Report on social media 04 - 26 - 2013

Social Media for Associations
Status Report 2013

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ii
Status Report 2013
www.kelleneurope.com

iii
Status Report 2013
Contents
About the Report
Foreword.......................................................................................................................................... 1
Kellen Europe and Kellen Company.............................................................................................2
Social Media and Associations
Introduction....................................................................................................................................3
Results of Online Survey...............................................................................................................5
Status Report 2013........................................................................................................................ 11
10 Steps to Successful Social Media for Associations............................................................. 17
Acknowledgements....................................................................................................18

11
Status Report 2013
About the Report
Foreword
As a leader in association management and strategic advice worldwide, Kellen Europe seeks to
keep its clients on the leading edge of new technologies, opportunities and tactics. Social media
has proliferated quickly across all levels of society around the world, with businesses increasingly
incorporating it into their activities. Social media is not a temporary trend, it is a new method of
communication, which will not go away — hence associations cannot afford to ignore it!
Associations have different governance and decision making structures
compared to corporations, and association communication also requires
a tailored approach. Kellen Europe therefore engaged the research firm
ComRes to conduct a benchmark survey of social media use and influence
in European associations. The results of this online survey indicate that
associations are implementing social media programmes, but may still
be challenged to develop effective strategies and to measure results
against goals. Facebook is perceived to have the greatest potential for
negative impact on organisations, whilst Twitter is viewed as the platform
with the greatest potential for positive influence and perhaps for that reason, is the most popular
social media vehicle. Communication Directors from 10 European associations active in a variety of
industries discussed the key findings of the survey in two focus groups run by Kellen Europe.
Finally, Kellen added recommendations based on its extensive experience with associations and
expertise in communications; resulting in this 2013 Status Report, which focuses on four main areas:
strategy & governance, social media channels or technologies, measurement of social media efforts,
and trends.
With this Report we tackle the new opportunities and challenges that many associations face
when engaging with social media. We plan to conduct this research on a yearly basis to showcase
how associations are adopting social media, as well as to provide trends and insights on this fast
moving area.
I would like to thank all individuals who took the online survey in collaboration with ComRes and
association executives that took time to contribute to our focus groups. A very special thanks goes
to the authors of this Report Nele Devolder and Dani Kolb; and advisor Joan Cear in New York.
We look forward to discuss the Report and its findings with you!

Alfons Westgeest
Managing Partner, Kellen Europe
Group Vice President, Kellen Company
Twitter is viewed
as the platform
with the greatest
potential for
positive influence

Status Report 2013
2
About the Report
Kellen Company
Kellen Europe is the European office of the Kellen Company, a professional services firm that has
been a trusted advisor to the association industry for almost 50 years. We provide consulting,
management, marketing communications and other professional services to more than 80
regional, national, international and global trade associations and professional societies. Our
staff of 200 association professionals operates from our offices in Atlanta, Brussels, Beijing,
Chicago, New York City, and Washington, DC. Kellen Company is a charter-accredited association
management company by the Association Management Company Institute.
Kellen Europe
Overthepast25yearsKellenEuropehasgatheredconsiderableexpertisethatenablesittorapidly
anticipate the needs of emerging or existing associations and to provide tailored organisational
solutions. These solutions are designed to ensure that our clients hold the position they should
within the association environment. In the current climate, more than ever before, it is essential
that associations remain relevant. Through strategic advice and management services we work
toward ensuring that our client associations remain relevant, forward looking and add value to
their membership. The Europe-based Kellen team includes 20 experienced professionals with
a variety of complementary backgrounds, industry knowledge and skills, each of whom has
extensive experience in the management and representation of national, European and global
associations and is competent in at least three European languages.
OFFICE Representation
washington DC
Brussels
New Dehli
Beijing
japan
Singapore
bahrain
New York
Chicago
Atlanta

3
Status Report 2013
Introduction
Before we dive into the specifics of social media in relation to associations, let’s clarify the
term social media.
Defining Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest; these are the words you hear
when people talk about social media, so one could easily think that social media is all about
Facebook, Twitter, etc. But it is not! These are only tools and channels; the software and
technology.
Social media is more expansively “what people do with the technology, the software, the
tools and channels: sharing pictures and video, writing product reviews, collecting content,
connecting with old friends, sharing with new friends, collaborating in the workplace. Social
media is a collective term that describes the means of communicating and engaging with
people.”1
Throughout this Report this is the definition of social media we will use.
Social media has changed the way people communicate and how they connect with others.
The numbers speak for themselves: in March 2013 Facebook had 1.06 billion active monthly
users including 680 million mobile users, more than 50 million pages and 10 million apps.
YouTube now has more than a billion unique users every single month and Twitter has 500
million total users, with more than 200 million active users.2
These are just a few statistics to
demonstrate the reach of social media, and some data will be already outdated when you
read this Report. Social media is a trend that has increased dramatically over the years, and
it’s clear it won’t be disappearing overnight!
Some association executives question the
effectiveness of using social media for their
organisation, by saying that social media is “just
something for young people”, or is not relevant
for their membership. But the fact that the
fastest growing demographics on Facebook
and other social networking sites are individuals
over the age of 50 clearly demonstrates that
this is a false assumption3
. Today, social media is part of everyday life and associations
cannot afford to shy away and miss this trend by assuming it does not apply to them.
1
Holloman “The Social Media MBA“ 2012.
2
http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/
3
Holloman “The Social Media MBA“ 2012.
Fastest growing demographics
on Facebook and other
social networking sites are
individuals over the age of 50

4
Status Report 2013
Most importantly, association executives should see the full potential of social media: not
only can it be used to communicate with members, but also with other stakeholders such
as policy makers, other associations and the wider public in general. Social media can
strengthen communication with these target audiences, enabling association executives to
share positions on relevant topics, follow debates that are important for their sector, and
engage with different communities.
Methodology
With this Report we want to give an insight into how associations are currently using social
media. We begin by providing the results from the online survey undertaken in cooperation
with ComRes. In total, 123 association executives from different industries answered. In ad-
dition Kellen Europe conducted two focus groups with in total 10 communication directors
from different industries and with different levels of social media engagement. Based on the
feedback from these focus groups and our expertise in house, we prepared a Status Report
2013 and highlight the findings with regard to governance and strategy, channels, measure-
ment and trends & focus. Based on this analysis, we then derive a set of 10 recommendations
associations should follow when thinking about developing their own social media strategy.

5
Status Report 2013
Results of the Online Survey
In February 2013 ComRes, on behalf of Kellen Europe, conducted an online survey amongst
association executives in Europe to better understand how associations are currently
using social media. In total, 123 people responded to the survey, and the key findings are
summarised below.
Responsibility of Managing Social Media Activities
The results show that almost half of all respondents say that the person responsible for
managing social media activities is a communications manager. Just 17% say that the staff
member with departmental responsibility (i.e. Public Affairs, Meetings Management) is
responsible, while 11% say that a dedicated social media manager is responsible.
Time Dedicated to Social Media Activities
The vast majority of respondents (88%) say that the dedicated person in their organisation
spends 10 hours or fewer on social media activity each week. Just 9% say that the dedicated
person spends more than 10 hours.
49%
14%
8%
2%
17%
11%
Communications manager
Staff member with departmental responsibility
Dedicated social media manager
Assistant (office manager, intern)
Other
Don’t know
21%
48%
19%
7% 2%2%
0% More than 40 hours per week
Less than one hour per week
1-5 hours per week
6-10 hours per week
11-20 hours per week
21-40 hours per week
Don’t know

Results
6
Status Report 2013
Reasons to Use Social Media
Respondents say that their organisation was most likely to use social media to communicate
and engage with site users (67%), or to gather information (60%).
Few respondents (11%) say that their organisation uses social media for crisis communications,
while a similar proportion (12%) say that their organisation’s social media activities have no
specific objective.
Social Media Channels Used
The majority of respondents say that their
organisation has an account with either Twitter
(76%), Facebook (59%) or LinkedIn (59%). Only
a third of all respondents (33%) say that their
organisation has a blog.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80 76%
59%59%
37%
3% 8%
NONE
OFTHE
ABOVE
TWITTER FACEBOOK LINKEDIN YOUTUBE PINTEREST
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80 76%
59%59%
37%
3% 8%
NONE
OFTHE
ABOVE
67%
12%11%
60%
44%
28%
46%
Communication and engagement with site users
Information gathering
Influencing key opinion formers through their
social media accounts
To take part in the online debate on specific issues
Recruitment of new members for your organisation
Crisis communication
We have no specific objective

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Status Report 2013
Frequency of Content Update and Response to Communication
Out of the social media channels we tested, organisations are most likely to frequently
post new content or respond to communications on Facebook (69%) or Twitter (66%).
Organisations are most likely to actively use Twitter on a daily basis (24%).
Organisations are most likely to actively use Twitter on a daily basis
More frequently than once a day 21% 24% 5% 10% 2%
Less than once a day but more than once a week 49% 41% 35% 29% 11%
Less than once a week but more than once a month 19% 19% 43% 28% 24%
Less than once a month 6% 9% 18% 26% 63%
Frequently 69% 66% 40% 39% 13%
Infrequently 25% 28% 60% 54% 87%
Never 6% 6% 0% 7% 0%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80 76%
59%59%
37%
3% 8%
NONE
OFTHE
ABOVE
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80 76%
59%59%
37%
3% 8%
NONE
OFTHE
ABOVE
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80 76%
59%59%
37%
3% 8%
NONE
OFTHE
ABOVE
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80 76%
59%59%
37%
3% 8%
NONE
OFTHE
ABOVE
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
26%
23%
FACEBOOK BLOGS
28
TW

Results
8
Status Report 2013
Impact of Social Media
Respondents are most likely to say that Facebook (26%) is the social media platform that
has the potential to have the greatest negative impact on their organisation. This is closely
followed by blogs (23%).
Respondents are most likely to say that Twitter (28%) is the social media platform that
has the potential to have the greatest positive impact on their organisation. This is closely
followed by LinkedIn (24%).
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
LINKEDIN
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
26%
23%
FACEBOOK BLOGS
28%
24%
TWITTER
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
LINKEDIN
6%
23%
BOOK BLOGS
28%
24%
TWITTER
Negative Impact Positive Impact
Facebook is most likely to be perceived as the platform with
the greatest potential for negative impact, whereas Twitter is
considered to have the greatest potential for positive influence

9
Status Report 2013
Measurement of Social Media Impact
Two in five respondents (41%) say that their organisation measures its social media efforts,
while (51%) half say that their organisation does not measure its impact. A small proportion
of respondents (7%) says that they do not know.
The amount of fans or followers that an organisation has (73%) is seen as the most common
form of measuring the impact of its social media efforts. Around half of respondents say
that their organisation measures the impact of its social media efforts by the response
from a target audience (53%), or through the analysis of comments made by social media
users (47%). Few (14%) say that they conduct social listening research by an independent
company.
73%
14%
10%
53%
47%
Amount of followers or fans
Response from target audience (e.g. to the
announcement of specific events or press releases)
Analysis of comments made by other social media users
Social listening research by an independent company
Other
51%
41%
7%
Organisation does not measure the impact of its
social media efforts
Organisation measures the impact of its social
media efforts
Respondents do not know if the organisation
measures the impact of its social media efforts

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Status Report 2013
Social Media’s Contribution to Achieve Business Objectives
Certain respondents indicated that they do not consider their organisation’s social media
efforts to have been particularly helpful in achieving their own business objectives in the
last 12 months. Just 18% say that they consider their organisation’s social media activity to
be effective, while more than a quarter (29%) say that it is ineffective in meeting their
business goals.
On a scale from 1 (not at all effective) to 5 (very effective) respondents are most likely to
give their organisation’s social media activities a score of ‘3’ out of ‘5’ (34%), suggesting that
its activities have been neither effective nor ineffective.
Value of Social Media Activities
Respondents believe that there is a value in their
organisation’s social media activities. More than half of
respondents (56%) say that the amount of resources
their organisation invests in social media is worthwhile,
while just 4% say that it is not worthwhile.
However, three in ten (31%) say that it is too soon to tell
if the resource that they invest is worthwhile or not.
More than half of
respondents (56%)
say that the amount
of resources their
organisation invests in
social media is worthwhile
1 = Not at all effective 8%
2 21%
3 34%
4 14%
5 = Very effective 4%
Don’t know 19%
Ineffective 29%
Effective 18%
Just 18% say that
they consider their
organisation’s social
media activity to
be effective

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Status Report 2013
Status Report 2013
Kellen Europe organized two focus groups with communication directors from 10 European
trade associations. The main results of the online survey served as a starting point for
the discussion and then the communications directors shared their experiences, practical
considerations and recommendations. The key findings of the focus groups combined with
our expertise in communications are summarized below.
How to fit social media in the association’s strategy and governance?
Any association that wants to use social media for its internal or external communications
needs to take a few initial but essential steps before “going live” and may start by asking:
“Why do we want to use social media and what do we want to achieve?”
Clear objectives, a concrete strategy and implementation
plan and tangible goals will make it easier to get
the association leadership onboard. In setting your
objectives, outline a sound strategy that fits in with the
overall association mission. Draft a clear implementation
plan that includes defined measurements and ensure that
the necessary resources for execution of the strategy
are available. Resources will include staff time, which for
most associations surveyed was ten hours per week or less, and internal or external social
media monitoring tools and metrics. Aligning social media goals with measurable outcomes
should be a key factor in your strategy.
Before embarking on a social media program, establish a clear policy that all involved in
representing the association online can act upon. This will ensure trust and a mandate to
work independently, without having to seek approval from the association leadership. Clear
guidelines, including anti-trust rules, will guarantee clarity for all involved.
Be prepared: make sure that you have clear guidelines on the content that you want to share
and establish a link between the communications people and the policy advisors within your
organisation to ensure that all social media activities support the political message you want
to send. Consider who will be the voice and social media gatekeeper for the association.
Define the core messages you seek to communicate and those issues of concern that must be
handled with care. As your organisation prepares its social media strategy, it is important to
know exactly how each channel works, not only in terms of technology but also to ensure that
you have a good understanding of the environment and atmosphere, which can vary from
one channel to another. To ensure that you are comfortable and well acquainted with each of
the specific channels, it is useful to explore them with a personal account first. You may also
want to scope out how member companies or other associations are using social media.
Aligning social media
goals with measurable
outcomes should be a key
factor in your strategy

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Status Report 2013
Which type of social media channel should be used for each type of communication?
The leading mainstream social networking channels, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
and blogs, are well known and widely used by associations in their communication activities
and outreach to members, stakeholders and the general public. However, it is clear that
associations are well aware of the fact that they need to select the right channel to get their
message to the audience they want to reach.
Overall, associations are very active on Twitter
because that is the platform where the debate
is going on “live” and where key discussions
take place. For many associations, Twitter also
serves as an excellent “early warning system”
about issues of concern and a source of
information and a valuable data stream: If you
follow the right people and ask questions, you will get answers from experts in the field and
get directed to other relevant channels with more relevant information.
Associations use Twitter to generate traffic to other, more text heavy sources of information
such as the association’s website or blog by tweeting about topics they are covering. Your
organisation can become an influencer by investing time to engage and take part in the
debate with stakeholders, ally associations, journalists, academia and anyone that plays a
role in the field.
In general, Facebook works very well for a Business-to-Customer (B2C) environment, not for
the Business-to-Business (B2B) environment in which most trade associations are operating.
This, however, will be different for professional societies or for trade associations that target
the end consumer. Facebook also works very well for specific events or as part of a larger
advocacy campaign and whenever the association needs to reach out to the general public.
Associations and blogging: is it worth the investment? Indeed,
blogging for associations requires a strong commitment and
investment in terms of human resources. Associations should know,
however, that they do not have to blog all by themselves. You may
engage academia or journalists to ghost write blog articles or to post
occasional guest blogs to supplement your own content. Several
associations also try to engage members to commit to write blog
posts, however this tactic can prove challenging for two reasons:
members may present a point-of-view that infringes on an association’s desire to maintain
neutrality and objectivity, and chasing members and editing their contributions can be very
time consuming.
Blogging for
associations
requires a strong
commitment
Twitter also serves as an
excellent “early warning system”
about issues of concern

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Status Report 2013
Nevertheless, an association blog is a constant flow of information toward members and
the overall community in which your association is operating. The association blog could
serve as an excellent platform to provide more in-depth information to support your social
media content, press releases and industry news and is the perfect vehicle to position your
association and its executives as industry thought leaders.
LinkedIn can be very effective in reaching a targeted B2B community and many associations
use LinkedIn profiles and groups for specific purposes such as member engagement,
member recruitment and events. It is an easy tool to engage with the key people operating
in the association’s industry or field, and has proven its value for reaching to the wider
community and starting a debate. If your goal is to establish a LinkedIn group, it should be
noted that it is not possible to directly recruit LinkedIn members to join a group. One tactic
suggested by our social media strategists within the Kellen Communications division is first
establishing a LinkedIn profile for your organisation so that you can reach out and make a
number of connections within your industry or related areas. Once you have an established
group of connections, then create a group and recommend to your connections that they
join your group. One of the benefits of a LinkedIn group over other social media platforms is
that you can still keep the group “locked” for members only. This requires you to review and
approve new group members which helps to assure that incompatible individuals — such as
those seeking to sell goods or services to your members — cannot join the group. groups
can also be set up so that new posts must be approved by the LinkedIn group administrator
before they become live, ensuring that the content associated with your group is in keeping
with the association’s mission and values.
Social media experts agree that dialogue on
any of the channels — from Twitter to Facebook
to LinkedIn — should be authentic. This relates
to not only your own association’s posts, but
those of fans, followers or connections. So
while your association may wish to avoid “hot
topics” and controversy, rather than deleting
those type of remarks from Facebook or LinkedIn, view them as an opportunity to educate,
express your association’s position or disseminate factual information. Constant monitoring
and prompt response are key to effective message management.
The use of video has gained significant importance in the different fields of communications
in general over the past years. European trade associations have understood this growing
importance and are making use of the tool for specific purposes such as event reporting,
short messaging on the association’s website and as part of advocacy campaigns. Although
it is proven that video is extremely effective, most associations currently use it only as a
support tool to get their messages across. In combination with Twitter or Facebook, linking
to the association’s YouTube channel or website, video can be very effective.
Dialogue on any of the channels
— from Twitter to Facebook to
LinkedIn — should be authentic

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Status Report 2013
Inconclusion,itisclearthatnotallchannels
work for each form of communication
or for every association. Try to assess
what works for your association and the
audience you want to reach out to, or
where you want to get your information
from. Social media channels should not
be used for the sake of using them, but
should act as a means of support for any
form of communication your association
undertakes, and have defined objectives. All of the above tools and channels should interact
with each other. An integrated approach across social media channels and traditional media
vehicles will help to generate more traffic to all communication tools used, which will increase
visibility and ensure omni-presence of your association’s message.
Finally, content quality and consistency are essential. Make sure your message is clear
and that you update posts and engage frequently with followers, no matter which tools you
are using.
How should social media efforts be measured?
For the majority of associations, the assessment of their activities on social media is done
on a quantitative basis. The easiest and first step is often: “how many followers, likes, and
views do we have?” This step is easy to grasp and cost effective, with the information readily
available on each of the specific tools. However this is very limited quantitative information,
which doesn’t give any qualitative context on the profile of your support base, and their
reasons for following, liking or viewing your association’s account, page or posts.
Taking it a step further, some associations evaluate their presence on social media by
analysing their followers (mainly on Twitter), as well as the amount of re-tweets and shares
the posted information receives, especially from influential followers such as a Member of
the European Parliament. Finally, an increasing number of associations are subscribing to
online and paying monitoring tools that measure their social impact, track activity around
their posts, and make comparative analyses in the industry or sector in which their association
is active.
The more qualitative way of measuring, in combination with quantitative figures and
comparisons with ally associations are powerful tools to demonstrate the effectiveness and
need to use social media to an association’s leadership — who often focus on the question:
“Why do we need social media and more specifically, what is the return on investment (ROI)
for the efforts we spent in social media?”
However, we might want to take a different approach and ask whether too much attention
is given to the need to measure an association’s social media efforts.
Social media channels should not
be used for the sake of using them,
but should act as means of support
for any form of communication
your association undertakes

15
Status Report 2013
Association staff often need to justify the efforts and investments put into their social media
outreach more than investments made through other channels of communication. When
compared to other tools and channels associations use in their communication plan, such as
events, it is equally difficult to collect qualitative results. Although the number of attendees
can be checked along with their feedback on the event, it is difficult to know whether it was
able to bring added value to the community or had direct influence on policy makers.
The same is true for advertising; unless advertising efforts are part of a membership
recruitment campaign, you can’t really assess the direct value of these efforts. Associations
need to consider social media as a fully accepted and integrated part of the overall
communication strategy and budget; thereby putting it on the same level as tools that have
been used for years without their ROI being continually questioned.
How to keep on top of new trends and technologies?
Social media is becoming more and more complex and new technologies and applications
are being launched on a regular basis. How can associations stay abreast of these latest
technologies, new tools and channels and how to make sure to pick the right channel for the
association’s message and audience?
Be alert, well informed, test and evaluate! Assess new technologies or channels by trying
them out for a certain period. Analyze the efforts made, the investments done and the
objectives to be reached and decide on whether to continue or not.
An association should not follow blindly what is available on the market but make use of
what is relevant for them and what works for the association and the environment in which
they operate. A good example is the photo sharing platform Instagram, which, according to
comScore.com surpassed Twitter in terms of mobile web traffic in 2012 and currently has
more than 80 million users and a very committed audience. However, hardly any European
trade association is using it, because it doesn’t fit with their environment and activities
unless used for specific campaigns with a visual purpose. Social media activity is not all
about the largest number of possible users or potential outreach. Associations need to know
their audience, adapt to what channels work for them and most importantly, recognise what
information their audience is looking for or is of interest to them — content is essential!
How to stay up-to-date on the latest in social media? Use social media! Visit expert blogs,
podcasts, follow the right individuals on Twitter and engage with LinkedIn groups to learn
from experiences and exchange best practices with peers. The people in your association
staff that are responsible for social media obviously need to have the right skills and have a
genuine interest in the subject. Some associations will take this also into account when hiring
new people outside of the communications department, and would engage for instance a
policy advisor with strong communication skills who can combine and maximise from being
knowledgeable on the policy topic and being able to get the message across by using all
relevant social media channels.

16
Status Report 2013
What about traditional media? Will social media replace some traditional forms of
communication? Most likely yes in cases where communication becomes more effective and
a bigger outreach can be reached more easily: several associations already use applications
such as ‘What’s app’ to communicate with members, while press releases are being replaced
by blog posts that are linked with other technologies such as Twitter, which allows an
association to reach a broader audience in a faster and more efficient way and with less
resources. Now, only one piece of information needs to be created, and then adapted to the
type of channels it is sent through.
In today’s fast moving environment it is essential to get people’s attention and to communicate
in a clear and focused manner. Video is an excellent tool: summarise your key message in
a video not longer than two minutes and direct people to your website or blog for more
specific and in-depth information. Same with Twitter: put the essentials of your message
in 140 characters and connect with people via LinkedIn, e-mail, or website; all the while
generating traffic to all other channels on which your organisation is represented.
Our advice is to try new technologies and assess them for a while, and only continue
investment in what works for your association and its specific audience.
Conclusion
Social media is not a “one-size-fits-all” communications tool for associations. Associations
should take the time to analyze what they want to achieve through social media and then
select the channels that will help them to best reach those goals. Associations should also
assess where social media fits into their portfolio of communications initiatives. For example,
organisations that seek to use social media to drive individuals to their website, should
consider first, whether their website makes a positive first impression.
Social media is dynamic; constantly changing, expanding or contracting, growing louder
or softer based upon the engagement not only of the community manager, but also of the
participants. And, like a garden, you cannot just plant a seed on Twitter or Facebook and
hope that it will grow, you must cultivate it.
Finally, social media may not be the right solution for every application. Other electronic
communications such as email, text messaging or webinars might be better solutions for
specific needs. And let us not forget the impact and effectiveness of a phone call, an in-
person meeting or a personal letter. Today there are more options for communicating than
ever before and surely, there are others that have yet to be discovered.

17
Status Report 2013
1
Ten Steps to Successful Social Media for Associations
2
10
3
4
9
8
7
6
5
Clearly define your association’s
objectives for using social media
Outline a social media strategy that fits in with
your association’s overall strategy
Set out clear guidelines and policies for the use of
social media within your association
Pick the right channels and get acquainted with them
Be transparent and ready to react
Mandate and trust those responsible for
social media in your association
Provide meaningful content
Be clear, focused and adapt your
message to the channels
Monitor and measure your effort through both
quantitative and qualitative tools
Dive into it — explore, evaluate and continue investment
only in channels that work for your association!

18
Status Report 2013
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the individuals, who kindly took the time to provide their views and
input by participating in our Focus Group meetings.
Alexandrine Gauvin, Communications Officer, AmCham EU
Bénédicte Blondel, Communications Manager, IAB Europe
Catherine Piana, Director General, European Vending Association
Colin MacKay, Communications Director (interim), Cosmetics Europe
Florence Ranson, Head of Communications, European Banking Federation
Lisa McCooey, Deputy Director General/Director of Communications, Food Drink Europe
Magali Merindol, Marketing & Events Manager, Digital Europe
Patricia Mobbs, Communications Manager, APEAL
Thierry Dieu, Director for Communications and Public Policy, ETNO
Thomas Lindemans, Communications Manager, EUCOMED

19
Status Report 2013
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
Nele Devolder, is responsible for Kellen Europe’s external relations and
marketing activities. She works on communication and strategic advice
projects for associations in different industries. Nele has over 10 years of
experienceinthemanagementofEuropeanandinternationaltradeassociations
and professional societies, specifically in the field of healthcare.
Dani Kolb, Manager Kellen Europe, is responsible for the communication
activities of associations from various industries and professions. This includes
defining the overall communication strategy, choosing the right channels and
overseeing the implementation of the communication activities. Dani has 10
years of experience working in Brussels with European and International
associationsandmorespecificallyimplementingadvocacyandcommunications
campaigns for them.
About the Advisor
Joan Cear, Vice President Kellen Communications, New York, develops and
oversees the implementation of integrated marketing communications
programs for associations, not-for-profit organisations and corporate clients.
This includes proactive initiatives designed to support clients’ strategic goals
as well as issues management and crisis communications programs. She also
supervises the company’s Washington, DC public affairs group, KellenAdams.
Joan has 25 years of public relations experience, has served on the boards of
several not-for-profit organisations and is a former journalist.

20
Status Report 2013
We would also like to thank Comres for supporting the production
of this Report
About ComRes
ComRes is a leading market and opinion research agency with a specialism in conducting
reputation, public policy and communications research. ComRes runs the Europoll™ omni-
bus panel of MEPs which is the largest commercially available survey of MEPs as well as an
omnibus survey of wider stakeholders in Brussels.
ComRes also offers bespoke quantitative and qualitative research amongst difficult to
reach EU stakeholders as well as research among legislators and the public in individual
EU countries.
ComRes’s clients include high profile corporate companies, charities, trade associations,
NGOs, international organisations and national governments.
ComRes opinion research is used by clients to shed light on the reputation of individual
organisations and industries as well as to understand the opinion landscape on key policy
issues of interest to the client.
This information can be utilised to inform clients’ communications and public affairs strate-
gies and evaluate the success of communications activity. Our research is also often used
externally to provide the content for events and publications which demonstrate an under-
standing of opinion among key stakeholders.
ComRes follows the ICC/ESOMAR Code on Market and Social Research.
Contact us
About Comres
ComRes Brussels
Rond Point Schuman 6 Box 5
1040 Bruxelles
T +32 (0)2 234 63 82
F +32 (0)2 234 79 11
info@comres.eu.com
Acknowledgements
ComRes London
Four Millbank
London SW1P 3JA
T +44 (0)20 7340 9634
F +44 (0)20 7340 9645
info@comres.co.uk

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