SocialButterfly

Quote of the Week: Failure Happens (and One Way to Avoid It)

Monday, March 15th, 2010 | Public Health, Quote of the Week, Web Communications | No Comments

This is not a boggy-too sad to read post. This is post about yes, failure, but it’s also about what can be learned from it. This week’s quote comes from Sarah Ragsdale over at the Walking the Path blog:

“Failure happens.”

However, Sarah doesn’t mope and pity in the eye of failure–instead she offers insights into why failure happens based on the text Marketing in Public Health. Sarah reviews four types of common failures when it comes to communications interventions:

1. Strategy failures occur when external barriers exist in the community that cannot be overcome by communication messages. For example, a condom usage campaign may be very effective in raising awareness, but if condoms are not available in the community, the campaign is moot.
2. Execution failures are the result of poorly constructed messaging or targeting the wrong audience. We must always remember to do our homework and study our audiences.
3. Measurement failures happen when we planned the communication strategy appropriately and delivered it well, but we had a poor evaluation strategy. Check out our post on evaluating social media.
4. Expectation failure results from overestimating the campaign’s impact in the community. Change occurred but not to the level stakeholder’s expected.

I would like to call your attention to reason number 3–measurement and evaluation. Why? Because this can be one of the easiest to avoid and is also one of the most important elements in any social marketing campaign. Think about a project that you are currently working on–do you have an evaluation strategy for your communications? If not, some resources you may find helpful are provided below:

• Pubilc Communication Campaign Evaluation (PDF)
• Guidance for Evaluation Mass Communication Health Initiatives (PDF)
• Web Analytics: An Hour a Day (for Web and social media types)
• Complete Web Monitoring (for more Web and social media types)
• Planning a Social Marketing Program Outline from Craig Lefebvre (overview)
• …and for those who want to completely geek-out with me, here is the motherload of all evaluation resources.
• (What other resources do you suggest?)

If you do have an evaluation strategy, I want to also challenge you and ask you two questions: What are you evaluating and why are evaluating it? Often, by asking these questions, you can avoid some of the other failure pitstops that Sarah mentioned. I know our team internally are asking ourselves these very questions on some great projects we are brewing up–and I look forward to continued thoughts from the team and from you. Because when it comes to “success” in social marketing, my head automatically thinks of desired behaviors, behavioral objectives and behavioral outcomes–what does your mind think of?

flickr credit: fireflythegreat

Tags: communications, communications resources, evaluation, evaluation strategy, failure, health communications, health evaluation, measurement, public health planning, Quote, resources, Social Marketing, strategic planning, Walking the Path, web analytics

Quote of the Week: From Declaration to Implementation

Monday, March 8th, 2010 | Quote of the Week | 3 Comments

Continuing this new series, I’d like to highlight a great, young mind–Akhila Kolisetty. Currently a student at Northwestern University, Akhila shares a unique willpower that refuses to be distracted and instead, stays committed and focused on international human rights.

If you want to get back in touch with what motivates you to do good, get to know Akhila. She writes with a focused idealism about how things should be–and doesn’t accepts things as they are.

In Akhila’s recent post, “The 21st Century Approach to Human Rights,” Akhila writes:

“We need to shift away from a time of declaration and into the era of implementation.”

Akhila goes on to defend her stance in the frame of human rights work–rallying for systemic transformation and change. Not only do I admire Akhila’s position, but I am also a fan of her quote. Why? Because there are many places where this quote can apply to our work. For example, some organizations and individuals get “paralysis by analysis.” They get stuck in the cycle of rehashing research and developing plans–that implementation lags behind. Don’t get me wrong–declaration of rules, appropriate research, and strategic planning are important–but implementation and execution are also necessary.

Take it to a personal level. Have you ever had a crush on someone? You plan and imagine what you will say or how to take that person out, but if you never make the ask–asking the person out–then you may have a case of paralysis by analysis.

Thank you Akhila for the great thoughts and quote. What about you–does any of this sound familiar to you or your organization?

flickr credit: Paldavo

Tags: Akhila Kolisetty, execution, Human RIghts, implementation, planning, research

Quote of the Week: A Call for More Marketing

Monday, March 1st, 2010 | Quote of the Week | 2 Comments

I’m going to try out something new called the “Quote of the Week.” To kick-off this new series, I’m starting with the best, Beth Kanter.

In Beth’s recent blog post, one of the questions she asks us is: “Can solving complex social problems be done by popular vote?” In explaining her stance on this question, Beth shares:

“Let me say this. If brands want to be authentic in their social media for social good effort, they need a fusion approach that balances marketing with social change. I think there is a hybrid option for crowd sourcing–and that there is a need for expertise.”

You need to fuse marketing with social change. This is exactly what social marketing does, and as I wrote last month, I also agree that authenticity will be key in growing organizations for the future. I love that the wealth of social marketing is beginning to reach beyond the world of public health and further into the realm of social change. I’m right there with you Beth–thank you!

How about you–What role do you think marketing has when it comes to social change?

Tags: authenticity, beth kanter, crowd sourcing, expertise, Marketing, Quote of the Week, social change, social media for social good, social problems

Beyond Marketing Gadgets, Thingymagigs and Gizmos

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 | Blog Talk, Changeblogging: NP, activism, social change +, Interesting Articles | 1 Comment

Define today’s concept of: marketing. Now, imagine yourself 40-50 years ago, and define marketing. Notice any big differences? Probably a few come to mind.

I bring this up because I was taught that to know where we are headed, we have to know and understand the past. Rewind back to 1969 when an article called “Broadening the Concept of Marketing” was published by Philip Kotler and Sidney J. Levy (remarkably–you can get a free copy online). My fellow social changers and social marketeers, it was this document that helped paved the way for careers, projects and initiatives we are doing today. It was this document that said marketing was a “societal activity” that can be applied for more than “toothpaste, soap and steel” but that marketing can be transferable to organizations (non-business organizations…aka, nonprofits), persons and ideas. IDEAS.

Fast forward to today, and we are still re-defining and evolving our concept of marketing. Take Seth Godin’s recent post about how we frame marketing.  Or better yet–he explains that marketing is what happens between the frames:

Marketing is what happens when you’re not trying, when you’re being transparent and when there’s no script in place.

With this sentence, one word comes to mind–authenticity. I see all the marketing, talk and chatter about the latest and greatest gizmo. I see people and organizations striving and racing. In between all that, there is authenticity. We must find it, and we must connect with it again if we are to truly be successful–and if we are truly going to make a difference. Makes me think, how will the idea of authenticity broaden marketing for future generations? Discuss.

flickr image credit: planigan412

Tags: academics, authenticity, concept, framing, future, gizmo, idea, ideas, Marketing, past, Philip Kotler, Seth Godin, Technology, theory

Who Pooped in Your Cereal?

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 | Changeblogging: NP, activism, social change +, Interesting Articles, SocialButterfly | 3 Comments

Sometimes, you have bad days. When those bad days hit, those are the days you could use some inspiration. Yesterday, I woke up and was inspired.

This image is taken from Franke James’ book “The Real Poop on Social Change.” In it, James delivers an important message regarding awareness vs. behavior. It’s an excellent read, and it’ll take you less than five minutes. (Warning: The text below is a bit provocative, but I think is presented just right–especially in the context of the whole story. One more reason to read it…)

Hope the image brought a smile to your face as it did to mine. Other points James’ makes that may not bring a smile to your face, but instead, infuse renewed energy to your actions:

• “Look at global warming. Lots of awareness. But how many are doing something?”
• “U.S. women have lots of awareness [about breast cancer]. But if they don’t have the money to see a doctor–what good is awareness?”

And then, I came across Sheila at LiveWell360, who I felt was so poignant in her questions that she got me thinking further about individual awareness vs. behavior battles:

• “Why do we work and work and work so that when we are 65 we can *hopefully* retire and do nothing and/or “whatever we want”… at the sacrifice of our time with our family and living a joyful life now? That seems so backwards.
• Why do we ask each other how we are doing, and the acceptable response is “not bad.” Tell me what you ARE, not what you are not.
• Why is it weird to ask someone, “What inspires you?”
• Why is it considered “wishful thinking” or even sometimes laughed upon to go after your dreams and believe that you can do more than status-quo?
• Why are we willing to buy premium gas for our car, but not buy premium food for our body?”

What about you? Do any of Sheila’s thoughts speak to you? I mean, just because we pick up doggie-do-do, doesn’t mean you have to feel like doggie-do-do. As you wake up this morning, I hope this post leaves you inspired. It’s a new day–experience it.

[Thank you to LaDonna Coy for her tweet, as she is the one who originally brought Franke James' illustration to my attention.]

Tags: action, awareness, behavior, dog poop, energy, individual action, inspiration, inspire, move, social change, The Real Poop on Social Change

Social Change: Art or Science?

Sunday, May 31st, 2009 | Blog Talk, Interesting Articles | 2 Comments

When explaining social media, I find myself, at times, explaining how it is half art and half science. Last week, marketing guru Seth Godin brought up the age-old question again in terms of the marketing field, stating that marketing is both. He explains:

“Some marketers are scientists. They test and measure. They do the math. They understand the impact of that spend in that market at that time with that message. They can understand the analytics and find the truth.”

“The other marketers are artists. They inspire and challenge and connect. These marketers are starting from scratch, creating movements, telling jokes and surprising people. Scientists aren’t good at that.”

A solution Godin gives is that we must wear hats, and be willing to switch hats. A mental image of my boss immediately flashed in my mind as he loves Harvard’s creativity tool “6 Thinking Hats.” There is a heap of value from this exercise that I too have become quite a fan, but that is a blog post for another day.

On the social marketing list serv, Godin’s post inspired a discussion on how this debate applies to social marketing. Though social marketing, is in many ways, the “science behind social change,” my favorite perspective came from thought leader and the mother of social marketing herself, Nancy Lee:

“Personally, I think we need the scientific approach for the situation analysis, determining desired behaviors, selecting priority audiences, and identifying the competition, barriers and motivators. Then, the artists uses this input to inspire the strategy. Then, the science comes back to measure outcomes and impact and what to do better the next time.”

Applying this to Godin’s “hat” analogy, Lee offers us insight, as social marketers, when to wear which hat. Brilliant.

Applying this debate to social change, I believe it is both part art and part science, along with some sweat mixed in, buckets of perseverance, one strong vision, a diverse set of hands and a dash of luck. And, this is a good thing. Take architecture for example. There is no denying that there is a science to building strong foundation that support people, systems, and communities. But on the same note, there is no denying that certain places–the Sear Tower, Sydney’s Opera House, the Great Wall, the Eiffel Tower–emulate an artistic vision and ring a certain bell of inspiration upon viewing. It takes many, many types of hats at different times. The key, is knowing which hat and for what purpose.

Thus, to me, it’s not a question to debate, but a question that expands your closet (and your horizons!)

flickr credit: doc.holiday41

Tags: 6 Thinking Hats, application, art, artists, creativity, hats, leadership, Marketing, Nancy Lee, science, scientists, Seth Godin, social change, Social Marketing, Social Media, strategy, theory, Thinking Hats

Lessons from the Incurable Optimist

Thursday, May 7th, 2009 | Changeblogging: NP, activism, social change +, Interesting Articles, SocialButterfly | 2 Comments

I write this post purely out of inspiration gained from one Incurable Optimist–Michael J. Fox. I knew I chose him as my favorite actor when I was 8 years old for a reason.

During Michael J. Fox’s “Adventures of an Incurable Optimist,” I found myself live-tweeting inspirational quotes, thoughts and ideas from the show. As a gift for a job well done this week, I encourage you to check out the points below and remember 1) that hope is alive and 2) it is attainable.

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“As hard as things are right now, there is something happening with people…people reaching out and helping each other.”

“Maybe that’s where hope comes from. If I could do everything, I would have no reason to be thankful for hope.”

“I’ve discovered it’s not always about winning…it’s about accepting yourself” -MJFOX (Do we do this enough? Remember to celebrate.)

Did you know that the Bhutanese officially measure GNH: Gross National Happiness. It just makes sense when you think about it. They base this on the belief that a commonality of the human experience is to be happy.

“Optimism is contagious…Happiness is contagious. You can give it out in handing out newspapers.” -Michael J. Fox

Is there a link between optimism and creativity and the arts?

“For everything this disease has taken, something of greater value has been given…After everything with Parkinson’s, I’ve learned that what’s important is always making that one step count.”

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“Optimists are open to alternatives in the face of adversity.”

So I ask you: Do you consider yourself to be an optimist? I think if we can attain just an ounce of the optimism, joy and connected-ness that I witness in Michael J. Fox, my mom, my friends, the dear elderly man in my building who smiles and loves the moment in a simple hello….then I think we’ll all be okay.

flickr:  Shanissinha

Tags: acceptance, Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, Always Looking Up, community, doscovery, hope, incurable optimist, inspiration, joy, life, love, meaning, Michael J. Fox, personal growth, personal journey, relationships

Crisis Communications is Hot, Hot, Hot

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 | Blog Talk, Case Studies and New Orgs/Campaigns, Interesting Articles, Social Media | 2 Comments

Crisis communications has always been a tricky conversation. And when social media entered the picture, it fueled the fire. 

Now, within the past week, I have been hit with “crisis social media communications” discussions almost EVERYWHERE it seems. (So much so, that’s it’s starting to make nervous that the social media angel is prepping me for something - what, I’m not quite sure.)

1.  Risk 2.0.   The American Public Health Association held a conference on risk communications earlier this week and though I didn’t attend, I followed on Twitter. I must say the tweets coming out of it were fabulous and really insightful. Seems like many are going beyond the “Ah! What do we do?” factor and more into, how do we manage this, be pro-active and be strategic while also transparent, factors. Check it: #risk2.0

2.  The Peanut Recall Case.  Wednesday evening I attended the Blogging & Cupcakes event at Baked and Wired in Georgetown where social media guy, Andrew Wilson from HHS, presented the peanut recall case study. The case presented discussed how HHS, CDC and the FDA utilized social media in response to the salmonella crisis.

3.  3-Legged Horse Race.  Catching up on Livingston Communications blog today, Geoff recently posted about three sessions that are currently competing to present at the fabulous Blog Potomac event coming up shortly. It’s interesting to me that all these sessions are about, you guessed it, crisis social media communications!

(writing this, I just thought of a 4th sign!)

4. Economy Stress and Eek, oh my!  I work in public health, and this past week there was also some mixed reactions to SAMHSA’s launch of their “Guide to Get Through the Economy.”  Many of my colleagues and friends looked the flurry that unravelled in response to this, and guess what we talked about? Yup, crisis social media communications! (as well as reputation management…who is a close cousin to c.s.m.c.)

What are your thoughts? Have you seen a rise in these types of communications at your own water coolers , conference rooms and happy hours? In the meantime, I’m going to continue to get my typing fingers ready….you never know when the hot, hot, hot, crisis social media communications will come after you.

flickr credit: Cayusa

Tags: American Public Health Association, Blog Potomac, case study, communications, crisis communications, crisis social media communications, HHS, peanut recall, pubilc relations, reputation management, risk, Risk 2.0, SAMHSA, Social Media

Crossing the line or a Creative Cross? MySpace Research with “Dr. Meg”

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 | Blog Talk, Ethics and Legality, Health 2.0, Interesting Articles, Privacy and Security, Public Health, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, campaigns | No Comments

Have you heard of Dr. Meg? Maybe not, but if you’re a teen on MySpace you may have. Interesting research that was first published in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine showed that adult supervision of MySape can raise adolescents’ awareness of how accessible their profiles are online.

To come to this conclusion, Dr. Megan Moreno, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and fellow researchers, embarked on two separate studies to explore this issue further. Both research studies are to 1) encourage increased parental and adult supervision by family and friends, and 2) to potentially encourage similiar outreach approaches.

Dilemma: To Cross or not to Cross the Ethical Line

The research is very interesting, however, I feel an ethical discussion must be had. I am not saying Moreno’s approach was wrong or right, but I think we should slow down and discuss it further to learn and develop best practices, as well as ethical guidelines, especially since others may adopt this practice towards younger youth.

Headlines have buzzed about “Busybody Dr. Meg,” concluding that this outreach and behavior-change may offer hope to future, similiar methods being implemented by others. To me, I feel there can be high-levels of concerns with a universal application of this approach unless the strategy and concept is stretched. Including, but not limited to - the age those being contacted, how people are being contacted, the language and type of approach involved, the privacy and the stalking-like component, among other items. Additionally, does it matter who, as in which type of organizations embark on this strategy? For example, I can foresee potential problems if adopted by government health agencies and citizens’ concerns over freedom of expression. Curious on others’ thoughts on this!

Background About the Studies

Study 1. For the first, researchers located 190 MySpace public profiles in a single urban ZIP code, randomly selected from 10 U.S. Census areas with the lowest average income because researchers wanted to target adolescents who might have less access to doctors.

All the users involved revealed that they were 18 to 20 years old and their pages included three or more references to sex, drinking, drug use or smoking. Of the 190 profiles selected, half were sent “Dr. Meg” e-mails. After three months, 42% of those getting a “Dr. Meg” e-mail had either set their profiles to “private,” or they had removed both sexual or substance usage references. 29% of those not contacted made changes over the three-month period.

Study 2. In another study, Moreno and other researchers looked at 500 randomly selected MySpace profiles of 18-year-olds nationwide and found that more than half contained references to risky behavior such as sex, drinking and violence.

Your Turn: Crossing the line or a creative cross?

What do you think? I agree that there is a growing issue and concern for online safety and online identity of teens, youth, young adults and people in general, and this is an interesting new development to the field. How can you see this approach being adopted by your organization, or what would be your reaction if you were approached? Am I over-reacting?

photo credit: LoonSky

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Tags: behavior, delimma, Dr. Meg, ethics, government, health, health communications, medicine, Megan Moreno, MySpace, online access, online privacy, online research, outreach, privacy, Public Health, research, social networking

Words of the Year for 2008: What’s Yours?

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 | Blog Talk, General Events and Happenings, Interesting Articles, SocialButterfly | 2 Comments

One of the NY Times 2008 Buzzwords

2008 was a big and busy year, can you imagine having to choose just ONE word to describe it? Just ONE?!? Some of our favorite sources share what their “Words of the Year” are below:

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New OxFord American Dictionary: hypermiling. According to the Web site, Hypermiling was coined in 2004 by Wayne Gerdes and means “to attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques.” In 2008, with the soaring gas prices, many of found ourselves “hypermiling” or just miling…by running/walking on our two legs to work!

Merriam-Webster: Bailout. Does this one even need describing? According to the Web site, “bail out” is defined in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition as “a rescue from financial distress.” In 2008, the word received the highest intensity of lookups on Merriam-Webster Online over the shortest period of time. Other contender’s in Merriam-Webster’s top ten include: vet, socialism, maverick, rogue, misogyny, turmoil, trepidation, bipartisan, and precipice…All so positive sounding, don’t you think?

The New York Times. The Times, on the other hand, has chosen it’s set of “buzzwords” for 2008. These words include “Obamanation,” “Frugalista,” “Staycation,” “DigitalCliff,” “Fail,” and many others.

Webster’s New World Dictionary: Overshare. With popular votes taken and input from their editors, overshare was this year’s choice. According to the Web site, “overshare” is a verb that means to divulge excessive personal information, as in a blog or broadcast interview, prompting reactions ranging from alarmed discomfort to approval. In 2008, with information-mania and the economic problems as well, overshare can have stand for a plethora of meanings and correlations.

Global Language Monitor: Change. The other two in the top three were bailout and Obamamania.

SocialButterfly’s 2008 Word of the Year: Influence. For better or worse, as a buzzword, an academic concept or in terms of personal reflection, the word influence was spoken of, talked about, measured, desired, hated, calculated or loved. Thus, for me, the term “influence” describes 2008. (Web 2.0 was a close second, but that term has just gotten…grilled well and overdone.)

Twitter. In Twitter style, I asked SB follow-ers what their word for 2008 would be. One the respondents even mentioned that “Twitter” would be their word for the year! With the spike in news (and usage of Twitter) increasing daily, seems to make sense.

What do you think? Do you think these words say “2008?” Look forward to reading in the comments, what you would choose as your 2008 Word of the Year? Or, you can be like the American Dialect Society, and wait until January to reveal. They are taking nominations now. =)

Illustration by Jessica Hische
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Tags: bailout, buzzword, change, dictionary, digital, hypermiling, influence, Merriam-Webster, New Years, NY Times, obama, overshare, Oxford, Reflection, twitter, Web 2.0, Webster, word of the year