Category

Communications

Jul 11
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Truffles, and Social Media in Education, on the Air with Coy Barefoot

By Communications, Crisis Communications, Social Media

Coy Barefoot asked me what my last, best meal was. I had to tell him all about the amazing dish I had while in Croatia; pasta with delicious truffles. That’s it, there on the left. It was incredible!

Other than that, Coy and I talked about education and social media, online learning programs and more, on Charlottesville: Right Now! You can listen, here.

The inspiration for the conversation was the Education and Social Media Roundtable discussion hosted by Jaggers Communications this week. We gathered communications directors and school leadership to discuss how social media is being used by schools themselves, and by the students and parents who represent each school’s community.

It’s interesting to learn what challenges schools face that are different from businesses or nonprofit organizations, and to tackle the role social platforms play when the school is dealing with a crisis situation.

The discussion was interesting and great connections were made between individuals in those roles in the greater Charlottesville community — it’s always exciting for us to facilitate those relationships.

Something that came out of the Roundtable was the concept of fostering good digital citizenship. We’re fascinated by this and how we can assist schools in creating the programs that support it.

We’d love to host more Roundtable discussions in our community on a variety of topics. What industries or topics would you like to see in a Roundtable series?

 

 

Jul 10
Love0

It’s Not just that WE are Social. The World is.

By Communications, Social Media

We talk about social media. We talk with clients about their social media strategy. We talk on this website about social media trends and forecasts. We are a public relations firm. Our job is to relay a company’s stories and messages to the public. It’s just that the public happens to be on social  networks.

We have said this in so many different ways. Social networks were a fundamental tool in the Arab Spring uprising. They are a platform to help people get jobs. If Facebook were a country, it’s population would be 100 BILLION. We’ve talked about how it doesn’t matter what your perception of the social networks is, their importance is undeniable. But still, companies occasionally still tell us that they are not interested in the social media piece.

That is ok. We can still help you with brand positioning, crisis communications and public relations. But there’s a big chunk of the world that will never hear your message because you didn’t present it in the space that they’re already visiting.

 

Jul 04
Love0

I’m reading this great book.

By Communications, Marketing

After a ton of friends recommended it, I finally picked up Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. You can visit that link for a synopsis on the book. But essentially, it is a discussion about success and what elements (timing, talent, practice, place, parenting, etc) make up the perfect formula for creating it. The anecdotes are wonderful, and I find that I am referring back to the book when thinking about anything from my kids’ futures to the challenges our clients are working on.

The book analyzes what factors had to come into play in order for a person to be truly, outrageously successful. Getting a more in-depth look into Bill Gates childhood (whose high school received a computer in 1968) or the KIPP school in New York or  the perfect year for an entrepreneur to be born (right around 1835 in case you’re wondering, sorry) is all fascinating. It’s also a good motivator for reevaluating our standards.

Reading the book made me think about the idea of success and how we define that as individuals and organizations. Marijean and Rusty can tell you that I am an obnoxious number keeper. Since my job is business development, I always want to know where we are in contrast to our goals. Is our percentage of growth what we had estimated it would be? Do we have the right size and amount of clients?

But what I’m finding is that both personally and professionally, I feel more successful when the clients that we do have are satisfied AND my family has dinner on the table. What I mean is that, I’m never going to have Bill Gates-style success. I don’t have 10,000 hours to dedicate to development. I could not cater to 75 clients. And actually, taking VERY good care of the clients that we do have seems to be what we do best. To me, spending the time to make them successful and still maintain happy lives outside of work is the ideal.

Maybe I’m soft. Have any of you read this book? Did it make you reevaluate what you believe success to mean?

 

Jun 22
Love0

Better Business in Charlottesville

By Communications, Marketing, Public Relations

Teri Kent is my hero. Truly. Teri started Better World Betty as a resource for all things green in our community. Then, she took it to the next level, creating, managing and executing the Better Business Challenge.

Last night, the Jaggers Communications team was delighted to be present as friends of the firm walked away with awards they earned by converting to a paperless system, reducing waste, increasing recycling efforts and reducing energy consumption. It was a fine display of environmental stewardship and we were proud to be applauding fans of the effort.

Teri has been at the forefront of the whole effort. She’s professional, efficient, inspiring and enthusiastic. When I grow up, I want to be just like her.

We’re also so proud to be affiliated with, neighbors and friends of participating organizations including Rebecca’s Natural Food, Woodard Properties, Beer Run, Camp Holiday Trails, Center for Nonprofit Excellence, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, C’ville Coffee, Eppie’s, GreenBlue, Jean Theory:, and Relay Foods. Congratulations to all the winners and, indeed, to all the participants; this effort is just another reason we’re so proud to be part of the Charlottesville community.

 

 

 

Jun 21
Love0

Forget about the Tools: What’s Your Reason to be There?

By Communications, Social Media

We have a lot of initial conversations with client prospects that get hung up on tools. We don’t need to talk about Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter — the specific tools aren’t any more critical to name in developing communication strategy than defining that we might use phones, or, say, a laptop.

The problem with talking about specific tools is that each person has their individual experience with that specific tool, and it may not be in a business context at all. There are still many business people who hear the word “blog” and think of ranting online diaries in which people air their dirty laundry. OF COURSE that’s not what we’re talking about, but certain words (Facebook, blog, Twitter, e-mail marketing, YouTube) really set people off on a tangent.

We like to derail that conversation by focusing on what message the client is trying to deliver. We talk more about providing content in places where intended audiences ALREADY ARE and will find what the client wants them to find. We try to steer clear of specific tool-driven strategy (tools change; the content and the reasons to use them do not).

What’s useful is defining the best possible outcomes of communicating about your business. Keep focused on that; don’t get distracted by the platforms.