WhatGives!? Do Something Good…

EVENING UPDATE:  See our TweetRoll below featuring the Twitter stream response to keynote speaker Ramon DeLeon.

AFTERNOON UPDATE:  See our post below about using Twitter to connect with mainstream media…

Today WhatGives!? will be attending  Gravity Summit on the University of Southern California Los Angeles campus.  It is described as an event that can “help bridge the gap between the new Social Media Marketing tools and the business community.”  Created by Rodney Rumford and Beverly Macy, this gathering has a jam-packed agenda that promises an interesting and informative day.

We admit a prejudice as there will be a panel that includes our president, Chris Noble.  The session – titled Social Media Meets Social Good: Cause Marketing Case Studies and Strategies – hopes to provide useful information for both corporate and nonprofit attendees on “building an audience using social media, and about the intersection of social media and social good.”

You can follow along on Twitter (#gravsum) or Facebook.  We’ll be updating this post throughout the day as well.

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AFTERNOON UPDATE:

An informative presentation by Brian Dresher Marketing Manager of USA Today included some excellent points on how to best use Twitter to not only share info and reach out to your existing community but also to get new people to reach back and connect with you.

Recognizing the importance of Twitter, the 27-year-old publication actually holds training sessions for their staff so that Twitter becomes a tool for creating and expanding stories.  They’re actively seeking leads and additional info for their online and traditional publications.  This can really be useful for any savvy nonprofit trying to get out the word about their cause.

Listen to Brian talk about how you can connect with mainstream publications like USA Today.

Brian Dresher talks about Twitter (audio only)

Brian encourages everyone to:

• Use WeFollow to find people who are interested in or covering topics that connect with your nonprofit.
• Look for related hashtags and follow those conversations.
• Follow other internal Twitter feeds, industry experts, major brands, clients, competitors, etc.
• Optimize tweets so that they’re easily retweetable.  Fewer characters means people won’t alter your message when they retweet.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment in this new communication form.  A few stumbles shouldn’t stop you; participation is what matters.

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EVENING UPDATE

Ramon DeLeon is the COO of a Dominos Pizza franchise in Chicago (5 stores).  He was the keynote speaker this afternoon and completely took the crowded room by storm.  His ability to stir up passion about pizza using social media clearly demonstrates the power of speaking directly to your customers.

Our attempt to take even semi-coherent notes was abandoned about 4 minutes into his whirlwind presentation.  No worries. See it all here.  Plus, there are dozens of YouTube videos featuring Ramon preachin’ the gospel of social media.  Take a look, be inspired, and don’t hesitate to contact Ramon with questions.  He’d like to meet you.  He really would.

Meanwhile, here’s a sampling of the Twitter stream – our own WhatGives!? TweetRoll – that was red-hot while Ramon was speaking…

Related Posts

• LA Nonprofits – 2 free tix to Gravity Summit
• On Influence, Relationships, and the Power of Social Media
• NCVS Panel: Social Media for Social Good

Tags: Brian Dresher, conference, Dominos Pizza, Gravity Summit, Ramon DeLeon, social media, Twitter, UCLA, USA Today