Suggestions on how to approach establishing a more robust online connections strategy - as presented at the 2012 National Trust Main Streets Conference in Baltimore, MD.

1. Building an Effective Online
Community Strategy
André Natta, Principal, Urban Conversations

2. Checking in

3. Checking in

4. Checking in

5. Objectives
●
Know how to determine which social media
tools are right for the organization
●
Identify four tips for effective online community
engagement
●
Identify examples of sustainable online
community engagement
●
Have a better understanding of what tools are
useful for accomplishing goals

6. Determine your purpose
Why?

7. Why NOT to be using it
• It's free and easy
• Everybody else is doing it
• It's the best way to reach the “young” people

8. Why SHOULD you be using it
• Complimenting work plan objectives
– if it's not considered part of it, it should be
• Tools (& people) are in place to manage a
strategy effectively
• You are willing to be where they are online

9. Determine your purpose

10. Determining outlets
?

11. Determining outlets
Photo courtesy @douglaswray

12. Building audience
• Ask for the information
– Twitter name
– Personal and business profiles
– Worst case, they won't provide it to you
• Promote social media channels in print
• Think about how you post (cross-posting)

13. Building audience
• Listen... a lot.
– Create lists in Twitter
– Subscribe to people on Facebook (if possible)
– Place people in circles in Google+
– Set up a Google Alert
• Search for them
– Built in function on sites
– Tools like Contax.io

14. Four tips
• Be a resource
• Engage
• Moderate
• Measure/Track

15. Be a resource
• Provide information about upcoming events
– Your own events, merchant sales, events from
relevant organizations
• Answer questions
– Encourage adoption of district “hashtag”
• Determine where you want them to go
– Preferably your website or newsletter sign-up page

16. Engage your community
• Ask questions
– Surveys
– Open ended posts/Photo captions
• Check in on them every once in a while
• Find a few conversations
– district merchants and fans/followers

17. Engage your community

18. Moderation
• Establish terms of use
– What will and will not be allowed
– It's their conversation, but it's your organization's
space
– Helps them feel more comfortable sharing how they
feel constructively
• Social media policy
– Allows everyone managing the accounts to be on
the same page RE: approach

19. Measuring/Tracking

20. Measuring/Tracking

21. Measuring/tracking
• Account management tools
– Tweetdeck
– Hootsuite
– Seesmic
• Additional tracking options
– Google Alerts / Bing searches
– Bit.ly

22. The new stuff
• Pinterest
– Flash ≠ Pinterest-friendly
– Make sure you're allowed the share the images that
you choose to on the site
• Google+
– It's getting used a lot more than people realize
– Nice tool for digital “town halls” and educational
opportunities

23. Other things
• Twitter backgrounds
– Helpful branding tool
– Background measurements - http://bit.ly/HcW4S4
• Facebook Fan Page changes
– Initial reports suggest more engagement thanks to
introduction of Timeline (still too soon though)
– Use images to help promote events

24. Other things

25. ?

26. Thanks!
Twitter - @acnatta
*Warning – I am a baseball fan & I'm active on Wednesday nights