President’s Message April, 2022

by Bob Duthaler

Keeping It Social (Media)

*Note: I originally wrote this article a few years back, but thought it was worth revisiting and sharing (Social Media Pun Intended).  I have made a few updates along the way as well.

There is a feature on most smartphones that lets you know how much time you are spending viewing a particular app, or category of apps (i.e.: social media).  On the iPhone it’s called “Screentime”.  I would like to direct your attention to Social Media.  Social Networking is a big part of our lives.  There are many different platforms:  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and others.  Most people can’t get through our day without checking social media at least once, although I’m betting it’s a lot more for most.  We are hungry to learn about what our “Friends” are doing and eager to share our notable accomplishments or get lost in the rabbit hole of endless videos or reels.

Social media can be a great tool for networking.  When you share something on social media, tag people you know or get them to “like it”, there is a ripple effect that takes place.  It reminds me of the 1981 Faberge Organics Shampoo TV commercial where the lady proudly announces that she told two friends about it, and they told two friends and so on and so on…. 

Well, that is the same with social media.  Your network has the ability to spread information beyond just your group of friends.  Because when you get your friends to share something or like it, it opens the message up to a whole new group of people as well.

So why all this talk of social media you may ask?  The answer is simple – non-profit groups like JAG need to utilize social media to promote our message and to broaden our outreach.  Here are the top five reasons to use social media:

  • Engage and Connect:  Having a good social media presence is essential.  It allows us to control the content and get the word out on specific events or causes.  JAG currently is doing this with our conference, the Eastern Video Expo.  It is a way for people to keep updated on the event and to attract you to the latest announcements.
  • Drive Traffic:  Most conference supporters will only seldom check the conference website for updates, meaning they likely only think about our event periodically.  Having them like our page on Facebook or follow us on Twitter provides an opportunity to appear on their feeds and give them daily reminders of our event and mission of the organization.
  • Sharable Content = Greater Exposure:  The JAG organization and the Conference Committee is always putting out great “sharable” content on our social media accounts.  The more people see what is going on with the Conference or JAG the more likely they are to get behind the organization.
  • Marketing:  In times of tight budgets and limited time to create a marketing plan and execute it, social media can help deliver that message in record time.  Social media is how we get dynamic and relevant content out about the conference in a frequent but not overloading way.
  • PR Reach:  Each and every one of you who are using social media to help further the cause of JAG and the Eastern Video Expo, becomes our own PR manager.  You help boost our digital presence in the public eye.

A tool that you can use to help out the conference, and which should be part of your PR strategy to help our organization, should include having your friends and partner organizations link back to our site. Backlinking is incredibly important to boost our search engine optimization and demonstrates that we have the wide-ranging support of other organizations as well.

So bottom line, next time you are liking that picture of someone’s food plate from lunch, spend a little time liking Eastern Video Expo posts, sharing them on your public feed and sharing them on the timelines of people you know as well.  Do this on a consistent basis and you will help to expand the presence of JAG as an organization and to help support the conference as well.  Here is a list of all our Social Media Accounts for the Conference:

Links & handles:

Facebook: 

Instagram: