Deirdre Walsh

Current

• Community and Social Media Manager at National Instruments
• B2B, Community and Social Media Expert at deirdre-walsh.com

Past

• LabVIEW Community Specialist at National Instruments
• Media Relations & Public Affiars Specialist at National Instruments
• Media Relations Coordinator at National Instruments

• Account Executive at Hill & Knowlton, Inc.
• Communications Assistant at Texas Senator Troy Fraser
• Director of Public Relations at Cleveland at Texas Business Fair
• Teaching Assistant at University of Texas at Austin

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Education

• The University of Texas at Austin

Recommended

4 people have recommended Deirdre

Connections

412 connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Websites

• Twitter

Deirdre Walsh’s Summary

Since 2004, I've worked at Austin-based National Instruments, a technology pioneer and one of FORTUNE magazine's top 100 best companies to work for in America.

As the community & social media manager, I maintain and promote an award-winning global community for 125,000 engineers working on applications ranging from LEGO software to hardware for the CERN supercollider.

I also provide social media marketing strategy for product launches and other word-of-mouth campaigns that involve lead evangelists, brand blogs, viral videos, and social networks. Additionally, I connect developers offline at user conferences, Tweetups and other events.

As a social media evangelist, I have been a featured speaker at major events like SXSW, the Marketing Leadership Council, InnoTech and the Austin Social Media Club.

Prior to this role, I specialized in media relations, crisis communications and public affairs for companies like National Instruments, Allstate, British Gas, Hewlett-Packard and the Houston Marathon.

In 2002, I was the Hill & Knowlton NetComs Associate of the Year.

I graduated with a bachelor of science in public relations and minors in business and English from The University of Texas at Austin.

Deirdre Walsh’s Specialties:

Throughout my career, I have developed strong skills in verbal and written communications as well as organizational and analytical abilities. My job responsibilities have included the following: community management, social media strategy, online marketing, media relations, crisis communications, public affairs, employee communications, and event planning.

Deirdre Walsh’s Experience

• Community and Social Media Manager

  National Instruments

  (Public Company; NATI; Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing industry)

  February 2008 — Present (1 year 11 months)

  • Pioneer community-building initiatives that incentivize and enhance user connectivity, collaboration and contributions online and offline
  • Provide innovative marketing strategy that leverages new online technologies for NI “ecosystem” projects, including physical and virtual user groups, software partnerships, Web communication tools, rewards programs, discussion forums and blogs
  • Assist with creation of online “micro-communities” for niche markets like RF and academic
  • Work with research and development engineers on NI Labs, a virtual playground for new software
  • Create and update branded social networking pages on sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

• B2B, Community and Social Media Expert

  deirdre-walsh.com

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  November 2006 — Present (3 years 2 months)

  Here is a list of my noteworthy public speaking opportunities and articles about community management and B2B social media strategy.
  
  Speeches:
  • "Nerd Network:Building an Online Community for Developers" SXSW 2009
  Feedback: "This year, discussions trended away from some of the fluff that seemed to dominate last year's festival. (No, there were no "I Can Haz Cheezburger" panels this time around.) Some of our favorites included "Security for the Social Set" (headed up by Ars reader and forum member Ed Finkler), "Nerd Network: Building an Online Community for Developers," and a talk by Lawrence Lessig on changing government." Ars Technica
  
  • "Creating Effective B2B Online Communities," Marketing Leadership Council Panel Discussion February 2008 with IBM, Microsoft, and IT Toolbox
  
  • "What's the Size of your Digital Footprint," NIWeek August 2008
  
  • "Strategies for Planning & Building an Online Community," Innotech October 2008
  
  • "Groundswell Award Ceremony," Forrester Consumer Forum October 2008
  
  • "Integrating Social Media with Your Marketing Strategy:
  Building the business case for driving customer acquisition and loyalty." Jive Software Seminar November 2008
  
  • "Women Under 30 Kicking Ass in Social Media." Social Media Club Austin November 2008
  
  Articles/Blog Post Features:
  • "EEs, vendors search for their voice, and answers, in social media." Interview with EDN Magazine, July 2009.
  
  • "Social Media and Culture." Brian Fuller's Blog, March 2009.
  
  • "From A(erospace) to Z(oology): Technology provider National Instruments caters to a community." Interview with CRM Magazine, Feb. 2009

• LabVIEW Community Specialist

  National Instruments

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; NATI; Computer Software industry)

  February 2007 — February 2008 (1 year 1 month)

  • Launched ni.com/community, a portal for engineers and scientists to exchange LabVIEW code, technical tutorials and textbook companion materials
  • Create and update branded social networking pages on sites like MySpace, Facebook and NING
  • Serve as liaison between NI and key community members, like LabVIEW Champions and Beta Testers
  • Construct online and desktop gadgets that relay news, videos, events and technical information

• Media Relations & Public Affiars Specialist

  National Instruments

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; NATI; Computer Software industry)

  June 2004 — January 2007 (2 years 8 months)

  • Acted as main contact for broadcast outlets, business press and several engineering trade publications
  • Led media relations and interactive marketing efforts for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT software launch, the first consumer product release for National Instruments
  • Served on the crisis communications team by conducting media training for senior executives, updating the NI emergency handbook and writing detailed case studies on external crisis situations
  • Developed an online affiliation program with major partners and publishing companies to improve search engine optimization and increase the amount of technical content on ni.com
  • Spearheaded the 2010 marketing committee, tasked with evaluating new technologies and trends
  • Represented National Instruments at Texas political events and created the first public affairs toolkit
  • Managed the media relations intern and mentored five coordinators on the team

• Media Relations Coordinator

  National Instruments

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; NATI; Computer Software industry)

  June 2004 — January 2006 (1 year 8 months)

  • Led media relations campaign for two launches of company’s flagship software product, LabVIEW
  • Successfully executed press events at major industry tradeshows and NI’s annual user conference
  • Secured more than 100 media hits annually on technology innovations and product announcements
  • Redesigned online press room, created first HTML editor pitch and developed electronic press kits
  • Created company-wide strategy and process for participation in third-party news releases

• Account Executive

  Hill & Knowlton, Inc.

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; WWPGY; Public Relations and Communications industry)

  May 2002 — June 2004 (2 years 2 months)

  • Performed a variety of media relations, public affairs and Web communications tasks for high-profile accounts, including The Allstate Corporation, British Gas, Hewlett-Packard and the Houston Marathon
  
  Account Highlights:
  • Managed strategy and execution of “Fresh Air Friday,” a city-wide event that educated Houstonians about air quality issues. Duties included briefing clients, managing budget, writing speeches for Mayor Bill White, fundraising $4,000, obtaining PSAs, and securing media coverage.
  • Served as account coordinator for Allstate during the 2003 Texas Legislative Session. Position required development of messaging; design, copywriting and purchasing of print ads; briefing lobbyists prior to Senate and House committee hearings; writing opinion editorials; monitoring online grassroots campaign; and sending daily e-mail updates to more than 20 people nationwide.

• Communications Assistant

  Texas Senator Troy Fraser

  (Government Agency; 1-10 employees; Legislative Office industry)

  January 2002 — May 2002 (5 months)

  •Composed bi-monthly opinion editorial columns for the senator’s hometown newspaper
  •Performed photo editing, research and writing for the district newsletter
  •Aided the press secretary with communication support functions and organization of press clip files

• Director of Public Relations

  Cleveland at Texas Business Fair

  (Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Public Relations and Communications industry)

  January 2000 — May 2002 (2 years 5 months)

  •Created and wrote press releases, backgrounders, biographies, letters and invitations
  •Obtained $5,000 in sponsorship and donations from local businesses and campus organizations
  •Conceptualized and constructed a display booth used at the trade show convention

• Teaching Assistant

  University of Texas at Austin

  (Educational Institution; 5001-10,000 employees; Higher Education industry)

  January 2000 — May 2002 (2 years 5 months)

  •Assisted a professor with the largest class at UT in grading assignments and daily activities
  •Held regular office hours to help students with management information systems coursework
  •Taught undergraduate networking class to 120 students as part of an independent research study

Deirdre Walsh’s Education

• The University of Texas at Austin

  B.S. , Public Relations , 1997 — 2002

  Minors in business administration and English

  Activities and Societies:

  The University of Texas Ambassador, Texas Spirits, Texas Exes Student Chapter, CampTexas, UT Women's Choir

Additional Information

Deirdre Walsh’s Websites:

• Twitter

Deirdre Walsh’s Interests:

semantic Web, new technology, music, freelance writing, public relations, interactive marketing, monkeys, robots, community management, social media

Deirdre Walsh’s Groups:

•    Hill & Knowlton Employees, Past and Present
•    Texas Exes/University of Texas at Austin
•    Austin High-Tech
•    FIRST
•    LabVIEW Users
•    Texas Exes - Life Member
•    Groundswell Book
•    Community 2.0
•    LabVIEW Linked
•    Forrester's Consumer Forum 2008
•    PRSA Austin
•    B2B Marketing
•    Tech Ranch
•    LabVIEW in Robotics
•    Girls in Tech - Global
•    ATX Equation
•    Interactive Scene

Deirdre Walsh’s Honors:

• Forrester Groundswell Award for Support (2008)
• National Instruments Marketing Excellence Award (2006)
• Crystal Award of Excellence, Communicator Awards (2003)
• Silver Spur Award in Special Event Category, Texas Public Relations Association (2003)
• Netcoms Associate of the Year, Hill & Knowlton (2003

Deirdre Walsh’s Contact Settings

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• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• job inquiries
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