Introducing the new Big Big Design

by Cynthia Closkey General

Launching a new website is exciting for everyone. There are cheers and congratulations, plans of posting news and blog entries, and promises of updating galleries and portfolios

And yet, in all the years I’ll been building websites (14 years!), I’ve seen relatively few companies and organizations work actively with their sites and keep them fresh and up-to-date after they’re launched. So many do nothing with the sites at all after launch — not adding even a single new photo.

This is no good. A website is only as interesting as it is current, and if we created it 6 years ago and updated only a few things since then, now it’s nowhere near current.

Continue reading →

Finding Your Voice: Post Workshop Materials

by Cynthia Closkey General


Vine of cardsorting exercise courtesy E.Louis Larson

What a lot of good discussion and hands-on work we had at the Finding Your Voice: A Social Media Content Development Workshop, hosted by HandsOn Tech, part of Pittsburgh Cares, and Google Pittsburgh.

I hope you found the presentation and the card sorting exercise helpful, and I hope you’re inspired to take what you learned back to your organization.  

As promised, below are links to the presentation slides and to resources you can reference to develop your content strategy.

Make sure to pick up a copy of Margot Bloomstein’s Content Strategy at Work — it’s a fun and helpful read, and it gives you the tools to lead your team to find your organizational voice and to build and execute your content strategy. Let us know how it goes!

(If you’d like the help of impartial facilitators to guide your team through the exercise, give us a call.)

Presentation Deck

References

Don’t forget about the upcoming social media events at HandsOn Tech.

If you want to know more about the online marketing services we offer at Big Big Design, you can read about them here, or please contact us. We’d love hear from you.

Finding Your Voice: A Social Media Content Development Workshop

Finding Your Voice: A Social Media Content Development Workshop

by Cynthia Closkey Events

Say anything

Are you a registered Pittsburgh nonprofit that wants to connect your mission with your audience through social media?  Do you want to engage on Twitter or Facebook, but you’re not quite sure what to say?

Join Big Big Design’s own Cynthia Closkey for a content development workshop hosted by HandsOn Tech Pittsburgh and Google Pittsburgh.  HandsOn Tech, part of PittsburghCares, was created to help Pittsburgh nonprofits use technology effectively and efficiently so they can focus and succeed in their missions.

Registered nonprofits can sign up for this April 17th event at Bakery Square.  Hope to see you there!

Upcoming: “Creating a Website for Your Nonprofit”

by Cynthia Closkey Events

I’ll be teaching a few courses in the CCAC’s Nonprofit Academy program this Spring. The first will be “Creating a Website for Your Nonprofit.”

This 3-hour course is designed to bring the Nonprofit organization into the world of technology by creating or updating an existing website for the organization. Student will learn various options in creating a website – the pros and cons of an in-house set up or contracting someone to create and run the site depending on budget..

This is an introductory level course for someone who is starting a website for a nonprofit organization, or perhaps taking over the role of managing a website for the first time. (Much of the information would be useful to someone in business as well.)

It’s a three hour workshop, and we’ll be as hands-on as possible. The goal will be to give you an understanding of what steps and resources are needed to create and maintain a website. By the end of the session, you’ll know what your next steps should be and how to get started.

When: Wednesday, April 6, 6-9pm
Where: CCAC Allegheny Campus
Fee: $75
Course section: XGM-716-58701

To register, sign up at the CCAC website.

PodCamp Pittsburgh 3

by Cynthia Closkey Events

It’s back! Pittsburgh’s social media conference returns for the third year running, with great sessions, awesome networking opportunities, and unexpected unexpectedness.

PodCamp Pittsburgh 3 will take place on October 18 and 19, 2008, with a meet-and-greet the evening of October 17.

WHEN: October 18 and 19, 9am to 4pm each day

WHERE: Art Institute of Pittsburgh, 420 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (map/directions)

COST: free!

Register today.

See the PodCamp Pittsburgh 3 schedule. Add a session you’d like to give, or request one you’d like to attend.

Would you like to sponsor PodCamp Pittsburgh 3? Find out how.

In addition to the two days of conference, there will be a meet-n-greet reception the night before, 6 to 9pm at AlphaLab on Pittsburgh South Side. Details for the reception here.

PodCamp Pittsburgh 3

by Cynthia Closkey Events

PodCamp Pittsburgh 3 is the third iteration of a community UnConference for people who create, enjoy or are interested in learning more about blogs, vlogs, audio podcasts, web video, content networks and new media monetization.

  • WHEN: Saturday, October 18 through Sunday, October 19, from 9 AM to 4 PM each day
  • WHERE: The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, 420 Boulevard of the Allies, 15219
  • WHO: New media experts, new media creators, aspiring new media creators, communications and PR personnel, and you!
  • HOW MUCH: Free!

Registration will open soon at the PodCamp Pittsburgh website . Mark your calendar!

Marketing for Nonprofits Workshop

by Cynthia Closkey Events

My colleague Karen Bryant will be presenting an all-day marketing class at the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management this Thursday. There are still a few spots open.

Marketing for Nonprofits: Five Keys to a Winning Marketing Plan.
Every nonprofit needs a strategic marketing plan to attract clients, secure funding and get noticed. This practical, how-to session presents the five keys to a winning marketing plan in easy-to-understand language with case studies, sample material, hands-on activities and a marketing plan template. Participants begin the marketing planning process in class and leave with the tools to complete and execute it. No budget is too small; these techniques and materials work for everyone.

Presenter: Karen Bryant has over 25 years experience working in the nonprofit and corporate sectors. Today, she merges her corporate marketing know-how to help nonprofits to take advantage of marketing and branding strategies utilized by successful companies. Her Pittsburgh clients include YouthWorks, Inc., Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management, Elisco Advertising and Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh, to name a few.

Thursday March 27, 2008
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Regional Enterprise Tower
425 6th Avenue, Suite 2610
Downtown Pittsburgh
Fee: $100
Contact: Ivana Spehar 412-397-6000