Smoke and mirrors

I revel when someone says at a photo shoot that "Cindy can fix it in photoshop." The most challenging work I've done recently was a composite of the boy's national basketball team. I was taking the photos that day because the photographer I had scheduled was sick. I struggled to get these active teens to focus for one good shot. The first image is the base photograph and the second is the composite I created from multiple images in order to capture everyone at their best. The poster was created by Derick Harris.

My Social Media Wedding (Strategy)

I have two big buckets of skills. One bucket is Design and the other bucket is Writing. Who knew that they would meet and fall in love? Admittedly, my writing has always been a bit of a stalker of my design work. Most editors have been grateful that I cared about the words, too. For event planning, I'm a one-stop shop. My publishing experience taught me to copy fit for space (yeah, like Twitter on steroids). I learned to be a skilled copyeditor and then to write captions and headlines, then reporting and articles. It's a beautiful union to write a story, take the photos, and then design the presentation, either in print or online. Social media gives me this opportunity and challenge multiple times a day.

Social Media is a powerful communications tool. However, it requires engagement. Success is often measured by likes and shares but even more powerful is mentions. A healthy social media program engages and builds relationships with followers. In effect, followers lead you to—and help you build— meaningful content.

Want to build relationships?

• Be authentic. 
• Celebrate, be grateful, and always be positive.
• Reciprocate to followers when they comment.
• Be immediately responsive to questions and direct messages with answers. 
• It takes 24/7 monitoring to make your social media a safe place for comments. 
• Become a trusted resource for clear, accurate information. Consider yourself a reporter and abide by reporting ethics, ie. don't report anything unless it can be confirmed, be nice, and don't take sides.
• Make every post specific to your audience, ie. your Veterans Day message should highlight veterans from your organization, not just be a generic Veterans Day post.
• Brand flyers with your logo so followers can print and share.
• Resist using social media as just a bulletin board. 
• Use video, photographs, gifs.
• Create some infrastructure to support you—key individuals you can rely on to answer texts promptly so that you can reply to a worried parent and a rich pocket of contacts who will keep you in the loop about information your audience needs.
• Shout out and mention organizations and people who support you and especially those you want to support you in the future.

Use technology to your advantage—

1. Set Google alerts for relevant topics.
2. Program your phone to alert you for activity on posts.
3. Use Hootsuite (or similar) to manage multiple platform posts.
4. Use Asana (or similar) to manage your strategy and delegate tasks, if needed. Yes, there's a strategy to it so use that strategy for it's best purpose—Twitter and Facebook posts are not the same. Your audience peaks at 4 pm...post at 3:55 pm. You have the most engagement with photos of adorable children. Your following businesses actually follow you...mention them, thank them, comment on their posts.
5. Review analytics to make sure you are posting content your audience cares about.

Social media takes much more time to do well than we are usually willing to admit. There's still a stigma that equates social media to pics of cute puppies. Get over it. Unlike other communication tools such as direct mail and telephone marketing, social media gives us an opportunity to truly build communities with people and businesses. That means you have to care and be able to put yourself in your audience's shoes... and then dance around in them. The effort increases the results exponentially, as only social media can—greater audience, more event participation, and larger fundraising dollars.

See a screen shot below of my recent Asana social media calendar tasks.

Quickie Videos

I am skilled just enough to put together small, quick videos for social media with iMovie and a personal video camera. 😊  Bonus: Most organizations don't have the personnel to do this so if you create a movie and tag a partner organization, you've given them a wonderful gift that they can use on their social media, which grows your social media reach. 

Legacy Early College Design Portfolio

Legacy's annual golf tournament and gala

Double truck ad in the Greenville News for Legacy's first graduating class and Parker's 90th reunion.

Middle School postcard, graphics created in Photoshop.

24-page comprehensive development booklet—concept, photography, writing and design

Small development brochure, the concept, all photography, writing, and design created by me. On an added note, I created this in two days over the weekend.

Postcard for Legacy's annual basketball tournament. You can also see in this photo the banner design I created for the tournament.

Our Top Stories flyer was a popular flyer for recruiting events.
We also used this content for a donor e-blast and a parent e-blast.

Photography, writing, design, and management of translation

Save the date postcard

Legacy's CrossFit facility business cards and t-shirt design.

Do you believe in ghosts?

I'm a skilled ghostwriter, with appearances in the Greenville News, Greenville Journal, and guest blogs. Here's a recent OpEd I wrote for Legacy leadership.

Recommendations

I recently reached out to some connections to ask for their recommendation on LinkedIn. I am honored by the responses.

It's a Revival!

Someone just asked me if I blogged. I haven't contributed to this public blog in years—I even had trouble remembering my password. This was a fun and useful project when I was relocating. Now that I'm settled in "sunny Carolina," I'll get us caught up on my accomplishments and challenges and begin posting regularly again. Welcome back!

Pretty Darn Quick (PDQ)

It's the name of the game: silk purse stuff...making something out of nothing...we need it yesterday...you get the picture. Here's a collection of items I've produced at Converse pretty darn quick. Although most communication products usually come with a PDQ deadline, I'm especially proud of these recent quickly produced projects.

The Converse Diversity Club held their 3rd annual Love-In, a day to celebrate acceptance at all levels. This year, they showed the film Bully and sponsored a campus discussion. They wanted to give all the students who came to the film a t-shirt. They decided this just before term break and needed the shirts produced in one week. I created the design in a morning, a positive play off the film's tenet "stand against bullying." 

When Converse was advised to alter their affordability message, the admissions department wanted to get a financial guide in the hands of accepted students right away. I was asked to produce a brochure PDQ. The design I developed is half the size of our recruitment brochures (an effort to keep the branding and allow the piece to stand out from other communications but minimize the impression that the process is overwhelming). Because the brochure was produced in one day, I didn't have time to arrange a photo shoot. I bought a royalty free image and in order to make the image look uniquely Converse, I used Photoshop to place the Converse Viewbook on the desk in the image.

A College campus produces many events. Publicity for these events usually has to happen PDQ and at little to no cost. I produced this poster in less than an hour by using a purchased border graphic, photos from the speaker, and a Creative Commons photo of Susan Smith. The photo was a simple mug shot but it worked with the graphic subject matter. I also used a manipulated free typewriter font to reflect the news sensationalism of the subject.

Another PDQ is the 48-page reunion memory book (see older post from 3/25/13). I designed the book and cover in one day. While the body of the book was being proofed on the second day, I researched trivia and alumnae interviews to augment the book. Blurb books only take 7–10 days to print and ship...pretty darn close to magic.

Alumnae Memory Book

I am very excited to have completed my first BLURB.com book. The Converse reunion is coming up in April and the 50th reunion class has received a memory "book" in the past. The past versions have been a collection of hand-written answers to a questionnaire that were copied and held together with plastic comb binding. The result was hardly celebratory, nothing to suggest a treasured memento and lacked respect for these alumnae, many who are in a position to become significant donors to the college. Time for a redesign! I created a Blurb book of 48 pages with a photo wrap cover. The front is an image from the 1963 yearbook and the back is a photo taken last week of the iconic Wilson Tower on campus.

Each alumna's profile includes a photo from the yearbook and a current photo. I researched trivia from the time period (favorite dance songs, hairstyles, movies, and more) and included some pull-quotes from the questionnaires. The result is a memento that will be cherished!

Gotta love my friends at Art Bomb

What I love most about my Grenville is the giving nature of the community.

Art Bomb is a wonderful haven for some of my favorite artists. They in turn provide shelter for our four-legged buddies. Read about their big hearts here.

I am anxiously awaiting delivery from the printer of my first redesigned issue of Converse magazine. This is my sixth major redesign and I have to say it's a process most people dislike, but I love. A redesign involves not just a new dressing, but an analysis of the editorial content and focus, as well as an exploration of the target audience. New communication and marketing goals emerge in the process and then comes the fun of trying to meet those goals. I tend to study my peers and competition thoroughly so I launched a Facebook campaign requesting friends (and friends of friends) send me their alumni publications for my study. I learned something from each of the 80+ magazines I received...and more from those I studied online (as I was also researching alternative delivery methods). Redesign is a wholistic approach that often involves such a bare-boned deconstruction that missions and branding are also examined and more clearly, strategically defined. This first issue is a very different kind of magazine for Converse and I am anxious to see how it will be received!

UPDATE 3/21/13 Delivery from the printer and the magazine is a roaring success! Here are some sample spreads:

The opening spread is a 2012 Year in Review. This has to be the most popular spread in the magazine. What fun (and how useful) to see the entire year at a glance!

A new approach to articles uses larger, professional photography.

I tailored the editorial direction of the redesign to inform and engage alumnae. For example, the traditional president's message transformed into this Q & A between the alumnae association president and the college president. The end of the article calls for alumnae to submit questions for the alumnae president to consider for the next issue.

Counting our blessings

Today I am so thankful to be in South Carolina. Our lives have changed significantly and I am thankful for every single change. Day by day, we settle into our new lives here and we see glimpses of "normal" after the last two years of transition. People are still in awe of our story and frankly, I am just beginning to understand why the typical reaction is "Wow!" We have obviously had some super-hero power keeping us going, some inexplicable strength, and, in hindsight, I must admit a smidge of insanity. We doubted along the way when we would succeed but we knew it would happen eventually. Now, we can't believe we got here so quickly...that we are really here. Very thankful, indeed.

Converse Thus Far

Converse's new School of the Arts brings together three departments. Communication was needed to give each department a voice under the one umbrella. This roll-fold brochure creates a highly visible recruiting tool whether it arrives by mail at a prospective student's home or is personally handed to them at an event.

The new Converse viewbook (overview booklet) was led by a focus group I developed with current students to determine what attracted them to Converse when they were college shopping. The result is a college viewbook that focuses on stories, a series of student profiles that touch on different aspects of Converse. Design and production involved interviews and photo sessions with profiled students. I then edited the interviews and paired each student with the corresponding information that the student best illustrated.

The theme for the upcoming reunion was born from the success of our photo booth at the 2012 reunion.  I took the shot of alumnae in the booth and then used actual photos from the booth archive that were made during our event. This is the "Save the Date" postcard that had a magnet reminder adhered to the back. My research of past reunion promotions showed a failure to promote the FUN factor so my goal has been to infuse fun in every reunion reference.

I incorporated the Converse Valkyries mascot into a logo I created for TAPP (Touching Alumnae Peer-to-Peer) for a calling campaign that involved alumnae reaching out to classmates to contribute to the annual fund. This will be a yearly event we are calling "Annual FUN." 

I made a collection of "medals" to award to our TAPPers. We increased alumnae giving by almost 300 gifts.

9 Keys to Business & Career Success

There's so much of this article by Inc. that speaks to me..."tasks should only take as long as they need to take,"..."successful people are naturally drawn to successful people,"..."the extra mile is a lonely place,"..."you're never too good to roll up your sleeves,"..."embrace every failure," and, most especially, "the more you volunteer, the more you get to act!" 9 Keys to Business & Career Success

Freshman Move-In Day!

Converse faculty and staff pitched in to help the Class of 2016 move in on campus. I loved being a part of this fun tradition. Connecting to the students reminded me why I felt called to work in higher education. I witnessed the day their lives will change forever! I hope that in some small (or large!) way I can improve the quality or comfort of their new world. Through my previous work with government officials, non-profits, and highly-visible organizations, I have recognized my talent to be a kind ambassador during times of transition. I'm well-schooled in the art of hospitality (etiquette school, beginning at age 7) but it comes natural to me and I truly enjoy it. I see this trait reflected in the way I work on publications—I want to smooth the way to communicate with the reader as beautifully and efficiently as possible.

Holding up the walls of the Williams residence hall on move-in day!

Converse College Move-In Slide Show

Gush

I've been meaning to post this but my scanner was packed. Here's evidence of one of the proudest moments in my life...the moment I opened this letter from Highlights' CEO, Kent Johnson.

Highlights Hello!

Highlights just launched it's new baby magazine, Highlights Hello. I worked on the logo and prototype just before my departure—so much fun! Congratulations Highlights!

August 1 will mark six months officially in SC. My goals for this move were very simple: be where I want to be and make a difference in the SC Upstate. As simple as it is to say in those few words, no discussion of this change in my life has been simple. Friends, family—even strangers—ask for more. Many simply don't understand why or how I would walk away from my life for a life unknown. I think not wanting to wait to live my dream is a good "why" but the "how" has alluded me, I'll admit. I don't know where I get the courage to face what can be either a little or a major daily battle. Every single part of my life has changed. I've rushed through some of the adjustments, such as getting my SC driver's license on day one even though it was a bad hair day. Other changes have paralyzed me, such as not seeing my SC family any more often than I did when I lived in PA.

The expectations I had for my life here cannot fairly be judged since we are very much in limbo with my husband still in PA to sell the house. Knowing that the house may be on the market for years is defeating. We knew we would be challenged so none of the difficulties are surprising. I've learned so much from this process and that's the surprising part. I'm much braver than I thought I was and I'm more talented, too. I've never appreciated my skills. I've always thought I was "good" at my work because I'm so devoted to what I do. But, I've never considered myself exceptional. I doubt any of us recognize our true worth. The process of selling myself during the job search and then adjusting to a new career and work environment has made it necessary for me to evaluate and reevaluate my skills. How do I fit in? How can I make the difference that is so important to me? How do I work around (or drive through) obstacles?

I've come to appreciate there are some things I am really very good at (and we know math isn't one of those things). You know, I just said that because I couldn't stand not to self-depreciate myself. I'm actually quite good at some aspects of math, such as set and spatial theory. I visualize every problem so don't ask me to just think about something, because I will start to draw it or write it. But I do think, and I think well, and because I think spatially, I see the forest and the trees. I'm savvy on the computer but still want a straight edge and x-acto blade in my drawer. I measure in picas, not inches, which means I'm creative and careful.

My experiences are unique and valuable. I might know how to do something well now because I already made the mistakes. All that workaholic-throw-myself-into-everything time is paying off.

Why I Moved to SC

A friend of mine died Thursday. He was one of those people you hope you can be more like; you admire him just for who he is, not for any block-buster event. I can't even say I knew him that well but I spent time with him on projects for church and served with him on the vestry. We always spoke. When he would ask how I was doing, I was honest and told him, good or bad, and you know there aren't that many people in the world you can do that with. Lee died of a stroke while on an anniversary trip with his wife fishing in Alaska. There was no warning.

Lee's wife wrote: "Lee had the best 7 days, he kayaked, we hiked on a glacier, he caught the first fish that morning right before it happened. He had a brain bleed and it would not have mattered where we were. I am grateful we were together having a much anticipated holiday and he was in my arms when he died."

So, seriously, what a way to go. Maybe God said, "This guy is pretty special so as a gift to him, I'm going to take him like this...Death Package #1." Yes, my mind works that way sometimes. Lee's death has shaken me and the world has lost such a good man. Maybe God said, "This guy is REALLY special and he has done so much good, he filled his dance card early. Time to come home." There I go again, writing God's script.

I have a friend who is going strong at 101, one of my neighbors is in his 90s and still mows his yard and takes a walk every morning. Yet another neighbor lost her son in his 30s and a schoolmate of mine died just after graduation. When an eldery person dies, society seems better able to accept it. We hear people console each other by saying, "They lived a good long life." Bullshit.

In my book it doesn't matter how long you lived but what you did with those years. I know that sounds like some inspirational quote that we all "like" on Facebook but it is how I am trying to live my life. I don't do well with death, not that anyone does, but I seem to be more deeply affected than most. So I don't want to waste a minute. I very clearly understand my days are numbered. It's not that I am afraid, it's that I have a lot to do to fill my dance card. So, if you are still in the numbers who do not understand why I wanted to move to SC. If you have attributed my actions to a mid-life crisis or "there must be something she's not telling us," here it is: I simply want to live my life the best way I can.

My 101-year-old friend lived a life of self-imposed imprisonment and poverty because she did not value her own needs. In contrast, my neighbor's son married and had two children while fighting brain cancer. My Dad had a dream to retire to Asheville. He died in an accident when he was 65. In contrast, my Mom postponed cancer surgery so that she could finish her quest to visit all 50 United States. Why would I choose to wait to fulfill a dream? Every time I hear someone say what they want to do when they retire, I cringe. There isn't always a "later." And that's why I am here in SC. That's why I wanted a job making a difference. That's why I over-commit. That's why I always say yes. That's why I am exhausted most of the time. It's really pretty simple.

Greenville continues to excel

Greenville makes another top ten list! No surprise. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/real_estate/1204/gallery.US-Cities/9.html

Teaching at Furman

It was very exciting to be back at my alma mater to co-teach a class on writing and illustrating for children. I believe the class was held in the same room where I took Philosophy, one of my favorite classes Freshman year.

Me and Tim Davis at Furman University.

Update from February 12, 2013: Me with Tim Davis and Melinda Brown Long (below, right). Our teaching trio appeared at Furman's beautiful Herring Center for Continuing Education.

One Year

A year ago today my husband and I decided to relocate to SC. We have been asked hundreds of times since "Why?" It's not that we were unhappy and we could have easily kept the status quo. The simplest answer is that we realized we didn't want to wait to live our lives the way we wanted. My job search was long and difficult. I learned something new with each step of my search...new job-hunting skills and new revelations about myself. Many months of hard work helped me understand how all my skills could work together and I began to identify ideal positions. I learned enough to be confident when the wrong job came along and more so when I received an offer from the right one.

New Job!

I started my new job at Converse College today! This blog will now shift focus to record my move to SC.

A Christmas Love Song for South Carolina

A friend shared this song with me and it is my exact feelings about South Carolina (any time of year.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjbncuf4xrc

The Spirit of Christmas

My Editor-in-Chief once wrote about my secret identity in a Thanksgiving editorial. I wore my mother's Santa suit and made a surprise hospital visit to cheer-up my editor's daughter. I didn't really know what I was doing, I had only a bed pillow as padding, and I couldn't wear my glasses so my memory of the event is literally fuzzy. However, I've been addicted to the Santa experience ever since. It's a challenge to be a female Santa but no child has ever minded. I never claim to be Santa, rather I am just having fun in a Santa costume.

The editorial.

My husband took these pics of me before I left for the hospital visit.

I've since donned the suit whenever asked. I now have professional padding, bells to jingle, special facial hair, and the “Santa Rules” to live by. My cousin once drove me around in his Morgan to visit the local schools and my Mom's assisted living residence (she didn't know it was me). We were quite a hit in traffic.

Thankful

I am thankful this Thanksgiving season to be interviewing and spending time with friends and family in South Carolina. The best way to reach me is via email at simplycindysmith@yahoo.com.