• 6-8 p.m., Thursday, May 31
• Sheldon Concert Hall
• $60 nonmembers, $50 members
• Price includes heavy appetizers, beer, wine and soft drinks.
• Register here.

2012 PLATINUM SPONSOR:

Towers Watson is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. With 14,000 associates around the world, we offer solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management.

The St. Louis chapter awards have been judged by other cities around the country. In exchange, IABC St. Louis reciprocates judging for other cities? chapters. We have started to receive entries from around the country and we are looking for judges.

Please email info@iabcstl.org if you are willing to help.

George Rimalower is founder and president of ISI Translation Services, a language services company founded in 1982 that specializes in financial services, health care and other industries. ISI is known worldwide for combining the latest technology with an expert human touch at every stage—from project management to translating, editing, desktop publishing, proofreading and review—to enable successful communication in more than 100 languages. Rimalower spoke with CW Bulletin Managing Editor Amanda Aiello Beck about how social media has affected an organization’s ability to communicate with a global audience and the critical need for accurate message translation.

Amanda Aiello Beck: What effect has social media had on how organizations communicate globally?
George Rimalower: Social media has increased the ability to communicate exponentially, in new and more immediate ways.

I realize that all social sites don’t have Twitter’s 140-character limit, but there’s no doubt the rule in social media is get to the point, immediately. This means we don’t have a lot of room to explain what we mean. The message has to stand on its own.

When space is limited, we’re tempted to use shorthand. That’s great for English speakers from our own culture. But to anyone else, the message can be obscured or even lost.

Even if you’re communicating with a global audience that does speak English, challenges arise. Consider these color-based English idioms: white collar, black sheep, red tape, pink slip. Now imagine you’re reading something and taking those words at their literal meaning. That’s exactly how someone from another culture will see them.
Read more>>>

The world is open for conversation. No matter where we’re located, we have the opportunity to connect with others and share information through social media. Trends in social media stretch from country to country and region to region, connecting people, ideas, brands and messages. It’s the communication medium that brings us all together, and it’s easily accessible. Every day, communicators are reaching audiences through these new tools, which are quickly becoming standard. But there are essential questions we should answer to make sure our social media messages are heard around the world. Are we reaching everyone and sharing the right message? How do we make social media work in all corners of the world and resonate with our global audiences?

Read more>>>

Also, you can double your ROI and maximize your exposure among regional colleagues by simply repackaging your other Gold Quill or local chapter Quill entry and submitting it for the Silver Quill Awards as well.

Start planning now. Early bird deadline is Friday, May 11, and the final deadline is Friday, May 25.

Visit http://pacificplains.iabc.com for the Silver Quill scoop, including the 2012 Silver Quill Call for Entries brochure with all the information you need.

The IABC Pacific Plains Region embraces 20 IABC chapters in 19 states from Illinois to Hawaii. The Region supports chapter leaders and members with resources and professional development opportunities.

Upcoming Webinars:

When bad things happen to good organizations: making reputation management matter for nonprofits
presented by Martha Muzychka, ABC, Praxis Communications
11 April, 9–10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time

The Power of Framing: Challenging the Language of Leadership
presented by Gail Fairhurst, University of Cincinnati
11 July, 9–10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
Information and registration coming soon….

Click here for time zone conversion

Archived Web Seminars

Communicating to employees for healthy behavior change
presented by Michelle James, Intel Corporation
Recorded 14 March 2012

Step Up To Brand Advocacy
presented by Tim Connelly, Best Buy Corp
Recorded 22 February 2012

Google+ for Communicators
presented by Shel Holtz, ABC, IABC Fellow, Holtz Communication + Technology
Recorded 12 January 2012
Handout pdf 947KB

The Emergence of The Social Intranet
presented by Toby Ward, Prescient Digital Media
Recorded 7 December 2011

Calibrating your role as a Communicator: Industry-agnostic perspective on how to guide your career
presented by Susan San Martin, Plan B Communications, LLC
Recorded 9 November 2011

Creating a job search strategy for communicators
presented by Angee Linsey, Linsey Careers
Recorded 8 September 2011
Job Search Plan Template Word Document 16 KB
Translating a Communication Plan to a Job Search Plan – handout pdf 340 KB

The future of the communication profession: Staying relevant in the digital era
presented by Shel Holtz, ABC, IABC Fellow, Holtz Communication + Technology
Recorded 19 August 2011

When the headline is you: An insider’s guide to handling the media
presented by Jeff Ansell, Jeff Ansell & Associates Inc.
Recorded 25 May 2011

Telling stories: Captivate your audience and spread your message
presented by Donna Papacosta, Trafalgar Communications
Recorded 23 March 2011

Complimentary six-part webinar series:
How to Supercharge Your PR Program with Social Media
Brought to you by IABC World Conference Platinum Sponsor Marketwire

Historically, most global companies have not executed global marketing campaigns. They have created brand campaigns that either follow standardized global brand guidelines or adapt brand messages to the local market (localization). Nowhere is the debate between local versus global social media communication playing out more than on Facebook. Global brands are facing the issue of whether to centralize their communication into one global brand Facebook page, or to have pages for each local market.

Read full article at iabc.com

Just as social media is used in different ways across the world, the way content is created and shared via social media is not consistent around the world. That’s why there’s no single road map for the successful launch of a global social media campaign. However, there are some marketing best practices that will help ensure the success of your next global social media campaign.

Read the full article at iabc.com.

No important endeavor involving the application of resources, time and energy should be undertaken without a clear goal in mind. As obvious as this may sound, many communicators still either set weak goals for their communication plans or projects or don’t set any goals at all. They sometimes learn the hard way that, regardless of how much money and resources are committed to a project, without a clear goal in mind, success is uncertain.

Read full article  at iabc.com.

Measurement-based planning involves starting your communication planning process with measurement. It may sound counterintuitive to start your plan at the end, but starting with defining what you ultimately want to measure—and how you will measure it—creates a more focused and concrete communication plan, with more quantifiable results.

Read the full article at iabc.com.