A Week in the Life of: Jon Woods' Week in Photos

Jon Woods, senior director of social media & digital strategy at GFM (aka the new guy).

Wednesday wine night with friends is always a hit.

Woke up Saturday morning to the destruction of one of my favorite old buildings. Where on earth will people get their slime tables now?

My wife and I braved the heat to attend the Westword Music Showcase. Time for fall!

 Experimental dinner - Doritos chicken. My hypothesis proved correct, it was amazing!

All smiles from the GFM team before we plunged over the side of a large rock. 

~ Jon

What We're Reading – week of June 25, 2012

Last week’s What We’re Reading focused on engagement, and this week we’ve got the research to back it up. From which words garner the most fan conversation and action on Facebook (hint – avoid “like” or “click”, but “chocolate” will get you everywhere!), to whose recommendation has the most influence on purchase decisions, there are a lot of good stats in the articles below that will help you shape your social media programs.

In one piece of “news you can use,” you might want to check your Facebook profile to see whether your preferred contact email has been replaced with an @facebook.com address. More details below. Have a great weekend!

Facebook

CNNMoney: Facebook Changed Default Emails to @facebook.com

If you’re missing an email from someone who got your address from your Facebook profile, chances are they sent it to your new @facebook.com address. Didn’t know you had one? Neither did a lot of users. Read this article to learn about the new rollout from Facebook and how to switch back if you prefer.

Ragan.com: Words Including “Look” and “Watch” Don’t Engage Facebook Fans

Do your Facebook updates include words such as “like” or “click?” Turns out using these driving words repeatedly isn’t what gets fans to click through to your content. Words like chocolate, shop and wardrobe inspire click-throughs, and the research cited in this article proves posting photos is key to engagement success. 

Twitter

OPENForum: How to Improve Your Twitter Engagement Rate

Is your brand is one of the 77 percent that considers Twitter a priority social platform? Then you should know that tweeting while people are busy (8 a.m. to 7 p.m.) garners 30 percent more engagement, and any more than two hashtags and you’ve gone too far. Read this article for more insights!

Blogs

OPENForum: Whose Recommendation Has the Most Influence on Customers?

A new survey shows that 81 percent of women “trust” Pinterest and blogs equally, but 61 percent say they actually purchased an item after it received a positive blog review (versus 47 percent who made a purchase based on a pin.) Read this post to learn more about the power of bloggers!

Social Campaigns

VentureBeat: This is Why You Never, Ever Start Campaigns on Friday

Most social marketing campaigns kick off on Fridays, but campaigns launched on Tuesdays get the most engagement, according to a new study. Read this article for smart campaign insights including what you can learn from colleagues, what works on YouTube, and best times to engage on various social platforms.

Mashable: 5 Ways Small Businesses Get Social Media Wrong

Social media is everywhere, and most businesses – regardless of size – are getting on board. This article outlines five common errors among small businesses trying to master social media. One of our favorites? You don’t have to keep up with the big brands. Read this article for more!

Best Way to Avoid a Self-Made Crisis? Slow Down!

Image credit: USAToday.com

Depending upon where and when you chose to get your news this morning, this may come as a shock: the United States Supreme Court ruled to largely uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this morning. 

Unfortunately, in the race to be the first to break the news, a handful of major news outlets and a number of politicians (and surely a host of others…) erroneously reported that the ACA had been ruled unconstitutional. And while many of us might have missed the early reports, thanks to social media, screen grabs and other news outlets, the mistakes already are infamous. 

Rule one in a rapid-response situation? Slow down and get all the facts straight before you put your message out there. There’s certainly a risk/reward factor to consider when trying to be “first to market” – but the risk far outweighs the reward if you create your own crisis that requires shifting your focus from the original goal to cleaning up the mess you’ve created in your haste.

8 Reasons Why Sheryl Sandberg is Awesome

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg (she’s even listed on our company’s Pinterest board among other influencers and PR crushes we all hold close to our heart).

For those of you who don’t know, this is a woman to watch and it’s not just because Mark Zuckerberg reportedly once declared, “Everyone should have a crush on Sheryl” after he hired her from Google as his COO at Facebook.

If you need more convincing, here are 8 reasons why Sheryl Sandberg is one cool lady:

• Today, it was announced that she will become the first female executive to join Facebook’s board of directors -- a big step considering only 16% of directorships are held by women at Fortune 500 companies. 
• She typically leaves work at 5:30 p.m. How many of us can claim that for ourselves?
• While at Harvard, she donned legwarmers and led the Harvard Aerobics club. Now that’s cool.
• The woman knows how to network. In fact, she met Mark Zuckerberg at a Christmas party. And the rest? It’s history.
• She’s only 42 and has already been ranked #5 on "the world's 100 most powerful women" by Forbes.
• She can give a TED talk like nobody’s business, especially on why we have too few women leaders.
• She’s admitted that she’s cried at work before. C'mon, you know you have too.
• During her commencement address at Barnard last year, she told the young women in the crowd, “I know I need to believe in myself and raise my hand, because I’m sitting next to some guy and he thinks he’s awesome. So, to all of you, if you remember nothing else today, remember this: You are awesome."

Right back at ya, Sheryl. 

~ Lauren Cook is a Senior Director of Social Media & Digital Strategy at GroundFloor Media and is on a quest to meet Sheryl Sandberg in person.

What We're Reading – week of June 18, 2012

Reading through the news this week we’ve seen a strong trend toward the topic of engagement on social media. From how to identify the content your fans really want in video to being in-the-moment and making real-time connections, it seemed tips, trends and opinions on how to connect with audiences via social media was the way to go with our wrap-up this week.

Interestingly the news focused on almost all members of the family this week: USA Today reported on teens losing interest in Facebook, Marketing Pilgrim shared new information about moms and their love/hate relationship with technology, and Ragan’s Health Care Communication News created an infographic about “Digital Dads” and how they’re using social media to connect with their families. You’ll want to read these articles!

Engagement/Integration

MarketingPilgrim.com: Study Shows US Falls Short in Responses to Social Media Fan Feedback

A new study shows that, on average, companies respond to only 30 percent of social media fans’ feedback. The average response time? Twenty-six hours. Unthinkable. Have you experienced this lack of response? Go to GFM’s Facebook page and share your experience. We promise to respond, and in less than 26 hours!

OPEN Forum: The Best Times to Tweet and Post to Facebook

It seems obvious – but one of the best ways to ensure engagement is to ensure you’re posting at the right time to engage with your fans! Here’s the latest research from Bit.ly, a URL shortening service, about the best times to post.

Mashable: Social Integration Adds a New Twist to Olympians’ Stories

Although the Olympics are still about a month away, an integrated campaign called Journey to the Games has already launched and is giving fans an opportunity to connect and interact with athletes at the Games on a whole new level. You can bet this is one campaign we’ll be watching!

YouTube

CommPRO.biz: YouTube Optimization Series: Part 1 – Content Gap Analysis

Did you know that aside from Google search, YouTube is the world’s largest search engine? First in a five-part series, this article will lead you through bite-size steps to identify the content your fans want, assess whether you’re providing it, then prioritize how to get started to fill the gap!

Twitter

Ragan.com: 9 Types of Tweets To Engage Your Audience

This article provides nine simple tips for content to engage your audience on Twitter. From asking questions to offering opinions, promoting links and solving problems – the story offers some easily executed tips and is worth the quick read.

AdWeek: Twitter’s Costolo Touts Real-Time Connections

This article summarizes a recent talk by Twitter CEO Dick Costolo regarding the importance of harnessing the “immediacy, authenticity and emotion” social platforms like Twitter provide as marketers seek to connect with customers. Regardless of whether Twitter is your focus, this is a good reminder about the real-time nature of social media.

Facebook

Ragan.com: 25 Facebook Campaigns to Inspire Brands

Whether your brand is big or small, for profit or nonprofit, there’s a little something for everyone in this overview of some of the most engaging and successful Facebook campaigns to date.

Blogger Relations

EyeforTravel: Bagging the Bloggers: Expedia’s Content Strategy Pays Off

“Blogging is not just a fad,” begins this article, which explains how Expedia, the world’s biggest online travel agent, has developed a highly effective blogger relations strategy. From insights regarding how they got started to realistic thoughts on measurement, this article is a must-read regardless of your industry.

Content vs. Connections – The Push and Pull of Social Media

You don’t have to look through your RSS feed for very long to find a variety of blog posts about the staying power of Facebook, or the adoption (or lack thereof) of Google+. I recently ran across this insightful post that discusses how Facebook is inherently more about connections (people you know) and Google+ is more about content (sharing similar interests). While I don’t disagree with the author’s assessment, I would challenge the fact that one social platform is inherently created for one purpose or the other. As communicators and marketers the conversation shouldn’t be content vs. connections, but rather how the two work together.

To use a personal example, I had never heard of the Adventure Journal until they came up in a Twitter search. As an outdoorsy-type, I enjoyed their content and liked them on Facebook so I could receive their content on that platform as well. It had little to do with a personal connection, and everything to do with content.

On the flipside, I’ve discovered more than a handful of individuals and brands on Google+ because of their content, which have also turned into meaningful connections (in-person meetings, business opportunities, etc.).

Social media offers individuals and businesses amazing opportunities to find and be found, to create and consume. Its less about which platforms serve which function and more about how we make connections (customers, friends, brands) through meaningful content (text, data, photos, video). In order to do so you have to first understand your audience; where they can be found and where they will find you, what they want to create and what they want to consume. Then go find them, create the content that allows them to easily find you and build on that relationship or connection by talking with them, not at them.

Let’s stop looking at content and connections as black and white, separate discussions, and start talking about how they can work together to use social media as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Jim Licko is a Senior Director of Social Media and Digital Strategy at GroundFloor Media. As displayed above, he enjoys ranting about the use and misuse of social media. 

A Week in the Life of: KP’s Week in Photos

Kristina Reilly (aka “KP”), director of business operations at GFM, wife, mother, daughter, friend (in no particular order).

I was pretty excited when I was asked to be the first team member at GFM to kick off our “A Week in the Life Of” blog series since I was in the middle of taking an online iPhoneography class. That said, I should probably rename this post KP’s Week in iPhotos.

What is the odd substance on my sunroof. We haven’t seen much of it,
but I was able to capture the rain through my sunroof. Did a little photo enhancement to capture the blue sky too.

As part of my never-ending quest to shed the “baby weight” and to stay healthy, I completed my second week of foundations work at CrossFit Verve. Take that, baby weight.

Denver offers amazing photo opportunities around the city. I love the pink of the sunset reflection off of the smoke stacks at the Dry Ice Factory.

K, Kristina with a K. Photo of my keyboard while practicing with the
zoom feature on my phone.

The big 6. A whole year in the making, my son FINALLY turned 6. I guess I would be pretty darn excited if I was turning 6 too.

My final photo is not going to win any photo competitions for sure. We have been doing our best to do one family hike per weekend. This week’s hike took us to Ceran St. Vrain trail in Jamestown. This is a picture of my busted up knee. I turned my ankle while carrying my three year old the last 100 yards to the car. My valiant attempt to save her from injury resulted in two bloodied knees.

Well, that’s my week in iPhotos. If you have an iPhone, take some time to play around with the camera. It does some pretty amazing things. And keep tuning in to learn more about our team through our new “A Week in the Life of” blog series.

~ Kristina

What We're Reading – week of June 11, 2012

We can’t help but be inspired seeing examples of companies using social media successfully. So if you’re anything like us, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the case studies we’ve highlighted this week from the Boston Celtics and Runner’s World. Whether you’re a sports fan or not, the lessons learned from each example are worth the quick read.

To carry on last week’s What We’re Reading trend of “news you can use,” we have a few updates from Twitter and Google Analytics. And while they didn’t make the cut below, you might stop by Forbes for this overview of social media mistakes to avoid at work and Fast Company for a reminder about the importance of good PR pitches – especially in this social media age. 

Twitter

GigaOM: Why Traditional Media Should be Afraid of Twitter

Twitter continues to make strides into the media realm, and the recent launch of their “hashtag pages” shows another step in this direction. This article breaks down this first venture and provides great links out to resources such as Mashable and TechCrunch for their insights, too.

The Next Web: More Content in Tweets on Twitter.com

Earlier this week, Twitter announced that it’s expanding the range of content shown in tweets on Twitter.com and mobile.twitter.com. Read this article for a breakdown, as well as a highlight of some specific brands that are partnering with Twitter for this launch, including BET and The New York Times, to name a few.

Metrics

Social Media Examiner: How to Use the New Google Analytics Social Reporting Tool

At GFM we’re big fans of Google Analytics, particularly as it relates to measuring how social platforms are driving traffic to company websites. Google recently introduced some new social media reporting tools and this article does a good job breaking down the new options, including graphic illustrations in many cases.

Pinterest

Digiday: 5 Brands That Get Pinterest

As brands try to figure out how to best leverage Pinterest, there are a number who have already hit the ball out of the park including Sephora and Gap. This article highlights a few favorites, and while you’re in Pinterest mode, don’t forget to follow GFM!

Case Studies

BrianSolis.com: How the Boston Celtics Win in Social Media and Digital

Their season on the court may have come to an end, but the Boston Celtics continue to rack up points in social media and intend to keep the momentum going. Read this Q&A for insight into how a small social media team wins big with fans.

Ragan’s Health Care Communication News: Runner’s World Gains 100,000 Followers in 100 Days

With more than 325,000 followers, @RunnersWorld is setting a pace that many other companies would like to follow. Read this article to learn more about how the magazine listened carefully to get to know its audience and then tested various strategies to find the right cadence and content to resonate with its followers.

Four Steps for Hosting a Successful Twitter Chat

“Let’s host a Twitter chat!” A phrase uttered in hundreds of PR and marketing meetings daily across the country. But then you actually get the green light – now what?

There seems to be a Twitter chat for everything these days, and in my personal experience, if you’ve tried to participate in one but found it frustrating, it can be hard to go back. Yet when executed thoughtfully and transparently around a topic that really matters to your audiences – not your advertisers – a special thing can happen. A few dozen to a few hundred people are suddenly connected from all parts of the country (and potentially, globe), bonding with newfound comrades over shared tips, personal experiences, challenges, fears, and hopes.

GroundFloor Media was recently lucky enough to partner with Anne Marie Nichols of This Mama Cooks and Andrea Rouge from Cooking Matters Colorado to execute LiveWell Colorado’s (a GFM client) first-ever Twitter chat. LiveWell Colorado is a nonprofit dedicated to preventing obesity through healthy eating and active living, so there were naturally a wealth of chat topics we could pursue. But we finally narrowed it done to “eating healthy on a budget.”

The chat was held late in the evening to accommodate our primary audience of moms, who often hop online once the little ones are down in order to catch up on work, personal reading and social media interactions. We had a blast throughout the hour-long chat and are eager to share a few key tips for hosting a successful Twitter chat of your own!

·      Plan! And then plan some more. Twitter is a real-time platform, but it is very obvious if a chat host is not well prepped and organized before things begin. Know what questions you are going to ask, and in what cadence, and have plenty of thought starters and interesting facts at the ready to move the conversation if things slow down.

·      Pick your #hashtag wisely. It probably goes without saying these days, but make sure your hashtag isn’t so long that it compromises Twitter’s 140-character space limits. And don’t hijack a hashtag or use one that is so obscure that people who may have otherwise stumbled onto the chat by chance are confused by its meaning. (you can link to article on hashtags… for choosing or searching)

·      Partner with experts. For nearly every topic you can imagine, there are dozens of credible experts who posses a notable Twitter following and are open to conversations about partnering for a chat. Just like with traditional PR, having a third-party expert in a formal chat role helps endorse your brand, expand your outreach and can go a long way to building relevance with new customers and followers.

·      Have fun! The cost of most chats is very minimal and, in many cases, only equivalent to time involved. Therefore, unlike a major ad spend or blogger campaign, you can have fun and try some new things, test emerging messaging and let your true brand/organizational culture shine through.

Twitter chats are not the place for a hard sell, but rather a concentrated moment in time to interact person-to-person with your community. Thank them. Celebrate them. Reward them. If you build a community that is willing to sit down and take 30 – 60 minutes out of their hectic day to talk with you and your community, you’ve already won.

We’d love to hear from you about Twitter chats as well! Have you hosted or participated in one? What did you like or dislike, and do you see them as a viable tool within a strategic communications plan for brands and organizations?

~Alexis Anderson

One Last Push!

The Social Madness Competition is quickly coming to a close and we need your help! For every vote GFM receives, we will donate $1 to help provide food to kids in need through the Food Bank of the Rockies.

Currently, we’re in 16^th place but need to place in the top 8 to stay in the game.

In just three clicks, you’ll make a huge difference – so if you haven’t already, PLEASE:

1) VOTE FOR US HERE

2) "Like" us on Facebook

3) Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn

Thank you from the entire GFM family for your support!

What We're Reading - Week of June 4, 2012

While last week's What We're Reading compilation was pretty focused and included a number of big announcements from the likes of Facebook and Google, this week's roundup seems like more of a grab bag filled with "news you can use." From a tour of the newly redesigned Foursquare app to a reminder about the importance of regularly updating passwords (click here to see if your LinkedIn profile was hacked this week...), we hope you find our wrap-up to be useful. We've got tips to building your social media community, and some new research that shows QR codes may be on the rise. If you stop by LinkedIn to update your resume (see 9 hot skills below!), don't forget to follow GFM while you're there. Engagement SmartBlog on Social Media: 7 Keys to Building Social Media Community At GFM, we're big advocates for bringing personality into your social media outlets, which makes us love this quote, "No one wants to hang out with a logo." Read about this and other smart tips to apply to your social media channels in this helpful article. LinkedIn SocialTimes: 9 Hot Skills That Are Trending on LinkedIn Chances are if you're reading this blog, you're already a social media power user, but when is the last time you updated your LinkedIn profile to reflect your skills? This article reminds us of the value of LinkedIn and shares some key phrases social media junkies are using to advertise their skills. QR Codes Digiday: Are QR Codes Undervalued? It seems the jury is still out on whether QR codes are an effective marketing tool. But, new research shows 86% of marketers plan to use QR codes in 2012 and one QR code company reports a 157% increase in scans from a year ago. Could Coke, Taco Bell and HP be on to something? Read this article for more. Foursquare New York Times: A Tour of Foursquare's Redesigned App In an effort to better compete with Yelp and other similar apps, Foursquare announced a redesign of its popular app that now allows users to easily look up menus, get directions, call to make a reservation, or "Explore" options nearby. This article provides a good overview of the new offering. Infographics Ishmael's Corner: Visual Storytelling Makes Sense of Complexity Infographics are certainly enjoying a heyday and in certain cases they're a great option to put a complex story into a format that is easy to digest. Done well, an infographic can draw audiences that might otherwise shun your story in to learn more. This blog post provides a great example of a compelling infographic. Password Security Forbes: With LinkedIn and eHarmony Passwords Exposed, Make Sure You're Not Using Same Password Elsewhere A recent study shows 40% of people use the same password for every website, putting them at risk when events like this week's password security breach with LinkedIn and eHarmony happen. This article provides a good reminder of the importance of "keeping your digital homes locked down."