| January 17, 2011 | | CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF |  |  | | | News for SmartBrief prospective partners | |
| What's Happening |  |  | | - To Be or Not to Be a Member
Deirdre Reid, CAE, is a freelance writer who helps organizations create content and conversation. In this post, she tackles an oft-discussed topic in the association sector: Why members renew, or don't.
"Joe Flowers tweeted, 'After a lot of thought, I decided to not renew my (ASAE Young Association Professional) membership.' I suggested he blog about his decision. His reasoning is probably shared by many association members so his peers would benefit from hearing his views. His post spurred a passionate conversation about associations and membership.
"It's worth reviewing the issues and questions raised in his post and the 50 resulting comments.
"It's hard to find value in your membership until you figure out what you value. Members, upon joining and at renewal, should ask themselves, or be asked: Why did you join? What problems do you need to solve? What do you want to learn? What kind of people do you want to meet?
"Some members value being part of something bigger and supporting the industry, but some only care about 'what's in it for me.' Have a strategy to deal with that. ..."
Read her complete post at SmartBrief's SmartBlog Insights and join the conversation. - LinkedIn and reader testimonials
 LinkedIn has created a feature that provides organizations an opportunity to promote their products and services.
Throughout January, we will be creating product pages for each SmartBrief. These product pages will give us an easy way to generate reader testimonials (which will be seen by their networks), as well as help us connect potential advertisers with the brief's ad-sales contact and increase circulation. Here is our SmartBrief on Social Media page.
As you can see on this page, there is real value in displaying reader testimonials. Take the one from Dec. 2 from Steven K., director of government relations at Land O'Lakes:
"I'm not an IT professional, but I do want to keep up-to-date on new tools for communicating with key constituencies. Reading SmartBrief on Social Media provides me with quick access to knowledgeable sources on how social media can be used in my job. Every week, I find tips that are useful or helpful news about emerging trends and uses. I consider it a 'must read.' "
Want to learn more? Drop us a note and we'll chat. - How the National Wildlife Federation measures social success
The National Wildlife Federation's approach to monitoring social media evolved as its social media presence developed, says Danielle Brigida, the organization's digital marketing manager. Brigida says she began by manually tracking social media mentions, but soon switched to a combination of services including Thrive, SocialMention and IceRocket. Using a variety of measurement tools allows Brigida to gauge the organization's reach and gain a sense of the ways in which users are engaging with their content, which can help the organization better allocate its resources, she says. Read the complete post at SmartBrief's SmartBlog Insights.
| Leadership Focus | | | | - 5 ways you're letting yourself down
Leaders who fail to achieve true greatness usually have only themselves to blame, write Anne Morriss, Robin Ely and Frances Frei. A selfish streak, over-investment in one's public image or a failure to protect and nurture employees can trip up even the most talented boss. "True leadership is about making other people better," Morris, Ely and Frei write. Harvard Business Review (1/2011) - Branding is about telling stories, Under Armour CEO says
Brands need to learn to tell stories about themselves, says Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank. The key, Plank says, is to manage the cadence and continuity of the company's story as it unfolds in each new product, promotion or advertising campaign. "Every great brand is like a great story. Every commercial we run, every product we make, is like a chapter in that book," he says. Knowledge@Wharton (1/5) - Questions that everyone in your organization should be able to answer
It's easy for business leaders to blame their employees for not getting the big picture, writes Steve Trautman, but it's a leader's job to communicate a company's strategic goals in a way that workers can understand and internalize. At a minimum, your team should be able to tell you instantly who your customers are, what market trends influence them and what sets your firm apart from its rivals. Great Leadership (1/9) | About SmartBrief | | | | - What we do
SmartBrief publishes industry-specific e-mail newsletters in partnership with prominent associations, professional societies, corporations and nonprofits. More than 4 million executives and professionals rely on SmartBrief every day to stay informed and save them time. Visit here to view our partners, see samples and subscribe. For updates, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook. Want to explore partnering? Let's talk. | Media 2.0 | | | | - 10 ways to implement a distributed social media strategy
The notion of segregated social media teams is looking increasingly outmoded, write Jay Baer and Amber Naslund. Companies such as H&R Block are using their social media staff as cheerleaders and coaches tasked with getting everyone in the company involved with social projects. "The key to succeeding in social media is not to control and centralize, but rather to advise and then decentralize," Baer and Naslund argue. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Workforce (1/7) - 187 ways to improve your online community
Virtual-community consultant Richard Millington has assembled a convenient list of his favorite and most popular tips from the past three years, covering topics such as how to launch a community and how to measure an established community's success. "It should give you a great overview about both the strategy and the process of creating an online community from scratch," Millington writes. FeverBee.com (1/11) - 6 ways to reach out and touch your online followers
When we have real-world conversations, we signal our trust by touching, whether it's a hug, a handshake or a pat on the back, SmartBrief's Jesse Stanchak writes. Since the Web creates physical distances between people, social media markets need to find ways to develop that same level of connection in a virtual space. "The holy grail of social media marketing is an act that replicates the psychological effects of a great handshake: familiarity, engagement and trust," he writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media (1/7) | SmartNugget | | | |  | | - 4 big trends for corporate sustainability in 2011
Companies are embracing green-business strategies as never before, writes Patti Prairie, and new techniques and technologies could help them continue the trend in 2011. Supply-chain management is going mainstream, CEOs are starting to realize the value of getting workers involved with sustainability efforts, and software and cloud-computing advances could help companies streamline their carbon-accounting systems. FastCompany.com/FC Expert Blog (1/5) | |  |
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New fashion sites are using interactive models that allow shoppers to design their own fashions. Aspiring designers can upload their best looks to Garmz and have the community pick the ones that will be produced and sold on the site. Fabricly evaluates sketches submitted by would-be designers and pay to produce and promote the best ones. 
Three-quarters of adults 55 years and older anticipated using customer reviews on retailer sites as they shopped for the holidays. Source: 
