Gov. Deal Addresses GPHA Conference

Governor Deal recently addressed the Georgia Public Health Association on April 13, 2011, at its 82nd Annual Meeting & Conference. More than 400 public health advocates attended the conference held at the Crowne Plaza off of Powers Ferry Road.

Gov. Deal's speech came right after the recent General Assembly's passage of House Bill 214, which would establish a standalone Department of Public Health.

The Governor praised the work of GPHA and their efforts in protecting the health of Georgia's citizens. In addition, he shed light on one of Georgia's most pressing public health issues - childhood obesity.

Dr. Fitzgerald, Georgia's new Director of Public Health, also addressed the more than 400 attendees. Dr. Fitzgerald was appointed by Gov. Deal in February 2011 to run the state's Division of Public Health, currently part of the Department of Community Health.

Media coverage appeared the very next day in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia Health News, the Augusta Chronicle, and CBS Atlanta.

In addition to helping with conference planning and implementation, Hayslett Group's Partner Up! for Public Health campaign played an integral role in the three-day event. Campaign representatives hosted an exhibitor booth, inviting public health officials, advocates, students and others to view campaign press materials and ask questions about the campaign. Visitors were invited to explore the campaign's County-by-County Health Data and Rankings Report, sign up to receive news updates about the campaign and sign an e-petition stating they would support additional funding for public health.

Campaign spokesperson and Hayslett Group CEO, Charlie Hayslett, addressed the Board of Health Training Institute on the first day and presented a Workshop Presentation that focused on Rebuilding Public Health in Georgia.

For more on the Partner Up! for Public Health campaign, visit www.togetherwecandobetter.com.

Partner Up! for Public Health is a statewide advocacy campaign funded by Healthcare Georgia Foundation and designed to advance public health in Georgia. The campaign was launched in October 2009 as part of a multifaceted effort to rebuild a public health system that has been decimated by budget cuts in recent years.

Online Benchmarking Challenges

Online interaction -- and how we measure its effectiveness -- seems to change daily! It can be frustrating to maintain online awareness and activity reports that can't accurately span six months when the very measurements (and the tools themselves) built into newer online tools like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook are constantly in development. While online communication STILL has a huge advantage to other traditional mediums when it comes to measured communications, I just wish the world was a little less BETA, and we could count on how things worked. That said, I suppose it is the challenges we meet each day that make life interesting. Read on to explore the implications of Facebook's Fan-to-Like transition and how it can mean much more than a simple number/name shift.

Thundertech's The Facebook "Like" button: what does it mean for brands?

Heads up to Government or Healthcare IT

It's rare that communications case studies focus on a government entity or healthcare IT, but for those of us working in these industries...our day has come! Come join us as we WILL be in attendance to talk with others who do what we do and experience similar challenges as we try to communicate to our audiences. IABC's breakfast event next week features:

Justine Holcomb of the State Personnel Administration addresses a massive engagement project recently completed with employees and agencies across the state.

and

Margie Driscoll of McKesson Provider Technologies shares insights into how McKesson builds relationships with diverse business targets and c-suite level executives.

Here's a bit more on the event and how you can attend...

You know your targets, here's how you really engage them...

Drop the kids off early and skip morning traffic altogether. Join us for breakfast to learn real tactics for finding and captivating your audiences today. IABC Atlanta is bringing you case studies and experiences that work - whether you're reaching out to diverse businesses, employee groups, sponsors or the public. On Tuesday, April 26, 2011, meet with IABC Atlanta for breakfast and re-energize yourself with excellent ideas to empower your audiences. Where are your audiences and how can you motivate them? What gets them to respond and stay tuned? Our speakers will share their initiatives, challenges, solutions and results to help you make the most of your outreach. Register now.

Brains Agree: The Case for Website Usability Guidelines

I admit I am a minimalist when it comes to website design. This works to the benefit of the majority of our clients. Because the messages, issues and actions related to many of our clients' communications goals are extremely complex, I design extremely simple websites. The idea being that my clients need their visitors to concentrate on the task, information or action at hand, and not be swayed by anything that may distract them from their purpose. For example, I have designed sites that:

• educate visitors on the importance of establishing a statewide trauma care network, and the need to encourage legislators to support funding for it;
• explain the necessity of supporting Open Heart Services Certificate-of-Need application within a community and its connection to top-of-the-line care for individuals and their families; and
• engage citizens in a multi-year environmental transportation study that includes input, research and reports from hundreds of sources.

While my strategy is to declutter and focus so visitors can begin to grasp the complexity of the content at hand, this strategy works just as well when you want a visitor to focus on a key message, new product line or service highlight. The idea being: if elements in your site are not working for whatever the goal of the page is -- they are working against it. Here's an article I recently read that helps explain how our brains work and how website design works (or doesn't) in relation to our brains' natural function.

From Web Marketing Today, Brains Agree: The Case for Website Usability Guidelines, Todd Follansbee, WebMarketingResources.net - Apr 12, 2011

Significant Percentage of Bills and Resolutions Never Pass

Going into the last three days of the GA 2011 legislative session, the House has introduced 638 bills and 809 resolutions. The Senate has also introduced another 277 bills and 544 resolutions. This is a combined total of 2,268 legislative measures.

To date, Governor Deal has signed only 8 pieces of legislation, with HOPE, lobbyist registration and the Supplemental Appropriations being the most notable. Of the 638 House bills, only 83 have passed both bodies. Of the 277 Senate bills, only 27 bills have passed both bodies. Over the final days of the legislative session, usually 50-100 additional bills will pass. If this activity level continues, less than 1 out of every 6 bills introduced will ever become law.

Care of: Regional Business Coalition of Metropolitan Atlanta (RBC)

The Regional Business Coalition of Metropolitan Atlanta (RBC) is an organization of over a dozen local Chambers of Commerce throughout the metro Atlanta region. RBC member chambers represent over 15,000 member companies who employ over 2 million metro Atlanta residents. The RBC's primary goal is to represent the interests of RBC Chamber members on regional public policy issues impacting our transportation, water and air quality and to advocate for solutions that improve metro Atlanta's quality of life and economic vitality.

Top 5 SoMe Mistakes Small Businesses Make

Seems like clients are either desperate to use social media or horrified by the thought. We believe in using social media where appropriate and effective vs. jumping on the bandwagon. It needs to be the right tool for the right job, and you have to know how to use the tool, and commit to using it -- otherwise it is worthless. For example, if you buy an electric toothbrush, but (a) don't charge it, or (b) put it in your vanity drawer and don't use it -- it is a wasted investment. SoMe is the same way. If you choose to introduce a SoMe tool to augment your communications program, make sure you don't fall prey to these common pitfalls. While the article referenced is specific to Facebook, the rules can apply to most SoMe applications.

1. Broadcasting
2. Not Investing Adequate Time
3. Being Boring or Predictable
4. Failing to Learn About Application Mechanics and Tools
5. Violating the Application's Terms

Check out the full article @ http://mashable.com/2011/04/02/5-facebook-marketing-mistakes-small-businesses-make/