As the end of my reading is nearing, I had to read the last two chapters of “Measure What Matter.” The chapter that highlights how to measure for nonprofits discusses how to measure behavioral change. It states, “member behavior can take many forms: renewals, donations, web traffic, e-mail responses, phone calls, attendance at trade shows, votes, and so on.” It is key that the following costs are measured monthly and are compared to media activity. The following are areas that can be measured. I hope you find them as informational and important as I do.

1.       Cost per donor acquired

This is the area where you count the number of new donors each month. Then you take that number and divide it into the total amount that will be spent on those donors.

2.       Cost per volunteer acquired

Track the number of new volunteers that are added each month and divide that into the total amount that was spent on recruitment.

3.       Cost per contribution

How much revenue comes in with every solicitation you send out? Track the cost of solicitation itself along with labor and marketing efforts.

4.       Cost per attendee

Count the number of people that come in daily or weekly to your nonprofit. Also, track the amount of traffic coming in after certain marketing and communication activities.

5.       Return on investment of a website

Track the cost of the website along with its maintenance and the donations that come in from the website. Subtract this number from the total amount of donations coming in overall. When you make changes to the website this makes it easier to measure the ROI.

This information is very important for the nonprofit organizations. I hope you all find this information helpful when working with nonprofits and measuring the amount of change in action with the organization.

Elephant Love

As you can probably tell from the header image I have a deep love for elephants. This love started for me in about second grade. I distinctly remember learning about the areas certain animals live in and having to create that biome for a specific animal. I chose an elephant and that is what started it all. I was trying to figure out what to do for my next post and it just came to me. I wanted to share with you all some of the fun facts I found along with some images of adorable elephants. Enjoy!

1.       African elephants are the largest land mammals on the planet.

2.       Females African elephants undergo the longest pregnancy of 22 months.

3.       Elephants do not like peanuts despite what all the television shows say.

4.       Asian elephants do not run. They keep at least two feet on that ground at a time.

5.       They can recognize themselves in a mirror.

6.       Elephants can get sunburned. They throw sand on their backs and head to keep bugs off and prevent sunburn.

7.       They have evolved a sixth toe that starts off as cartilage, but as they grow it becomes bone.

Video Marketing Statistics

Video content has been increasing online and businesses are wanting to take advantage of this opportunity. Videos are more expensive to create, but are more flexible when creating images. The style of videos range from advertisements to how-to videos and product demos to fun videos that catch client’s attention. An article on Social Media Today contains an infographic with some of the stats found about what businesses are using video marketing. I just wanted to share a few of these with you all.

1.       The number of video views that take place on a desktop is 86 percent, while only 14 percent are on mobile devices.

2.       The number of videos published by businesses is on average 18 each month.

3.       Over half of the videos published last year were under two minutes long.

4.       The top five percent of videos retain an average of 77 percent of the viewers to the last second.

5.       The number of businesses that use intermediate or advanced analytics to measure performance is about 35 percent.

It is interesting to see these number and be able to reflect on times when I have watched some of these videos and how dominant they are becoming in today’s society.  I highly encourage all of you to check out the rest of the statistics in the infographic. Feel free to comment your thought or opinions below!

Relations in the Local Community

After college, I want to work in a small town building up local businesses through design and public relations. I find it fitting to discuss some of the things I learned from this week’s reading in Measure What Matters. I hope you find some of these as helpful as I do.

1.      Determine who your neighbors are

It is important to note that communities are no longer just the people around you, but they can be virtual groups of people as well. Neighbors can be a variety of people including: customers, vendors, partners, external advocates, nongovernmental organizations, and others that your company has a relationship with.

2.      Know how relationships influence your organization

It is key to ignore those relationships that put you at risk or in danger. If you lose the trust of the community it can be hard to regain. It can be done though through an apology and admission of wrongdoing. When you have a good relationship with the community, they can be a support system and back up your business in time of crisis.

3.      Focus on the key publics

The key publics can include anyone from customers to financial analysts to the media. It has become expected that business have a global outreach program in place. If an organization does not have a good metrics plan in place, then it is easy to assume everything is fine and dandy. It is not until something goes wrong that you notice things should have been determined ahead of time.

With the desire to work in a small community, this information is great to keep in mind. I hope you all find it as informative and important as I do.

Pinterest’s Move to Get Rid of the Like Button

Pinterest recently announced that they are going to remove the “like” option off their site. This could mean big things for those that track likes as part of their performance. The following quote is taken from the article on Social Media Today. It states, “There are lots of reasons why people like Pins on Pinterest. But because we have both a Save button and a Like button, it hasn’t always been clear how they’re different. After doing a bunch of research with Pinners, we found Pinterest is easier to understand when we remove the Like button altogether.”

They explain the difference between liking a pin and saving a pin. When you like a pin, it is moved to a different tab that only you can see, but when you save a pin, you add it to a board and anybody can see it.

Pinterest found that nobody really cared about the option and decided to get rid of it. They are also starting to move away from being common social media network. They state, “While other companies want you to live in a virtual world, Pinterest encourages people to live in the real world. We like to say, be yourself and not your selfie. There are many services out there with the mission of helping you connect and share with friends; we’re the one app exclusively in the visual discovery business.” Pinterest is starting to move away from social and is focusing now on the eCommerce potential.

Personally, I am in favor of this new change. I like the idea of just being able to save pins. I was more confused when I realized there was even a save option on Pinterest. So, what do you think? How do you feel about this change? Feel free to comment below!

Softball and Puppies

As the end of the semester is quickly appearing I find it important to take the time to do the things you love and to relax a little before the overwhelming stress kicks in. Last Monday I got the chance to go out to Robb Park with my father and hit some softballs. Softball has always been a huge part of my life, but sadly this is the first year I have not played. Being able to go and be on the field again was such an amazing stress reliever.

Not only did I get to do what I love, but we also found a lost puppy. For those of you that do not know, Robb Avenue in Lima is an extremely busy street. I was able to catch the pup before she ran into the street. The first thing I looked for was her tags, which she did not have. Then we started looking around to see if anyone appeared to be looking for her. That failed us as well. After about an hour or so we decided to call the dog warden and ask what we should do. The final decision was to take her to the Allen County Dog Warden and hope the owner look for her.

In the two hours, the puppy was with us, she never made a sound and was very scared. I was able to run and play with her, which made both of us happy. She was such a sweet girl. All I can hope for her is that her family finds her, or she gets adopted by an even better family.

Just remember that no matter how stressed out you may get, it will all be over soon. Do the things you love to do. Oh, and puppies make everything better!

Pinterest’s Newest Infographic

Pinterest just released a new infographic that covers the new data on their audiences. They are a growing marketing option that may not get the attention that they deserve. Statistics show that

Pinterest now has over 175 million monthly active users and could possibly get $500 million in ad revenue this year alone. I just wanted to share a few of the new statistics that were released. Enjoy!

1.       The number of people that look at saved content while in stores is 67%. With this people are two times more likely to say time on Pinterest is well-spent.

2.       Pinterest is being used by seven in ten millennial women in the United States.

3.       It is now being shown that Pinterest is being used highly by men and women. Women account for 68% of people that use Pinterest and men account for 40% of new users.

4.       Pinterest is mainly used on a mobile device via the app. This mean that 80% of Pinners use the app.

I found these statistics highly interesting as I am one of the women that use the Pinterest app daily. I hope you found this information interesting as well and I encourage all of you to follow this link and check out more of the information that was shared.

Three-part Social Media Revolution

As I continue to read “Measure What Matters” I learn so many details that are highly important. This week I decided to share with you all the three-part social media revolution. Social media requires this shift to occur throughout different processes.

1.       Redefine the now

The idea is to define timeliness. The response turnaround needs to be done quickly. Timeliness in today’s world is responding and dealing with a problem before it goes viral. Be authentic.

2.       Redefine PR, Advertising, Marketing, and Corporate Communications

Technology is a big part of this. It allows decision-making to be based on the reputation. Also, it is important to communicate to the right people. If you can connect with a smaller group of the right people it is more beneficial. With advertising, you are just getting information out to people that do not necessarily care out you or your product.

3.       Change how we quantify success

In social media, the number of impressions is impossible to calculate and does not matter. The key is to build relationships. these relationships are between people and products or organizations. With this it is important to calculate the engagement between the two.

I hope you find these shifts as important as I do to the world of social media. Feel free to add and comments or suggestions below!

Lent and Chapel

Being a Catholic means that I partake in Lent each year. Lent is a religious observance that begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40 days. It is a time for reflection and preparation before Easter. By observing these 40 days, Catholics replicate Jesus Christ’s sacrifices.

Each year I try to give at least two things up as my sacrifice. People find it odd that I start off with two. I choose two because I tend to bail out on one, whether it be because I forgot or just plain failed. Every year I give up slushies and that is what I tend to fail with. This year was different though. I started off giving up fried food and slushies. I failed and ate fried foods because I honestly forgot. I made it my goal, to give up slushies because I have an unhealthy obsession for them. I am proud to say that for once in my life, I made a sacrifice, nowhere near the sacrifices that Jesus made, and followed through with it until the end. Yes, it was challenging, but rewarding at the same time.

Also, the Ohio Northern University had an Easter service that I had the opportunity to partake in. I was not originally asked to do this, but because a friend had to leave early, I got the opportunity to sit up on the stage and paint a scene for Jesus Christ. When it was all done, I felt a strong sense of being watch over and pride for having to do something that may seem like such a small gesture compared to the sacrifices others have made.

I ask all of you to take time over this holiday break to reflect and think of the true reasons we celebrate Easter. Feel free to share any of your experiences with Lent. Happy Easter!

Coding for Content Analysis

In “Measure What Matters” they state that media content analysis, “is one of the most valuable and commonly used tools in measurement.” Content analysis can be done by a human or automated with computers. The problem with computers though, is the inability to differentiate between irony and sarcasm, and they cannot notice regional variations. I just wanted to share with all of you the most common elements that are coded for.

1.       Type of Media

There are dozens of channels in which your company can be discussed. The creator of the conversation has authority that influences the circulation of the publication. Social media makes it so the most influential sites may have few readers but they can be picked up by larger sites that carry more weight.

2.       Visibility: Prominence and Dominance

The more visible a brand is the more likely it is to be remembered. Prominence is the location of the first mention of a company. This can be found in the headline, top 20 percent, or the bottom 80 percent.

3.       Tone

The tone is the attitude or opinion and article expresses. These can be broken down into a few categories including: positive, neutral, balanced, or negative.

4.       Messages Communicated

Any conversation about your brand can convey a wide variety of messages, whether good or bad. You want to track key messages and their opposites.

5.       Sources Mentioned

This is all about influencing the influencers. So, who is quoted in your coverage and what do they say?

6.       Conversation Type

The nature of conversations can tell you a lot about what people have to say about your company. It has been shown that there are 27 types of conversations that can take place.

                I hope these elements can help you know what your company is looking for when they are coding for content analysis. Feel free to share more about this topic in the comments below.

Working at the Market

Last summer I had the opportunity to work at my best friend’s family farm market. I never knew how much went into making the whole store come together. Like many other things, working on the farm has many ups and downs. Some of those include cleaning, sorting through produce, working with customers, and creating displays. I learned several life lessons and important tips that I would like to share with you all.

1.       Counting back change

This is one skill many people overlook and no longer think is important. Counting back change is a big part of having money skills. It helps with basic math and customers are happy and in shock when they see a cashier is counting back change to them. It shows you know what you are doing and care about the customers.

2.       Working with people

When you are dealing with customers it is all about them. No matter what else you have going on, keeping the customer happy is the idea. Be polite and interact with them. They may need help but do not want to ask for it.

3.       Display is important

When you have a display set up, it draws people in. Attractiveness pulls people in. Once you have a customer intrigued by the look of the store, you also must keep them interested in what you are selling. The setup within the overall display is key. At the farm, it is important that the produce is full and colorful. Anything that is older and running low looks bad to the customers.

Keep it clean and the aesthetics well done.

These are just a few of the things that I learned while working. They worked to open my eyes and to see the big picture of what my hard work does in the end. I am excited to be working for them again later in the summer and to see what new things are in store for me.

Have you ever had a job that taught you many things you did not think of in the beginning? Feel free to share thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

McDonald’s and Snapchat

When you think of using Snapchat, you typically think about controversial content. McDonalds has decided to implicate a new tactic called Snaplications.  This is a new way for people to apply for a job. The idea came because many of the people who apply, at jobs like McDonalds, are younger. 

They created a new Sponsored Lens that allows a potential employee to take a selfie with the McDonalds uniform placed over it. From there they get one snap to say why they should be considered for the job. After the Snap is sent, a link will pop up taking you to the application site.

The campaign started in Australia, due to the large number of Australians they employ. This tactic is huge because it is a way for them to reach their target audience. Social Media Today quotes, “We’re the largest employer of youth in the country, so we’re trying to look for new and innovative ways to recruit crew people.”

In Australia, there are over four million users on Snapchat. This seems to be the perfect pairing of these two companies. So, what do you think?  Would you be willing to apply for a job through Snapchat? Feel free to leave your comments below!

Five Ways to measure ROI

 This week’s reading of “Measure What Matters” includes a section that clearly identifies ways to measure ROI. ROI is the return on investment. I found these facts important and wanted to share them with you all.

1.       Sales or Revenue

This is where you can use your web analytics and customer relationship management to tie actual sales to social media activity.

2.       Cost Savings

More organizations are experimenting with social media for marketing, recruitment, or customer service. By listening to conversations, you can better identify candidates or more quickly solve customer problems.

3.       Paid versus Earned Search Rankings

One of the advantages of a proactive social media campaign is that it makes your brand more current and more relevant, two criteria that determine how high up your brand will appear.

4.       Cost Avoidance

Any company can be caught in crisis. Good relationships can mitigate its extent and duration. The best way to measure would be to examine what happens to competing organizations in your marketplace.

5.       Social Capital

For an individual, the more relationships you have the better your life is, the longer you live and the healthier you are. Good social capital means that information flows more easily, innovation and efficiency increase, and legal costs go down.

I hope you all have learned something, as I have, from the readings. Feel free to add and comments and keep looking from more tips from “Measure What Matters.”

Twitter's Egg Avatar

I found an article on Social Media Today stating that Twitter has recently announced the change from its default egg avatar. They have now made the avatar a generic, gray silhouette. This change occurred in efforts to encourage more people to upload a profile image.

 I have not been on Twitter for long, but was a fan of the egg and what it stood for. They are saying that the egg “was a playful way to reference how eggs hatch into birds that send all the Tweets you see in Twitter.” Like many new things, a push for personal expression is being looked for.

Along with changing the avatar, Twitter recently released a new function that allows users to block all tweets from all egg accounts. The egg logo allows troll and harassers on the platform, which is trying to be eliminated. Many people tend to like the egg and do not want to change it. Twitter had to work hard to find the most generic image to use.

I am sure about all of you, but if I saw a generic, grayscale image I would be encouraged to add a photo. Let me know what you think about this change in the comments below! 

Turophiles and Cheese Facts

The inspiration for this blog comes from my unhealthy obsession of cheese. I am that weird person that can sit down and eat a block of cheese and have no problem doing so.  Personally, my favorites are Colby Jack and a variety of Amish cheeses. I decided to look up some interesting facts about cheese so I can share them with you all. Enjoy!

1.       Cheese date back to before 6000 B.C.

2.       You can be arrested for eating certain cheeses. The United States FDA has stricter aging standards than the French.

3.       Eating cheese before bed can help you sleep.

4.       Scientists in Poland discovered people were eating cheese even before the written word existed.

5.       From June 1935 to March 1937, Wisconsin restaurants were required to serve cheese and butter with meals.

6.       People who are lactose Intolerant can eat cheese.

7.       Cheese is rich in calcium which put mineral back in your teeth.

8.       In Wisconsin, cheese waste is combines with rock salt to prevent roads from freezing.

9.       The US regulates the holes in domestically produced Swiss Cheese.

10.   People who love cheese are called Turophiles.

I hope you all found these facts about cheese as fascinating as I did. Feel free to leave your comments about cheese or a food you have a strange love for below!

Not Your Father’s Ruler

The next book on the list to read is “Measure what Matters” by Katie Delahaye Paine. The main goal of the books is to teach how to measure what you need to make the decisions that are crucial to your business. Date is becoming cheaper and easier to come across. Getting the right data is key. All organizations have key publics that they need to build relationships with stakeholders. In the first chapter one of the book they discuss the myths of measurement, so I would like to share some of those myths with you all.

1.       Measurement = Punishment

It is often seen as a way to check up on a person or department. People often stay away from accountability in fear that it will reveal weaknesses. People are afraid to get bad news. If something is not working then it is wasting time, money, and resources.

2.       Measurement Will Only Create More Work for Me

It can often be just another thing added to the list of tasks that need to be done. When a measurement system is in place, it makes other things easier. The data can ensure the company with have maximum impact.

3.       Measurement is Expensive

You cannot afford not to measure. Measuring is a way to know if you are spending your budget in the best way. It leads to efficiency so it inevitably pays for itself.

4.       Measurement is Strictly Quantitative

“If all you look at are sales and not the relationships your organization has with its publics, you’ll never be able to accurately understand why those sales go up or down.” Revenue and relationships both need looked at.

5.       Measurement is Something You Do When a Program is Over

Measurement should start at the start of a program.

So now that you know the truth behind measurement, go out there and start measuring! Also, keep checking back for more tips behind “Measuring What Matters.” 

A Sophomore's Worst Dream

Few people know what goes on in the art department at Ohio Northern University. Sophomore Review is a presentation for design majors to present to the faculty. It consists of a huge compilation of art work from the first two years. One of the required PDF’s contains all the images of art works along with short blurbs about each project. The second required PDF consists of images taken from our “thinking journals” or our sketchbooks.

Many, many, many hours of work went into bringing these portfolios together. It was a challenge trying to pick the best projects to include. My best friend and I worked eight hours in the student lounge and computer lab putting it all together. We will find out if hard work really does work out in the end.

Wish us luck with the final presentation to faculty!

Inside Wilson

I spend countless hours in the Wilson Art Center. The inspiration for my promotional video came while I was working on my Sophomore Review, but you will learn more about that in another post. I decided to show my life and the experiences that I have had in the art department. Few people on campus are familiar with Wilson, so I wanted to make it known. I also wanted an inspirational video for upcoming students that may be thinking about going to Ohio Northern University. I want people to know that we do exist and great things can come from such a small community.

Here is the link to my video, please check it out and let me know what you think. You can also check out the link on my Twitter, and Facebook accounts.

Student Choice Bingo

Earlier this semester the Ohio Northern SPC group sent out a survey asking what event the students wanted most. The result was BINGO! I had the opportunity to go to the event and even live-tweet it. The event was held in HP (pharmacy) and the prizes were based on the clever spring theme. I have found that bingo is a popular event for students to go to. Bingo is just that perfect mix of fun and stress that gets your mind off all the things college is throwing your way. I did not win, sadly, but I had a great time with some of my friends and learned that there is a large amount of tension in the air when it comes to college kids and bingo. To say the least, we are all a little competitive! Check out my Storify to learn exactly what happened during the event!

The start to an Internship

In eighth grade teachers start pressuring students to figure out what they want to do with their lives after high school. Every year it is the same question just a different teacher asking it. At the end of my sophomore year, I visited my great uncle’s museum in Illinois. He runs the Pontiac Oakland Museum in Pontiac, Illinois.

From talking with my grandfather, I learned that my great uncle used to work for the State of Oklahoma on graphic design. So, it makes sense that he designs all the graphics for the museum. This is when I decided what I wanted to do with my life.

I love the idea of working in a small town, building businesses through public relations and graphics. I decided last year that I wanted to do an internship with my great uncle and learn how he does what he does. This summer I get the opportunity to spend two months in Illinois working on my internship.

It is stressful and exciting at the same time. I have been in contact with my great uncle about this summer and he wants me to design some t-shirts to sell in the museum. Over spring break, I had the opportunity to sit down and start some very rough sketches for the designs. The idea was to get the basic designs down on paper. I wanted to share with you all what I have come up with so far.

I am excited to get to Illinois and learn an unthinkable number of things that will change my life. So, I ask you all, what brought you to your major? Have you done an internship that seemed to be life changing? Please share your experiences in the comments below. 

Recap of the Workbook

It has come time again to recap the book I have been reading for class. The “Social Media Marketing Workbook” by Jason McDonald clearly defines what the different social platforms are and how they are used. I just want to share some of the key points I found important for each platform.

Facebook

1.       The largest social platform that requires skills that can be transferred to other platforms.

2.       When a person likes a business, it creates a relationship between profile and page. Interactivity is key. You want people to like or share your posts. This creates a greater flow of ideas. Edgerank measures this interactivity.

LinkedIn

1.       Company pages are only as good as employee pages. The employees are contacts, experts, and credible.

2.       Schmoozing is the major aspect of LinkedIn marketing. With schmoozing, you have a first level connection with a person you know. You then can go through the first level connection and ask to connect with one of their first level connections.

Twitter

1.       Twitter is the most open network with lots of news content. It is shorter, faster, and noisier than Facebook.

2.       When creating your account, you can pin a tweet to the top of your Twitter account. This makes it so that tweet appears first when users open your Twitter page.  

YouTube

1.       Videos act as the content that you share with other social media, including your website. They also serve as a discovery mechanism via Search Engine Optimization. This helps you promote the company, products, or services via search.

2.       Look for content that is popular in your industry. As a company, you also want to find your niche audiences. These are the people that are the most likely to be interested in your company or product.

Pinterest

1.       The target audience for Pinterest includes females and consumer retail. They also promote do-it-yourself building, constructing, crafting, and more.

2.       Pinterest acts as visual bookmarking. It includes an idea board system that can be social or private. This also makes online shopping easier.

I hope these facts help you to better understand some of the social platforms that many use on a day to day basis. Feel free to add any facts or tips that you find useful while using social platforms in the comments below. 

The Power of Photography

I know for many spring break means traveling down south and spending a week on the beach. As much as I would love going down to Florida, I did not get that opportunity. I did do something that I love though, take pictures.

One thing you all will learn about me is the strong love I have for nature and exploring. Any chance I get, I like to go out and find somewhere new. This means having my camera by my side. I wanted to share some of the reasons I find photography important along with some of my favorite images from this week.

1.      Capture the moment

We all know that pictures are an amazing way to capture the essence of a moment. They are a great way to remember any moment in time. The good or the bad. The joyful or the sad. No matter the feeling of the moment a photograph can capture it all.

2.      The photographer’s eye

One of the most amazing things about photography is the fact that what you see in the image is just a glimpse of a whole. Also, what you see is what the artist is choosing for you to see. The photographer has the chance to crop the image however they want. This makes the meaning behind an image so much stronger.

3.      The meaning of the image

There is great beauty in the idea that any image can be interpreted in any way. The meaning can be influenced by the way the image was taken, but in the end the viewer decides their own meaning behind the image. As the viewer, you get to create your own story that goes along with the photograph. It is all about how you interpret the image.

Photography can be something different for each person. For me, photography is a major stress reliever and it allows me to explore new things. I could easily spend hours out in nature taking pictures of everything around me and that is exactly what I did over spring break.

Feel free to share some of your experiences with photography or even share your spring break adventures in the comments below.