Social Media Roundup: How AARP Won the Oscars, Too

We’ve seen it a ton in the past year—companies and organizations finding ways to make themselves part of the conversation via social media during major events.

But what if the way to really win is by taking that same approach and adapting it to a real-life event? That’s what AARP recently did, and you can read all about it in today’s Social Media Roundup.

Jack the News

Tks 4 RT @ChatterBachs  (opens in a new tab): Newsjacking Offers Opportunities for Associations @SteveDrake  (opens in a new tab) http://t.co/3qjyizH4Nn  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #asae  (opens in a new tab)

— Steve Drake (@SteveDrake) March 4, 2014  (opens in a new tab)

Eat your heart out, Oreo: Sunday’s Oscars offered plenty of opportunity for organizations to get a hold on the social conversation—some within the ceremony itself  (opens in a new tab)—but AARP took a different approach: It put on an awards show of its own  (opens in a new tab) called “Movies for Grownups.” During this year’s ceremony, AARP gave Academy Award best actor nominee Bruce Dern something called a “Chaise d’Or,” a figure of a comfy gold seat for an Oscar statuette to sit in. (Dern, alas, didn’t win an Oscar for his role in Nebraska.) The concept isn’t new—it even has a trendy term, “newsjacking”—but it’s something associations can learn from. Read Steve Drake’s tips on newsjacking  (opens in a new tab) if you’d like to steal a few ideas of your own. (ht @SteveDrake  (opens in a new tab))

Love Your LongTime Members

RT @SmoothThePath: It’s not just new members we need. How to engage long-time members http://t.co/5T9Qp4Y9ON  (opens in a new tab) #AssnChat  (opens in a new tab) #ASAE  (opens in a new tab)

— iCohere Team (@iCohere) March 3, 2014  (opens in a new tab)

You already have their ear, as well as their membership dues. How do you keep them happy? Smooth the Path‘s Amanda Kaiser says it depends  (opens in a new tab) on the needs of the members—especially the ones who might feel a little left out of the leadership or speaking opportunities. Those are the ones you have to work for. “[P]erhaps we have to make more opportunities,” she writes. “When there’s only a 1 in 6 chance to have a speaker proposal selected, participating formally may be tough. Talk with these members and think about other ways to get them involved.” She suggests a variety of ideas, from mentoring programs to roundtable discussions. If you don’t find a way to reach them, you could lose out, she explains. “The members who want to volunteer already have,” Kaiser writes. “It’s the ones who haven’t stepped up yet, the ones that hold a lot of wisdom and haven’t found a way to participate, those are the members you may be losing.” (ht @iCohere  (opens in a new tab))

Any suggestions for getting under-the-radar members back at the table? Leave your take in the comments.

Nebraska star Bruce Dern, who won an award at a recent AARP event. (Paramount Vantage)