Michelle Rogers, Inc.

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Going to Fitness Magazine’s blogger event in NYC

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I was so honored to be invited by Fitness Magazine to their 2013 Blogger Meet & Tweet in New York City. The experience was incredible — I got to meet many talented and knowledgeable bloggers, as well as the magazine’s editorial staff.

With Chef Rocco DiSpirito
With Chef Rocco DiSpirito

It was held at the Mercedes Club, an upscale fitness facility. The day included four informative presentations: “My Blog is My Business,” a panel discussion with four successful bloggers; “Healthy, Strong and Sexy in your 20s, 30s and Beyond,” with Dr. Jennifer Ashton; “Eat What You Love — and Lose Weight,” with TV chef and author Rocco DiSpirito; “Insider Beauty Secrets to Get You Glowing,” with Sarah Lucero of Stila Cosmetics; and “The Extreme Fitness Trend: Should You Try It?” with Brett Hoebel, a trainer on The Biggest Loser. After each seminar, we had a chance to ask questions of the speakers.

They were all excellent. I was probably most excited about the one featuring Rocco DiSpirito — guess I was a bit star struck! But from a professional perspective, the most helpful one, for me, was the bloggers’ panel discussion.

We also had time to visit the sponsor booths of companies such as Athleta, Reebok and Saucony; and received an amazing swag bag of products. The event ended with a choice of three workout classes: Mad Cool Fitness, a hip-hop aerobic dance; an outdoor session of yoga; or a run. Read more + see video

My Healthy Beauty blog celebrated its first anniversary this summer. I’m really enjoying working on this project, and excited about things to come.

 

Teaching how to use social media to promote nonprofit organizations

This week I was the guest speaker in a UNC School of Social Work master’s program class called “Leveraging Social Media to Promote Social Change.” I conducted a workshop for the students on using social media tools in the context of a nonprofit organization.

Using my work at the School of Social Work as an example, I gave some background on how and why we started using social media; showed them all of the social media channels the School is using and the pros and cons of each; and discussed blogging, and how that strategically ties in to our social media plan. I also revealed some tips and best practices I’ve learned, and relayed a number of helpful resources.

The goal was to give the students practical ideas for how they might use social media and blogging to help an organization promote its mission, accomplish goals such as fundraising and volunteer recruitment, and inform communities about social issues. The workshop also assisted the students in developing the technical skills and knowledge necessary to use these tools.

We covered a lot of material in this class. The students were engaged, and asked great questions. After my presentation, they got started on their case study project in which they’ll create a social media plan, and then will use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogging hands-on to create an online presence for the organization.

Next month I’ll get to return for the final class, where they will present their completed project. They have some great ideas and a license to be creative, and I’m excited to see what these smart, talented students come up with.

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Dr. Jennifer Swanberg, at right, is the course instructor.

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Five mistakes organizations make with their Facebook pages

Facebook and other social media are powerful tools for effective marketing communications. But are you getting the results you’d like from your organization’s Facebook page? Be sure you’re not making these five common mistakes.

1. Too much selling. Are you providing a nonstop stream of boring sales messages? Or — are you providing interesting and informative content people want to read, such as helpful tips and news related to your product or service?

2. Not keeping up with site changes. Facebook in particular is notorious for changing features on their site, sometimes with little notice. Page layout, administrative features and analytics are but three of the major areas Facebook has recently changed for brand pages. Are you putting in the research time it takes to keep up with current and future changes, and are you taking advantage of new features as they become available?

3. Forgetting that social media is a visual medium. Are you posting enough photos, graphics and videos? Are your page’s profile image and cover photo inviting, attractive, memorable and appropriate to your brand?

4. Not interacting with your readers. Do you respond — and in a timely manner — to page posts and inquiries by your readers? Do you thank people for their comments? Facebook and other social media have become major vehicles for customer service.

5. Not promoting your page. If you’re not getting the number of followers you’d like, perhaps you’re not effectively promoting your page. Be sure to include links to your page on your email signature, website, ads, business cards, brochures and newsletters. You might also consider purchasing Facebook ads and its related product, paid promotional stories, which can be targeted to the demographic you seek.

While I’m using Facebook as the example in this article, these principles also apply to Twitter, Google+ and other social networks in general. Also, I should point out this list is simplified and far from exhaustive.

The overarching theme here, essentially, is time. Facebook and other social media may be free to use, but for this medium to truly be effective for your organization you do need to make an ongoing investment in time — learning, interacting, promoting.

If you don’t have the available time or expertise to do this, it may make sense for your organization to hire or outsource social media to a professional.

 

My social media work featured in NASW News

NASW News, based in Washington, D.C., featured my work in a lead article in its newspaper and website, distributed to all members of the National Association of Social Workers, “It’s better to be informed about tech tools.”

As the director of communications at the UNC School of Social Work for the past five years, I launched us into the world of social media and continue to manage and grow our presence there.

In 2008, the School was among the education world’s early adopters of Twitter as a vehicle for promoting the School, distributing our news stories, and connecting with people. Our social media efforts have since expanded dramatically, and our leadership in social media has attracted national attention in the social work community.

Read article (pdf)

 

MICHELLE ROGERS, INC.
P.O. Box 343
Efland, NC 27243

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