Media
Media
flash logo
Remember, you can download these images by right clicking
June 2011
Vol 9, No 6
June 2011
IN THIS EDITION:
It’s Field Day season – and this issue is full of FD information
Looking for Field Day materials?
How others promote their organization
You have probably seen the little square boxes of dots like the one above in magazines and advertisements. They are called QR codes. The new iPhones and Droid type phones have free apps that can scan them and instantly pop up associated web pages, text or other information. If you scan the one above, you will get text telling you about Field Day.
This relatively new technology is growing quickly – especially among youth and those that would market to them. (It’s been around a while in other parts of the world, but is new here in the US). The nice part is that the codes are actually nothing more than a graphic, in this case a simple .jpg file. You can print it out or you can add it (like a picture) to any document and it will take the reader to your website page.
To make your own coded graphic is really easy! Go to http://qrcode.kaywa.com
As you send out, pass out and distribute papers about Field Day, why not add one of the codes that give your local website, location and contact information?
LOOKING FOR FIELD DAY MATERIALS?
Go to http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2011/2011_FD_PR_info.pdf
Also get the logo. You can download the flash movie above or the regular logo at the bottom of this page.
http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
Type in your town – or even your state – and watch the flags pop up.
We asked Steven Polunsky, W5SMP, of Austin, Texas (a member of the PR Committee) to come up with a coordinated plan for using Twitter and other social media options in June for Field Day preparations. He came up with an excellent plan – but it needs all of the clubs and PIOs to implement it. We cannot do this alone, we need everyone’s help.
Here’s how together we can make some media waves....
- Use Twitter to spread the word about field day
- Go to www.twitter.com and open an account NOW. It's free.
- Here is a how-to guide (others may be better): http://www.twitip.com/how-to-set-up-a-twitter-account/
- When the account is opened:
- go to www.twitter.com/arrl_pr and click "follow" (you can unfollow at any time)
- go to www.twitter.com/w5smp and click "follow" (Steven Polunsky's account to be used for field day examples and reminders)
- Add others if you wish...
- Send your first tweet
- It should say "Follow me for [your local area] ham radio info." (do not include the quotes)
- Include this string at the end of your message, just like this, except fill in the brackets with your locality: #hamradio #hamr #arrl #[your city] #[your county] #[your state] #voad #smem
- I am not recommending a field day hash tag, it's too single-use for us and has too many meanings for others. I want to drive traffic to our regular sites and hashtags, and I want to pique our served agencies' interest.
- Send your second tweet
- It should say "Field day is June 25-26. More info http://www.arrl.org/field-day" with the same hash tag stream at the end and no quotes.
Use your other social media outlets (for example, Facebook and email) to direct people now to arrl.org/field-day and to tell people where and when your local field day is.
If you are looking for ARRL PR on Twitter, it is at #ARRL_PR
It’s from another organization, but has a lot of good ideas scattered through it that whoever is the group membership contact these days, the "club guru," to steal. It comes from NARFE, but the ideas can be used by any club.
We’re Counting On You To Market NARFE For Us!
In this new issue of RRJ, we read how everybody can and should play a part in membership marketing. NARFE is focusing on membership marketing in a big way! To read more on how NARFE is counting on leaders like you to carry the marketing torch for us, click on Recruiting & Retention Journal.
The new MoU with the Boy Scouts of America has lit a fire under many people and their National Council Radio Scouting Committee’s recent activities under the leadership of Jim Wilson, K5ND, show it! The committee's first goal is to increase JOTA participation with new promotional materials, displays, articles and a new website within Scouting. They have been VERY active in this and it looks good. As part of it, their new Website is now live at http://www.scouting.org/jota . There will be a lot more to come, so keep JOTA in mind as you plan coming events. (October 15–16, 2011)
With help from Jim Sutton VE4SIG we updated a lot of the older broken links on PR-101 in new version 1.1 that is now available (for free!) by downloading from the Web at http://www.arrl.org/pr-courses
ICOM America has produced a series of comic books based on amateur radio for youngsters. Titled The Adventures of Zack and Max, the downloadable magazines follow the adventures of the two teen hams with stories designed to provide the reader with some basic information about ham radio, giving a glimpse into its history, its applications, and its relevance in the world today. So far there are six issues of The Adventures of Zack and Max along with matching coloring books for the younger set. Icom also has a Zack and Max art calendar to match the series. All can be downloaded in ready to print pdf file format from the Icom America website
NOT JUST PRESS RELEASES
Posted on http://arrlok.blogspot.com/ by Lloyd Colston KC5FM
Altus, OK
With the Internet and social media, the ability for a club public information officer to get the word out about their local club activities is greatly enhanced.
Tips for using online news outlets for Public Information Officers are:
1. Find your local media pages. Every newspaper, radio station, and TV station now have web pages. Many of them offer local calendars. Add your club meetings and special events to those pages to enhance the chances that the media will cover your event.
2. Craigslist and EBay both have community sections where one can announce club activities. Is the club planning a special event? Does the club want visitors to know what the club is talking about at the next club meeting?
3. Don't forget Twitter and Facebook. Many of your local media already use these tools to promote to their customers. Following them, you can also announce your activities. This, too, may increase the chances that your event will receive media attention.
4. Blogs like this, WordPress, and LiveJournal offer the ability to make a club page at very little cost. This can be exploited to Twitter and Facebook through a variety of feeds. The output of this page, for example, automatically update the Twitter feed at @ARRL_OK with no additional work past setting up the feed. If you set up pages at all three, one post on one can update the other two using a feed. One would certainly consider setting up club sites on all three, even if only one is used, in the case that someone might set up a bogus page on the other one. Don't forget to include your Twitter feed on your blog.
5. Email lists like YahooGroups and GoogleGroups are great for sending one email to reach local members. YahooGroups even has a calendar that would allow club members to input their special dates, ex. birthday, anniversary, holidays, in addition to the club events, assuming, of course, the group is closed to non-members.
These are just a few ways to leverage the online tools for the Public Information Officer. It's not just about sending a press release once per month any more. It's becoming increasingly more important to give the person on the street access to information that will make them want to be a ham radio operator and participate in your club activities.
Dayton was an excellent time, even if I had significant problems getting home again. Most of the activity at the booth was talking to assorted club members who wanted information on ways to promote Amateur Radio and Field Day in their home areas. We were able to listen to their needs and provide customized plans and materials to meet their goals. In the vast majority of these cases, the materials were easily available on the new ARRL website. In addition, approximately 30 of the PR-101 course disks were requested. The Hello and WeDoThat brochures were also desired, but the hit of the booth was the printed sheets on community service. Thanks to Kevin O’Dell, N0IRW; Diana Eng, KC2UHB; Mark Abramowicz, NT3V; Hope Smith, WB3ANE and Jim Boehner, N2ZZ for their help. In between things, key elements of the coming video were filmed including meetings with Col. Wheelock and shots with Diana Eng talking about the DIY opportunities found in Amateur Radio. The video remains on target and timeline. Expect to have a debut in the fall. May brought in an above average number of media hits, but once again the lack of early, timely information about ARES activities, lost us opportunities to make the major news outlets. Summary reports days late (or longer) are not really helpful and the need for ARES-linked PIOs on scene and wearing only “one hat” again became painfully apparent. News is interested in what’s happening NOW.
I hope you have a great Field Day! It’s our best time to shine before the public.
About ARRL >> Media and Public Relations >> Contact Issues >> Contact 2011 >> June 2011
