Sandra Says

Yes, I’m a speaker at this one too…

SAVE THE DATE – Register Now!
City of Houston Department of Planning and Development hosts

Community U: Lessons in Neighborhood Organizing
 
Saturday, October 15, 2011
8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

United Way of Greater Houston
50 Waugh Drive
Houston, TX  77007

Cost: $5/person (Free parking)

The City of Houston Planning and Development Department is hosting its 7th community conference. Spend time with your fellow community leaders and learn all about the latest tools and techniques to make your neighborhood a better place for all. This half-day conference will provide Houstonians with training, resources and solutions through a combination of workshops, presentations and networking opportunities.  Learn about positive changes taking place in neighborhoods throughout Houston.  See how your area can benefit from what other communities have done and discover existing resources your neighborhood may not be taking advantage of right now.  
 
This year’s conference is shaping up to be one of our best. Some of the conference highlights will include a visit by Mayor Annise Parker, information booths from local service providers and lots of door prizes for attendees!
 
Advance registration is required and payment MUST accompany the registration form to attend this half day event. To download the conference brochure and registration form see http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Neighborhood/community_u.html
 
For more information, contact CommunityU@houstontx.gov or 713.837.7803. If you love your community, this is one event you can’t miss!

Registration, etc. is at http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Neighborhood/community_u.html.
More info at CommunityU@houstontx.gov or 713.837.7803.

On Wednesday, September 28th I am giving a presentation on “Social Media Measurement and Monitoring.”

Learn about measurement tools and techniques targeted specifically at your social media applications, how to tell if they’re working, and when to adjust.

If you pre-register and pay online, the class is $29. If you pay at the door it’s $49.

Next Friday, August 12th, I am giving a presentation on “Creating a Facebook Business Page.” For those who attended last month’s “Beyond 2.0 – Using Social Media Effectively” this is an extended view of setting up and using a Facebook business page.

Facebook is the largest social networking site on the planet and is now being used by small businesses to set up meetings, conduct research, promote collaboration and market business.  Attend this workshop and learn how to connect with your audience in new and exciting ways.

In this hands-on workshop, you will learn:

• How to create a Facebook page for your business
• The basic components of Facebook
• The most important types of information to share and with what frequency
• Tips on how to visually engage prospects and customers
• The anatomy and features of successful sites
• How to integrate Facebook into your marketing strategy and branding

Prerequisites:

• Proficient using a mouse and keyboard
• Proficient navigating the Internet
• Able to save and retrieve files in various formats
• An email account you can access remotely

If you pre-register and pay online, the class is $39. If you pay at the door it’s $59.

I put a call out through my networks for examples of effective use of social media by government or public entity for crisis communication. I’m very blessed that I’ve had a lot of responses; I have a wonderful network.

Why do I need examples? I’m freshening up a presentation on Social Media for Government for a presentation the day after tomorrow. “Beyond 2.0 – Using Social Media Effectively” will be presented to the PIO Network, and I wanted to use new examples.

If you have examples to share, leave a comment or send me an email.

If you want to attend the presentation, see the info below.

MEETING NOTICE:

You are cordially invited to attend the next meeting of the Houston/Galveston Regional PIO Network scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 21, 2011.

LOCATION:

The meeting will be hosted by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in its first floor meeting room #109 located at 7600 Washington Avenue in Houston, TX (near Houston TranStar).  If you use a GPS or web-based map program to obtain driving directions, please make sure that you enter “Washington Avenue” (not Washington Street) to obtain correct driving directions.  Free parking is available in the parking garage next door.

TOPIC:  “Beyond 2.0: Using Social Media Effectively”

Are you ready to use social media to communicate with your customers in a crisis?  Do you know: which tools to use? how often to post? how to reach out to your customers?  Sandra Fernandez will cover tips and tricks for everyday maintenance to improve customer engagement and get you ready to use web 2.0 to communicate during that next hurricane, flood, or emergency.

GUEST SPEAKER:

PIO Network member Sandra Fernandez is a communications professional with more than 15 years of experience with higher education, government, and non-profit organizations.  Sandra is currently Manager of Public Relations for the Houston Public Library.  Her strategic use of social media and online services to communicate with Library customers has made the Houston Public Library an industry leader in social media implementation.  In 2009-2010, she co-chaired the Mayor’s Social Media Task Force, a partnership between Houston IABC and the City of Houston to teach neighborhood groups how to use social media to organize civic improvements and stay in touch during a crisis.

PLEASE RSVP:

If you and/or any Guests would like to attend the July 21 meeting, please RSVP by sending an e-mail to:  admin@pionetwork.org

If you have any questions about the PIO Network, please call our Co-Chairs Joe Laud at 713-884-3607 or Chuck Wolf at 281-980-1400 or visit our website at: www.pionetwork.org

Thanks!

If you need to improve your LinkedIn presence, you might want to attend my upcoming presentation: Using LinkedIn to Grow Your Business. I’m teaching this for the Small Business Development Center on Friday, May 20th at 9am.

Using LinkedIn to Grow Your Business

5/20/2011

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: UH SBDC, 2302 Fannin, Suite 200,
Houston, Texas 77002

LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool that has many benefits for business owners.  Even if you are already on LinkedIn it’s likely you aren’t tapping into its full potential.  In this hands-on I workshop you will discover how a LinkedIn strategy will generate new customers, improve your business development, and assist in your sales research efforts.

You will walk away with the “how to” of:

• Improving your profile
• Choosing a memorable profile picture
• Searching for business contacts, friends, and colleagues
• Securing and giving online recommendations
• Actively participating
• Using the “requesting an introduction” feature
• Finding tools to keep you organized
• Adding content from other sites
• Creating goals and measuring success

Online registration is $39; pay at the door is $59.

Here are the slides to accompany my recent presentation for IABC Houston. On the panel with me were Terri Ammerman and Frida Villalobos.

I recently did a workshop on Twitter and promised that I would post this.

I recently did a workshop on Facebook and promised that I would post this.

My presentation for the Texas Library Association 2011 Conference:

I promised a friend that I would post this. It’s a no-frills guide to optimizing your LinkedIn account.