Annika Nonhebel from AXIS Dance Company participated in a training on leveraging social media. During an experiment, she set up Google Alerts to track mentions of AXIS. This provided valuable insights into how people discussed the company. Nonhebel realized checking alerts daily was important. When she found mentions, she would engage online and thank the authors. One positive blog post about AXIS and the TV show Glee stood out. It highlighted the company's work and increased positive responses. Overall, the experience helped Nonhebel better understand their audience and promote AXIS through social media.

1. C: Our studio audience has arrived. Welcome! I’m here with Annika Nonhebel from
AXIS Dance Company: a company of dancers with and without disabilities. I hear you
were one of the few lucky ones to participate in this training called Leveraging Social
Media. I read that you had a to choose an experiment that day; tell me about the
experiment you chose and what your biggest AHA moment was.
A: Well, Yvonne. My co-worker and I chose the listening experiment because we first
wanted to learn more about our constituency and whether they were already talking about
AXIS. Even before we left the workshop, we set up Google Alerts to search for a few
relevant key words. Within seconds we received alerts showing us what people were
saying about AXIS. It was exhilarating! I definitely would say that Google Alerts was our
AHA Moment.
C: Wow – you receive all these links to things people are saying about AXIS – what did
you do once you received them?
A: I quickly realized checking Google Alerts needed to become a part of my daily routine
making it much more approachable and efficient. When I found something through
Google Alerts, I’d share it with our staff and board as well as on Facebook and Twitter. I
also tried to engage in a conversation with anyone who had written something about
AXIS to thank them. Many were pleasantly surprised and felt very honored to receive a
personal response.
C: I bet! Has everything you’ve discovered been positive?
A: Actually, we’ve been really encouraged at how warmly AXIS is received and how
loyal our fans are.
C: And when you post, do you only post material about AXIS?
A: No, actually whenever we come across something interesting in our field of
Integrated Dance we share it with our followers. This is in line with our mission to
support Integrated Dance everywhere.
C: Of all the results that you found from listening through Google Alerts are there any
examples that stand out to you?
A: One of my favorite finds was a blog post called “Proud Mary” by a professor of
Disability Studies in Boston. The post is about Glee, the popular TV show about a
school’s glee club which includes a disabled character. In his post, he compares the
choreography in Glee to AXIS’ work. The exciting part is that he highlights AXIS,
commends our work, and even links to our video!
We immediately shared this link on Facebook and Twitter and got many positive
responses. Also, after reading the blog, I sent an email thanking him for his warm review
and it turns out he is a huge fan of AXIS. We’re certain that without Google Alerts we
wouldn’t have seen this blog post.
C: Wow. To have been linked with such a hot topic as Glee. Do you have any other

2. experiences you’d like to share?
A: I have to tell you, initially both Christy and I were pretty skeptical about Twitter.
Honestly, I think it was the fear of the unknown. But, we were willing to give it a try.
After setting up a personalized Twitter page for AXIS and finding people of interest to
follow we started to get followers. Every time someone joins I welcome them personally
and start a conversation. I must say, I was surprised by how fun it is to have a quick, easy,
personal conversation with someone on Twitter.
C: If you could do this again would you do anything differently?
A: No, the whole experience has been very valuable for both Christy and I. I can’t
imagine how we operated in the office before Google Alerts!
C: I once heard from a wise woman that first you need to crawl before you can fly. In
thinking about Social Media where are you at now, after this workshop?
A: I think we are confidently walking with a mission and have fun! We’ve even got some
next steps planned.