Harris Connect Introduces the Next Generation of Community Connections� An Application Built on Facebook� Platform

Harris Connect Introduces the Next Generation of Community Connections® An Application Built on Facebook® Platform

Harris Connect, LLC today announced the release of its enhanced Community Connections® application, which gives Facebook® users a direct link to the online communities of those organizations with which they are affiliated, including their colleges, universities and membership based associations.

Brewster, NY (Vocus) January 26, 2010 -- Harris Connect, LLC (www.harrisconnect.com) today announced the release of its enhanced Community Connections® application, which gives Facebook® users a direct link to the online communities of those organizations with which they are affiliated, including their colleges, universities and membership based associations.

Since the original launch in May of 2008, Harris Connect (www.harrisconnect.com) has already built hundreds of Community Connections applications on Facebook. Developed specifically to help their clients leverage the power of this popular social networking site, Harris Connect’s sophisticated application makes it easy for constituents to move seamlessly back and forth between their own individual Facebook profile pages and their organization’s online community.

The trusted authentication and single sign-on process at the core of the Community Connections application makes Facebook another point of entry to an organization’s online community. Facebook users simply add the Community Connections application to have the organization’s logo, updates on community news, events and activities posted right to their Facebook profile page – allowing them to then click on the links to access full content directly on the online community. For maximum ease and convenience, users can also update and add information to their online community profiles without ever leaving Facebook.

With this next generation of Community Connections, Harris Connect takes their social networking application one step further by giving constituents the opportunity to share their online community activity with their Facebook friends. With this, users are able to push announcements about events they’ve registered for, class notes they’ve posted, and donations they’ve made, seamlessly from their online community to their Facebook profile. These enhancements expand on the viral nature of the application, essentially enabling constituents to market on an organization’s behalf. As an example, if an alumnus/a from a university posts that they’ve made a donation to their alma mater – other graduates from the institution will see this on Facebook and may be encouraged to then make their own donation.

Beyond the benefits to alumni and members, Community Connections offers organizations a full suite of administrative tools to manage content and monitor usage. Specifically, these tools make it easy for a school or association to reconnect with and keep their constituents engaged by repurposing existing online community content and sending it directly to their Facebook users, which industry research indicates has high open and conversion rates, often higher than standard broadcast emails.

At the same time, the application also allows them to customize what will appear on their own Community Connections Wall, Box and Tab in Facebook. This includes the ability to incorporate RSS feeds of events, class notes and more – essentially bringing more of the community to their constituents in a place they access several times a day. Plus, a sophisticated reporting tool gives Harris Connect clients the ability to view how many Facebook users have added the Community Connections application to their profiles and Data-on-Demand links provide online community administrators the opportunity to create a variety of custom reports based on their own needs.

According to Paul Gangi, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Senior Vice President for Harris Connect (www.harrisconnect.com), “The power of Community Connections is that it gives our clients one more way to reach out to their constituents. By embracing third party social utility tools, schools and associations are able to increase their exposure and visibility by combining the power of their own online communities and our administrative tools with the expansive reach of a utility such as Facebook.” Gangi goes on to say that since so many people on Facebook today are using the platform to reconnect with old friends and acquaintances, Community Connections provides the company’s clients with a truly viral marketing vehicle that will help them draw more and more constituents back to their organizations over time.

About Harris Connect (www.harrisconnect.com):

Founded in 1963, Harris Connect is today the leading provider of affinity marketing solutions that help their clients engage constituents and generate revenue. Their products and services include commemorative publications featuring member-generated content; research programs that update email, phone and mailing address information; innovative online communities with best-in-class administrative tools that range from email marketing, online giving, event registration and other applications; and, mobile marketing solutions. Today, Harris Connect serves more than 4,000 clients worldwide, including educational institutions, member-based associations and professional organizations. The company is headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia with offices in New York and Texas.

For more information about Harris Connect visit www.harrisconnect.com. For general inquiries, send an email to moreinfo (at) harrisconnect (dot) com or call 1.800.326.6600.

Community Connections® is a registered trademark of Harris Connect, LLC

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.

Deb Taylor, VP Client Relations Management & Corporate Marketing

Harris Connect

845.940.0824

dtaylor(at)harrisconnect(dot)com

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Contact Information Deb Taylor

Harris Connect, LLC

http://www.harrisconnect.com/connections

845-940-0824