Educommunicators Blog
An Online Community for Education's Marketing Communications Community
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Establishing an Online Dialogue and Discussion for Educommunicators
As you know, we completed our survey of Educommunicators members last month. You've given us a lot to think about in terms of content.
Delivery was a bit easier. The majority of members sought to establish an online group that would allow for easier information sharing, networking, and general discussion and debate. As a result, we established a Google Group for Educommunicators.
Before we get the action started on that Google Group, we need folks to sign up as members for the group. It is an easy enough process. Just visit the following site:
groups.google.com/group/educommunicators?hl=en
Once we have critical mass on Google, we can begin moving forward with the content pieces. Then you can decide how much information you want (as posted, hourly, daily, whenever you check, etc.) We'll continue to crosspost on Facebook and on the blog for a while, but this migration is what folks were looking for. We're just trying to deliver.
Just drop me a note if you have any questions.
P
Moving Educommunicators Forward
Earlier this month, we released the findings of our first online survey of education communicators. The results were both informative and interesting. The full results can be found here -- blog.educommunicators.com/2009/01/12/the-results-are-in-2008-educommunicators-online-survey.aspx The highlights include:
* Educommunicators are interested in sharing best practices and exploring ways to effectively use new media
* Email is still the most effective way to communicate
* Finding the right message remains our primary challenge in our daily practice
* We're looking for ongoing information on the issues and tools affecting our jobs
The primary question, now, if what do we do with these results? How do we use these findings to help build a better online community, a place where marketing and communications professionals in the education community can find real value and can make a real contribution? These are questions I and the Educommunicators board have been wrangling with for the past week or so.
Based on these findings and the insights individual Educommunicator members have provided me over the past few months, Educommunicators is committed to moving forward the following goals in 2009:
* Establishing an email list (or a Google group) that allow us to easily circulate information across the group and encourage our hundreds of members across the nation to share and contribute on topics and issues important to them
* Collecting best practices. Now is the time to send along your case studies, your stories, and your experiences so we can begin collecting a database for all to learn from.
* Strengthening relationships with other organizations, particularly NSPRA and EWA, to help supplement the services and information they are providing their members
* Providing primers and tools on effectively using new media, conducting media relations, and enhancing community relations as part of our jobs
One of the first steps will be to take the contact info for all of those engaged through Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sources and combine them into one comprehensive e-mailing list. If you know of others who should be on that list, please share their contact information.
As you know, Educommunicators is a social networking experiment. Its success depends on the involvement and interaction of our members. We need you to participate. We need you to share. We need you to be part of the solution. Over the next month, we will build the email list to begin this discussion. In the meantime, please send along your case studies, examples of good work, campaigns, websites, and anything else you think members will benefit from. It will then fall to the Educommunicators board to ensure they are properly shared and used to build a foundation for improving our craft and improving our industry.
Email anything and everything to info@educommunicators.com. And if you'd like to take more of an active role (more active than providing your individual insights) we can use your talents. Just offer them up.
Top 50 Education Policy Blogs
Over at Online University Lowdown, the offer a new blog posting on "the top 50 education policy blogs." They lead into their list (they don't actually rank the 50, just list them, with the following:
"Education policy has been the single most consistent issue in the US political discourse for the last 30 years. Historically education policy reform proposals and information have been dictated by think tanks, political parties, and more traditional avenues. Increasingly, however, some of the most interesting and innovative education policy discussions are taking place on the blogosphere. These blogs range from topics on K-12 education up to international policies and higher learning."
The full post, with the top 50, can be found here: www.onlineuniversitylowdown.com/2007/08/top-50-educational-policy-blogs.html
Eduflack is honored that this blog is included in their top 50 list. Are "the most interesting and innovative education policy discussions" taking place on the blogosphere? If recent debates about 21st century skills and national standards are any indication, I'd like to think the answer is yes.
At any rate, congrats to the other 49 on the list. Let's hope we can continue to live up to the perceived expectation that we are key cogs in the policy discussions that will continue to drive education improvement.
(The above was also posted on Eduflack -- http://blog.eduflack.com.)
The Results Are In: 2008 Educommunicators Online Survey
The results are in! On behalf of the entire Educommunicators Board of Advisors, I'd like to thank each and every person who took the time to participate in our 2008 survey. What did we learn? Educommunicators are proud of the work they do. They want to continue to improve and learn. And they recognize the important intersection their work plays in education field and the profession in general.
All told, nearly 25 percent of our rapidly growing membership took part in this survey. And that's saying a lot when you look at the hundreds of Educommunicators joining us through Facebook, LinkedIn, the general Internet, and our infant email distribution.
Without further ado, let's get right to the results:
What issues do you want to see Educommunicators focus on in 2009?
* Spotlight communications best practices -- 67.1%
* Discuss ways to use new media -- 64.6%
* Share education news -- 46.3%
* Education policy analysis -- 39%
* Discussion board -- 36.6%
* Webcasts/podcasts -- 32.9%
* Job postings 32.9%
What is the best medium for Educommunicators to engage marketing communications professionals?
* Email -- 60%
* Educommunicators blog -- 36.3%
* Educommunicators website -- 32.5%
* Facebook -- 32.5%
* LinkedIn -- 25%
* Listserve -- 7.5%
* Twitter -- 7.5%
* Yahoo group -- 3.8%
What are the major challenges you face as an education communicator?
* Making use of new technologies in a strategic way -- 62.4%
* Thinking long-term and staying on a strategic course -- 43.9%
* Maintaining conversations with stakeholders -- 41.5%
* Convincing colleagues or higher-ups of the value of your work -- 37.8%
What are your communications areas of expertise?
* Media relations -- 59.5%
* Community relations -- 50.6%
* Marketing -- 44.3%
* Public affairs -- 38%
* Research -- 38%
* Design and creative services -- 27.8%
* Government relations -- 25.3%
* Technology -- 25.3%
What is the most important tool for effective communications?
* The right message -- 43.8%
* Strong network of contacts -- 26.3%
* An issue stakeholders care about -- 18.8%
* Background as an educator -- 8.8%
* Power of technology -- 2.5%
Following are our open-ended questions. Highlighted, you'll find the most repeated answers.
On what specific issues would you like Educommunicators to focus?
* Best practices/case studies
* New media/Web 2.0/digital equity/social media
* Federal policy actions/developments
* Getting the organization to listen to its PR people
* Learning about what is happening in other states, other organizations
What do you consider the most useful resources or information in your work?
* Education blogs
* Colleagues
* Professional organizations
* Web sites
* Print publications/research studies
To what professional organizations do you currently belong?
* NSPRA
* EWA
* IABC
* CASE
* PRSA
* Assorted education content groups
How might Educommunicators add value to your professional work?
* Connecting to others in the field/networking
* Best practices/case studies
* Regular updates on what others are doing in the field
* New strategies
What are the most important education issues the nation will face in 2009?
* Financing/money/economy
* Accountability
* NCLB and other federal policy developments
* Technology
You've given us a great deal to think about and an incredible fountain of information on which to build this professional community in 2009. Over the next week, I'll be posting some specific action steps that Educommunicators will pursue as a result of your feedback. As always, if you have any additional thoughts, please post a comment. You can do it through Facebook, LinkedIn, this blog, or just email Educommunicators (info@educommunicators.com) and we'll get your comments circulated throughout the group.
Here's to an exciting, informative, and impactful first year for Educommunicators!
Let's Forget About Publications
(Following is a guest posting from Educommunicators Board Member Paul Baker.)
I’m assuming that publications plays a part in all of our job responsibilities, whether we work in a department of public relations, marketing, alumni relations, or development.
The more I participate in, and read about, social media, I feel uncomfortable with the word, ‘publications.’ I almost daily remind myself that the term is dangerous. It carries too much baggage. We as communicators might do well to stop using the term altogether. Why? Two things.
The term ‘publications’ has such a long history and refers to traditional printed media (brochures, newsletters, reports, viewbooks). We will, and probably must, keep using “dead tree” media well into the future, because many of our audiences (especially alums) expect and like printed products. Some published material is being made available only in electronic form (PDF, FlashPaper), but this practice is still in relative infancy. But because the term ‘publications’ usually does not connote electronic media, I fear that the term locks us communicators into an 18th-century mindset.
Second, the term ‘publications’ connotes one-way communication. I produce a printed piece, and you read it. Period. You don’t write your reactions on my newsletter and mail it back to me.
I’m not suggesting that we end all printing immediately. I would however like to see one-way communication become an ever-smaller slice of our communications mix. We old-timers see the rise of young generations who live in a world of electronic information products. They expect to cut-and-paste their media, create mashups, chat back and forth, and toggle among several electronic media in quick succession. They do that at home and they expect to be able to do that in school. When they graduate they will take those communication habits into the world as educommunicators and as recipients of educommunications.
So I’d like to forget about ‘publications.’ Instead, let’s do communications.
I’m assuming that publications plays a part in all of our job responsibilities, whether we work in a department of public relations, marketing, alumni relations, or development.
The more I participate in, and read about, social media, I feel uncomfortable with the word, ‘publications.’ I almost daily remind myself that the term is dangerous. It carries too much baggage. We as communicators might do well to stop using the term altogether. Why? Two things.
The term ‘publications’ has such a long history and refers to traditional printed media (brochures, newsletters, reports, viewbooks). We will, and probably must, keep using “dead tree” media well into the future, because many of our audiences (especially alums) expect and like printed products. Some published material is being made available only in electronic form (PDF, FlashPaper), but this practice is still in relative infancy. But because the term ‘publications’ usually does not connote electronic media, I fear that the term locks us communicators into an 18th-century mindset.
Second, the term ‘publications’ connotes one-way communication. I produce a printed piece, and you read it. Period. You don’t write your reactions on my newsletter and mail it back to me.
I’m not suggesting that we end all printing immediately. I would however like to see one-way communication become an ever-smaller slice of our communications mix. We old-timers see the rise of young generations who live in a world of electronic information products. They expect to cut-and-paste their media, create mashups, chat back and forth, and toggle among several electronic media in quick succession. They do that at home and they expect to be able to do that in school. When they graduate they will take those communication habits into the world as educommunicators and as recipients of educommunications.
So I’d like to forget about ‘publications.’ Instead, let’s do communications.
Paul Baker is Senior Communicator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education's Wisconsin Center for Education Research. He is also the author of the EducationPR blog (www.educationpr.org).
A Closer Look at Social Media Reading
Last week, we began the discussion on social media and some of the books Educommunicators board member Paul Baker has been reviewing over at EducationPR. Following is guest post from Paul, providing some more information and some more context on his holiday reading:
Most of the books I’ve reviewed for my EducationPR blog were written for communicators in the for-profit sector. I read them as an educommunicator because I’m convinced that any communicator can take away insights and practical tools. Communicators in the for-profit sector will deploy these tools and strategies somewhat differently than we educommunicators, yet there are some important overlaps.
The term ‘education communicator’ encompasses a wide range of job responsibilities. Some, including development and alumni relations, involve meeting financial goals. Others don’t (public affairs, government relations, media relations, outreach, marketing to prospective students).
Given that people in alumni relations and development have responsibility for meeting financial goals, they might benefit most from reading these books. That is to say, they’d need to spend less time translating the business goals that these books assume drive the communicators who read them. Those of us who don’t have financial goals looking over our shoulders can still benefit from these books, as they consistently emphasize the important changes that have already taken place in the ways and means of public discussion. That discourse is increasingly taking place beyond print media and beyond broadcast channels.
These books as a group echo each other in some of the case studies they provide and the sites they link to. Because of that, readers who are absolutely new to social media can pretty much start with any of these titles.
Working with the titles Patrick suggested I will try to recommend these social media books in terms of which seem most suitable for us in the education sector, ranking each in terms of these measures:
Best for those new to social media
Best for those already using social media
Best for those not responsible for meeting financial targets
Best for those responsible for meeting financial targets
The grade A means excellent; the grade B means good.
Now is Too Late2: Survival in an Era of Instant News. By Gerald R. Baron.
A new to social media
A already using social media
A responsible for meeting financial targets
A not responsible for meeting financial targets
The following four are fairly similar
1. Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing. By Jim Tobin with Lisa Braziel.
2. Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide. By Amy Shuen.
3. Secrets of social media marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer
Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business. By Paul Gillin.
4. Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message. By Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba.
A new to social media
B already using social media
A responsible for meeting financial targets
B not responsible for meeting financial targets
Now Is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs by Geoff Livingston.
B new to social media
A already using social media
A responsible for meeting financial targets
B not responsible for meeting financial targets
Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education. By Liz Kolb.
This book focuses on classroom technology and is aimed at teachers, so as interesting as it is, would have limited application for most educommunicators.
You might check out reader reviews on Amazon.com for more detailed information.
The term ‘education communicator’ encompasses a wide range of job responsibilities. Some, including development and alumni relations, involve meeting financial goals. Others don’t (public affairs, government relations, media relations, outreach, marketing to prospective students).
Given that people in alumni relations and development have responsibility for meeting financial goals, they might benefit most from reading these books. That is to say, they’d need to spend less time translating the business goals that these books assume drive the communicators who read them. Those of us who don’t have financial goals looking over our shoulders can still benefit from these books, as they consistently emphasize the important changes that have already taken place in the ways and means of public discussion. That discourse is increasingly taking place beyond print media and beyond broadcast channels.
These books as a group echo each other in some of the case studies they provide and the sites they link to. Because of that, readers who are absolutely new to social media can pretty much start with any of these titles.
Working with the titles Patrick suggested I will try to recommend these social media books in terms of which seem most suitable for us in the education sector, ranking each in terms of these measures:
Best for those new to social media
Best for those already using social media
Best for those not responsible for meeting financial targets
Best for those responsible for meeting financial targets
The grade A means excellent; the grade B means good.
Now is Too Late2: Survival in an Era of Instant News. By Gerald R. Baron.
A new to social media
A already using social media
A responsible for meeting financial targets
A not responsible for meeting financial targets
The following four are fairly similar
1. Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing. By Jim Tobin with Lisa Braziel.
2. Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide. By Amy Shuen.
3. Secrets of social media marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer
Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business. By Paul Gillin.
4. Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message. By Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba.
A new to social media
B already using social media
A responsible for meeting financial targets
B not responsible for meeting financial targets
Now Is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs by Geoff Livingston.
B new to social media
A already using social media
A responsible for meeting financial targets
B not responsible for meeting financial targets
Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education. By Liz Kolb.
This book focuses on classroom technology and is aimed at teachers, so as interesting as it is, would have limited application for most educommunicators.
You might check out reader reviews on Amazon.com for more detailed information.
Thanks, Paul.
A Final Chance to Give Some Initial Voice
The days are winding down on Educommunicators' first survey of marketing communications professionals in the education sector. We'l be keeping our online survey open until Wednesday, January 7. Then we'll begin tabulating the results, with plans to share with all at the end of the week.
So if you haven't participated already, please do. It is important that your issues, concerns, and priorities are heard as we plan for 2009 and get a better sense for the direction our field and our colleagues are headed.
Please visit the survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=RJwGYHjuSrZGfXCNcsOEsw_3d_3d
It will only take a few moments to complete. But the information you provide will be invaluable.
Some Required Reading on New and Social Media
I've been hearing a lot from the Educommunicator community about how we can better use new and social media outlets to effectively disseminate our message. My gut tells me that we will be hearing a lot of that when the final tabulations of the Educommunicators survey are completed next week. So how do we keep learning?
* Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing. By Jim Tobin with Lisa Braziel
* Secrets of social media marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business. By Paul Gillin.
Personally, I use blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. My blog (http://blog.eduflack.com) is focused exclusively on education improvement issues. My Facebook and Twitter accounts (linked together) focus primarily on my business and my professional interests, with some of the personal getting in there on weekends and throughout the week. And then LinkedIn is LinkedIn.
But I always wonder what else is out there and what mediums I can better use to help me and help my clients better communicate. Thanks to Educommunicators Board Member Paul Baker, we know have some great information to work with. Over at his blog (http://educationpr.org/), Paul has posted a number of reviews on books detailing new and social media opportunities. This includes:
* Secrets of social media marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business. By Paul Gillin.
* Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education. By Liz Kolb.
* Now is too late2: Survival in an Era of Instant News. By Gerald R. Baron.
* Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide. By Amy Shuen.
* Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message. By Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba.
I've asked Paul to share which of these is the "must read" to get us started. Hopefully, we've got a guest blog (or a reposting of the original review) on the topic from Paul coming in the near future.
Happy Holidays from Educommunicators
On behalf of Educommunicators, I'd just like to wish you and yours a very happy holiday. It looks like we could be in for a big 2009 in the education space, so take advantage of that rest and cheer now!
And one final reminder to take our 2008 survey. Thanks to the many who have taken it already. We'll keep it open through January 5, then will compile and release the results. You can visit at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=RJwGYHjuSrZGfXCNcsOEsw_3d_3d
All the best,
P
And one final reminder to take our 2008 survey. Thanks to the many who have taken it already. We'll keep it open through January 5, then will compile and release the results. You can visit at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=RJwGYHjuSrZGfXCNcsOEsw_3d_3d
All the best,
P
Seeking Your Input, Needing Your Input
Just a reminder to all to take a few moments and participate in Educommunicators' short online survey for marketing communications professionals in the education sector. We'll be keeping the poll open until the end of the month, but I don't want you to forget it as the merriment of the seasons commences in earnest.
The answers you provide will help us build a more effective Educommunicators in 2009. Please take a few minutes now and visit: