Social Media @ Work

One of the most enjoyable part of my work in the online space is coming up with crafty uses for existing, low-cost technology. Things that used to be impossible for the little guy–video promos, websites, professional-looking design–are readily available now thanks to an explosion in DIY self-expression and social tools in the online space. People often ask me, is it difficult to set up a portfolio site? How can I move my business online? How can I run impressive online campaigns for my nonprofit?

The answer is, match the right tool to your objective, and you’ll have a killer online campaign ready in no time. So in crafting these resolutions for the “little guy,” I’d like to share some of my favorite DIY tech tools and how they can be used for maximum impact online.

Resolution for creative individuals: go beyond the resume

2009 has been a tough year for those working in both traditional and online media. People with fabulous qualifications and skills are having to knock on a lot of doors. So in these challenging times, creative types need to use every tool in their arsenal to set themselves apart. It’s not enough to have a killer resume. You also need a killer online brand. The good news is that technology is on your side.

A few months ago, I stumbled across a startup called Flavors.me. The concept is simple and readily graspable–a Flavors.me page is meant to bring together all the various strands of a person life in social media–but in practice you can see there’s also a lot of ways to use this platform for a quick, high-impact branding initiative.

Easy-peasey online portfolio

By setting up some affiliated content on Vimeo, Flickr and the like, I was able to put together a quick online portfolio in no time at all. In fact, I had such a positive experience that I recommended the platform for a new young donor cultivation initiative for my organization; you can see that here:

Quick, pop-up campaign site

Resolution for Small Business People: Get Yourself Seen Online

Using a simple aggregator to pull together various online strands of social media activity is an excellent strategy for small businesses as well. But too often, I hear that small business owners are intimidated by the online space. An instructive example: A friend of mine’s father-in-law is a talented potter who sells his goods in craft markets in the midwest. His one-of-a-kind product is the kind of thing that could certainly find an appreciative audience via the web, not to mention, he could certainly stand to find great advice on growing his business via a fine network of craftspeople on Twitter and Etsy.

The bottom line is niche is great when you’re talking about the online space. If you are a distinguished purveyor of distinctively glazed ceramic pieces or one of a handful of establishments in Brooklyn who fills growlers, all you need to do to expand your business is learn how to stake your territory online. The barriers to entry aren’t difficult, but they do start with becoming a part of the conversation, whether through starting a blog or being a part of Twitter. Anything you can put up online becomes a trail of breadcrumbs that will lead new customers to your product, whether through the social networking space or through search. After all, it doesn’t cost anything to try, and the rewards of getting an online presence established can be enormous.

Resolution for folks working in nonprofit marketing and development: use more video

It’s never a bad idea to use more video. We know that the word “video” increases open rate for email newsletters. And there’s just something about a personal appeal that make a huge difference when you are working on a donor campaign. Take a look at this example from City Opera. It instantly creates an urgency about giving, and it sets itself apart from the million other direct mail pieces that are competing for donors’ attention.

While I believe that paying professionals to produce great video is worth it, take a look at a couple of DIY-rooted pieces I produced for the Film Society. In the first, we were just hoping to raise more awareness of a new rush ticket program during the New York Film Festival. This piece was made with a Flip Cam, an intern, and some willing colleagues.

Below, you’ll see a more professional looking product that I nonetheless made on a shoestring budget, with the program After Effects. We paid for professional-quality sound work, as well as royalty free music on this one, because those are two things that are hard to fake, even with all of these great DIY tools. I’m proud to say that not only was this commercial running on Time Warner Cable for several weeks, it also garnered over a 1000 hits on YouTube on an incredibly short space of time. It was also a great entry to the program on our website–making a change from our usual text-based introduction.

So how do you get started? Don’t be afraid to experiment. Find great spokespeople in your organization (nonprofits are generally wealthy with passionate people) and capture them on camera. Come up with a fun skit to put on YouTube or Facebook. Learn to use a cheap or free program like iMovie. There’s no reason to be intimidated! This is another area where there is little to lose, and much to gain.

Resolution for bloggers and other webbies still using tired-old templates: master WordPress

I love reading blogs and know many bloggers who have great content, but they’re still using the tired old basic WordPress blue template or something shopworn from Blogger. My question is why when incredibly sophisticated design work is available for cheap and it’s easy to implement.

My favorite tool is Worpress, and not just for blogs. But in order to unlock all of the magic that is WordPress, the first step is to move to a self-hosted setup. You need to pay for a hosting account (Bluehost is my personal fave), which costs a couple hundred bucks for a couple years of hosting. With that, you get your own url, plus the ability to put together a custom site on a shoestring. Just google “cool wordpress themes,” look through the WordPress.org theme directory, or look in the footer for site credits of blogs you enjoy.

Customization is a topic that could merit its own post, but I warn you, once you get hooked, you will want to make sites for everything!

I’m always on the look-out for creative uses of DIY tech, so if you’ve got your own, I hope you’ll share it in the comments!

Amanda McCormick creates online and multimedia for the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Follow her on Twitter, or connect with her on Linked In.

This post is tagged City Opera, etsy, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Flavors.me, online video, Twitter