What Are Your Assets?

One blogger I really like is Seth Godin. He offers a daily blog that is short, sweet & easy to repeat.

This morning, he talked about assets. Here's a quick summary:
"For a marketer, an asset is a tool or a platform, something you can use over and over without using it up. In fact, it's something that gets better the more you invest. Running an ad is an expense. Building a brand people trust is an asset. Buying a trade show booth is an expense. Having a permission marketing list of people who want to get anticipated, personal and relevant emails from you is an asset. The challenge in growing a business is in building assets daily, and doing it for less money than those assets end up being worth. Your expenses should generate assets."

So, what are your assets? And, what are you doing to build your assets.

Seth's thougths made be think back to my work last Sunday facilitator an association's board discussion about marketing ... specifically whether the association should launch a business to business marketing program for its industry.

During the discussion, I realized they viewed Drake & Company as an "expert" in marketing for associations and industry groups. This hit me in the same way as when a community association PR director called me summer because "I've been told you are the social media experts."

Isn't this reputation part of our brand? Our assets? And, if so, how did we accumulate these assets?

Well, here are a few thoughts on that:

• by doing great work and creating a body of work that demonstrates our expertise
• by participating in our trade association ... and, I mean getting involved. Speaking at conferences. Serving as an association leader.
• by speaking and presenting at local and national conferences. And, sharing those presentations on SlideShare and other file sharing systems.
• by freely sharing cause marketing or social media advice to associations and AMC owners.
• by taking the initiative to write and successfully submit a grant that generates $20,000 for one of your client's conventions.
• by networking and providing information free ... as when our staff conducted a social media workshop for out-of-work executives or when I provided free facilitation about industry marketing to a trade association.

Walt Seifert, my PR prof at Ohio State, put it simply when he said it's about "doing good and getting caught." He often talked about making "deposits in the bank of good will."

So, what are you and your company or association doing to build your assets in the bank of good will?

When was the last time you gave a presentation at a conference? Or, provided free advice and consulting to an individual or another organization?

Make some deposits in your bank of good will today!

Steve

Board Meeting Boot Camp

I'm at the tail end of preparations for my first board meeting with the Dairy Calf & Heifer Association. To say I'm a little nervous is an understatement. I've been working with the organization for three months, but have not met the majority of the board yet. Not only will this meeting give me that opportunity, but it will also be their first chance to "test" my leadership skills. Yep, nerves are definitely surfacing.

I suppose I'm nervous because of my past experience with board meetings. I guess you could say I was trained in "board meeting boot camp." The organization I previously worked for closely evaluated their staff's work during board meetings. They watched you dot your "I's" and cross your "T's" and if one slipped by you, they were quick to point it out. It was tough getting through those board meetings, but I can guarantee I learned how to think on my feet and prepare for anything and everything. I'm grateful for the training I received during "boot camp," and am certain it will help me be successful with DCHA.

I'm also nervous because I have yet to meet the full board. One of my DrakeCo colleagues, Becky Hadley, wrote a blog earlier this month about working for individuals she's never met (http://blog.drakeco.com/2009/09/working-together-apart.html). The thoughts in her blog are probably shared with a majority of those working in association management. We often have to build relationships with people via phone or e-mail, and we rely on our relationship skills to build them successfully.

That's one more thing that I learned in "boot camp" - how to build a solid, professional relationship. I learned to base those relationships on honesty, creativity and integrity - core characteristics that I carry with me every day. So as exhausting and frustrating as "boot camp" may have been, I learned a great deal. Along with my leadership skills, the relationships I've built with the DCHA board will be tested in person at this first board meeting. And thanks to my "boot camp" training, I'm looking for it to be a success.

Tailgating and Ad Reservations

For me fall is a busy time of year. During the college football season, if my team has a home game, chances are I’ll be there cheering them on (after driving 300 miles to get there). When I thought of all the things on my “To Do” list for football weekends, it reminded me quite a bit of my “To Do” list at Drake & Company to schedule ad reservations for 2010. Surprisingly, the tasks are very similar.

For Tailgate Weekends

1. Do the prep work – arrange for a house sitter to come. Write out care instructions for the pets.
2. Check out weather forecast to determine what I need to pack – you can never have enough clothing with the team logo on it, in school colors, of course.
3. Contact tailgating friends to see who’s bringing what to the gathering – salads, casseroles, appetizers, brownies (my specialty!), etc.
4. Enjoy catching up with tailgating friends, people you have been sitting next to at the games for years and making new friends!
   

For 2010 Ad Space Reservations

1. Do the prep work – update rate cards and ad contracts. Develop or rewrite brochures/PDFs for tips, webinars and sponsor packages.
2. Check with current advertisers to determine if their current ad schedule is serving their needs. Help them determine how their 2010 ad “forecast” can be packaged into your ad offerings.
3. Once advertisers/sponsors are on board for 2010, contact them to be sure that you have everything you need for a winning ad season – new ad materials, updated logos in the company’s colors, new URL links, etc.
4. And last but not least, enjoy reconnecting with longtime company contacts ad agency reps and making new relationships with new companies/contacts!
   

So get started on your “To Do” list for your 2010 ad placements. With effort and lots of enthusiasm, your client (team) can be an ad revenue (game) winner!

Transition

So you read last week that we signed an agreement with the International Fruit Tree Association to become their full service management firm. This week was the official start date of that agreement and we have been chugging away at a LOOOOONG list of tasks to complete to make the full transition.

This is the first new client for whom I have been named the account executive, so while I've seen many new associations get transitioned in to the DrakeCo purvue, this is in many ways a new experience for me.

It becomes brutally clear right away that this simply isn't possible without a team approach. And part of our transition team is on vacation this week fishing in Canada ....grrrrhhh. (Jealousy rears its ugly head). We've mostly been dealing with transferring ownership of monies, bank accounts and working on getting an audit going. Dianne, our Finance Manager, has been helping with all of this. Thank goodness, because banking is not my strong suit. But that's kinda the point...we all have strengths and weaknesses, and we learn to rely on each other to compliment one another to get the job done right for our clients.

On a personal note, I'm also getting ready for my first duathlon on September 26. It's not a really long race, but it's making me a little nervous nonetheless. It's set up as a run - bike - run race so I'll be dealing with a whole different set of "transition" issues. HA!

How Do You Measure Your Social Media Efforts?

Some of our recent bloggers have addressed the challenges and opportunities presented by social media. But when all is said and done, how do we know our efforts are making a difference? How do we know we're actually reaching anyone? How do we set goals for increasing our reach and impact if we don't know where we stand now? That's just one of the discussions we've had around the office.

If you have a company or association Web site, chances are that you're tracking its Web statistics, whether through Google Analytics, another Web tracking service or a customized application. These Web metrics, if monitored frequently, can help you determine the number of visitors coming to your site, how they're getting there, how long they're staying, where they go once on your site and other trends.

These are valuable stats - but how do they transfer to the world of social media, where interactivity is key?

I'm not sure anyone has the answer just yet (and if you do - please share!), but here's one way to go about it.

1. Start today. Even if you're just getting started with Facebook or Twitter, now's the time to start tracking. Getting a baseline helps you set goals for the future and measure whether you've been able to accomplish these goals.
2. Determine the key stats or metrics for your social media strategy. If you only have a presence on one social media site, this should be pretty simple. But in the case of many of our clients, we're measuring across multiple sites - Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. In my opinion, the more stats the better - as these can help give you a clear overall picture of your social media efforts.
3. Create a spreadsheet for these metrics. It may sound simplistic, but for one of our clients, we created a basic Excel spreadsheet with each metric as a column header. For example, on Twitter, we look at not only the number of followers but also the average number of Tweets per month. On our blogs, we look at subscribers and the number of blog posts and comments per month. This helps us, as staff, stay on top of our goals in terms of posting and content as well as measure whether these efforts are reaching others outside our organization. I prefer to keep all of our sites on one spreadsheet so that you can easily compare and contrast the effectiveness of different social media sites. For example, if we've had a huge increase in our Twitter followers but our Facebook page is stagnant, it might be a sign that we need to devote a bit more time in this area.
4. Set goals and track your results frequently. Stats are only helpful if you take the time to record and review them. We update our stats monthly - but you'll need to figure out what works for your organization.

As I said, this is just one way to go about it -- and who knows how we might tweak this strategy in the future. Have an idea that's working for your association? Let us know!

Job Opening with DrakeCo

POSITION DESCRIPTION
Program Assistant/Intern

REQUIREMENTS

1. Qualified individual will be working toward or possess a Bachelors degree in a related field.
2. Desired experience includes project management, event coordination, writing, editing, proofreading and social media.
3. Position requires the ability to work with others to produce marketing and communication materials, increase membership, execute public relations projects, plan meetings and work with volunteers and staff to implement specific projects.
4. Must enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and possess the ability to prioritize projects and multi-task.
5. Travel may be required.
6. Position is temporary, part-time, up to 35 hours per week through December 31, 2009. An outstanding candidate may be considered for full-time employment.
   

DESCRIPTION OF POSITION
The Program Assistant/Intern is a temporary, part-time, hands-on job that includes significant detail work and responsibility. Specifically, this position will:

Alpha Zeta
Alpha Zeta is an honorary, professional society for the agricultural and natural resources fields. The organization has more than 3,000 student members at 74 universities across the country and represents more than 125,000 alumni world-wide.

• Produce and distribute semi-monthly e-newsletters to student members, advisors and stakeholders.
• Produce and distribute four to six direct mail donation/dues solicitations to alumni.
• Manage chapter relationships including contacting chapter student leaders and advisors.
• Manage client web site, including posting new information, sponsor logos, program updates, etc.
• Assist with Board of Directors communications, including meeting notices, room scheduling, preparation of meeting binders, minutes distribution, maintaining and updating contact lists, etc.
• Coordinate NALC program and events with chapter leaders and the Executive Director.
• Coordinate/execute Service Leadership Initiative (farming/rural community service project(s))
• Produce/coordinate client social media strategy including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blog and Webinars.

Christmas Spirit Foundation (CSF)
CSF’s mission is to enhance the spirit of Christmas for kids, families and the environment. Its Trees for Troops program has furnished more than 50,000 real Christmas trees to active duty troops and their families. This position will focus on two programs.

TweetUp4Troops – Locally hosted events to honor veterans, raise funds for our Trees for Troops program, and have fun. Tasks for this program include:

• Encourage people to sign up to host events and work with other staff to provide support to volunteers.
• Research means to expand the reach of our Twitter accounts -- find key influencers and enlist their help in getting the word out to their followers.
• Research and tweet about relevant content / related events that will increase the value of following CSF on Twitter.
• Seek out and contact restaurant chains and others that might offer facilities for TweetUp4Troops events.
• Seek out potential corporate sponsors for TweetUp4Troops events.
• Research and make contact with various associations, businesses and service organizations and encourage them to ask their members / employees / customers to host events.
• Assist with PR efforts and media inquiries.

Share The Spirit Campaign – This new program is encouraging the public to share their stories about how they share the Spirit of Christmas by leaving messages on the CSF web site. The aim is that sharing the best stories will encourage more people to share the spirit. Tasks for this program include:

• Edit consumer submissions and prepare for distribution via web site, e-mails and other means.
• Respond to consumer questions via phone and e-mail.
• Assist with PR efforts and media inquiries.

Other projects and tasks as assigned.

ABOUT US
DrakeCo, a St. Louis-based, accredited association management company, serves as the headquarters and staff for 10 membership-based professional and industry organizations and non-profit foundations. DrakeCo provides services such as financial management, membership relations, marketing, communications, meeting and event planning, technology and database development, strategic planning and educational program implementation. With a staff of 22 association professionals, DrakeCo offers its employees an outstanding environment for personal and professional growth.

BENEFITS

• $10/hour compensation.
• Valuable experience working with good causes.
• Outstanding candidate may be considered for full-time employment.
• Holiday time off: DrakeCo offices are closed: Nov. 26-27; Dec. 24-25, 31.
  

RELATIONSHIPS
Reports to: AZ Executive Director; CSF Executive Director
Relationships with: Member Services Manager; Meetings Coordinator; Finance Manager; and other DrakeCo staff.

Apply to:
Pam Helmsing, Account Executive
Drake & Company
16020 Swingley Ridge Road, Suite 300
Chesterfield
(636) 449-5050
helmsing@drakeco.com

Persistence is Key

Social media, online networks, Web 2.0 - these are all names I continually hear for the online systems connecting us together. We may be linked; you could be my friend, or perhaps my follower; however our online relationship is defined, it is important to identify how you can make it work for your association without getting burnt out.

Nicole Fischer's recent blog post lent some great insight into getting organized and not letting the social media atmosphere overwhelm you. When you have found a level of comfort, you should then make it a priority to grow your fan/follower base and get them involved in your social media conversation. This is where my greatest frustrations with social media lie. Although, like you have just read, I myself have read in countless articles about social media that the key to a successful page is to involve your friends/fans/followers and make the page conversational. The part that so many articles and experts tend to leave out is exactly how to do so.

As I worked to grow the fan base and fan participation of NCTA's Facebook Fan Page (Christmas Trees & Wreaths - come on now, no one can avoid a shameless plug!) I found that all of my thoughtful attempts were yielding unsuccessful results. Why is that all 50 of our fans were Facebook friends of someone in the office? Why were the only wall posts from the NCTA staff? And, why was no one commenting on my interesting status updates?

That was the case, until I began to notice fans I didn't recognize, ones that sought out our page on their own! And then, my greatest confidence boost, a fan commented on one of our daily status updates. Yes, I realize this is no large feat, in fact it is quite small, but I have learned to celebrate the small victories and persist, the large ones will follow. So persist I did. I have continually looked for new and interesting things to post and many days, I receive no response, but learning that persistence is key has been my most important lesson learned when it comes to social media. Continue to put your association out there in the world of social media, it will eventually pay you back.

International Fruit Tree Association retains Drake & Company for association management

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – Starting September 16 the International Fruit Tree Association will have a new address.

IFTA has retained Drake & Company, an accredited association management firm, to serve as the association’s headquarters and staff. DrakeCo replaces Susan Pheasant, who has served as IFTA executive director since 2004.

“The retirement of Susan Pheasant as Executive Director of IFTA has provided an opportunity for some soul searching on behalf of the IFTA Board as to what we want for our association in the future,” said IFTA President Larry Lutz. “Traditionally, we have relied on the services of one or two part time individuals to manage all aspects of our affairs. By partnering with DrakeCo, we expect to take advantage of the multiple individuals they employ who are specialists in their own disciplines.”

Rick Dungey, a veteran account executive with DrakeCo, will serve as executive director for IFTA. Most recently, Dungey has led the MidStates Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association as executive director and managed public relations for the National Christmas Tree Association.

“We’re excited to bring IFTA on board,” Dungey said. “We’re still learning the fruit tree industry, but with our experience in administration, event planning, member relations, educational program development and financial operations for other agricultural associations and nonprofits, we have the tools to meet the needs of IFTA members and the industry. It’s going to be a great partnership.”

Effective September 16, the IFTA’s new address and phone number will be:

International Fruit Tree Association
16020 Swingley Ridge Road, Suite 300
Chesterfield, MO 63017
Phone: (636) 449-5083
Fax: (636) 449-5051

The IFTA web site, www.ifruittree.org, will remain. Dungey can be reached via e-mail at dungey@ifruittree.org.

The IFTA Board of Directors saw the reliance on an individual as a concern because one person is expected to be an expert in all areas – from tree fruit production to book keeping to acting as a travel agent. DrakeCo offers IFTA specialists in organizational functions such as accounting, public relations and meeting planning, and will engage members and fruit tree experts to provide production and industry-specific advice.

Members may notice an increased presence of the president, other board members and industry experts at IFTA tours and conferences, as Dungey will act more in a management role than an educational one, Lutz said. Otherwise, a smooth transition from Pheasant’s leadership to DrakeCo is expected.

“The only bump members should notice is the change of address and phone number,” Dungey said.

Lutz and the IFTA Board of Directors are excited for the future of the organization.

“Drake & Company comes highly recommended by other agricultural organizations who utilize their management services, and we are very excited about where this partnership will take our association in the future,” Lutz added. “We anticipate that this change will result in increased service to our members and more comprehensive reporting back to the IFTA Board.”

The International Fruit Tree Association was established in 1958 "to promote an understanding of the nature and use of dwarf fruit trees through research, education and dissemination of information." In furtherance of its mission, to be the leading international organization advancing intensive orchard systems, IFTA conducts an annual educational conference, publishes the Compact Fruit Tree journal, leads an annual orchard tour, sponsors tree fruit study tours and provides funding for research projects. For more information about IFTA, go to: www.ifruittree.org.

Drake & Company is a full-service, AMC Institute-accredited, association management company. DrakeCo serves as the headquarters and staff for leading national and international associations and specializes in management of trade, industry and individual member-based associations. Since its establishment in 1992, DrakeCo has made a name for itself by growing its clients’ membership, creating new associations and developing award-winning cause-related marketing initiatives such as the Trees for Troops campaign.

For more information about Drake & Company, go to: www.drakeco.com or contact Steve Drake.

Media Contact
Brian Reuwee
(636) 449-5050
info@drakeco.com

Working Together, Apart

Next month I’m going to Miami Beach, Florida to help put on the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) for one of my clients, the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare (AACH). The preparation for this conference has required innumerous hours and a great deal of communication between our client team at Drake & Company and the scientific committee of the conference (including our vendors, sponsors, attendees, etc!). While I am excited to experience the largest annual gathering of researchers, educators and administrators from around the globe to focus on improving communication in healthcare there is one thing that I’m excited about more than anything (and it isn’t the ocean!). I will finally shake hands with the people whom I’ve worked with for over a year, but have never met!

That’s right. I have never met any AACH member, even those I talk to on the phone or via email each day. That is one of the most interesting aspects of working for an association management company like Drake & Company. Since our members are spread out all over the world we normally don’t get to meet up with them until a conference or special meeting. We work closely with our members, especially those who serve on the executive board or in committees, but we rarely see them. Over time we learn about their lives, their families and their careers. It is like having a super pen-pal; we’re “doing good” as we remotely work together to forward AACH’s mission and values.

When I started working at Drake & Company I didn’t have much knowledge about communication in healthcare. With the help of our members and leaders in the organization, however, I quickly learned about a really fascinating industry and group of people. I talk and work with our members so often that I feel like I already know them and have worked with them for years. The rewarding challenge of association management, for me, is that I can work well as a team and accomplish goals with people I have never met. I think the fact that this is possible (and the fact that it works) is a testament to both our clients and our company.

I’m definitely looking forward to putting faces with names next month!

Social Media Challenges

Is social media just a fad or is it a new way of communicating and distributing information? While I think there are some social media sites that have been more popular at certain times than others, our company takes the stance that social media is important and here to stay. Although I may be biased, I do believe that Drake & Company employees do a great job of staying ahead of the curve on using and understanding social media and helping our clients take advantage of this new means of communication.

Personally, however, I have run into some challenges with using social media. For me, it can be overwhelming. At a staff meeting a couple of weeks ago I heard that if Facebook were a country it would be the 7th largest nation. Today I saw on a YouTube video about social media that if it were a country, it would be the 4th largest country! Although it is overwhelming, maybe I can help by sharing some of my challenges with you and how I'm working through them.

My 1st challenge: What do I say?

This may seem silly, but often I find myself looking at the Twitter screen thinking "Ok what do I say?" I tweet for our client, the Christmas Spirit Foundation and when it is not Christmas it can be difficult to think of what to say. To help with this writer's block (if you can call it that with only 140 characters) I have started to receive Google alerts with the words, "Chritmas Spirit". Often I receive stories of how people in communities around the country are spreading the Christmas Spirit and I share these stories. Also, I try to find good content from others and retweet that information.

My 2nd challenge: How much time should I be spending Tweeting or on Facebook?
Once you start tweeting or facebooking you will find that there is a lot of content and it is easy to spend a lot of time going through the content. I have decided to tweet or post a comment at least once a day. Then, I periodically monitor TweetDeck throughout the day to see what others are saying. This helps me to keep a balance between spending too much time on social media sites or not enough.

My 3rd challenge: Staying organized

Lately I have been following more folks on Twitter. It is easy to forget who they are or why I decided to follow them. TweetDeck allows you to categorize those you are following into groups. For example, I tweet for the Trees4Troops page and I have people categorized into military support charities, children's charities and social media tweeters. However, it takes time to put these tweeters into their appropriate category. To resolve this problem, I try to organize my new tweeters into their appropriate category at least once a week.

My advice for not getting overwhelmed with social media is to take a breath, post content at least once a day and stay organized. Good luck!