Corporations and Nonprofits – A Match Made in Heaven?

Corporations and Nonprofits – A Match Made in Heaven?

When I first left the nonprofit sector, I wondered how I’d feel knowing I went from “doing good” every day to working for companies whose goal was to make money rather than give it away. GroundFloor Media founder Laura Love reminded me that when you find the right for-profit company, it’s possible to give back twice as much through one well-orchestrated program as you might raise in a whole year in a nonprofit role.

In this difficult economic year, it’s no surprise to learn that 38 percent of companies are cutting their cash giving. The encouraging side of the story, however, is that amidst the scaling back on cash donations, 54 percent of the more than 750 business executives surveyed in the recent Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and Hitachi Foundation study said that corporate-citizenship activities are even more important during bad economic times than good.

Since joining the GFM team, I’ve found Laura’s advice to stand true, and I’ve been fortunate to work with companies who, no matter how challenging the economy, have made it a priority to give back to the community through park cleanup programs, collection of DVDs for the troops, donations of volunteer time and money to local high schools, and, in the case of Qdoba Mexican Grill, donations of food, time and money to Starlight Children’s Foundation – the restaurant’s national charity partner.

Just today, Qdoba announced the winner of its inaugural Qmmunity program, which launched in early October and ran through Nov. 1 in an effort to collect inspiring stories of everyday people doing amazing things to better their communities. The Top 5 nominees (determined by votes by visitors to the site) were reviewed by a panel of judges, and Emily DuBois was selected as the most outstanding Qmmunity star. Qdoba is giving $5,000 to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America on behalf of Emily, and will dedicate a Starlight Fun Center in Emily’s name to a hospital of her choosing. In addition, Qdoba committed to giving $25,000 to Starlight in recognition of actions taken by community members who visited the site (e.g., voting for a nominee, tweeting or posting to Facebook to campaign for a nominee, etc.).

According to the 2009 Edelman goodpurpose™ Consumer Study, 83 percent of people are willing to change their consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live. I know that I’ve done this – purchasing a lunch bag because a portion of the funds went to breast cancer research; asking for a specific iPod for my birthday a few years ago because its sale benefited AIDS research; and comparing items at the grocery store, looking for the ones whose manufacturers advertise their giving practices on the packaging. Especially in these hard times, I feel great about being able to give back AND get something in return, usually something I was going to buy anyway.

At the end of the day, although working in the nonprofit sector was rewarding and something I truly hope to do again in my career, what Laura told me my first day on the job at GFM holds true – you CAN do good every day, and companies that give back on behalf of their consumers make it even easier than I ever imagined! I’m honored to work with one of these companies – Qdoba Mexican Grill – and look forward to helping them further their giving efforts!

- Carissa

Hyperlocal sites are catching on

Clearly the media landscape is changing as traditional vehicles like newspapers, which a handful of publishers filed earlier this year for Chapter 11 including the Tribune Co. and the Sun-Times Media Group, are reeling from a significantly declining advertising revenues. In turn, this has opened the door for hyperlocal sites – which allows news and information to be delivered down to the city and neighborhood level – and it is quickly emerging as the reincarnation of media.

Last week, GroundFloor Media announced that we have been retained by Examiner.com. Launched in April 2008, Examiner.com has grown more than 200 percent since the beginning of this year and now has more than 21,000 Examiners in 177 major markets across the United States and Canada providing in-depth local news and information to consumers hungry for hyperlocal information.

Interestingly, many still argue the hyperlocal model isn’t viable, as advertisers have yet to flock to hyperlocal sites. According to Borrell Associates, the online local-advertising market is projected to grow 5.4% in 2009 to $13.3 billion. I tell you, it is just a matter of time before businesses make the shift from traditional offline, local venues like the Yellow Pages to hyperlocal sites like Examiner.com, as hyperlocal sites deliver a highly targeted and interactive audience.

Need proof that this trend is catching on? In late August, National Public Radio aired a story about how Nike and other shoe manufacturers are focusing more on hyperlocal marketing activities rather than big, expensive national marketing campaigns. Read about it here.

While companies look to creative ways to partner with the hyperlocal sites, from a traditional PR perspective, many of my cohorts, myself included, have worked, and will continue to work, with Examiners (Examiner.com’s expert writers) to tell our clients’ stories. It’s refreshing that we now have the opportunity to share why hyperlocal content is here to stay and the unique marketing and PR opportunities it will offer. I am excited to be on this account team and to work with the team at Examiner.com to create greater brand awareness and help them achieve their aggressive expansion plans.

~ Jennifer

Do good. Do well.

One of my favorite concepts is “doing well by doing good.” So it’s inspiring to me to see that cause-related marketing appears to be thriving despite the tough economy we’ve all experienced this year (check out this AdAge article for more on this).

It makes sense. Americans are much more likely to purchase brands that support causes. We feel good about working for companies that support charitable causes. We want to do our part – no matter how large or how small – to make our world a better place. Cause-related marketing makes this possible.

And… companies who undertake cause-marketing programs tend to see the financial benefits, as well. This study by Cone validated that cause-related marketing can drive consumer choice. So why NOT embrace cause marketing? You can do well by doing good.

You don’t have to take on a full-blown cause-marketing program, however, to make a difference. I’m proud that GroundFloor Media embraces Tennyson Center for Children as our pro bono client and that beyond our PR work for Tennyson Center our team members commit personal time to brighten the lives of the children served by Tennyson Center. Whether it’s taking the kids bowling, decorating Christmas trees with them, purchasing holiday gifts and school clothes, or painting the bedrooms in their cottages, GroundFloor Media team members volunteer countless hours at Tennyson Center and a variety of nonprofit organizations throughout our communities. This holiday season, we are encouraging all of our clients, partners and employees to give back by participating in Tennyson Center’s Operation Santa program. This program allows for families in need to have a Christmas that they wouldn’t normally experience. My family adopts families each year, and for less than $400, we provide families in need with gifts from their wish list. If you are interested in helping through Operation Santa, please let me know.

It feels great to support charitable organizations, and we all get back so much more than we ever give. I encourage you to spend a few hours as the holiday season approaches to share your talent, encouragement and/or energy with someone or some organization in need. If you need some thought starters in Denver, start with United Way or Metro Volunteers. I promise you won’t regret it!

~Ramonna

Does your business need a social media policy?

Yesterday I was having a breakfast meeting with a friend who owns several popular restaurants in Colorado. Even in this down economy, his company continues to grow and his staff continues to multiply. After several cups of coffee, a glance at the Yelp sticker on the front door, and some banter about the importance of social media conversations, I asked if they had social media guidelines in place for their employees. He said that they didn’t but was shocked that they had never even thought of it. I assured him that he really shouldn’t feel like he was behind. Yes, large organizations such as Intel, IBM, The New York Times, SAP and the US Coast Guard all have them in place. But should small businesses jump on the proverbial bandwagon and do a little social media preventative damage control? I can’t say ‘yes’ fast enough.

A recent proofpoint study shows that almost 20% of companies disciplined a staff member for violating blog or message boards and nearly 10% terminated employees for these actions.

But how can you discipline employees if they don’t understand what you expect from them in this wild world of Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and SMS? According to the Deloitte LLP 2009 Ethics & Workplace Survey, only 17% of companies have programs in place to monitor and mitigate the potential reputational risks related to the use of social networks.

As a business owner and entrepreneur, I join the ranks of those who understand the importance of providing all employees a handbook. Hey, we even update it several times a year with memos that our team members sign. With social media playing such a prevalent role in our day-to-day activity at GroundFloor Media, we would be remiss to assume that our employees didn’t have access to the same type of guidelines and resources that we provide them in an offline environment. You then have to step out of the way and trust that they will do the right thing.

I spoke at an HR-related event in Boulder County a few weeks ago and we discussed the importance of creating a set of social media guidelines for business of all sizes. One participant disagreed with the idea of providing these guidelines, as her company didn’t allow access to social media sites. I asked her if their employees identified themselves as employees of that company on their personal social networking sites that they worked on “after hours.” She agreed that most identified their company as their place of work. Enough said.

Consider the legal implications you could face for NOT putting social media guidelines in place. I promise it is a lot easier to have the discussions knowing their is something to actually look at on paper while talking about an inappropriate blog post or Tweet with your employees.

Here are a few helpful social media policies that can at least get you thinking about the types of guidelines that will be important to your company.

• Dell Online Communication Policy
• Intel Social Media Guidelines
• IBM Social Computing Guidelines
• Cisco Internet Postings Policy
• Wells Fargo Community Guidelines
• BBC Guidance Personal Use of Social Networking and Other Third Party Websites
• DePaul University Social Media Guidelines

Mashable has a great article on whether or not your company should even have a social media policy. It is worth the quick read.

GroundFloor Media put our social media guidelines into place this year, and we have helped many other companies do the same. It is not an overwhelming endeavor and it is one that I strongly encourage you to consider sinking your teeth into yet in 2009. And grab a cup of coffee while you are at it. It makes it all go by a bit faster.

~ Laura

Loved the LEX Trip!

Now that I’ve recovered from the LEX trip to Minneapolis, the bronchitis I brought home from the Twin Cities, and two more out-of-town trips, I have to take a moment to thank the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation (DMCLF) staff who made the LEX trip happen.

What is LEX, you might ask? It is an amazing opportunity coordinated each year by the DMCLF during which select leaders from the Denver community are escorted on a three- or four-day excursion to a strategically chosen city where best practices are studied and friendships are forged. LEX stands for Leadership Exchange trip, and the recent trip was cause for celebration, as it was the 20^th anniversary of the annual LEX trip.

Having organized and attended hundreds of large-scale events during my career, I was impressed every step of the way with how the DMCLF staff paid attention to even the smallest of details. From the luggage tags that kept all of our luggage together so it arrived magically at our hotel, to the pocket briefing book that became our bible over the three days, to the lost-and-found items that appeared each morning after an evening full of activities, they planned for everything and made it appear seamless. As we all know, in reality, they were herding 150+ Type-A cats at any given time over a 58-hour period. I’m sure you can appreciate how challenging that can be!

So, thanks to Denise King, Anna Loewen, Christy Newhof and Allison Tolson, along with Toi Jones and Jean Kavanaugh, for making the trip such a success. And thanks to the senior staff of the Chamber and the Foundation – Robert Blankenship, Tom Clark, Karen Kruse, Maureen McDonald and Tamra Ward – for your participation and enthusiasm throughout the trip.

If you’re not familiar with the DMCLF and the fantastic programs they offer, check them out online. I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in Leadership Denver, where I learned a great deal about our community and formed lifelong friendships. Obviously I am now hooked on the above-mentioned LEX trip, where I learned even more about what it takes to make our community great and met and spent quality time with leaders from a variety of sectors – United Way, Metro Denver Sports Commission, Western Union Foundation and Young American Center for Financial Education from the nonprofit sector; Comcast, Xcel Energy and Qwest from the public sector; the Public Education & Business Coalition, Denver Public Schools Foundation and University of Denver Colorado from the education sector; and my colleagues from creative agencies, Linhart Public Relations, Johnston Wells, Pure Brand, Xcelente Marketing and GBSM -- who I hope to cross paths with countless times throughout our careers in Denver. I encourage you to check out the DMCLF and get involved. You’ll receive back tenfold what you put into these programs.

~Ramonna

There is much to be learned about social media from the Healthcare industry

I recently attended the Mayo-Ragan Healthcare and Social Media Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. More than 100 internal and external communications specialists and public relations agency representatives from the Mayo Clinic to Kaiser Permanente to Methodist University Hospital to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston were in attendance.

We were all eager to share and learn best practices from one other (as well as cheer on Green Bay, or was it Minnesota, during Monday Night Football). Generally speaking, the healthcare industry has been slow to adopt social media due to the trepidation around HIPAA. However, it was evident at this summit that there are numerous opportunities on social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Yammer, FlickR, YouTube, Sermo, etc. for hospitals and health-related organizations to engage in this marketing medium and develop a powerful online community for its patients and physicians.

While there were many interesting statistics related to the healthcare industry presented, such as 7.3% of hospitals are engaged in social media and only 30% of companies have a social media policy, what really hit home for me, is that strong case studies and best practices from one industry can be directly applied to another and prove quite successful. Take Operation Smile’s social media model – which, when it found out that its supporters were online, engaged and ready to take action – the nonprofit worked to empower its online supporters to create new smiles for children around the world. Other industries have similar constituents (maybe your “donors” are your college students or physicians at your hospital). Find your social media audience and then work to acquire and cultivate them to become advocates of your brand, to volunteer or donate.

At GroundFloor Media, we officially launched our social media platform in late 2007, although we have been using blogs and online media since 2004 with a variety of campaigns. We have worked with clients in numerous industries including America On the Move, Westwood College, The Children’s Hospital, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Morton’s The Steakhouse, BNSF Railway and Qdoba Mexican Grill in varying degrees to evolve and/or develop their social media programs. Earlier this year, I became a member of GFsM, or GroundFloor Social Media team. We specialize in finding strategic and innovative ways for our clients to engage in social media and set them apart from their competitors. We meet weekly and discuss new trends, social networks, case studies, etc. to ensure we stay on top of these ever changing medium.

Our GFsM team agrees, if you are looking to dip your toe in social media, we say go for it! Start small. Find one social media network to activate and then follow the key influencers in your industry and in social media. Do it as “you” for a coupe weeks and then launch your company’s platform. Talk with your key audiences and engage in the conversation. And as my friend at Operation Smile shared, social media ROI isn’t Return On Investment, but rather Relationships, Opportunities, Involvement. Go ahead, engage and if you get stuck along the way, please call us – we’ll talk you through it.

Oh and one more thing, purchase a Flip Video. You won’t regret it and it can only enhance your social media activities. Start developing your own videos and post them to YouTube, Facebook and your Web site.

I extend a big thanks to Mayo Clinic and Ragan Communications for hosting a wonderful summit and securing excellent spokespeople!

Natural Food Trends: Cocoa Flavanols, Superfoods, Gluten-free products and Packaging

I am a self-admitted chocolate addict, one of many in the office. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, you name it, I’ll eat it…in moderation of course, most of the time. As a consumer of all things chocolate, I also enjoy watching food and beverage trends as part of our food and beverage practice so when I saw a recent announcement that the International Congress of Nutrition brought together experts to present evidence that cocoa flavanols have health benefits, I knew they were on to something. Like, did you know that cocoa is actually a fruit? A fruit! That means technically we are allowed to have 2-3 servings per day, right? But wait there’s more. Cocoa is not only a fruit but a “super fruit, packed with unique active plant compounds called flavanols, linked to healthy circulation.” Go ahead, read more about it. It will make that next Dove bar seem harmless:

Cocoa Research Finds a Place in the Global Health Dialogue <http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS17664+07-Oct-2009+PRN20091007>

How do you top good news that involves chocolate? Here are a few trends uncovered at the Natural Products Expo East/Organic Products last month in Boston identified by editors and experts from New Hope Natural Media, publisher of Natural Foods Merchandiser, Delicious Living, Functional Ingredients and Nutrition Business Journal:

• Hot new ingredients include coconut oil, lavender, maqui, agave nectar and ancient ingredients such as salba grain


• Superfood producers continue on their quest for even higher levels of antioxidants, omegas and other functional benefits; probiotics are being featured in drinks, powders, yogurts, cereals and bars


• Gluten-free products were found outside of the baked goods aisle; low-calorie and low-sugar products are strong, especially in beverages


• Dairy-free and nut allergy avoidance are hot topics, as is transparency of sourcing and a commitment to social and eco-responsibility across many product categories


• Value products are being introduced in response to tightened budgets; packaging trends include mini-sizing, portion control and squeeze-packs or pouches, especially for kids

I look forward to seeing more products in the coming months with cocoa flavanols, but don’t recommend having these in mini-sized, portion control pouches. Bring on the superfoods. You'll find me in line at the new Sprouts Farmers Market in Boulder.

Colorado Fall Home Show had a Great First Run!

Attendees left the show “seeing green”

The first-ever Colorado Fall Home Show took place this month at the Colorado Convention Center offering more than 6,000 visitors a variety of ways to renovate, remodel and renew their homes. But what interested attendees the most was the variety of companies emphasizing sustainable living products and services. Walking the floor of the show, it was obvious to see that if you apply yourself, you can incorporate green living products into every inch of your home!

In addition to the 300 exhibitors, two demonstration theaters were busy with experts showing do-it-yourself ways to bring sustainability and energy efficiency into your home, as well as eye catching interior design and remodeling tips. The cooking demonstrations (and samples) were a special treat!

Similar to the Annual Colorado Garden & Home Show, a percentage of the proceeds generated at the Colorado Fall Home Show will further extend grants and scholarships for Colorado’s horticulture industry. CGS has awarded a record breaking amount of more than $500,000 in horticulture grant projects and scholarships for 2008 - 2009 including grants to more than 40 organizations and seven substantial scholarships including a four year, full-ride scholarship.

We are looking forward to the Colorado Garden and Home Show in Denver on February 13-20, 2010.

Social Media Tip: Twellow.com

Twellow is a handy resource if you’re looking for Twitterers who are based in specific locations or interested in specific topics. Unlike Twitter’s search function or Tweetscan, Twellow searches people’s Twitter profile description and location info, not their actual tweets. Twellow search results lists the number of followers for each match and you can start following them directly from the results.

Here is an example search I did on Seattle and food.

Social media marketing... are you really connecting?

Social media has enabled brands to expand their reach beyond a simple Web site or advertisement to reach customers on their own turf and in new, more personal ways. However, many marketers still balk about putting resources behind these efforts because they're unsure if customers will actually respond and/or if they do respond, will they respond positively? While nobody has a crystal ball, we often to point to case studies to help convince wary marketers. In addition to case studies, eMarketer just released a new report called “Marketing on Social Networks: Branding, Buying and Beyond." According to this report:

52% of social network users had become a fan or follower of a company or brand, while 46% had said something good about a brand or company on a social networking Website—double the percentage who had said something negative (23%).

CEOs and Social Media: Zappos.com

I've always been a big fan of online shoe retailer Zappos.com (and not just because they always have my favorite pair of strappy three-inch heels available when everyone else seems to be out of them). During the past couple years Zappos.com has emerged as one of the shining examples of how a large company can successfully utilize social media to drive sales and increase customer engagement and service. In a world where many C-level execs haven't even looked at Twitter, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has redefined (or perhaps defined) how C-level executives should use social media to connect directly with their customers and employees. He has over a million followers on Twitter, his blog posts consistently get reposted and retweeted thousands of times a day and oh yeah, he's the CEO of a company that Amazon just purchased for almost a billion dollars. Amazing.

Obviously, not every CEO has the bandwidth and passion to follow in Tony's footsteps, but his commitment to social media has consistently pushed his company to the top of the customer service charts. His example is one to strive for, even if it seems unattainable.

You can read more about Tony here.

I Love Living in America Because...

The 4th of July. Wow. 2009 is officially 50% behind us, and America is officially about to celebrate with a day off, fireworks and picnics with their families and friends. My seven-year-old daughter just asked me what the 4th of July actually celebrated. So, I dusted off my 6th grade America History lesson and let her know that tomorrow, back in 1776, members of Congress ALL agreed to adopt the Declaration of Independence, which basically said the colonies (try explaining that one to a 2nd grader) were going to be separate from Great Britain. This Constitution still provides the legal roadmap for America and contains the coolest phrase around -- “all Men are created equal.” Of course, she immediately asked why girls weren’t equal, but I thought I would save this one for another rainy day in Denver.

What I didn’t remember is that Philadelphians marked the first anniversary of American independence with a spontaneous celebration, but Independence Day only became a true American celebration after the War of 1812. How’s that for a little history lesson before noon? Not bad for a PR gal…

The Gov Gab Blog Team always does a nice job in their daily blog updates and I found today’s post to be especially relevant (and the first time I have seen the word “rigamarole” used in a blog post, which I greatly appreciate).
Take a minute and finish the thought, “I love living in America because….” In the meantime, take a minute and read their blog post. You can also sign up to receive daily emails from their site.

http://blog.usa.gov/roller

I Love Living in America Because...
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:00:00 -0500
There are things that we all wish were better with our country. Like you, I think I pay too much in taxes (I have yet to meet a person who thinks he doesn't pay enough). I get monumentally annoyed and disgusted when our political leaders get caught doing unethical things. I get frustrated with the red tape and the rigamarole that seems to accompany some of my interactions with the government, and I get angry when I hear my tax dollars are occasionally wasted on stupidity.

It would be easy to sit and gripe all day about our government, but tomorrow is July 4th, a day we celebrate all that is good with our country. Our founding fathers risked their lives to declare their independence. They created this country on some basic principles that hopefully we all believe in even today. Throughout our history people have served and sacrificed for our country to advance the ideas of freedom of speech, equality, and representation. These are rights that many people in other countries don't have or are struggling to obtain.

There are many reasons for all of us to be proud of our country. I would like to see us all set aside the sniping and griping for this one day and think about why we appreciate living in the United States. Please express your heart-felt birthday wishes by sending in a comment. How would you finish this thought, “I love living in America because...”

I will get us started: “I love living in America because I work for a government that allows me to write blogs that are totally my own (complete with embarrassing stories and quirky details). I have the freedom to express criticisms about my government and no one calls me a traitor, slaps handcuffs on me, or throws me in jail for doing so.”

From all of us at GroundFloor Media, Happy 4th. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

How Iran May Legitimize Twitter…

Has anyone been reading the posts from Iran on Twitter? The two people on the ground (@iran09 and @persiankiwi ) seem to be accomplishing what traditional communication channels have not been able to muster. Here is a link to the disturbing photos http://twitpic.com/photos/madyar and an excerpt from MSNBC (thanks @RushtonM).

"With traditional reporting silenced and e-mail and many Web sites shut down by the government, much of the information from Tehran was coming through social media Internet services like Twitter.com and Facebook.com, which can be accessed through mobile devices and cell phone networks.

Twitter postponed a scheduled blackout for maintenance Tuesday so as not to silence the protesters after the U.S. State Department lobbied it to keep its service running during the unrest, a State Department official said. The official said the United States wanted to highlight “Twitter’s role as an important means of communication — not with us — but horizontally in Iran.”

Messages from people claiming to be eyewitnesses to the violence were flowing into Twitter at the rate of hundreds a minute. Posts would flood in, only to slow to a trickle for a minute or two as Iranian censors sought to stanch the flow of information. Then posts would resume in a torrent as users found ways around the censorship."

Don't forget the strategy!

One of the first questions I often get when people find out about our GFsM program is "Can you build me a Facebook page?" This is akin to "My teenage daughter said we should be start a blog. Can you help?" or "Can you Twitter for me?".

Can you spot the pattern? Yep, they're all tactics. For some reason, social media often seems to lend itself to a tactical approach, rather than a strategical one...at least initially. My theory for this is because so many people view social media as simply a bunch of tactics. Facebook Pages, Twitter contests, YouTube Channels... they're all basically tactics and that's also how most people are introduced to social media.

When I get the inevitable question asking me if we can perform a specific social media tactic, I try to caution folks to take a step back, a deep breath and ask yourself some questions. Are your customers using social media? Where are social conversations about your company or your industry taking place? What are your goals for executing a social media program? In other words... what is your strategy?! We all need a reminder some time.

As a side note... One of my fave PR bloggers, Todd Defren, recently blogged a theory that the economic crisis leads many marketers to focus more on tactics and less on strategy - perhaps another reason why we've recently shoved strategy to the backburner.

Keeping Good Company

It’s great to see nine U.S. members of the Public Relations Global Network in the latest O’Dwyer’s Rankings of Top 169 Independent PR Firms. As #109 on the list, GroundFloor Media is proud to be affiliated with these great agencies and relieved to know that we can rely on each and every one of them should any of our clients have a specific need in any of their respective niches or geographic markets.

Congrats to the following:
67. CooperKatz & Co., New York
70. DVL, Nashville
75. L.C. Williams & Associates, Chicago
91. Xenophon Strategies, Washington, D.C.
102. The Castle Group, Boston
109. GroundFloor Media, Denver
140. VPE Public Relations, Los Angeles
149. Landis Communications, Inc., San Francisco
157. Buchanan PR, Philadelphia

PR and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

As the worlds of public relations and Internet marketing continue to merge in ways never seen before, we often find ourselves working closely with complementary agencies to help our clients further their message in the world of online PR. Our friends, the online advertising experts, at The Booyah Agency work side-by-side with us on many of our client campaigns and they have put together a post that I thought was worth sharing.

Online PR is Public Relations & SEO Working Together
You finally got your website full of great optimized content and persuasive calls to actions, interactive maps, interesting blog posts, and other hot Internet technologies – now what? The most important part of optimizing your website actually happens off the page – where links and mentions of your website and company play a vital role in how popular and important your website will become.

Quality one-way links from websites related to yours is the key to top rankings on the search engines. You need to develop strategies to ‘win’ these links. Obtaining these links is not easy, but winning targeted links with important keywords in mind are proven to produce results. When pursuing one-way links, keep in mind that every website is run by a person, or a group of people, meaning that you not only need to target websites but also ‘convince’ real people to add a link to their site. This makes good public relations and link building a natural fit when combined to form an Online Public Relations campaign.

There are several key reasons why Online PR can be effective for SEO:

1. Press releases can be easily optimized and targeted to specific keywords using the Heading, Subheading and About Us section of the press release.
2. News stories stay online and can still be read for months after the event.
3. Online press releases can increase traffic and provide link popularity.
4. There are dozens of good free online PR sites and several quality newswire services.

For high quality one-way links, the paid PR services provide more opportunity for keyword rich links and often provide a greater distribution for your story. While you don’t have to use the paid PR services for every online Press Release, it can be well worth the fee (often under $100) for your important online Press Releases.

Mashable: Prop 8 Decision Protesters Use Wikis and Facebook to Organize

Social media is a great medium to quickly gather together supporters for a specific issue or cause, but a lot of causes don't know where or how to start.

Yesterday Mashable's Ben Parr did a great post about how Prop 8 protesters are using social media to organize and raise awareness about their cause. If you're one of those folks who aren't sure where or how to use social media to get the word about about your cause, be sure to read this post.

Live from Boulder Social Media Workshop...

I've decided to kick off the holiday weekend with a little live blogging from a social media hotspot in Boulder! This morning a number of us GFMers are participating in a social media workshop (Social Media and PR in the Digital Age) put on by the Boulder Chamber and the Small Business Development Center. Our own Laura Love is currently moderating a panel with TechStar's Andrew Hyde, The Camera's Kevin Kaufman, Filtrbox's Ari Newman and ColoradoBiz's Mike Cote discussing the changing social media and PR landscape. While I feel like I've attended hundreds of these discussions it's amazing that the content is ALWAYS different. Twitter seems to be the hottest discussion topic right now and how companies can use to get their news out and learn what people are saying about their businesses.

Other interesting insight and advice from the social media junkie panel:

• Be sure to start off your social media program by listening! What is the social media universe saying about you and your company now?
• Find the social media channel that makes you excited to participate and get involved in that channel. If you like it, you're more likely to do it more often.
• Show your personality!
• Be honest, authentic and transparent.
• Check out what your competitors and others in your industry are doing on social media. It's a great way to get ideas!
• Check out Twitter in Plain English video - a great explanation about what is Twitter.
• Demographics for social media channels are all across the board. Twitter seems to skew older than Facebook and Facebook skews older than MySpace.
• It's more important to have good your content rather than just frequent content.
• Handheld video is a great way to add an extra punch to your social media campaign. It doesn't have to be professionally shot video.
• Top pitfalls to avoid: don't pretend to be something you're not; be sure to take advantage of the tracking tools available; remember you're having conversations in a permanent, public archive - think twice before you post; be conversational, not a corporate robot
• Take a few deep breaths and have two people review your response before responding to an angry post.
• Social media is a skill set that is essential for all marketers and PR pros today.
• Check out LinkedIn for B2B companies.

Last words of advice:

• Kevin: be brave and curious and explore
• Ari: Don't get focused on the tool; social media is bigger than a single tool
• Andrew: Google is your home page. Have a personal blog and a company blog.
• Mike: Get ready.

Bringing home the gold (and silver)!

Last night was the 2009 PRSA Colorado Awards celebration. This year's event was a little different than recent years (kudos to CSU PR students for a super creative auction and to Andrew Hudson and Bruce Goldberg for adding their unique humor to the emcee honors), but the purpose was still the same - recognizing amazing PR campaigns and the people who execute them.

At GroundFloor Media, we were honored for five our clients' campaigns to be selected as Gold and Silver Pick winners. Here's a snapshot of the awards breakdown:

Gold Picks
2009 Events and Observances (7 days or fewer) – Association/Nonprofit Organizations
"The Children’s Hospital Makes 111 Miracles Happen"
GroundFloor Media and the Children’s Hospital

2009 Media Relations – Associations/Nonprofit Organizations
"Celebrating 20 Years of Financial Education"
GroundFloor Media and Young Americans Center for Financial Education

Silver Picks
2009 Reputation/Brand Management – Business
Qdoba Builds Brand Through Creative Q-dentity Profiles and Taste Bud Politics
GroundFloor Media and Qdoba Mexican Grill

2009 Media Relations – Business-to-Business
CH2M Hill Sheds Light on Solar in 25 American Cities
GroundFloor Media and CH2M Hill

2009 Blogger Campaign
Leveraging the Influence of Top Consumers Technology Bloggers to Launch Fuser.com GroundFloor Media and Fuser

Our heartfelt congratulations to our clients and to every one of last night's winners. We feel very blessed to work in a city that is home to so many smart and creative PR professionals.

You can read a full list of winners here.

Social Media and Swine Flu

Over the past few weeks the story of the H1N1 virus (aka: swine flu) has taken over the media. You can't tune into the local news, national news, even log onto the Internet or walk down the street and say hi to your neighbors without being inundated with messages about signs, symptoms and statistics about this emerging health issue. It can be overwhelming and, to be honest, a little scary at times.

Here in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) has done a great job leveraging social media to offer Coloradans news about the virus in bite-sized, consumer-friendly messages that has made the H1N1 virus a lot easier to understand and, quite frankly, a little less scary. On a Web page specifically dedicated to the H1N1 virus, Colorado residents can sign up for free e-mail updates each time the page's information about H1N1 is updated. The page also provides links to the information about H1N1 translated into a variety of languages including Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Arabic, to name just a few. CDPHE has also provided links to practical and informative videos and podcasts such as "How To Wash Your Hands" and "H1N1 Flu Preparedness."

GroundFloor Media was honored to work with CDPHE on one of its first social media programs through the What If Colorado? campaign - and we're thrilled to see that the foundation built during that campaign is still in place.