November Speaker-Ned Pope on Mobilizing the Next Generation

Ned Pope is a fifth generation Floridian with a long track record of success in project management and implementation. In his time at the Florida NEXT Foundation, he has implemented programs such as Give Day Tampa Bay and Impact Forums. Pope previously served as the vice president of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Project Management for the Collins Center for Public Policy, where he directed and administered six court- ordered mediation programs and a statewide mediation program sponsored by Fannie Mae.

Pope also served under Alex Sink as director of external affairs during her administration as chief financial officer of Florida. Before taking that position he served as the Department of Financial Services’ primary certified contract negotiator, representing the state as lead negotiator in the 2008 Worker’s Compensation Medical Case Management Project. In 2007, Pope co-managed and developed the nationally recognized searchable contract transparency website, currently known as “FACTS”. Before going to work directly for DFS he served as the operations manager for the agency’s Hurricane Insurance Mediation Program, administered by the Collins Center from 2004-07.

Ned Pope is a 2001 graduate of Georgia Southern University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Print Management/Publishing, and 2004 graduate of Florida State University, with a Master of Science degree in Communications, New and Interactive Technology. He is also the owner and CEO of the Pope Management Group, a project management firm that consults private companies on workflow efficiency and compliance with their government contracts.

Pope lives in Tampa with his wife, Merris, daughter, Avery, and son, Miles.

2014 PR University

Kicking off PRU this year was the director of marketing and business for Park Royal Hospital and former FPRA president, Lynn Schneider, APR, CPRC. Speaking on the 5 W's of PR research, Lynn shared her expertise in using Hendrix's ROPE or Marston's RACE method in developing strategic, public relations campaigns based on research. Hint: Research, Objectives, Program, and Evaluation. 

Mayela Rosales, executive vice president of Media Vista Group provided the group with insight into the Hispanic market right here in Southwest Florida. According to statistics Mayela shared, the buying power of Hispanics is estimated to grow by 1.5 trillion by 2015 and we are #35 for the Hispanic DMA in the country. When considering your marketing efforts, don't forget to include a Spanish language component as you can easily include this growing demographic. 

Keith Grossman, attorney and owner of Grossman Law Firm, spoke on creating a paradigm shift to not only manage conflict, but to channel that conflict into a better solution. The key to not only coming to a compromise, but to a collaboration is what Keith calls the PEACE method; Pause, Ear (listen), Create strategy and Engage or ignore. Try it the next time you need to manage unhappy clients!

Storytelling Marketing? Many of us questioned how often we would be able to use Erik Stafford’s 7 plot types, 7 Power Tools and 7 Emotional Triggers when very often we’re writing news releases or advertorials. However, Erik (creative director of ISOOSI Marketing Agency) quickly explained that you can easily incorporate one of two of these practices when posting to social media, drafting blog articles, editorial articles, pitching to media….the list goes on.

Susan Bennett, president of Susan Bennett Marketing & Media, taught us all a few things about how to take our careers in public relations and marketing to the next level. By constantly building relationships, thinking in terms of results, developing your own style to stand out from the crowd and never being satisfied with the status quo, you might just see your opportunities skyrocket!

Chief Stephanie Spell has worked for the Collier County Sheriff’s office for many years and her expertise shone through. Combining social media, advertorial inserts in Naples Daily News, developing a new branding logo and constantly building stronger relationships within the community, Stephanie completely revamped the image of the Sheriff’s office. Click here to view the now famous Safety Video.

Our last speaker flipped our world upside down when he stated that the adage, “The more you can do, the more successful you’ll be” was a lie. According to author, national radio and television host, David Essel, M.S. we should all put our focus on one area of our lives and focus on that. Whether it be your career, your relationships with others, your relationship with yourself, your finances, your health or your spirituality, focus on the one area you’ve been ignoring and watch your life change for the better. When you put your attention on one area and maximize your potential you will see your efforts return to you in kind. Essel explained that once you get rid of a fixed mindset (ex. I can’t find a job because there are no jobs available in this town) and adopt a growth mindset you will begin to change and the world around you will change. “Do that which you don’t want to do, but to get to the next level you have to.”

Boosting Social Media Engagement

If you are responsible for the content management of social media pages, then you know all too well how difficult it can be to come up with ideas to keep your audience engaged. Social media shouldn’t be used to solely promote your company or product; it should also be a place where you build relationships. A recent article on Netweaveonline.com entitled “6 ‘go-to’ Facebook Posts” lists ideas that you can try if you are in need of some inspiration to engage your fans and get them interacting.

Below are the six “Go-To” posts they recommend:

1.     A simple text-only question: Asking a question is an easy way to get your fans to engage. This article suggests something as simple as: “If you were to get in your car right now, how long would it take you to get here?”   

2.     A shareable meme: In case you don’t know, an internet meme can be a funny image, text, video, or hashtag. Memes are all over social media and with so many to choose from, you can almost always find one that relates to your company. If you aren’t able to find one, there are websites where you can create your own. 

3.     A caption-this photo: Find a photo that is relevant to your business and ask your fans how they would caption it.  

4.     A “this vs. that” question: People love giving their opinion! Find something relevant and ask your fans what they prefer. You can keep it simple and just use text or add a photo to make it stand out more on their newsfeed.

5.     An inspirational quote:  Share a quote that your fans can relate to. Quotes that they find sentimental or motivating will get the most response and including a photo will elicit shares. 

6.     A trending hashtag: You can search to find hashtags that are trending or you can use the popular “day of the week” hashtags such as #SundayFunday or #ThrowbackThursday. 

The next time you are racking your brain for engaging material, try one of these “go to” posts to get your fans interacting. When trying new ideas on social media, be sure to maintain the same tone you’ve established with your fans and keep all of your interactions relevant to your business.