Most programs and research projects don’t have funds for promotion. What to do? Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the strongest and cheapest forms of marketing you ever will use. It often is overlooked by large organizations and companies.

Begin with a description of your “customers.” Think about who they are (age, income, education), what they do and where they are from (ZIP code, distance from you).

Next, think about how you will reach your customers. Is it a news release, field sign, meeting, networking?

Think about your appearance on a daily basis, such as eye contact, posture, tone of voice, handwriting, spelling, thoughtfulness, enthusiasm and energy level.

Reaching your target audience and thinking about how others perceive you will go a long way in having people spread the word about your program.

Satisfied customers may tell three or four people about their positive experience. Conversely, dissatisfied customers will tell at least nine other potential customers.  

Information about you and your program through word of mouth is becoming increasingly important as more people bypass the traditional mass media and rely on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

Sources: University of Wyoming and Guerilla Marketing Yourself by Jay Conrad Levinson

Rich Mattern, Information Specialist, (701) 231-6136

“Flier” and “flyer” are not variations of the same word. They cannot be used interchangeably.

A “flier” is a handout or circular. It also can be a pilot or airplane passenger. For example: “I received a flier about the play.”  “I am not a frequent flier.”

A “flyer” is the proper name of some trains and buses. For example: “We rode on the Western Flyer for the first time.”

Ellen Crawford, information specialist, (701) 231-5391

A recent update to Internet Explorer has caused problems for some Ag CMS users trying to edit their pages using Internet Explorer.

Although some versions of Internet Explorer may work for editing Ag CMS pages, our recommended browser for Ag CMS users has always been and continues to be Firefox.

If you are having trouble adding or editing your Ag CMS site using Internet Explorer, please download and install  Firefox at http://www.mozilla.com/firefox and use it for editing your Ag CMS site.

- Bob Bertsch, 701-231-7381

Has this happened to you? You had an image or graphic developed that you want printed onto a T-shirt. The vendor you are using just asked you for a file format other than a JPG, preferably an EPS file.

The EPS file format is a vector image (image made up of points, lines, curves and shapes which are based on mathematical equations to represent images on your computer screen) that the print industry uses for logos, graphics or images that are not photos.

In this instance, the vendor would use that EPS file to output the image onto that T-shirt.

When you receive the EPS file from Ag Comm, you will not be able to open it unless you have a program such as Adobe Illustrator to view it. But you should be able to send that file to your vendor to get your T-shirts printed.

David Haasser

231-8620

The NDSU Ag Communication Group is looking for a few good members! I guess we're looking for a lot of members and they don't have to be the greatest, just willing to share the photos they have. If you are one of those people that is drawn to this adventure and need a little help getting started go to the Flick Your Photos onto Flickr training on the Ag Commm Training and Tutorials page. If you already have a Flickr account and you want to join, search for the NDSU Ag Communication Group and click the "Join This Group" button. When you do make a request to join, please be sure to give your full name in the message you add to the request.

The challenge for this month is to just get more of your great photos up onto Flickr.

David Haasser
231-8620

New NDSU Extension Service and North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station templates for PowerPoints are available.

The templates have been designed to provide great-looking presentations while making your life easier. The templates also are designed to be consistent with NDSU’s image.

To create an eye-catching presentation that maintains our image, follow these suggestions:

* For consistency, it’s best not to change the layout, colors or typefaces. Please do not move or modify the logo or other placed graphics.

* A minimal use of animation effects is strongly encouraged because they can be distracting.

* Try to keep the size of the type as shown in the templates.

* Save photos at a resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch) before importing into your presentation. This will avoid creating an unnecessarily large file that slows down the slideshow.

If you want to spice up your PowerPoint presentation, be sure to read PowerPoint Pizzazz.

(Source: NDSU University Relations)

Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136

In many cases, you can eliminate the words “both” and “either” from sentences about two things or people.

The reason: they’re unnecessary.

So instead of saying this: “Taking a walk every day provides both family time and an opportunity for regular physical activity,” or this: “I will choose to buy either a red car or a blue car,” say this: “Talking a walk every day provides family time and an opportunity for regular physical activity” and “I will chose to buy a red or blue car.”

The “both” and “either” are unnecessary because in the first sentence, the “and” clearly indicates walking will provide two benefits, and in the second sentence, the “or” indicates a choice of two cars.

However, you need to use “both” or “either” when the choices of things or people aren’t clear. For instance: “He said to use either door.” Or this: “I don’t have room for both cars in my garage.”

Ellen Crawford, (701) 231-5391  

If you have a Facebook Page for your office, department or project, you probably know that you can log on to Facebook as yourself, go to your page and create a post that appears to come from your page instead of from you personally. You may not have known that you can actually use Facebook as your page.

Using Facebook as your page, instead of as an individual allows you to engage other pages, re-post from other pages, tag other pages in a post and more. This can be great for developing relationships with other offices and/or departments and with partner organizations.

Check out this video "How to use Facebook as an administrator vs. as a person" created by John Haydon of Socialbrite to learn how to do it.

- Bob Bertsch, Web Technology Specialist

Do you thrive on interaction? I do. I will often interrupt my suite-mate Roger with no pressing work-related task, but with an open-ended question that I hope will lead to an exchange of ideas. Expressing my thoughts and getting someone's feedback on my ideas is critical to my ability to stay engaged in and excited about my work.

At NDSU, we don't have to wait for the next brainstorming meeting or send mass invites to the latest social network to connect with our co-workers. Office Communicator is a tool available to us through Microsoft Online Services. Communicator is an instant communication tool, a chat. It's a great way to increase and enhance the informal interaction that is now relegated to the hall or the office doorway.

NDSU employees can download and install Office Communicator by following these instructions. You can learn more about using Communicator here. Try it out and encourage others in your department or on your team to do the same. Use Communicator to ask a question, share an idea or just say, "Hi." Let the information flow.

- Bob Bertsch, Web Technology Specialist

There are a number of ways to stay up-to-date with what's happening with Ag Comm Web Services. We post information in a variety of formats and on a variety platforms, so you can choose how you want to get your info. Here's a list, in case you missed any.

• Web Services website - this is an easy one. It's part of the Agriculture Communication site.
• Working Differently website - this is an area of the Web Services website where we explain the need to work differently in today's knowledge landscape and offer a way for educators to move forward in a networked environment. 
• Working Differently in Extension podcast - since we are on the subject of working differently, here's another platform, the podcast, where we offer information, tips and perspectives on mobile and online technology.
• Working Differently in Extension Scoop.it page - we think content curation is going to be key in helping people deal with the overwhelming amount of digital information they can access. This is our curation page built on the Scoop.it platform.
• NDSU Ag Comm Web Services Facebook page - "like" our Facebook page to get updates on technology in and out NDSU Agriculture & University Extension.
• NDSU Ag IT group on Diigo - we share interesting online and mobile technology links on our social bookmarking group in Diigo. You can subscribe to a feed of the group to receive all the latest updates.
• ndbob on Twitter - we don't have a Web Services Twitter account, but please follow my account, ndbob, on Twitter. I use this account to share information on mobile and online technology, network literacy, open content, education and more.

Catch you on the interwebs! :)

- Bob Bertsch, Web Technology Specialist