Robert Ouimet

Bigsnig Media | digital content

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Arts Office Workshop

Notes from the Arts Office sponsored workshop on social networking at the Lynn Valley Library on Wed. June 8 and Sat. June 11.

There’s a PDF of my slides you can download here.

Please feel free to add your comments in the comments section, and if I’ve missed anything let me know and I’ll update.

Key Concepts

Social media

  • is a conversation – engage instead of broadcast.
  • loves a good story.
  • requires a content strategy – mine your organization for content – text, images, video.
  • extends your circles – the circles grow over time, not overnight.
  • is personal.
  • includes e-mail.

June 8th Workshop links:

Case study:
Kneehigh Theatre
UK

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Flickr

Publish to various networks:

HootSuite
for managing updates to multiple social media accounts. A real time saver, and you can create a variety of tabs to customize it to your taste.  A free version and a premium version.

E-Newsletter software via the web:
ConstantContact

MailChimp
ExactTarget

Donate, fund raising:
Paypal.com
Registered charities can use CanadaHelps.org

Website Content Management Systems:

WordPress is free.  Amazingly extensible and feature rich.  You’ll need web serving and a database.  The WordPress.org site outlines exactly what you need and even recommends some service providers.

On Wed. Rob mentioned SquareSpace.

Barb from the Arts Office mentioned Small Box, a Victoria based company that has their own proprietary website content management system.

On Wed. we talked about a tiny HD video camera – GoPro HeroHD. Check North Vancouver mountain bike shops, they stock them.

Things we didn’t get to but you might want to use:

URL shortening:
we didn’t talk about this but handy when you want to add a link to a Twitter post. Takes a long URL and makes it short.

Bit.ly
.  Register for free to get metrics.

Event ticketing/invites:
EventBright

Oh, and the Chocolate Blog:  ChocolateApprentice.com

There’s also an iPhone and Android app to help you find chocolate wherever you are.  And it’s free . Details here.

Filed Under: Blog, Community, Workshop Tagged With: arts, North Vancouver, social networking

EDABC Presentation on Social Media

I had the pleasure of being invited to present at the Annual Economic Development Association of British Columbia Conference in Osoyoos on June 7th, 2010.

They asked me to speak to the 140 delegates about social media, so that they could get a better understanding of how social networking fits for an association like EDABC.

The conference was held at Spirit Ridge Vineyard Conference Centre in Osoyoos – the setting couldn’t be more inspiring.  The entire complex is nestled into the landscape – behind it the dramatic craggy cliffs, and in front, vineyards sloping down to the lake.  The first thing I noticed when I got out of the car was the sound of crickets, and the cry of eagles soaring above.

For this online version of the presentation, I’ve condensed things quite a bit and removed the video vignettes I use in the live presentation.  It runs about 25 minutes.

[flashvideo filename=”http://bigsnit.com/edabc/EDABC_presentation.flv” /]

Here are some links I spoke about in the presentation:

  • NYCEDC on Facebook
  • WorldBizChicago on Twitter
  • Posting and content management via HootSuite
  • Posting from Twitter to a Website
  • A branded YouTube channel for DigiBC: VXChannel
  • The Whitehouse on LinkedIn
  • My Flickr page and my ‘set’ of photos from the conference centre setting in Osoyoos

If you’re interested in having me speak to your organization please email me.

I also do workshops to help jump-start your organization into the world of social networking.

Filed Under: Blog, Media, Publishing Tagged With: EDABC, Flickr, HootSuite, LinkedIn, NYCEDC, social media, social networking, Spirit Ridge Vineyard Conference Centre, vxperience, Whitehouse, WorldBizChicago

Reaching New Audiences

Digital content is really a collection of things. More and more, I find myself using them in conjunction with one another, building a series of communications channels that work in different ways, and often reaching different people.

twitterTwitter.

I’m doing quite a lot of work with Twitter now on behalf of clients and on my own websites. I’m using it primarily to:

  • augment posts and keep the site active
  • build (extend) audience

Twitter messages are short – 140 characters – but can link to longer stories as well.

So, it’s particularly good at sending out quick blasts of info like events, updates, and special offers. It’s also great for posting something that might not warrant a full article, but you still want to mention.

Twitter is really helpful in building your community because of the way it connects a variety of people who might not even know about you (through other people who ‘follow’ your twitter feed).

The short story is, I’m really pleased at how effective it is in spreading the word and building community.

If this is something you’re interested in, let me know and we can talk about how it can serve your goals. Fees are based on time spent creating and sending ‘Tweets’ and managing the Twitter account for you.

You can see my full personal twitter feed at twitter.com/bigsnit and you’ll see a selection of my most recent “tweets” in the right hand sidebar of this page.

Facebook “Pages”

You may have a personal Facebook page, and know how for some people, it’s a key piece in keeping in touch with friends and family.facebook_seadragon

While Facebook isn’t open to the world in the same way a web page is, the fact that it’s a ‘friend to friend’ community makes it extremely powerful, and its usage continues to grow despite detractors who thought it would become passé.

Now you can have a Facebook page for your business.

The functionality is similar to a personal page.  You show up in Facebook search, and Facebook members can become ‘Fans’ of your page.  It’s also a handy place to list things like events, and of course you can link back to your web page.

LIke the Twitter feeds, I’m now managing Facebook pages and content on behalf of a number of clients. If this is of interest to you, please let me know and we can talk about how it can work for you.

Video

Even though traditional TV viewing numbers are down, I seem to be doing more and more video these days. This isn’t too surprising considering that people still consume a huge amount of video – it’s just that now they are watching it online at places like YouTube and SurfTheChannel.

basicgov_home

Authenticity is something consumers value more highly then ever.  Videos give you an opportunity to  tell your company’s story and to bring people ‘behind the scenes’.

They’re also a terrific way to show people ‘how to’ do almost anything.

Email me if you’re interested.

You’ll find an example of a simple “how to” I did recently for BasicGov.com on their home page.

Recent Community Activity

NVOCA: This week I was invited to be part of a group of people sharing ideas with the North Vancouver Office of Cultural Affairs. It’s a fairly serious sounding organization, but in fact, is staffed by a great bunch of people who are working hard to bring the North Shore’s incredible arts community into the limelight. I’m looking forward to seeing how things unfold over the next few months as they start reaching out into the community.

LoCoBC: In October I was one of the presenters at the launch event for LoCo BC. They’re a new network for small and medium businesses in BC. I put together some screencasts of the organizer and one of the main presenters – you’ll find that on the VanGoGreen website.

brainpicker_ituntes_300Just for Fun

I always have a few side projects going on, where I try stuff out and play around.

I firmly believe that ‘doing’ is better than endlessly ‘talking about doing’.

Here’s the latest, called BrainPicker.

Filed Under: Blog, Publishing, Technology Tagged With: community building, digital tools, social networking

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