CNG Meeting December 5, 2007

Kevin JergeThePort Network, Inc.

2

Our Sponsors

Thanks For Supporting this morning’s program

3

Theme for Today’s Conversation

Methods May Change But Standards of

Quality Endure

4

Demystification Process

Demystifying Social Media

5

Social Media Certification Test

How Many of You Have Composed an E-mail and sent it or responded to an e-mail?

How Many of You Have Used Microsoft Word to Create a document?

How Many of You have uploaded or attached a file or picture to an e-mail?

How many of you have filled out a survey? How many of you have registered for an event

or filled out a profile questionnaire?

6

CONGRATULATIONS! You Are All Certified Social Media Professionals

7©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

Online Communities That Build Certification Programs &

Increase Your Customer Base

ARE YOU ON?…

8

Social Media is Exploding!!!!

9

Interactive Media Growth

Social Media Sites Account for 12% of Overall Internet Web Traffic

The Past Year has Shown a 668% Increase

Source: June 11, 2007 BusinessWeek Online

10

Why is Social Media so Powerful???

Most Sites Are Usually FREE Bi-Directional and personally controlled

experience. Facilitated a movement by providing a platform for

close to real-life interaction on-line. Allows people to initiate a connection with new

individuals or re-connect with friends, old colleagues, classmates, etc. You can learn a lot about people before you even connect. (Unlike Chat rooms, etc)

Sites like LinkedIn allow you to represent yourself professionally, build a professional network, find mentors, your next job, build your reputation, etc.

11

How do social communities apply to associations?

Associations*: an organization of people with a common purpose and having a formal structure

Social communities*: A social network is a social structure made of individuals tied by one or more specific types of relations, such as values, visions, idea, ….

Source: "association." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 09 Jul. 2007. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/association>.Wikipedia, modified

Online communities are a natural extension of real life activity within an association.

12

We Are At A Crossroads

13

Choices, Choices, Choices

Choice #1 Let’s re-design our web site so we can get more web traffic.

WRONG!!!Choice #2: Incorporate community

and social media features with our web site to provide an engaging experience for our members?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

14

Most Common On-Line Challenges

Managing ContentProviding Members an

Engaging and Valuable Web Experience.

15

Field of Dreams

If You Build It they Will Come ……

16

Field of Reality ….

If you let them build it, participate, collaborate, connect and interact…

They will stay – longerThey will come back more oftenThey will invite their friends and

colleagues

17

Where Do You Start????

Acknowledgement that this is important to your future.

Assessment of Current Web Strategy

Mindset = Long-Term Commitment Develop Your Business Case Begin to Weave Social Media Into

Your Overall Engagement Strategy

18

Acknowledgement

The Model has been provenThe niche community market will be the

next natural extension (it is happening now)

Provide your members the experience that they want or they will seek it out from another source.

The conversation is already happening. You need to facilitate the conversation

19

Assessment

How strong is your web presence now?Is your target audience visiting regularly?Do you know who they are?Do you know why they visit?Are you accomplishing your business

goals with your current web strategy?Are you managing content in a way that

is dynamic and valuable to your visitors?

20

Long-term Approach

Community/Social Media strategy needs to be deployed with a long-term mindset.

There is no magic formula.Your community strategies will evolve

and adapt over time. This is still relatively new. You have to

have a blend of patience and persistence.

21

Develop YOUR Business Case

This platform has to meet the needs and work for your organization.

Can you articulate your goals? Increased client base?More tests administered? Increased awareness about your organization and

the certifications you offer?Provide Networking opportunities for all

community members????????

22

Weave Social Media Into Your Organization’s Fabric

Promote the community through all existing communication mediums.E-mail Publications/

NewslettersWeb Site At Conferences/SeminarsEtc. Direct Mail

Drive your membership back to the community at every opportunity by providing incentives or desired content.

23

What is the DNA make-up of your Group

How Many Types Of Community Members Do You Have? What does their DNA look like?

24

Certification Industry Profile

Who is your audience? What does your community look like?Client Companies that send their employees

or contractors for certification.The individuals being certified Industry PartnersYour Certification Body and StaffEtc….

25

Community Breakdown

Communities can be segmented in many different ways by:

GeographyJob FunctionArea of ExpertiseOrganization Type and SizeEducationPersonal InterestsEtc.

26

Connect Members via Intelligent Profiling

What information do you need to gather that will help your members connect within the community?Personal information and interestsProfessional information and interestsEducational backgroundCertification HistoryOther Data

27

Engage Your Members By Providing a Great Content Experience

Through RSS Technology (Really Simple Syndication) your organization can provide a dynamic and relevant content experience on every visit.

Allowing your members to personalize their content around professional or personal interests is the key ingredient.

RSS = (Really Secret Sauce)

28

Let Your Members Build The Community

Allow them to interact with the site’s content. Allow them to have a voice via commenting, polls,

surveys, blogging, ratings, etc. Allow them to form groups of interest within the

community (Sub Communities) Get a sense for who your community influencers are

and embrace them. You receive the benefit of having this all take place

under your brand on your platform. You can get a true pulse on your organization and determine any directional changes you may have to take.

29

Do We Need A Quick Break?

BREAKTIME

10 Minutes

30©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

ACHE Certification Challenge

ACHE has several members that are eligible to take the Board of Governor’s Exam to achieve the FACHE Certification.

The Average Age of the ACHE membership is 47 years old.

Individuals Preparing for the Exam usually undertake this in a solitary fashion.

Resource Information and content for the exam preparation are found in many disparate areas.

31©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

Goals of the BOG Community

1. Establish one Platform or hub for exam preparation and support by blending the resources, reference material and other content with social media tools.

Allow individuals preparing for the exam to share information, experiences and content with other members connecting these people so that they can form study/support groups.

32©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

Goals of the BOG Community

2. Help alleviate the apprehension for registration and the stigma currently associated with preparing for the exam. ACHE members will now belong to a community of registered users preparing for the exam.

This experience will provide a communal sense and should foster greater participation and success.

33©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

Goals of the BOG Community

3. Introduce the ACHE organization to social media and the power of community as they look to strengthen, grow and manage their Association. Deploy other communities throughout

the Association

34©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

Goals of the BOG Community

4. Provide a solution that is simple and straight forward. Easy to Understand Easy to Join Easy to Connect with Peers Not overly busy and easy to navigate.

35©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

The ACHE Community

36©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

Profile

37©ThePort Network, Inc. 2007

Find Others

38

NMA Community Overview

On-Line DemoEstablishing a Profile or Community

PersonaInteracting with ContentUsing RSS TechnologyBuilding A Group

39

Benefits of a Community Platform

Increase EngagementEnable Member RelationshipsProvide a Forum to Discuss

Organizational ChallengesUpdate Members on Industry NewsProvide a Platform that will allow

members to continue conversations that began In-person

40

Conclusion

Listen

Activate

Connect

Connect Members with a Common Interest Listen to the Conversation Between Members Use the Information Gathered to Activate Member

Participation

41

Our Sponsors

Thanks For Supporting this morning’s program