Today we're starting a new weekly series where we'll highlight a great social media resource. Some may be for everyone and some may be more appropriate for a specific audience or industry, but we're hoping that all of them will provide value! To start off this series, I'm going to highlight my all-time favorite social media Web site: www.mashable.com. Mashable is a fabulous blog that bills itself as the premier social media guide. Mashable offers countless the latest social media news, how-to guides and great posts about using social media to build your brand online. Their writers also have a knack for explaining things that might be a bit confusing for a social media rookie.
Monday, March 30, 2009
WEEKLY SOCIAL MEDIA RESOURCE: Mashable.com
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Denver Egotist
A shout out to The Denver Egotist and The Denver PR Blog for naming GroundFloor Media as one of Denver’s top consumer-product PR firms. http://thedenveregotist.com/article/3894/helping-denver-suck-less-colorados-best-pr-firms. They also took the time to add us to the list of Recommended Talent: http://thedenveregotist.com/local_talent. It’s fairly humbling to be listed among so many other talented creative professionals in this market. Although I would love to take the credit for this accolade, I have to say it’s just a reflection of one of the best lessons I learned when I started this agency – Hire people that are smarter than you and then get the heck out of their way.
Thanks again -
Laura
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Faith, Endurance and Values
I am a huge fan of Jim Collins and am looking forward to getting to hear him speak while in Arizona this week at EO University. I thought it was worth sharing Thomas Kascha's summary of Jim Collins' interview, which he posted on an interesting website www.stopcrisisnow.com. Regardless of your industry, these tips are well worth reading. I know we definitely embrace so many of these at GroundFloor Media.
Here is to Faith, Endurance and Values...
Crisis is Normal -- Get Used to It!
* the past 50 years was an aberration in economic growth spurred by stability & unprecedented prosperity
* in effect, the normal times, as we know it, are actually abnormal based on historical facts
Values Must Endure Time
* what's important is not "what" our values are, but that we have values at all
* the more challenging the times, the more we need values; they keep us in check
It's All About People
* hire the best for each position, train & coach them
* DON'T stop hiring; especially in crises, because during these times, the best people are overlooked
* the best people are responsible; they DO NOT need to be MANAGED
Look to the Future
* plan for the long-term; what is apparently unnecessary now may be vital for the future
* this is especially applicable to People, Systems, and Processes
* be mindful of trends
Crisis is Our Friend
* crisis brings out the best in us
* when we survive, we are more prepared to take on challenges for both good times and bad
Don't Just Stand There... Do Something!
* we cannot afford to be indecisive; we must choose to act on all challenges
* if we choose to become defensive, we live to fight another day
* if we choose to become aggressive, we need to ask: "how can we change the world with our plan of action?"
Balancing Faith and Reality
* we must believe in our capacity to survive and thrive, without becoming oblivious to the brutal facts
* we must use the facts to craft a plan of survival and prosperity
Saturday, March 14, 2009
As the popularity of newspapers declines...
Yesterday’s blog post on Reuters Blogs is depressing for those of us who love to read the newspaper. According to a report by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, only 33 percent of respondents would miss reading their local newspaper a lot if were no longer available. I know plenty of people in Denver who miss their Rocky Mountain News!
Fortunately, people do still appear to want their local news; they are just not getting if from the newspaper. According to the report, “When it comes to local news, more people say they get that news from local television stations than any other source. About two-thirds (68%) say they regularly get local news from television reports or television station websites, 48% say they regularly get news from local newspapers in print or online, 34% say they get local news regularly from radio and 31% say they get their local news, more generally, from the internet.”
I know I risk sounding like a broken record, but studies like this show time and again why it’s so important to have a strategic, integrated public relations strategy that combines both traditional and non-traditional tactics and includes an online presence. The clients we’re lucky enough to work with at GroundFloor Media understand that, and it is fun and refreshing to continually come up with unique and innovative campaigns with them.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tennyson Center Kids Strike it Big at Bowling
The sport of bowling has a long, rich history with its ancestral character linked to the Middle Ages and England’s King Edward III during the late 1300s. It gained considerable popularity in England during King Henry VIII’s reign in the early 1500s as the sport of the Court. “Well, if it’s good enough for Old Henry, it’ll do just fine for us!” Those were the words uttered by Amanda Brannum on a sunny winter Saturday in Denver when a rag-tag collection of GroundFloor Media staff joined forces with more than 22 kids from Tennyson Center for Children (www.childabuse.org <http://www.childabuse.org> ) to take on a few games of this old storied sport.
GroundFloor Media has had a five-year relationship with Tennyson Center for Children, the region’s oldest residential center for abused and neglected kids, that has taken the form of pro bono public relations and actively participating in social outings with the Center’s resident kids, ages 5 to 18.
Stepping up to play their first game, many of the kids were a little uncertain and timid at first. To help break the ice with the kids, we asked them to make up their own special “bowling names” that we could input for the electronic scorecards at each lane. Bowling alter-egos started to emerge in the form of such characters as Master P, Slewdog, Wicked X and Striker, to name a few.
We warmed up with a few practice rounds, and soon the kids were enthusiastically unstoppable – each finding their unique style and technique at throwing the ball down the lane. Underhand, overhand, shot-putt and the often-famous “between-the-legs” release were all throwing variations seen and heard (cer-thump!) in the alley that afternoon. Undeterred by the occasional gutter ball, the kids anxiously awaited their next frame and started jockeying to play not only their own turns but also fill in for the GroundFloor Media staff so they could get more practice.
The arrival of nachos, French fries, hot dogs and chicken nuggets was a temporary “refueling” distraction after our first game. Re-energized, and with sticky fingers, we tackled a second game sporting improved skills and somewhat reckless abandon. Some of us suspected that the greasy French fry hands helped put some useful spin on the balls. As their confidence grew, Master P and Striker claimed they’d each found their own magic bowling balls and encouraged their fellow bowlers to use them for good luck. A sense of good sportsmanship and shared learning was an underlying tone amongst the kids as they took pride in their final scores of the day and celebrated with high-fives.
Overall, it was an afternoon of unbridled fun that included a healthy balance of strikes, spares, gutter balls and smiles. While no one qualified for the Professional Bowlers Association, the Tennyson Center kids and GroundFloor Media’s big kids-at-heart left the bowling alley with plenty of terrific new memories, a few tall tales about the “pin that almost went down” and new bragging rights for the most elegant bowling technique. Although 500 years have since passed since the days of King Henry VIII’s Court, I know that Slewdog and Wicked X would have given any member of Old Henry’s bowling team a run for their money.
~Amy Claire
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Storytelling...
GroundFloor Media’s senior public relations counselors often tell our clients that a press release is not the answer. Gone are the days of distributing a news release and garnering a ton of media coverage. Companies have to find ways to authentically engage with their consumers – media coverage can be an effective part of that mix but it is no longer the end-all-be-all answer. Seth Godin’s blog post today really explains that theory.
Here’s an expert: “A publicity firm will tell you stories of how they got a client ink. A PR firm will talk about storytelling and being remarkable and spreading the word. They might even suggest you don't bother getting ink or issuing press releases.”
It’s definitely worth a read.
~Ramonna
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