Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Do Believe the “Hype”: Broadcast Now on UStream--Tip #3




Continuing with our series on free social media tools, we move from on-the-go video capture and the Twitterverse to a hybrid of webcasts and live chat, UStream.tv.

For each one of the media tools we suggest, we have included our rating of the tool in terms of: 1) Ease of Use; 2) Interactivity v. Passive Engagement; and 3) Return on Investment.

Many non-profits operate over a large geographic space and often feel that they do not get those desired one-on-one interactions that could lead to growing the number of organizational constituents, or equally important, growing their donor base.

UStream.tv has a key piece of advice that non-profits should embrace: “Broadcast now.” UStream.tv is a live, interactive FREE broadcasting platform. Initially founded as a way for soldiers in Iraq to see and interact with their families, the platform has taken off, with over 17.4 million users a month and thousands of unique programs.

One non-profit I worked with used the technology to broadcast their summits to a larger audience. These broadcasts allowed young people from across the country to have their opinions heard and responded to, all from the comfort of their own homes. This is just one of many ways to use this powerful technology. UStream.tv could be used in a variety of contexts. It could be used to broadcast a membership meeting, to create an interactive town hall with chapters of your organization across the country, or for a monthly fireside chat with your Executive Director.

You do not need much to get going: a computer, a webcam, and an Internet connection. Your viewers can watch you present your programming and use the chat function of UStream.tv to interact with your team. Users can remain anonymous or they can create their own profiles over UStream.

When you create a profile, you are led through the steps of setting up your user profile for your organization. You can “dress up” your UStream page to reflect the branding of your organization as well as create channels for your separate programs if you decide to use it for more than one purpose.

Ratings:

Ease of Use

This is not the easiest of all tools to use. Although the set up process is fairly self-explanatory, it still requires one to connect the webcam or other camera properly, test out the sound, and make sure that the technical pieces are in working order. A few test-runs with UStream and some tinkering around should resolve most use issues.

Interactivity v. Passive Engagement

This tool is highly interactive. This gives your constituents a chance to not only see what your organization does and who they are, but it allows people to engage in conversations with you and get direct responses. It also allows the community of users who come on to watch your programming to chat with one another. Although a user could just sit back and watch the show, the tools are available to engage in the polling of your audience along with other fun tricks.

Return on Investment

This is worth your time if your organization has a need to connect your members or to expand your user base in the virtual space. It will take a little more human capital investment to learn the interface, but could be well worth it if you are able to convene your members in a meaningful online experience.

The Final Word

We advocate trying all these types of technologies at least once. Just like any tool, this may not suit every organization, but you will not know until you try. Since anyone can watch your broadcasts, it is also a way to attract new constituents to your organization.

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