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Use new media to reach your target audience
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Illustration by Kelly Neis |
Throughout the course of the GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show you’re likely to learn an abundance of information that will lead to greater success for you and your facility. That new information can have a powerful effect when shared, so make sure you effectively communicate the information once you get back home.
To help you spread your message to your facility and community, the Communications Hot Topics education sessions in the Answer Zone provide short, 30-minute workshops that teach you the basics of communication. Join Max Utsler, Ph.D., associate professor of mass communications at the University of Kansas, for these informative sessions on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
For a complete listing of the Communications Hot Topics and times, see the Golf Industry Show section on Page 76 or visit www.gcsaa.org/gis/2008/ed/career.asp.
And this year, you can learn about how to add new assets to your communications portfolio when Utsler presents a special session on using new media to reach your customers. The Introduction to New Media session will take place 4-4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1 in the Media Center on the trade show floor.
Learn how to use new media such as blogs, podcasts and YouTube as innovative options to communicate with your golfers.
Blogs, originally known as Web logs, are basically online “diaries” on a given topic. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject. A typical blog combines text, images, links to other blogs, Web pages and other media related to the topic. You can use a blog to give your golfers updates of ongoing projects, course conditions or what you do during the winter. Blogs are easy to set up and maintain, and Utsler will give examples of superintendents who are currently using blogs as a key communication tool with customers.
A podcast is a digital media file that is distributed over the Internet for playback on portable media players or computers. A podcast can allow you to send targeted information to your golfers, whether announcing a frost delay or warning that dangerous weather is approaching, that they can receive on their digital music player, cell phone or other devices. Utsler will give you the basics on how podcasts can work for you.
If you thought YouTube was just for watching funny videos, think again. Utlser can show you how you can use YouTube or other online video options for developing informative and instructive video clips for your golfers. He will show examples of superintendents who are already using online video to connect with their customers.
For more information about the Communications Hot Topics sessions, contact Angela Nitz, GCSAA corporate communcations manager at 800-472-7878, ext. 3647 or anitz@gcsaa.org.
The Tree Care Industry Association says it will use a $159,555 grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to provide free workshops to train employers and employees of tree care companies on safe ways to avoid electrical hazards in the workplace. The grant was made available through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, which provides funding for nonprofit organizations to conduct training and education programs on the prevention and awareness of workplace hazards. Workshops will be offered in English and Spanish, and will be accompanied by materials and printed literature in both languages. About one-third of OSHA-recorded fatalities of tree care workers are directly related to electrical hazards. For information on hosting an Electrical Hazard Awareness Program, contact TCIA’s Peter Gerstenberger at 800-733-2622 or peter@tcia.org. For tips on how to boost your career, stop by the Career Action Center at the GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show this month in Orlando. GCSAA’s Career Services staff will be on hand to help you search or apply for available positions online, offer free résumé critiquing services, provide interview coaching sessions and more. Attendees also can participate in 30-minute Career Hot Topics and Communications Hot Topics presentations and discussions at the center. |
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