Monthly Archives: March 2009
Rules to Manage Your Online Reputation
I attended a PRSA workshop here in Chicago a couple weeks ago that focused on managing online reputation.
Of great value at the event was a handout provided by Weber Shandwick that outlined 15 Realities & 15 Rules for managing your online reputation. Weber Shandwick had commissioned the Economist Intelligence Unit to conduct a worldwide survey of 703 senior executives from 62 countries between June and July 2008.
I’d encourage you to check out the site they created as well as the free download for the full handout on their findings. Overall, there are some great statistics and tips for how to go about managing your reputation online. If your CEO or other executives are still convinced that their Web site is the only online item that requires their attention, this study should help pull things into perspective and help prompt some action.
-Scott
Google Loves Nonprofits
You’ve got a goal in mind. A mission in life. A fiery passion to create change and have a real impact upon the world. You’ve filed the paperwork, settled on a plan and now it’s time to get busy with your brand new nonprofit.
Grants and budgets may be down but technology and the Web continue to thrive. Before you begin diving into a flurry of tweets and vlogs, don’t forget to make sure you’re maximizing some of the great tools and resources Google directs at nonprofits.
In particular, see if you’re taking advantage of the following free resources:
Google Apps & Analytics
It actually wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I actually switched over to Gmail. Ridiculous, I know. Anyhow, it’s true what they say. You can pretty much run a small business from your Google account. Not a bad option to operate in the cloud, especially for nonprofits that often have limited resources or outposts all over. Google Analytics are also a stellar resource to keep tabs on those Web site stats.
Google Grants
Free online advertising is always a good thing. With no end date or need to re-apply once you’re approved, this program is a great way to attract attention and drive online Web traffic or fundraising from those that care most about your cause.
YouTube Nonprofit Program
Incredible branding opportunities, free video tips and the ability to incorporate fundraising should be enough motivation to take five minutes to fill out the application. On top of that, you can create your own ad on your videos that link outside of YouTube to help drive traffic back to your site. Well worth the minimal effort.
Google Checkout
Web fundraising made safe and easy.
-Scott
5 Tools to Help You Survey the Digital Landscape
RXA Photos
Online research and analysis is often one of the first steps taken when working with a new client or your own company to start integrating social media into a communications plan. Depending on your focus, you likely have a determined set of keywords and phrases relevant to your company, competition and the industry that you’ll be researching to mine for insight and data.
There are of course excellent companies such as Radian6 that you can use to help develop an intial analysis and assist with continuous monitoring. But what if you’re a nonprofit or small company on a tight budget or just looking to get a snapshot digital survey to demonstrate to your CEO or director that there is a need to get engaged online?
Here are 5 free tools to assist with your surveying efforts:
Google Insights
Start big. This tool will help you look at the bigger trends and access data back to 2004 on a statewide level. Still confused on utility? Take a look at this great guide Google put together for examples of how to best use the tool.
Compete.com
Some measurable component of your social media efforts will likely entail driving traffic back to your website. Compete is a great way to benchmark efforts by comparing your company’s existing site to your competitors’ sites. Basic analytics are provided with the free version with the option for more details with a Pro Account.
Whostalkin.com
From blogs to news, forums to videos, images to networks, this site is a great way to get a comprehensive look at existing online presence and conversations around keywords or topics. You will have to sort through some clutter but overall the return is very thorough.
BackType.com
Comments on news stories and blogs can obviously have a huge impact on the direction of conversation that results from readers interacting with a post or article. BackType can quickly help you track down where those conversations are taking place and who’s doing the chatting.
Search.Twitter.com
Certainly not to be ignored as Twitter continues to grow as a key site for conversation propulsion. However, take it a step further and be sure to capitalize on these 8 excellent tools to extract insights from Twitter streams (thanks @limyh !).
BONUS
BlogPulse.com
Whereas WhosTalkin’ is a comprehensive tracking site, BlogPulse can help dive deeper into trends and topical posts while even allowing you to track conversations around search results. Pair this with Google Blog Search and you’ll have the blogosphere covered.
Hope you find these useful for establishing a baseline snapshot of your digital landscape and feel free to comment with your own suggestions!
-Scott
