Mission and Vision: Building Trust and Authenticity

This is the second in a series of posts exploring the topic of mission and vision, leading up to our webinar presentation in March—3 DANGEROUS TRENDS FACING ASSOCIATIONS AND NON-PROFITS. Today we’re talking about why trust matters… When you think about it, trust is a critical foundation to the building of success in our lives, our families, our communities, and beyond.  …

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Mission and Vision: The Need to Belong

This is the first in a series of posts exploring the topic of mission and vision.  We will talk about their purpose and value, the differences between them and how to get to congruence and authenticity. The series is a lead in to our webinar presentation in March—3 DANGEROUS TRENDS FACING ASSOCIATIONS AND NON-PROFITS.   Do we really need mission statements?  …

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ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP: Generational Differences in Your Audience

Do any of you connect life milestones with historical events as a way to keep track of your personal timeline? I think it was once Meredith, child #4, daughter #2, (2006?), was in college, that we finally realized that leaving cell phone messages were ineffective.  (And I thought giving them all cell phones would keep us connected!?) If we wanted timely …

THE WHY AND HOW OF MOBILE: A PLACE TO START

I’ve had my iPhone 4S for less than a year. I was a late comer to the mobile party, but now I don’t think I could survive without it. Convenience is one of the greatest benefits of the iPhone. The accessibility of Siri, e-mail, an iPod, a camera, GPS, mobile apps and websites all in one place is incredibly useful. …

Leadership Inspires Loyalty

What inspires loyalty in a person?  What makes us root for the US Olympians and cheer for “the gold” in each and every event?  There are typically two options we have in trying to influence behavior: Manipulation and Inspiration. Many of the choices we make are motivated by fear, shiny objects and such, but only loyalty comes from being inspired. …

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ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR WHY?

A few years back, I knew I needed to step up my commitment to regular exercise. I decided that what would motivate me to exercise consistently would be to enroll in a class, so I could enjoy the challenge while getting to know some other women with the same goals. As I have gotten to know these ladies over time, …

3 Brands Using Social Media for Social Good

Have you ever wondered “Why social media?” Beyond the availability and convenience of it…what is the deeper purpose that social media can serve? Recently, I read Brian Solis’s blog post “Social media is about social science and not technology,” and what struck me was the potential for social good that social media can create. Brian stated that social science is …

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Pinterest: 4 Brands Doing it Right

Surely you’ve heard about pinterest, and may even recognize that it could benefit your brand … but still you hesitate, “Is it really worth putting in the time to get our brand on pinterest?” YES. According to All Twitter, the majority of pins on pinterest are repins (meaning your content is continually being shared). Shareaholic states that pinterest’s referral rate is …

The Marketing Persona: 4 Benefits of Using a Persona

I was thinking about how teams prepare to play each other during March Madness. All of them use scouting reports that outline the unique ways a team likes to play. The reports are fairly basic, but some details can stand out for a coach, such as information that a specific player only likes to go to his or her left. …

The Marketing Persona: Building Blocks

The ancient Native American saying “Do not judge a person until you’ve walked two moons in their shoes” captures the thinking behind the marketing persona. Crafting personas requires getting into the heads of our audiences. What keeps them up at night? How do they spend their free time? How do they like to be sold to? What’s their favorite channel …