the ave: social media strategy

7/30/2019 The Ave: Social Media Strategy

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the avecommunications

strategy


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Laura [email protected]

Emily Dixon

[email protected]

Michael [email protected]

Jamison [email protected]

Rebecca Zantjer

[email protected]


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Overview

Objectives

Objective 1: Dene Te Ave in ways that inspire actionand build enthusiasm.Objective 2: Secure buy-in or Te Ave rom crucial com-munity stakeholders.Objective 3: Share ownership o the project with crucialcommunity stakeholders.Objective 4: Listen and respond to the needs, desires, andsuggestions o the Greater Lansing community.

Strategy

Phase 1: Project leaders meet to review and nalize iden-tity statements or each community stakeholder audience.Phase 2: Identity statements and summit invitations areissued to community stakeholders identied in Te Ave

Community Map.Phase 3: Social networks are used to build and maintainrelationships with community stakeholders and promotethe summit and summit hashtag.Phase 4: Audience-based materials are given to commu-nity stakeholders to share with their constituents.Phase 5: Summit is hosted at Te Avenue Cae.

Example Materials

Identity Statements

Stakeholder Communication StrategiesSummit Hashtag Promotion StrategySummit Agenda

Conclusion

Attachments

Community MapPersonas

contents Page 4Page 5

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overviewTe Ave seeks to be a place where the Greater Lansing can become aware o the hiddencreativity and culture o the city. In order to be successul in this mission, Te Ave needsto accomplish our objectives which involve dening Te Ave, securing buy-in and owner-ship rom critical stakeholders, and listening to the needs and suggestions o the GreaterLansing community.

For the short term, Te Ave will accomplish these objectives by reaching out to linchpincommunity members and organizations and inviting them to participate in a ace-to-acesummit held at Te Avenue Cae (ormerly Gone Wired) in the Fall o 2013. Tis ace-to-ace summit will ocus on 1) communicating and building enthusiasm or Te Aves mis-sion 2) engaging the community in the design and vision o the project, and 3) listening tothe communitys needs, desires, and suggestions.

We believe that as this communication strategy develops, Te Ave can successully part-ner with members o the community who will be able to leverage their social networksto make Te Ave a vibrant and active digital placemaking tool. As Te Ave builds theserelationships, it will be better able to acilitate the needs o their audiences and respond

eectively to their needs and desires or an online storytelling platorm. Te end resulto this collaborative eort will be an united Lansing and East Lansing community that isdedicated to supporting and promoting the emerging creativity and culture within theGreater Lansing community. A more vibrant Lansing region will continue to attract andretain young talent, oster business growth and development, and bring increased recogni-tion to the citys creative class.

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objectives

Objective 1: Dene Te Ave in ways that in-

spire action and build enthusiasm

Tis communications strategy has been designed to stimulate the accomplishment o ourobjectives:

Objective 1: Dene Te Ave in ways that inspire action and build enthusiasmObjective 2: Secure buy-in or Te Ave rom crucial community stakeholdersObjective 3: Share ownership o the project with crucial community stake-

holdersObjective 4: Listen and respond to the needs, desires, and suggestions o theGreater Lansing community

Currently, Te Ave lacks a clear mission and vision statement that comprehensively laysout what the project is attempting to accomplish and why that mission is a compellingone. When we talked with individuals/organizations that had been involved with Te Ave,the typical response was that they had participated in the project because they were asked,but didnt really have a solid understanding o what Te Ave was. Tey were universallyunable to clearly articulate the goals o the project and how their participation was meantto urther those goals.

Even in our interviews with three project ounders, we received vastly dierent responsesor whom the audience o Te Ave was intended to be and what goals Te Ave hoped to

achieve with and or that audience. While some exibility in purpose is wise, it is crucialthat Te Ave dene itsel as an organization so that it can eectively garner communitysupport and interest. People will not rally behind a cause they do not understand or aleader who has not given them a vision o the uture they can believe in. I Te Ave seeksto be both a cause and a leader, it needs to dene the problem its attempting to solve andshare a uniting vision or what the Greater Lansing community could look like when itoperates as one contiguous creative unit.

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It is a organizational goal o Te Ave to be a place that builds community and denes aplace or various stakeholder audiences in the community, including members o Lan-sings creative class; MSU/LCC students interested in the arts, creativity, and innovation;and Lansing residents at large who are unaware o their citys hidden creativity and cul-ture.

For Te Ave to succeed in their desired capacity, it will need the goodwill, support, andsocial capital o major players in each o these intended audiences. In talking with mem-bers o Te Aves intended audiences it is clear that, currently, many o these stakeholders

are unaware o the project and, thus, have no impetus to actively support and develop theproject. It is critical that Te Ave reach out to these target stakeholders through genres andmedia venues that are amiliar to each audience, while maintaining the identity o Te Aveand linking Te Aves identity with the goals and objectives o their target audiences.

Objective 2: Secure buy-in or Te Ave rom

crucial community stakeholders

Objective 3: Share ownership o the project

with crucial community stakeholders

Aer key audience stakeholders have been identied and contacted, it will be crucial that

they have opportunities to take ownership o the project. Te Ave seeks to be a tool andresource or the community. Its chances o being successul in this are greatly increased ithe community itsel has the opportunity to inorm and direct the way Te Ave is de-signed and operated.

Our research and interviews showed that, currently, ownership o the project rests in thehands o very ew people. Tis not only limits how much work gets done on the project,but it also alienates the project rom the people and organizations it is trying to help most.At this stage it seems like Te Ave is talking a lot aboutthe community; perhaps its timeTe Ave transitioned to talking with the community.

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Finally, once Te Ave has dened itsel, reached out to community stakeholders, securedtheir partnership, and allowed these members to take ownership o the project, it will becrucial to listen to their ideas and respond appropriately to their needs and suggestions.Listening to the audience will allow Te Ave to have a more intrinsic understanding owhat the community is looking or in a digital placemaking space. Processing the ideasand comments o community stakeholders will give Te Ave the opportunitiy to builda digital platorm that is responding the real, stated needs o the audience. Te nishedproduct o this listening will be a communications plan that is built rom the ground-upand, since it came rom the community itsel, has a strong chance o being well-receivedby the target community.

Objective 4: Listen and respond to the needs,

desires, and suggestions o the Greater Lansing

community

Leadership means both talking and

listening, both vision and consensusA leader builds a web of relationships

within the profession and articulates thethemes that are emerging in the think-

ing of the profession as a whole.

-Philip Agre

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strategiesIn the section above we dened our major objectives or Te Ave and discussed why webelieve those objectives are essential to the ongoing health and vitality o your organiza-tion. In this section we will outline a communications strategy that contains specic tasksand tactics that will allow Te Ave to begin accomplishing those objectives.

Tis strategy contains six phases, all designed to take place within six months. Te strat-egy begins with the development o identity statements and culminates in a ace-to-acecommunity stakeholder summit hosted at Te Avenue Cae in Fall 2013. In order, thesephases are:

Phase 1: Project leaders meet to review and nalize identity statements or eachcommunity stakeholder audience. (5 months until summit)

Phase 2: Identity statements and summit invitations are issued to communitystakeholders identied in Te Ave Community Map. (2-4 months beore summit)

Phase 3: Social networks are used to build and maintain relationships with com-munity stakeholders and promote the summit and summit hashtag. (1 month

beore summit)

Phase 4: Audience-based materials are given to community stakeholders to sharewith their constituents. (2 weeks beore summit)

Phase 5: Summit is hosted at Te Avenue Cae.

Phase 6: New social media strategy is developed based on summit proceedings.(Aer summit)

Phase 1: Project leaders meet to review and nalizeidentity statements or each community stakeholder

audience.

In order to dene Te Ave and create a mission and vision statement that will inspire ac-tion and build enthusiasm (Objective 1), the project leaders (Vincent Delgado, JennierEstill, and John Monberg) should meet together to review and nalize three identity state-ments. Tese three identity statements, although centered around the same mission, willbe tailored to incorporate the various buzz words o the targeted proessional eld andwill convey the aspect o Te Aves mission that is most relevant to the interests o eachPage 8


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community stakeholder.

o aid in this process, our team has draed sample mission and vision statements or each

community stakeholder audience (members o Lansings creative class; MSU/LCC stu-dents interested in the arts, creativity, and innovation; and Lansing residents at large whoare unaware o their citys hidden creativity and culture). Tese samples are located in theIdentity Statements section on page 11 o the communications strategy.

In the second phase o the communications strategy, the identity statements and summitinvitations are used to reach out to community stakeholders who, based on their own mis-sion statements, could benet rom partnering with Te Ave. Tese organizations, listedin the Community Map spread sheet attached to this document, have expressed interest inarts, creativity, innovation, and/or are spaces where creative indviduals tend to gather. Tislist o organizations also includes community connective spaces, or areas where mem-bers o Te Aves target audience tend to meet and socialize.

During this phase o the strategy, Te Ave will get in touch with these organizations, romeach o the key audience stakeholders, share their specially craed identity statement withthis organization, and invite them to attend the summit. See the Stakeholder Communica-tions Strategies pages or ideas and model materials or how this outreach can be accom-plished eectively.

Phase three consists o building on the momentum rom phase two. As individuals andorganizations become curious about Te Ave and express willingness to participate in thesummit, Te Ave can begin to build relationships by asking weekly questions to the group,sharing inormation resources, and listening in to conversations between various com-munity stakeholders and their constituents (and inserting comments when appropriate).Examples o this communication work can also be ound in the Stakeholder Communica-tions Strategies section on pages 13-28 o this report.

Phase 2: Identity statements and summit invitations

are issued to community stakeholders identied in

Te Ave Community Map.

Phase 3: Social networks are used to build and main-

tain relationships with community stakeholders and

promote the summit and summit hashtag.

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wo weeks beore the summit, Te Ave should reinvite all the conerence attendees andbegin promoting the summit hashtag in earnest. Te Ave should also provide all sum-mit attendees with promotional materials so that they can broadcast their attendance andparticipation to their own social networks. Tese promotional materials can include ayer or the summit, a link to the summits webpage and hashtag eed, and links back toTe Aves website. See the Summit Promotional Strategy section o page 28 o this reportor more details.

Phase ve, the summit, is the culmination o the current social media strategy. Aerdening itsel in relation to the rest o the Greater Lansing community, getting participantbuy-in rom various community stakeholders, and building enthusiasm around the ideaso promoting creativity and culture between Lansing and East Lansing, it is time to get allthe stakeholders in one room and let meaningul conversations develop.

Te summit will get the community talking about the creativity and culture in Lansingand how that creativity can be shared with both East Lansing residents and Lansing resi-

dents who are unaware o the creative cultural events happening within their own town.As these conversations happen, participants can talk back to Te Ave and (more impor-tantly) to each other using the summit hashtag. Interested community members whocould not attend the summit can also provide input by monitoring and responding to thesummits witter hashtag channel. As ideas emerge and are listened to, Te Ave will beable to more clearly see the needs o their intended audience and can share ownership othe project with multiple members o the community.

Phase 4: Audience-based materials are given to com-

munity stakeholders to share with their constituents.

Phase 5: Summit is hosted at Te Avenue Cae.

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identity statementsIncluded below are dras o possible identity statements that we believe would positionTe Ave well within its desired audience communities. Tese identity statements shouldbe reviewed and nalized by project ounders at least ve months in advance o the sum-mit and posted on Te Ave website.

Te Ave exists to connect MSU and LCC students with creative individuals and organiza-tions within the Greater Lansing community. We work to build a community that con-nects students interested in the arts, innovation, creativity and culture with like-mindedorganizations in the Greater Lansing area. Tis partnership will have the ollowing results:

Organizations in the Greater Lansing area will benet rom an inux o youngtalent.

Students will network with proessionals in the area and develop portoliopieces/experiences that make them competitive in the job market.

Students will eel at home in the Lansing region and become connected withthe place.

Students will want to live and work in the Lansing region post graduation.

Te Ave exists to redene the Lansing region as a vibrant creative city and cultural center.Te Ave seeks to tell the oen overlooked stories o Lansings creative businesses, organi-zations, and individuals. We are seeking to build a digital space where Lansing creativescan share narratives about creativity in the Lansing region. Te creation o this space willhave the ollowing goals:

Increase exposure to the pre-existing arts, creativity, and innovation work hap-pening across the Greater Lansing region.

Foster a sense o community and transparency amongst Lansings creativeclass, leading to networking, collaboration, and partnering o resources.

Identity Statement 1: For MSU/LCC Students

Interested in Arts, Creativity, and Innovation

Identity Statement 2: For Members o Lan-

sings Creative Class

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Te Ave exists to oster economic, cultural, and social connections between residents oEast Lansing and Lansing by rebranding the city o Lansing as a creative and cultural cen-ter. We seek to encourage and acilitate interactions between previously disparate sectors

o the city in order to better connect East Lansing and Lansing residents with the cultureand place o the Greater Lansing region. Tese interactions will have the eect o:

Stimulating businesses by attracting students to the Lansing region and, thus,collecting on the collective buying power o the university.

Connecting Lansing residents with the lesser-known creative and cultural sec-tors o the city.

Fostering a spirit o collaboration and ownership amongst businesses andorganizations.

Invite young creatives to participate in Lansings creative scene. Recognize the economic and social value the creative class brings to the Great-

er Lansing region.

Identity Statement 3: For Lansing Businesses

and Connective Statements

An Aside:

When we met with John Monberg or the secondtime, he expressed concern with the idea o creatingmission and vision statements or Te Ave, statingthat they could limit the project and prevent it romexpanding organically. However, we also see theneed or Te Ave to dene itsel as a prerequisite togarnering community support. We intend that theseidentity statements provide Te Ave with the neces-sary dening language to start conversations withlike-minded organizations and give them the broadpicture o what Te Ave hopes to accomplish. Ratherthan being an end point, we see these mission state-ments as a springboard or uture discussions aboutwhat Te Ave could, should, and will be.

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stakeholder commu-

nication strategiesAs mentioned in the Strategy section o this document, our team has compiledthree separate social media communications strategy documents, each targettedat one o the intended audiences or Te Ave: 1) MSU/LCC students interested inarts, creativity, and culture; 2) Lansing area residents and small business owners;

and 3) members o Lansings creative class.

Below, these strategies are broken up between their respective personas. For eachpersona, we list a series o strategies Te Ave can use to build relationships withmembers o this audience, provide sample materials or the Ave to incorporate intheir social media strategy, and assign timelines and responsibilities or the com-pletion o each strategy.

arget Audience

Based on our ethnographic observations, demographic data, and best practices research,the rst persona we have identied is a persona or Te Aves communication strategy: ACreative Studies and Communications Graduate Student. We chose this rst persona ora ew reasons. In the East Lansing and Lansing area students consume one o the largest

percentages o the areas population.

As major consumers and users o dierent medias and businesses in the area, they play amajor role in the use o social media outlets. Creating relationships with students will onlyproduce more relationships with additional students, as they are especially interconnectedin the social media world.

Secondly, this group was identied as a primary intended audience throughout our inter-views with Vincent Delgado. When we spoke with him, he particularly emphasized that itwas a goal o Te Ave to connect the creative students o East Lansing with creative busi-

Persona 1: Students Interested in Art,Creativity, Culture, and Innovation

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nesses and organizations in the Greater Lansing region. Tis second persona outlines thetype o student that Dr. Delgado had envisioned and provides more concrete recommen-dations or how Te Ave can successully connect with those audiences.

In order to be successul, Te Ave will need to be supported by students and graduatestudents that are living in the Lansing and East Lansing area. Michigan State University ishome to many involved students that would create a large audience or the Te Ave. Be-low we provide the detailed persona o a graduate student that should be targeted:

Communications Strategies

In order to communicate with these audiences, our team recommends the ollowing com-munication outlets and genres.

1. Facebook Page and Group

Facebook assesses the union and linkage o social capital, mainly be leveraging ones abil-ity to stay connected with members o a community. Regression analyses conducted on

InternetUsage

Facebook:Sheusesmostlyforconnectingandkeepingupwithnewpeoplefromworkandpeoplethatshenolongerlivesnear.SheusesFacebooktotalktofriends,stayconnectedwithfamily;mostlypersonalreasons,alsotohearaboutevents,inLansingandEastLansing.

Twitter:Sheusestofollowcelebrities,friends,andcoworkers.Alsoitiswhereshegetsnewsaboutevents.

AlexisusesothersocialmediawebsitessuchasYoutubeandLinkedintoconnectandbeafiliatedwithdifferentoutlets.

NewsOutlets

AlexisgetsnewsandinformationfromGreenDoorswebsite,GoneWiredwebsite,CityPulseandMacsBarwebsiteforentertainmentalsowordofmouthandschooldepartmentemails.

Alexis Swanson

Graduate Student

Itwouldbeagoodidea

havingoneFacebook

pageforallthe

businesses,andeach

businesscouldhavean

adminaccess,which

wouldbegreatsothat

userscouldjusthave

oneplacetolookfor

dealsandhappenings.

PersonalInformation

Profession:GraduateStudentatMichiganState

Universityandcurrentlyhasaninternshipin

Lansing

Location:ApartmentinLansing

Age:23yearsold

HomeLife:InLansingsheliveswithtwo

roommateswhoalsogotoMSU.Backathomeare

hertwoparentswhobothstillwork,andhertwo

sistersliveindifferentcities

Attire:Casualclothing,usuallyjeansandatshirtto

classanddressesupwhenworkingorgoingout

Hobbies:InLansingshelikestogototheArabic

Market,shop,getfoodanddrinkswithfriendsand

enjoysgoingtocafestostudy

Sheenjoyscreativelifeoutsideof

campusandwantstogivemoretothe

community,notjusthangingarounda

bunchofundergradsbutgetting

involvedandsupportingtheLansingcommunity.

persona 1

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results rom a survey o undergraduate students suggest a strong association between useo Facebook and the three types o social capital, with the strongest relationship being tobridging social capital[1].

We recommend creating a Facebook page as well as Facebook group or Te Ave. Gradu-ate students, along with undergraduates, are heavy users o Facebook. One out o everyve page views on the Internet are views o Facebook proles[2]. Studies also show thatFacebook amongst college students is not only used or personal reasons (i.e. keeping upwith riends, amily, and coworkers ), but also to connect to specic places and keep upwith current events.

Tis Facebook page should be created ve months in advance o the summit and shouldadd all groups/individuals rom the Community Map who have Facebook accounts and

proles.

2. witter and Hash-agWe also propose that Te Ave create a witter account and spend 15 minutes every otherday posting tweets and retweeting relevant weets rom the community. College usersand urban residents in general are heavy users o witter . O all witter users, 35% owitter users are in urban areas and a combined 40% o users are ages 18-34 [3]. Fur-thermore, witter can be easily accessed rom both mobile and laptop applications andcontent delivered rom witter ts well into the daily stream o student communications.

Te summit hashtag (#theave13) should ollow each tweet related to the summit (more

inormation about how to do this is discussed in the Hashtag Promotion Strategy docu-ment on page 28). Tis will promote consistency across the tweets and will allow ollow-ers to easily recognize Te Ave and create connections between various outlets o socialmedia.

Beginning our months prior to the summit, Te Ave should create a witter page andbegin the process o tweeting and retweeting relevant content. Included below are a serieso sample tweets that Te Ave can use to begin building relationships with this group andexamples o tweets that should be retweeted by Te Ave:

@TeAve: Excited or Silver Bells tonight? Come see Lansing light up!

@Te Ave: Report ranks Lansing as more creative than Chicago and Seattle http://link.url

@TeAve: R@BeerLovesLansing Money cant buy you happiness, but it can buyyou beer, & I dont know about you, but beer makes me pretty damn happy!

@TeAve: R@MOMevents Concert at Te Lo this Friday. Come hear local tal-ent!

sample tweets

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3. Email Relevant Student List-servs

At Michigan State University, involvement is a large component to the success and close-ness o ellow student organizations and departments amongst the University. In thedepartment o Creative Studies and Communications (as well as every major), there is theability to send and receive inormation that relates and regards the projected major. TeAve should send invitations to the summit via these list-servs. Tis will accomplish thepurpose o inorming large amounts o students within this persona demographic with-out having to collect large amount o email addresses rom individuals. Emails receivedthrough a list-serv are also deemed more credible (according to our interview data) and,thus, are more likely to be read and responded to. Included below is a sample email TeAve could send through these listservs.

o: [email protected]: Te AveSubject: Invitation to Te Ave Creativity, Branding, and PlacemakingSummit

Everyone here at Te Ave would like to extend a special invitation to attend Te Ave2013 summit. Te summit is ree and is being held on this data at Te Avenue Cae(ormerly Gone Wired) on Lansings Michigan Avenue. Te goal o this summit isto connect MSU students interested in arts, creativity, innovation, and culture withother creative indivuals, businesses, and organizations within the Lansing commu-nity.

While the summit will eature some keynote speakers, the ocus o the day will beon engaging conerence attendees in conversations with each other and generatingcommunity ideas about how to promote, oster, and maintain a spirit o innovationwithin the city o Lansing.

Check out the attached summit invitation or visit us on Facebook (URL) or witteror more inormation. Even i youre unable to attend the summit in person, eel reeto contribute and respond to ideas by ollowing the summit hashtag #theave13. Seeyou there!

Vincent Delgado

P.S. Who is Te Ave? Te Ave exists to connect MSU and LCC students with creativeindividuals and organizations within the Greater Lansing community. We work tobuild a community that connects students interested in the arts, innovation, creativ-ity and culture with like-minded organizations in the Greater Lansing area.

Want to get involved with Te Ave? Chat with us on witter @TeAve or send me anemail at [email protected].

sample email

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Strategy Summary and imeline

Heres a brie summary o our teams proposed communications strategy or this target audi-ence, along with a timeline or implementing the proposed strategy.

Create a Facebook Page and Group Goal: Create a Facebook page or Te Ave. Include all the vital inormation, such as

links, summit details, mission statements, logo, etc. imeline: 5 months beore summit.

Create a witter Goal: Create a witter page and begin ollowing businesses/indivudals identied in

the Community Map who have witter accounts. Begin spending 15 minutes every

other day attending to the witter account. imeline: 4 months beore summit.

Send Emails Trough Various Student Listservs Goal: Send email through listservs which are widely circulated among members o

this target audience. imeline: 2 months beore summit.

Responsibility

Our team believes that Dr. Vincent Delgado is the member o Te Ave who is the most well-

suited to implement the proposed communications strategy or this rst persona. Tis rec-ommendation is based on the act that Dr. Delgado works at Michigan State University, as aproessor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities and is rom the Lansing area.

In this capacity, he already has connections and socialcapital within the university and is the most likely tocome into requent contact with members o this targetaudience.

Secondly, Dr. Delgado teaches on civic engagement. Assuch, he has experience articulating the importance o

students getting involved in their local communities aswell as what true engagement with a community in-volves. Finally, since he is intrinsically motivated to con-nect students in East Lansing with the creative commu-nity in Lansing, we believe that he will nd this processboth enjoyable and worthwhile.

Reerences:

1. Ellison, N.B., Steineld, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). Tebenets o Facebook, riends; Social capital and col-lege students use o online social network sites. Jour-nal o Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4),article 1. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/ellison.html

2. aken rom the Adults and Social Networking:Data Memo released by the Pew Internet and Ameri-can Lie project. 2009.

3. aken rom Fieldhouse Medias study on witter andcollege students located at

4. Demographic inormation powered by Social Ex-

plorer.

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Persona 2: Lansing Residents and Small

Business Owners

arget Audience

Based on our ethnographic observations, demographic data, and best practices research,we have identied a second persona or Te Aves communication strategy: a Lansing resi-dent and small business owner. We chose this second persona or two reasons. First, whenwe talked with Dr. John Monberg, he identied Greater Lansing residents as being oneo the audiences or Te Ave, stating that Te Ave seeks to be a place where the GreaterLansing community can be aware o hidden culture and creativity.

Second, as we began doing preliminary research or Te Ave we noticed that the majorityo businesses along Michigan Avenue were non-ranchised and/or privately owned stores,restaurants, and social spaces. Further demographic research showed that in three o Lan-sings census tracts, 20-40% o the census respondents reported being sel employed . Teexistence o other organizations such as LEAP and Michigan Business Connect also speakto the growing number o Lansing residents who are small business owners.

In order to be successul, Te Ave will need to gain the support and goodwill o both theLansing residents it seeks to connect with creativity and culture and the small businessowners who constitute the heart o Michigan Avenue and have a direct stakeholder inter-

est in the continued economic development o Lansing and East Lansing. Tus, we com-bined these two target audience groups into one persona, as seen below:

PersonalPro*ileSarahisahardworkingeducatedbusinessownerinLansingwhowasborn

andraisedinthiscity.ShewenttoWesternMichiganUniversityforschool

andthencamebacktoherhometownofLansingtolive,work,andstart

herfamily.Currently,sheisinterestedinthecityscultureandarts,butisntactivelyinvolvedinanyoneartsandculturegroupinparticular.Sheis

supportivetothecommunityandseekstobeinvolved,whichiswhat

broughthertobecomeinterestedinTheAve.

Sarah Smolen

City Resident/

Business Owner

PersonalInformation

Profession:OwnerofpreviouslynamedGone

WiredCafnowTheAveonMichiganAvenue

Location:Lansing,Michigan

Age:40yearsold

HomeLife:Marriedandlivingwithherhusband,

hastwochildrenwhoaremovedoutofthehome

Attire:Casualclothing,buttonupshirt,cardigan

andjeans

NewsOutlets:ShegetsinformationfromLansingStateJournalandCityPulse,localnewspapers,word

ofmouth.Shealsohasacommunitybulletinboard

thatshemonitorsatherrestaurant.Sheinteractsa

lotwiththepeoplewhocomeintothecoffeeshop

andlearnsalotaboutlocalorganizations/news

fromthem

IlovethedensityofpeopleandneighborhoodsInLansingIhave

alongtermperspectiveonthe

citybecauseIvelivedthrough

allthestageshere.

InternetUsage

UsestheInternetmostlyforbusinessreasons

(i.e.email)andoccasionalGooglesearchesfor

gettingdirectionssomewhereortodosome

onlineshoppingforherandherhusband.UsesFaceBookalotforpersonalreasons,such

askeepingupwithherchildren.SheCurrently

doesnothaveaTwitteroranyothersocial

mediasites.

persona 2

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1. Send E-Mails to Local Business Owners

Michigan Avenue is ull o small businesses that are owned by Lansing residents. Te Aveneeds to connect with these people to get them interested in the goals o the project bydemonstrating how Te Ave will work to bring more trafc to their businesses and makeLansing a better place in which to live and do business.

Since only 30% o individuals aged 35-44 have a social networking prole (and since thesesocial networking proles are used almost solely or personal reasons) , connecting with

them via Facebook or witter will either be impossible (dont have proles) or not wellreceived (dont want to do business when they come to the site).

Tis demographic is, however, used to using e-mail and, as business owners, are likely tocheck their email requently. Once the identity statement or this group is approved, theidentity statement should be circulated throughout the business owner groups via e-mailto 1) inorm them o the project and gauge their level o interest and 2) receive eedbackon what parts o the identity statement resonate with business owners/residents andwhich can be improved upon to make Te Ave better-suited to the needs o the commu-nity.

Heres an example o what that e-mail could look like:

Dear Manager/Business Owner o _______,

We, Te Ave project [hyperlink to Te Ave site] would like to extend an invitation tobecome an active member business in Te Ave. We are a community based organi-zation built around creating a vibrant, creative, and innovative Greater Lansing area.We believe that your business ______ has shown a sincere eort to create a commu-nity that is driven by the people in Lansing. We would like to set up a meeting withyou as soon as possible to see how you and your business can become another hubo community building or Te Ave.

Please let us know when and where is easiest or you to sit down. We look orwardto hearing rom you.

Best Regards,Te Ave

2. Get Lunch on Te Ave

Aer the initial conversation is made with businesses owners and a small e-mail exchangehas taken place, it will be worthwhile to make a ace-to-ace contact with those business

sample email

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owners who seem the most interested and/or have the most social capital in the Lansingarea. Our team recommends getting out and talking ace-to-ace with the real people whomake up the Lansing community.

During our research phase, our team spent a lot o time in ethnographic research on TeAve. By ar some o the greatest insights into this project came rom meeting and gettingto know the people behind the names and statistics used in this communications strategy.In the twelve weeks leading up to the summit, we recommend getting lunch with at leastsix key community business owners (see Community Map or more details).

3. Summit Invitations via Snail Mail

We recommend sending the invitations to the summit via snail mail or two reasons. First,older generations tend to appreciate the time and special eort that goes in to producing

and sending a physical document, especially i that document includes a hand-writtennote or personal touch. Sending a physical invitation would convey the idea that theirparticipation in the summit is a priority or Te Ave, increasing the likelihood that theywill respond avorably.

Second, business owners are in the habit o receiving and checking their mail daily. Aninvitation rom Te Ave is likely to get opened soon aer it is received.

Note: It is critical that these invitations contain an easy way or interested attendeesto respond. Tis could include a pre-addressed response card or an e-mail addressthey can respond to.

Tese invitations should be sent out one month in advance o the summit. Here is an ex-ample o the content to include in the summit invitation:

SAVE HE DAE: OC. ___What: Te Ave 2013 SummitWhere: Te Avenue Cae, 2021 E. Michigan Ave, Lansing, MI, 48912Who: Te movers and shakers o the Greater Lansing art, creative, and studentcommunities join together or a day o community and placemaking. Discussionson how to make Te Ave a resource available to all people and how to best acilitatecreative growth or Lansing.Please RSVP to: _________ by Sept. 31st by email __________ or Facebook________

4. Advertisement and Invitation in City PulseOne month beore Te Summit, weekly ads should be placed in City Pulse to adver-tise and invite similar members o the Lansing community (whose names we might nothave included on the Community Map) to participate. Tis advertisement should be runweekly and be updated as members RSVP to the summit. Heres an example o what thisadvertisement could look like:

sample note

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Do you like working and living in the Greater Lansing area? Want to have a voice inthe ormation o the best way to create a creative community? Please join us or Te

Ave 2013 Summit this October at Te Avenue Cae where well discuss the growingpower o a creative city, enhancing student relations with Lansing, and how to makeresidents, artists, and students the real creative class or Lansing. [URL or the event]

5. Summit Invitation Follow-Up Emailwo weeks beore the summit a ollow-up email should be sent reminding people o thelocation, time, and purpose o the summit. Asking or a hard RSVP or ood planningpurposes may prompt people to reply more denitively. It would be wise to also include asample agenda to give people a more clear idea o what will be occurring as well as givingthem the option to leave at a certain time i they have other business to attend.


Heres a brie summary o our teams proposed communications strategy or this targetaudience, along with a timeline or implementing the proposed strategy.

Introduction E-mail to Local Business Owners Goal: Introduce Te Aves identity statement; garner community support; look

or eedback on the project; start conversations. imeline: 3-4 months beore the summit.

Get Lunch on Te Ave Goal: Face-to-ace conversation with local business owners about Lansing, the

community, and strategies or building place; secure buy-in and orm relation-ships; nd a new avorite lunch place.

imeline 2-3 months beore the summit.

Summit Invitations via Snail Mail Goal: Demonstrate each business value to Te Ave; begin getting commitments

to attend summit imeline: 1 month beore the summit.

Summit Advertisement in City Pulse Goal: Broadcast news about the summit and issue an open invitation to the com-

munity; show the ongoing progress o the summit. imeline: Weekly, beginning one month prior to the summit.

Follow-up Summit Invitation Email Goal: Finalize RSVPs to summit; get inormation or planning purposes; share

agenda and get eedback on it imeline:2 weeks beore summit.

sample advert

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Reerences:

1. aken rom the ACS 2005-2009 Census ractdata as reported by Social Explorer at < http://

www.socialexplorer.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/pub/maps/map3.aspx?g=0&mapi=ACS+2005-2009+Census+ract&themei=1>

2. aken rom the Adults and Social Networking: DataMemo released by the Pew Internet and American Lieproject. 2009.

3.Demographics based on research compiled by Social Ex-plorer.

Responsibility

Our team believes that Dr. John Monberg is the member o Te Ave who is the most well-suited to implement the proposed communications strategy or this second persona. Tisrecommendation is based on three observations.

First, it was Dr. Monberg who suggested that this audience should be a primary ocus oTe Ave. In both our interviews with him, he explicitly recommended that our team re-search the best ways to interact with persons tting the persona identied above. Second,Dr. Monberg has had contact with a number o these individuals or his work on the OurMichigan Avenue project. Furthermore, his experience with that work demonstrates hisability to articulate how creating a sense o community and empowerment can lead to bet-ter economic and social conditions or a city.

Finally, Dr. Monbergs experience in economics and industry makes him better able toidentiy with the small business owners and understand how they can relate placemaking,culture, and creativity with economic capital.

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Persona 3: Lansings Creative Class

arget Audience

Based on our ethnographic observations, demographic data, and best practices research,the third audience we have identied or Te Aves communication strategy is Lansingscreative class, which categorizes persons engaged in a variety o dierent genres o cre-ativity and culture such as musicians, artists, designers, photographers, videographers,etc. Te creative class is a crucial audience or the growth and success o Te Ave sincethey are those most intimately involved in the emerging culture o creativity. Further-more, since the creative class comprises a signicant portion o Lansings population, and

is already highly networked within itsel, connecting key members o the creative classwith the goals o Te Ave will help Te Ave accumulate social, intellectual, and economiccapital.

Jennier Estill identied Lansings creative class as an intended target audience. Duringour stakeholder interview, she emphasized that connecting the culture o Lansing andEast Lansing is a primary goal to Te Aves success. Her ocus rested on the idea that thereare so many up and coming creative services and outlets hidden inside the communityo Lansing which should be sought out and connected with. Jennier saw the sharing ostories on Te Aves website as an important medium o sharing the stories o Lansingscreative class with the rest o the Greater Lansing community.

Based on the type o person Jennier described and our own interviews with members othe Lansing and East Lansing creative class, our team developed the ollowing persona asan example o the type o individual Te Ave should seek to connect with.

CommunicationOutlets

BrochuresandFlyersareahugewayforartistsofalltypestospreadinformationoneventsandpersonalwork,especiallywithdesigners.Asavideographeritisafastwaytotransferinformationatevents.

InternetUsage

Twitter:ThisishislargestuseoftheInternet.Tweetsdaily,numeroustimes,sometimesjustbogusstuffbutmainlyprofessionalthingssuchaslinkstosomeofhiscreativeworks,retweetsofcoworkersorfriendswork.Butusesitashismainsocialmediasourceandclaimsthatmostpeopleinthisprofessiondo.Facebook:Usesitalotforpersonalmeansfriends,family,coworkers,especiallytokeepupwitheventsEmail:Heusesemailforprofessionalpurposesandobligations

PersonalInformation

Profession:VideographerindowntownLansing

Location:LivesinaloftinLansing

Age:27yearsold

HomeLife:Heiscurrentlyinarelationship(nothingserious)andlivingaloneinhisloft.Back

homehehasayoungerbrotherwhoisincollegeandparentswhostillliveinmetroDetroitarea

Background:GrewupinmetroDetroitandgothisdegreeatMSUintheRCAHmajor;specializingin

videoproductions.Hestartedworkingwithvideoandphotographyinhighschoolandwouldvideoandbroadcastfriendsbandsandshows

Attire:Jeansandatshirtusually,butforlarger

eventsandworkhewilldressnice,wearingabuttonupanddresspants,butusuallylikestojustkeepitcasual

Hobbies:Likestoattendshows,gooutatnightin

Lansingtothebars,andcheckoutnewthings.Heisveryinterestedinanyofthecreativesectors

Carmon Sawyer

Lansings Creative

Class

ImlikeohheyImavideographerbut

Iknowthisdesignguy,hereisthisand

thisandhiscontactthecreativeclass

isreally

interconnected

Itissoimportant

toactuallymakeapointofreaching

outtosomeonesresponsesfollow

uppersonal

responsesarecrucial.

HeisimpressedwithLansingsartscene,everyoneseemstoknoweachotherandisconnectedinsome

way;youngpeoplearetakinganactiveinterestinconnecting,especiallyamongstthecreativeclass.

persona 3

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1. Use the Facebook Page to Connect with Creatives

A Facebook page or Te Ave will help connect the already tight-knit community o theLansing creative class. As one videographer interviewed or this project said, i there isa cool event on Facebook I always check it out and know that when I make an event, it isopen or everyone to see.

Other research statistics already cited in the rst persona research strategy demonstrate

that large numbers o individuals engaged with the arts and culture in urban areas use theInternet to receive news and updates about cultural events, community news, and localbusinesses.

Once Te Aves Facebook page is created by Vincent Delgado (see persona 1 strategy), TeAve should engage in the ollowing two specic activities to build relationships with mem-bers o the creative class on Facebook.

First, Te Ave should post links to the events and works o Lansings creative class. Tisactivity will demonstrate that Te Ave truly cares about these individuals and is interestedin helping promote their work. Heres an example o what this kind o activity could look

like:

SCENE: Metrospace is hosting Sunday Soup today. Come hear and pitch ideas ormicro lending projects in the arts and place making in East Lansing and Lansing.Click below or more inormation [Post to the Event Page]

Second, Te Ave should send messages to individuals who like Te Ave. As peoplebegin to riend Te Ave on Facebook, it will be important to connect with them individu-ally. Te Ave should create a message that would be sent to individuals who like Te Ave.Te message should include the identity statement created earlier in the communications

strategy and give the reader a chance to immediately begin engaging Te Ave in conversa-tion. Tis messaging is a critical component o the strategy. Te creative class is alreadyhighly connected with each other (reerence our ethnographic observation and interviewnotes). I Te Ave can successully connect with a handul o Lansings creative class, youwill be able to leverage their social networks to expand the inuence and understanding oTe Ave amongst similar audiences. A ew individuals can recommend that similar riendsalso riend Te Ave and begin promoting Te Ave by word-o-mouth marketing.

2. witter and Hash-agBased on our research and interviews, witter is used as a primary outlet or social media

sample post

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within the creative class. Te rst thing that needs to be created is a witter page or TeAve. Once the page is created it needs to be requently updated with tweets o dierentstories, events, pictures or other things going on in Lansing.

Our group recommends alternating days with Vincent Delgado and dedicating 15 minutesto posting and retweeting relevant tweets rom the community (see that strategy or ex-amples o what these could look like). Te more Te Ave can engage and support creativeartists at the individual level, the more likely they are to become personally invested in theproject and win community buy-in rom this audience.

3. Distribute Summit Invitations on Community Boards

During our interviews or this project, multiple members o the creative class remarkedthat they got inormation about local events via yers and brochures. In addition to this,

our ethnographic observations show that there are a number o active community cork-boards distributed throughout various businesses along Lansings Michigan Avenue. Onemonth prior to the summit, we recommend posting invitations to the summit on thesecommunity bulletin boards. Tese invitations should give links back to Te Ave website,email, Facebook, and witter pages so that interested individuals can easily talk back toTe Ave. Brochures should also incorporate the summit hashtag.

4. Distribute Summit Invitations on Facebook and witter

While the summit may already have been mentioned casually in Facebook and witterconversations, beginning one month beore the summit, specic weets/status updatesannouncing the summit, its goals, time, and location should be distributed to Te Aves

social network. A .jpeg version o the summit invitation can be made the cover photo othe Facebook page. And the ollowing example status updates and tweets can be issued.Tese invitations (or slight modications o them) should be posted weekly until the sum-mit is held.

Are you excited or #theAve13 yet? Were only 8 days away and already have 129people conrmed, have your RSVP yet? [link to event page]

Did you know #theAve13 is going to be @theAvenue next month? MI beers andwines and local talent are always there, check em out!

Make sure to use #theAve13 or all Summit 2013 related ideas and suggestions! Welove witter and will keep an eye on this

We have ofcially announced the date and times or Summit 2013! Please RSVP us-ing the below event [Insert Facebook event link] and let your riends know, spots aresure to ll up

Do you like the way Lansing and East Lansing have combined creative classes? Well

sample tweets

sample posts

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lets chat at Te Ave Summit 2013 this coming October. Please message us with anyideas and suggestions you may have, or comment below

Cannot wait to see almost 130 people next week or Summit 2013! What a turn-out, make sure i you have riends who want to come that they have RSVPd at ourevent page here [Insert event Facebook page]


Heres a brie summary o our teams proposed communications strategy or this targetaudience, along with a timeline or implementing the proposed strategy.

Leverage Facebook or Creative Persons Goal: Post three events weekly that promote Lansings creative scene. Send mes-

sages to individuals who riend Te Ave on Facebook. imeline: 3-4 months beore summit.

Update witterGoal: Alternate spending 15 minutes per day tweeting and retweeting inormationabout Lansings creative class and promoting the summit via the summit hashtag(#theave13) and the hashtag promotion strategy.imeline: 3-4 months beore summit

Design Brochures and Flyers Goal: It has been demonstrated that yers and brochures or various artists is a

good way to proclaim their work beore it is seen. Digital versions may also bemade and they can be handed out at the summit.

imeline: 1 month beore summit

Distribute Summit Invitations on Facebook and witter Goal: Post weekly about the summit and give details about its purpose and loca-

tion imeline: Weekly, beginning one month beore summit.

Responsibility

Our team believes that Jennier Estill is the member o Te Ave who is the most wellsuited to implement the proposed communications strategy or this third persona. Tisrecommendation is based on the act that Jennier Estill works or Red Head Design andis already a part o Lansings creative class. She is most likely to already be involved withdierent members o the creative class.

Secondly, as a member o the target audience she is best positioned to be able to clearlyPage 26


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Reerences:

1. aken rom the Adults and Social Networking:Data Memo released by the Pew Internet and Ameri-can Lie project. 2009.

2. aken rom Fieldhouse Medias study on witter andcollege students located at

3. Demographic inormation powered by Social Ex-plorer.

4. Please reerence Research Report on ethnographicobservations and interview content.

articulate the mission and vision o Te Ave as it relates to creative individuals and canarticulate the benets o participating in interdisciplinary initiatives such as Te Ave. Fi-

nally, by working in the design industry, Jennier Estill had demonstrated a keen sense ordesign that will enable her to make the brochures and yers or this strategy in a way thatresonates with previous design work and is visually attractive.

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hashtag promotion

strategyFor 2013 Summit, we propose creating a predetermined hashtag or the conerence, such as#theave13. Tis hashtag will give you, summit attendees, and interested persons unable to at-tend the summit the ollowing unctionalities:

inspire conversations crowdsource ideas make and maintain relationships share knowledge and research

Using a hashtag allows any witter user to quickly see all the conversations that are happeningat an event and gives summit attendees ways to interact with each other digitally, even i theycant interact in person (either because they do not know each other or are sitting ar away romeach other). Hashtags also oer low-maintenance, low-entry ways or people to begin enter-ing conversations. I a participant is too araid to speak publicly, they may be more comortable

tweeting out a message or retweeting comments that they agree with. witter hashtags are agreat way o monitoring the temperature o the room and democratizing the conversation prac-tices o an event.

We chose to suggest the hashtag #theave13 or three reasons. First, this hashtag is not beingused. Tis reduces the chance that irrelevant content will get included in the summits witterstream and eliminate audience conusion. Second, the hashtag is short (9 characters). Since eachweet can be a maximum o 140 characters, this leaves plenty o space or summit attendees topost meaningul content. Finally, #theave13 is easy to spell, easy to remember, and relevant tothe subject matter o the summit. Tis increases the chance that attendees will remember thehashtag and reduces the opportunities or misspellings.

It is crucial that a witter hashtag is determined beore the summit begins and promoted inadvance. Summit attendees are going to want to talk about their participation in the project. Ieveryone uses the same witter language to do so, it will be easier to gather all the conversa-tions in one central place and to build energy around the event. As soon as an ofcial hashtag isdetermined, Te Ave can promote that hashtag in the ollowing ways:

#theave13

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weet it out to the summit community (see Example 1: witter Hashtag An-

nouncement) Attach it to e-mail signatures Display it prominently at the summit (i.e. on posters, screens, napkins, olders,

etc.) Combine it with other orms o audience engagement

While the rst three points are somewhat sel-explanatory, we would like to expand onthe nal suggestion a bit urther. Our research shows that not all members o the Lansingcommunity are heavily involved with witter. While the use o a hashtag is a phenomenalway to reach out to the witter community, using a hashtag-only model or user interac-tion could exclude key audiences. Te hashtag should be combined with other orms o

audience eedback including an old-ashioned comment card box and ollow-up emailswith summit attendees.

@TeAve.Us: FYI to all Te Ave 2013 Summit

Attendees, the ofcial hashtag is #theave13.Look orward to hearing rom you all April 5!

Example 1: witter Hashtag Announcement Reerences:

Gahran, Amy How to Start a witter Hashtag< http://www.contentious.com/2008/11/20/how-to-start-a-twitter-event-hashtag/>

radeshow Social Media, Event Hashtags- a guide to usingthem. < http://tradeshowsocialmedia.com/event-hashtags-a-guide-to-using-them/>

witter Developers, Best Practices or Hashtags.< https://dev.twitter.com/media/hashtags>

Jaume, Jasmine, Six Does and Donts o Using witterHashtags or Events.< http://www.business2community.com/twitter/six-dos-and-

donts-o-using-twitter-hashtags-or-events-0291177>

BizBash, 15 Ways to Promote Hashtags at Events.< http://www.bizbash.com/1-write-it-on-the-wall/gal-lery/94796>

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summit agendaOnce invitations have been issued, relationships ormed, and a summit time and hashtagannounced, Te Ave will be prepared to host a summit that osters deep conversationsabout the challenges and opportunities o rebranding and reconnecting the Greater Lan-sing Region.

Borrowing heavily rom the ideas listed in the Project or Public Spaces Placemaking Chi-cago guide, we propose the ollowing agenda or the summit.

Cofee and Networking

30 minutes before summit

Welcome and Introductions

30 minutes

Breakout Session 1

60 minutes

Part 1: Individual Introductions20 minutes

Part 2: Icebreaker game or activity20 minutes

Part 3: Brainstorming Session20 minutes

Reporting Back10 minutes

As people arrive, encourage them to buy a bever-age and talk inormally amongst themselves. Tisstarts the community-building process.

Vincent Delgado, John Monberg, and Jennier Es-

till introduce themselves and articulate the goalso the summit

Audience splits into groups o 20-25 people with adesignated mediator in each group

Each attendee shares name, afliation, and pur-pose in attending summit

Each group participates in a guided activity meantto break silence and get individuals used to com-

municating with each other

Groups use large pieces o paper to record ideason a relevant topic chosen by Te Ave, such ascreative persons/place in Lansing, ways to attractstudents to Te Ave, etc.

One representative rom each group summarizesand shares the groups ndings with the entiresummit.

Itinerary

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Walking Session

40 minutes

Breakout Session 230 minutes

Report Back

10 minutes

Lunch on Te Ave

60 minutes

Breakout Session 3

30 minutes

Final Reports Back10 minutes

Closing Statements and Tanks

Te audience tours the three Te Ave projects clos-est to the summit location. Stakeholders use thistime to share more broadly their vision or Te Ave.

Audience splits back into groups and spends 30minutes generating ideas about what makes Lansinga place.

A representative rom each group shares their sec-tions ideas with the rest o the summit.

Summit attendees split into groups o 10 (approxi-

mately) and eat lunch at one location on MichiganAvenue they are unamiliar with. Conversationsduring lunch are used to create a buzz o energy.

New groups o 20-25 are ormed. Tese groups drawmaps or build models o what an ideal Michigan Avewould look and eel like. Maps are shared back tothe group.

A representative rom each group shares their sec-tions ideas with the rest o the summit.

Goals

Contento conduct real community involvement and growth or the Greater Lansing creativeclass and students o MSU/LCC along with the businesses o the area this conerence willhave as many people o these three groups in a single place or a number o activities and

discussions.

Attendance

arget total attendance or the summit is 150 people. Ideally this attendance would bea mix o 25-40 business owners and/or managers, 30-50 undergraduate and graduatestudents, 30-50 artists and people involved in the creativ community, and 10-30 generalpublic attendees.

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conclusion

In its mission to connect the creative classes o East Lansing and Lansing and rebrand theGreater Lansing region as an area o increasing creativity and innovation, Te Ave aces anumber o communications challenges. It is our hope and belie that the strategies we have

outlined above will help Te Ave navigate these challenges and begin building meaningulrelationships with members o their intended audiences.

Our team welcomes any eedback, responses, and urther inquiries into the action planwe have suggested. Please eel ree to contact us at the email addresses listed on the coverpage o this document.

Tank You and Best Wishes

Laura, Emily, Jamison, Michael, and Rebecca

the ave: social media strategy

Documents