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“COG Blogs” Project Introduction. Presented to Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee Eric Eckl 3/19/2010. Agenda. Three audiences, and why they are important to us What’s a “Semi-Official” blog? Why is it a good choice? How will we know if it works? Timeline
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“COG Blogs” Project Introduction Presented to Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee Eric Eckl 3/19/2010
Agenda • Three audiences, and why they are important to us • What’s a “Semi-Official” blog? Why is it a good choice? How will we know if it works? • Timeline • Is there any precedent for any of this? • Q&A
Moms • Influence the reputation of tapwater among their peers • Influence political climate for infrastructure investments • Directly influence water supply with household conservation choices
Green Thumbs • Influence water quality directly with choices about application of lawn and garden chemicals • Influence water supply directly with choices about how to water lawn and garden
Stakeholders • Defined as: elected and appointed officials, their staff, civil servants, construction and engineering firms, media, academics, utility staff, financial industry • Influence public policy on infrastructure investment through trade associations, chambers of commerce, etc. • Invest directly in equipment/training/personnel necessary to make infrastructure repairs and improvements
“Social Media Moms” • 36,000 moms with children under 5 who regularly access social media • 104,000 moms with children under 18 who regularly access social media • Intense social media use is correlated with extensive networks of peers -- these are opinion leaders
“Social Media Green Thumbs” • 75,000 individuals who enjoy gardening, lawn care, AND are intense users of online social media • Intense social media use is correlated with extensive networks of peers -- these are opinion leaders
What’s a “Semi Official” Blog?Why is it a good choice?How will we know if it works?
Government Blogs Text Government staff, on salary, blogging on government site
Commercial Blogs Contract writers, receive stipend and share of ad revenue on the posts they write
Semi-Official Blogs Official Playstation Website Semi Official Blog “It is semi official, an informal means of communication for PlayStation. Importantly, we avoid censoring content here, so long as Three Speech is used constructively.”
Semi-Official Blog Blog is linked to email, Twitter, Facebook, and RSS
Semi Official Blog • Blogger has license to make the discussion interesting, but • Blogger has obligation to ensure decorum that reflects well on COG and members • Blogger receives regular payment for touching on our issues • Blogger receives additional payments for achieving repeat traffic
Semi Official Blog How often do you serve tapwater to your kids?
Timeline • March: Decisions, Planning • April: Develop blogs, recruit bloggers • May: Launch effort • November: End pilot and review
Is online advertising be a viable alternative to advertising on the radio? Answer: Yes
Precedent • We were able to reach our audiences: • With great precision (location and interest) • At an affordable cost • In sufficient numbers to justify the effort
Precedent But... as soon as the advertising campaign stopped, traffic plunged.
Precedent • Because we were not able to: • Generate fresh content consistently • Stimulate much conversation • Persuade many first-time visitors to come back again
Can we earnand hold their attention instead of buying and losing it? We’ll tell you in November