American Chemical Society Communicating with your Local Section Members ACS Leadership Institute ● Dallas, Texas January 24-26, 2014 Charles E. Cannon; Councilor, Chicago Local Section & LSAC Member Kate Sellar, Technology Manager, Administrative & Programmatic Technologies Angela Morris, Technology Associate, Administrative & Programmatic Technologies

American Chemical Society 3 What You Can Expect from this Session You will come away from this session with: An increased understanding of the importance and benefits of having a communication plan that suits the needs of your executive board and members Information about online communication services offered from ACS that might aid your section’s communications.

American Chemical Society 4 Communicating with your Executive Board What are the Goals? develop an effective strategy based on your circumstances focus on critical needs (budget, election, meetings, events) create a team spirit to share ideas/tasks document as you plan and carry out each activity, making annual reporting easier and helping future leaders Develop a Multi-Channel Strategy In-person Audio, Web and Video Conferencing (Skype, etc.) –Consider A+ Conferencing for special rates for Local SectionsA+ Conferencing

American Chemical Society 5 Communicating with your Executive Board Questions about communicating with your Executive Board? Examples of successful (or not so successful) communication strategies between officers?

American Chemical Society 6 Communicating with your Members and the Public Develop a Multi-Channel Strategy Website –update your information regularly –Use it in conjunction with any social media efforts (ACS Network, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) –using a mass service is more effective than using a personal account Newsletters –hard-copy and/or electronic based on your members’ preferences Audio, Web and Video Conferencing (Skype, etc.) –Consider A+ Conferencing for special rates for Local SectionsA+ Conferencing In-person meetings/events

American Chemical Society 7 Communicating with your Members and the Public 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.

American Chemical Society 8 Communicating with your Members and the Public According to the local section annual reporting for 2012, 149 of the 186 Local Sections reported have websites.

American Chemical Society 9 Communicating with your Members and the Public Mass When used properly, using a mass service can Help you develop a trusting relationship with your members Help you keep your contacts organized Enable access to campaign reports (analytics), measure your results after every campaign Meet the requirements of the CAN-SPAM act (avoid having your s get stuck in SPAM filters)

American Chemical Society 10 Communicating with your Members and the Public According to the local section annual reporting for 2012, approximately 80% of all Local Sections use as their primary mode of communication to its members.

American Chemical Society 11 Communicating with your Members and the Public Questions about communicating with your local section members? What are some common communication challenges?

American Chemical Society 12 Available Online Communication Tools & Services from ACS Online web-hosting solution provided through our partner, webs.com management service (currently a pilot program) 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, 96 Local Sections have signed up for the service Is your section using the service? Ask us if you’re not sure. American Chemical Society 13

Online web-hosting solution Main benefits of the service include: ACS branded, easy to use templates American Chemical Society 14

Online web-hosting solution American Chemical Society 15 Main benefits: a user-friendly web editor (no need to know HTML)

Online web-hosting solution American Chemical Society 16 Main benefits: ability to easily hand over web administration duties from one person to another)

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Service Providers American Chemical Society 18

Management Service - Pilot To meet the critical needs of our members, ACS has partnered with Real Magnet and is exploring the potential benefits of a free, mass service for local sections and technical divisions. American Chemical Society 19

Management Service - Pilot Main benefits of the service include: Individual account with intuitive dashboard American Chemical Society 20

Management Service - Pilot Main benefits: ACS branded template to put your message within American Chemical Society 21

Management Service - Pilot 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. American Chemical Society 22

Management Service - Pilot Use your current address or any pre-existing 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 . You will upload your lists to 1 of 2 Groups in Magnet Mail: –Promotional s, i.e. invitations to events, general communications and info (must have the opt-out option for promotional s) –Administrative s, i.e. elections and governance meetings, etc. Interested in singing up for the pilot? Contact American Chemical Society 23

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ACS Network: Volunteer Support & Engagement American Chemical Society 25 An open group where pertinent information for dedicated ACS members can be found, posted and shared.

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How to Contact Online web-hosting solution: Management Service (EMS): Kate Sellar, Technology Manager, Administrative & Programmatic Technologies: Angela Morris, Technology Associate, Administrative & Programmatic Technologies: American Chemical Society 27

Thank You