Group+2+Resource+Media+-+Pacific+Ocean


 * Resource Media - Pacific Ocean**

Participant Name: Nicole Lampe Web Site: http://www.resource-media.org Email: nicole@resource-media.org Phone: 503-719-5626


 * Social Media Presences**

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/caloceans Blog: YouTube: Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thepacificocean LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/resource-media Listening:

After each session, use the wiki journal to jot down key takeaways, ahas, next action steps, or questions.
 * Wiki Journal**

Orientation: Overview of the Peer Exchange and answer questions July 13, 2011 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST

I was astonished to hear that most folks in this group commit 10 staff hours per week to social media. Of course, we're not a representative sample of NGOs, since we've all opted in to this exchange, but that is still impressive given the state of NGO communications these days. Really great to see, especially since we are continually urging our clients to invest in social media as a way to strengthen relationships with members and donors, raise awareness about key issues, reach reporters, and track public opinion. It can feel overwhelming, of course, since there are so many tools, and so much competition for attention and traffic online, so it's great that we will be looking at ways to measure results (which will, in turn, help focus outreach efforts). Super excited to be going through this exercise, and it's definitely timely for us. For the past couple of years, having a successful Facebook or Twitter presence, in the eyes of our partners and funders, simply meant have a certain number of fans and followers that were fairly engaged (liking or retweeting content). Now, we need to show how social media work is advancing the ball on program goals or fundraising needs. And that means tracking results (or, ROI, although it sounds like Beth is not sure about that term).
 * Reflections:**

Session 1: Assessing Your Networked Nonprofit Maturity of Practice July 28 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST

Again, impressed with how advanced (mature!) many participants' social media practice is. Many of Resource Media's campaigns are still in the crawling/walking stage, and we are working hard to get them to running. For us, this means getting really clear on goals and audiences for each channel (and focusing on a pilot or two rather than spreading themselves too thin), integrating social media into overall communications and organizational strategy, committing to measurement (and establishing the infrastructure to support it), using these tools to listen and refine messages. We also have an uphill battle sometimes on the website front--some groups are excited to engage on Facebook, but have super outdated websites and don't realize how critical it is to have this homebase in good shape before developing a presence elsewhere. There is also a certain amount of "letting go" that needs to happen to have a successful social media practice. It's important to establish guidelines and a plan, but this session really underscored for me the need to build internal capacity (making social media work a part of everyone's job description), and we have also seen great results empowering external evangelists/champions. In many cases, as consultants, we inherit social media properties or come into the planning and management work mid-stream. Our challenge is to help put shape around these efforts so they actually support programmatic and policy goals.
 * Reflections:**

Lots of ideas surfacing for me on the pilot project front. There are a couple of areas in my MLPA campaign that could use some extra love, and where a focused investment and measurement could really help us be more effective. The hard part is biting off the right sized chunk, and selecting something that is a real program priority anyhow. I think I will check in with Jocelyn to talk project selection, and I'll also go through the worksheets to see if a clear direction emerges that way.

Session 2: Align Social Media Measurement With Results August 25 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST

Reflections: After this call, Jocelyn Garavoy Herbert and I had a great office hours session with Beth to talk pilot project selection. She was very clear about the need to set ourselves up for success and choose a project that would serve our campaign in addition to this working group. Jocelyn and I need to check in one final time to firm up plans, but I think we will divide and conquer, with her looking at Facebook, and me looking at Twitter, and each doing a sort of benchmarking/powermapping exercise to identify groups that are using the platforms really well to raise awareness and organize, and noting best practices and also opportunities to collaborate and grow the community.

Session 3: Why Does Bad Measurement Practice Happen To Good Nonprofits? September 22 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST

Session 4: Benchmarking: Networked Nonprofits Measure Social Media in Context October 27 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST

Session 5: Overview of Measurement Tools November 17 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST

Session 6: Transform Data into Wisdom and Reporting December 15 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST

Session 7: Reflection and Reiteration January 5 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST

Learning Culmination January 12 at 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 EST This session will be a “virtual party” to celebration the completion of the program and for participants to share what they learned through their action learning projects.