by Aubrey Mellos | May 7, 2015 | Blog
There was a span of about a month-and-a-half this past winter when I looked forward to long car rides. Multi-hour drives home for Thanksgiving – awesome, traffic jam – yes! Why was I suddenly thrilled by the idea of sitting in my car? Because, like many of you, I was completely addicted to the NPR podcast, Serial.
I feel like I can include the caveat “like many of you” because, during those couple months, it seemed that I couldn’t have a conversation that lasted more than 15 minutes without someone bringing up Serial. Like a good book or movie, we analyzed it, sought commentary on it, and, upon meeting someone who was not yet listening, had our 2 minute elevator pitch as to why it was the best thing ever ready to go.
Done well, podcasts are conversation starters and a way to build a community around an idea. The ability to use voices, music, and other sound effects allows the producer to connect with his/her audience on a more intimate level than a passive article or blog. Incorporating podcasts into your LMS platform offerings adds another level of depth to the ways your community can feel connected and remain engaged.
Provide a “Human Moment”
A podcast can serve as a complement to a larger event or course offered to your community. More and more, businesses are employing podcasts as a strategy to engage this customer base in a non-salesy way by telling human interest stories or providing expert tips on topics tangential to their product. This type of “human moment,” is designed to draw the audience in and build loyalty as they feel they are getting a glimpse behind the curtain.
Tell a Story
The most effective podcasts tell a story or seek to provide advice on a particular topic, and they don’t have to be long to have an impact. A quick 5-10 minute clip is the perfect amount of time for a quick story or a list of 3 best practices around a particular topic. The important part is that listeners leave recognizing they just received new insights or information. In our fast-paced lives, a 10 minute audio clip can sometimes deliver a lot more bang than a 1,000 word article.
Build a Community
As noted above, in addition to helping to build organizational and product loyalty, podcasts also help to build a community. Because podcasts are designed to be intriguing and current, they intrinsically spark conversation. Popular podcast series like Serial became popular nearly entirely by word-of-mouth. It seems to be part of the human experience that when we find value or appreciation in something, we seek to share it with others – in the same way that we also recommend movies, books, and restaurants.
So the next time you’re seeking to build momentum and conversation around a new training series or conference, consider incorporating a podcast as a great way to create enthusiasm for your product.
Eve is an Elevate project manager with CommPartners. If you’d like more information about this topic or Elevate, our learning management system you can reach Eve at efinstein@commpartners.com.
by Aubrey Mellos | Apr 27, 2015 | Blog
You and your team have worked for months developing your Learning Management System (LMS). You’ve ensured a smooth integration with your member database, designed the site’s style and branding, migrated content, fined tuned the site’s look and feel, added your payment gateway and are finally sitting in front of a finished product. Time to pop the champagne? Hold onto those corks for one more second.
Before an LMS platform goes live, there’s one final step, and this one’s a critical one: testing. Testing is so important because it is a way to identify and correct two major hiccups before the site goes live:
- Bugs or mistakes
- Disapproval from your board or member community
Locating and correcting any bugs or mistakes in the site is important because, even though your LMS producer likely went through exhaustive quality control testing of your platform before delivery of the product to you, you are better equipped to recognize some errors they may not catch. Particularly in the area of the user experience , you know your members better than anyone, and know what they’re used to and what may seem foreign or confusing to them. As Learning Solutions Magazine explains,
You are…testing to make sure your configuration, courses, and data are available in the system as you [and your members] expect them to be.
The second roadblock that LMS testing helps to identify is any pushback you may receive from your board and/or members. This is, in essence, a political move – having your board or a sample of your members use the site and provide feedback not only helps you catch any mistakes, but also provides these groups the opportunity to be heard. In this way, you are able to raise any user concerns with your vendor before the site goes live, and avoid having to scramble to make alterations in the first month after launch in the face of unhappy constituents.
CommPartners’ client, the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA), is currently nearing the end of a two month testing process of its new Elevate LMS with its board members. For AHLA, this testing process ensured that its board had an opportunity to sign off on the site before it goes live, rather than coming to AHLA staff with complaints and/or modifications after the fact. Fortunately, AHLA reports its board members are pleased with the product, “by and large, our leaders were all very happy with it, recognizing that it is a much better system and very intuitive,” said AHLA’s Senior Manager with Practice Groups Distance Learning, K.J. Forest. However, this process has allowed AHLA to identify some fine-tuning needs that it was able to work collaboratively with CommPartners to correct. Ultimately, AHLA will be able to launch a site that matches one of its primary goals in seeking a new LMS – confidence, as K.J. said “we wanted to be able to offer [these benefits to our members] with more confidence,” than they had previously.
If you have thoughts or questions about the content of this blog, please contact Eve at efinstein@commpartners.com.
by Aubrey Mellos | Apr 9, 2015 | News
Change is the constant. Chaotic environments are the norm.
Today is dramatically different than ten or twenty years ago. The line between work, play and leisure will continue to erode.
Join Velvet Chainsaw’s Jeff Hurt on Tuesday, June 16th for a conversation focusing on how associations can be nimble enough to adapt to these impending changes.
According to the technology research company Gartner, by 2020 more than 40% of an organization’s work will be non-routine. During the next ten years six radical changes will disrupt traditional work. The need to adapt to these mega-trends will be imperative for success.
Who: Jeff Hurt, Executive Vice President of Velvet Chainsaw Consulting
What: Free webinar looking at the opportunities these changes create for associations
Where: CP Learning Center
When: Tuesday, June 16th
For more information and to register, please log in to the CP Learning Center.
by Aubrey Mellos | Apr 8, 2015 | News
(COLUMBIA, MD –April 15, 2015) CommPartners, a leader in online learning and events is pleased to announce a new partnership with Soldier’s Heart, an organization dedicated to helping heal the invisible wounds from war and military service. This new initiative continues the mission of CommPartners to use its services to support those in need.
Since 2006, Soldier’s Heart has provided assistance for veterans, families, and communities overcoming the wounds of war. An important component of this assistance is being able to disseminate education to reach impacted individuals and their loved ones as well as professionals that provide care to those impacted. Recognizing this need, CommPartners will be donating its services to ensure the program succeeds and Soldier’s Heart is able to maximize its impact. Soldier’s Heart Executive Director Dr. Ed Tick says,
“At Soldier’s Heart we seek to widely disseminate our vision and practices for transforming the emotional, spiritual, and moral wounds of war. In this effort we had planned to give webinars for several years. Lacking the in-house time and expertise to achieve this, CommPartners generously offered their full-service production program for our first few webinars. We are honored and grateful to partner with CommPartners and thrilled to launch our new webinar series with their help.”
The webinars will be held monthly beginning in April and are open to anyone interested in learning more about this important cause. CommPartners’ CEO Rich Finstein says,
“Working with a group like Soldier’s Heart allows us to give back to those who have sacrificed so much for our country. We are looking forward to supporting Soldier’s Heart as it disseminates information to restore and support our nation’s veterans.”
The first three programs are now open for registration by clicking here.
- April 22nd – Warrior’s Return: Restoring the Soul After War
- May 27th – Beyond Moral Injury
- June 24th – Veterans, Sex, and Love
About CommPartners
CommPartners provides online education, learning management, and event services to the association community. The company‘s mission is focused on providing a well-planned and intelligent approach to sharing of knowledge, with a core focus on creating positive user experiences. Over 1,300 associations have selected CommPartners to manage their eLearning programs. The CommPartners team is diverse, but together they share a common passion: to be strategic thinkers, dedicated to advancing a client’s mission through exceptional education programs.
About Soldier’s Heart
Soldier’s Heart tends the invisible wounds resulting from war and military service. The organization believes that these “soul wounds” are sacred and, properly tended, can lead to wisdom and transformation. They offer genuine homecoming and a path for post-traumatic growth to troops, veterans, families, and communities. Soldier’s Heart’s mission focuses on veterans and their families but transcends their wounding to include the entire society. To learn more or make a donation, please visit the Soldier’s Heart website.
by Aubrey Mellos | Mar 2, 2015 | News
The fact that the educational system in the United States is in disarray from the post-secondary system all the way down to the kindergarten level is heralding new opportunities for associations of all types. With disruptions coming at all levels from online learning to the advent of the MOOC movement no educational institution will be immune. Complex workplaces require new combinations of skills and micro-credentialing is gaining new traction as a way for employers to measure skills attainment in multiple contexts.
Join Shelly Alcorn, Principal at Alcorn Associates Management Consulting, on April 7th for a discussion focusing on how associations can cope with and take advantage of openings being created by these changes.
For more information and to register, please log in to the CP Learning Center.
