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November Tips from the Toolshed
Nov3
Posted by Nina Schwartz
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Hello!

Welcome to GMT's monthly e-newsletter for November 2008.  We send this e-newsletter on the first Monday of every month to share feature announcements, membership tips, links to recent articles from environmental reporters, new members, and other helpful resources. 
 
You are receiving this as your organization is a member of Green Media Toolshed and you are currently a registered GMT user.  Should you wish to opt out of this monthly communication, please see the instructions in section 8 below.
 
Word Count: 1,349
Read Time: 5 minutes
 
In this issue you will find:
1. Member Connections
2. Be in the Know - How GMT Tools Can Help Your Group
3. Buzz from the Beat
4. Link(s) of the Month
5. Community Coverage
6. GMT Welcomes 1 New Member
7. Support: Database Do's and Don'ts
8. Opt out instructions
 
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1.   Member Connections:
 
More than 150 million watch online videos each month in the U.S.
 
Learn more about this audience and how to catch their eye with your own videos at the
 

ONLINE VIDEO FOR ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 2008
Hosted by iPressroom, USC Annenberg and PRSA
Los Angeles on Nov. 11, 2008

 
The conference will:
-          help organization communicators to figure out how to build buzz with online video
-          feature key notes and meet the media session with LA Times Interactive
-          feature a panel on the essence of viral video
 
Missed October's Skills training, House Party, Anyone? Check out the training recording in the Training Center, On Demand Training Folder
 
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2.     Be in the Know - How GMT Tools Can Help Your Group:
Web Tools get new In-Text Editor
 
In late October, we installed a new in-text editor to help you embed video, insert photos, and customize postings in your press and campaign rooms.

The editor is designed to help you with HTML text customization and link creation. There are a number of editing options, but highlighted features include:

 Wysiwyg

    • Paste from Word Icon: paste directly from Microsoft Word and retain most formatting.
    • Bulleted and Numbered Lists
    • Insert Image Icon: insert a web-hosted image. Got a logo that's just saved as a file? Host it in your GMT organization profile.
    • Text alignment feature
    • Bold, Italics, and Underline
    • Multimedia Embedding

 
To embed multimedia, follow these steps:

    • If you have a post that has both multimedia and text, we recommend first embedding the media, then adding your additional text
    • Before adding any text, click "Switch to Plain Text Editor," located below the text box, to put the editor in HTML-mode
    • Paste the embed link in the text box
    • Click "Switch to Rich Text Editor" to switch back to text mode
    • Your video will display as a white box in the text box, but will appear in Previews and Submitted posts
    • Insert and customize any additional text
    • Preview and Submit your post

 
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3. Buzz from the Beat: 
Looking for Coverage in the LA Times or another big paper?
 
Listen to an interview with John Horn, an LA Times entertainment and media business staff reporter, and a former Newsweek reporter.
 
Get advice on how to

    • get attention if you're a PR Person
    • maintain access to influential sources

 
Tune into or Download the Interview Here:
http://www.ontherecordpodcast.com/pr/otro/podcast-post.aspx?id=1267     

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4. Links of the month: HTML v. Text : Do all the same rules apply?
 
Check out a quick guide to the technical, design, and information elements that comprise a successful HTML email
 

1008 Email Design Guides for Blogging
http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/archives/2008/05/2008_email_design_guidelines.html

 
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5. Community Coverage: 350.org video coverage in The Nation and the Guardian
 
350.org recently got coverage in The Nation and the Guardian for a few videos they created to request the presidential candidates to attend this December's  UN Climate Meetings, and rejoin the world's fight against the climate crisis.

Below, Jamie Henn and May Boeve of 350.org share some background and advice on their video campaign work:

1. How did you get into using online video as part of your campaigns?
350.org has been using online video since the launch of our campaign because we see it as one of the best ways to reach wide numbers of people with a message. To debut our campaign, we worked with Free Range Studios on a 90-second animation that explained the science behind 350 ppm CO2 as well as our campaign--all without using any words. This firm continues to be an excellent tool in our outreach, especially in foreign languages.

2. How did you pitch the videos or your work around the videos to the Guardian and The Nation?
In our experience, the best way to get attention for a video is to get as many people to see it as quickly as possible. When we release a new video, we send it out in an email blast, post on Facebook, Twitter it, blog it, and incorporate it into our daily emails. The more it gets passed around, the more likely a reporter will take a look at it. In the case of the Guardian, they found the video on their own because it was prominently displayed on our website. With The Nation, Peter Rothberg was willing to post it because he saw the video was getting some traction with a couple thousand views.

3. What advice do you have for creating online videos?
Everyone wants to reach the "viral video" tipping point: when your video starts getting thousands of views on its own. If you want to tip something over, like a bowling pin, you can either take a long time building up a big bowling ball of a movie and roll it down the lane or you can quickly gather a ton of smaller balls and throw them at the pin over and over again. We follow the second strategy and make lots of short, timely, and upbeat videos. New content keeps our supporters engaged and gives us a chance of knocking over that bowling pin of video stardom.

Video Coverage in The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow/372450/send_the_next_president_to_poland?rel=hpbox

Video Coverage in The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2008/oct/07/uselections2008.johnmccain
 
Their website, www.350.org includes a place where you can upload your own photo or video invitation to send along with the others.

So...Watch the Video and Spread the Word!
http://350.org/tellafriend/index.php?import=gmail
 
Check out the video and links where you can send your own invitation on their website at http://www.350.org/invite/
 
...And some other videos in their media room at http://www.350.org/en/about/media-room#4
 
I'm sure we all agree that these online videos from 350.org look great, and that video- whether it be a small hand-made video on your site or the YouTube hit of the week- provides powerful ways to distribute messages. What strategies do you use in your videos? How are videos particularly important to the environmental movement? Share your thoughts in the Member Center Discussion
 
Want to share one of YOUR successes? Send submissions to nina@greenmediatoolshed.org
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6. Let's Welcome 1 New Member to our GMT Community
 
Media in the Public Interest
Media in the Public Interest helps the non-profit sector interact effectively with mainstream media and develop new media projects that report on social, community and environmental issues that affect people in their daily lives.

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7.  Media Database Do's and Don'ts:
Handling Reporter Requests to Unsubscribe from your list
 
Have you ever received an email or phone call from a reporter requesting to be unsubscribed from your list?If yes, here are some things to keep in mind for working with the reporter and for improving your media outreach.
 
1. The media database you access through membership is a commercial media database. GMT has a strategic partnership with Vocus that allows us to provide our members with access to this robust application.  However, GMT does not manage the database and is not responsible for making updates or removing reporters from lists that members create. Each member is responsible for their own work and for any communication they choose to send to reporters or other contacts.
 
2. Target your lists from the start to reach the best reporters for your particular release. Reporters who wish to be unsubscribed from your future communication can click the Opt-Out link located at the bottom of your email message. The opt-out link, however, will unsubscribe the reporter from all GMT communication. This is one of the most critical reasons why we encourage members to make their media lists as targeted as possible. Reporters have a greater tendency to unsubscribe when they receive unwanted press releases.
 
3. To ensure reporters know that your news is coming from your organization, you must change your opt-out address when setting up your distribution. Otherwise, GMT's address appears at the bottom of emails you send. Watch a screencast on these steps at http://www.screencast.com/t/KJPvtp5Og1
 
4. Create a User Defined Field (UDF) to tag reporters who request removal from your list to ensure that you don't fire off a release to them again. This is a very efficient way of tracking removal requests and staying in the good graces of reporters who request them.

5. Quality outweighs quantity when getting coverage. GMT can't emphasize enough to our members that you should make each media list very targeted. Not only will this help you form positive relationships with reporters, but it also helps your group think through your target audience(s) and identify reporters and outlets that will help you deliver your message to those targets.

6. If a reporter requests to be removed from the entire Vocus commercial database, they can do so by contacting Vocus Public Relations directly.

To setup a UDF or get more details on the above steps, call Nina at (202) 408- 8850 x10.

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8. Opt out instructions: 
           We'll be sad - but not bitter - if you do.

To opt out of GMT's monthly e-newsletter, reply to this email with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.
 
To share feedback about the content and format, please reply to this email and include your thoughts in the body of your message.  You can also submit a question to be answered in the next FAQ section by replying to this message.

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View past e-newsletters in our monthly e-newsletter archive section of the GMT Training Center

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