http://storify.com/araytpa/social-fresh-east-day-1

Ballywho was proud to be a sponsor of Ignite Tampa Bay this year! The event was a success, the speakers were passionate and the attendees a delight to meet! We heard talks about politics, iconography, design, transportation and creating change from rocket scientists, entrepreneurs, shamans and techies.

Our own CEO, Elissa Nauful gave a talk about setting goals, making a bucket list and getting off your butt to get what you want out of life! THAT was a power speech (giving away a $100 helped though).

Ignite Tampa Bay was tweeted about so much that night, the hashtag (#IgniteTampa) was trending in Tampa. It’s no wonder — they had a great group of presenters who perfectly and passionately represented the growing Tampa Bay community.

Find out more by reading the Storify of tweets, posts and pictures from the very people who were there that night:

The Official Ignite Tampa Bay 2012 Storify

A global network of people using mobile technology for social impact.

Their goals:

1. Expand access to knowledge, ideas and experiences about the use of mobile technology to make the world a better place;
2. Reduce learning costs for deploying mobile technology for civil society organizations;
3. Accelerate the use of effective strategies and tactics of mobile use for NGOs;
4. Provide a comprehensive platform for building partnerships, and for facilitating access to technology, know-how, and funding.

What we love about MobileActive.org:

We’re constantly thrilled with new apps hitting the mobile scene pretty much daily, but if you never considered your cell phone as a vehicle for creating social good, then you have seriously underminrd its full potential. MobileActive.org is an informational source for a community of people, ranging from NGOs to social activists, using mobile phones for social impact.  Their mDirectory is an astoundingly comprehensive collection of applications, research, case studies and tactical guides. Do you have a cause that you feel needs attention? Consider checking out their mobile media toolkit, which gives you guidance on how to use mobiles for reporting, news broadcasting, and citizen media participation on a variety of platforms and in a variety of circumstances.

A mobile phone can be a trusty sidekick in anyone’s crusade for social change. If this sounds like your cup of tea, check them out and let us know what good you plan to do.

Website: http://mobileactive.org/

Twitter: @mobileactive

Facebook: MobileActive.org

Other organizations you might be interested in:

Witness.org

Catchafire

As a proud sponsor of Ignite Tampa Bay, we are giving away a pair of tickets to the event on Thursday, January 19th at the Glazer Children’s Museum! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below or tweet us (@BallywhoMedia) your favorite quote! In the spirit of Ignite, it must be a brief one! 140 characters or less!  We will choose our favorite quote next week! Good luck and happy quoting!

Find out more about Ignite Tampa Bay here: http://www.ignitetampa.org/

This is a special one for runners and girl-power enthusiasts alike!

 Their Mission:

“We inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.”

 What we love about Girls on the Run International:

They are an organization that teaches young girls to value themselves during a time in their lives that is often filled with self-doubt and the anxiety that comes with braving adolescent social circles. GOTRI does this by teaching the girls about the discipline and self-confidence needed to train for a marathon and ultimately showing them how to translate these skills into effective strategies for achieving life goals. It’s the kind of “girl power” that emphasizes self-esteem and personal worth over pigtails and platforms (sorry Baby Spice). If you’re interested in taking part in this organization, they have various volunteer opportunities that range from being a running buddy in a 5k event to fundraising opportunities as a Girls on the Run SoleMate. Check them out and get involved!

 Website: http://www.girlsontherun.org

 Twitter: @GOTRI

 Facebook: Girls on the Run International

Other organizations you might be interested in:

 The Akilah Institute for Women

LivLuna

The confetti has settled, the champagne bottles are stacked in the recycling bin and you've sat down to your computer to begin a fresh new year of finding social ways to share your brand online. So. Now what? Social media and all of its many bright and shiny platforms are just sitting there, waiting for you to use them correctly. Don't break into a cold sweat. We have a few suggestions. But as with all of those grandiose weight-loss resolutions, we suggest that you keep yours realistic and achievable. Here we go.

1) Be realistic about your time. How much time and energy do you have to give to social media? Having a social media presence is critical for any brand or company growth. But think long and hard about what you can give to each platform. If you don't have the time to give, but recognize the importance of social media, delegate the responsibilities to your staff or hire someone to help you.

2) Plan ahead. Now that you know what time you can give to social media, plan ahead. Thanks to tools such as HooteSuite and most blogging platforms, you can schedule a group of updates and posts at one time, well in advance. Think about what you want to promote, set up a realistic schedule and get posting.

3) Stick with it. It reflects badly on a brand when it doesn't use social media. But it also reflects badly when the brand uses it only sometimes.

4) Be social. Yep, social media requires users to be … wait for it … social. Comment back, interact, don't just talk about yourself, be nice. You know, the usual stuff that we do when we are social with a group of people.

5) Listen to us. Okay, we just said that you shouldn't talk about yourself too much, but here at Ballywho, we would like to share our suggested social media resolutions for 2012.

Caroline: Are you upset with a company? When absolutely necessary, use social media for constructive criticism only. Social media is a powerful way to get your point across to many people quickly. But you will be far more effective complaining to companies and brands in a public forum if you explain your point of view clearly and rationally. Swears, personal attacks or using personal information will get deleted, potentially ignored and may only end up reflecting badly on you.

Sarah: Good one, Caroline, I second that resolution. I’m borrowing this from a friend, Jeff Neely. He said, “Sometimes I start to post a status update and then remember that you, my friend, may read it. And I think better of it. Consider doing the same.” Well said, Jeff. Social media can indeed get your message out to a vast audience—but some things are better left unsaid.

Lucia: All too often, I’m in a hurry and all I do is “like” a post. In 2012, I’ll take more time to comment on status updates that matter to me. How long does it take—30 seconds?

Nitsa: Pay more attention to Twitter as a news source for events around the world that get little to no coverage. For example #DRC2011/#RDC2011, the elections that took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which received pitiful news coverage via traditional outlets but was a pretty epic political moment on the African continent.

Ashley: Take time to connect and network on both Twitter and Linked in this year. You have a huge potential for expanding your network just by reaching out and saying hello! In turn, you should also extend an olive branch or two to help someone else who may have been in need of a little help professionally. To sum it up, in 2012 I will talk to more people I don’t know on both platforms!

Are you looking for other resolution ideas? We have more! Give us a call — we love to chat about what social media can do for you and your brand.

Sometimes it feels as though you’re talking to nobody when post after post you have no feedback, no comments, and no likes! No worries — sometimes you just have to sit back and bring new life to your posts by getting a little creative! Here are a few tips that might spark life into your fan page.

1. Ask a question. Questions are a great way to get a little interaction going, but think before you ask! Users will generally not answer a question they may potentially get wrong. Make it easy, such as,  ”What are your tips for _____?” “What is your family doing this weekend?” Make it fun, easy to answer and interesting to read!

2. Tell them what you want. Not getting very many “Likes,” RTs or comments? Sometimes you have to tell your fans what you want them to do! “RT if you’re _______.” “Like this post if you ____.” “Share our blog with your friends!” Be careful, though. You don’t want to overdo it!

3. Sprinkle a little pop culture into a post. Sometimes you have to break the mold and throw something in there you KNOW people are talking about! Is it the World Series? Superbowl? Did something happen in the news that you know you can tie into your business or industry? Post about it! People will respond, because it’s a topic they are probably already talking about! Just be sure to make it relevant and appropriate to your business.

4. Tag a friend. Want your posts to be seen by more people? Write one that mentions another organization or business and tag it by using the @ before the name. This will only work if you are a fan of that organization. Start by typing the @ symbol and then begin typing that organization’s name. Facebook should pull it up for you in a drop-down menu for you to choose from.

5. Have a caption contest. This is easy and usually effective. Post a funny picture (relevant to your organization, of course) and ask your fans for captions.

Have other tips or tactics that have worked for you? Share it with the community by leaving a comment!

Ballywho Interactive is proud to announce our latest social portal, Laicos! Laicos allows companies to manage their social presence all under one management platform. With innovative features like automatic scheduled postings to Facebook, Twitter and WordPress, you can easily write and schedule content without having to use more than one system. Ballywho offers a complete array of  social media management solutions with Laicos as the repository for all of your custom content. As a full-service social media client, all you have to do is approve your content and the rest is distributed and monitored automatically. It also provides detailed results reporting from the big three social platforms so you can track results and make sure that you are reaching the goals you set for your social campaigns.

Their Mission:

“WITNESS uses video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. WITNESS empowers people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change.

WITNESS envisions a just and equitable world where all individuals and communities are able to defend and uphold their human rights.”

 What we love about WITNESS:

 “See it. Film it. Change it.” With this motto WITNESS aims to create an online community of human rights defenders not only to bear witness to social injustices occurring around the world but also to take action in creating solutions. WITNESS acts as a partner by providing training and strategy that allows for effective use of video within advocacy campaigns. Their library of how-to videos is a great first step for any beginner and provides very relevant information even for more experienced videographers.  

You can find them on both Facebook and Twitter where they update friends and followers continuously with videos from around the world. You’ll easily become much more aware of the frightening injustices occurring on a daily basis, sometimes right in your own backyard. Video can be an excellent empowerment tool for all those involved; visit them at the following places on the web and become a witness.

 Website: http://witness.org

 Twitter: @witnessorg

 Facebook: WITNESS

Other organizations you might be interested in:

World Toilet Organization

Green Market TV