Leveraging your existing digital communications systems to better connect with your constituents. See how you can use all your social media, content management, email and CRM systems to get more donations, attract more students and engage with alumni.

1. Leveraging Your Existing Email, Web and Mobile Systems to Increase Effectiveness and Reduce Cost Prepared by Kirby Winters eduWeb Conference 2011 – San Antonio

3. Founded in 1999

4. Headquartered In Atlanta, GA

5. Voted “Innovative Company of the Year” and “Best Place to Work in Atlanta”

6. Mobilize the right people, the right skills, and the right technologies

7. Low employee and client turnover rates

8. Culture is innovative, stable and client-focused © 2008 Solar Velocity

9. INTRODUCTION Digital marketing and communications infrastructure can be daunting. Integrating tools and software systems from disparate vendors is complex. How can an institution’s website, constituent portals, social media presence, news feeder and email management platforms be drawn together to work from a central core, ensuring consistency and minimizing efforts? Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

10. THE PROBLEM Many institutions have not yet established a consistent communications strategy and pipeline, leaving an assortment of messaging being issued from a number of departments and offices rather than a central point. This usually results in inconsistent content quality and style, which can lead to message confusion and brand confusion among alumni. For example, redundant engagement occurs when two different offices send emails announcing a particular event to constituents. This redundancy means wasted money in time spent to prepare two emails, as well as in email inbox clutter that can frustrate and alienate alumni. Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

11. WHERE TO BEGIN Strategy before execution – Understanding institutional requirements is imperative to defining a successful strategy. Initial planning should include: Website Design & Architecture Existing Systems Review Content Strategy Intranet /Extranet Communications Social Media Campaigns Support Infrastructure Departmental Oversight Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

12. DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE Institutions are embracing technology but seldom harness all facets. Each type of audience prefers to receive their information in specific ways. Understanding how to best reach each type of audience will drive your communications strategy. Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

13. REACH PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE MOST COMFORTABLE Just as your audience uses different channels to stay in touch with their interpersonal connections – preferring email for work and Facebook for friends, for example – they want to be able to make the same kinds of choices when connecting to their alma mater. Rather than viewing the vast array of social media and online channels as a daunting barrier, development and marketing staff should instead view the wealth of options as a greater opportunity to more quickly and meaningfully strengthen connections. Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

14. USE YOUR TOOLS Integrate your solutions for efficiency and productivity. Harness the tools at your disposal: Blackbaud Banner Luminis SharePoint Sitefinity Integrated systems are more powerful than each one individually. Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

15. RELY ON THE EXPERTS Training alone will not guarantee success with complex software systems. Poorly utilized systems result in wasted money and time. Effectively utilizing your tools is critical to staying at the forefront of your constituent’s thoughts. 1 + 1 = 4

16. CREATE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS HUB Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com Your communications hub should be central to your entire constituent base. Blend your systems together to remove redundancy. Improve efficiency by empowering users to receive information when they want it. .EDUWeb

17. REAL WORLD RESULTS Case Study: Morehouse School of Medicine Five Year Strategic Plan: “Restructure the Web site, leverage social marketing tools, and produce a new brand identity program.” Rebuilt and rebranded the 2,000+ page website to be more intuitive and meet the needs of the visitors. Implemented Alumni portal. Increased website traffic by 600%. Alumni engagement jumped by over 20%. Implemented Facebook, Twitter and YouTube campaigns. Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

18. COMMUNICATIONS HUB IN ACTION MSM News Station BlackbaudNetCommunity for constituent newsletters and timed updates SharePoint workflow for decentralized categories news (departments, topics, events) Banner Luminis for constituent portal access Mobile apps for external news and events communication access Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com MSM Web

19. DOING MORE WITH LESS Installing new systems is not always the right solution to the problem of communicating efficiently with your constituents. Optimizing the use of your systems through process development improves efficiencies and decreases overlapping work effort. Streamlining the workflow Using the right tool for the job Combining systems in a seamless process to become more efficient Reaching your constituents where they are listening Setting metrics and measuring your success Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

20. CONCLUSION Change your thinking to target the best communications tools for each constituent group. Seldom is there only one tool for one group. Building a Communications Hub to simplify your process will improve your messaging and increase your workflow, saving the institution time and money. Contact Info: Kirby Winters COO, Co-founder Solar Velocity LLC 404-978-2242 kirby@solarvelocity.com Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com