First let me say, I am not a Web developer. But I hire individuals and teams that develop knock-out, highly effective Web sites for my clients. If there is one thing I have learned its that you take a huge risk - and more often make an even bigger mistake - when you hire someone who does not have a multidisciplinary skill base.

What do I mean? Let me paint some pictures for you.

If you hire a  "computer guy" who can code anything you want you might have all the bells and whistles OR you might end up with a dull template site that functions reasonably well. It might cost you a bundle, or it might be a $250 quick job, but it is unlikely to have the sophisticated design that will resonate with your graphic brand standards. Be careful, though, because all that custom code might be proprietary and then you are tied to that programmer for the life of your website.,

So, you hire a graphic designer that knows how to design a web site.  OK. It will look GORGEOUS.  But what about the content?  Is it likely to have calls to action and urge a response (sales or whatever) from your readers?  Will it be able to capture names and emails of your visitors?  How about E-commerce or online donations?  Maybe you are better off with the programmer? Or you can get these two to work together.

But there's that whole idea of the Web site as a marketing tool?  You want it to pay for itself with online advertising and E-commerce.  You certainly want to cpature the contact information for prospects.  And if you found a marketing person - or even an Internet Marketing pro who knows about SEO (search engine optimization) - maybe you can really get some new customers out of it.  But most marketing folks are neither programmers nor designers.

And what's that last skill set you think would be valuable here?  You guessed it. PR.  They way a PR pro sees it, a website is a new channel through which to communicate with various publics - clients, prospects, the broader community, the media, suppliers, investors, and the list goes on. What's even better is that you can easily customize and post information, photos, videos, etc. And don't get me started on the integration of social media with your website. It's a natural for PR professionals.

I urge you to eally look at your web developer or your web strategy team. Where are their strengths? Their weaknesses?  Who do you need to bring in to get your Web site and web strategies in line and working optimally?

Twitter is not for everybody or every business, but it has proven a great way to extend the conversation with your public – however you define that public and that conversation.  But once you define that group of followers and you begin to attract them – be they potential custormers, clients, associates, or fans – here are some basic do’s and don’ts

 - DO have a personality, talk like a person, share stories. No one wants to follow a boring robot, unless your account is a boring robot with a specific function.

 - DO NOT get carried away or tweet too far off topic. We'd love to occasionally learn about your employees or general industry or local topics. We generally don't want to hear your views on politics or sports.

Three Local Not-For-Profits Compete for a Free Website  - Winner will be Announced at Lotus Boutique in Downtown Sarasota at One for One event on Saturday, April 17
 
[Sarasota , FL-March 28, 2010]  New World Collaborative, founded by three digital marketing professionals and their companies, is launching its One for One Website Initiative to build a free website for a not-for-profit for every corporate client website they develop.   This generous commitment to the community follows in the footsteps of the highly-publicized mission of Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS.
 
New World Collaborative (www.neWWWorld.com) has selected three not-for-profit organizations that provide basic human services which also are in need of a search engine friendly website that they can modify through content management and an integrated blog.  Each of the three organizations are featured on www.neWWWorld.com  where their supporters and the general public can cast their vote for the organization they wish to receive the website “make-over” and watch the competition as it heats up.  
The three organizations selected are Every Child, Inc. , Mothers Helping Mothers, and Second Chance Last Opportunity.  “We are honored that we can highlight three exceptional organizations that do so much for our community,” says New World Collaborative co-founder Gayle Williams of Vision PR & Marketing. “We’ll have one grand winner, but we hope that when we are done everyone will know of their good work and their support will be multiplied.”

 

               

I often mention the concept of mission statement and vision statements to clients and out of a dusty drawer comes a yellowed page with time-worn words that no one would remember... ever!   Dan Heath of "Made to Stick" has lots of good ideas and I love his straight forward and practical advice.

This video about the pitfalls of writing mission statements is SPOT ON!  See if you recognize yourself or a company you have worked with here.  How would you "fix" your mission statement?

Made to Stick: Writing a Mission Statement

Fast Company

3:51 | Nov 18, 2009 – Dan Heath, co-author of Made to Stick, speaks with Fast Company about writing meaningful mission statements to lead your business.

A few months ago YouTube announced that organizations that are in the YouTube Nonprofit Program would be able to use the overlay advertising feature to create donation links. They call the feature “Call To Action”. While this feature was nice, it was really limiting. In addition to only appearing in a very limited way on the video, it only works on YouTube and not when you embed the video on other sites.

The good news is that now, Nonprofits that are part of the YT Nonprofit Program, will have the ability to create links to an EXTERNAL WEBSITE (not only youtube videos). All they’ll have to do, when creating an annotation, is click the “link” symbol and select “external link”. Then they’ll be able to link to external sites right from the annotation. Better still, these annotations should show up on embedded videos.

If you still aren’t sure what all of this means, it means that nonprofit YouTube videos can have buttons built into the videos that say DONATE NOW or SIGN THE PETITION and these buttons will work—they will link to any site you point them to. You can even go back to all your old videos that are on YouTube and make your logo into a clickable link, add annotations to donate with a link, and otherwise make your video into a center of engagement. This is now, by far, the most important reason to be in the YouTube Nonprofit Program.

People who watch videos on YouTube are very likely to do one thing when they are done…watch another video on YouTube. Not any more. With this new feature, YouTube can become a center for creating effective calls to action and engagement.

If you need more information about the Youtube Nonprofit Program click here to contact us or go to the youtube nonprofit website.

Here's a video we found explaining and showing this featured working:

Frankly, I'm talking with clients, friends, colleagues who feel a little overwhelmed by the urge to participate in Facebook. I am, too!  But I think it is important to remember that "moderation in all things" is not only good advice but the key to being a responsible and considerate social network participant.

My friend Gabriel Marguglio of Destiny Tech had some great quick tips for participating on Facebook as a form of conversational marketing. I've copied his blog entry below, but I'd like to add a few more thoughts.

1. Listen and watch the conversation a bit first before you jump into any network and start "selling" your own message. In fact, don't think of it as selling.  Imagine you are at a giant cocktail party where many can overhear your conversation.

2.  Making a good impression includes relevant info in your profile as well as in your conversations.  Be relevant, be polite, and listen to others.

 Within the posts of this blog we’ll share news and thoughts about the world of PR and marketing in this mega-digital age. You’ll also find news about the clients we have the privilege to work with and the things we’ve learned while meeting their challenges. And, no doubt, we’ll comment on other things we find interesting and thought provoking.

I’m Gayle Williams, President of Vision PR & Marketing. While I can’t ALWAYS promise it will be my voice on this blog – I’ll share the microphone – but most of the time you will be hearing from me.

Here’s an interesting and humbling thought – we often assume we know exactly what we are saying and what we sound like to our audiences. We also make assumptions about their responses.  Sometimes we are right. And other times we are dreadfully wrong!