Archive for June, 2009

A Primer on Google Alerts

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Previous Communication Methods

Here at RCG we love the world of social media and how it is transforming how people communicate with each other, how advertisers/marketers spread their message, and how it can connect us with each other in ways that makes the world seem smaller.

We could go on all day about the ins, outs and benefits of social media. But, today we want to touch on the first step into the world of social media: discovering what conversations are already happening (especially conversations about you – or your organization).

There are two ways to do this. First, you can spend hours each week searching the web for mentions of your organization. You may find a few news sources or blogs that make regular mention of your association, or a topic that is related to services you provide. But, it can be a very time consuming effort that gives you little information. So, we recommend the second option: using Google Alerts, a free tool that is praised by many.

The beauty of Google Alerts is that it searches the web for conversations about whatever topic you are interested in, and it brings those conversations to you – instead of you pulling your hair out while trying to rummage through inactive blogs and old forums.

It’s fairly simple to use and customize to how you prefer to receive information online. You can even set it up to “alert” you about your topic on specific websites, for example, if you are an association providing services related to victims of crime in the DC area, you can set a Google Alert for articles from the Washington Post’s website about “victim’s rights”. Whenever an article with that phrase appears, you will receive an email with a link to the article.

We hope you can see how this might be a useful tool for your organization. Here are some tips on how to get started:

  • Set up an account by visiting Google.com and going to the “Google Alerts” page.
  • Select your keywords or phrases that you want to be notified about.
  • Use quotations around phrases. For example, “North Carolina Association of Chicken Farmers”.
  • If you want to set up an alert for a specific site use this combination: “chicken farmers” site:washingtonpost.com.

This tool can help you easily target communities that are having conversations relevant to your organization. Without much effort, you have the opportunity to target your message to people who are interested and possibly in need of your services. So, go and hear what is being said about your organization. Then you can start to interact in these conversations and you might become as amazed with social media as we are.

Rottman Creative Group

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Rottman Creative Group | Comments Off

Direct Mail + Social Media Marketing = Fundraising Success!

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

easy tips to help nonprofits

To compliment our recent Whitespace Newsletter about conference marketing success by integrating direct mail and social media, we put together a few tips for our nonprofit friends who are slightly more interested in fundraising.

We’ve put together 4 easy tips to help nonprofits:

  • Engage previous supporters
  • Find new prospects
  • Convert prospects to donors
  • Raise more money without greatly increasing your budget

Tip #1

Let supporters know about your presence on social networking sites. In addition to finding supporters on Facebook and LinkedIn with your current email list, you can also inform them about connecting with the nonprofit through these channels with short blurbs on direct mail pieces, emails and the organization’s website.

Tip #2

Respond to feedback from social networking sites, and share it with supporters who are likely keeping up with the organization through direct mail or email. The nature of social networking is that it allows users to provide instant feedback – the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly. We’re not going to touch on how to handle the bad or the ugly, but we think you should sing the good feedback from the rooftops! Well, not exactly, but we do recommend you share it on direct mail pieces and emails, just like any other testimonial.

Tip #3

Integrate the campaign logo and theme across all mediums. Some organizations feel that their online marketing has to have a different “brand” than the rest of their marketing. This has potential to confuse the audience. We recommend using the same logo and theme for your fundraising campaign, despite how you are communicating with potential supporters. However, this does not mean you can use the exact same message, word-for-word on your direct mail piece as used on the nonprofit’s Facebook Fan page.

Tip #4

A popular trend (and useful tool) on Twitter is to tag posts with a hash tag (#), plus a keyword. This helps identify what the post is about, but also makes it easy to find when conducting searches. One of the most popular tags is #charitytuesday. This tag is used, you guessed it, on Tuesdays. Twitter users will post something about their favorite nonprofit and include this tag, hoping that the post will help raise awareness.

Alerting Twitter followers about upcoming direct mail pieces will peak their interest and let them know you need their help in raising awareness about the campaign. This is a great opportunity for nonprofits during a fundraising campaign with the potential to encourage matching gifts and referrals.

Rottman Creative Group

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in robbie | Comments Off

What is social media marketing?

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

What is social media marketing?

Fairly soon your lives will be enriched with another edition of our newsletter, White Space. This month’s topic is on integrating social media marketing and direct mail – safely and effectively! But, we thought it might be best to have a quick and dirty lesson on social media marketing.

Let’s start with seeing what Wikipedia has to say:

“Social media marketing is an engagement with online communities to generate exposure, opportunity and sales. The number-one advantage is generating exposure for the business, followed by increasing traffic and building new business partnerships. Common social media marketing tools include Twitter, Blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.”

Social media marketing is…

  • A conversation. Brands/companies/organizations talk to consumers, consumers talk about, – most importantly consumers talk to each other.
  • Word of mouth advertising.
  • A chance to hear what people are saying about you, because whether or not you join the conversation – they are still going to talk about you.


Social media marketing is not…

  • A trend. It’s a shift in how we communicate.
  • Simply joining Facebook. You have to participate.
  • Going to ruin your reputation (if you are wise about it).
  • Controlling online conversations. It is about listening and engaging.

Rottman Creative Group

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Rottman Creative Group | Comments Off

Relief Effort for Pakistani Refugees

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Text "SWAT" to 20222 - Donate $5

Recently we were asked to create an ad for a unique national campaign to raise funds to support Pakistani Refugees fleeing war-torn Swat Valley. As the number of men, women and children recently uprooted by the conflict in north-west Pakistan neared 2.4 million, the UN Refugee Agency stated that it is “absolutely essential” that the international community mount an immediate and massive humanitarian response. This campaign was kicked off by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she asked the American people to join in the world-wide humanitarian effort in Pakistan:

“Now, Americans can use technology to help, as well. Using your cell phones, Americans can text the word “Swat” — to the number 20222 and make a $5 contribution that will help the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provide tents, clothing, food, and medicine to hundreds of thousands of affected people. And before I came over here, we did that in the State Department. So we are making some of the first donations to this fund.”

It’s an honor for us to participate in a campaign that can easily positively impact the lives of people in dire need of basics for survival. After learning about the magnitude of this refugee crisis, we set forth to design web and print ads. Here’s a little tip for nonprofits – we were able to obtain amazing pictures of refugees from the Associated Press. The photos they shared with us tell the story of desperation, need and hope better than we could explain with words. The AP is often willing to share their photos with nonprofits, and will typically offer them at a reasonable price.

Keep an eye out for our ad to appear in some national publications, but more importantly we hope you participate in the campaign. To learn more, visit www.unrefugees.org.

Rottman Creative Group

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Rottman Creative Group | Comments Off