2012 Feb - Lions Australia

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A LIONS GUIDE What you should know about And how you can join the nine million Australians already using it Most of you probably feel comfortable knowing what the Internet is and what it does, but what do you know about Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and Youtube? Did you know for instance that Facebook is now the primary method of communication throughout the world? That today Facebook is the Number 1 online activity with more than 800 million people worldwide using it on a daily basis? And this number continues to grow at a jaw-dropping rate with research showing that within three years Social Media will have brought together one in six people on our planet. Consider these facts Last century, for a message to reach 50 million people it took: Radio 38 years, TV 13 years, the Internet four years and the iPod three years. Today, for that message to reach twice that number, ie 100 million users, it would take Facebook less than nine months. We also know that by late 2011, Australians connected to Social Media number more than nine million with the average person spending nine hours a month on Facebook. This ranks us amongst the world’s top users. 20 Many in our community think that Social Media is only for Gen X or Gen Y users, but it is interesting that the number of Social Media users aged 65 and older grew 100% in 2010. This means that one in four people in this age group are now part of a social networking system. And Social Media is not just for individuals. It has fast become the favoured tool of business who use it to market their business or organisation at a whole new global audience. And although traditional media channels like print, radio and television are still extremely valuable tools, it is now increasingly important to engage with and produce content for Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Why has Facebook become so powerful? It is because since its development it has engaged a massive following allowing it to become the largest presence in the Social Media cyber environment approaching one billion active users worldwide with an estimated 50 percent of those members logging in on any given day. Facts & figures about Facebook Facebook has overtaken Google as the most visited site in the world If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world today. 93% of marketers use Social Media for business The average Facebook user has 140 friends There are 900 million objects that people interact with including pages, groups, events and community pages The average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events An estimated 250 million photos are uploaded per day More than 70 languages are available on Facebook More than seven million apps and websites are integrated with Facebook More than 350 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices. One of the keys to Facebook is the use of the “LIKE’ button, which you see on almost every website and which has become a crucial tool for business and organisations. The “Like” button is valuable because it provides anyone browsing on the net with the opportunity to click on that button and establish a personal connection to that company or organisation. They in turn can then recommend that same site to their friends by posting items on their personal or business Facebook pages. Because Facebook members have an average of 140 connections it means when they ‘Like’ something on a site, 140 people see it in their newsfeed. With this domino effect of ‘LIKEing’ and reposting on different Facebook pages, an article can easily be seen by many thousands of networked friends, business or organisations. The benefit of Facebook therefore is the opportunity to build an online community to float ideas and improve brand affinity. What about Twitter? Like Facebook, Twitter is networked through “followers” but is more of an “alert” tool, which provides very short messages, alerting users to detailed articles on the internet (and in the real world). It uses micro-messaging that allows users to issue 140-character messages (or tweets) and find people or organisations to follow. Facts about Twitter In 2010/2011,100 million members signed up In 2010/2011, the community posted a combined total of 25 billion tweets. Every day there are more than 300,000 new users. Famous ‘tweeters’ include Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Shane Warne The benefit of Twitter is that it’s an ideal place to get quick, updated news. Then there are blogs, short for “weblog”, which in simple terms is an online journal. Similar to any other website, a blog can also be easily updated and networked and like Facebook a Facebook is just one of the Social Media tools Lions Australia is using to grow the organisation. Lion
Social Media blog is interactive, enabling members to not only read information but participate and comment online as well. For business, blogs can be used internally to enhance the communication and culture of an organisation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations and can also be used to inform members and other interested parties of club and member activities. Because all blogs are on the internet they can also be accessed by the media to gauge public opinion on a range of issues. As of February 2011, there were over 156 million public blogs in existence. In the future there will always be a place for traditional media, however for maximum reach material will also be posted to both Facebook and Twitter. For major stories using these tools we can pre-warn or promote them and we can follow up the outcomes and successes. With general interest stories, we can use Facebook, Twitter and the Blog to spread information and raise awareness. One of the other plans for Facebook is to highlight and promote Lions Clubs throughout the country. This would involve a regular posting on the Lions Facebook page, of one or two paragraphs about specific clubs, their achievements and membership. And finally we can use the Website, Facebook, Twitter and the Blog to promote advance notice of specific major events, which would provide up-to-date information and enhance corporate partnerships, ie Tree Planting Day, Youth of the Year, the National Convention. Internet technology began when the World Wide Web commenced in the late 1980s, with portals such as Yahoo and AOL providing sources of information from news to mega categories like Wikipedia. These platforms dominated from the mid- 1990s until early in the new century. 1997 saw the development of February - March 2012 Google and then early this century the advent of Facebook. By 2010 Facebook had surpassed Google in time spent on its site and it is now changing the way business communicates, markets and shares information, allowing global promotion at high speed in real time without million dollar budgets. It is vital that Lions Australia becomes a participant in this dynamic and wide reaching communication system. With so many people using these sites every day, it is a clear marketing opportunity in “how to go about making it work best for Lions Australia”. If managed correctly, opportunities within these Social Media structures can offer cheap, effective means of engaging the right people, business and organisations. It can also generate ideas, new products and services and help build the Lions brand. In the 21st century it’s important to realise that Social Media is the future. These cyber services have impacted on the way we interact and communicate. Social Media is not really a choice, but now a must. In future editions, the Lions magazine will publish further information and useful guides for Facebook. We would also encourage those already on Facebook to “Like” the Lions Australia Facebook page. If anyone would like to contribute to these guides please contact the National Office on PR@lions.org.au. – Diane Michael, Lions PR ● Lions Australia Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lionsaustralia ● Lions Australia Twitter site: www.twitter.com/RobatLions ● Lions Australia’s official blog: http://lionsaustralia.wordpress. com ● Lions Alert Blog: http://www.ozziealert.blogspot. com.au There’s still time MAKE A DATE WITH PERTH Picture: Tourism WA 60th MD Convention and the 50th Anniversary of Lions in Western Australia Perth – 4th May to 7th May 2012 It’s approaching quickly but there’s still time to be a part of the 60th Multiple District Convention in Perth and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lions in Western Australia. You need to act now. Details of the functions to be held at the Convention are available on the Registration form that can be downloaded from the website – http://www.lionsclubs.org.au/perth2012convention/ Depending on the type of accommodation you are looking for in Perth, it’s recommended that you book immediately; there are links on the website for accommodation, including caravans, as well as tours to complement your trip to Western Australia. For information and details on touring and what is happening in Western Australia, visit the Tourism WA website at http://www.westernaustralia.com/au/Pages/Welcome_to_Western _Australia.aspx. During the convention there will be an international show, Mary Poppins, at the Burswood theatre, adjacent to the convention centre. It runs from April 1 to May 12 with evening and afternoon sessions. 21
Page 1: Registered Registered by Australia
Page 4 and 5: Tell the world who we are By Wing-K
Page 6 and 7: LIONS ACTION Students with green th
Page 8 and 9: 8 10,000 satisfied Schoolies It cou
Page 10 and 11: U.S. Army turns to Lions Quest At s
Page 12 and 13: 12 PATRICK the Lion Namers P atrick
Page 14 and 15: LIONS YOUTH LEOS DO LIONS PROUD Com
Page 16 and 17: LIONS YOUTH 16 Young vision Brooke
Page 18 and 19: Stepping ahead in spinal cord recov
Page 22 and 23: When you feel proud to be a Lion So
Page 24 and 25: Cup’s a winner Melbourne’s raci
Page 26 and 27: Committee Vacancies The Council of
Page 28 and 29: 28 yoursay Lions’ letters Best da
Page 30 and 31: 30 Just some of our award winners

2012 Feb - Lions Australia

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