If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know that I have been traveling a fair bit lately.  I have been to Atlanta and Dallas with Boston coming next week.  All three trips have been directly related to the world of social media. more

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Initial Assessment:

Realizing the need that small and mid-size non-profit organizations have for quality fundraising counsel, a group of experienced fundraising professionals developed a business plan to provide their high-level services on a more economical fee structure using the Internet.  These visionary leaders chose MediaSauce as their strategic partner to bring their business plan to life. 

Strategic Recommendations:

• Develop a Strong, Cohesive Brand – We started with the fundamentals of company name, tag line, and visual identify. We helped them create an image that evoked the feelings and thoughts they wanted. This branding was implemented in all digital and print collateral.
• Build a Robust Platform to Drive Business – To provide their high-quality services at a lower cost, we created a website that could drive new business and serve as a portal for existing clients to access different levels of service. Video introduction, webinar announcements, and an easy-to-find event calendar.
• Focus on Usability - It is vital to create a strong user experience when visiting their main site. With usability as focus, we created a clean interface with highly intuitive navigation.
• Blog to Become a Thought Leader - Professional service providers depend on their knowledge. Blogging was a natural fit to help establish Achieve as the thought leader in the non-profit market.

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Screenshot for SaveWhiting.com

Initial Assessment:

As an unintended consequence of property tax reform, the City of Whiting found itself in danger of not having enough revenue to provide basic city services, such as police and fire protection. With just days left in the legislative session, MediaSauce was enlisted to help spread the word and create action before lawmakers adjourned for the year. 

Strategic Recommendations:

• Invoke the Spirit of Small Town America - While it’s easier to be against something, it’s more powerful to be for something you care about deeply. We recommended the strategy of rallying people around saving the city, instead of fighting bad legislation. By pulling on the heartstrings of those who cared, we knew we could harness the passionate belief it would create.
• Make It Easy to Help - Time was of the essence, so we worked quickly to create and launch an action center that had five easy, immediate ways any visitor could help. The most prominent option was an online petition drive, which far exceeded everyone’s expectations with how many signed it. 
• Give Individuals Power and a Voice - While a cynic could dismiss the petition drive as just numbers, we gave each person the opportunity to type their story directly using a blog platform (see In Your Words).  In a very short time, the site generated a wide variety of stories that painted a much stronger picture of Whiting.
• Make It Easy to Share - Visitors had the option to email a link directly to friends, send a message to lawmakers and the press, grab a banner to place on their website, and/or take a badge with them on a number of different social networking sites.
• Integrated Action - The moment the site went live, everyone connected to the effort drove people to it. An initial email message (to a few hundred), press releases, person-to-person conversations, newspaper articles, advertisements, and lobbying efforts all encouraged people to get more information and take action at the site.

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Screenshot of www.ifsa-butler.org

Initial Assessment:

IFSA-Butler found itself in a crowded market of study abroad programs and was not certain if its story was connecting with prospective students and those who shape their decisions. MediaSauce was tapped to create and execute a strategy for telling the story to its fullest potential and drive higher enrollment.

Strategic Recommendations:

• Create a Simple, Engaging Navigation – We identified the main audiences and reasons why each would visit the site. From that, we crafted a visually engaging interface with intuitive navigation.
• Hone the Message – Using a crisp, humorous animation, our team developed a sharply honed overview of their unique student-services process. The result was a clear, concise explanation of what makes IFSA-Butler a great choice for the students and their loved ones.
• Tell the Story in Videos and Photos – Who doesn’t take pictures and video when they travel? Bring these together in an easy to view forum helped convey the depth and breadth of the experience.
• Connect Prospective Students Directly to Current Students - Who wants to read what the marketing department has to say, when you can read what real-life customers have to say about their personal experiences? That’s why we integrated blogging and a social network to let individuals tell their own stories.
• Leverage Existing Technical Assets -Working closely with IFSA-Butler’s IT department, we integrated the new online presence with the CMS tool they were implementing to ensure all the puzzle pieces of over 800 pages of content came together as intended.

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So here are the top ten sites to get the Black Friday Deals – I didn’t steal this from anyone. Just did a little research and this is what I came up with. more

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Want to capitalize on the successful experiences of entrepreneurs and professionals in the areas of starting, funding, growing, and managing a business?  Then join me on Thursday, October 23 at a special conference for entrepreneurs, investors, and business professionals at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. more

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Keep your eyes peeled, ears to the ground, and finger on the pulse!  MediaSauce is cooking up more big events for December.  More details to follow.

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During times of economic uncertainty, I like to think of my favorite quote from my fellow Omahan, Warren Buffett:

You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out. (Berkshire Hathaway 2001 Chairman’s Letter)

At MediaSauce, we believe the current economic situation provides an excellent opportunity to reassess your entire organizational strategy and consider how you can better integrate digital and social media into your business plan.   more

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Recently, I traveled to NY to visit a client and help them with one of their learning websites. The business I did there was fine if uneventful but what happened on the way back to the LaGuardia really opened my eyes to how lost people can get in an online world.

First thing I blew it on was the directions. Instead of taking the time – and I have some being stuck in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere in New Jersey – I worked on a few projects and watched some TV. I could have easily gone to Google Maps or something and gotten directions but I didn’t. Instead I decided to trust my original Google map that got me to the business in the first place and just reverse my way back. That was big mistake. more

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