IABC/Philadelphia

Hello Communicators,

Tomorrow night we get the program year underway with our first networking event at the fabulous Water Works in Philly. I don’t know about you, but I am excited!  One of our great venues. We have a great speaker too in Mark Schumann, Chair of IABC International. I spoke with Mark just yesterday. He is excited to share with you top news in the industry, what he’s hearing from other chapters, along with 5 ideas you can put to work tomorrow to enhance your value.

Speaking of our programming. I wanted to share the results of our survey in August. First of all thank you to all that participated. The objective was to make sure we are calibrating our content  to your interest areas. It was revealing in some areas and consistent with trends in others. The big takeaway was folks are interested in cost effective ways to enhance business value under shrinking budgets. That sounds like communicators are under pressure to deliver programs that have material impact on operations. Social media, public relations and digital communication strategies were sited as priorities. IABC Philadelphia is on track with our programming. Upcoming seminars will include use of social media for personal branding, case studies in the strategic  implementation of social media.  And in November, a  panel of media experts will discuss the impact of social media on news reporting. We also heard from you on the location of events. While it was fairly even (48.8% satisfied vs. 51.2% less so) we were able to glean that events in the Route 202/476 corridor and North of the city were requested. This is the type of feedback that helps us better meet your needs. So, we’ll look at venues in these areas after the first of the year. There also seemed to be huge demand with 95.7% of respondents indicating interest in case studies from other chapters. As I mentioned in August’s Click newsletter, I am participating in monthly President’s calls with other IABC chapters led by none other than Mark Schumann. I’ll keep an ear open for innovative programs and share them in this blog or through Twitter. With regard to online collaboration, a majority 55.8% of respondents were unaware IABC Philly was engaged in social media. Yes we are!  You can find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. We’ll post summary of the survey results here.

Lastly, I wanted to encourage everyone to consider attending the upcoming Heritage Region conference next month in Cleveland. Your board will be there. I will be attending Leadership Forum and Jocelyn Canfield will be giving a presentation on “Creativity at Work:  Tips to Get You and Your Team Out of a Rut.” Actually I have an ulterior motive for going … I am Rock n’ Roll music fanatic. So this give me long sought after excuse to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

That’s it for now. See you tomorrow night at the Water Works.

Regards,

Tony

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 18, 2009 – IABC Philadelphia, the local chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), has announced four additions to its leadership team for the 2009-2010 program year. Kari Gill will serve as vice president of membership, Daniel Earle as vice president of administration, Chris Berger as vice president of public relations, and Valeria Maltoni as board member at large. The four were unanimously elected by the association’s board at IABC’s annual planning meeting.

Kari Gill is currently the regional sales manager for promotional products at Jack Horner Communications Inc., a King of Prussia-based marketing communications agency. She has more than 11 years of experience in marketing and event planning, with a strong foundation in building strategic client relationships. As vice president of membership, Gill will engage current and potential members in efforts to grow the chapter through valuable and relevant meeting topics, networking events and activities.

Daniel Earle is a 2009 Masters graduate of Villanova Graduate Studies in Communication. He has been an active member of IABC since 2005 as a former member of IABC Atlanta as well as the co-founder of the University of Georgia Student Chapter. As vice president of administration, Earle will be responsible for assisting in the execution of the various projects undertaken by the board.

Chris Berger recently relocated to the Philadelphia area from Tulsa, Okla., where he held the position of vice president of communications for the IABC Tulsa chapter. He has more than 11 years of marketing communications experience, most recently as the assistant vice president of 66 Federal Credit Union in Bartlesville, Okla. As vice president of public relations, Berger will facilitate increased awareness of the chapter programs and activities though all appropriate media channels.

Valeria Maltoni, ABC, brings 20 years of marketing experience, specializing in marketing communications, customer dialogue and brand management. She is an Accredited Business Communicator and the author of a popular online marketing blog, Conversation Agent. She also contributes to several well-known marketing web sites including Marketing Profs, Fast Company Expert blogger, and Social Media Today. As board member at large, Maltoni will assist in growing the visibility of the chapter, drawing from her vast experience with online marketing.

“We are excited about rounding out the board with these four additions,” says Tony DeFazio, chapter president, IABC Philadelphia. “With the diversified experience that these new board members bring, it solidifies the board to be able to serve our members and community more effectively.”

For more information about networking, continuing education or accreditation opportunities with IABC Philadelphia, please visit our new web site at www.iabcphiladelphia.com.

About IABC Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) links communication professionals in the Delaware Valley. IABC Philadelphia provides members and guests a range of services, including professional development meetings and workshops, networking with peers, knowledge and resource sharing, job placement and accreditation. Members have access to over 200 communication professionals including corporate communications, public relations/media relations, editors, public affairs, investor relations, marketing communications, graphic designers, and writers in a variety of industries. For more information, visit www.iabcphiladelphia.com.

Press inquiries:
Chris Berger
610.241.2132
berger.m.chris@gmail.com
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IABC Philadelphia board member and communication consultant, Tim Ernst, ABC was featured in the July 2009 issue of Communication World Bulletin with an article regarding Visuals in Online Communication.

In my presentation to the IABC in February, we talked about why search engine optimization is important to press releases. There are many ways for your release to be displayed online and thereby accessible to search engines like Google. A best practice is to always post your press release to your website or online newsroom. Also, there are some press release distribution services, such as Business Wire, that will post your release to hundreds or thousands of websites for a small fee. This article will provide a good jumping off point for you to learn how to get the most out of your release once it is posted online.

The goal of this article is to help you take advantage of a new way to reach your audience, search engines. Only a few years ago, your audience for a press release was only the media. You sent it to the local paper or trade publication, hoping that they would write an article about your company. Then you hoped that your clients, prospects or anyone else you were looking to reach would see it. That’s a lot of hoping.

While the media is still the main target of a press release, search engines help to take the guesswork out of public relations. Google tells us how many people search for certain terms every month in their keyword research tool. This tool will allow you to select the right keyword to put into your press release. Selecting the right keywords is one of the most important things that you can do when creating your release to make sure that it is found.

Check out this blog post for some good things to keep in mind when selecting your keywords. Also, check out this great video to help with keyword selection.

Here’s a link to the Wordtracker Tool for more suggestions.
Embedding hyperlinks in the text of a release is another important tool.

Keywords with embedded links to your website do a lot for SEO. Here’s the three most important benefits:
1. Increases the chance of your release being found on a search for the keyword
2. Drives quality traffic to your website
3. SEO of that webpage increases

For working more SEO into your site: Google’s Official SEO Starter Guide.
This information will hopefully get you on the road to recognizing the benefits of SEO in press releases.
To continue your training:
1. Please check out our on-going Business Wire webinars
2. Check out our EON Resources page for some good info
3. Call or email me to setup a more in-depth meeting and hear about Business Wire’s tools
4. Check out these blogs: http://www.dailyblogtips.com/top-25-seo-blogs/ or http://davefleet.com/2008/10/are-you-reading-the-top-pr-blogs/

This article contributed by Aaron Nye, Account Executive with Business Wire (www.businesswire.com) Philadelphia, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. Aaron can be reached by email at Aaron.Nye@businesswire.com or by phone at 610-617-9560.

Philadelphia, Pa., June 23, 2009 – IABC Philadelphia, the local chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, has announced Tony DeFazio has been appointed chapter president and Chris Lentz chapter vice president/president elect as part of its new leadership team for the 2009-2010 program year. The two were unanimously elected by the association’s board at IABC’s annual planning meeting June 19th. DeFazio and Lentz will oversee strategic direction, membership programming and education initiatives as well as fundraising activities for the 200 plus member trade group.

Tony DeFazio previously served as vice president of publicity for IABC Philadelphia. In his new role, he will be responsible for the overall direction and programming for the trade group. DeFazio is president of DeFazio Communications, LLC a Conshohocken-based public relations agency. He previously served as director of public relations at American Financial Realty Trust, a NYSE-traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) based in Jenkintown, PA. Prior to that, he was executive vice president of Gregory FCA in Ardmore, PA. DeFazio is a 1989 graduate of the Ithaca College School of Humanities and Sciences where he received a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science. He is a resident of Conshohocken, PA.

Chris Lentz previously served as a vice president of marketing for IABC Philadelphia. As vice president, he will work to coordinate the chapter’s strategic communications efforts across several media. Lentz is internal news editor at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, NJ. He previously served as senior editor at ING in West Chester, PA. Over his 10-year career, Lentz has managed communications efforts for a range of companies in the customer service, technology, financial services, and education fields. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at La Salle University.

“Both of these communicators have distinguished themselves in service to IABC Philadelphia,” says Lauren Conway, outgoing president of IABC Philadelphia. “We couldn’t be more pleased with Tony and Chris assuming the leadership for the new programming year. Their appointments will help support additional programs and services added last year to sustain the growth of our membership as result of the merger with the Delaware chapter. We look forward to their contributions in the year ahead.”

For more information about networking, continuing education or accreditation opportunities with IABC Philadelphia, please visit our new website at www.iabcphiladelphia.com.

About IABC Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) links communication professionals in the Delaware Valley. IABC Philadelphia provides members and guests a range of services, including professional development meetings and workshops, networking with peers, knowledge and resource sharing, job placement and accreditation. Members have access to over 200 communication professionals including corporate communications, public relations/media relations, editors, public affairs, investor relations, marketing communications, graphic designers, and writers in a variety of industries. For more information, visit www.iabcphiladelphia.com.

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I recently had the experience of judging the final tier Gold Quill Awards in San Francisco along with 35 other communicators from 6 continents.  The experience of being with such a high-caliber judging group was quite a thrill. But the most critical thing I took away from the experience is the realization that everyone could win a Gold Quill if they understood what is required.

You don’t need to have a million dollar budget or a once-in-a-career mega-project to win a Gold Quill. You DO need to have competent work with measurable objectives. Frankly I expected to be wowed by the entries I saw when judging at the final round. But most of the pieces I evaluated missed the mark in two simple areas: having clear objectives and demonstrating results that link to those objectives. Setting goals that link to organizational objectives is the hallmark of an effective communicator.

Writing your award entry – or carrying out your communications plan – shouldn’t be a “ready, fire, aim” proposition. It was obvious in evaluating that most entrants had not thought about measuring success at the time the program was conceived. Rather they had a piece they were proud of and tried to rummage through the files for any sort of feedback or measures that would help make the case for their award. That is aiming after you fired.

When you have a communications challenge, you need to generate specific intentions about the audience and your proposed solution, and you need to determine BEFORE implementation what success will look like so that you can shape your work around it and measure it afterward. Measurement doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive or time consuming. It just needs to ask the right questions or show the right data to demonstrate the success of your effort. Each objective should have a measure. If your goal is increased participation in a program, the measurement should not focus on brochure readership. You might, however, try to uncover in a simple survey card if the brochure led to a change in behavior that led to participation in your program. If your goal was to increase revenues by 10%, the fact that 127 people asked for an extra copy of your beautiful calendar is irrelevant. You can measure that the calendar triggered potential customers to call, which led to closed sales and increased revenues. Thinking through the measures of your success before you execute your piece often gives sharper focus to your communication tools and tactics.

I seldom have clients who take the time to consider measurement of the success of the tools that I create for them…and I suspect that this is more the norm in our profession. I challenge you to consider what the measure of success would be for each article, for each brochure, for each direct mail piece that you create. Taking the time to aim before you fire will result in more targeted and therefore more effective communications…and perhaps net you a Gold Quill award!

Jocelyn Canfield, ABC
Communication Results

Writing|Graphic Design|Photography|Project Management

Special Recognition and Thanks – Two IABC Philadelphia Members Participated (see below)

Special thanks to Gold Quill coordinators and judges
Recognizing the best and brightest in business communication cannot be possible without a group of industry experts who graciously volunteer to coordinate and judge the Gold Quill entries. For the 2009 Gold Quill Awards, IABC received nearly 1,000 entries from 26 countries. We’d like to thank our category coordinators for recruiting first-tier judges, handling entries and ensuring that each and every entry was carefully and thoughtfully judged.

Our 2009 category coordinators were: Linda Andross, ABC, Yvonne Callaway Smith, Patricia Chamberlain, Lana Collins, ABC, Melissa Dark, Mark Estes, ABC, Janelle Ewing, Derrick Fennell, Olivia Gadd, Todd Hattori, ABC, Maureen Healey, ABC, Sean Hill, Shel Holtz, ABC, Chris Johnson, ABC, Sue Johnston, ABC, Lori Joseph, ABC, Don Klausmeyer, ABC, Lesley Kriewald, Mari Lee, Lynne Lightsey, Allison MacKenzie, ABC, Elena Mappus, Wilma Mathews, ABC, Martha Muzychka, ABC, Megan Neher, Christine Nyirjesy Bragale, ABC, Paul Omodt, Jeffrey Ory, ABC, APR, Marie Raperto, Juan-Andres Rincon Gonzalez, Diane Rooney, Rachel Rosenberg, Bill Spaniel, ABC, Sergei Trofimenko, Claire Watson, ABC, and Cathleen Wolf, ABC.

Once entries are judged at the first tier, finalists move to the Blue Ribbon Panel. This year we had 36 judges representing 11 countries who convened in San Francisco for two days to judge more than 300 entries. A special thanks goes to our 2009 Gold Quill Chair, Paul Matalucci, ABC, for an outstanding job this year.

And we’d like to also thank our 2009 Blue Ribbon Panel: Brandon Brind, Jocelyn Canfield, ABC IABC PHILADELPHIA MEMBER, Ezri Carlebach, Melissa Dark, Nick Durutta, ABC, Joel Fisher, Barb Gibson, ABC, Laura Hardin, Tim Hart, Wendy Heshka, ABC, Shel Holtz, ABC, Deborah Hudson, Chris Johnson, ABC, Lori Joseph, ABC, Shirley King, ABC, Ron Kustra, ABC, Lelde McCoy, Dave Meyer, Igor Mintusov, Paul Mlodzik, ABC, Irene Monley, ABC IABC PHILADELPHIA MEMBER, Daniel Munslow, Jeffrey Ory, ABC, APR, Sujit Patil, Tom Roux, Felicia Shiu, ABC, APR, Kristen Sukalac, Martha Terry, Sergei Trofimenko, Jane Voisard, Jennifer Wah, ABC, Toby Ward, Anna Willey, ABC, Ryan Williams, Carlos Wirth, ABC, and Ann Wylie.

The 2009 Gold Quill winners will be announced on IABC’s website in mid-April. All winners will be honored at the Gold Quill Awards gala dinner and awards ceremony on Monday, 8 June at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel in conjunction with IABC’s World Conference.

MARCH 20, 2009 – Writing for the Web

A large group of IABC members and guests listened to our four expert panelists’ presentation that helped sharpen their writing skills. From Search Engine Optimization to writing for blogs, the group discussed the tools to apply to creating content for online communications.

• Writing for the web still requires good grammar and sentence structure, but with a difference. Do you know how writing online copy differs from other writing? Learn five tips for writing powerful copy. Consider changes between new-write and old-write – and determine which is right.

• As a communicator, you write to a purpose. How is writing for the web different from writing for print? Learn how to keep your writing marketing-focused, and why you shouldn’t simply post your brochures on your web site and consider it done. How has the relationship between the words and the visuals changed?

• Social media is the buzz word these days –– are you ready to dip your toe into the social waters? Before you do, ask yourself the following: Can I comprehensively write in 140-characters? Do I know the best practices for blog writing? Am I prepared to change how I write news releases? Do I know how to write with the unwritten rules of social media in mind?

• How does what you write affect how the web site functions? How do analytics work? How should I prepare my content for the web developer? Learn how to make your content improve search engine rankings, from domain name choices to key words.

SPEAKERS:

Rick Alcantara is the award-winning founder and principal of Tara Communications LLC. Over the last 17 years, he has become one of the region’s leading experts in online communications. He has helped firms as diverse as the Federal Reserve Bank, American Airlines, Exelon, CIGNA, and the City of Woodbury, NJ, analyze, plan, design and develop their Internet and Intranet sites. His work has helped clients increase revenue, reduce costs, attract donors, engage customers and educate media. In addition to his Internet expertise, Rick advises clients on social media and employee, change and contingency communications.

Beth Harte is the Principal of Harte Marketing & Communications, a speaker and an adjunct professor at Immaculata University. Beth has nearly 15 years of experience in strategic planning, branding, public relations, analyst relations, product marketing, international marketing, business development, lead generation (direct mail, e-mail marketing), website management, SEO/SEM, and all things marketing and communications. Beth’s blog, The Harte of Marketing is featured in AdAge’s Power 150, a globally recognized ranking of top media and marketing blogs. Beth also blogs for MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog and Search Engine Guide.

Paul T. Johnson is President of Digital Extreme Technologies, LLC, a Philadelphia- based full-service website development firm that specializes in custom website development, graphic design, website hosting and Search Engine Optimization. Digital Extreme Technologies’ focus is on providing small businesses with affordable web solutions that achieve business results.

Susan Perloff is an award-winning free-lance writer, editor and writing coach. For 20 years she has taught adults to write. In group and private settings, she has trained doctors, lawyers and division chiefs; new hires, technical specialists and CEOs. Her byline has appeared more than 125 times in the Philadelphia Inquirer and in more than 100 other periodicals. Visit her at SusanPerloffWRITES.com.

Sponsored in part by:

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MARCH 25, 2009  – Free Career Teleseminar: The Ladder Becomes a Path: Unleashing your Professional and Personal Best

Brian Fishbone

Presented by Brian Fishbone, Senior Corporate Training and Global Talent Management Specialist

This will not be your typical job search seminar. In this 90-minute program, training specialist Brian Fishbone will talk about his decision to take a risk and leave his position with Mercer for a personal and professional sabbatical. This event became a turning point in his career and his life and helped him to recognize that life is more than climbing a ladder of success. Brian came down from the ladder and learned to take a meandering path to professional growth that has forever changed his life. Brian will use the example of his own life to encourage discussion about recognizing opportunities for growth in your own life.

Brian Fishbone is a global training specialist who has developed, delivered and managed e-learning and facilitator-led  programs, and a consultant who provides career coaching, training courses and organizational assessment.

Brian spent more than six years developing, facilitating, and managing product, regulatory, orientation, leadership, business writing, compliance, cross-cultural, diversity, and other professional skills development training in the financial services and consulting industries for Delaware Investments, Lincoln Financial Group and Mercer.  He is an energetic educator who is at his best when he is helping individuals do, be, and feel better, and he is passionate about education, community building and entrepreneurship.

Brian is principal of his consulting practice, Becoming, and he is an adjunct professor of Human Resources and Business Administration for Temple University and DeVry/Keller Graduate School of Management. For more information about Brian, please visit www.linkedin.com/in/brianfishbone

Play your IABC Philadelphia PODCASTS here:

Any issues with the podcast please email iabcphilly@gmail.com

2009-03_ladder_fishbone – Download Brian’s PowerPoint to accompany the teleseminar.

For other IABC Philadelphia events visit Upcoming Events

Members of IABC Philadelphia and other guest enjoyed an afternoon of communication-based instruction from Joe Borillo on the basics and the finer points of the sport of curling.

Thank you to IABC Philadelphia member and curling club member, Joe Borillo and curling club member Rich Miller for their patience and instructions to the novice “IABC players” who participated. Fun, networking and some light snacks were had by all.

Photos from them event:

Danielle MacDonald, her friend and Jim Hulton enjoy viewing the Curling instruction from the warmth of the clubhouse.

Team IABC! from l-r Dana Fluder, Jan Waldauer, Tim Ernst, Sue Begley, Bill Cowan, Jocelyn Canfield, Joe Borillo, Roseann McGrath Brooks take to the ice!

Check out our upcoming events – On March 13, 2009 IABC Philadelphia will be hosting along with IABC Phildelphia member Joe Borillo from Unisys a Curling & Networking Social at the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli, PA. Come out and have some fun, network and learn something new.

REGISTER HERE Limited to IABC members and the first 20 people who register.

For other IABC Philadelphia events visit Upcoming Events