Social Media: A Skill to Consider

This is the fourth year for the Avnet Tech Games.  Each year we make at least one giant step forward, improving the way we produce the event.  This year, we focused on improving our social media skills.  Honestly, we didn’t quite hit all the targets that we hoped for, and there is a lot of room for improvement for next year, but we at least moved forward.

I don’t know how many of my peers in community relations are on the social media band wagon, but if they are not, they should be.  And, anyone with knowledge in this area has a skill they can use to the benefit of nonprofit organizations.  Use what you know about viral marketing and donate some “in-kind services” by training charities on the benefits of social media as a method to reach today’s market.

As I mentioned last week, the Avnet Tech Games 2009, is April 4, 2009 at the University of Advancing Technology.   See our web site at www.avnettechgames.com.

This year, we created an online community and we are prodding them to become active members of our viral marketing efforts. We recruited students, faculty members and ATG alumni (the ones who’ve already experienced all the Avnet Tech Games has to offer) to sign up through our web site. Once they are members of the Avnet Tech Games online community, we asked them to:

•    Invite friends
•    Participate in team forums and posts
•    Blog!

We asked them to let us know if they have suggestions on features that would increase its convenience and/or user-friendliness, and encouraged them to add us to their other online communities – FaceBook, LinkedIn, technology-related forums, college networks, etc.

Next year we’d like to do a better job of creating online contests that will give participants an even better opportunities to get in the games.

So, if any of you know students or faculty, have them visit us at www.avnettechgames.com; look around, and invite a couple hundred of your closest friends, colleagues, and students to participate! That way, you’ll help us build our online community and possibly provide your contacts with opportunities to win prizes and scholarships.

And don’t forget to come visit us on April 4th.  We’ve got a great Networking Hour you can participate in.  At the very least, we’ll feed ya!  Hope to see you there.