Risky Mitigation? University of Queensland’s peculiar email

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Richenda

As a proud University of Queensland alum, I am interested in reading emails the University sends me. However, this one sent at 4am on November 5^th had me perplexed:

Excerpt of the email to students and Alumni. For full text click on the image.

Despite its ambiguity, I was able to determine the following from this email:

Something went wrong with a student’s admission
It was investigated but no one was at fault
Even though no one was at fault, 2 Vice-Chancellors have resigned
Despite them leaving, they are good people
There are going to be more investigations
We got through the floods, stick with us

My first reaction was: UQ why are you sending me this email? I have no idea what is going on but now you have made me suspicious.

I forwarded this email to Adam, my fellow Alum asking if he knew what was going on and he too responded with “I have no idea either. Now I’m all curious and want to look into it.”

We both did.

Turns out, on midnight November 4^th (4 hours before I received the email), the courier mail posted this article about the investigation. From the article’s content, it is difficult to determine whether it was written from an actual interview or from the email I received. It was not clear what the scandal was. All that was clear was that there was a scandal. Considering the large size of UQ’s email list, the emails would have been deployed over several hours, one list at a time, which could mean students would have received it between the 4^th-6^th of November.

Since the initial article and email, press coverage has intensified. The student body is ignited and petitions demanding transparency are beginning to gain momentum at Change.org

I can’t help but ask myself: Did the email spark press coverage or was the email a risk mitigation tactic responding to the imminent press coverage?

The web marketer in me asks: why would a University make the mistake of sending its large database of a scandal before it hit the press? A large mistake for a renowned university with a strong journalism program, who’s Alum likely works within Australian press circles. Not only did the University instantly notify their most trusted social network, they notified their most influential. If they needed to release something, why not just post the response on their website rather than proactively notify their entire database?

Could this have been a wise risk mitigation tactic igniting and preparing their trusted networks to come to their defence during an impending public investigation? As a Social Media Manager accustomed to dealing with sensitive topics, this does not align with effective risk mitigation. The tone and language used in the email, the unwillingness to admit fault and most importantly the lack of authenticity, incite distrust in a reader. This is not a way to mobilise your most likely advocates. But I could be wrong.

I would love to hear what others think, especially UQ alum: Did this email stir distrust or are you ready to defend our Uni?

Don’t call my family slack!

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Richenda

My name is Richenda and I *love* slacktivists.

I hate the title “Slacktivist”… and Mashable ’s suggested term “Social Champion” doesn’t feel right either. To me, they are family. The World Vision family.

Working at World Vision USA and more recently World Vision Australia, I have built and engaged online communities of substantial scale. With this experience in mind, I will try to answer the questions raised by Weh in his recent blog post: Is it possible to engage slacktivists in more worthwhile causes, or should NGOs focus their energy elsewhere?

These are not easy questions to answer.

Is it possible to engage slacktivists in more worthwhile causes?

Yes, without a doubt!

People that “like” or “follow” your organisation to their network and/or choosing to receive communications from you! At World Vision, we call these people our “online family”, not slacktivists! They are new, current and prospective supporters who are happy to interact with us on a daily basis.

Mashable’s feature of The Dynamics of Cause Engagement study by Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communication and Ogilvy Worldwide showing that slacktivists are more likely to take meaningful actions is no surprise to us.

Years of rigorous tracking and analysis has shown us that investment in our online family delivers consistent financial and non-financial returns. In addition to the activities listed above, we are also learning about the positive impact social media communication has on our long term relationships. This is important to us because our main product, Child Sponsorship, relies on long-term commitment to regular giving to support complex, often misunderstood, community development.

An example of how we share content that aims to increase understanding of community development and affirm the commitment of sponsors

Not everyone in our family sponsors a child, recruits friends or rallies their local member of parliament. We know that some of our community will “like” a status once, while others contribute to content regularly and more meaningfully.

Some are silent readers, while others bring me to tears with their stories and their personal passion for social justice! (Tears from our team are not an uncommon response to these amazing stories!)

One of my favourite cross-channel advocacy examples. From WV Facebook, to a personal blog, to twitter. Love it!

Some share stories to entice friends to become involved, while others may never publicly share content but will personally click through to make a donation.

The level of commitment within the community varies from person to person, and is influenced by the content, opportunities and conversations you give them access to. Your online community will quickly discover whether the stories you tell, the opportunities you provide and the conversations you have are valuable. Which brings me too….

Should NGOs focus their energy elsewhere?

Yes and No

Cultivating and mobilising online communities takes tremendous amount of time and resource. Any investment in this area should be well thought out, strategic and long-term. Honestly, there is no point investing in social media unless you have a solid foundation. Before investing in building an online community, an NGO should be asking:

Is our website in good health? Are people using it to find out more about us or make donations?
Do we utilise website tracking to understand the behaviour of visitors to our site?
Do we have access to meaningful stories and multimedia?
Do we have communication that explain what we do?
Is our media team able to respond to difficult questions and criticism?
Does our organisation see a need to stay in dialogue with supporters?
Does our leadership understand social media and are they willing to invest in it?

If you answered “no” to any of these above questions – you should focus your energy there, instead of, or before, building a social media community. Without these fundamentals, you will find it challenging to create effective content, understand the impact of your community and engage in authentic meaningful conversations.

If you answered “yes” to all of the above – go for it! Start by building a social media strategy that aligns with your organisation’s goals for engagement and target demographic. Your strategy should drive your tactics - directing how you build your online family and the style or personality you use to engage them. To help you on your way, I have started a blog series to help demystify social media strategy and give you some practical advice.

Critics may tell you social media will produce no return . I think you will produce no return..if you are doing it wrong. If you’re doing it right, your online family will take their passion or ‘slacktivism’ into the real world. You will grow to love and respect your ‘slacktivists’ for what they really are: passionate people keen to make a difference. Trust me, I’m that annoying person on facebook that says …

Recap: Social Good at the #pbevent

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Richenda

Working the room at the Novotel Melbourne. Second guessing my dress after looking at this pic.

Do you have anything that you dread doing? But then as follow through, you do you feel awesome? That’s me with public speaking.

I mentioned in my last post, I aimed to “inspire and enable” but I was nervous. After the talk, I was really suprised how my presentation resonated with people. I was overwhelmed with the positive response from bloggers like Emma Stirling and Eden Riley. who wanted to use their blog to promote social good.

The session started with the “why” over the “how”, emphasising why Social Good is good for bloggers:

Bloggers can and have made change in the world through challenging ideologies, raising awareness and seeking financial and non-financial support for causes.
Social Good allows blog audiences a different side of bloggers through talking about engaging topics and speaking from the heart if bloggers allow themselves to be vulnerable.
Blogging for social good allows bloggers to stay relevant and topical through the richness and depth of content available and the context of social causes/topics. There is always something topical and often controversial to discuss.
Blogging can change you… Exploring the world around you, its challenges and triumphs can alter your perception of the world and the part you play in it if you let it.

After the “why blog for social good” came the “how”. Using examples of partnerships with bloggers and vloggers, I listed some key takeaways for effective social change blogging.

For those who wanted to test the waters, I distributed stories of World Vision’s response to the Horn of Africa famine and shared a new banner suite created specifically for the #pbevent.

I quickly realised that I was surrounded by intelligent compassionate bloggers, eager to make change in the world. Some shared stories of hardship, some of their passion for justice, many of how they would like to partner with charities but were unsure how. I was encouraged by their affirmation and believe I gained as much from their stories as they gained from my session.

Some banners were created specifically for Mum bloggers!

It was an honour to speak at this event and be introduced to such an incredible group of people. I believe there is I reason I met these men and women and I am extremely excited to see what will flourish. I already did a happy dance seeing social good banners up on some amazing blog sites! Thanks An n abel and Eden!:)

The session’s recording should be available on Problogger’s site this week.
I am contemplating whether I should expand on this topic in a blog series for those unable to attend. What do you think? Are there bloggers you think would be interested in learning about this or is a link to the recording substantial? I would love any feedback from those who attended the session as to which areas I could improve or further expand on.

A big thanks to Darren, Jasmin and Nicole for making the day possible!

@USArmy twitter #fail

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Richenda

Anyone notice this tweet over the weekend?The US army received hundreds of mostly negative responses. Many were outraged, some responses got nasty:

I’m not going to discuss what’s inherently wrong with the content of this tweet however what’s clear is that this communication drummed up significant negative sentiment towards the US Army and made the content trend for the wrong reasons..

Trending negative sentiment = Social Media Fail.

I found this social media fail surprising because the US army are embracing social media with an appetite that makes some brands blush. Earlier this year they launched a robust Social Media Policy with easy to use handbook to assist soldiers and their families, they recently garnered press attention for recruiting a social media communicator for a post in Afghanistan and they even have a Twitter Strategy.

How could an entity headed in this direction make this mistake? My guess…

It’s a simple mistake by a new communicator without guidance or training from more seasoned staff with a pulse on media sensitivities
The tweet actually reflects the culture and vernacular of the US army and communications staff, who are oblivious to external perceptions.
There are no guidelines or protocols to adequately guide the tone, style and “personality” of the content created

Sadly, the US Army did not give a response via twitter or blog, instead they have deleted their tweet and are happy to pretend it never occurred. Three days later the outraged retweets have simmered down, which may encourage the US Army to use this mute option as the best way of dealing with this kind of situation in the future. That said, a carefully communicated explanation and “lessons learned” could have mobilised advocates and changed perceptions of those confused and disgruntled (as opposed to those outraged and unwavering).

Some free advice for the US Army

Work on a social media strategy that addresses cultural components of your content. Your current “5 day social media strategy” template is actually not a strategy but a content plan.
Bring on some “old skool” Media relations staff to train your social media young guns on media sensitivities
Create a risk mitigation assessment similar to your mates at the US Air force

So what do you think? Am I being too hard on the US Army? How would you have handled the situation? Eager to hear your thoughts

Social Strategy Mistake #1: Believing Social Media is the holy grail

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Richenda

Moving from Seattle to Melbourne and from one social media job to another, one thing that is consistent is that people and agencies are trying to “sell” that social media is a golden ticket that will make you relevant to your current and future donors, customers, and supporters. They will suggest throwing thousands of dollars into Facebook pages, Facebook advertising and widgets – all three are legitimate but not for everyone, and your communications should rarely be outsourced. There is great risk in doing that — often making no link to an over-arching strategy or highlighting a need for one. In doing so, I have seen my cohorts not receive the return they were promised.

So, if social media isn’t the answer to our prayers… what is it?

In my experience, social media is many things but most clearly:

The public voice of your organisation

Social media is your living breathing brand voice. The information you share and the tone in which it is shared is available for the public to see and should reflect the heartbeat of your organisation. These publicly visible interactions have the power to evoke emotions toward your brand directly through 1:1 communication, 1: 150,000 content posts in which others observing these interactions can also engage.

Your public voice is your brand in action. It is vital that you have the right people on your social media team. (More to come on this particular topic of hiring the right staff in this blog series).

A communications channel

Just as social media is changing the way people receive news, it will change the way people receive news about your organisation. If people want to know the latest update about your response to (insert x issue/controversy/emergency) they will be checking your Twitter account in addition to your website and other public facing channels.

Social Media also gives organisations the distribution power to push news or content that is not being sought after. However, the power of this platform is dependant on how much you have invested into it. Investment is defined not by how much your spending but by the quantity of your follower base and quality of its cultivation.

A customer service channel

As people’s lives are becoming more digitised, so will their interactions with your company. Customers will ask you questions over Facebook and/or email and/or call your customer service line. However, unlike previous customer service platforms, these conversations are now more public than ever and need to be moderated by those who can speak as your brand voice.

Digital customer service also gives an opportunity to talk to people who are asking about you but not always to you. Last year, a presentation by Elly Harper gave insights to multichannel marketing for Australian retailers. Elly discussed ways retailers have engaged with customers, influencing their purchasing decisions before, during and after purchase while in the store by creating opportunities to talk to customers who weren’t directly talking to you. This style of customer service, while it is physically relevant in retail stores, can exist outside the store, too, and be applicable to non-retail brands on the web and on social media.

Unhappy customers from all social media channels have been able to make their dissatisfaction public through social media platforms. Two well-known examples include United Airlines and, recently in Australia, the GASP email. In both cases, the complaints with these companies generated a PR nightmare and exposed the companies’ inability to respond via the medium that fuelled the controversy. United offered a few tweets, where as GASP actually shutdown its social media accounts.

Overcoming and maximising social media in the midst of mayhem requires skilled staff and an appropriate risk mitigation strategy. Sometimes this means you don’t always respond.

An engagement channel

I could write for days on this topic alone but for brevity sake, I’ll make this as succinct as possible.

Social media is a channel with opportunities for acquisition, retention, customer growth and customer service. However, it is not all things to all people. The way in which you should engage in social media depends on the personality of the company, your product offering and the level of social media investment available.

It’s even possible for your strategy to serve one engagement mechanism more than another. For example, Jetstar is skilled in using social media communications as a mechanism for acquisition and customer growth regularly distributing content and creating widgets that drive to deals. Additionally, they use customer service reactively rather than proactively.

Alternatively, Harvey Norman is trying to use social media as an acquisition tool but appears to have the more success using it as a customer service platform. Regardless, they are far outdoing their competitor JB Hi-Fi as a brand that is intentionally speaking the language of their customers.

So you’re not sure where your org sits or how your company should engage? Comprehensive analysis should drive a non-platform specific social media strategy. It is my aim that by the end of this blog series you feel empowered to have a shot at building your own strategy. If I am failing, please let me know! We are both learning here…

A new chapter

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Richenda

7am: My alarm goes off and I hit snooze. Like any other day I get up, yet wrestle with the desire to climb back into bed. It’s casual Friday but I put on my Monday-esk black sassy dress. Although I usually cant be bothered with make-up, today I’ve decided to look my best for my boss.

My new boss is me.

Today is the first day of a new chapter. I have decided to take a day a week to dedicate to learning, meeting with industry experts, and investing in this blog. It is only a small step but it feels big for someone that has spent the last 10 years working full-time in large bureaucracies.

Why go .8? I love World Vision but I need time to invest in myself. To be the best social media diva I can be – regardless of how wanky that term is! Too often I feel guilty that I don’t help others with social media strategy or respond to requests for more blog posts. I want to end the nights where I’m enthusiastically dreaming of blog ideas and then deflated by the realisation that there is no time.

4pm: I have had a motivating morning at Social Media Melbourne , finished a draft of my post on Social Media Strategy Myths and spent the afternoon brainstorming with children’s book author Nicky Johnson on a strategy for her blog.

So far… so good. I loved my first day. The only problem is my boss has really high expectations. I hope I can deliver.

Egyptian Pride

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Richenda

The question I am asked the most: “What is your background/nationality/heritage/ethnicity?”

It is not a quick answer.

I was born in Amsterdam to a Dutch Mother and Egyptian Father and immigrated to Australia as a child. I have spent the last 6 years in the USA. I speak Dutch like a 10 year old, can swear in Arabic but I mostly speak English with an Aussie accent (albeit American overtones). I feel like none of these nationalities but a combination of them all.

In the last month, many have asked me my thoughts on the Egyptian uprising. I think people ask me this question because I look more Egyptian than anything else and my name has an “Ibrahim” in it.

It has been difficult to answer. The peoples revolution has made me realise that I know so little about my Egyptian heritage. I find it embarrassing that I don’t have an opinion on Mubarack when I snuck in and spoke at a democratic caucus in Seattle. That I don’t understand the Egyptian government’s history of corruption; when I can explain the epidemiology of Malaria. I am ashamed that I don’t know my Egyptian relatives well enough to know their thoughts and yet I am regularly brought to tears by donor testimonies of their relationship with their sponsored children.

It’s not acceptable. When I have children, I want them to know that their Egyptian heritage gives them more than a tan. I want them to speak to their grandfather in a language I am yet to learn, to know how to make Kofta, to understand why they talk with their hands and why their mum will kiss them in public.

What I do say about the Egyptian revolution is that I have witnessed unity in a way I never expected.

My father is Coptic Orthodox and my experience with the Christian Egyptian community has been (generally) one of hostility toward Muslims. Most of that hostility is based on persecution experienced, especially as many fled Egypt to Australia/Netherlands because of it. I have found this tension difficult because my experience is different. My best friend is Muslim and I have experienced nothing but warmth and kindness from my Muslim brothers and sisters.

When hostility between these two religions in Egypt is all you know it’s easy to cry when you see love and justice uniting a nation. I wept at the continual scenes of unity, especially as differing religions protected each other in prayer.

In Melbourne, Kyle and I walked in support of the Egyptian uprising with both Egyptians and non-Egyptians. As we walked, I felt so honoured to share a heritage with courageous people that are persistently and peacefully fighting for freedom and justice for their country.

Although I have a long way to go in exploring my “Gypo”, I can say that this revolution has made me beamingly proud to be Egyptian. I am going to work on being a better one

Why fundraisers should read development blogs

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Richenda

I have a confession to make: Although I am a fundraiser/marketer/communicator I am also a development groupie. “A what?” you ask. Well… I spend my free time reading the books and blogs of development practitioners, some are experts. Which is why Linda Raftree’s recent post on “Why aid and development workers should be reading blogs” has compelled me to write this post; as the circle of beneficiaries is not limited to development workers alone.

Fundraisers: I know what you’re thinking “I have enough on my plate. Deadlines. Targets. Pressure. Emails… How can I squeeze this in?” I encourage you to make time, even if it means shuffling your facebook time to blogs. It will make you better at your job. Here’s why:

You will better understand your “Product”
Every good marketer understands that to best promote your product you need to understand what you are selling. Although, I hate using these terms (it demeans and simplifies the work and people we partner with), development blogs can teach you an endless amount about your “product”. Eliminating poverty is not easy or fast. It’s not something you will learn in a day/month/year. The context is ever-changing, complex and unpredictable. There is significant theory, applications/case studies to learn from and similar to social media, you need to follow the experts and trends to stay relevant. Even though I have been mentored by aid veterans for years, I learn something new every day that compels me to re-think what I am doing and challenges me.
At World Vision Australia, new staff complete a class entitled “Why is that child poor?” an overview of poverty alleviation through lessons from aid and development experts. It’s an excellent course, but in two days the quantity of information can be overwhelming, especially to a novice. Reading development blogs is a natural extension to a course like this. You continually learn and process information that will help you to best understand your “product” and to keep your strategies relevant to the context you’re raising funds for.

Donors want more
Those compelled to truly make a difference have (mostly) become apathetic to the elevator speech about “simple” solutions to poverty. Donors are hungry for more information and want to know where their dollar a day is going. I have daily conversations with donors on this topic. So far, we have only scratched the surface in explaining sustainable community development and disaster relief. Development blogs are a treasure chest of information that explain both. I saw this in action on the vlogger trip, where one of our info-hungry vloggers used these blogs to help answer complex questions and create compelling new ways of explaining community development. Additionally, our lack of explanations of the complexities of development have driven some donors away from community development (a “hand up”) and toward direct benefits (a “hand out”). Case in point: undesignated funds. Many donors are skeptical and resistant to give to this type of funding because it appears to lack accountability. Many INGOs have completely failed to explain the value, impact and flexibility of this type of funding. Instead, donors give elsewhere because they know exactly where their money is going rather than deciding where it can be used best. And why wouldn’t you!? Use development blogs to better understand the complexities of development. Then, use your marketing brilliance to share these insights with your info-hungry donors.

You’ll stay current in your own field
Many prominent development bloggers cross lines between community development and new media communications. They give commentary on a multitude of marketing campaigns, communication techniques, donor promises and emerging INGOs. I find it far easier to understand what my peers are doing via these blogs than through my own means. It was through these bloggers (and my brilliant boyfriend, a fellow development groupie) that I first heard of “1 million t-shirts” and of Save the Children’s “Lottery of Life” campaign. Even if you don’t agree with some of the commentary, it’s wonderful to have access to consolidated information on the latest marketing campaigns.

There are many more reasons, but these are my top three. If you want more, let me know. Linda’s post gives a long list of prominent bloggers, personally my “go tos” are:

A Humourless lot
Good Intentions Are Not Enough
Tales From The hood
Wait…What?
Wanderlust
WhyDev (Just found this one, great range of contributors and topics. So proud they are Aussie!)

Disclaimer: expect cynicism. These are not warm, fuzzy blogs. They are more critical toward fundraising efforts than they are praising. Personally, I believe this is because many of the campaigns they critique are ones that trivialize their work and the people they aim to help (“Viral” from Tales from the Hood alludes to this). That said, do not allow their critical stance to discourage you from engaging with the writers directly. I have found all bloggers to be approachable, considerate and affirming. Whenever I have had questions (even ones I thought were stupid) they have been an incredible resource and I value these relationships immensely.

Hi, I'm Richenda

Social Media Diva

Author Archives: Richenda

A new chapter

Egyptian Pride