American Chemical Society Communicating with your Local Section Members ACS Leadership Institute ●...

American Chemical Society

Communicating with your Local Section MembersACS Leadership Institute ● Dallas, Texas

January 23-25, 2015

Charles E. Cannon; Councilor, Chicago Local Section & LSAC Member

Jessica Grimes, Technology Associate Administrative & Programmatic Technologies

Angela Morris, Technology Associate, Administrative & Programmatic Technologies

American Chemical Society 2

What You Can Expect from this Session

You will come away from this session with information about online communication services offered from ACS that might aid your section’s communications.


Communicating with your Members and the Public

Develop a Multi-Channel Strategy

•Website: Webs.com

− update your information regularly

− Use it in conjunction with any social media efforts (ACS Network, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

•Email: Real Magnet

− using a mass email service is more effective than using a personal email account

•Newsletters

− hard-copy and/or electronic based on your members’ preferences

•Phone

− Consider A+ Conferencing for special rates for Local Sections

•In-person meetings/events: National or Local Section Meetings



Website

An excellent entry-point to your Local Section's full complement of online communications/services

•Use your website to:

– Tell your origin story (where, when, why and how?)

– Post your Annual Report (include a compelling summary)

– Post announcements and results of activities

– List your Local Section Officers

– Share an events calendar (keep it updated)

– Provide first-hand accounts from members

– Keep an image gallery from events

– Post local job listings perhaps not easily found on your typical job search site.



According to the local section annual reporting for 2013, 148 of the 184 Local Sections reported have websites.



Mass Email

When used properly, a mass email service can:

•Build trust with your members

•Keep your contacts organized

•Enable access to email campaign reports (analytics), measure your results after every email campaign

•Meet the requirements of the CAN-SPAM act (avoid having your emails get stuck in SPAM filters)



What is the primary mode of communication used to communicate to your members?



Questions about communicating with your local section members?

What are some common communication challenges?


Available Online Communication Tools & Services from ACS

• Online web-hosting solution provided through our partner, webs.com

• Email management service from Real Magnet

• The Volunteer Support and Engagement (VSE) Group on the ACS Network (easy access to recent and relevant content for local sections’ online and hard-copy communications)

Online Web-Hosting solution

• In 2009 – to meet the needs of our Local Sections and Technical Divisions, ACS partnered with webs.com to provide a free, online web-hosting solution.

• To date, 117 Local Sections have signed up for the service

• Is your section using the service? Ask us if you’re not sure.


Online web-hosting solution

Main benefits of the service include:

•ACS branded, easy to use templates




Main benefits:

•A user-friendly web editor (no need to know HTML)



Main benefits:

•Ability to easily hand over web administration duties from one person to another

Email Service Providers


Email Management Service

• To meet the critical needs of our members, ACS has partnered with Real Magnet to offer a free, mass email service for local sections and technical divisions.



Main benefits of the service include:

•Individual account with intuitive dashboard



Main benefits:

•ACS branded template to put your message within



Main benefits:

•Message tracking - insight into a message’s performance, with all the key metrics (delivery, open rate, clicks, bounces and unsubscribes) represented both numerically and graphically.



• Use your current email address or any pre-existing email address

• Download lists, i.e. from eRosters and upload into Magnet Mail

– you’ll need to update the list each time you send a new email.

• You will upload your lists to 1 of 2 Groups in Magnet Mail:

– Promotional emails, i.e. invitations to events, general communications and info (must have the opt-out option for promotional emails)

– Administrative emails, i.e. elections and governance meetings, etc.

• Designate up to 2 email administrators

• Interested in singing up for the service? Contact [email protected]


ACS Network for Local Section Activities

22American Chemical Society

Goal for the ACS Network Social Tool

Extends existing activities of the ACS and the chemical community by leveraging the benefits

of efficiency and inclusiveness


Why is Social Networking Important?

It’s the communication paradigm in the professional world

•Augments in person face-to face meetings in order to complete tasks

•Increases work efficiency through electronic communication Centralizes interactions/serves as a warehouse (conversations, documents, comments…)

•Centralizes business interactions


Why the Choose the ACS Network

• It is a networking and document sharing tool of the American Chemical Society

• Functionality is developed with the chemical community in mind

• Single Sign On (SSO) access: the ACS ID, you use to renew your dues, access C&EN, or other publications online

• Career connections with other chemists throughout your career


Content on ACS Network• Types of features:

– Discussions, Documents

– Uploaded files

– Blogs

– Videos

– Bookmarks

– Ideas

• “Liking” or Rating

• Follow, Track

– Email notifications

• Controlled collaboration



What Members Are Doing

• Creating Profiles: Feature your CV

• Building Social Professional Networks: Connect, reconnect and establish professional contacts

• Engaging in Discussions: Host dynamic forums open to anyone with an ACS ID

• Sharing Content: Upload files of almost any format or create pages

• And More………….

Tips on Setting Up a “Group”

• Identify Purpose of Group

– Local Section Group, Executive Committee, Science Café Group…

• Identify people with a common task or interest to populate the group

– Open, Members Only, Private or Secret

• Determine functionality and tasks for a group

– Keep minutes, notes, and any other documents generated for and by section offices

– Start discussions and begin to facilitate committee work outside of face-to-face meetings

• Inform and advocate

– Encourage dialogue


Local Sections and the ACS Network

Executive Level Groups

– Share/store documents

– Facilitate discussion

– Build consensus

– Enable private discussions

Public Groups

– Expand reach beyond committee

– Give members a voice

– Encourage feedback and communication

Support Groups/Public Forums

– Ask questions, seek advice, get new ideas

– Promote initiatives


Governance Activities


Manage Your Local Section Business

•Licensed and customized platform by ACS for the chemical community

– Secure, trusted environment

•Centralized location for ACS business – free to local sections

•Eliminates security, copyright, and access issues that come with third-party platforms

Local Section Governance Activities

General Activities

•A group (open, members, or private group) can be set up for the entire local section to host member discussions

Local Section Events

•Use the Network to help your chapter decide as a group what events you want to sponsor

•Invite members and promote them using the events function

•Post pictures in a photo album or share a video for all your members to see after the event

Grants and Awards Selection Process

•Set up a private group for reviewing applications

•Use ideation, 5-star rating, or polls


Actively Engaged Local Sections


ACS Network: Volunteer Support & Engagement

• http://communities.acs.org/groups/vse


• An open group where pertinent information for dedicated ACS members can be found, posted and shared.

How to Contact

• Online web-hosting solution:[email protected]

• Email Management Service (EMS):[email protected]

• Jessica Grimes, Technology Associate, Administrative & Programmatic Technologies: [email protected]

• Angela Morris, Technology Associate, Administrative & Programmatic Technologies: [email protected]


Thank You

American Chemical Society Communicating with your Local Section Members ACS Leadership Institute ●...

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