UNHCE Information Technology & Distance Education Blog: Social Marketing Archives

Jim Langcuster, Extension Communications Specialist at Alabama Cooperative Extension makes a persuasive case for adoption of social media and online networks by Extension professionals.

Gateway to Health Communication & Social Marketing Practice is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website with some great information:

Whether you are looking for tips for analyzing and segmenting an audience, choosing appropriate channels and tools, or evaluating the success of your messages or campaigns, it's all here in one place!

I found it because Andrea Talbot and Gail Kennedy recommended a PDF they have available there - Social Media Toolkit.

Thanks Andrea and Gail for the pointer!

Join a webinar on Friday 10/7/2011 at 1PM EDT about Twitter #Hashtags for conferences, causes, chats, and connecting with people of similar interests.

More information:

http://www.extension.org/learn/event/306

via @ndbob on Scoop.it : Available now: a guide to using Twitter in university research, teaching and impact activities (The London School of Economics and Political Science)

Google+ is the new kid on the block in the social networking space, but is already extremely popular and usable. You can use Google+ to share information, links, and photos, as well as, having a cool video conferencing feature built in. If you'd like to learn more and get started using it, I'd recommend you read this guide: Google+: The Survival Guide for a Photographer's Paradise v2.0 It has specific information for how a photographer can use the network, but does a great job of detailing all of the Google+ features.

If you do decide to join Google+, let me know by adding me to one of your circles (+Stephen Judd).

Are you new to Twitter or interested in learning what it's all about? North Dakota State University Extension is running a "5-week course will immerse participants in using Twitter for building learning networks." The course, which includes a series of webinars and is free, will have you learn by doing.

For more information, and to register, see: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/agcomm/training/twitter-cohort/twitter-cohort

I am the chair of the eXtension Network Literacy Community of Practice (CoP). Over the coming months, we will be rolling out a number of resources aimed at helping professionals get more involved in online networks to enhance their professional development and engage their colleagues and clints in collaborative learning networks.

Please take a few minutes to read our first blog post, which includes this explanation:

This is why a big part of the Network Literacy effort will involve helping professionals become comfortable with online social networking  tools and then to begin building and sustaining collaborative relationships within emerging networks.

A critical first step will be learning how to help professionals gain sufficient levels of what networking visionary Thomas Vander Wal describes as social comfort, namely learning how to build networks in which participants not only feel comfortable among each other but also with the technological tools and subject matter.

This is the charge of the Network Literacy effort: to build a new-model worker adequately equipped and inspired to use emerging networks to forge close, highly collaborative relationships with their clients.

On Monday October 3rd at 2PM EDT, the CoP will be hosting a webinar to discuss Netwrok Literacy, what it means, and how we will be engaging Extension professionals. Please see http://www.extension.org/learn/event/303 for more information.

If you have any questions about Network Literacy, or would like to share how you are using online networks in your work, please leave a comment below.

News Media Relations for Extension Educators (August 26, 2011, Mission Extension: The Weblog)

Despite all that's happening with new forms of media, especially social media, our success as Extension educators will still depend on how well we cultivate strong working relationships with media gatekeepers.  We will not be as effective getting out our diverse messages unless we know who these gatekeepers are and, equally important, how to work with them.

A series of podcasts about how Extension Educators can work with the media and media gatekeepers to get their story out.

7 Things Nonprofits Can Talk About on Facebook Besides Themselves (8/22/2011, socialstrand.com)

But there are other things besides press opportunities and fundraising or awareness events that your fans are interested in learning more about. As I've talked about before, social media is about being social, so when you talk only about yourself or your organization, it gets old quickly. Spice it up.

What is Online Engagement? - Anne Adrian, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Wednesday, October 7, 2009

While I talk to various groups about the value of social media, I try to help them think about using social media for their own learning, for collaboration, and for engagement.

Almost always in these discussions, participants think of using these tools to broadcast information. "We can use Twitter to publicize a new blog post." These suggestions are great, and absolutely can be used.

But then, I try to move the conversation to how social media brings many other benefits that we have not been able to capture in typical web pages. One power of social media tools is the ability to engage others.

Posted by sjudd at 9:48 AM

Of particular interest and relevance, The Mobile Difference, Twitter and Status Updating, Boomers Zero in on Social Networks and Study: Technology can overwhelm even 20-somethings.