Philanthropy Friday Behind the Scenes with Columbus Speech and Hearing

This week I learned so much about Columbus Speech and Hearing. You can read my feature article on this wonderful Columbus Metro non-profit organization at Columbus Underground.

When conducting the interview I asked if they could share a touching story for the Behind the Scene segment. As you can see from all the photos below, they do quite a lot for children with speech and hearing challenges.  By the looks on the kid's faces below, they are doing a wonderful job!

Obviously they have quite a few testimonies! Here is one about Cooper.

 At two-years-old Cooper had no words. His parents brought him to Columbus Speech & Hearing Center, where he was diagnosed with a significant language delay, along with phonological processing issues.  “The Center diagnosed Cooper with apraxia when everyone else kept testing for autism,” explained his parents.

Cooper started one-on-one speech therapy, twice a week at the Center. Immediately Cooper’s articulation improved. After six months, Cooper had gone from grunting and using one word at a time to building three-word sentences. His vocabulary quadrupled! “We saw extensive improvement in his oral motor skills,” his parents shared. “He couldn’t blow out the candles on his 3rd birthday cake, but after lots of hard work with his Speech Language Pathologist, he now blows bubbles and recently blew the candles out on his grandma’s 80th birthday cake!”

Speech therapy at the Center has made a significant impact on Cooper’s life! He has no more tantrums, because he is no longer frustrated with language. His personality is growing every day because he can finally express his needs, wants, likes and dislikes.

“We can’t say enough wonderful things about Columbus Speech & Hearing Center,” Cooper’s parents conclude. “They mapped out a treatment plan for our son’s speech delay that has put him on the road to successful language skills. Thank you!”

Helpful Marketing & PR Resources . . . Did I Mention They Are FREE?

Thought it might be helpful to dedicate a post to some great on-line resources that have helped me along the way.

Want to submit a press release?  This link lists 50 FREE press release submission sites.  They are listed in their Google PageRank.

Looking for a new font to spruce up that marketing piece?  dafont has over 9,000 FREE fonts to download. 

In need of some new photo images for your website or brochure?  This link has over 13,000 beautiful, good quality images FREE of charge.

And in case you missed my post on FREE Reputation Tracking Tools you can visit my post and get the list here.

I hope these few resources help you like they have helped me over the year.

Another FREE resource - the In-Kind Connection.  A site that lists non-profit needs and creates awareness as well as business/donor haves for FREE.  Submissions are then broadcasted through various social media channels to help try and make a connection and create awareness. It's sponsored by columbus imPRessions.

So I Have All My Social Media Marketing Tools. Now What?

Yesterday I was contacted by a non-profit organization who was looking for help with social media marketing.  They are writing a huge proposal and need to add specific marketing components to the proposal before submitting. 

In this case, including  traditional marketing components is no problem for them. They are unsure of what to include for social media marketing.  They have all the tools, they just don't know what to do with them.

This is the part where I come in - creating a strategy around social media tools.

So you have a Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Ning, Blog, etc., etc., etc.  Now how do you use them to achieve the best ROI?  To get your best bang for your buck you need to be very strategic in how you use them.  For starters, you need brand consistency, key messaging and clear calls to action so your followers, fans or subscribers know what to do with the information.  Is it purely informational, do you have a specific need, do you want the recipient to act on something?

You need to answer these questions to begin creating your strategic social media marketing plan.  It might take a little time, but it's worth it in the end.

Not sure where to start? Give columbus imPRessions a call 740.816.3251 or send me an email michele@columbusimpressions.com  I can help you build your strategic marketing plan in no time giving you faster results with your social media marketing efforts.

Newseum

So I might have mentioned it a time or two, but last week I was in Washington, D.C.  During the trip I saw many incredible things and visited many wonderful places.  

One place that stood out from the rest for me was the Newseum.  I'm sure it has something to do with my chosen profession.

This fairly new museum has everything to do with our first amendment right to freedom of religion, speech, press and the right of the people to peaceably petition the government.

This interactive museum holds up to five centuries of news history, 15 theaters and 14 major galleries.  The kids in my group had a blast at the Interactive Newsroom where they played correspondents at the White House, as well as weathermen and women.  A definite must see when visiting our nation's capital!  We spent two hours there but could have easily spent another two to three more.

A big standout for me was the 9/11 Gallery. A piece of the metal structure sits in the center of the room where front page headlines of the day cover an entire wall.  It almost stops you in your tracks. Once you enter the area you see a piece of the Pentagon and Jet that crashed in Pennsylvania.

 

Moving around the room you then notice a tribute to a photographer who ran to the towers to catch the unfolding tragedy only to perish. His camera, glasses, film, notepad and credentials are encased in a glass display. Very moving and it brought back all those feelings I felt almost eight years ago.

On a lighter note, being a dog lover, one of my other favorites was the First Dogs exhibit where photos of presidents and the pooches align the wall.  I loved that President Johnson named his dogs Him and Her.  What a dry sense of humor he must of had, at least I hope that's what he was going for. 

Quite an imPRession This Memorial Day

If you were following my Tweets the past week, you know I recently returned home from the 8th grade trip to Washington D.C.  A busy but incredible trip!  To actually be present at many of the places I have learned about in history classes or have seen on the news over the years was really inspiring and left a big imPRession on me.  

One of the most touching moments for me was at the Arlington National Cemetery. Appropriately on Memorial Day, I wanted to share this photo of a solider placing flags at each fallen soldier's grave site to honor every soldier who fought so hard to give us the freedom we have today.  I loved how he used his foot as a marker to place the flag at his heal to create precision and accuracy.

God Bless all our past and present armed services men and women and God Bless this incredible country we are so fortunate to live in!

Benefits of Owning Your Own Business

Yes, one of the greatest benefits of owning your own business is that you can close it down for a week if you wish.

This week, I will be doing just that because I am off to Washington D.C.   Instead of wearing my entrepreneur hat, I'm going to be wearing my chaperone hat and help with the 8th grade trip. I'm sure I'll be tired by the end of the week, but I know I'll have a blast.  

It's been quite some time since my last trip to D.C.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Holocaust Museum, the Newseum, the Monuments, the Smithsonian, and Mt. Vernon.  I'll be taking Twitpics along the way so be sure to follow me @cbusimpressions to see my photo journal.

Have a great week and I'll catch you back here next week!

Philanthropy Friday Behind the Scenes with PetPromise

I had the pleasure of getting to learn more about PetPromise. You can read my feature article on this wonderful companion animal rescue and adoption non-profit organization at Columbus Underground.

When conducting the interview I asked if they had a special, touching story they would like to share for the Behind the Scene segment.  They shared the story of Ruby.

Ruby--The Feral Puppy 
On April 8, 2009 PetPromise was contacted about a group of little puppies who were living alone under a  barn in rural Licking County.  PetPromise went out and it was worse than we thought. There were two little black puppies and one reddish one living in a pile of rubble. They were dirty and thin and very scared. 

We don't know how they had survived as long as they had. They wanted so bad to come to us for food and safety, but each time we got close they would run back under the fallen shed whining and barking. 

We set up some humane traps over Easter weekend and were able to trap and rescue the little red pup. Her name is now Ruby and though she is shy, she is very sweet and we are working with her so that she can be adopted into a loving home. We are still working to rescue her two littermates as well as their mother who has been spotted in the area. Keep your fingers crossed... 

You can help! Participating in the Rescue Run as a walker, runner, sponsor, or merely spectator will help PetPromise continue to help homeless animals like Ruby and her family have a chance at life. Your support means the world to so many of the animals. Please join us for the 2009 PetPromise Rescue Run & Walk this year www.RescueRun.com! 

Free Reputation Tracking Tools

The other night at the Reputation Management: Social Media and Public Relations session I mentioned that one of the first steps in reputation management was monitoring the Internet to see what is being said about you.  During the Q&A session, someone asked a question about tracking tools.  Because most of the clients I work with are either non-profits with little or no marketing budgets, or small businesses with limited marketing budgets I tend suggest free tools. 

The key FREE monitoring tools I suggest are:

• Google Alerts
  
• Google Reader
  
• Twitter Search
  
• Monitoring Blog Comments
  
• Monitoring Twitter Retweets
  

These tools give you the basics 411, but at least you can see when your brand is being mentioned.

If you have money in your budget you could always look into paying monitoring services like:

• Buzzlogic
  
• Radian6
  
• Brand Eye
  
• Reputation Defender
  
• Cision
  

These can give you various measuring tools in different analysis shapes and sizes but there is a price and sometimes a hefty one at that.

Doing some research yesterday I actually came across quite a few more FREE monitoring tools:

• Google News - see what is being said about you in mainstream media
  
• Digg or Reddit - search stories that may have been submitted about your brand
  
• Technorati - tracking social media news
  
• Google Blog Search - see what individuals are blogging about your brand
  
• co.mments - track what comments individuals are leaving about your company on individual's blog posts
  
• blogpulse conversation tracker - tracker who is linking to a blog post about your brand
• blogpulse blog trends - track the growth of specific key words
• del.icio.us - see who is bookmarking a page that mentions your brand
• Flickr - track to see if any photos of your brand is on-line without your knowledge
• Boardtracker - monitor message boards that might include conversations about your brand
• Google trends - see if your brand is one of the keywords most searched for

This may take some dedication and time but, as you can see, there really are quite a bit of FREE reputation tracking tools to help you monitor your brand reputation.

Reputation Management: Social Media & Public Relations For Non-Profits and Small Businesses

Last night I was one of the presenters at the Columbus Social Media Network Reputation Management: Social Media and Public Relations session.

My focus was on non-profits and small businesses.  Because most non-profit organizations and small businesses do not have the budget or luxury of hiring social media experts, they are either opting not to do social media or are trying to dabble in social media themselves.  Either way could create a crisis situation.  Even if you aren't doing social media, others are and I can guarantee they are talking about you.  If you are dabbling, you have probably noticed all the social media options. You might feel overwhelmed, or are not sure where to start.  

To start I would suggest the Five Points of Focus:  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogging and YouTube.

For more information, you can see the entire presentation here.  In order to prevent and handle a social media crisis I've included what I think to be the three most important slides of the presentation:  Being Proactive, Being Reactive, and Taking Action.

If you would like assistance setting up social media for your organization or assistance creating a crisis communication plan columbus imPRessions can help.  Email Michele at michele@columbusimpressions.com.

Homestyle Restyle - Bob Evans TasteCasting #BEF

Last night the TasteCasters were invited to an evening at Bob Evans where we got to preview the summer menu before the public (summer menu is introduced to the public on May 14th). Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, (which was noted and linked on the Bob Evans web site), we were acting like a group of guerrilla marketers for Bob Evans.

The Bob Evans brand is strong, and the food is delicious. But in order to keep relevant, Bob Evans is undergoing a homestyle restyle, mixing new and even more delicious foods with a contemporary atmosphere.  The decor is restyled to be fresh and open, and they even have free wi fi.  These positive changes create quite an experience!

And what an experience we all had!  Bob Evans started with a sampling of their new appetizer line. So many delicious appetizers! I really liked the Itsy Bitsy Wildfire Pulled Pork Sandwich, the Loaded Baked Potato Bits and the Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Fries with Carmel Sauce. Oh yeah, they were as good as they sound!  A definite must try.  Some other yummy appetizers included Itsy Bitsy Sausage Sandwich, County Fair Cheese Bites and Wildfire Chicken Quesadilla.  All these appetizers would be great carry out on OSU football game days!

Just when we thought that was enough, Chef Brian came out with Bob-B-Q Baby Back Ribs and Oven Roasted Chicken.  The Meat is slow cooked to achieve maximum juiciness and the flavorings of sage, spices and brown sugar harmonized perfectly giving it the right balance between sweet and spicy.

The evening ended with Red, White & Blueberry Supreme Pie.  I was so full, but couldn't pass up the delectable dessert.  So glad I found some room!  The pie will become available mid-June when the berries are perfectly in season.

We left with a goody bag for participating.  What a night!  Bob Evans may be a chain, but they think beyond the box and provide innovation!  They really care about their customers and it shows with good food and great atmosphere.

Bob Evans Beefs Up Their On-line Presence

This evening, the TasteCasting group will be special guests at Bob Evans Graceland where we will be given a sneak preview of their summer menu about a week before it is introduced to the public.  During our preview, the TasteCasters will Tweet, Blog and create buzz about the food and our experience, acting like a group of social media guerilla marketers for the national chain.

I'm very excited about this one.  Sure I like Bob Evans food, but I'm excited to learn how Bob Evans is changing to keep up with the times.  A few months back, my family wanted to order Bob Evans carry-out.  I got on-line and pulled up their web site.  The site was so dated, was hard to navigate and was not user friendly.  Being disappointed, I decided to send them an email sharing my concerns about their site.  Within days I was sent an email expressing their appreciation and just a few months later I noticed a new, easy to navigate and great web site. Now I'm not saying my email made them change their website, but whatever did, I'm sure glad it worked!

Bob Evans has also been running on on-line promotion to introduce their Big Farm Salads.  The Sweepstakes ends May 13th so you still have a couple days to try and win a $100 gift card. They have also made their social media mark on Twitter and Facebook.

There will be more to come after our TasteCasting, at the home of homestyle.

To Serve or Not To Serve

Recently I was asked to join the board of directors for a  non-profit organization. My proposed board role would be that of co-chair as well as PR chair. Because I have not yet made my decision as to whether or not I will join this board, they will remain nameless.  

Before committing to a board  quite a few things need to be considered.  As I contemplate my decision I'm researching to try and find out as much about the organization as I can.  I thought it might be helpful to pass along some of the thoughts and questions that have entered my mind.

1. What is the non-profit about, who is the staff and current board?  
2. Is the non-profit, staff and board adhering to legal standards and good ethics?
3. Does the organization have a national affiliation?  If so, what are the standards and procedures?  Are there any compliance issues? Conflicts of interest?
4. What are the brand standards?
5. What is the public saying about this organization?
6. Have they ever had a PR crisis situation? If so, how was it handled, what type of damage did it do?
7. What is the organization's budget? Does the board review and approve budget?
8. What is the allocation?  expenses vs. program costs?
9. What are the fundraising goals?
10. What role does the board play in fundraising?
11. Does the organization have a strategic plan?
12. How many board members are there and how many do they intend to obtain?
13. Are there term limits?  If so, how long?
14. Can you take a leave of absence?
15. Can a board member be impeached?
16. Do all board members have voting rights?
17. Do you have board bylaws?
18. Are board members required to make a financial contribution?
19. Are there any board committees?
20. Is there a plan for board recruitment, orientation, development?
21. How often are board meetings?

As you can see, I have many questions.  But joining a board is not something to take lightly.  I want to make sure I am aligning myself with an organization I can believe in and one I can help. After all, this decision can affect my time, resources, talents, money, and reputation.  

I'm still not 100% sure of what I'm going to do.  Should I decide yes, then you'll be one of the first to know.

The Day the Music Died

Thanks to everyone who participated in my "Should the music on my site stay or go" poll. Over the last week I heard from quite a few people on my site, on Twitter and on Facebook weighing in with their thoughts about the music.

I have to say it was somewhat of a surprise that most people do not like music on a site.  Others liked the option of turning the music on if they wanted to hear the tunes.  Some said the music made the site slower to load.  Others stated that, when in a quiet place, the music would come on unexpected and loud.

So, my theory of music creating a mood and experience on a site rather than just being a flat page was wrong.  I can admit when I am wrong.  So, I have decided to delete the music from my site, at least for now. Maybe during the summer I'll bring back the tunes, but this time with the option to turn it on instead of automatically coming up when the page opens.

Thanks for the feedback.  I want to keep my visitors happy! 

Columbus Social Media Network Fun

Through MeetUp.com I have become a member of the Columbus Social Media Network Group. Ryan Bauer is the organizer of this fast growing group.  Last night we had a Cinco de Mayo Meet Up and boy did we have fun.   Here are a couple photos of me with friends I have met using social media.  Great people! 

Next week Ryan has arranged for a MeetUp to discuss Reputation Management: Social Media and Public Relations.  I will be a speaker and will be highlighting how social media can help non-profits and ways for them to avoid a social media crisis situation.  Join us if you can. But hurry, only a few spaces are left.

Free On-line Resource. Excellent for Non-profits, Realtors, Small Businesses Alike: AmericanTowns

A few months back I stumbled across AmericanTowns.  This site is like an virtual town square creating awareness, news and resources for your specific town.  With the click of a button you can find out what's going on in your community or surrounding communities - anything from events, to recreation, businesses to local government.

This network also has a community calendar.  Non-profit groups can submit their event to create awareness.  I recently added an on-line event listing for Putt for Hope. Community members can also add the event to their personal AmericanTowns calendar.

I've used AmericanTowns to upload press releases for non-profit clients. If you post information in the Community Corner section, you can use AmerianTowns PR Tool to distribute your press release for free.  You can also list your community organization on the site for free as well.  All this information shows up in a google search.

Great free resource for those looking to create awareness with a tight budget.

The Woman Challenge

This weekend I was reading one of my favorite magazines, Health, when I came across a small blurb for The Woman Challenge.

A program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Woman Challenge encourages women across the country to enlist in an eight week health challenge pledging to get at least 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week.  An on-line activity tracker monitors your progress as well as gives you news and exercise tips.

I made my pledge this past Sunday with a vigorous walk in the a.m. and bike ride in the p.m. even though the official kick off isn't until May 10th.  Warming up a week before can only help!

Occasionally I will post progress, photos and my imPRession of how this challenge is going. Want to join my virtual team?  I'd love it if you'd join me and post comments along the way. You can see the columbus imPRessions team profile here.

Sponsoring Jockey Pants

Saturday evening while eating dinner at the Liberty Tavern in Powell, I watched the Kentucky Derby and all its excitement.  Among the thrills I couldn't help but notice the jockeys wearing the NetJets logo on top of each thigh.  This led me to wonder if jockeys would become like race car drivers having their uniforms covered in corporate brands. Curious, I looked into why this happened. This is what I found out .  .  . 

The jockeys in the Kentucky Derby wore the NetJet's logo in exchange for the jet leasing company making a donation to the riders that will in turn donate the money to two equine charities, Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. It also looks like they did this last year raising over $500,000.  NetJets hopes to raise awareness for the many charities in the horsing industry.  I sure they also hope to raise awareness for their brand as well.  After all, the Hollywood jet setters might actually need a jet to fly them across the country for next year's race or any other event for that matter.

Benihana Children Helping Children Promo

Saw this promo in the Sunday Dispatch and wanted to be sure to pass it along because it's a yummy restaurant and a great cause!

Bring your family to any participating Benihana (Columbus Polaris location is participating) for the traditional Japanese holiday of Children's Day and all proceeds from the sale of Benihana children's meals on Tuesday, May 5th will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Benihana is also hosting a Children Helping Children art contest.  Bring your artwork to Benihana's before May 31, 2009 and you could win dinner for eight  or dinner for four at Benihana.  For the official art sheet click here.  Contest is open to children grades K-6.

About Children's Day:  Children's Day (Kodomo no hi): 

Part of the Golden Week, Children's Day, also know as The Boy's Festival (Tango no Sekku), is celebrated on May 5th. Families pray for the health and future success of their sons by hanging up carp kites and displaying samurai dolls, both symbolizing strength, power and success in life. In modern day times, they have incorporated girls into the celebration.

Philanthropy Friday Behind the Scenes with SNAP! Performance Productions

I had the pleasure of getting to learn more about SNAP! Performance Productions.  You can read my feature article on this non-profit performing arts group on Columbus Underground.

Here are more photos of the performing arts group in action!

For my behind the scenes look, I wanted to add a human interest side to their story and asked if SNAP! had a special memory about a group they helped. Below is co-founder and director, Lynette Shy's response and extremely touching story (warning you may need a box of tissues for this one):

I recently had the opportunity to work with some of the hearing-impaired children at our beneficiary charity - St. Vincent Family Centers (SVFC).  SVFC provides assistance to hearing-impaired and deaf children with severe emotional and behavioral health needs.  

Through SNAP!, I was able to teach tap dance classes to some of the children in their deaf services division.   Even though the children in this program cannot hear the sounds, they can feel the vibrations and can mimic the sound that way.  It was a rewarding experience all around, but there was one student who will always be in my heart.  

When I arrived for my very first class, “Nick” (who was 9 years old) gave me a name through sign language that translated roughly into “Stinky L”.   

I smiled on the outside but thought, “What have I gotten myself into?!”

Nick called me “the mean lady” and told me dancing was “for girls not boys,” and then walked away and sat on the floor.   I told him he could sit and watch, and when he wanted to dance with me and the rest of his classmates, he could.  

With an interpreter’s help, I started showing and talking through some very basic but cool moves with the other children in the class.  Three minutes into the class, Nick had uncrossed his arms.  Within five minutes, he was watching intently (without the smirk), and eight minutes into the session he was standing in line trying to learn the moves. Within 15 minutes Nick knew the whole routine, and by the end of class he was joking and laughing with me and his friends!

After class was over and I was putting all the shoes away, Nick ran up to me and tugged on my arm. He turned to the interpreter and signed something.  He had signed that I should have a different name sign, that the other one he gave me wasn’t right.  He named me “Dancing L” this time, and he did it with a smile, and then he hugged me.  

I was hooked right then and there; it was all I could do to keep from bursting into tears.   I can’t think of anything better than being able to use my skills to put a smile on the face of such a deserving child.  

SNAP! Resources

Website – http://www.snapcolumbus.org

Blog – http://www.snapcolumbus.org/blog

Twitter -  http://www.twitter.com/SnapColumbus

Facebook Cause – http://apps.facebook.com/causes/143383?m=4a83263b 

Facebook Group – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1076723658&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=58839111742