In case you missed them, or want them all in one handy link, here is a nice roundup for you of our Social CRM Use Case series, which was originally created for the Avectra blog.

• ROI and Social CRM Use Case 1: Using LinkedIn for Member Recruitment

• Social CRM Use Case 2: Socializing educational content for member retention

• Social CRM Use Case 3: Optimize and socialize your member services

• Social CRM Use Case 4: Conference social media campaigns to increase outreach and lead generation

• Social CRM Use Case 5: Connecting the dots between purchases and social capital for member recruitment

• Social CRM Use Case 6: Better retention rates through social profile mapping

• Social CRM Use Case 7: Monitoring social conversations for actionable improvements to member services

• Social CRM Use Case 8: Leveraging Blogger Influence for Outreach

And why is this important, you ask? Why, because it’s the key to social media ROI, of course

I have a confession: one of my least favorite things to do is public speaking. I had never done it at all until three years ago when Debra Stratton of Stratton Publishing & Marketing asked me if I’d present with her at ASAE’s Great Ideas conference, which just happened to be in Miami in February. So I said yes. I was terrified, and incredibly relieved when it was over. I figured that if I forced myself to do more of this dreaded public speaking it would get better in time, so over the past few years any time someone has asked me to speak or wanted to collaborate with me to submit a proposal to speak, I’ve said yes. While it’s gotten a tiny bit less intimidating, for the most part I still dread it, but I continue to do it, both out of desire to overcome my fear and, more importantly, because I do like to help others and share the knowledge I gain being immersed in social media on a daily basis. I figure if I’m going to spend countless hours online, reading and learning and doing, others may as well benefit from my compulsive information gathering.

At any rate, last week I presented at an Association Foundation Group  lunch about association social media. They were super nice and it was a good incentive for me to collect my thoughts on the state of association social media right now. The presentation is below. I based my thoughts on a recent comScore report “It’s a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-Knows About Social Networking and Where It’s Headed.” I won’t reiterate everything I said in the presentation, but basically my top points were:

1. Social networking is HUGE now–people are spending a very significant portion of their online time on social networking sites. So  not being there, or not at least knowing which sites your members are using, is a huge missed opportunity.
2. Google+ is potentially changing SEO, so at a bare minimum, educate yourself about its implications. Here are two good articles about it.
3. Email is still effective now, but digital natives’ use of email has plummeted while their time on social networking sites remains significant. What does this mean for your association’s marketing tactics over the next decade?

Hey SocialFish readers–you deserve to be recognized. Consider this a heads-up.

Every year, the ASAE Communications Section’s Gold Circle Award (GCA) competition recognizes the extraordinary communications efforts undertaken by associations. This year’s awards ceremony will be held several months early to coincide with the Marketing, Membership, and Communications Conference, May 23-24.

That means you need to get your submissions together now in order to get in under the January 20 deadline.

There are several categories where outstanding social media work could potentially be recognized:

• Innovative Communications
  Recognizes an outstanding association/nonprofit communications program, vehicle and/or format that pushes the limits of innovation and/or technology to communicate with the intended audience(s). Entries in this category should employ new and emerging communication vehicles or utilize known communications in new, experimental or innovative ways.
• Integrated (Multi-Vehicle) Communications Campaign
  Recognizes an outstanding association/nonprofit communications program launched in 2011 that consists of a minimum of three communication vehicles, such as digital, print (magazine, journal, letters, etc.), social media, website, film, or radio.
• Magazine
  Recognizes an outstanding print (includes non-interactive PDFs) or electronic digital/interactive magazine produced by an association or nonprofit for its members. Must have been published within the 2011 calendar year. Entries must be submitted in original format intended for end users.
• Media Relations Campaign
  Recognizes an outstanding overall media relations campaign designed around an association or nonprofit (or one of its initiatives, programs, products/services, special events or issues) that was launched in 2011.
• Web Site
  Recognizes an outstanding association/nonprofit organization’s overall Web site targeted at the public, the association’s membership or other stakeholder group(s). This category includes associations’ general websites, issue specific sites, public education/campaign sites, policy related sites, or any other website created by the association for a specific purpose.

Just presented this session at the Technology Conference on Wednesday (opposite an Ignite session, no less – so happy I had a nice crowd!). It was a simple case study, using associationTECH to look at why we created the blog, what considerations were involved in setting up moderation policies etc, how we connected it to the wider tech blogosphere, and how we measured success. The ten steps are pretty simple and obvious, but I asked my group of attendees to ask questions after each one and share their own advice relative to each piece. It was a great discussion; thank you so much to those who attended.

Here are the slides for you.

Remember this post about how to flip your publishing model?  And the case study we looked at through the Virginia Associations of Realtors’ example?

I just came across this great post from NTEN about how they did just that.

This new strategy means we’re driving a lot of traffic to NTEN.org overall: We’re up 24% year-over-year in 2011. The blog/newsletter strategy drives most of that, as you can see from the increase in blog traffic as a percentage of total site traffic for the last few years:

2008: 17%
2009: 19%
2010: 22%
2011: 25%

Most importantly, publishing more and more diverse content on the blog gives us a sense of what the NTEN community is most interested in. Then, when we compose NTEN Connect each month, instead of guessing what we should send out to our 30,000 subscribers, we can look at our blog and social media analytics data to learn what our blog readers have already found most engaging.

Go check it out!  Anyone trying this?

Community management is a new role at many associations, and it’s further complicated by being both a very public-facing job as well as one managing internal processes that often cut across more than one department inside an organization.  We thought it would be interesting to talk to Mandy Stahl, Community Manager for ASAE, about her first few months in this high profile job.  Any questions for Mandy?  Please post in the comments!

1. So, the most obvious question to ask you first, is what did it feel like to go from being an ASAE member to ASAE staff?  In what ways did you have to think about things differently?   What were the pros and cons?

Honestly, it felt weird at first.  It was as if I was seeing something that I wasn’t supposed to.  ASAE has a large staff, so it took me a while to meet everyone and understand the placement and purposes of all the departments.  It was a refreshing adjustment to move from an industry-focused association to ASAE where our membership is closer to my interests. Everyone is passionate about working for the association industry.

I also have to think about things in a different way.  Thinking like a member comes naturally to me, but I’m adding in the additional perspective from the business needs of ASAE, which has been a change for me.  Also, ASAE has such a diverse membership that I also have to think about members who don’t have the same needs from ASAE that I did as a member.  It is important for me to maintain my viewpoint as a member day-to-day.

It is certainly a pro that ASAE has such a large and engaged online community, but at the same time, it means there are higher expectations and more internal and external responsibilities with my position.  I was a proud member of ASAE, so it is certainly a good thing to be working for such a respected association.

2. Tell us about the community manager role – we know it’s completely new, ASAE hasn’t had this role before.  Where does it sit in the structure of ASAE, and what are the main tasks you’re responsible for?

I am located in the web strategies department, which is under the broader communications department under Robb Lee, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer.  I work with the rest of the web team to make sure our social media efforts reflect our overall online strategy as well as work closely with the rest of the communications department. I also lead a cross functional social media team that has participants from across the organization. We meet monthly and discuss what’s worked and what hasn’t worked in the social spaces as well as share what we’re doing to build an online community.  I am responsible for our social media platforms while strategizing with other departments on how we can best use each platform to best benefit our members.  So far, I have worked on developing a social media ecosystem and guidelines for several platforms while creating content schedules around our large conferences. My focus right now is moving into the engagement space in social media. ASAE has done a good job at listening in social media, but not always engaging others and letting folks know we’re listening. My goal is to truly bring ASAE into the conversation about our industry.

3.  Will you be mostly participating in outposts like the ASAE LinkedIn group, their Facebook pages, or running their Twitter accounts?  Or will you be mostly managing the private community?

Currently, I am working on content strategies for Twitter and the event Facebook pages.  We have several staff members involved in Collaborate, and I hope to do more in the future. So yes, you absolutely will be seeing more of me personally and ASAE generally engaging online—and in different ways than you’ve seen us engaging in the past. We hope you enjoy our participation, but if you don’t, we hope you’ll let us know how we can improve—we’re still listening.

4.  As a new community manager, what were the most important things for you to do first, in order to get to know the community?  Any advice for others in the same boat?

I was lucky to be able to connect with many of our members at the Annual Meeting in August.  I am also monitoring our active members online and engaging with them through Twitter.  I would recommend replying and following members on Twitter, so they begin to see you as their social media connection to your organization.

5.  What hurdles have you had to overcome so far?  Tell us about a situation where you successfully argued a case for doing something your own way.

I have been working to give the online voice of ASAE more of a distinct personality. I think there’s a growing comfort with people showing their personality in these tools and while it can be a gradual shift, I think we’re in a better place than we were when I started in May.

In addition, leading up to the Annual Meeting, we were working off a content calendar that didn’t work with my natural work flow and wasn’t working for the team.  Since the meeting, I’ve integrated a new format that is easier for me and the team, and it’s working really well.

6. Give us your impressions of #ASAE11, which I know was your first ASAE Annual meeting.  From your point of view as community manager, what kinds of things did you plan to do during the meeting?  Any surprises?  Any stories to share?

ASAE 11 was a very rewarding experience.  Before the show, I had limited interaction with members, so I was unsure about the impact that I was having.   During the show, I spent a lot of time in the online engagement lounge meeting with members and monitoring the continuous Twitter stream.  It was wonderful to be able to see the immediate impact of my work and meet many online friends in person for the first time.

During the block party on the last night, I announced on Twitter to come and find me, so I could connect with our members. I was able to meet more ASAE members and hear about their rewarding experiences attending ASAE 11.

7.  What should we expect from ASAE’s community building efforts in the future?  Any plans you can share, things to look out for?

I am working to advance the three-step social media strategy that ASAE identified when I started as Listen->Engage->Empower.  I am building a multi-step engagement plan that involves bringing more of our members in and creating a member driven space.  We are launching a separate Facebook page for the technology conference, which we plan on sharing some behind the scenes information and allowing the attendees to connect prior to and after the show.

8.  You’ve been part of the community a while, so I feel like many of us know you personally.  Is there anything you’d like to say to anyone reading whom you haven’t met face to face yet?

Yes – Let’s meet!  I really enjoy meeting members and learning from their own unique experiences.  The association industry is so varied, and I learn from each and every person. It helps me do my job better by meeting our members, so I can engage with and share information that would be useful for them.  I am happy to meet with anyone either when I’m on the road or if you swing through DC.  You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/mandystahl), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/mandystahl) or on Twitter (www.twitter.com/mandydc).

Check out this Fact Sheet – Navigating the World of Social Media By AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION on Facebook.

I’m reposting most of it here because it’s awesome.

These online networks offer opportunities for rapid knowledge exchange and dissemination among many people, although this exchange does not come without risk.  Nurses and nursing students have an obligation to understand the nature, benefits, and consequences of participating in social networking of all types.  Online content and behavior has the potential to either enhance or undermine not only the individual nurse’s career, but also the nursing profession.

Benefits
•  Networking and nurturing relationships
•  Exchange of knowledge and forum for collegial interchange
•  Dissemination and discussion of nursing and health related education, research, best practices
•  Educating the public on nursing and health related matters

Risks
•  Information can take on a life of its own where inaccuracies become “fact”
•  Patient privacy can be breached
•  The public’s trust of nurses can be compromised
•  Individual nursing careers can be undermined

ANA’s Principles for Social Networking

1. Nurses must not transmit or place online individually identifiable patient information.
2. Nurses must observe ethically prescribed professional patient — nurse boundaries.
3. Nurses should understand that patients, colleagues, institutions, and employers may view postings.
4. Nurses should take advantage of privacy settings and seek to separate personal and professional information online.
5. Nurses should bring content that could harm a patient’s privacy, rights, or welfare to the attention of  appropriate authorities.
6. Nurses should participate in developing institutional policies governing online conduct.

How are you presenting – and sharing – your association’s principles for social networking?

Check out this fantastic Prezi by Carie Lewis of the Humane Society. Awesome and so true!

Watch this sweet presentation by Todd Carpenter, social media manager at the National Association of Realtors, about how the NAR socialized their annual convention.  Accompanying slides are below.

National Association of REALTORS: Conference “Live”: A Conference Experience for the Web, presented by Todd Carpenter from GasPedal and SocialMedia.org on Vimeo.

Register for Engaging Members with Social CRM, our next FREE Think Tank webinar with Jessica Etter, from the American Podiatric Medical Association. Jessica will share how she used Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM) practices to find and connect with current and potential members on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Get how-to advice for focusing your efforts, connecting with the right people, and setting (then surpassing!) meaningful social media goals. The webinar is Tuesday July 12 at 2 pm ET. (Don’t worry if you miss it, you can get all the recordings at the same link!)

Plan now to attend the upcoming Think Tank webinars.

This webinar is the third of our monthly Think Tank webinar series on topics that are important for social media practitioners in associations and nonprofits.

Here’s the info on the next one, which will be another don’t miss!

Wednesday August 24, 2 pm ET – Building a Better Association Facebook Page
Guest Speaker: Brian Carter, FanReach, a top expert on social media marketing, will share specific tips for how to make your association Facebook Page stand out. Learn best practices for creating a compelling welcome page, using Facebook advertising, and selecting apps. Get more people to like your page and, more importantly, get your Facebook fans to act.

Join the Think Tank for access to further knowledge resources and peer-to-peer learning from folks who are thinking through the same issues as you are.