(photo via Joe Shoemaker)

Last week, I represented the IMA (@IMAMuseum) at the Indianapolis Social Media Breakfast (@indysmb) on the topic of Using Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Attraction Industries. Serving on the panel with me were representatives from IndyHub (@IndyHub), The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (@TCMIndy), The State Fair Grounds (@IndyStateFair), and the ICVA (@VisitIndy). Sitting in the audience were some of the most engaged social networkers in the city. It was a great opportunity to discuss the IMA’s social media strategy and to hear how other organizations are utilizing social networks for marketing and audience development strategies. (In case you don’t know, the “@” behind the organization refers to its Twitter account).

To sum up, here’s what I discussed:

1. Social Media = Social Networks (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) + Social Content (Video, blogs, etc.) If an organization creates great social content then social networking is a heckuvalot easier! Producing good, engaging content should be your top priority.
2. The staff person/s that manage/s Facebook and Twitter is your online visitor services staff. Whether they speak from their own voice or on behalf of your organization, Social Media staff are evangelists of the organization. They have to be authentically passionate about what they communicate and be willing to live the mission of the organization. The best Social Networking is done 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week.
3. When it comes to online strategy, the best plan is to not plan. While it’s essential that overall communication objectives and key messages are understood, the best social media presences are those that have the ability to be flexible, responsive and experimental.

See the full discussion:

Indianapolis Social Media Breakfast | May 13th 2010 from Twelve Stars Media Productions on Vimeo.

Want More?

If you are local and want to learn more about the IMA and our social media strategy, you’re in luck! This Thursday, May 20 at 5:30 we will be hosting Bloggers Anonymous, a meetup group of individuals who are interested in art, technology, online communications and networking. Come, grab a drink in Nourish Café, get some freebies, and meet some really great people while you’re at it!

Filed under: Local, Marketing, Musings

We challenged America to submit to be the IMA’s next top blogger and America answered.  Over the course of the next month, we’ll post the finalists in the IMA’s “So You Think You Can Blog” contest. After we’ve posted all five entries, we’ll let our blog readers vote for the winner. This week: Meet Crystal Hammon.

If I want to become part of the IMA’s blogging team (and I do), I’m supposed to write something about myself and the best anecdote or experience I had at the museum.

What is best? Best for you to read or best for me to have? I don’t know. It’s all been good. So I’ll just give you my top five experiences and let you decide what’s best. Let’s save the boring bio stuff for the end. I’ll try not to make it too boring, yet totally true. Have you noticed how easily people brag/exaggerate in their online bios? Everybody is a guru of something. Not me. But we’ll talk about that later. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Musings

We challenged America to submit to be the IMA’s next top blogger and America answered.  Over the course of the next month, we’ll post the finalists in the IMA’s “So You Think You Can Blog” contest. After we’ve posted all five entries, we’ll let our blog readers vote for the winner. First up: Meet Jessica Hancock.

Tell Us A Little About Yourself:

Well, hello!  My name is Jessica Hancock and you’ve asked me to tell you a little about myself.  This is always a struggle as it’s easier to do in person, but the point of a “blogger” is to be as electronically-concise and as catchy as possible.  So, here goes…

I was born and raised in an Indianapolis suburb boasting mansions and cornfields, which did suit me well until I realized the world was a bigger place. Yep, it really is.  I convinced myself to pick up and study abroad in Londontown where my cultural education was based solely on gallery-hopping, pint-gulping and boarding cheap airlines to other countries, all while scraping the bottom of my bank account to mere pennies. ‘Twas a time! Fast forward through college, I am now a fundraiser by occupational trade and love being involved in the local community.  I’m stoked to say that, at the ripe age of 27, I proudly serve on two local Boards – Bicycle Indiana and more recently, I was invited to serve on the Earth House Collective Board.  How do I spend my time, you ask?  Easy. Picture me attending a smattering of as many live concerts as possible, traveling traveling traveling, monthly volunteering at the IMA, drinking copious amounts of black tea with cream & sugar, riding my bikes aimlessly through the streets of Indy and dallying about my new house.  I became a home owner this summer!  I count my blessings daily and never have forgotten where I came from [ahem, the sticks of Boone County]. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Musings

The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

Blog: Sleevage

sleevage.com

If you’re like us, you’re still recovering from the holidays-  so here’s a few of our picks guaranteed to put pep back in your in your step. Sleevage is a blog all about music cover art. From the LP’s of the 60’s to the digital artworks of now.

ArtBabble Video: Photography: The Wet Collodion Process

Filed under: Art, New Media

The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

I SAID... Leggo my Eggo! (thepancakeproject.blogspot.com)

Blog: The Pancake Project

We’re really into food blogs around here, can you tell? Heart-shaped pancakes are for newbs. Take your pancaking skills to the next level… then submit your creations to this blog… and then eat them.

ArtBabble Video: Bari Kumar – The Making of Blind Faith, 2009

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art, Design, New Media, Technology