Connecting Your Community

Steve ButtryAudience Development

ConferenceMay 21, 2010

sbuttry@tbd.com

Resources for further reading

• Blueprint for the Complete Community Connection & Mobile-First Strategy on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com

• tbd.com• @stevebuttry on Twitter• Slideshare.net/stevebuttry

Graphic from Reflections of a Newsosaur by Alan Mutter

Read more in C3 blueprint

C3’s new relationshipsFor the public: We will be their essential connection to community life — news, information, commerce, social life. Like many Internet users turn first to Google, your community should turn first to C3, whatever the need.

C3’s new relationshipsFor businesses: We will be their essential connection to customers, often making the sale and collecting the money.

Our current relationshipwith business customers

• Huge expense line in budget• Lots of inefficiency• Ad rates dropping• Ad revenues dropping• Lots of digital competition

C3’s revenue approach• Move beyond advertising• Direct sales (tickets, reservations, gift

registries, gift certificates)• Lead generation & targeted ads• Sponsorships, memberships & events• Mobile ads & applications• Handle multiple needs (yes, competing ads)

The C3 relationshipwith business partners

• Revenue line in budget (expense line, too)

• Delivering high value, tailored to needs• One-stop shop for connecting with

customers

Community Content• Driving• Home• Conversation• Calendar• Local knowledge

Driving• How often do you buy a car?• How often do you drive, gas up, service

car?• Databases, conversations, services

focused on drivers’ everyday needs

Driving• How often do you buy a car?• How often do you drive, gas up, service

car?• Databases, conversations, services

focused on drivers’ everyday needs• Connect auto services with drivers

(emergency repair services)

Personal content• Births• Youth milestones• School• Graduation• College life• Military service• Weddings• Parenthood

• Divorce• Jobs, pets, holidays,

food, interests, health• Illness• Empty nesters• Retirement• Reunions• Obituaries

Graduation• Many newspapers gather mugs, names

anyway for graduation section• Launch page for each graduate• Senior, family fill in stories, photos, videos• Gift registry• Fill in school, target ads appear• Fill in career, sign up for email, text alerts

Entertainment• Traditional entertainment in digital form• Entertainment news• User-generated entertainment, events• Games

Business services• Direct sales• Local search• Communication & marketing services

Enriched news content• What’s happening now (Twitter,

liveblogging, real-time video, traffic, scanners, live-streaming)

• Community engagement in news, enterprise, sports coverage

• Storytelling (narrative, multimedia, interactive, games)

• Aggregation, curation

What’s your social media strategy?

Read Mobile-First Strategy

Mobile-first strategy• Text messages• Email• Applications• Tweets, check-ins, other social media• Location-based news, info & commerce• Easy-to-use mobile web sites• Device-flexible (not device-agnostic)

A mobile-first project

• Twitter hashtag• Photo contests• Text alerts• Liveblog• Map• Short code

Community going to distant event• Video of synchronized photos• Local ad sales• Mobile coupons to restaurants, bars• Collaborate w/ media in host city

Mobile-first strategy• Executives emphasize mobile priority• Journalists focus on mobile news & info

delivery & presentation• Tech staff focuses on mobile apps• Designers focus on mobile design• Sales staff meets business customers’

mobile needs

What can you do?• Use Twitter on your phone. A lot.• Use Foursquare (don’t sync w/ Twitter) &

check in regularly (yeah, become a mayor).• Use several apps (including yours) on your

phone.• Lead company planning of mobile-first

strategy.• Appoint & empower mobile leader.

In meetings next week …• Plan mobile-first coverage of an event.• Plan mobile-first service for business

customer.• In routine planning meetings, ask about

hashtags, maps, short codes, Ushahidi.• Change a weekly or daily planning

meeting to a mobile planning meeting.

Coming this summer

blogger network

• Links to blogger members on their sites• We’ll feature their content, drive traffic

to their blogs• We’ll sell ads on their sites, share

revenue• Staff also provides content• Workshops, events for bloggers

content approach

• Top 10%, bottom 10%• Heavy geotagging• Staff content on most useful topics• Blogger network• Aggregate content from anywhere• Heavy social media use• Cover stories as they unfold

community engagement• Content from community (blogs,

comments, chats, one-time submissions)• Converse with community• Use social media for gathering content,

crowdsourcing, conversation, linking• Engage with mobile community

Questions?

Ask questions now, by email (sbuttry@tbd.com) or DM (@stevebuttry)

Resources for further reading

• Blueprint for the Complete Community Connection & Mobile-First Strategy on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com

• tbd.com• @stevebuttry on Twitter• Slideshare.net/stevebuttry

When did your organization excel in

the face of huge obstacles?

Transformation is your big story

Don’t let obstacles become excuses