Social with a Side of Business Please

The past two weeks have been a rush of travel, conversations, and networking. All done socially or because of social. My freelance organization (ARBpr) has gotten some good exposure at these recent events and I want to add-on what it is I do, since all my freelancing has been word of mount thus far.

I help you get to know “Social” for your business or Government Organization. I help you manage and massage your social behaviors into a cohesive social message for your brand. I am not coming to you with me being a social media maven who will get you a million twitter followers and max out on how many fans you can have in Facebook. No, I am helping you focus and develop an all-inclusive strategy. A strategy that begins with understanding what it is you do (your mission) and applying the best practices you already have with marketing and your products or business processes, into social channels.

Not only do I help you with that, but I especially focus on getting the corporate or small business environment up to speed on how to communicate and collaborate effectively behind your firewall to make sure tight and well planned external communications.

If this sounds like something you would like to know more about, please contact me at andrearosebaker at gmail dot com or call 310-439-8309 and ask about my introductory social business workshop. Workshops are custom tailored to your organizational needs and can run from as little as an hour to an all day intensive.

Twenty Questions Regarding Social Government Business

OMNI Hotel at CNN Center

Today is officially day one of the ALI Social Media for Government Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. This morning, I went around the room of about 40 attendees to ask them what questions they have as they attend this event and what they expect to learn. I jotted down the questions with the promise to make sure everyone has an answer or at least a place to go to, to get more information if no quick answer exists.

I can haz a question

To help this group get their questions answered, I am putting this list out to my social networks to share in the conversation. I ask of you, if you have a presentation, story, anecdote, or anything else to share to help answer these questions, please do so in the comments below and pass on this blog post to your circle to continue to build the answers to this list of twenty questions. If you have the answer to the question, in your comment, please put the question number and then your answer. If possible, please link liberally to more information. While this is a Government audience, I think we can agree that no matter what industry you are in, these are universal problems. I have been able to answer some of these questions in the little time I have as chair between sessions and hope to discuss others at the end of each day. Tomorrow morning, I present another session in which I hope to focus on the Return on Investment (ROI) of Social Media.

When I get enough information to complete the answers to the Q, I will take that into a permanent page on my website as a continued resource that I can bring out and refresh now and again. I thank you in advance for your time.

Here are the questions I culled from the group:

  1. How can I get/use an editorial calendar to manage my social media content?
  2. How can I get my peers onboard, get excited, or keep their interest with using social media?
  3. How can I enhance my blogs with Twitter and Facebook?
  4. How can I create a group blog and make it a successful one?
  5. How can I get past management’s reluctance to embrace social media as another content outlet for our information?
  6. How can I put social media policies or create guidelines for management of social media into place?
  7. What else should my organization be doing in social media besides a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube?
  8. What are some of the best practices available?
  9. How do I get the most bang for my buck?
  10. How can I do effective measurement and analytics, how do I measure twitter?
  11. How do I handle all my daily requirements and run our social media presence? It’s just me! How do I manage this monster?
  12. How to I bring IT on board and convince them social media is not an evil thing?
  13. What is the most effective way to cross-broadcast our information using multiple social media channels?
  14. How do I address the generation and cultural gaps of my target audience?
  15. How do I shift the paradigm from email to social?
  16. How do I reach my rural constituents when they might not even be web connected?
  17. How do I boost the effects of Follow Friday or other audience gathering techniques?
  18. How do I select the right tools for the job/audience?
  19. How do I maintain success once I achieve it?
  20. What is the next big thing/trend in social?

September 2011 Speaking Engagements and More

Photo Courtesy of PeterP Photography

September has been a busy month for me, so I would be remiss if I didn’t share with my readers what I have been up to, where I have been speaking and where I will be speaking.

Last week (September 11-13) I gave back to back 2 hour presentations on the “Social Business Roadmap” and “How to Conduct a Social Business Assessment“, both were based on a whitepaper I wrote with my colleague at AIIM International this past March 2011. These presentations were part of the #Optsum conference in Glendale, Arizona. It was a beneficial trip from the networking connections I met at the conference over lunches. It was also beneficial to me on a personal level because I got to reconnect over the two days with former Army buddies. I drove from Glendale to Tucson for the first visit, my former roommate Andria and the next night in Glendale with my friend Gian and his family. As much as in the desert you can get that Glendale is, I found my stay enjoyable as the Renaissance Hotel is right next to a fun little town center called Westgate and my hotel room had a stone’s throw view of University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Cardinals played their opener.

As always, I post my presentations to Slideshare.net and I let my attendees know where they can get the materials. I do from time to time tweak the presentations to be specific to audience, but the ones I post to slideshare fill the general conversation spectrum.

This week I am in Atlanta, Georgia for the Social Media in Government Conference where I not only ran a workshop on Monday, but I am the Chair of the event for the first time. I have spoken for the ALI Conferences in the past for Social Media in Government, but this is my first chair. I feel very comfortable in this role as I have chaired other events, as well as had my share of event planning. The conference is being held in the Omni at CNN Center which is a quite an impressive venue. I am hoping I could run into Wolf or Piers in the hallways.

I am also grateful this event is in Atlanta where my sister lives real close, so I have been able to stay with her and bond with my nephew. As I am a Maryland resident, Atlanta is 11 hours away from me and so seeing my family and watching my nephew grow into a little man has been at least easier through social media. I am thankful technology keeps us connected. However, since this is only about the 6th time I have seen him and him me, having him remember who I am to him or who I am at all at 2.5 years old is a learning process every visit. Each time I see him, by the time he warms up to me, it is time to leave town.

I will be rounding out the end of this week in NYC for a project I hope I can be a part of and share with you about sometime soon.

Next week, I will be speaking on Social Media Return on Investment at Digital East from September 28-29, with my colleague at SMCDC Former President Larissa Fair.

After that, I plan to slow down a little and take a much needed vacation in October back to the West Coast for time with our family and friends in California.

Graphical Resume

Image

{EAV_BLOG_VER:977d0e7bf338ccb1}
For those job seekers out there looking to set yourselves apart from the rest, take a look at the Brazen Careerist facebook app I tried out recently. I was able to have my graphic built from connecting to my resume and information pulled in from LinkedIN in seconds and shared instantly with my stream. You can also tweet a link to it or download and post on your website like I have done here.

Some of you might be weary of 3rd person apps, which this requires a few to get the final result, however, the final result is pretty cool. Of course this reads incorrectly in a few spots, but I am sure after tweaking with the settings, it would be more accurate. Perhaps I should create a second profile just for my acting career. As this reads I have been doing E20 and social media since I was 5 years old, or maybe I have? hmmm

http://brazen.me/u/andrearbaker

http://apps.facebook.com/brazenapp/?ref=ts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s FOSE Time Again

The FOSE Conference & Expo is returning to Washington, DC, July 19-21 – are you planning to attend? I am, I can’t tell you how many times I have attended in recent years, as the conference circuit is quite a blur from one to the next. However, I always know when it is time for FOSE because it is THE biggest event in the Washington DC area for the Federal Government IT. As a US Army veteran and former consultant to the Government industry, this was a must do event every year for me. This year, I will be there again in support of Operation Gratitude and for my organization’s booth – AIIM International.

If you stop by our booth (number 505), you can ask Jesse Wilkins, who also will be speaking on Social Media Governance on the 20th at 1:30pm or myself about our Social Business Roadmap. In fact, if you head over to Jesse’s blog post about the event, you can enter to win a free full conference pass.

If you’ve never been to FOSE before, then make 2011 the year you attend! There’s a reason (several, actually) why it’s the top government IT event in the country. FOSE features a FREE Expo with education sessions and over 400 IT solution providers, including Blackberry, Canon and Dell. Another excellent reason to attend FOSE: Apple founder Steve Wozniak will be one of this year’s keynote speakers!

This year’s Conference features advanced level sessions and keynotes across 5 tracks, including:

 

Interested in attending FOSE? Register today at http://bit.ly/FOSE20Reg for a 20% discount off the full conference rate!

Open Position: Program Manager, Online and Interactive Content at AIIM

Please send your resume and cover letters addressed to “Human Resources” and email them to abaker@aiim.org. If you would like to know more about AIIM, you can read more on our website at http://www.aiim.org/About

Staff:                           OPEN

 

Reports to:                Director, Market Access

 

FLSA Status:             Exempt

 

Travel Required:       less than 10%

 

Location:                    The employee is required to work at AIIM headquarters office and eligible for Tele-working policy.  Deviations from this requirement must be approved by supervisor.

 

Infrastructure:           AIIM provides standard office equipment.

 

 

Summary:                  Under direct supervision, assist Director with online and interactive content initiatives to drive traffic to AIIM and sponsor content.  Manage Microsite,  eNewsletter, and eAdvertising programs.

 

Specific Tasks:

 

  1. Social Networking
    1. Monitor Linkedin groups (AIIM and other industry groups)
    2. Create Linkedin discussions around Microsite and AIIM content.
    3. Monitor Twitter and create tweets to Microsite and AIIM content.

 

  1. AIIM website
    1. Post articles to AIIM Latest to drive traffic to events, research, and Microsite articles, etc.
    2. Post “Case Study of the Week” banners and rotate for Microsites.
    3.  Monitor AIIM web traffic via Google analytics.
    4. Update stats sheet.

 

  1. eNewsletter
    1. Coordinate content, HTML code eNewsletter, pull list and send to subscribers.
    2.  Coordinate headlines and classifieds.
    3. Post “Case Study of the Week” banner for Microsites in eNewsletter.
    4. Send leads to advertisers.
    5. Monitor and track subscriptions, opens and click thrus.
    6. Update stats sheet.

 

  1. Banner ads
    1. Post AIIM house ads, microsite sponsor banner ads, and advertiser banner ads to AIIM website.
    2. Monitor impressions and click-thrus.
    3. Provide stats (impressions/click-thrus).

 

  1. Microsites
    1. Post vendor and AIIM content to Microsite.
    2. Drive traffic via eNewsletter and social networking.
    3. Coordinate vendor content, process orders, and send weekly leads.
    4. Monitor and track traffic and leads.
    5. Update stats sheet
    6. Other duties as assigned.

 

Qualifications


  • Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Marketing or Communications, or equivalent experience.
  • Strong knowledge of social networking and web analytics to effect marketing activity.
  • Two (2) years experience, preferably in a Marketing setting.
  • Must have strong attention to detail, project and time management, planning, execution, and communication skills (verbal, written and interpersonal).
  • Understanding of core marketing principles such as driving traffic, market segmentation, targeting, etc.
  • Ability to write marketing copy for web and email based communications.
  • Must be able to interact with staff in a professional, effective, and proactive manner.
  • Must be able to interact with sponsors in a professional, effective and proactive manner.
  • Excellent HTML, PC and MS Office skills (Excel a must).

The Social Business Conference is just 2 Months Away

Two months from now we will be bringing you the Social Business Conference on September 8, 2011 presented by AIIM. The event has three tracks for the best content and information under use cases, strategy, and governance, with some of the best minds in Social Business.

Since June, we have been talking to our presenters as we gear up for the event with a series of blog post interviews. We wanted to know what they will be sharing with our audience of attendees and what other things they have in the work regarding social business. Our most recent interviews have been with:

Tracks:
  • Strategies
  • Use Cases
  • Governance
Cost to Attend:
  • Members – $85
  • Non-members – $95

What’s Included?

  • Access to all sessions during the live event
  • 1 month access to all recorded presentations
  • 6.0 credits for Certified Records Managers (event is pre-approved)

Who Should Attend?

The 1-day virtual conference is for people tasked with implementing social technologies, such as:

  • IT staff tasked with identifying and implementing the appropriate solution to engage staff, partners or staff
  • Line of business managers interested in redefining customer relationships, knowledge worker productivity and innovation.
  • Information and records management professionals tasked with managing information assets and records
  • Solution and service providers interested in learning more about how to implement and manage social technologies

Questions?

For all questions related to the conference or registration, please contact gclelland@aiim.org.

Check out the AIIM Communities blogs for more interview from now until the event is live on September 8, 2011. You can also follow our special event hashtag on twitter #sbcon11. We have been using this hashtag to post information regarding this event and we will be using it the day of to keep an open back-channel of conversation relating to the event.

How IT Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Facebook

This post was previously posted on the AIIM Community Blogs/Social Business
In just a little under 3 months’ time, AIIM will be presenting ourAIIM Social Business Conference, a virtual event – September 8, 2011. The entire event will be conducted online from presenter to participant. A 6-hour event, this conference is different from Social Business and Enterprise 2.0 events of traditional participation.  It is different due to the excellent price (just $85 for professional AIIM membership and $95 for General Participations) and the high caliber of presenters, such as our Keynotes Andrew McAfeeDavid Weinberger, and Debra Logan. We have speakers from all lines of business such as fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and Government.
You will not find a conference with this much to offer, speakers so experience and knowledgable, and the convenience to attend from your home or office for such a little price. In this economy, you can learn, network and share for under $100. How’s that for justification to your management? You will be up on the latest information, find new contacts all for less of a traditional conference where you would have to spend time in airports, taxis, and hotels.
I as well as my supervisor, Director of Systems of Engagement Jesse Wilkins and our AIIM President John Mancini will all be giving presentations. Jesse and I have been working hard to ensure this program is not only beneficial in content, but timely to those who take the time to participate. We wanted to present a schedule of content that is relevant to our community and extends to those we have not touched yet. Social Business is a growing term, but the practice is still nascent amongst organizations of all types. We want to reach these organizations to understand that community management, customer and brand engagement, and knowledge management is not just for the traditional corporate culture. Organizations such as churches, educational institutions, online communities, entertainment, non-profits, and more also have social business needs.
Our event focus covers a wide spectrum of information under three main tracks of strategies, use cases, and governance.  Within each track we have found some of the best international examples of Social Business in practice. We cover a various amount of experience and examples in this program all of which I believe support the Social Business Roadmap we released back in March of this year. The 8 steps of our roadmap are reinforced within this conference are: Emergence, Strategy, Development, Monitoring, Participation, Engagement, Governance, and Optimization.

We believe in Governance so much, we are dedicating an entire track to it to focus on some of the most relevant discussions to cover your organizational needs. My session specifically, How IT Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Facebook, covers not only the concerns IT has for Facebook traditionally, but how to overcome common concerns and issues and use social business technologies to the organization’s benefit. IT does not have to be a hindrance; it can be one of your biggest champions.
Overall, I believe there is something for everyone in this event. Whether you are new to Social Business or have been involved with it before it was identified with the name, you will find a reason to attend. We also want to make sure our potential participants understand this event is for all levels of your career as well as for the various departments with your organization. Consider passing this blog and the link to the event to your internal departments, such as HR, Finance, Legal, and especially IT. We would love to reach these departments especially. The myth is that you have to be social media savvy to understand and embrace social business as a practice. Another myth is that you have to be a millennial. You do not have to be either. You just have to attend, you will be enlightened.

 

At Work with AIIM: 5 month update

Tomorrow (June 17, 2011 — considered to be the happiest day of the year by some), I will have been employed with AIIM for 5 months. Its been quite a rush of work so far. In my first 2 months at AIIM, I did not take a single weekend off as I was working on developing the Social Business Roadmap, which we released in March 2011. We hope that as this year continues, we see more and more businesses and organizations take something away from this whitepaper, as we see it as THE guide for those who wish to adopt social media into their organization to better connect with their community.

Since releasing the whitepaper, we have traveled and blogged in support of our research and are still supporting that with our participation at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference next week in Boston, MA. My boss, Director Systems of Engagement, Jesse Wilkins and I will be at the AIIM booth (#521) on the expo floor where we will be happy to talk with you about your ideas of Enterprise 2.0, Social Business, and what ever is coming next.

At AIIM we also are in the works of  TaskForce II headed up by Andrew McAfee. The father of Enterprise 2.0 and keynote at this 5th year of the #e2conf.  We are working to define the responsible use of social content with some brilliant minds. We last met in person in Boston back in April and we are continuing to develop our research and discussions. As you might know, the first AIIM TaskForce with Geoffrey Moore was a huge success in defining that we have moved from Systems of Records to Systems of Engagement. As such, my position at AIIM was identified and I am now working hard to fulfill my every growing task load. It been challenging at times, but its also very much something that requires the amount of energy I have and my experience.

Now that we have delivered on setting guidance on the roadmap, I have to major projects underway. One is that I am working on developing part of our new Social Business training offerings. I am working on a community management set of modules that I am very excited about and we will be releasing to our community members this summer. The second, is our Social Business Conference this September 8, 2011. This event is unique in that it is completely virtual and our cost is very affordable for our members and non-members at the price points of $85/$95 respectively. I challenge you to find a better deal anywhere else that offers the stellar lineup of speakers and content. I will also be speaking at this event, under the Governance track. We are offering three tracks for the best content and information under use cases, strategy, and governance.

As the event is less than three months away now, I have started a  series of blog post interviews of those who are presenting at the event, so far we have heard from:

… more to come with a new interview every Monday and Wednesday until the event is live on September 8, 2011.

Sign up now to register for this event. This event is for all levels of engagement of social media and social business. Whether you are new or an old pro there is something for you to hear. Additionally this is also for all target audiences from non-profits, to educators, to Government, to the fortune 500, to small business. We want you to attend, network, and share with us your stories.

 

AIIM is Looking for a Senior Accountant

AIIM International Job Announcement – please send resumes and cover letters to abaker@aiim.org

Position: Senior Accountant

Department: Finance  and Administration

Staff:                          Open

Reports to: Chief Financial Officer

Supervises: None

FLSA Status: Exempt, Full Time

Travel Required: N/A

Location: The employee is required to work at the AIIM headquarters office. Deviations from this requirement must be approved by supervisor.

Infrastructure: AIIM provides standard office equipment.

Summary: Working on the Finance team with involved knowledge of Accounts Payable, Cash Receipts, and Payroll, this position will be responsible for administering all aspects of the General Ledger process, month close, reconciliation, financial reporting and taxes.

Job Duties:

  1. Prepares and records asset, liability, revenue, and expenses entries by compiling and analyzing account information.
  2. Maintains and balances general ledger accounts by verifying, allocating, posting, reconciling transactions; resolving discrepancies
  3. Maintains general ledger through closing process; preparing month end reports; resolving discrepancies; account analysis and trends; monthly reconciliation
  4. Summarizes financial status by collecting information; preparing balance sheet, profit and loss, other statements and analysis for CFO review.
  5. Records daily cash position and reconcile cash account
  6. Produces and transmits semi-monthly payroll through  associated reporting and audits
  7. Assists with annual audits and budget process through completion of requested materials, reconciliations and reports.
  8. Designs and produces financial reports for increased efficiencies, maintains proper internal controls.
  9. Manages and records fixed assets, policy and procedure
  10. Identify and prepare monthly, quarterly and annual tax reports

 

Other

  1. Must meet monthly, quarterly and annual reporting deadlines
  2. Assist in special projects as needed to enhance financial operations
  3. Other duties as assigned.

 

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Required
  • Minimum 5 years experience in non-profit accounting field
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Working knowledge of non-profit accounting standards
  • Experience with Microsoft Office (Excel and Word)
  • Experience with Great Plains accounting software
  • Experience with FRx Financial Report Writer
  • Experience with Aptify database preferred
  • Foreign Currency experience preferred