本項翻譯係經世界總會授權，版權亦屬世界總會及中華民國國際演講協會所有，
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如何運用社群媒體讓分會更茁壯

譯者：邱少為 Alex, Ping Tung

The social media landscape evolves so rapidly that even marketers of major brands struggle to harness its true power.
社群媒體發展如此迅速，即使是市場的領導品牌，也不得不積極利用這個力量。

As Toastmasters clubs embrace social media to engage with members and potential members, they face the same challenges as large corporations, but have more difficulty overcoming them because they have far fewer resources. Chris Brogan, expert of social media and Web entrepreneurship, best-selling co-author of Trust Agents and popular blogger at chrisbrogan.com, recently spoke with the Toastmaster magazine about taking full advantage of your club’s social media efforts.
演講會要透過社群媒體吸引會員及潛在會員，所面對的挑戰一如這些大企業；卻面臨更多困難要挑戰，畢竟資源遠遠不如。Chris Brogan，他是一位社群媒體及企業網站的專家，是暢銷書《值得信賴的經紀人》的共同作者，也是 chrisbrogan.com 的知名部落客，最近接受《演講人》雜誌的訪問，建議充分運用分會在社群媒體的努力。

“Many organizations jump into social media with both feet but with no real strategy,” says Brogan. “In the process, they waste precious resources and don’t get the full benefit.”
「很多組織在社群媒體上投入很多，卻沒有策略。」Brogan說，「過程中，他們浪費許多珍貴的資源，卻無法從中獲益。」

Irina Kremin, a member of Toastmasters of the Hague in The Netherlands, echoes Brogan. “Getting the most out of any social media initiative Requires focus,” she says. “It’s a matter of doing a few of the right things, and then integrating small doses of social media into your daily life.”
Irina Kremin，一個在挪威Hague演講會的會員，同意Brogan的說法，「從一開始就必須聚焦，」她說，「也就是要做許多對的事，然後整合這些社群媒體的點點滴滴到每天的生活中。」

Kremin, a Toastmaster since 2005, runs KGS (Knowledge Goes Social), which organizes business conferences and events. She uses social media extensively in her business. In fact, KGS (kgsglobal.com) hosted Brogan at the Berlin con ference, “B2B Marketing Europe,” where we caught up with him.
Kremin在2005年成為演講會會員，執行「知識進入社群」(KGS)的專案，主要工作在組織業務會議和活動。她在工作中，很密集地使用社群媒體。事實上，Brogan出席了KGS (kgsglobal.com)在柏林所舉行的一場「歐州企業對企業行銷」會議，在那裡，我們認識他。

Not surprisingly, the conference was among the top European events trending that week on Twitter, the micro-blogging platform.From this, another informal event took root at a Berlin social venue that attracted nearly 100 techsavvy Berliners, all through tweets, blog posts and mobile messaging.
不意外的，這個會議成為推特，一種迷你部落格的型態，當週的熱門話題。由此延伸，另一個非正式的活動，也透過部落客之間的傳遞和手機簡訊，吸引了將近100位熱中於科技技術的柏林人參與。

Making Social Media Pay Off in Toastmasters
在演講會中成功運用社群媒體

So how can Toastmasters clubs reap the greatest return on invested effort From social media? How can clubs do the right things and do them well, in terms of generating publicity and attracting new members?
演講會如何能在社群媒體中的辛苦付出，獲得豐富的收穫呢？藉由透過宣傳吸引新會員這方面，分會如何做對的事？並把對的事做好？

Brogan stresses the importance of setting clear and reasonable objectives from the outset. Broad statements of goals can be inspiring, he says, but a statement such as “Build the image of our club, while attracting guests and engaging existing members” is not enough to keep key officers and contributing members focused.
Brogan強調，一開始就設定清楚、合理的目標是非常重要的。眼花撩亂的目標標語或許能讓人興奮不已，不過，若是像「建立分會形象，可以吸引來賓，留住會員」這一類標語，很容易讓主要幹部及參與的會員模糊焦點。

So in addition to following the club mission statement, a club should set measurable goals that are time-bound.
所以，為了讓大家能聚焦在分會的使命，必須設定有時間限制的，可以衡量的目標。

For example: 例如：

By June 1 of next year, our club’s social media activity will focus on:
明年6月1日前，我們分會的社群媒體活動將著重在：

●Persuading two or more local journalists to write about the club and its members.
●Attracting 20 first-time guests to the club as visitors.
●Enabling 10 members to provide content or photos for the club blog.
●邀請至少2位地方記者，報導我們的分會及會員。
●吸引20位首次到分會的來賓。
●有10位會員能為部落格提供內容或照片。

Such goals will help club officers and contributors prioritize their efforts.
這樣的目標能讓幹部和會員清楚知道事情的優先順序。

It may be worthwhile to set up a blog, a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account. “But doing so without a clear strategy,” Brogan says, “is like creating icebergs.” Icebergs drift independently in the high seas, with no cohesive link to other icebergs or the mainland.
建置一個部落格，臉書粉絲網頁和推特，都是值得做的。Brogan說道：「但若是沒有明確的策略，只會做出一塊浮冰。」浮冰漫無目標漂流在茫茫大海中，和其他浮冰或陸地都沒有聯繫。

Twitter, for example, can be incredibly powerful. But tweeting only with the purpose of promoting the club may not help you achieve your objectives and, therefore, can drain your club of precious resources – your time! It’s vital, therefore, to create synergies among your club’s different “online assets” so that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Here is how:
拿推特作例子，其影響力可以是無遠弗屆。但是，只能作為推薦你的分會之用，卻無法達到你要的其他目的，何況，也會消耗分會寶貴的資源——你的時間。

所以，讓你的分會所擁有的不同的「線上資產」都能相互支援，這是非常重要的，才能做到團結力量大。以下幾點建議：

Keep Your Strategies Simple
保持簡單的策略

Brogan is more than a social media guru. He’s a strategic advisor and the best strategies are simple. For organizations such as Toastmasters clubs, Brogan recommends a “Home Base and Outpost Strategy” in which one of your online assets – perhaps your website or your blog – is chosen as your foundation, your hub . . . your home base. All your other assets – perhaps your photo page, video page or Twitter profile – should be considered satellites, as outposts that capture attention, engage visitors and drive traffic back to your home base.
Brogan不僅是社群媒體的權威，他也是策略顧問。最好的策略往往是簡單的。像演講會這樣的組織，他建議採用「基地與前哨站策略」。先設定線上資產的其中之一當作基地，可以是網站或是部落格；再將其他的資產——照片網頁、影片網頁、或推特——當作前哨站，用來吸引並「捕捉」網友，最後將這些訪客帶回基地。

Here are a few simple considerations to help you with this strategy:
提供一些簡單的步驟：

Determine Your Home Base
決定基地

This should be your website.
應該選擇分會網站作為基地。

This is where you want to direct most users, especially potential guests, once you “capture” them.
我們希望引導更多人到分會網站。特別是那些被我們「捕捉」到的潛在來賓。

This should be the platform where you are most likely to secure a first commitment in the “new member acquisition process” –e. g., where visitors are most likely to confirm their attendance for an upcoming meeting.

分會網站是一個平台，提供「如何成為一個新會員」的資訊；也能提供訪客預約參加下一次的例會。

Design Your Outposts
決定前哨站

First and foremost, these assets should be designed to capture attention and engage your community.
最重要的，這些前哨站的設計，必須能吸引其所屬社團的注意。

They should then encourage visitors and members to link to the Home Base for more information, such as club meeting location, time and agenda. Or they might link to another exciting platform, which then links to the Home Base. For example, a Twitter post might mention a video and link to it. Yet the video itself should refer to the home base/website, with a link back to it, and the Twitter profile should link to it, as well.
這些前哨站能鼓勵訪客連結到基地，去了解更多資訊，像是例會場所，時間和例會議程。或者先連結到另一個有趣的網頁，再連結到基地。例如，運用推特去宣傳一段影片，當然這段影片會自動回到基地網站；而推特的檔案也會連結到基地。

Outposts must be exciting and engaging. They should establish “social proof,” or credibility and attractiveness to your target audience.
前哨站必須是有趣的，吸引人的。他們累積「社交驗證」，對於目標訪客建立信用、產生吸引力。

Establish Social Proof
社交驗證的建立

Social proof is similar to “street credibility.” It means making people want what you have. To grasp the concept, imagine that you and a few friends enter a restaurant along a city sidewalk on a Thursday evening, and you’re a bit early. A savvy restaurateur will seat you in the window to show passers-by that the restaurant is busy.
社交驗證類似「街頭信譽」^註。意思是讓他人想擁有你所擁有的。抓住這樣的念頭，想像一下，在周四傍晚，你和一群朋友進到城內一家座落在人行道旁的餐廳，距離用餐時間還有段時間。一位有經驗的餐廳經理，安排你們靠窗的座位，讓路人覺得這家餐廳高朋滿座。

Similarly, night clubs purposely make patrons wait at the door. The line sends a message that the club is in high demand, that it’s trendy. This is social proof, and it works in social media as much as it does in society itself.
同樣的，夜店也會故意讓常客在門口大排長龍。長長的隊伍對外傳達這家店門庭若市的訊息：泡夜店是一種時尚。這就是社交驗證，在社群媒體上的運用和實際生活的運用是一樣頻繁的。

Social proof establishes you as cool, relevant, educational or whatever you want your brand to be – but certainly attractive to your target audience. For example, Toastmasters Zug in Switzerland – a club located in Zug, a small city about 30 minutes from Zurich – uses the slogan “Enjoy Speaking!” Showing members and guests having fun as they speak is therefore a must in all the club’s online photos, videos and blog posts.
社交驗證塑造你成為一種酷炫的、中肯的、教育性的，以及任何你想要獲得的形象，去吸引目標訪客。例如，Zug分會，位於瑞士蘇黎世30分鐘車程的小鎮Zug，使用這個口號「享受演講！」分會網站的所有照片、影片和部落格都顯示，每一個會員和來賓享受演講，是一件必須做到的事。

To manage your brand and ensure social proof, be selective.Quality and image matter!
管理自己的風格，確保社交驗證，用心挑選。關乎品質、印象。

Unleash Social Media’s Real Power
釋放社群媒體的力量

To view social media simply as a promotional vehicle is to sell one’s efforts short right from the start.“What the real leaders in this space have figured out is that you can re-humanize businesses and create loyal communities using these kinds of tools,” Brogan says.
簡單地將社群媒體看成是促銷的汽車，打從一開始就要快速找到買家。「一個真正的領導者在這個地方要看透的是，必須能運用這些工具，將生意重新人性化，並建立社群忠誠度。」Brogan說。

Social media goes far beyond promoting a product, a company or even a Toastmasters club. The real strength of Web 2.0 is enabling conversations. As Toastmasters, we know that listening is as important as speaking.
社群媒體當然不僅僅是促銷一個產品、一家公司或是一個演講會分會。網路第二代的實力是能夠建立對話平台。如同演講會員熟知的，聆聽和演講是一樣的重要。

Grow Bigger Ears
洗耳恭聽

Where Web 1.0 was about websites that transmit messages one way, as is the nature of publishing and broadcasting, Web 2.0 broadly refers to platforms that enable discussions and commentary – not only between the host and its users, but among users on the host’s platform.
網路第一版，僅僅讓網站單向傳遞訊息，比較像是出版品或廣播的功能；第二版廣泛地使用可以討論和評論的平台，不限版主和他的使用者，而是所有在平台上的使用者。

Brogan is frequently quoted for the term “grow bigger ears.” This is his way of telling marketers that they should “listen” to the online conversation and that they should pay attention to other sites, including the media (online or otherwise).By doing this, marketers can gain an understanding of current trends and will more likely uncover opportunities.
Brogan常常引用「洗耳恭聽」這個成語。他告訴行銷人員應該「聆聽」網路上的對話，對於其他網站也要付諸關心，包括媒體(網路或其他等等)。如此，行銷人員才能獲得對目前趨勢的了解，發掘潛在的機會。

Toastmasters clubs, therefore, should not only monitor the comments on their own websites and blogs, but also pay attention to broader conversations within their geographic communities. By growing bigger ears and thinking creatively, clubs can find opportunities where they otherwise might not.
所以，演講會分會不應該只是關心網站或部落格上的評論，也要看看所處地區的各種討論。耳聽八方並積極思考，分會必定可以看到別人看不到的機會。

Seize Opportunities
把握機會

Social media is an enabler. You must still take initiative and seize opportunities. For example, let’s say that a prominent artist is going to open an exhibit at a nearby university, on the same day as an upcoming club meeting. Why not invite her to your meeting? Perhaps you can extend the invitation right on her own blog, in her “comments” section. She’ll not only be grateful for the invitation, she’ll be grateful for the activity on her blog. All bloggers are!
只要你有能力，社群媒體充滿各種機會。你必須採取主動，把握各種機會。例如，假設一個傑出的藝術家正要在附近的大學辦展覽，正好是下一次例會的日期。何不邀請她參加例會？或許你就能夠透過她的部落格，藉由評論，提出你的邀請。她不僅僅會感謝這份邀請，也會感謝你在她的部落格留言。所有的部落客都是如此。

If she accepts, why not build it into an event, promote it online and reach out to the media?
如果她接受邀請，把它擴大成一個特別的事件，好好地在網路上宣傳，甚至透過媒體報導。

As an entrepreneur, Toastmaster Kremin knows how to identify and leverage opportunities. Helping others win at the same time is one of the golden rules of social media, and Kremin helped both Brogan and a prominent Berlin venue succed online.
身為一個企業家，演講會員Kremin深知如何創造並運用各種機會。同一時間互相幫助是社群媒體的黃金法則，Kremin幫助過Brogan和一個傑出的柏林場地成功上線。

Leading up to her B2B Marketing Europe conference, Kremin and KGS teamed up with the Berlin venue – called “Home Base” – and arranged for Brogan and the other conference speakers to “socialize” with Berlinbased techies and bloggers.
Kremin和KGS專案團隊，首先將歐洲企業對企業行銷會議，和柏林場地合作，稱為「基地」，並安排Brogan和其他的會議演講者與柏林地區的技術人員和部落客進行「社交化」。

The outcome was that the night before the conference, Brogan enjoyed a few beers, played Ping- Pong with a few enthusiasts and talked with just about everyone. Participants had a blast. They tweeted live from the venue, posted photos on Flickr and their blogs, and posted videos on YouTube and Vimeo.
結果令人滿意。會議前一晚，Brogan享受幾瓶啤酒，和幾位同好打乒乓球，與所有人歡敘。參與者像煙花爆開一樣，他們從現場推特訊息，在Flickr和個人部落格張貼照片，在YouTube和Vimeo傳遞影片。

It was a win-win all the way around. KGS established social proof within a community that Kremin considers important. Brogan strengthened his own personal brand in Europe. Home Base packed the house while also strengthening its own credibility.
各方面都獲得雙贏。KGS在社群裡建立社交驗證，這是Kremin相當重視的。Brogan強化他在歐洲地區的個人品牌。基地不僅緊緊擄獲參與者，也產生了信任感。

Start Small. Think Big
大處著眼，小處著手

For Toastmasters clubs, the sky’s the limit with social media. However, many of us do not have abundant resources, so “don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
對於演講會分會來說，有了社群媒體，天空無限寬廣。但是，我們大多沒有用之不竭的資源，所以「不要貪心不足蛇吞象」。

Understand social media’s real power – engaging and building communities. Set clear but attainable objectives. Capture attention on your Outposts and link to your Home Base.
了解社群媒體的真正力量——吸引並建立社群。訂定清楚、可以達成的目標。透過前哨站捕捉眾人的目光，並且把他們帶回基地。

Be selective in the quality of your photos and materials. Listen to the community at large to uncover opportunities. Approach everything with a win-win mindset.
嚴加管控內容和相片的品質。大量聽取社群的聲音，發掘潛在的機會。以雙贏作為行事的準則。

And enjoy the journey. We’re all learning!
好好享受這個過程。我們都還在學習！

Jack Vincent, CTM, CL, is a member of Toastmasters Zug in Switzerland.He is a sales consultant and the author of. Read his blog at BraveNewSales.com.
作者：Jack Vincent, 中級演講員及中級領導員，瑞士Zug分會會員。從事業務諮詢，也是《Sales Pitches That Snap, Crackle n’ Pop》一書的作者。部落格：BraveNewSales.com。

譯者：邱少為Alex, 屏東英語國際演講會 

附註：

「街頭信譽」，street-credibility or street-cred，是一種在年輕人中被認同的名氣或聲譽。