The world continues to change so quickly. Using technology to connect with target audiences is essential in penetrating the cluttered atmosphere, especially in the field of healthcare. Social media has expanded our professional coordinates and positioned communicators to participate in the real-time conversations shaping the marketplace of ideas.

For the last 20 years, I have seen how successful policy and campaign workers use technology to transform outreach and activism. Those who embrace the effort, become early adopters, build their critical mass and consume the environment like a tidal wave.

At first, it’s overwhelming, but eventually you find your groove. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Groupon — initially, it did not occur to me to join them. However, for career insight or to get a better deal on frozen yogurt, it is essential to be plugged in. Patterns definitely emerge, and information management becomes key.

I’ve seen the impact firsthand at my organization, the Oncology Nursing Society. We’re engaged in a multitude of membership advocacy efforts that educate decision-makers on nursing and cancer.

Continue reading " Building a Grassroots Army on the Internet: A Guide for Adopters at All Stages "

Social media training is now as important as conventional media training was a decade ago. Yesterday’s corporate spokesperson is today’s social media manager.

For social media marketers, it’s become increasingly important to actively manage company Facebook pages, branded Twitter accounts and other social media channels.

As communicators have focused on building out these channels independently, it has become clear that social marketing by itself isn’t enough. Social media is unlike mass media; distribution alone doesn’t penetrate the social filter. In order to reap gains, conversations or action must take place. With no clicks, the whole exercise is for naught.

So what do you do? Involve your team and broader organizational stakeholders. Scaling social media engagement through enterprise-wide social media training is about mobilizing everyone to collaborate transparently.

Assuming your organization has a fair, responsible social media policy (i.e., one that doesn’t scare everyone into complete silence), the easiest next step is to scale engagement.

Employees have a vested interest in the organization’s overall success. However, we also know that external communications — particularly when they’re driven by those unskilled in the art of public disclosure — can easily be taken out of context by competitors or critics and quickly spin out of control.

When you’re ready to bring colleagues together to start playing as a team, and perhaps even discuss the prospect of securing a portfolio of social media training online with your boss, here’s what you need to know about how online social media courses can help prepare the organization for greater success:

Continue reading " Social Media Training: Five Reasons Why It’s More Important Than Ever "

Super Storm Sandy helped to bring greater awareness to the struggles that communicators and leaders face during crises — and to the need for equally super crisis communications preparation and training.

Imagine having an arsenal of communications technology at your disposal, yet having no electricity to use it. For people who try to build too much of their communications strategy around a single means of communication, such as social media, the old adage, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” has never been truer.

Continue reading " Social Media & Technology When “It” Hits the Fan "

Not attending the 2012 PRSA International Conference in San Francisco this week? Here’s a taste of what you’re missing!

Continue reading " PRSAICON Around the Blogosphere: PR Measurement, Content Marketing, Hispanic PR "

Martin Waxman will be presenting his Social Media Barometer talk at the PRSA 2012 International Conference on Sunday, Oct. 14, 3–4:15 p.m. .

As the old saying goes, “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco”.  I guess it goes to show how important weather is to the Bay area. The temperature. Chance of precipitation. Barometric pressure.

So it seems fitting to be at the PRSA 2012 International Conference in San Francisco to offer a forecast from my Social Media Barometer – an examination of some of the recent trends and pressure points happening in the social communications space. 

Continue reading " Out of the Frying Pan…Into a Communications Pressure Cooker "