Using Social Media

Social Media is a great way to promote your team and communicate with supporters, family members, sponsors and the general public. Be sure you always have plenty of clear and consistent marketing ideas.

The following are a few ways we use our Social Media marketing:

Monthly Newsletter~

This is a great way to keep sponsors, families, alumni, team members and outreach connections informed on what your team is doing and what events you are attending.

It is usually good to have three or four team members responsible for collecting outreach info and pictures and writing up a newsletter. We have found that MailChimp is a great and easy way to create a newsletter.

Google Calendar ~

Our team uses this to keep track of all of our meetings, deadlines for submissions,  conferences, outreach events and community service events. We have two team members responsible for updating the calendar for our website.

Facebook~

Facebook is a great way to keep your community and alumni updated with your team. You can also share upcoming events with team members and parents, this helps make communication easier.

• Create daily posts to include info, pictures, links and questions that relate to the team, FIRST and/or STEM
• Have one or two people who can be responsible for replying to post and or messages that come in within 24 hours, be sure that they communicate with each other.
• Search out relevant Facebook pages to “like”
• Actively share and comment on other “liked” Facebook page posts
• Post on other “liked” Facebook pages when relevant

Twitter ~                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Twitter allows you to quickly update your followers on how your team is doing, and keep in touch with other teams.

• Have one person post Tweets that may be different from Facebook - info, pics, links and questions that relate to the team, FIRST and/or STEM
• Respond to comments within 24 hours
• Search out relevant twitter users to follow
• Actively engage with other users and create a dialogue via reply and retweets
• Monitor FIRST key terms on twitter and google - #omgrobots, “The Holy Cows”, “Team 1538”, “Dean Kamen”, “FIRST Robotics”

Digital Media ~

By using digital media, you can:

• Arrange for team members to be at EVERY event to take pictures and/or video. Make sure they get it uploaded to a  team’s photo sharing account
• Ensure photos are organized / categorized
• Develop Animoto videos for key categories of photos - Past robots, Outreach Events, Awards, etc
• Post video onto a team Youtube account and share with other teams
• Coordinate a team member to take video and pictures at competitions, including off season events, outreach, team meeting and build season

Website ~

Here are some things to keep in mind while working on your website:

• Be sure that website is up to date
• Be sure that you have current contact information on your website so anyone can get in touch with you easily
• Provide info of managers and mentors, including a short summary of the position and a biography of the student or mentor
• Provide pictures and summaries of past robots
• Don’t forget functionality and convenience, keep links working and together

Team Blog~

Daily updates of what your team has done helps keep all your members up to date if they ever miss a day.

• Ensures that events are posted on the blog within 2 days of the event
• Post a minimum of 1x per week
• Each post should contain at least one large engaging photo or video.
• Be sure to tag post so someone looking for a specific topic on your blog can find it easily

Public Blog ~

This is a great way to communicate with your followers about what your team has done at an event, conference, workshop or tournament.

• Ensures that events are posted on the blog within 2 days of the event
• Post a minimum of 1x per week
• Each post must contain at least one large engaging photo or video.
• Bookmark each post (Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious, etc)
• Set up a Google Reader to follow other FIRST and/or STEM blogs
• Comment on other blogs

Setting Up and Using Piggybackr

During 2012, The Holy Cows discovered a website named PiggyBackr, a tool that has helped our students raise money for the team and our travel fund by contacting friends, family, and community members. In late 2011, an experienced team in technology, fundraising, and youth empowerment created Piggybackr. It was created by using research on the best practices in motivation, youth engagement, giving, and fundraising.

There are two ways to set up an account with PiggyBackr:

1. Use the code that was given to your FIRST team
2. Fill out your contact information and once you finish signing up you’ll need to complete your page. You’ll need a picture of you, a video of your cause, and information about yourself. Now you’re able to send emails to people, companies, and businesses to help fund your cause.

How to set up an email template:

1. Go To: Tools > Spread The Word

2. Add Supporters - enter email addresses of all the friends and family members that you will be sending this email to.  We recommend at least 20.  Pro Tip: The most successful fundraisers enter over 100.

3. Select the supporters by checking boxes next to their names

4. Select the email template titled "Use This - Email To Friends and Family"

5. Customize the email template by -

• adding your unique Page URL in the 3 bracketed locations (remove the  brackets)
• filling in the 3 reasons why you "LOVE FIRST Robotics"   
• changing [Your Name Here] at the end of the email, to your real name and remove the brackets

Note:  Your unique URL can be found when going to your personal fundraising Page and copying it from the URL bar. Your reasons for why you love FIRST are best kept to one short sentence each.  Your email will not send if there are any brackets present.

6. Check Box: "Save Letter As Template"

7. VERY IMPORTANT - Under "Name" - enter whatever you want and hit "Save".  This will save this modified template as the one you will be using to send to your friends and family.

8. If you are ready to send it, hit SEND!

Use the other templates if you are sending it to businesses and such.

You’ll receive a level with the work that you do. The levels are from 1 to 8, 1 being you just started and 8 being you completed your goal. The levels in between show if you have sent a lot of emails, updated your page, and received donations.

You can edit your page by going to your home page and clicking Tools in the upper right hand part of the page then edit page. Good luck and happy fundraising!

How To Write A Good Press Release

When you need to contact the local media with your press release or news alert, email is almost always the best way to do it. You want your email message to be opened, to be read and to spark interest. In the worst case scenario, your email might not even get seen by a living, breathing person, because a computer program filtered it out. Many news desks have automated systems called spam filters that are designed to prevent junk mail from reaching inboxes. To avoid getting filtered, don't use any kind of attachments with your email, either documents or images.

Never Send a Press Release as an Attachment

Sending your press release as an attachment to your email message (for example, as a Microsoft Word document) is a fairly common and very big mistake. Many news media outlets will not accept email that contains attachments, because they can contain computer viruses.

Instead, simply copy your text and paste it into the body of your email message. It's also best to stick with "plain text" and stay away from special text formatting in your message. Send images only to people who have requested them, or who already know who you are and what to expect.

Make a Great First Impression

The subject line of your email is the most important part of the message, and it can make or break your email campaign. A good subject line will give the editor an instant feel for what your press release is about, so she can decide if your story offers a good fit. If you have a strong press release headline, use it in the email subject line.

Use Both Upper and Lower Case Letters

DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS! It's annoying, hard to read, and suggests that you don't know what you are doing.

Address Your Emails to Recipients Individually

It's best to send each email individually and to address each one to a specific person. This is much more effective than doing "mass emailings," because people like personal attention and to be addressed by name.

Sending your emails one by one is time consuming but highly recommended. It also gives you the chance to personalize your press release email with special comments to the recipient. If you must send email in groups, this is one way to do it. Take a group of email addresses, paste the group into the blind carbon copy ("Bcc") field of your email message. Placing the emails as a group in the Bcc field will prevent the multiple recipients from seeing who else received the message.

Sample of a good press release

CONTACT:                                                                 

                                                                                         

Your Name

Contact phone number

contact e-mail

BATTLE AT THE BORDER: FIRST Robotics Competition Hosted by Local Robotics Teams Celebrates Science and Technology Leaders; City of San Diego Proclaims FIRST Day

_____________________________________________________________________

San Diego, CA. October 11th, 2011 - On October 15th, “Battle at the Border”, a robotics competition, will take place at Francis Parker High School in Linda Vista. In addition, the competition will play host to the San Diego County’s FIRST Day. FIRST Robotics Teams 1538: The Holy Cows from High Tech High, and 2485: W.A.R.Lords (We Are Robot Lords) from Francis Parker, will be co-hosting this event.

“Battle at the Border” is an off-season robotics competition where FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) teams from around Southern California will come to compete. This event will give the San Diego community an opportunity to see the impact that FIRST robotics has on students. The public is highly encouraged to come and watch the teams compete.

Teams competing will also be raising money for charities. Fundraisers will be held throughout the day, supporting the Breast Cancer Society and San Diego Food Bank. This event will also play host to San Diego County’s annual FIRST Day, a day dedicated to showcasing FIRST programs around San Diego, spreading appreciation for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professionals, spreading awareness of FIRST, and encouraging young people to pursue STEM careers.

FIRST is an organization founded by Dean Kamen (known for inventing the Segway and the portable dialysis machine), to promote a culture change where science and technology are truly celebrated. FIRST consists of four major programs, Junior FIRST Lego League (for ages 6-9), FIRST Lego League (for ages 9-14), FIRST Tech Challenge (for ages 14-18), and FIRST Robotics Competition (for ages 14-18), all of whom will be attending to present to the public. These programs engage students with exciting mentor-guided activities which help build skills in science, engineering, and technology, as well as inspire innovation, and foster well-rounded life capabilities. Through FIRST, students also gain self-confidence, communication and leadership skills.

The “Battle at the Border” committee consists of FRC Team 1538: The Holy Cows and Team 2485: The W.A.R.Lords, who have made it their goal to spread the message of FIRST throughout their communities.

The Holy Cows are a nationally ranked team whom have won the Chairman’s Award, FIRST’s most prestigious award, three years in a row at the San Diego Regional, and were Champions at the Silicon Valley Regional in 2011. Through outreach, community service, and mentoring, The Holy Cows are determined to create a culture which truly celebrates STEM professionals.

The W.A.R.Lords spread the message of FIRST by mentoring  FIRST Jr. Lego League and FIRST Lego League teams to help kids discover a passion for STEM topics. In addition, they help generate interest in FIRST via on and off-site demonstrations, new curriculum at their school,and encouraging other members of the community to get involved with FIRST and STEM related activities.  

# # # # #

Pictures available upon request

About The Holy Cows: Team 1538 - The Holy Cows are a local FIRST Robotics team competing in this season’s game along with 30 other San Diego FRC teams. Based in High Tech High, The Holy Cows are an internationally ranked team whom have won the Chairman’s Award, FIRST’s most prestigious award, four years in a row, at the San Diego Regional and were Champions at the Silicon Valley Regional in 2011. Through outreach, community service, and mentoring, The Holy Cows are determined to create a culture which truly celebrates STEM professionals. For more information visit: www.team1538.com

About FIRST: Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST ® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and nearly $14 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST ® Robotics Competition (FRC® ) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC®) for high-school students, FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) for 9 to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico) and Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLL®) for 6 to 9-year-olds. Gracious Professionalism™ is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org

Once You Qualify For Championships

Congratulations!
Once you have qualified to attend Championships you will have many questions about getting
there and what kinds of plans do you need.

Think about how many students will you travel with your group and possibly fundraising to help
with your team's expenses.

Shipping your Robot
Remember that you need to crate and ship your robot the Tuesday after your last Regional
event. You should receive your FedEx papers at your qualifying regional, if not contact your
Regional Director.
Be sure that your crate does not weigh over 400 pounds! For all FIRST information about
shipping your crate go to http://frc-manual.usfirst.org/viewItem/7#5.8.

Who Should you Take
This is entirely up to the team and will depend on how many team members you need to
successfully execute your team’s goals at the championship. Keeping in mind you must have
students to drive and maintain the robot and could use students for scouting, pit speaking,
mascots, photo/video capturing and cheering. Along with this you should have adequate adults
to supervise and mentor these team members for the approximate five days of competition and
travel.

Schedule
The Championship is a longer competition than the those leading up to it (regionals and district
events) so make sure you plan accordingly. As it stands currently it spans over four days
with load in and setup starting on Wednesday afternoon and the finals and load out ending
on Saturday evening. The public agenda is available on the FIRST site under the Events and
Championship or at the following link http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/championshipevent . In addition depending on where you are traveling from it can take the better part of a
day to travel to the Championship and home.

Flights
Contact airlines Group Reservations and see what kind of deal you can get for your team. Take
baggage fees into the total price of tickets, $25.00 per bag each way adds up when you have to
check in totes.

Be careful packing your totes, airlines are really strict about the 50 pound weight limit. We zip
tie our totes and tape 2 extra zip ties to the top of the totes so after they are inspected by the
airline, most of the time they will re-zip tie them. Be sure to pack your batteries in your crate
since they are not allowed to be checking onto the airplane.

It helps to have team members carry-on their bags and only check team supplies. Remember if
your students have utility knives please be sure they are put into the totes.

Hotels
Contact Steel Meetings for rooms they usually have deals in the area of the venue. Generally
quad rooms are available at hotels, these can sleep 4 and help to bring down the cost of rooms.Try to find a place that includes breakfast, it will save a meal cost and time in the morning.
Steele Meetings, Inc.
6346-65 Lantana Rd
Suite 117
Lake Worth, FL 33463
888-5STEELE (578-3353)
561-292-3314 (P)
561-649-5396 (F)
FIRST@steelemeetings.com
www.steelemeetings.com
www.steelehousing.com

Cargo Van Rental
Check outside of the airport for a Cargo Van, it is much cheaper than renting a minivan, to
transport your totes and equipment from the airport to the hotel, and the competition venue. We
have found a Budget Rental in Hazelwood, MO. This is a 10 minute cab ride from the airport, a
mentor can go pick up the van while luggage is being collected.

Train to Convention Center
Check out to see if there is a train to get from the airport to the competition venue. In St. Louis
there is the MetroLink train and it cost $2.25 per trip. It is cheaper to take the Metro if you are
staying near the airport because parking near the Convention Center can be expensive. It
is also a great way to get your team from the airport to your hotel if you are staying near the
Convention Center. It takes about an hour from the airport hotels to the Convention Center in St.
Louis, keep that in mind when planning your departure time in the morning from your hotel.
Here is the link for the schedule http://www.metrostlouis.org/PlanYourTrip/
MetroLinkPDFSchedules.aspx

Meals for your team
● Talk to the teacher/lead mentor about how much they would like spent per lunch or are
the students on their own to get lunch? For our team we add all meals into the travel
expenses.
● We always try to eat lunch as a team at a designated spot. We do this for two reasons;
1) They get a nutritious meal and have time to talk about the competition.
2) Everyone gets back to competition on time.
● Before arriving at Championships search for places to get lunches (I will pre-order a few
days before arriving), warehouse super stores, grocery stores etc. You do not want to be
looking for a place to get lunch the last minute.
● Another couple of option would be ordering Dominos pizza they deliver to the
Convention Center in St. Louis or pre-ordeing the FIRST lunches using the link here
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/championship-event
● Be sure you keep water and snacks in your pits for your pit crew and drive team. They
spend most all of the day in your pit area and will need to be hydrated and nourished
during their long day.
● Search for restaurants close to your hotel, make reservations before you arrive in town.
You can always cancel once you get there as long as you haven’t given your credit card
number.Links to St. Louis Activities
If possible try to fly out on Sunday so your kids will get a chance to see some of the
sites in the city.

http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/Robotics_Programs/
FIRST_Championship/2012_FIRST_Championship_Event_Order_Form.pdf
http://explorestlouis.com/
http://downtownsaintlouis.org/
http://explorestlouis.com/visit-explore/discover/25-things-to-do-in-st-louis/
http://explorestlouis.com/visit-explore/see-do/
http://www.stlmag.com/St-Louis-Magazine/May-2008/101-Things-Every-St-LouisanMust-Do/
http://stlouis.about.com/od/freethingstodo/Free_Things_to.htm
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/great-plains/st-louis/things-to-do
http://www.stlouisattractions.com/downtown.htm
http://www.grandparents.com/gp/events/stlouis.html

Scouting

Scouting in FRC is a way to analyze and record data during competitions. The data will be used to determine which teams we would like to be on our alliance and improve our chances of winning.

There are different ways to scout, in the pits and during qualification matches. In the pits, members of the team will take pictures of other teams’ robots, which reminds us of what the robot looks like. In addition, members will ask the questions about the robot, such as type of drive base, whether it is a long or wide robot, and other technical questions about the robot. During qualification matches, members of the teams will watch the robots play the game. Depending on the game, we make a scouting sheet containing the list of abilities of the robot during game play. For example, 2012’s game was Rebound Rumble, and we collected data on the robot’s ability to score and to balance. As team members watch the robots play, they recorded if the robots were able to shoot, the accuracy scoring, and whether if it was able to balance. We also record the qualification matches to help us clarify a robot’s ability if the data from the scouting sheets inconsistent.

Not all teams may want to interview teams or spend the entire regional competition watching robots play. Teams may choose one method over the other or some combination of both.

Judging Tips for Competition

Judging is a really important aspect when it comes to attending regionals. The judges evaluate all of the teams and the more you interact with the judges and show your team accomplishments, the more likely you will become considered for awards!

• Judges wear blue polo shirts. They may return more than once on Friday and Saturday. Judges will not expect everyone to know everything, but it is important to make sure that your pit speakers have enough knowledge about how the team is run and the basics of the robot. It is also nice to have an engineer and public relations person doing pit speaking , they can help each other out.

• It is always important to always have a few students available on Friday and Saturday in your pit area. Judges work under a very tight time schedule and may not have a chance to come back to speak to your team.

• Often the judges will only have 5 minutes to spend in the pit with your team. Jump in and sell the team. Have students practice their “elevator” speech: about FIRST, their role, the drive system, the control system, their community, their partners, their appreciation for engineering, why they designed something the way they did, their biggest challenge this year, their fundraising strategies. It is the same process used for college interviews, or job interviews.

• First impressions count. How your pit looks does matter. Try to be clean and organized and free of team members “hanging around”. Too many people might discourage a judge from getting a chance to speak to your pit speakers.

• Assume judges will not have seen copies of your Chairman’s Award entry, if you submitted one. Feel free to hand them a copy in the pits.

• During Chairman’s presentation some teams give the judges binders, scrapbooks, or other documentation to take back with them to the deliberation room, these will be available to pick up Saturday after deliberations.

• Judging for the Entrepreneurship award will occur on Friday. Make sure you have an example of your business plan to share with the judges on Friday.  

• Some teams prepare short handouts, brochures or a magazine about their team for the judges to take away, highlighting what your team has done throughout the year. These handouts can then be used for finding  sponsors and publicizing your team.

• Judges will be observing your team throughout the entire competition, even if they aren’t interviewing you. Make sure your teammates are very careful what they say in the halls, stands, and bathrooms it will reflect back on your team. Judges will also ask the other volunteers, for their input.

Jobs For Competitions

At competitions, every job is critical to the success of the team. Here are some ideas of jobs you could assign students during a competition, listed in order of importance:

Drive Team (1 Driver, 1 Operator, 1 Human Player)
This is the group of students responsible for driving the robot.

Pit Crew (1 Pit Crew Manager, 3-4 Students)
This is the group of students responsible for maintaining the robot during the course of a competition. Make sure that they have knowledge of your team’s robot; these students will be responsible for explaining the technical aspects of your robot to the judges!

Chairman’s Presenters (3 Students, 1 Student for Backup)
Once you are no longer a rookie team, your team can qualify for the prestigious Chairman’s Award (see Chairman’s CowTip for more details)! These students will present your Chairman’s presentation at any competition where you are competing for the Chairman’s Award.

Pit Speakers (2-4 Students)
This is the group of students that are responsible for talking to judges and VIPs that come to your pit. Pit Speakers should be selected based on their knowledge of FIRST, your team, and your robot.

Scouts (8-12 Students)
These students are responsible for scouting other teams at competition. They will be watching matches and recording information on team's performance. Scouts provide valuable information for alliance selections, regardless of a team’s seeding position.

Safety Captain (1 person)
This person is in charge of safety glasses, cleanliness of pit, keeping aisles clear, keeping only needed personnel in pit and knowledge of where first aid is.

Video (1-2 Students)
This group of students are responsible for recording ALL matches at a competition. This includes capturing the jumbotron as well as recording the 'full field view' video to be used for scouting and documentation.

Photography (1-2 Students)
These students are responsible for taking pictures of every robot in their pit and on the field. These photos are used for scouting purposes and documentation.