To succeed in our mission we are bringing together the largest, most talented network of devotees that ISKCON has ever seen. As much as possible and practical we will encourage volunteer efforts, backed up by full-time staff where needed.
We will use virtual office systems to enable team members to work from any part of the world. We will function with flexibility and agility without much dependence on hierarchy. We will have both international and regional teams.
We invite all devotees who want to participate to connect with ISKCON Online. We encourage you to share it with everyone you know.
Teams Populating the Network
Our network will be organized around different teams working collaboratively. These teams are further organized into groups of teams with similar goals. The main groups are:
Executive
The executive group will coordinate the network and support it with administrative functions including legal, finance and accounting.
Research
The research group of teams focuses on market research and competitive research through primary and secondary methods. Our aim is to navigate the Internet universe with as much knowledge and understanding as we can uncover. This research will inform all of our content, product development and marketing efforts.
Content
- Content is king in the Internet world and our network seeks to bring together the best talent in and around ISKCON for content development in different mediums. This group has many teams with a lot of crossover and collaboration.
- Branding oriented (logos, styles and key messages)
- Graphic and Other Design
- Website general & site specific written content
- Social Media &Community content – blogs, Facebook and Twitter feeds, etc.
- Video content
- Downloads
Virtual learning environments
We will be expert in “systematic education” online through creating virtual learning environment of integrated web based applications that provide teachers, learners, and others involved in education with information, tools and resources to support and enhance educational delivery and management.
A range of educational experiences will be offered in different online academies tailored to specific markets. Courses will range from free email-based courses to paid certificate courses supported by full-time teachers, live webinars and personal guidance.
This group includes teams for:
- Course creation
- Course delivery
- Learning community development
Mobile Platforms
Mobile platforms (phones, tablets and other devices) are quickly becoming the dominant field for digital content. We will have a team to craft mobile strategies that are fully integrated with other platforms, This team will keep abreast with emerging technologies and ensure that our content and services take advantage of new opportunities.
Other Product Development
- Special project teams will work on developing other digital and physical products to serve our markets including
- E –books, “white papers” and magazines
- Premium subscription content
- Mobile apps
- Audio and video downloads
- Printed – Books & brochures
- Bhakti-yoga, kirtan and meditation kits
- DVDs
Services
In addition to content, courseware and other products we will create teams to provide or connect with online and offline services including:
- Access to volunteer mentors
- Online stores for purchasing physical products
- Offline events, seminars, kirtans, retreats and pilgrimage tours
Marketing
With Lord Sri Nityananda Prabhu as our Mahajan (in Bengali, the Mahajan is the one who organizes the market, getting goods made by others and then bringing them to sell),we will create teams to take these products into the global marketplace provided by the Internet and use every appropriate marketing tool to get people connected to Krishna consciousness.
We will use passive methods like advertising, content marketing and email based drip marketing using state of the art automation and tracking systems.
And we will mobilize global networks of volunteer “Distributors” and “sales teams” to venture into the online world offering the treasures of the Nama Hatta.
Performance
Our network will sharpen and develop our efforts by using performance analytic tools and strategies. We will have expert teams dealing with SEO (search engine optimization) strategies, audience analytics, site metrics, and overall performance measurements.
Technical
Behind the scenes will be highly competent teams of professionals handling all the back end systems to support the content, courseware and marketing efforts as well as keeping the network running at optimum efficiency. This includes:
- Web hosting and email and SMS systems
- Workgroup collaboration and project management
- CMS (content management systems)
- CRM (contact relationship management)
- MAS (marketing automation software)
- LMS (learning management systems)
- Social media integration and management
- Specialized programming
Human resources
The people forming the network will come from all over the world, tied together by a dedicated HR team and robust communications. By reaching out through expanding circles of our existing networks we will reach every person in around ISKCON who may want to participate.
Fundraising
A dedicated fund-raising team effort will complement revenues from marketing our products and enable our network to provide extensive free or low cost services.
Localized and Affiliate Teams
Our global efforts will link with a range of localized regional groups that we will help setup in collaboration with different regions. These include
- US/Canada
- India
- UK
- Russian
- Spanish
- Brazil
- Chinese
- Africa
We will also create affiliate relationships with SKCON centers, groups and events, and BBT books, BTG and other publications.
Our Projects
Our planned projects include:
Spiritual marketingweb sites
Our initial focus is to develop several important new general content oriented websites, namely
- Bhakti.com – A portal to bhakti-yoga targeting the yoga community
- KCbasics.com [working title for url] – A general purpose introduction to the basics of Krishna consciousness
- Kirtanworld.com – A portal targeting the growing interest in kirtan and linking to a global network of location specific kirtan sites (like Kirtanlondon.com)
- Darshan.com – The go to place for Deity darsan
- Gitamadeeasy.com [working title for url] – For first-time readers of the Gita
- Spiritualfood.com [working title for url] – Truly fantastic prasadam recipes
Virtual learning environments
We will create virtual learning environments to host courses and provide the framework for developing learning communities.
Some will be like online academies hosting a variety of courses:
- Bhaktilife.org – connected to Bhakti.com
- ISKCONAcademy.org – connected to various ISKCON sites
- Krishnacourses.com – Connected to Krishna.com and similar sites
Others will be a single topic – specialized course used to give introductory courses and lead students to the academies.
- Japacourse.com – Introduction to mantra meditation
- Gitacourse.com – Intro to the Gita
- Bhakticourse.com – general intro to Bhakti-yoga
- Krishnacourse.com – General intro to Krishna consciousness
- Bhaktiroots.com – For new congregational members
Spiritual lead capture pages
To market courses and other products we will have specialized lead capturing landing sites with the main objective of getting people to sign up and receive some free download or course that we will then follow-up to market other products.
Some ideas are:
- Bhakticonnection.com
- Bhaktiexperience.com
- Pathforhappiness.com
- Krishnameditation.com
Social Media and online communities
Along with websites we will build our social media presence through Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, Youtube channels, Google+ pages and other outlets.
We will also identify existing online communities where we can participate with our content and build specialized content for these communities.
Supporting other outreach efforts
Many devotees involved in outreach are unable to do any substantial follow-up as they lack the resources. We will offer such devotees the opportunity to channel their leads into our marketing systems with the option of staying in the loop with these individuals where practical and appropriate.
This will be especially important to traveling book distributors and speakers as well as many ISKCON events.
ISKCON websites
According to their needs and requests, our network will offer its expertise in Internet outreach to help revamp and improve ISKCON’s existing websites including:
- Krishna.com
- HareKrishna.com
- ISKCON.com and .org
We will also offer templates and consultation for ISKCON center sites seeking to establish best practices and standards for effective outreach.
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