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Posts Tagged ‘philanthropy’

Trends from Randi Zuckerberg, Former Director of Marketing at Facebook

2 comments Written on March 14th, 2012 by Brian McDonald
Categories: Events, Social Media
Tags: branding, communication, Facebook, mobile, networking, philanthropy, Raleigh Social Media, Social Networks

Last month I had the opportunity to meet and hear Randi Zuckerberg speak at Meredith College. Randi was visiting the campus to receive the President’s Award and deliver the 2012 Woman of Achievement Lecture. Prior to the event I was able to attend the VIP reception thanks to my wife (@mcdezigns) who won the Meredith Facebook contest.

Randi Zuckerberg is the former head of marketing at Facebook and brother to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and the next american billionaire. She left her advertising agency job to work with Mark when he was at Harvard to help him launch Facebook and was with the company until last fall. During her tenure she was able to see the development of Facebook and help with the launch of several of the platforms features.

Randi stated that she changes her presentation based on current trends and that it can change on a monthly basis. The top trends she discussed were:

The sharing economy: social media has created a more caring community that shares resources instead of hoarding them.
People as platforms: the ability for individuals to generate a fan followiong rapidly.
Gamification of health and fitness: apps like Gym-Pact reward healthy behavior.
Crowdsourcing: Kickstart is funding more projects than the NEA. Logos and corporate identity are being generated by sites like 99 Designs.
Cover photos are making statements: people and brands are having fun with photos and creating a billboard type impression on Facebook. Examples include Girl Scout Cookies and Obama’s campaign pages.
Mobile first: new technology is being designed only for use as a mobile app without a formal website. These new apps are building one use case really well versus a whole site.
Curation is creating experts from individuals that never write, paint or create unique content. Sites like Pinterest allow users to create a strong following based off their taste not their own content.
Creating social moments: what if you could recreate the Home Shopping Network within Facebook with real time stats on friends purchases?
The opportunity to create more social moments via live blogging (which I wish I had known that there was WiFi at the event, I would have live blogged this post!).
Philanthropy is offering brands the opportunity to dip their toes into social media by matching contributions or having contests. Target asked its fans to pick which charity they would give their annual donation to by voting on Facebook.

Overall I was very impressed with Randi both on a personal and professional level. She was very approachable when I had the opportunity to meet her before the event and I enjoyed discussing strategy with her. After seeing her speak to the crowd you could tell that she was a savvy marketing professional that understood that technology is cool but you need to provide value. Technology for wow factor fades fast.

I would like to thank Meredith College for bringing Randi to the Triangle as the event was free to the public.

Tagsbranding, communication, Facebook, mobile, networking, philanthropy, Raleigh Social Media, Social Networks
Posted in Events, Social Media

Movember: Changing The Face of Online Philanthropy

2 comments Written on November 4th, 2010 by Brian McDonald
Categories: Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Uncategorized
Tags: communication, movember, philanthropy, Raleigh Social Media, Social Networks, Twitter, Web

Some of you may have noticed that my avatar recently changed and that I have a nice fake moustache on my photo. This is because I’m participating in Movember. Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men. Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.

Now my reason for joining Team RDU is two-fold. First I want to do my part to help with the fund raising efforts. Second, my father passed away nine years ago to prostate cancer and I really have missed him since. I know that my participation cannot bring him back but it can help others facing prostate cancer. Losing a loved one sucks. And I know there are many men out there much younger than my father was that are facing this terrible disease.

In creating awareness for the campaign our team captain, Greg Ng (@gregoryng) has done something creative and fun, Movember-thon. Some of you know Greg from his web TV show, Freezerburns (@freezerburns) where he reviews frozen food items. Last week Greg announced that he would do a 24-hour live show and sold off time slots for co-hosts to raise money for Movember. I jumped at the chance to participate and help raise awareness for the cause. You can see me tomorrow, November 5 at http://live.freezerburns.com/ at 10 am to see me review a frozen food item with Greg and raise some additional funds for the cause. The event starts at midnight tonight if you want to catch all 24-hours!

Another tactic team members are doing to create awareness and raise funds is to take photos of themselves each day to show the growth of their mustaches. I’m using Daily Mugshot to track my growth. Also each day myself and others are posting photos to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks to spread the word. Movember is not just limited to male participants. Women can join the cause as Mo Sistas and can raise funds.

You can also donate during the entire month of November at http://us.movember.com/mospace/518224/. No amount is too small and I thank you for any contribution you can make, including sharing this post with your friends. At the end of Movember, TeamRDU will be hosting a gala to thank our friends and sponsors. Find out more at http://rdu-movember.eventbrite.com/.

Tagscommunication, movember, philanthropy, Raleigh Social Media, Social Networks, Twitter, Web
Posted in Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Uncategorized

Need Social Media Training? Get That and Help Haiti!

No Comments » Written on February 4th, 2010 by Brian McDonald
Categories: Events, Social Media
Tags: philanthropy, Raleigh Social Media, workshop

Originally posted by David B. Thomas on conversations and connections – social media at SAS

Photo by United Nations Development Programme / CC BY 2.0

Recently Mitch Joel and Joseph Jaffe promised to auction off keynote addresses for Haiti relief, with their services going to the highest bidder. This idea inspired me to do something similar here in the Triangle. As with all human endeavors involving more than one person, it took some time to organize, but we’ve got the participants lined up, so let’s get this started.

We will plan and present a half-day social media workshop to the Triangle-area company that makes the highest donation to Red Cross Haiti relief, with a reserve of $1000. The workshop will be held onsite at your company and tailored to your needs. I’ve lined up a solid group of social media professionals to make this a truly valuable event:

Wayne Sutton, nationally known blogger at http://socialwayne.com and social media/community strategist for Twine Interactive,

Jeff Cohen, a social media consultant and practitioner and one of the principles of SocialMediaB2B.com, one of the most active and useful sites for social media for business,

Mur Lafferty, award-winning podcasting author, writer, blogger, and speaker, co-author of Tricks of the Podcasting Masters, host of I Should Be Writing, the Tor.com Story podcast, and several fiction podcasts,

Brian McDonald, marketing director at Zencos, blogger at http://squarejawmedia.com and Social Media VP of the Triangle chapter of the American Marketing Association,

Ryan Boyles, community manager at IBM, focused on connecting with customers and partners with social media and nurturing brand advocates with engagement inside and outside the company firewall,

David B. Thomas (me), social media manager at SAS, responsible for directing SAS’ social media strategy and the practical aspects of integrating social media into the company’s operations globally.

Ready to start the bidding? We’ll do it by email. Send your bids, starting at $1000, to [email protected] We’ll keep the bidding open until 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 19. The workshop will go to the company that promises by email before the deadline to make the highest donation over $1000 to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. Once you’ve been notified that you’ve won the bid, you’ll be asked to provide proof of your donation before we plan the event.

A few common-sense rules: This auction is open to companies and organizations in the Triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Chapel Hill and environs). We will present the workshop at the donor company’s Triangle location or a Triangle site of your choosing. The winning donor company is responsible for providing the location and facilities. Any expenses related to the facility and the event, and any required materials, as well as any refreshments you want to provide, are the responsibility of the winning donor. In other words, we’re not bringing the coffee or pads and pencils or any of that stuff, and it would be great if you could supply a projector. Any tax implications of this donation are solely the responsibility of the donor company.

We’ll work with you to find a mutually-agreeable time for the workshop before June 1, 2010.

If you know a company that would be interested, please help us by forwarding this, and sharing it with your networks.

Please note: I’m involved in this and promoting it on my blog, but this is not an official SAS-sponsored event. All of the folks involved in this event are participating on their own and not as official representatives of their respective companies.

Tagsphilanthropy, Raleigh Social Media, workshop
Posted in Events, Social Media