Net Victories

Remember to Show Up to Your Party

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:43:42 +0000

If you have a Facebook Fan Page, you’ve invited all the folks who ‘like’ your page to a party – your party – online in your Facebook space. When they clicked ‘like,’ they accepted your invitation. And they’re depending on you, the host of the party, to show. If you don’t participate, your guests won’t have the opportunity to interact with you. They’ll probably lose interest or worse they’ll leave the party (your Facebook page) altogether.

Folks have come a long way in the last few years when it comes to recognizing the value online communication. They invest to have platforms created and customized for their purposes. But the ones that achieve the most online success make an additional investment after these platforms are launched: their time. They show up to their party.

People ‘like’ you on Facebook, or follow you on Twitter, or sign up for your email alerts because of who you are and the insight you provide. They want to converse with you. Take time to read the posts on your social network feeds and to contribute to the online conversation. Officials should resist the instinct to staff this out entirely, like they might with many other jobs. In every conversation, authenticity matters. Hearing directly from an official about their take on an issue or about their latest activity will always be of interest to their network.

Commit to host the party and to show up, mingle, and thank your guests. Do that, and your crowd will keep growing and growing. Even better, they will understand what you need from them to move your organization, cause, efforts forward.

Time for Your Website Tune-Up?

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:56:56 +0000

Sadly, websites don’t come with a ‘next service due’ sticker to remind you that it’s been a year or two since you launched. Your website, like your car, requires a frequent and thorough examination to ensure it’s operating at peak efficiency.

You invested time and money crafting a site that you can be proud of and that will do the job it’s meant to do. But if you neglect your site – fail to periodically audit each page and section – visitors become less compelled to remain on the site, much less take action.

We recommend a three-pronged focus for your website tune-up: Functionality, Components, and Aesthetics.

Functionality – “Adjust the valves.”
Perhaps there is no more discouraging experience for a visitor than to attempt to interact with a site only to have the effort met with a ‘404’ or ‘unable to process request’ message. Test each interactive portal on your site to ensure that it is operating properly.

If it has been a year or two since your site went live, odds are that it lacks the latest functionality and does not benefit from advances like new plug-ins (software that adds customized abilities to a larger application).

Components - “Change the spark plugs.”
Do you know the most popular elements on your site? Do visitors like the homepage photo album best? Are they more likely to click on headlines in the ‘Latest News’ section? Most importantly, what elements tend to draw the least traffic? Identify those sections of your site and decide if they need to be replaced, and with what.

Aesthetics - “Check the belts. Replace if worn.”
Remember the value of perception. Your website is the only impression most people will have of your organization. If your site consists of dated design elements and old imagery, it conveys that your organization is dated, old, and stagnate.

Your website tune-up doesn’t guarantee that visitor traffic and conversion rates will triple overnight, but if done regularly, it can guarantee that the investment made in your online headquarters keeps paying off.

Building Buzz to Build a Medical School

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:11:46 +0000

Medical schools are not built in this country very often. So we were thrilled to participate in Austin’s effort to become home to a medical school and modern teaching hospital. Stakeholders in the project recognized the need to launch a communications hub online – where the medical community, elected officials, and citizens – could not only obtain information on the project, but also interact with one another.

Net Victories knew that in a progressive, plugged-in town like Austin, people would be buzzing and that the social buzz should be front and center. We built HealthyATX.org with a customized social networking feed for the home page, combining official posts from the project with those from every day people, from both Facebook and Twitter.

This “#HealthyATX Conversation” section provides a snapshot of the what people are saying about the HealthyATX initiative at any given moment. Further, it gives visitors a starting point to join in, by replying or retweeting, liking or commenting.

We also built a “Tell your Health Care Story” page, where after watching videos and reading health care stories from people like them, visitors can submit their own health care stories for inclusion on the site.

Clear Messaging and Clean Website Can Tell Your Story

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:27:34 +0000

Clear, direct, and honest messages resonate. If the vehicle used to deliver your message is also clear, direct and honest, you will reach maximum impact. Your vehicle doesn’t require a lot of bells and whistles to be to be effective. When we work with clients who have a strong message, we build websites that get right to the point. That way, your audience quickly understands your core message and easily becomes engaged.

Before your new website goes live, you need to have a message to put there. So ask yourself: Do you have a clear message? Can you crystallize for your target audience why you are doing what your are doing, what your mission is, and how it can come to fruition with their help? Investing time upfront to produce a clear, direct and honest message can be the difference between success and stagnation in online communication.

After your message is complete, ensure that your primary online platform – your website –showcases that message in a way that is easy for visitors to understand.

For example, Ann Johnson is running for Texas State Representative for Houston’s District 134. Her message is clear, direct, and honest, she:

is an attorney and educator,
has experience advocating for children affected by abuse,
understands the importance of women’s health care, and
has a history of public service, not just in her family, but her own career.

Ann’s website tells her story in a clear, direct, and honest way.

We have all seen the websites that have busy landing pages – full of different messages that bombard a visitor. It can happen when a site tries to include everything for too many different audiences, or when an individual or organization doesn’t trust their message.

The take-away is to create a clear and direct message that is honest about who you are and resonates with your target audience. Trust that story and build a clean website that lets the story be told.

A Dynamic Site for a Dynamic Senator

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:00:34 +0000

It takes just a few minutes after meeting Texas Senator Rodney Ellis to recognize his passion and boundless energy. When he and his team approached Net Victories to overhaul RodneyEllis.com, he needed a site with effective branding, a modern content management system, a commerce function for accepting online donations. And, perhaps most importantly, a compelling way for visitors to access the wealth of information the Senator produces when he puts all that energy of his to work.

Net Victories designed a site that puts the Senator’s writing front and center. His latest blog posts, op-eds, and press hits are presented in an easy-to-find, easy-to-read way. The home page not only features the latest articles and news clips, but also categorizes them by issue.

As a veteran of the Texas Senate, Senator Ellis has compiled an impressive record on a vast number of issues. We structured the Issues pages so that the Senator’s issue positions and accomplishments are joined by recent articles related to that issue — bringing past and present together in this way helps create a narrative and creates a more relevant context for the visitor.

We also set up a site-within-a-site for Senator Ellis’ “pride and joy”: the enormously successful Texas Legislative Internship Program (TLIP). It features TLIP’s rich history, offers opportunities for donors to support the program financially, and provides a portal to the application process, all under the umbrella of Sen. Ellis’ brand.

The new design and structure, combined with integration of an easy-to-use content management system, effective contribution function, and effective branding, we presented Senator Ellis with a site that is robust in design and function, and that resulted in increased traffic to his site.

Mail Ballot 2.0

admin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:46:00 +0000

One state’s election process broke new ground last week. In Oregon, citizens with disabilities had the option of absentee voting via iPad. The pilot program was offered in five counties (Washington, Columbia, Multnomah, Yamhill and Clatsop) in and around Portland.

Election workers toted iPads, temporarily on loan from Apple, to assisted living centers where the voter was able to complete their ballot on the tablet, then send to a portable printer.

A custom software application, which cost the state $75,000 to develop, was installed on the iPads for the election cycle. Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown said the state plans to use the iPads again in January for a special general election, and mentioned utilizing the software in the future to provide accessible voting for military personnel and citizens who are overseas.

According to the Oregon Secretary of State’s blog:

If the pilot proves successful, the state elections office will make iPad’s available to all 36 counties. “I won my first race for the Oregon House of Representatives by seven votes,” said Secretary Brown. “I know how important every vote is and as your Secretary of State I am working hard to make voting more accessible to all eligible Oregonians.

With the popularity of Apple’s iPad, and the accessibility of tablet computing, will we soon see similar applications around the country? A mail ballot 2.0 program that embraces new technology to increase voter participation? We sure hope so.

A Tale of Three Campaigns

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:31:49 +0000

After getting a little rest following a very eventful few months, we gathered around the conference table in the Net Victories Montrose office this week to debrief about the 2011 Election Cycle.

And it was fun.

With each individual political race we reviewed, we grew more encouraged. We were thrilled to play a role in victorious campaigns, of course. But it wasn’t until we had time to reflect on these campaigns that we realized just how effectively each candidate used online communication to strengthen their operation.

Ellen Cohen (Houston City Council – District C)
Council Member-Elect Cohen (that has a nice ring to it) brought her field organization to the masses by rolling out an interactive component on her website to connect the campaign directly to their most dedicated volunteers. Volunteers chose their volunteer activity and preferred times, which saved the campaign time in not having to make phone calls and keep multiple schedules. The campaign was also able to update this tool regularly as volunteer priorities shifted—special events surrounding holidays, working the polls, or GOTV efforts.

Ed Gonzalez (Houston City Council – District H)
Council Member Gonzalez launched a text messaging platform which surveyed constituents to gauge opinion on particular issues of interest in District H. They were also provided with election information, including a way to look up their polling place. Text messaging was chosen to complement the council member’s existing communication tools—a signup was integrated on his website and promoted through social networking, as well as promoted ‘offline’ to reach those that may not be social network users or computer owners.

Melissa Noriega (Houston City Council – At Large, Pct. 3)
By spreading the word about the Noriega campaign using a socially-connected portal on Melissa’s site, a supporter became eligible to grab a cup of coffee with the council member. The call to ‘Espresso Self’ was wildly popular. The event not only grew Melissa’s online supporter base, some of the ideas and relationships developed at the meeting became an integral part of the campaign.

Net Victories is thankful to have teamed up with these campaigns to help implement their customized online campaign components. Because of their success, our post-campaign exhaustion passed quickly. We feel like we’ve ‘hit refresh’—and we’re already planning new ideas to help good candidates in 2012!

Facebook’s Sweeping Privacy Changes: What You Need To Know

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:34:53 +0000

Facebook’s newly announced privacy changes are one of the biggest privacy overhauls in the company’s history. Recent updates include over a dozen changes to profiles, status updates, and even tags.

While not all of these features are completely new, many are being relocated from rarely-visited privacy settings pages to more convenient spots like the news feed and profile pages. New inline profile controls allow you to control visibility of nearly every bit of information you share.

We’ve compiled the following list of updates to help you get familiar with the changes:

Profile

Major changes include:

Greater profile control: Profile visibility controls now appear directly next to content when you edit your profile.
In-line cues: Facebook will display a globe, friend or gear icon to indicate whether a piece of content is public, only seen by friends or customized for a friend group or list.
“View Profile As”: The “View Profile As” feature has been moved from the Privacy Settings Page to the top right-hand corner of the user profile.
Overhaul of the Privacy Page: The privacy overhaul will result in a much cleaner and simpler Privacy Page, since most of the privacy settings are now integrated at the profile page level.

Status Updates & Location

Major changes include:

Public updates: The “Everyone” option in status updates has been renamed “Public” for greater clarity.
No more lock icon: The lock icon under the Publisher Box has also been changed. It will now display the globe, friend or gear icon based on whether the update is public, for friends or custom.
Facebook Places integration: Facebook Places has been integrated into the Publisher Box. Users can now tag a location into any status update. The same applies to photos and photo albums.
No more GPS restriction: Users can now tag any location in a status update or photo, regardless of whether they’re actually nearby. This makes it possible tag a location for a photo album after the user has returned home.
Mobile changes: The Facebook Places icon will no longer appear in the mobile apps. Instead a “Nearby” icon will take its place. It will display which users have tagged their location nearby.

Want to know more? Head on over to Facebook and dig into the details.

Cracking QR Codes

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:22:31 +0000

They look like mangled crossword puzzles and they’re beginning to appear everywhere from pamphlets and wall murals to political yard signs (see Net Victories client Ellen Cohen!)

They are called QR codes. QR stands for ‘Quick Response.’ Born in Japan, they are used to quickly transmit information from an object to your cell phone.

Say, for example, you see a QR code on a magazine ad for a upcoming television mini series. Once your cell phone reads the code, you may be shown a URL which you can click to watch a video trailer for the show.

With more heft than a standard barcode, QR codes can provide access to more data, hyperlinks, and text. You’ll need to install a QR code reader on your phone: try QR Reader for iPhone or QR Droid.

All the Fuss About Google Plus

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:08:43 +0000

You’ve probably had a steady stream of messages landing in your emailbox informing you that a friend has ‘added you on Google+.’ Google opened up invites to Google+, their new social media network, on July 6. By July 18, Google+ had 18 million users, making it the fastest-growing social network in history. Its appeal? The ability to sort members of your network into groups, or ‘circles,’ so you can share information with only the circle that you choose. Content shared with one circle cannot be viewed by members in your other circles. Google+ offers users several innovative features in addition to circles:

Hangout. Here, up to 10 people can visit with each other online via video chat.
Instant Upload. When using the Google+ apps for iPhone and Android, as soon as you snap a pic or shoot a video, Google+ will automatically upload it to a private ‘circle.’
Sparks. Whenever something piques your curiosity, simply enter the subject into Sparks. Related content will automatically be found and waiting for you when you have a moment to view.
Huddle. Similar to group texting, Huddle allows a circle of your friends to engage in one chat simultaneously.

Google+ is also behind the new “+1″ buttons that are starting to pop up on the web next to Facebook “like” buttons and Twitter “tweet” buttons.

Want to check out Google+? Just visit plus.google.com, log in with your GMail account, and start exploring!