This post is a part of our series of contributions for Social Good Day.

Type “health challenges facing the U.S.” into your favorite search engine. I imagine that the results won’t be all too surprising. You’ll find stories about what’s coming next as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is implemented. You’ll read about the burden that preventable chronic [...]]]>

This post is a part of our series of contributions for Social Good Day.

Type “health challenges facing the U.S.” into your favorite search engine. I imagine that the results won’t be all too surprising. You’ll find stories about what’s coming next as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is implemented. You’ll read about the burden that preventable chronic illnesses like obesity and Type II diabetes are putting on the health care system. You’ll learn that the cost of health care is quickly outpacing our ability to pay for it. What you won’t read is that changing lifestyle and behavior takes a whole lot more than will.

Our mental and our physical health is inextricably linked, yet as a nation, we continue to make recommendations about ways to improve our physical health without considering the mental health consequences. If we were able to simply stop drinking soda, stop eating junk food, and start exercising, obesity would be noticeably absent from the list of chronic illnesses in our nation. Sadly, this isn’t the case.

Instead, we tend to overlook the role of psychology and mental health treatment  in helping us make lasting behavior changes. Behavioral science is a psychological discipline that helps us understand the root of our behaviors and helps us to break down change into small steps that we can accomplish. If we’re going to be effective in curbing preventable chronic disease in our country and improving the bottom line in health care delivery, we must consider the role that mental and physical health care providers play in addressing all of the the causes and symptoms of our illness.

One way we can encourage this integration of health care delivery is to break down the stigma around mental health treatment. We can all share our own experiences with mental health in the networks where we communicate – either offline or online. The power of a blog and personal account of how mental health care improves life can move mountains in encouraging others to seek treatment.

The decision to start up a blog is not one that should be taken lightly. At Vanguard Communications, we had to consider whether our insights and commentary on communications issues would benefit the already robust public relations blog community. Since you’re reading this post on our blog, you know which way we decided, and [...]]]>

The decision to start up a blog is not one that should be taken lightly. At Vanguard Communications, we had to consider whether our insights and commentary on communications issues would benefit the already robust public relations blog community. Since you’re reading this post on our blog, you know which way we decided, and you can read more in Maria Rodriguez’s post about why we chose to launch it. There are many reasons to start a blog and countless benefits to your brand when you do. Here are a few less obvious reasons to consider blogging as a tool to boost your online communications efforts.

1. Blogs are flexible. Blogging give you a platform that allows you to communicate positions, opinions and ideas that may not fit neatly into your existing website.  You can react to news and events with commentary that frames an important issue for your company or organization, while not interrupting the normal flow of information on your website
2. Blogs are personal. Blogs allow members of your organization to write on the topics that they know best and care the most about in a voice that is their own.  This gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your organization’s personal ties and investment in the issues that drive your day to day business.  What’s more, it can show that you’re following ongoing updates in your field.  Giving the public a window into the minds of your employees can ultimately help your messages resonate.
   

   http://www.flickr.com/photos/kpwerker/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

3. Blogging helps with search engine optimization efforts. Search engine optimization (SEO, for you acronym-lovers) is a big, tricky industry that is built entirely on trying to figure out how to maximize returns from the algorithms that drive search results for Google, Yahoo, Bing and others.  Blogging, however, is a simple way to help increase your search standing.  It is basic math – if you have more content related to the core concepts of your website, more people will be able to find your website using search engines.  This can help drive more traffic to your website – not only to your blog, but to your core web properties.
4. Blogging builds communities. Yes, yes, I know – blogging is so 2003.  Shouldn’t I be talking about Twitter or foursquare or Gowalla or Facebook or [insert your favorite social networking outlet here]?  Sure, social networking may be all the rage these days, but don’t underestimate the power of a blog.  If you’re supplying good content, you’re developing a community of loyal readers that will share your message, champion your causes, and react when you ask something of them.  If you’re using social networking platforms, your blog provides valuable content that can help keep conversations going.

Before starting a blog, think strategically.  Like any other communications platform, decide who your audience is and develop materials accordingly.  You’ll need to provide regularly updated content that is valuable and interesting – but if you’re able to make this commitment, blogging can become an important asset in advancing your organization’s online efforts.

I know, not everyone is Bill Gates. Very few people on the planet can gain 100,000 followers on Twitter eight hours after launching their Twitter profile.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndevil/ / CC BY 2.0

But perhaps we should start thinking like Bill.

Using his newly formed Twitter community, Gates recently launched his newest endeavor, The Gates Notes, where he [...]]]>

I know, not everyone is Bill Gates. Very few people on the planet can gain 100,000 followers on Twitter eight hours after launching their Twitter profile.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndevil/ / CC BY 2.0

But perhaps we should start thinking like Bill.

Using his newly formed Twitter community, Gates recently launched his newest endeavor, The Gates Notes, where he will personally document his thoughts, travels and work with his nonprofit organization, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

It’s not uncommon for CEOs and executive directors of NGOs to share updates and information with supporters through blogging and/or e-newsletter columns. But Gates’s new Web site takes it a step further and other nonprofit leaders should take note.

This interactive Web site gives visitors an inside look at global issues from Gates’s personal perspective. Even his first post on Gates Notes feels like a diary entry:

It often feels like I’m back in school, as I spend a lot of my time learning about issues I’m passionate about. I’m fortunate because the people I’m working with and learning from are true experts in their fields. I take a lot of notes, , and often share them and my own thoughts on the subject with others through email, so I can learn from them and expand the conversation.

I thought it would be interesting to share these conversations more widely with a Website, in the hope of getting more people thinking and learning about the issues I think are interesting and important.

With the thousands of charitable and advocacy organizations competing for the public’s attention, Gates Notes shows how a personal touch can set an organization apart and build a larger community. Whether through blogs, e-newsletters,  social networking profiles or more traditional communication channels, readers will appreciate and respond to candor, honesty and passion for a cause when shared through a real human voice. Think of it as persuasive storytelling 2.0, using technology to share personal testimonies and insights.

Are there limits? Absolutely. Often, organizational leaders do not have the time and/or expertise to communicate via social media and rely on their communication staff to do it on their behalf. This can pose quite an ethical dilemma. In such a personal medium, can people  share messages through social media pretending to be (or on behalf of) someone else? Are we misleading readers? As a profession, we are still trying to figure it out. PR pro Todd Defren’s blog PR-Squared is exploring those very ethical issues.

The bottom line is that whenever possible, leaders should write their own posts for authenticity and transparency. If this is not an option for an organization, then leaders and communicators should consider creating social media presences under their organization’s name or profile, instead of tying it to a specific individual. Then, anyone affiliated with the organization can communicate on their behalf, eliminating ethical challenges.

Honesty and transparency when communicating online are the best policy. And if we take a tip from Bill, the personal touch can be a winning strategy.

It’s the start of a new year and a time to try new things. With that in mind, I’ve been asked by Vanguard staff to kick off the year with a blog about social change communications.  Hmmm…

For me it’s easy to think about how a social media tactic, such as blogging, can help our [...]]]>

It’s the start of a new year and a time to try new things. With that in mind, I’ve been asked by Vanguard staff to kick off the year with a blog about social change communications.  Hmmm…

For me it’s easy to think about how a social media tactic, such as blogging, can help our clients advance their causes, yet it’s much harder to embrace the tactic for myself and our firm. Partially, it’s because I’m used to being “behind the curtain” helping make Vanguard’s clients and their issues be the stars of the show. And, partially, it’s because it’s a little intimidating to have the pressure of a regular blog post. That’s why I’ve decided that the only way I’d do this is if I had partners to share the load, so I’ve recruited Vanguard staff members to put themselves “out there” along with me!

It’s really exciting for me to have this opportunity to introduce some of Vanguard’s staff to you because they are truly amazing individuals with extraordinary talents. They come from all over the U.S. and several foreign countries, plus a few of us are native Washington, D.C.-born (yes, we do exist). In our more than 20 years in this business, we’ve been fortunate to partner with many exceptional individuals and organizations to address some of society’s most pressing issues. Through our InSites blog, we will share our insights (a little play on words just for fun!) about these issues and how communications and marketing can support social change. Our hope is that you’ll check in with us when you can and be inspired to adopt a new or old communications and marketing strategy to address an issue that’s important to you.

I should mention that this blog is an evolution of Vanguard’s monthly InSites e-newsletter and podcast, which we’ve been producing since 2006.  If you already subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, you’ll continue to receive monthly e-mails featuring our best blog posts of each month. And, you’ll still be able to listen to the InSites podcast, which will now expand upon blog content as the issues demand it.  You can subscribe to both of them using the sign up field on the left.

Welcome to the new home of InSites and wish me luck with being on this side of the curtain!