posted by Bethany Haley @ 9:17 AM
I attended the APDF (Association of Professional Design Firms) Annual Exchange two weeks ago and not surprisingly the two “big” topics of conversation were related to social media and sustainability. I am not sure I feel like talking about Sustainability today but Social Media is worth some mention. Stephen Randall was the guest speaker related to this SM topic and he definitely gave me some food for thought – not just for my business but for my clients. His presentation reinforced that you should not view SM as a marketing campaign or promotion – that good social media practices are authentic and build trust over time – needless to say, the sales and connections will follow. As far as corporations, he highlighted Whole Foods as a good adopter of social media. Several “takeaway” points and challenges that I think are worth sharing:
- Your website doesn’t have a “voice” – social media is a platform to create that voice, build up a dialog with any intended (or unintended) audience. This works on a personal and a corporate level.
- Feel challenged to “bust open your firewall” – put your work, information and other content that you typically think of as “VIP access only” out for the world to see.
- Take on an attitude of sharing vs. promoting.
Other interesting places to go/tools to use: wiffiti, iLike, slideshare.com
4.23.2009
posted by Bethany Haley @ 4:06 PM
For the last two years one of the biggest corporate challenges was, “how are we going to get enough of the right people” – now, in this economic climate, the new chatter is, “how are we going to keep the right people?” Additionally, the HBJ and the Chronicle have reported on the subject in the last couple of months:
An Industry Intent on Retention
Survey: Employees Focus on Employee Retention
I have to admit that I am relieved to see an abundance of this retention attitude. And even better, people are taking the time to do something about it. There is not only a movement to communicate more openly and frequently with this often forgotten audience but we see companies leveraging employee communications initiatives as an opportunity to build loyalty, improve performance (safety, quality, etc.) and enhance customer service. Are people finally getting it?
Some Examples:
12.12.2008
posted by Bethany Haley @ 1:52 PM
John Palizza, a colleague and consultant in the world of Investor Relations, sent me a link to the ENI Website last week (www.eni.it) noting that it had an impressive investor section. I do have to admit that it is, without fail, the best IR site I have seen to date.
More importantly, the entire enterprise site is not only well thought out but strategically designed to communicate with a variety of audiences – all with differing needs. Based on the extensive “best practice” research Savage conducts on websites, we find that European companies are light years ahead of American companies in leveraging content design and interactive web technology to display and communicate company information. It is not as if companies in Europe have better or newer technology – they just seem to be adopting it more quickly. Why is that?
Areas to note while exploring the ENI Site:
Products and Services: Flash driven product search
Company: “Catalog” Overview of Important Company Aspects
Investor Relations: Great Architecture, Interactivity and Balance of Financial & Contextual Information
9.30.2008
posted by Bethany Haley @ 9:47 AM
Last Thursday night at The Houstonian, Paula was honored with the prestigious Fellow Award at the AIGA Houston Design Legends Gala. As AIGA states: “The AIGA Fellow Award recognizes mature designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence in practice and conduct within the design community.” Keeping good company, Hines was also recognized as with the AIGA Houston Corporate Leadership Award.
During her speech she mentioned her concern over the word “mature” and that it actually meant “old”. When she looked it up in the dictionary, she preferred the references to “completed, perfected, or elaborated in full, careful and thorough” that identify with the creative process and how designers should think about creative development for their clients. I thought that was meaningful and true of how important the communications industry has become over the past several decades.
Aside from the fact that I (we) are extremely proud of her, Paula was certainly long overdue for this award after 35 years of leadership, mentorship and community involvement.
9.17.2008
posted by Bethany Haley @ 9:32 AM
I just got off of a 30-person conference call – have you ever tried one? Very difficult but at least I know everyone is connected and that everyone is ok. Ike has hit and this town is a disaster – the big question, how did you prepare your company, your staff, your clients for a full week (and maybe longer) without power? Without gas?
Many companies have crisis communications plans in place for issues like plant explosions, accidental deaths, etc. But how about when the entire company can’t get to work? Luckily technology is on our side as long as it is thought about in advance… The obvious ones are conference call lines, group texts, and even setting up online group chats (we use iChat). However, there are also some very simple, reliable content management systems that make employee communications sites, or even client extranets easy to set up in advance for whenever they are needed. These can be password protected and allow for a constant stream of communications. The important thing is that these sites can offer several different channels for outreach and communications – not only can you manage group e-blasts and texts, some even allow site administrators to send out group voicemails.
Hopefully after this last storm, we will all be thinking more proactively about how to best manage these situations and be prepared for the next!
(JP Morgan Chase Tower after Hurricane Ike passed through Houston September 13, 2008. Photo credit to Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
