most accomplished and dedicated designers, developers, strategists and writers to complete the project. Only through their dedicated efforts could the It Gets Better Project website go from conception to creation in such a compressed time.”

While this first iteration of the site has since been updated, we took the time to discuss which commercial EE add-ons have contributed to the success of the site, and how the BSD team found a unique use of YouTube Direct that enabled our team to rapidly upload the enormous number of personal videos being submitted to the site. To learn more about how the team utilized EE and the production behind the site, be sure to check out the full interview, featured on the Expression Engine Showcase here.

Creating Change in Baltimore

Blue State Digital — 2012-01-27T19:33:13+00:00

Blue State Digital is thrilled to have Business Development team member, Leone Kraus, in Baltimore this week attending The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's 24th National Creating Change conference. The conference brings together thousands from across the nation to learn from a variety of speakers, trainings and sessions about how we can continue to advance the LGBT equality movement in our respective communities. This is our first year attending, but we’re particularly excited as Leone was able to speak on behalf of BSD as part of GLAAD's New Media Training Institute.

For the past few years, Blue State Digital has partnered with a number of equality organizations, providing a variety of strategy and technology services from website designs,and video concepts, to social media planning and campaigns run on our tech platform, the BSD Tools. In the last year alone BSD partnered with the HRC to redesign and relaunch its new website, worked with SLDN to launch its web presence for the repeal of DADT, teamed-up with Freedom to Marry to create the animated Roadmap to Victory video, and this year, we're providing support to an up and coming national gay-straight alliance, Swish and launched the HRC's Athlete Ally campaign -- and January isn't even over yet.

So, for those of you currently attending Creating Change, and may have missed GLAAD's training, give a shout out to Leone and get updates on what's going on at #CC12 by following her on twitter @leonekraus.

New Year, New Program; BSD Tools Announce Preferred Provider Program

Blue State Digital — 2012-01-09T21:59:51+00:00

Blue State Digital is kicking the New Year off right by launching the new BSD Tools Preferred Provider Program!

We want to equip more causes, candidates, campaigns and associations with the best in online organizing. We know the importance of having a reliable and responsive platform to raise money, send email and drive supporter sign-ups. We are now offering the BSD Tools directly to agencies whose clients may need a usable, affordable Social CRM.

As a preferred BSD Tools provider we’ll make it simple for you, your staff and your clients to execute successful online campaigns and provide your team with top-notch training and services that will keep your clients happy and help your business grow.

Be part of our team and benefit from;

Preferential Pricing: As an official re-seller you'll have access to preferential pricing; the larger the volume of business on your end, the lower the price for you.
Personal Tech Support: You will have a single point of contact. Someone who knows you and your accounts will serve as your main tech-support contact and trainer. Any off-hours emergencies are handled immediately by our on-call team.
Simple Set-Up: Your BSD team trains you to be a knowledgeable expert on the BSD Tools, no certification required.
Lead Referrals: We view this partnership as a two-way street; you recommend the BSD Tools to your clients and we look for opportunities to refer prospective clients to your agency as well.

If you really want to make a change for the better this year, start by applying to our new BSD Tools Preferred Provider Program.

Power to the People: The DC Council Website Redesign

Greg Garabedian — 2011-12-15T15:25:26+00:00

During the summer of 2011, the Council of the District Columbia, the group responsible for crafting laws and improving the quality of life for over half a million residents in the District of Columbia, hired Blue State Digital to lead a redesign effort and completely overhaul their website’s content organization, design, and back-end content management system.

The Council’s website is a vital resource for District constituents looking for general information on their elected officials, current legislation and ways to get involved in the legislative process. Understanding the Council’s audience was crucial to creating a new and more effective web design. As part of this redesign process, BSD worked with Council staff, policymakers, journalists and citizens to build an online platform that clearly articulates the complex relationships of government and the legislative process.

Blue State Digital’s content strategy team spent weeks analyzing the organization and flow of content throughout the Council’s site. Based upon our findings, we simplified the navigation to give users clear pathways to important sections. On the backend, we consolidated content types and combined templates to reduce the time needed to upload and manage content. Designers on the project collaborated with the DC Council team to create a clean, open and user-friendly design that complements the site’s revised content and information architecture.

One of the major goals of the redesign was to create an open and accessible website that empowers users to follow and participate in the legislative process. The resulting website, built in Expression Engine and powered by the BSD Tools, now allows counsel staff to post content once, using one form, and have it appear on multiple pages throughout the site, which gives them a scalable foundation that can meet the needs of current and future constituents.

Users can now register to testify at legislative hearings online, track multiple content channels via RSS, follow meetings, hearings and other legislative events on a new calendar, and see how their council member voted on recent bills. The new look-and-feel of the site provides a more open and approachable browsing experience for the visitor. The open layout with lots of white space breaks down a text-dense page into small, easily digestible blocks of information.

Additionally, the BSD Design team took this opportunity to redesign the seal of DC Council. Taking inspiration from the District’s flag, we used san serif font and an added splash of color to give the seal a more modern look.

Webinar: Growing Your Base - How Paid Media Powers Digital Engagement

Blue State Digital — 2011-12-01T21:36:50+00:00

When it comes to promoting a campaign, cause or company sometimes an email list, Facebook page or Twitter account just isn't enough.

Paid media can play a critical role in supporting your other digital communication channels as part of a holistic online program. Whether it's through Google AdWords or Facebook ads, smart online advertising can grow your list, raise you money and support your brand.

We're hosting a free webinar next week on paid media with John Simpson, BSD's Media Director. Can you make it?

Growing Your Base: How Paid Media Powers Digital Engagement

Featuring: John Simpson, BSD Director of Media

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

2:00 PM EST

Click here to RSVP

In this webinar, John will provide an overview of the best use of core media tools such as search and display advertising, Facebook, Twitter and video with a eye on the best tactics non-profits, advocacy groups and other like-minded organizations can employ.

John has more than a decade of experience studying and working at the intersection of media, technology and culture. He currently executes paid media programs for BSD clients such as the CWA, United States Holocuast Memorial Museum, and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, among others. Prior to joining BSD, he was Vice President and Director of Media at Digitas, where he headed up digital brand initiatives for American Express. John also was Director of Media for Deep Focus, where he worked on premium brands like HBO, AMC, Estee Lauder and Microsoft.

RSVP now for next week's free webinar: http://www.bluestatedigital.com/mediawebinar

A Mother’s Fight

Lauren Miller — 2011-12-01T15:29:31+00:00

Thirty years ago, the world had never heard of HIV or AIDS. Since then, the global pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 25 million men, women and children.

But today there is hope. Pediatric AIDS has been virtually eliminated in the United States, and we can end pediatric AIDS around the world in this generation. That's due in no small part to organizations like the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which has reached nearly 13 million women with services to prevent the transmission of HIV to their babies.

This World AIDS Day, we're proud to team up with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation on A Mother's Fight, a new website to help people take an active role in the fight against Pediatric AIDS.

Help raise awareness this World AIDS Day by visiting A Mother's Fight - and sharing their new infographic on Facebook and Twitter:

Blue State Digital has worked with a number of organizations in the fight against AIDS, including Partners in Health, CSIS Smart Global Health, and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We hope that you'll take this World AIDS Day to speak out for your organization of choice.

Do You Know Where You’re Watching Monday Night Football?

Blue State Digital — 2011-11-14T15:45:13+00:00

Do you know where you're watching Monday Night Football tonight?

If you're a Green Bay Packers fan, there's an easy way to find out.

Earlier this season, Blue State Digital teamed up with the Packers to build Packers Everywhere - a new program that brings Packers fans together to watch the game, wherever they live.

Through the BSD Tools-powered website and mobile app, fans across America can find their local Packers bar, RSVP where they're watching the game, and share with friends on Facebook so they don't have to watch alone.

We're so proud of the site that we wanted to share it with a few friends. Check out PackersEverywhere.com:

Blue State Digital is best known for its work with political campaigns and nonprofit organizations. But the same great technology that empowers people to take action for a cause can also engage people with their favorite sports team.

More than 90,000 Cheeseheads have signed up on PackersEverywhere.com so far this season - and over 1,600 bars have registered as official Packers bars across the country.

So even if you can't make it to Lambeau Field tonight, there's no excuse not to watch the Packers-Vikings game. Check out PackersEverywhere and download the mobile app now:

http://www.PackersEverywhere.com

Go Pack Go!

BSD’s Lauren Miller Weighs in on 2012

Katy McKegney — 2011-11-10T14:02:10+00:00

Sitting shoulder to shoulder with some of DC’s public affairs heavy hitters, Blue State Digital’s Director of Online Communications, Lauren Miller, took part in PRWeek’s 2011 Public Affairs Roundtable.

The panel, which featured public affairs directors from Yahoo, Verizon, and Chase, among others, discussed the top public affairs issues of 2012 and how they will be impacted by the economy, the 24-hour news cycle, social media and the upcoming presidential election.

As the conversation shifted to digital tactics that public affairs campaigns are utilizing, Lauren chimed in on the powerful use of Twitter for influencing the media. But she also noted that the most effective public affairs campaigns spark a conversation directly with supporters to engage them across channels:

“But when it comes to driving people to take action, if we're talking from a supporter perspective and trying to build an army of people who are talking about our issue, a tweet or a Facebook post often doesn't do a whole lot. It doesn't really drive people to take action. That's why we are still seeing the success of the e-mail list in being able to drive people to take action or make a donation to a campaign. It may sound simple, it's not the sexiest thing, but it still drives people to take action.”

As representatives of their respective industries weighed in on how the election and legislation might affect their companies, Lauren represented BSD’s views on how to motivate and engage consumers and supporters, stating: “Even in the inaction, we're able to create moments that can empower people to take action.”

To see the full interview, visit PRWeek’s Public Affairs Roundtable 2011 (subscription required). Photo credit PRWeek.

Tonight: BSD Client Bring Change 2 Mind featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Katy McKegney — 2011-11-04T20:03:28+00:00

Set your DVR’s and grab a box of tissue because this evening at 8pm EST (7c), Blue State Digital client, Bring Change 2 Mind will be featured on ABC's hit show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Founded by Glenn Close, Bring Change 2 Mind was created with the mission of erasing the stigma of mental illness. Together with the crew from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition & hundreds of volunteers, Bring Change 2 Mind is taking a step closer to that goal tonight by exposing a new audience to their message.

The episode tells the inspiring story of Staff Sergeant Allen Hill, who is working tirelessly with his family to manage his PTSD. Glenn Close is set to appear on the show, helping renovate the house and educating the audience about mental illness -- one of the best ways to eliminate stigma.

Over the past few weeks, Blue State Digital worked with Bring Change 2 Mind to redesign and relaunch their website, providing their community with simple actions that can help change minds and make a big difference.

Please join us in taking the Bring Change 2 Mind pledge and then tune into Extreme Makeover: Home Edition tonight at 8 pm EST (7c) on ABC for a little extra inspiration.

Where You’ll Find Us In November

Blue State Digital — 2011-11-04T11:19:24+00:00

November. It's a month of turkey, pumpkin pie... and a whole lot of conferences.

If you'll be hitting the conference circuit this month, we hope you'll take the chance to chat with Blue State Digital's team members in attendance. Pick our brains, ask any questions, and let us discuss how we can work together in the future.

DC Week
Washington, DC (November 4-11th)
http://digitalcapitalweek.org/
Blue State Digital is a proud sponsor of Digital Capital Week, is a week-long festival focused on bringing together designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and social innovators of all kinds. Blue State Digital's Washington office will be out in force at a variety of panels, events and parties. Let us know where you'll be!

American Marketing Association 2011 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education
Chicago,IL (November 6-9th)
http://www.marketingpower.com
Learn more about the work that Blue State Digital has done for academic institutions like Harvard University, the University of Florida, and the University of Wisconsin. Join Yianni Konstantopoulos and Rich Mintz at the country's largest gathering of higher education marketers.

The Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly
Denver, CO (November 6-8th)
http://www.generalassembly.org/
Blue State Digital has been working with The Jewish Federations of North America to implement our tools platform across their chapters. We've also worked with the Jewish Federations strategically on projects like the Jewish Community Heroes awards, and The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles' Next Big Jewish Idea. Meet Lauren Miller and Katy McKegney to talk about our work with the Federation and a variety of other cultural institutions.

CampaignTech Conference
Washington, DC (November 10-11th)
http://campaigntechconference.com/
Politics has always been at the core of Blue State Digital's technology and strategy services, so we'll be out in force at Campaigns & Elections' CampaignTech Conference. Meet Wendy Zingher and BSD CTO Jascha Franklin Hodge, and stop by BSD Client Manager Alex Kellner's panel on "Advancing Your Supporters up the Engagement Ladder" (Thursday, 4:30-5:30 pm).

National Arts Marketing Project
Louisville, KY (November 12-15th)
http://www.artsmarketing.org/
Blue State Digital is a longtime friend and partner of the Americans for the Arts. Join Wendy Zingher and learn about the work BSD has done with Americans for the Arts and institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sundance Film Festival, TATE Gallery, British Museum, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

WOMMA Summit
Las Vegas, NV (November 16-18th)
http://womma.org/summit/
We may be a digital agency, but we don't discount the impact strong word-of-mouth marketing can have on any campaign. Stop by BSD Director of Social Media, Ryan Davis' session, "Campaign Trail 2012: What Social Grassroots Can Teach Brand Marketers" to hear a discussion on the evolution of online strategy and tactics since Dean's run in 2004 and Obama's 2008 victory, and the inevitable implications this has for your brand (Wednesday, 5:15-6:00 pm).

WOMMA Summit

Las Vegas, NV (November 16-18)

http://womma.org/summit/

If you'd like to meet with someone specifically at one of these conferences, please email our Technology Marketing Manager, Jason Johnson, and he'll put you in touch.

Design and Analytics: Redesigning The Nature Conservancy Homepage

Matt Ipcar — 2011-10-26T13:28:44+00:00

A few months ago, The Nature Conservancy hired Blue State Digital to help their team improve navigation and increase clicks on their homepage. The Nature Conservancy, founded in 1951, is the leading organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. They are inspiring, and have an amazing digital team who understands online engagement.

Creating Harmony in Site Optimizations
In many circumstances an optimization engagement remains squarely in the realm of our analytics team, with a minor lift from the design and production teams to ensure any tweaks to layout, color, and messaging remain on brand and behave well. Other times, however, we are lucky enough to work with a client willing to do more than simply optimize for sake of increased signups or clickthroughs — they’re willing to use the analytics learnings to push and evolve the entire look and feel of their site.

Our initial analysis employed a simple A/B test pitting the then-current site against a quickly reworked version sporting an alternate layout, color scheme, and messaging strategy. The results were unmistakable: they showed a 52% increase in total site goals triggered, including a 46% increase in traffic to the donation page and a 229% increase in email signups. These results gave the design team some solid guidance for layout, and a clear path forward.

Design and Analytics, Not Design vs. Analytics
As a designer, this kind of analytics-informed design can be hugely rewarding, and on a personal level, brings back memories of the 2008 Obama campaign, where we were invariably designing in close concert (and quarters) with our analytics team — constantly negotiating colors, layout, textures, typography, and messaging to support the overall feel and mood of the site and to increase donations, signups, and socialnet engagement.

This strategy is especially helpful when a full-scale redesign would be impractical or impossible. The number of possible changes — from information architecture to full-scale site organization to technical or code improvements — may not be available due to time or budget constraints. It can also serve to test the waters for a larger scale redesign.

Three Rules for Design-Analytics Harmony

1. Communicate Internally and with the Client
Before opening up Photoshop, we tested a new homepage layout based on close and constant communication between the design team, the analytics team, and the client. Outliers were outed and clickthroughs were counted. Navigation and action buttons were all tested for size, message, position, and color. Involving the client during each test helped us make sense of the data and prioritize our next-steps.

2. Respect the Brand
The Nature Conservancy has an incredibly strong brand. There was an established color palette and typographic system which needed to stay intact. Our mission was to open up the space, highlight the most important content and action areas, simplify navigation and wayfinding, and give the brand some room to breathe. Because interior pages would remain largely untouched, save for the header and footer, we were careful to respect color rules on the site and only devised new ones where necessary.

3. While It Can’t Be All About the Numbers, Remember Improving Numbers Feels Great
A huge pink button with animated stars might certainly get more clicks, but it would do so at the expense of the brand. While it is always important to prioritize user experience (or brand) over raw numbers, it doesn’t mean you can’t vastly improve metrics along the way.

www.nature.org

Webinar: Blue State Digital’s Guide To Raising Money Online

Blue State Digital — 2011-10-19T19:59:42+00:00

Have you ever donated to a campaign or charity from a tweet?

As much as we all love social media (some of us more than others), it’s just not a proven way to raise large sums of money online yet. Email remains the proven, tested way to engage your supporters and convert them into donors.

We’re hosting a free webinar next week on email fundraising with Lauren Miller, BSD’s Director of Email and Online Communications. Can you make it?

Email: Your #1 tool for raising money online
Featuring: Lauren Miller, BSD Director of Email & Online Communications
October 27, 2011
1:00 PM
Click here to RSVP

Lauren’s team has advised and executed fundraising campaigns for some of the world’s most iconic digital programs – and helped design the BSD Tools to best meet the needs of real online fundraisers. From political campaigns to nonprofits, museums to universities, Lauren has helped Blue State Digital clients raise tens of millions of dollars online.

In this webinar, she’ll discuss:

How to structure a successful fundraising email
How to plan an email calendar that builds your list and encourages donations over time
Other tips and tricks we’ve found to ensure high conversions on email fundraising campaigns

RSVP now for next week’s free webinar: www.bluestatedigital.com/emailwebinar

It Gets Better: One Year Later

Blue State Digital — 2011-10-07T15:56:04+00:00

On September 21st, 2010, writer Dan Savage and his husband, Terry, created a YouTube video to respond to a growing trend of suicides among bullied gay and lesbian teens.

They had no idea that in just one year, that video would inspire a global movement of more than 25,000 user-generated videos viewed more than 40 million times, with dozens of corporate sponsors including Pixar, Google, Electronic Arts, Facebook, and more.

This week is the one-year anniversary of Blue State Digital’s launch of ItGetsBetter.org, and BSD is as proud as ever of our ongoing work on the project. Read more about the It Gets Better Project.

Many prospective clients come to us and say, “Can you make me the next ItGetsBetter.org?”

From a technical standpoint, sure – the technology that powers the website and empowers people to take action is available to any of our clients. They’re the same tools that hundreds of political campaigns, advocacy organizations, cultural and academic institutions, sports and entertainment groups, and corporations use to communicate effectively with their supporters online.

But the reason the It Gets Better Project stands out – the reason that it’s different from other websites and online programs – is because the content struck a nerve with people. It broke through the clutter by inspiring real-life, offline engagement.

ItGetsBetter.org not only shares real, heartfelt stories in a timely and meaningful way, but it sparks real-world conversations and, ultimately, action.

Today, calls to the Trevor Project suicide hotline are up 50% because teens know where to seek help. And the website has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to help LGBT youth with projects like the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s safe space kits.

If you haven’t been to the website in a while, it’s worth another look. See what makes the It Gets Better Project different:

http://www.itgetsbetter.org

Connecting Fans Everywhere: The Green Bay Packers’ New Digital Strategy

Blue State Digital — 2011-09-26T15:58:01+00:00

While the Green Bay Packers play in a city of 104,000 residents, their fan base is one of the largest and strongest in sports. These fans live across America and all over the world. So how can the Packers, as an organization, meaningfully speak to and connect with such a geographically diverse fan base?

To reach out to fans across the nation, the Green Bay Packers partnered with Blue State Digital to create Packers Everywhere, a new program that brings Packers fans together to watch the game, wherever they live.

Through the Packers Everywhere website and mobile app, fans across America can find their local Packers bar through a searchable and interactive map. Check it out.

Through the map, fans are encouraged to RSVP where they'll be watching the game, and Facebook integration allows fans to see if fellow fans will be attending as well. So far, over 75,000 fans and 1,400 bars have signed up.

Last Thursday, Blue State Digital team tested this feature by descending upon the Mad Hatter Saloon and Beer Garden to cheer on the Green Bay Packers in their first game of the season. Conclusion: It works! Blue State Digital and fans from all over New York cheered as the Packers' high-powered offense led the Pack to a 42-34 victory.

In addition to the map, PackersEverywhere.com features regular fan contests, bar profiles, and stories of die-hard fans.

Human Rights Campaign Redesign: You�ve Got to Design For Your Rights

Dave Dawson — 2011-09-26T14:49:44+00:00

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. Since 1980, HRC has been working for equal rights for LGBT Americans with the help of more than one million members and supporters and more than 10 million website visitors a year.

In late 2010, Blue State Digital was tasked with redesigning hrc.org, the online home for the organization. With more than 16,000 individual pieces of content, an enormous number of micro-sites, energetic but sprawling local content, and five years since a redesign, the site was ready for an update.

With an amazingly collaborative process, we were able to reorganize and consolidate the content down to just over 8,000 pages, redesign the look and feel, create templates and design standards for micro-sites, and set up a flexible publishing system, all with the goal of creating and maintaining a consistent online presence for HRC.

How do you design a site for an organization with one of the most recognizable logos in the world? By not messing with a good thing. By taking visual cues from the already iconic identity and the HRC building in Washington D.C., we were able to design a homepage that at first glance, gives a concise first impression of what HRC is working towards, both as an organization and a campaign. If you look closely, the geometry of the homepage grid is inspired by the logo itself.

The homepage pulls in content from key areas of the site, showing off the different issues that HRC works on. We included a full-width feature section to have an emotional impact with the use of large, striking imagery. The news section shows the dynamic work of HRC with up to the moment updates.

To navigate all of this and the rest of the site, we created a visual system and hierarchy that allows users to easily explore the site. With more than 8,000 pieces of content, it’s important to be clear where the user currently is and guide them through to other, related content.

As exciting as it is to see this site go live, I think we are all much more excited to see the site being used to organize and engage people.

Transparency Labs Sheds Light on Credit Card Fees and Account Terms

Rich Mintz — 2011-09-23T19:07:19+00:00

If you think your credit card and financial accounts are too complicated, you're not alone. And if you find it hard to keep track of account changes and understand your rights and obligations -- well, join the club.

That's why we at BSD were proud to be in the audience this week for the debut of Los Angeles-based Transparency Labs, our client, at the Finovate 2011 conference. Transparency Labs has built the National Fine Print Repository, a database of account terms from banks, credit card issuers, cellphone companies and retirement accounts. And it's preparing to launch a suite of innovative consumer products that will help you understand your account terms, keep track of changes, and shop for better deals. Stay tuned as the Transparency Labs product line begins rolling out next year, and you'll be able to sign up and take advantage of what the company calls its "Fine Print Genome Project," the only database of its kind in the world, built by lawyers who have spent thousands of hours analyzing contracts from hundreds of companies and compiling their terms into a machine-searchable form.

As Transparency Labs founder David Hirsch told David Lazarus of the L.A. Times this week: "This fine-print world we're living in, it's bad for consumers, it's bad for business, and it's bad for the country. You've got people not understanding what they're agreeing to, and they're getting clobbered." Transparency's consumer products will help you understand your accounts' terms, see where the risks are, and mitigate them, saving you more of your money in the process.

"Ultimately, this kind of transparency in contracting benefits everyone," said Hirsch. "It doesn't just help consumers -- it makes customers more loyal, which benefits companies, and it makes transactions easier, which helps the economy." Watch for Transparency Labs' consumer products to hit the market early next year.

BSD's Design Director Matt Ipcar, and lead designer Will Wan, created the visual identity you see on the company's website and in its printed materials.

BSD End-of-Year Fundraising Webinar

Katy McKegney — 2011-09-19T17:14:08+00:00

Have you started planning for the end of the year?

It might seem like summer’s only just departed, but it’s never too soon to start planning your strategy for the end of the year.

We invite you to join our team of digital experts in a webinar discussion on the strategy and tactics that helped our end-of-year fundraising clients raise more than $7.5 million last December. In fact, 12 out of 13 clients raised at least 33% more than the prior year – not an easy feat in this tough economy.

This isn't just your average how-to webinar, we'll deep-dive into the best ways to turn passive supporters into active donors, how to measure success and set benchmarks while also optimizing your organization's social media presence to supplement fundraising efforts.

End of Year Fundraising Webinar

Hear :

Lauren Miller, Director of Email & Online Communications
Sarah Newhall, Senior Web Analyst
Ryan Davis, Director of Social Media

2:00 PM EST

September 21, 2011

Click HERE to RSVP!

Our presenting trio bring a range of skills and expertise; from writing rapid response emails to helping clients define and interpret data to live-tweeting client events, Lauren, Sarah and Ryan will shine a light on making the most out of your end of year push. Don't miss out, RSVP before space runs out!

Social Media That Works: Webinar On Demand

Blue State Digital — 2011-09-16T18:49:37+00:00

At 29,864 followers and counting, Blue State Digital’s social media director, Ryan Davis, is more influential in the Twitterverse than many household brands. How’d he do it? Find out by viewing his webinar, “Social Media That Works”.

This webinar covers how to get more followers and fans — and boost your number of retweets, likes and shares — but its real focus is on what you can do in the social space to improve conversions and make a meaningful impact. Ryan discusses how to optimize your social media presence to increase retention, drive action, and deepen relationships, both online and off.

Ryan’s experience runs the gamut — from political campaigns, to Broadway, to national nonprofits, to professional sports leagues. Whatever cause or company you’re passionate about, Ryan’s got the tips and tricks to help. View or download today.

Beyond the “Like” Button: Three Nonprofits That Use Social Media to Drive Action

Ryan Davis — 2011-07-25T13:30:50+00:00

From the ubiquitous "Like" and "Tweet" buttons to Google’s new +1, it’s never been easier to share online. But sometimes clicking a button just isn’t enough. For the social web to really spark change, users need other actions to take. Here are three sites that demonstrate what can happen when you ask users to do more.

It Gets Better

In the fall of 2010, America was horrified by the tragic actions of gay young people who took their lives after suffering prolonged bullying and harassment. Dan Savage, a popular gay columnist, wanting to take action, recorded a simple video with his partner, letting young people know that “It Gets Better.”

Within days, inspired by Dan’s message, members of the public began to post their own videos. Realizing this movement had the potential to change lives and offer hope, It Gets better needed a social website for the rapidly expanding collection of moving user-generated videos — itgetsbetter.org

A big challenge with It Gets Better was to create a site that captured the excitement (and data) coming out of a truly organic online movement. In the end, the site cataloged and accepted YouTube videos, plus allowed users to share and comment. Getting the word out and generating high quality user videos were key to the movement’s success.

In the two months following the original video, 5,000 were added and over 100,000 (now almost 200,000) people Liked It Gets Better on Facebook. Each interaction has helped to shine a national spotlight on the tragic frequency of LGBT suicide.

Remember Me

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) had 1100 pictures of children who were victims of the Holocaust. It wasn’t known how many of these children survived, and many photos were missing identifiers.

The website, Remember Me, provided a way to display these haunting pictures and push them out to various social networks. USHMM employed Facebook Comments to insure maximum exposure for each individual photograph in the hope that people might recognize an old friend or family member and let them know.

It worked. So far, over 35 children have been identified from the photos, including this incredible discovery — read the below Facebook Comment from an 80-year-old survivor.

Most Jewish

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College wanted a fun way to have users talk about what being Jewish means to them. The solution was the Most Jewish card game — a social way to start the conversation. Users ‘voted’ on what terms were the most Jewish to them, from “golf” to “Brooklyn.”

The participants were able to engage in conversations about what being Jewish meant to them in a very low-barrier way. The Most Jewish site incorporated Facebook Comments, meaning votes and comments were easily pushed into the users social profile. This activity was supported by an active blog and frequent updates on the leader board that created a lively discussion across formats.

More Than Sharing

If we invite users to submit videos, participate in historic research, or examine their faith, they’ll come back and continue to engage. They may even talk about your site offline — sharing without a button.

Ryan Davis is Director of Social Media Strategy at Blue State Digital. This article first appeared in the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) Blog.

Online Fundraising for Busy People

Rich Mintz — 2011-06-23T13:14:56+00:00

Last week, at the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, Camille Schenkkan of Arts for LA gave an unusually lucid summary of online tools for donor development and management.

Those of us who work in online fundraising for a living — especially those of us who work mostly with large organizations that have a dozen people in the marketing department and a technical staff to handle the donor database — sometimes forget how mystifying all of this stuff is to a lot of people.

If you’re doing three jobs at once, in an environment where there’s never any extra money lying around, and have a board of directors (or a major donor, city council, etc.) breathing down your neck — sound familiar? — you don’t want a bunch of platitudes about the “next generation” and the “new normal.” You want someone to tell you the dozen or so things you need to know, and the half-dozen or so things you should try to do this month or this quarter.

Camille’s presentation was the closest thing to this that I’ve seen in quite a while. I won’t try to reproduce it here, but I will abstract some of the important points. These largely overlap with what we at Blue State Digital are regularly preaching, so if you know us, you won’t see surprises here, but maybe it’ll be more accessible in Camille’s words (and what I’m presenting here is mostly adapted from things she said).

#1: Find a CRM

CRM, or “customer/constituent relationship management,” refers to some sort of software program where you keep track of your donors — who they are, what they’ve given to you and when, and (ideally) when and how you’ve reached out to them. You use this information to understand who’s responding, what tactics are working best, and what you should do more of.

Right now you might be keeping this information in Excel, or even on paper. But CRM tools are easier and more versatile.

#2: Manage Your Email

Every organization needs some sort of outbound email tool, so that you can keep in touch with donors and prospective donors. These range from the cheap and basic to the slightly more expensive and fantastically sophisticated.

Don’t overthink this (especially if you have a tiny organization) — but even a tiny organization should think at least in general terms about audience segmentation (who are the different groups of people who support your organization, and do you need to speak to them differently?).

#3: Accept Online Donations

You need to be able to accept donations online. Even if all you do is set yourself up to accept Paypal donations, you’re taking a step in the right direction. But obviously (plug plug plug!), if you use a toolset like the BSD Tools, you have credit card donations, and the ability to set up different donation forms for different promotions or events, built right in.

#4: Use Social Media

In Camille’s words: “If you hate a social media tool, don’t use it.” If you hate Twitter, and everyone in your organization who could possibly be tweeting hates Twitter, don’t use Twitter! Find the tools that you can use organically, in a way that seems authentic to your organization, and use those. Maybe it’ll just be email for now. If that’s where you are, that’s okay.

Once you know your tools, it's important to plan a successful social media program. In this context, planning doesn’t mean “write a telephone-book-sized strategic memorandum”; it means thinking about questions like these:

What do we want this social media campaign to achieve for our organization?
What actions are we going to ask people to take (give money, share links with their friends, buy tickets, come to a show…)?
What voices will speak on behalf of the organization?
How will we schedule our social media posts and activities? (Example: On Day 1, send an email; on day 2, update Facebook with a reminder; on day 3, have staff members send supporting tweets in their own words…)

Scheduling is important. You don’t want to bombard people, especially your supporters; you want a steady drumbeat of messaging over a period of time so that all the messages reinforce each other and encourage the people who love you to take actions that support you.

Anything to Add?

Do you have any tips to add about CRM, email tools, social media, or online donations? Share them in the comments below.

Embed Donation Forms on Facebook

Alex Kellner — 2011-06-20T15:08:28+00:00

The average Facebook user spends just under one full day a month browsing the world's top social network. That's a huge opportunity.

But because many of these users are reluctant to leave the network, nonprofits often struggle to monetize this face time.

That's why we recently rolled out a new feature of the BSD Tools: You can now embed our secure donation forms right into your Facebook Page. Check it out:

If you’re interested in getting Facebook-enabled donation forms, and the many other features of the BSD Tools suite, take them for a test drive.

Alex Kellner is a senior communications strategist at Blue State Digital.

Conceptual Prototyping: How to Look Beyond the Past in Web Design

Matt Ipcar — 2011-05-25T18:28:01+00:00

Jule's Verne's Albatross from Robur Le Conquerant

It can be fun to chuckle at “artist conceptions” created in the past. Google is teeming with images from the last 400-plus years, showing all manner of flying machines, spacemen, variations of the wheel, and telepresence devices. From the work of Jules Verne and Hartmut Esslinger to far less clairvoyant visionaries working for Punch’s, Popular Mechanics, or multinational corporations, value has long been seen in having designers visualize “that which could be.”

Too often, however, web designers only look to the past — site traffic, established user behaviors, predetermined campaign benchmarks, and so forth. While this process is necessary (and often fascinating), it does little to help your organization figure out where it’s going, especially if you’re mired in internal decision-making challenges that might well be a product of that history.

In cases like these, quickly executed glimpses into the future, in the form of vision concepts and website mockups, can have the biggest impact, and get the ball rolling toward real transformative change.

The hard part, of course, is grounding these visionary exercises in the real world. Here are some tips for doing just that.

Step #1: See what flies.

A new logo or tagline? A new color palette? Try these things out, while containing them in a process separate from a redesign or site realignment. When conceptualizing a new site for surfrider.org, for example, we sketched a number of few-holds-barred concepts before even thinking about the data.

Sometimes a well liked, but risky or imaginative concept won’t fly (Like Verne’s Albatross), but they can still spark the imagination enough to greatly inspire a final design, and in some cases they can make hidden challenges known.

Tip: Site analytics can and should be part of this initial creative process. For example, if your users are clamoring for photos, maybe your website could be built around dramatic, but well tagged and categorized photography or slideshows.

Step #2: Do your research, but don’t be a slave to it.

When designing for the future, don’t be afraid of the past. A quick visit to the Wayback Machine at archive.org can give valuable (and entertaining) insight. Some of the best designs come from long-forgotten notions surrounding the original mission of the organization.

This research can also serve as a catalyst for change: It can help get people ready for the next step. Many of these hints from the past can be subtly referenced in a radical new design, while paying homage to historical sensitivities.

Keep in mind, however, that as objectives change, so do user paths and audiences — not to mention hardware.

Tip: Looking simply at home page evolution is a great way to start a conversation about the relative or perceived importance of different parts of the site.

Step #3: Set clear expectations and goals, and remember the bottom line.

After the research phase is completed, set a few ground rules: information density, preferred user path, overall brand consideration, and so forth.

Remember that the goal of conceptual prototyping isn’t to launch a website — it’s a trial of possibilities, and expectations must be set as such. It’s a way to quickly try new and different things, without the baggage and limitations imposed by everyday organizational or political constraints.

If expectations are set early on for how success is measured, this type of future-focused engagement could help improve and evolve your current site, while building excitement around future initiatives.

Tip: After the process is complete, some concepts may provoke negative responses. Use them. Think about the problem in a different way — ask questions you never had to ask before.

Matt Ipcar is design director at Blue State Digital.

Paid Search vs. Display Ads: Which Works Better to Promote Video?

Rick Raymond — 2011-05-23T15:16:48+00:00

Google has two major advertising vehicles: paid search listings via the Google Search Network and display ads that appear throughout the web, via the Google Content Network.

While a well-executed display campaign can be a very effective tactic in driving awareness and traffic, the core measures of site engagement — page views, time on site, bounce rate, etc. — typically favor search campaigns.

But what happens when you want someone to watch a video? We recently had the opportunity to test this metric, and found strong evidence to support using display ads.

The Test

Recently, a client asked us to promote a video embedded on their website. We knew we wanted Google to supply the traffic, but we needed to determine where to place the ads.

So we set up two campaigns on AdWords: one for the Google Search Network and one for the Google Display Network. Once the test began, the general pattern of site engagement held true: Compared to visitors from display ads, visitors from search ads averaged 52% more pages per visit and 76% more time on the site. The bounce rate from search ads was also 9% better than display ads.

What was startling, however, was that display ads significantly outperformed search ads with regard to video views.

As the above charts show, ads from the Google Display Network converted post-click at a rate 122% higher than ads from the Google Search Network. Furthermore, the cost per view was 60% less for display ads.

Conclusion

When it came to video views, display ads outperformed search ads significantly. But why? The answer likely lies with the intent of the user at the moment of each click.

When prompted by a search ad, a user may click the link with the intent of exploring general information on a given subject and thus spend more time looking around the site; but might not be interested in a specific video. Users seeing the same ad on the content network, by contrast, are likely browsing articles and consuming rich content, and are attracted to the idea of viewing a video. These users came to the site specifically to see a video, and are therefore more likely to watch it.

Never Stop Testing

While we got some compelling info for our client in this instance, and are now able to run a better campaign, it’s hard to say what would happen in a different situation. We’ve said it before: No two online constituencies display exactly the same behavior. This is why testing and optimization are among the core aspects of our media planning approach.

Rick Raymond is an online advertising associate at Blue State Digital.

Facebook Optimization: What�s the Best Way to Increase Email Signups?

Evan Moody — 2011-05-12T16:56:02+00:00

Now that Facebook uses iFrames, organizations can embed dynamic content, including email signup fields, directly into their Facebook Pages.

The general assumption within the social media world is that Facebook users don’t like to be routed away from Facebook. This implies that it would be more effective to embed an email signup form in a Facebook Page rather than push users to an external form.

But wait: There’s also a line of thinking that Facebook users don’t like to provide their email addresses on Facebook because they’ve become conditioned to the opt-in action of “Like.”

To attempt to resolve this debate — and improve our clients’ conversions — we’ve been running a series of experiments to test the effectiveness of embedding an email signup field directly onto a Facebook Page. There’s still more testing to be done, but the results so far have been a bit surprising.

The Test

We ran two identical Facebook advertisements, one driving traffic to a petition that asks for the user’s name, email address, and ZIP code, and another linking to a Facebook Page with an iFrame containing the exact same form fields.

Everything about the forms were identical. The only variable was where they were housed: a Facebook Page versus a website landing page.

More than 14,000 clicks and 5,700 email signups later, we had results:

Dead even. With over 98% statistical significance, we concluded that there is virtually no difference in conversion rates between an email signup form embedded on a website and one embedded on a Facebook Page. While these results may not be as sexy as proving one side right and the other wrong, the data is still compelling.

Never Stop Testing

Testing and optimization are among the core aspects of our media planning approach. What may be true for one organization may not be true for another. No two online constituencies display exactly the same behavior. Every plan we put together is influenced by the results of past tests — and involves plenty of testing of its own.

Evan Moody is an online advertising associate at Blue State Digital.

SEO Isn�t Enough: How to Make Organic Traffic Matter

Will Begeny — 2011-05-03T17:25:43+00:00

Whether you’re running a rigorous search engine optimization program or just getting lucky, a significant portion of your new site visitors will find their way to you via Google.

Great, right? Maybe. All that nifty organic traffic, by itself, isn’t worth a whole lot. The tricky part is turning these incidental visits into meaningful conversions. Here are five ways to increase your chances.

Tip #1: Answer the user’s question.

If you pay close attention to your search analytics, you’ll often know what questions people are trying to answer when they arrive at a particular page on your site. Do your pages actually answer these questions? If not, consider refocusing the page content so it better addresses a typical user’s needs. If visitors don’t see what they’re looking for right away, they’ll leave — and you’ve missed your opportunity.

Tip #2: Teach users about your organization.

Using Google Analytics, study where typical visitors are landing. Maybe it’s a blog post from two years ago, or a video from last week. Determine whether these pages send the right message about what you do — and why what you’re doing matters. If a page fails the messaging test, augment the first paragraph with a clarifying sentence and a link to your mission page. If you’re a nonprofit, don’t forget to say so. Likewise, a five- to 10-word tagline in the header can give some context to every page on your site.

Tip #3: Ask users to take action.

If a page is getting sizable traffic, take advantage of the opportunity by asking those visitors to do something — anything. The ask, of course, should depend on the nature of the page. If it contains compelling information about community education programs, ask the user to donate to support these programs. On an events listing page, you might ask someone to sign up for email to find out about upcoming events in their area. Always consider the likely objective of the users who arrive at each page.

Tip #4: Bury dead content.

Google has an unfortunate bias toward older content. To Google’s bots, the page with the most inbound links looks like the best choice, even if it was posted in 2002. This might mean that your organic search traffic is routed to last year’s campaign page — not your meticulously deployed brand-new one.

To solve this problem, you have two options: (a) update the old page with new information (preferred) or (b) use a 301 redirect to route traffic from the old page to the new one.

Tip #5: Point to other relevant pages.

You should always attempt to point users to other valuable content, whether via sidebars, footers, or in the page body itself. But this is especially important on pages that pull in search traffic. The users who arrive at these pages are impressionable — and you may only have one chance to sell them on the value and utility of your website. If you have a fun interactive tool, reference it with a big bold link. If you have a more up-to-date blog post that deals with a related issue, refer to it directly in the body of the article. And don’t be shy about pointing users away from your website from time to time — if there’s a raging debate on your Facebook page, promote it and link to it.

Will Begeny is Lead SEO and Senior Content Strategist at Blue State Digital.

The It Gets Better Project: Now a Bestselling Book

Blue State Digital — 2011-04-01T21:03:53+00:00

It's not often that an online engagement campaign moves from the Internet to the world of traditional publishing. But the It Gets Better Project has been no ordinary campaign.

Launched last year by author and editor Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller — and with significant help from Blue State Digital — this crowdsourced video project was a direct response to several widely publicized suicides by gay youths in the United States. The thousands of videos uploaded to the project's YouTube account have been viewed tens of millions of times — reassuring countless young gays and lesbians that yes, life won't always be as difficult as it sometimes seems.

And now the It Gets Better Project is a bestselling book. Published by Dutton in late March, It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living is a hardcover companion to the wildly successful website, with essays and contributions from President Obama, David Sedaris, Ellen DeGeneres, Tim Gunn, Suze Orman, Hillary Clinton, Chaz Bono, Perez Hilton, and many others — both famous and not.

The book just landed at No. 16 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list. Big congrats to Dan and Terry, and to everyone who's made the It Gets Better Project such an inspiration — and such an ongoing success. It's a project that just keeps getting better.

Buy the book at Amazon »

Visit the It Gets Better Project website »

Read BSD's It Gets Better Project case study »

Blue State Digital’s Award-Winning Clients

Alex Kellner — 2011-03-14T21:57:37+00:00

Five Blue State Digital programs were awarded Pollies at the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) annual conference this past weekend. (For the full list Pollie winners, download this PDF.)

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was honored with a silver designation for Best Use of Email. Hope Not Hate also earned a silver medal for its online public affairs campaign.

The It Gets Better project won a silver for its use of social media, and also took home two other awards.

The Pollie Awards recognize "the stars in political and public affairs communications." Take a look at the full list of BSD clients who were honored:

SILVER: International | Internet Campaign | Public Affairs
Hope Not Hate
SILVER: Internet | Best Use of Email | Miscellaneous
NAACP — Scott Sisters
SILVER: Internet | Best Use of Social Media | Public Affairs
It Gets Better Project
BRONZE: Internet | State/Local Website | Public Affairs
Let's Save Michigan — Poster Contest
BRONZE: Internet | Best Use of New Technology
It Gets Better Project
HONORABLE MENTION: International | Internet Campaign | Candidate
Dilma Rousseff for President (Brazil)
HONORABLE MENTION: Internet | National Website | Public Affairs
It Gets Better Project

Live Tweeting: 5 Tips for Using Twitter at a Conference or Event

Ryan Davis — 2011-03-11T18:51:08+00:00

Attend a conference these days and you’re likely to find a bigger conversation about the keynote speaker online than in the lobby.

And I’m not just talking about SXSW or a techie expo. In the past five years, there’s been an explosion in real-time coverage of all sorts of events via Facebook, blogs, and, most important, Twitter. Last fall, for example, the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly inspired nearly 6,000 tweets, covering everything from official announcements to follow-up discussions.

But quality online discourse via social media isn’t an automatic phenomenon. It will require some planning and legwork, of course, but here are some tips to help you pull off a great Twitter presence at your next event.

1. Pick a hashtag early.

Make sure your tag is specific (and not being used by other events), and start using it before the actual event to get your Followers accustomed to using it too.

2. Tell people to Tweet.

Include the hashtag in any promotional materials and post signs at your event that remind people to tweet. JFNA had signs with the hashtag on each floor, for example. You can also show off the latest tweets on TV monitors at the event by setting up TweetDeck and just searching for the hashtag.

3. Tweet often.

From your official account, tweet the day’s schedule every morning, or tweet quotes from speakers as they say them, or tweet questions, or tips, or links to press coverage — whatever you think your Followers might care to hear, tweet it.

4. Ask your speakers to tweet.

Inform all the event speakers about the hashtag so they can use it when tweeting about the event. Note that this can also be a great way to grow your overall following.

5. Save all the tweets from the conference.

Twapper Keeper, a free service, will archive tweets with a specific hashtag. Just be sure to set it up before the event.

Ryan Davis is Director of Social Media Strategy at Blue State Digital.

YouTube’s Call-to-Action Overlay Isn’t Enough: Drive More Action With Description Links

Soo Kusumpa — 2011-03-09T19:45:11+00:00

YouTube’s call-to-action overlay, a feature found in both their Nonprofit program and on Promoted Videos, is great at driving site traffic. But it's not enough. You can get even more site traffic by adding a link to your video's description.

We've done this for multiple clients and the results so far have been a little surprising — when a video has both an overlay and a description link, the description link performs better. We've measured roughly four times as many description link site visits than overlay site visits. And there were seven times as many sign ups from description links than from overlays.

Overlay or no overlay, put a link in your video's YouTube description. For any brand or cause, these links will translate to site visits, signups, and donations.

Currently, YouTube is rolling out a new call-to-action overlay design. The new design is smaller, more translucent, and looks exactly like YouTube’s paid advertising overlays:


Old Overlay		New Overlay

Will the new design perform better? We’ll keep you posted.

Soo Kusumpa is a Video Strategist and Analyst at Blue State Digital.