The 2013 Wilmer C. Fields awards banquet during the annual BCA workshop offered opportunity for BCA members to celebrate not only exceptional accomplishments of their communications colleagues but also the life and legacy of photographer and beloved BCA member Don Rutledge, who died Feb. 19 at his home near Richmond, Va.
Rutledge's influence on generations of Southern Baptist communicators was lauded at the banquet in a moving video, "He taught me how to see," by Dan Beatty, director of digital strategies for the International Mission Board.
Traveling throughout the United States and to more than 140 countries over more than 40 years, Rutledge captured quiet moments of humanity and mission ministry in poignant and BCA-award winning photographs taken for the Home (now North American) Mission Board and later for the Foreign (now International) Mission Board. His images inspired millions of viewers to understand, pray for and participate in missions.
"A great portion of the important ideas I teach grew out of the influence Don has had on my life. Each year students leave Union with an ability to see beyond the surface and with the desire to make others more aware because of the impact of Don's life and work. They leave more prepared to introduce their world to Jesus Christ," said Jim Veneman, communications professor at Union University and newly elected president of BCA.
For more on the life and legacy of Rutledge, go to http://www.commissionstories.com/features/view/photographer-don-rutledge.
Brent S. Gambill joined Martin-Wilbourn Partners in July 2012 to develop the digital and social media practices for the communications firm. He brought to that position experience gained at SiriusXM Radio as Executive Producer of Sports Programming and MLB Network Radio. Prior to, he worked in public relations for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and during college was the Student Sports Information Director at his alma mater, Ouachita Baptist University. He also holds a law degree from the University of Arkansas. Brent will give the keynote address at BCA's luncheon Thursday, April 18, during our annual meeting, held this year at The Capital Hotel in Little Rock.
Q: Did it take you long to warm up to social media?
BSG: I remember being on MySpace and holding out on joining Facebook. When I was managing MLB Home Plate (currently MLB Network Radio) at SiriusXM, I recognized social media's importance, and developed a plan for our channel. As we succeeded with MLB, I was soon asked to expand those efforts to SiriusXM's other sports properties. Before long, I left the broadcast side of management to pursue social media full-time.
Q: What do your responsibilities at Martin-Wilbourn include?
BSG: I manage all of our digital and social media practices for clients and internally. We rebuilt our website and blog and improved our social media offerings. I work with our clients' on a variety of social media projects and plans. Our goal is to improve our clients' work on social media by providing digital tools and training to help them succeed.
Q: You've mentioned planning several times. Is that an overlooked aspect of social media?
BSG: Most organizations' social media presences starts the same way. Someone typically an intern or entry-level employee is familiar with social media and starts the pages. The problem is that the keys to that company's brand are now in the hands of the intern.
Earlier this week, I was speaking at the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce about Twitter. I discussed how we're all content creators. Instead of simply pushing someone else's content on your social media pages, create original content. You want people to visit your site and be engaged and to have an experience. To accomplish this, you must have a social media plan. I work through numerous social media plans for clients. They're all tailored specifically to their needs because every business is different. On social media, you're the one closest to your brand. As such, you should know it and be able to communicate it better than anyone. A plan and training is the key.
Q: What are the five biggest mistakes you see made on social media?
BSG:
- Your brand is managed by an entry-level employee. Someone who isn't in an executive role is managing a company's brand without oversight. If they make a mistake, it reflects on the entire company. There are hundreds of case studies of employees with little experience errantly posting or managing a business on social media. You would not hand the keys to the brand to those employees, so you should not do the same on social media.
- No standards and practices policy is in place. Employees should have an expectation for how their personal social media impacts the company and their job. Work with your agency and/or HR and draft a plan. Discuss it with your staff, because when the bad moment arrives, and it typically does, you want to have a policy to fall back on.
- On Twitter, never lead with @anyone unless you are replying to someone. There is a little-known rule that if you lead a tweet with @someone, it is only seen by you and @someone, as well as anyone who follows both accounts. Also, never use you own handle in your own tweet.
- Update your privacy settings on Facebook. Much is made about Facebooks privacy settings, but the fact is most do not update them on their own profiles. People need to take advantage of them and decide what they want public and private.
- Be aware of how you're viewed online. We're all essentially branding ourselves. Think before you post. Consider how your page is built. On social media, everyone is a brand.
Q: Are all social media platforms created equal? In other words, is there a point where you can be stretching your presence too thinly? Should you pick a few and be proficient, or is it best to have as many hooks in the water as possible?
BSG: For business, narrow your market and focus on getting a couple of sites set up right namely Twitter and Facebook. Also, everyone should have a personal LinkedIn account. Although it's not used as much, I'm a fan of Google+ for the SEO implications. The audience on Google+ is very different from everywhere else. I find YouTube is still overlooked by many brands. Video is such a strong presence and has never been easier to do. There are also static pages businesses should grab and set, such as FourSquare and Yelp.
Know what you want to do. Get a plan and follow it consistently. In the future, when you're ready to expand, do so. Even if you are not expanding, be on the lookout for new platforms and grab the handle or URL for your brand. When you are ready to expand, you will already have the handle or URL you need.
Q: Any new social media platforms you've become a fan of?
BSG: Vine for Twitter. It's fun. I think it'll last because it's based on making it easier for people to create gifs. I am also a fan of Vizify for personal branding, and Poptip for real-time polling through tweets.
April 17-20, The Capital Hotel
Little Rock, Arkansas
Looking for ways to effectively communicate your organization's mission? How about ways to convey that message with impact? Make plans now to attend the 2013 BCA Workshop April 17-20 in Little Rock, Ark. Highlighting the theme, "Mission: Impact," the four-day workshop will focus on professional development and peer networking as well as plenty of time for fun and fellowship. Review the Program Schedule
The 2013 workshop will feature a keynote address by Brent Gambill, vice president & director of digital & social media at Martin-Wilbourn Partners in Little Rock. Fellow BCA members will be among breakout session leaders, including Jim Veneman, director of visual communication at Union University, sharing his expertise in photography, and Bill Bangham, director of editorial and photography at the International Mission Board, discussing the balance between career and ministry. Other breakout sessions will tackle such issues as effective marketing strategies, social media trends, video production impact, organizational strategic planning, and the ever-popular affinity group roundtable discussions.
BCA 2013 also will feature memorable field trips, including a tour of the Clinton Presidential Library and a marketing/communications workshop at Heifer International. On the lighter side, we will begin the week with an opening reception at the historic Old State House and enjoy a relaxing evening at an Arkansas Travelers baseball game and picnic. An annual workshop highlight is the opportunity to celebrate our peers professional accomplishments at the Wilmer C. Fields Awards Banquet.
All of this and more will be packed into our four days at The Capital Hotel, ranked by TripAdvisor as the city's most popular overnight destination! Attendees signing up by March 15 will have the early bird special rate of $159/night, which includes free wifi and $10 parking instead of the $20 fee. Dont miss this opportunity to reconnect with friends and peers while sharpening your communications skills and interacting with industry professionals.
It was a cold day in December 1953 when a group of Southern Baptist denominational employees met in Nashville, Tenn., to discuss planning an organization consisting of people who worked for the denomination in areas of public relations. At that 1953 Nashville meeting, the Baptist Public Relations Association was conceived.
In 1996, members voted to change the name of the organization to Baptist Communicators Association. At the time, leadership cited factors such as the expansion of technology and the ever-changing professional responsibilities of its membership as reasons for the change. The new name reflected a broader membership, one which not only includes public relations professionals, but all Baptist communication professionals who promote Baptist causes around the globe.
The BCA Task Force is announcing a contest open to all BCA members to create a new logo to represent our organization. Please see this document for the contest parameters, including the submission guidelines. All entries are due by the end of the day Dec. 31, so start working on your ideas now!
Thanks for your continued interest and involvement in BCA.
Julie McGowan, BCA Task Force Chair
