second in a series

Getting involved in Social Media can be intimidating. So much so that you might not know where to begin. Here, we’ll uncover some of the myths and truths about today’s hottest marketing medium.

Myth: Build it and they will come.
Truth: Success in social media requires relationship building and time!

In the early days of the Internet, companies created billboards or websites in cyberspace. Unfortunately, these same companies thought that customers and prospects would flock to the websites. Many learned the hard lesson that 'build it and they will come' doesn't play well on the Internet. The same philosophy holds true for social networking communities like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Outreach to similar groups, joining online conversations, and offering value to participants are some of the ways that you can drive traffic.

Consumers have choices of established and newer brands to reward with their loyalty. Those companies that offer real value- a reason to visit and return- will do well. Through social networking efforts, you can build a community of loyal prospects and attendees!

first in a series

Myth: Social media is Facebook and Twitter
Truth: Social media is web forums, e-mail lists, video, photo sharing, wikis, social networking and social bookmarking.

Many people falsely believe that 'social media' is defined by websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Social media certainly includes these social networking services but also encompass other content channels. Wikipedia defines social media as "media which are formed mainly by the public as a group, in a social way, rather than media produced by journalists, editors and media conglomerates."

Social media efforts should be managed by a stakeholder or someone with a vested interest in your product or service! Utilize all networking vehicles available but maintain a seamless approach so that conversations and relationships are woven together. Grow your relationships through social media by participating in conversations while listening. Let prospects and attendees help define your presence while driving traffic to 2010 NAB Show!

Using social media is vital to your marketing plans today, especially for increasing attendance at your association’s events. Here are some tips for success.

Your message must include a clear, concise value proposition. For it to get delivered, you have to find real people to send it to—that’s why we don’t send to sales@, info@ or pres@ e-mail addresses. If you build relationships on a one-to-one basis, you get great contact information! We use syndicated calendars to spread the word, and make it easy to pass along information by supplying a sample newsletter or blog post.

Program execution includes personalizing all communications, and visiting blogs and other marketing vehicles before reaching out. Best practices include asking publishers to pass the word along. Be transparent: Identify yourself in outbound communications, and follow up promptly.

We use Google Docs for organizing, sharing information and streamlining the process. We track activities and report on progress with free tools like Google Alerts and targeted sites for comments, reach, trending and blogs, and an RSS reader.

A successful social-media campaign has all communication components in sync—there really are no shortcuts to delivering awareness, excitement, attendees and ROI. Have fun with it and, above all, be social!

When using social media to engage with the consumer it’s always important to take a step back and ask yourself what your end goal is. Why are we here? What purpose does being on Twitter serve us? Remember, the end goal is to not have thousands of followers, it's to have thousands of targeted followers who will engage in a two way communication with you and receive a real benefit from your interactions.

Your real ROI is achieved when those who are passionate about your brand find you and have a connection. One thousand followers who care about your brand and are truly engaged are worth 10,000 who are not. These followers are the ones who will Retweet you, participate in your promotions and spread the word about you.

Twitter is an amazing tool, but it’s just that, a tool. At the end of the day it takes creativity, forward thinking and an ability to take a step back and look at the big picture to make Social Media marketing work.

Not so different then any other successful marketing effort, really...

Should a 10 yr old have a Facebook account?

I asked, in an early morning tweet, if our 10 yr old son should have a Facebook acct. The tweet also appeared on my Facebook status update. A Facebook friend then picked up the conversation and, it took off. You can read the rest of the story and updates here.

It's always about people, not the technology- some things don't change. From the earlier days of the WELL to The Virtual Community to other luminaries, it's always been about community building. Twitter is one of many solid community building tools. We're seeing a community start to form that returns, gets involved and tells other peeps about it. Folks are courteous, respectful of differences and threads or conversations develop during chats. Like we said, a community is developing.

It's all about the technology- boy did we have a slow night on the networks. It seems as if nothing was going our way. Twitter chats are notorious for tech gaffles and ours was no exception. Twitter tools like TweetDeck, TweetChat, TweetGrid were all running slow. This means delayed postings and reactions- tough if you're trying to run a live chat or communicate with your moderator!

You learn a lot by listening!- We have a great moderator. Even though we call Kate a moderator, she's actually a facilitator. Our chats are producing creative, crowdsourced ideas. The only way to get there is by listening. This works well with Twitter chats where everyone's on the panel and can participate.

Everything has to work together- the client does a great job with communication vehicles like it's website and social networking tools like Facebook, youtube and it's own Twitter feed. Can't overstress how important it is that all traditional and new/social/digital media work together to deliver a consistent message.

I wanted to get lessons learned down on digital paper before we forget! Our chat was held on July 30 with a moderator and panel of 5. See the details here.

Before continuing though, I must thank some very smart Internet folks whom we learned a great deal from. Jeff Hurt is an assn. guy and involved with Twitter chats #eventprofs and #assnchat. Sarah Evans runs her own PR shop and the #journchat twitter chat. Robert Swanwick runs #SpkrChat and all of it's parts. And, of course there's Carissa Rogers who runs the wildly popular #gno/Girls Night Out chat. You can check out a more complete listing of Twitter chats and their corresponding schedules here.

From these folks and others, we learned about moderating chats, setting up chat rooms, chat wikis and topic polls. We also learned more by reading this and this. We actually created and even distributed our own #sosfood chat guide.

One of the biggest lessons we learned was that an online chat takes as much preparation as a traditional event! Here are some of the other things that we learned from our first Twitter chat:

Have a mission or message that resonates. Share Our Strength is a great client with an easy to understand message. Clarity and brevity help when staring down the barrel at 140 characters :-)

Get a great moderator. Kate Miller, of Cooking During Stolen moments moderated our chat. Kate is a respected community builder and experienced foodie. She also has lots of friends- key to attracting a valuable panel, securing giveaways and getting the word out. Probably most important, Kate has the right temperament to run a chat.

Moderating a chat is really not about moderation! A good moderator is a better facilitator! Kate was able to ask questions and then get out of the way. This is easier said then done when tweets are zipping by at the speed of sound. She was able to keep the conversation rolling along without stifling it.

Along with a moderator, it helps to have a great panel. Panelists add value, draw attention and help to create excitement. Many established chats have a moderator but no panel or maybe one guest. We felt it was important to reach for the stars in our first chat and ended up with a panel of 5 foodies. The fun thing about a chat though is that all the participants can be panelists while sharing experiences and knowledge.

Try to establish a personality. Chats, like other online conversations have personalities! Think about what you want yours to be before show time. Granted, your chat's personality will, in part, depend on the topic and tweeps but... you can also help to shape it. We liked the feel of #gno's chat. Our moderator took a warm & fuzzy approach for our night time chat and foodies responded.

Get the word out. To spread the word, we searched through Twitter directories such as wefollow, Twellow and TwitterPacks. We then compiled a list of foodies, developed a message, contacted folks and asked them to come to our party.

Since the Twitter chat was the 2nd half of a campaign, we were fortunate to have lots of bloggers to reach out to that supported our cause. We also contacted the clients Twitter followers that we thought might be interested.

For every person we contacted, we asked for a retweet/RT. Most important, we asked partners & panelists to tweet it up! We started the marketing outreach effort one week prior to the chat. We felt pretty good when we saw traction from initial tweets.

Have a place that offers an explanation and a way to get involved. There are lots of peeps that aren't familiar with chats. Twitter chat archives can also be posted to the website. what the hashtag offers a free chat archiving service along with metrics. We were also able to use webpage our page for fundraising.

Use giveaways and prizes to create excitement. We worked hard to secure great giveaways and raffle prizes. Again, we tried to tailor everything we did to the chat's topic and this also pertained to prizes. People still love something for nothing!

Work out the logistics ahead of time! We figured out fulfillment for giveaways and raffle prizes in advance. We also had a schedule along with cued up questions. We created tweets ahead of time. We also tried to work out smaller details before the chat started so that we could focus on the conversation. We also had a team in place while the chat was going on. This allowed our moderator to focus on the conversation while we took care of business.

The conversation moved at a quick pace- some said, it went by to fast. We raised almost $1,000 in 2 hours and had 175 people involved in our chat. We made new friends and followers, discovered new niches, learned by watching and listening and had a great time!

So, when are you doing your next chat?

Elan has been praised and written about. As if that weren't enough, Elan now has a direct connection to The Beatles.

Beatles fans will remember that Klein was blamed in some circles for contributing to the breakup of The Beatles. Klein's ABKCO Records was immortalized in George Harrison's Beware of ABCKO bootleg.

ABCKO records was kind enough to send Elan a Rolling Stones Greatest Albums In The Sixties limited edition Japanese import boxed set. The record company was also responsible for having southern rock band Molly Hatchet do special shout-outs to Elan while on a recent European tour. You see, Elan played drums until this year's surgery. Recently though, he has started to play again.

Allen Klein recently passed away. The day he died, my wife received another e-mail from her high school friend. Klein suffered from Alzheimer's. One of the things he had asked about as he slipped in & out was "that little hip boy." They told him that Elan was playing the drums again. He understood nodded, and then smiled. Those closest to him said that for a moment, Elan's guts and determination made a difference to Allen Klein.

There, of course, has been much written about social media metrics. The topic has come up lately with a couple of our clients. Following are the metrics or measurements that we use. I know what the experts say but am more interested in your opinions.

How do you define social media success? What measurements do you use? Can you add to or revise this list?

- Actual leads, donations, registrations or, whatever the call is. These are tracked by source or promo codes.

- 'Buzz', excitement, awareness, education- we do a lot of events so this can be tracked by Tweetups, exhibitor and attendee feedback.

- Traction in social networks (Ning, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc): discussions, friends, followers...

- Website traffic (Google Analytics, Webtrends, etc)

- What else? Thanks, Mitch

The list has been quiet for wayyyy to long. I trust this note finds everyone doing well and getting ready to enjoy the summer!

Interesting topic lately is (of course) twitter. Many are saying that celebs have tarnished the landscape.
Others are saying that its demise will be caused by newer collaborative tools coming onto the market, like Google wave. Still others point to #iranelections as an example of twitter's prominence.

So, what say you? Is twitter the future, part of the past or a present day tactic used in your day-day activity?

More:

Why Twitter will soon become obsolete

How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live

Over the past year, we have become involved in online support groups. This weekend, there was a pool party for local families that are involved in one of the groups.

You can build a virtual relationship but... sooner or later it's a good thing to make face-to-face contact. You can always transfer the relationship back online once you've met in the real. At work, we do many Skype video conference calls but again, it's nice to actually meet people. Virtual relationships can complement but not replace real encounters that produce the laughter of children.

Homeland security and law enforcement professionals have an exciting new resource for building community among colleagues and increasing involvement in one of their leading annual events, thanks to the technical expertise of a Washington, DC-area communications firm that specializes in social media and networking.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) May 26, 2009 -- Homeland security and law enforcement professionals have an exciting new resource for building community among colleagues and increasing involvement in one of their leading annual events, thanks to the technical expertise of Tuvel Communications, a Washington, DC-area communications firm that specializes in social media and networking.

Read the rest of the Press Release here or here:

Hundreds of new and former show go-ers are heeding the call by joining FOSE and GovSec/U.S. Law online communities. Once there, attendees are sharing information and the excitement that this year's show brings to Washington, DC.

"The response of the FOSE and GovSec/U.S. Law communities to these social-networking activities is continued proof of a new communications paradigm and a shifting landscape," said Mitch Arnowitz, managing director of Tuvel Communications. "People no longer wish to receive broadcast one-way messages; savvy organizations engage customers and prospects while building relationships. FOSE and GovSec/U.S. Law are such savvy organizations."

"Because of the social media programs that Tuvel Communications implemented for FOSE, GovSec and U.S. Law, we were able to report an increased level of participation and attendance for our annual trade shows," said Carmel McDonagh, vice president, 1105 Media Inc. "Through the continued use of social media, we will maintain and grow our show audiences beyond the physical events. We aspire to keep our audiences informed and aware of ongoing activities on a year-round basis, to include soliciting feedback as we develop content for the coming events. As the government moves toward transparency and openness initiatives, we are mirroring this strategy in the way we communicate with our attendee community, and we have now created the right framework to achieve this goal."

Tuvel is helping FOSE and GovSec/U.S. Law locate and communicate with government information technology (IT), homeland security and law enforcement professionals, and motivate them to pass its message along to potential show attendees. The campaign includes crafting compelling messages that engage civilian and military professionals involved with government IT. "We use a soft-sell approach that both educates and promotes the communities that FOSE and GovSec/U.S. Law want to reach," said Arnowitz. "This social media program reaches potential attendees directly, when they are most open to hearing about the 2009 Expo and have the most opportunity to discuss the show among colleagues."

As with other clients, Tuvel is developing and leveraging relationships for FOSE and GovSec/U.S. Law through a social media outreach campaign that uses Tuvel's proven formula for success to find potential supporters of and participants in client organizations or events to whom people in the field listen.

This campaign has an added attraction for Tuvel. "Security and safety remain a major concern for all of us," said Arnowitz. "It feels good to help the professionals who are dedicated to our safety do their jobs more effectively."

The Tuvel methodology defines social marketing channels that potential audiences frequent; locates appropriate groups and influencers within each marketing channel and audience; and validates contacts through traffic, content, readership, online reputation and traditional media coverage. "Our company motto is 'Engaging Your Customers in Unconventional Ways,' and making the best use of today's technology--such as social media--is one of the most effective approaches we know of doing so," said Arnowitz.

We solicited 2nd and 3rd opinions before allowing Elan to walk again. A more conservative approach would keep Elan ‘toe-touching’ or non-weight bearing for several more months. The crazy thing about this rare hip condition is that none of the experts agree and to a certain extent, make educated guesses at the road to recovery. After all of these years, no one really seems to have a clear understanding of what the correct path is. What they do know is that range-of-motion is critical to long term prognosis. Elan’s ROM has always been excellent due, in part, to his athletic ability and attitude. The Drs. that we visited were impressed with Elan’s ‘before and after’ progress and x-rays. In the end, we worried about muscle atrophy from not using the leg for too long. We also decided to follow Dr. Standard’s advice, the Surgeon in Baltimore, MD that is guiding Elan back to good health. Elan’s long term prognosis continues to be guarded but his chances for a future pain-free life have been greatly improved by the path we’ve taken.

Elan won’t return to a more active lifestyle until Fall at the earliest. For the time being, there is no running/jumping/sports like activity. As you can imagine, we’re all pretty excited to have reached this milestone. Elan still has a long way to go but is making progress. He is often frustrated at the snail’s pace of improvement but we constantly remind him how far he’s come. The pain never left and unfortunately Elan continues to take strong meds for some relief. There have been a couple of falls but thank g-d, no damage was done. Around here, we gage our days in terms of not-so bad and really bad pain… From what we have learned, Elan’s condition (Perthes) seems to come with long term pain. In the short term, we will continue traveling to Baltimore twice a week for physical therapy.

Life is slowly beginning to return to a somewhat normal existence. We are now beginning to worry about the challenges of raising a 10 yr-old boy  Elan has finally returned to school almost full-time. With the help of teachers, a wonderful nurse and administration and his friends, he is becoming acclimated after having missed so much of the school year. Janet & I have gained perspective during this experience, take nothing for granted, and love our kid more than ever. Parents often say they’ll do anything for their kids, we feel like we’ve been put to the test! Once again, we are wowed by our 10 yr. olds guts, determination and bravado in the face of adversity and pain.

Please wish Elan luck as he continues his journey that brings him back to good health!