The Oscars, Social Media and Flick Chick TV

Tomorrow night ABC will air the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, more affectionately known as "The Oscars".

This year I will be watching the awards ceremony with quite a few friends. And guess what, you are invited too, all of you, no matter where you live.

How? Well, thanks to social media and my good friend, The Flick Chick, you can watch the show and live blog with people from all over the world! Kelly will be live blogging during the entire show. She did the same things for the Golden Globes and it was a blast! So with a glass of my favorite red wine in hand, I will watch the Oscars and Live blog with The Flick Chick! Want to join the fun? You can join the Oscar Live Blog here.

Who is the Flick Chick you might ask (although if you are asking you most likely do not live in Columbus)? The Flick Chick is Kelly Gingery – a lifelong, head-over-heels movie lover. She is also the “Mix Flick Chick” for local Columbus radio station MIX 107.9 FM, and discusses movies on-air with DJ Mark Dantzer every Friday morning. Basically, Kelly loves to talk all things movies! When she first got the radio gig I sat down and interviewed her. You can read that interview here. If you read the interview you will quickly see Kelly's passion for the big screen and her infectious wit!

So why not experience the Oscars in an entirely different way this year. Join The Flick Chick live blog! You'll be glad you did.

Hey Columbus Moms, Momstyle is Becoming It's Own Social Networking Site!

Soon to be driven by the Dispatch Broadcast Group, Momstyle will be created with resources from the print publication and online special edition combined with the added spice of a social network just for moms, in one convenient place.

They are currently looking for moms to sign up to be a discussion leader. It’s easy and free and it’s a great way to market your own unique brand.

Simple visit the site landing page and include your contact information and why you want to be part of Columbus Momstyle.

Pink Glove Dance - LOVE This Video!

What an incredibly simple, fun, yet brilliant way to make an impact and create awareness.

I'm really enjoying this dancing video craze that seems to be sweeping the nation, especially when it helps a cause like breast cancer. Enjoy!

Social Media IS Powerful

Think social media is on its way out? Think again.

You may have already seen this video before but if not, check it out.

More social media info at Socialnomics.

Jill & Kevin's Wedding Entrance And Their Support of A Good Cause

This weekend I just happened across a very entertaining wedding video. When Jill & Kevin got married they made quite an entrance on their wedding day. Check it out here.

Due to the nature of the Internet popularity they decided to do something positive with it. Seeing the song is by Chris Brown and due to the circumstances surrounding the singer, Jill & Kevin decided to encourage people who view the video to make a donation to the Sheila Wellstone Institute, an organization that supports violence prevention.

A clever wedding entrance and a creative way to encourage people to give. Congrats Jill & Kevin!

Social Media And The Wild Ride

Over the last year and a half I've had quite a wild ride with social media.

I actually started my ride with social media in 2006 with a family blog. Most of our family is out of town and it made for a great way to keep the family up-to-date on our happenings. The ride was off to a smooth start.

Then in early 2008, I started my social media marketing adventure. I wanted to learn different ways I might be able to apply social media to my professional career. Because of Internet policy at work, I did this on my own time with a blog called imPRessions. Climbing the first hill of the coaster.

As you may have read in previous posts, in Spring of 2008 I was forced to resign because of my blog site. My boss obviously did not understand social media. My coaster ride was plunging down the first hill at a rapid pace and I could hear myself screaming.

But instead of letting it get me down, a friend/business partner and I turned the blog into a business, columbus imPRessions. Hitting the second hill towards the double loop and feeling excited.

columbus imPRessions grew rapidly. For almost a year we had a steady client list, as well as a strong and widely recognized brand. The ride was fun!

However, in February 2009, the economy changed, my business partner had to leave columbus imPRessions, and business slowed down. Dizzy from the twists and turns of the double loop.

In spring I started networking, a lot! Everything from TasteCasting to Meetups, Jellys, Tweetups and meetings with LinkedIn and Twitter connections. I met a lot of really great people. In the straightaway and getting my second burst of excitement.

Then summer came and new opportunities I never thought possible presented themselves through speaking engagements, training sessions and feature writer assignments. Starting to ascend another hill.

Soon it will be fall. For me fall is pivotal. It is then I will make the decision to either continue as columbus imPRessions or to get back into the workforce. If business continues to be slow I will most likely be forced to choose the latter. Who knows, maybe someone reading this post will either need my help through columbus imPRessions or refer me to someone who does. I'm entering a dark tunnel uncertain of what's coming up next.

This incredibly wild ride with social media has produced many ups and downs and I know the ride is not over yet. Honestly, I'm a little frightened (I've never really been a huge fan of roller coasters). Hanging on real tight waiting to see what comes next.

Fun coaster facts:

• Coasters date back to the 16th century when Russians created ice slides that people rode down on sleds.
• The first American coaster was built in Coney Island, Brooklyn in 1884 and was named Switchback Railway.
• The oldest continuously operating coaster is in Australia. Luna Park's Scenic Railway has been running since 1912.
• Fastest and Tallest coaster: Kingda Ka at Six Flags in New Jersey. Speed is 128 miles per hour and has a 45 story climb that drops in less than a minute.

Becoming a Speaker

It's amazing the twists, turns and opportunities that come with owning a business. Lately I have been approached to speak at meetings, workshops and conferences for trade association and non-profit organizations.

This fall I have two big engagements lined up. One in September at the Ohio Benefit Bank and a handful in October for Ohio Credit Union League. Both speaking engagements will deal with Using Social Media To Spread Your Message.

Social media can be a free platform to create awareness, connect with individuals and create calls to action. My session will teach how to use social media to spread your message, as well as strengthen your brand. The session will also cover measuring your return on investment and reputation management. By incorporating these elements into your social media plan you can take your organization to the next level.

Today I became a member of Speaker Site where I officially listed myself for future speaking engagements. If you are a small business, non-profit or trade association looking for someone to speak to your staff, members or constituents look no further. Contact me through my Speaker Site Profile or email info@columbusimpressions.com. I'd be happy to work with your organization as you incorporate strategic social media tactics to take you to the next level.

Non-Profits Why Not Enlist A Social Media Army?

Social media can be a non-profit organizations dream. A relatively new, basically free venue to create awareness, cultivate relationships, and enlist a social media army.

That's right, enlist a social media army. The beauty of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and other social media platforms is that you can spread your message, connect with individuals and create calls to action.

So why not increase your awareness. Instead of voicing your message all alone, why not enlist some of your volunteers who are using social media and ask them to help you create awareness. It could work similar to this old Faberge Shampoo commercial.

This could be a great way to update your speaker's bureau. Using the Internet is a great way to reach a brand new target market.

Before enlisting your army, make sure you select volunteers you know well and have a good relationship with. In order to control the message and keep brand consistency create a daily key message and send to your army. They can then tweet your message, add it to their Facebook page or to any other social media platform they use. Be sure to add your organizations web site in your message to give the recipient a place to find more information.

Blame Everything on Cancer - #BlameDrewsCancer

On Twitter this morning I noticed quite a few people blaming Drew's cancer for anything bad that was happening.  

Of course this intrigued me so I looked into it.

Here is what I found Drew Olanoff was diagnosed with cancer, Hodgkins Lymphoma, on May 20, 2009.  You can read Drew's story here.

This extremely creative guy wanted to be light-hearted about his battle with the disease so he created Blame Drew's Cancer.  Blame Drew's Cancer is a Twitter Hashtag (#).  So anytime you want to vent about something in a tweet add the hashtag #BlameDrewsCancer.

They will tally all hash tags and hopefully find a sponsor to donate $1.00 per hashtag to the American Cancer Society and The Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Let's help Drew win his fight against cancer and start blaming his cancer for anything and everything!

I'm going to start with blaming his cancer on my Internet connection being extra slow today (I was going to blame Oprah but Drew's cause is much better)!

Free Reputation Tracking Tools

The other night at the Reputation Management: Social Media and Public Relations session I mentioned that one of the first steps in reputation management was monitoring the Internet to see what is being said about you.  During the Q&A session, someone asked a question about tracking tools.  Because most of the clients I work with are either non-profits with little or no marketing budgets, or small businesses with limited marketing budgets I tend suggest free tools. 

The key FREE monitoring tools I suggest are:

• Google Alerts
  
• Google Reader
  
• Twitter Search
  
• Monitoring Blog Comments
  
• Monitoring Twitter Retweets
  

These tools give you the basics 411, but at least you can see when your brand is being mentioned.

If you have money in your budget you could always look into paying monitoring services like:

• Buzzlogic
  
• Radian6
  
• Brand Eye
  
• Reputation Defender
  
• Cision
  

These can give you various measuring tools in different analysis shapes and sizes but there is a price and sometimes a hefty one at that.

Doing some research yesterday I actually came across quite a few more FREE monitoring tools:

• Google News - see what is being said about you in mainstream media
  
• Digg or Reddit - search stories that may have been submitted about your brand
  
• Technorati - tracking social media news
  
• Google Blog Search - see what individuals are blogging about your brand
  
• co.mments - track what comments individuals are leaving about your company on individual's blog posts
  
• blogpulse conversation tracker - tracker who is linking to a blog post about your brand
• blogpulse blog trends - track the growth of specific key words
• del.icio.us - see who is bookmarking a page that mentions your brand
• Flickr - track to see if any photos of your brand is on-line without your knowledge
• Boardtracker - monitor message boards that might include conversations about your brand
• Google trends - see if your brand is one of the keywords most searched for

This may take some dedication and time but, as you can see, there really are quite a bit of FREE reputation tracking tools to help you monitor your brand reputation.

Reputation Management: Social Media & Public Relations For Non-Profits and Small Businesses

Last night I was one of the presenters at the Columbus Social Media Network Reputation Management: Social Media and Public Relations session.

My focus was on non-profits and small businesses.  Because most non-profit organizations and small businesses do not have the budget or luxury of hiring social media experts, they are either opting not to do social media or are trying to dabble in social media themselves.  Either way could create a crisis situation.  Even if you aren't doing social media, others are and I can guarantee they are talking about you.  If you are dabbling, you have probably noticed all the social media options. You might feel overwhelmed, or are not sure where to start.  

To start I would suggest the Five Points of Focus:  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogging and YouTube.

For more information, you can see the entire presentation here.  In order to prevent and handle a social media crisis I've included what I think to be the three most important slides of the presentation:  Being Proactive, Being Reactive, and Taking Action.

If you would like assistance setting up social media for your organization or assistance creating a crisis communication plan columbus imPRessions can help.  Email Michele at michele@columbusimpressions.com.

Columbus Social Media Network Fun

Through MeetUp.com I have become a member of the Columbus Social Media Network Group. Ryan Bauer is the organizer of this fast growing group.  Last night we had a Cinco de Mayo Meet Up and boy did we have fun.   Here are a couple photos of me with friends I have met using social media.  Great people! 

Next week Ryan has arranged for a MeetUp to discuss Reputation Management: Social Media and Public Relations.  I will be a speaker and will be highlighting how social media can help non-profits and ways for them to avoid a social media crisis situation.  Join us if you can. But hurry, only a few spaces are left.

Diggin' Digg

This weekend I created a profile on Digg.  You can see the link to my Digg profile down my sites right hand column, (toward the bottom) or you can click here.

What is Digg?  Digg is a site where people share and discover content from all over the Internet from major web sites to independent blogs.  Submit content or search for something that interests you.  If people like the content they see they simply Digg what they like.  The more Diggs, the higher the article ranks on the site.  Think of it as an advanced bookmark.  Instead of bookmarking pages only on your computer you are sharing them with an entire social media community.  This way more people can see your content or you can see come really cool articles you might have never found before.

To find out more about how Digg works, click here.  Happy Digging!

Social Media and Crisis Communication

Time to revise your crisis communication plans to include the effects of social media.  Because of social media channels like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, word (both positive and negative) spreads faster than ever.  Just ask the latest victim, Dominos Pizza.

So what can you do to keep your brand ahead of the 140 character or viral video storm?

1. Figure out who the source of the social attack is, where it's coming from, and how widespread it is.
   
2. Create an honest response as soon as possible.  Just like traditional crisis communication get it out quick even if it is to say you are looking into the situation and will get back with more information soon.
3. Don't make a broad statement.  Make your statement on the social media channel(s) in which it came from.  That way you are not creating more attention to others who may not have heard.
4. Keep your tone upbeat and professional and show your company cares about fixing the situation.

The playing field is just a little different but the same quick crisis communication tips for traditional media apply to social media:

• Get it right - communicate correct information
  
• Get it quick - communicate promptly to key audience
  
• Get it out - communicate your positive key messages
  
• Get it over with - resolve situation as quickly as possible

In Dominos case, they've taken action and have responded very fast.  They have a strong brand, a good product and should be fine.

New and Exciting Opportunities Are Just on The Horizon

As I solely take the wheel of columbus imPRessions I've decided to drive into new territory. Over the last few weeks I have spent quite a bit of time networking with a handful of my social media contacts.  Getting out and meeting with these people has been inspiring and educational.

I'm excited by the number of new opportunities that are coming my way.  Some of these opportunities I would have never imagined just a couple months ago.

You've already heard about TasteCasters.  I've eaten and tweeted my way into locally own establishments with more TasteCasting events on the calendar.  This has been a great way to meet new people, help local establishments and exercise my PR skills.  Founder, Dan Harris has asked that I assist him with PR releases and act as spokesperson when he is not available.

Currently a few more exciting adventures are in the works and over the next couple months I just might be able to tell you what those are.  For now here are some hints:  A non-profit summit, an expo spokesperson, a possible "featured" column, and training opportunities.

The road is wide open and I'm ready to roll!

American Idol Trading Cards

Just like baseball cards, American Idol fans can soon collect American Idol trading cards. That's right, a five pack of cards will be popping up in stores beginning April 21st.   One hundred and thirty eight cards in all and some of the selections will include:

• Autographed cards from the past season contestants
  
• Makeover cards with before and after shots
  
• Fan Favorites
  
• Almost An Idol Cards
  

Apparently, they wanted to create something that was interactive with their brand and the fans. Actually I'm surprised by the old-fashioned approach.  Idol is supposed to be the trend-setter, shaping the times.  This seems too much of a throwback to me.  I'm surprised they didn't come up with a more viral and social media approach to enhance the brand and create fan interaction.  Instead, why didn't they create virtual trading cards and plaster them all over Facebook, Twitter and Ning and have fans campaign and vote for their favorites. 

Anyway, check out Randy and Paula's mug shots, I mean trading cards.

MEDIA ADVISORY: TASTECASTING LAUNCHED CREATING UNIQUE WAY TO MARKET

Contact:  Dan Harris, Founder

     TasteCasting

     p: 740.881.0417| e: harrishammer@mac.com

CENTRAL OHIO’S MOST SOCIALLY NETWORKED USES VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO PROMOTE LOCAL AREA RESTAURANTS

(COLUMBUS, OHIO) Let the tweeting begin! Last week TasteCasting was launched creating the newest way to utilize social networking.  The idea combines great people and good food to benefit the many food and drink establishments in our area.

TasteCasting is a group of socially networked people that enjoy connecting and meeting with others over food and drink.  Team members taste, tweet, and then repeat, broadcasting the experience across their social media platforms.

Establishments looking to spread the word about a grand opening, new product, new menu, or special offer, can use TasteCasting to increase awareness through the team of socially connected Bloggers, Twitters, You Tuber’s, Facebook and Flickr users, resulting in more traffic to their website and their restaurant.  In return, the establishment provides a complimentary tasting and tour.  Currently there is no charge to restaurants and there is no compensation for tasters.

Quote from Dan Harris: “The socially networked, and social media savvy are already meeting online, and attending a number of events held by Columbus TechLife, Tweetups and meetups.” says Dan Harris, Founder of TasteCasting. “TasteCasting is a way to get networked people meeting in person, learning about the establishments, the food, the owners, their passions and then the team broadcasts to thousands across their personal networks through blogs, twitter, video and photos.”

Last week Tastecasting events were held at the Suisse Shop Bakery, 2119 Polaris Parkway www.thesuisseshop.com and Katzinger’s Deli, 475 South Third Street www.katzingers.com.

Quote from Darlene Jones, Suisse Shop: "TasteCasting introduced us to 10 new potential customers in-person during the tasting and through those in attendance our message, images of our bakery, and our products will be twittered, put on Facebook and shared across the various social network platforms," explains Darlene Jones, Owner of The Suisse Shop Bakery.  "What is so exciting for us is thousands of the tasters' friends, family, followers, and connections may come to visit or refer others to us and they may become loyal customers and fans of our bakery."

Quote from Diana Katzinger: "As a business, the use of social media has become so important.  That's why Katzinger's was thrilled to host the TasteCasting team for a cheese and wine pairing.  We not only gained potentially a dozen new customers, we reached thousand of people we could never reach before because of strong social media connections."

About TasteCasting:  At TasteCasting, we view this social media effort and our purpose as a way to help restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and other food service businesses grow their business. We have a growing team of socially connected networkers in Columbus, but will soon invite socially networked and social media savvy people in other cities to start teams as well.  For more information on TasteCasting or to request a tasting, visit our site at www.tastecasting.com.

Suisse Shop TasteCasting Event Delicious Success! #Suisse

Last night the TasteCasters were invited to the Suisse Shop Bakery for the first TasteCasters event. I met some really incredible people - TasteCaster members, as well as owners, Darlene and Herb Jones and their daughter, Elizabeth Jones who is the General Manager and cake artist.

We sampled over 17 different types of cupcakes - well, 17 types were available. I had bites of five different kinds - Chocolate Mouse, Buckeye, Boston Cream Pie, Red Velvet, and Italian Cassatta. All were incredibly delicious!! While we ate, we Twittered, took videos and photos to share with our social network platforms creating awareness for the family run business.

Specializing in European pastries and confections, and making everything from scratch, I would definitely recommend the Suisse Shop Bakery for any pastry needs. Marvelously delectable, I can see why the Suisse Shop Bakery has won numerous awards, which include awards from The Knot and Columbus Monthly Best Of!

Special Twitter promotion - stop in the Suisse Shop Bakery (Polaris Parkway, Columbus, OH) buy five cupcakes and get the sixth free if you give your @ Twitter name. Don't have one, you can use mine - @cbusimpressions.

Some photos from the night. You can see more photos here.

Tonight's The First TasteCasters Event (#CbusTasters)

I recently joined TasteCasters. TasterCasters is a group of socially networked people that enjoy connecting and meeting with others over food and drink. We taste, tweet, and then repeat. Broadcasting our experience across our social media platforms.

As social media grows, so does the unique ways in which to market your business. TasteCasters helps market various establishments. Business helping business. If an establishment is looking to spread the word about a grand opening, new product, new menu or special offer, TasteCasting can help increase awareness by driving traffic to the web site, and encouraging people to visit the establishment to experience for themselves.

If an establishment is interested in hosting a TasteCasting all you need to do is invite as many TasteCasting members, (currently 22), you'd like to a tasting and tour. In return, each TasteCasting member in attendance will broadcast their event, at no cost, to Facebook friends, Twitter followers and LinkedIn connections. Members will also post photos, videos, comments about the establishment and food at the event on their blogs, Flickr, Youtube and Viddler accounts. Establishments also receive a landing page on the Tastecasting website.

Tonight's TasteCasting is at the Suisse Shope off of Polaris Parkway. We are going to sample cupcakes and other goodies. Watch for my tweets and Facebook status updates starting around 7:30 pm. Tomorrow I will post about the experience.

If you want to see everyone's Twitter comments during the TasteCasting follow along here #CbusTasters and #Suisse.

Highly Recommend Lunch and Learn Sessions

The Social Media For Business People Lunch and Learn session was great. Even though I've been using social media for over a year, I learned how to better focus as well as how to enhance my social media practices. Some subtle, yet important changes will be made soon, especially on my Linked In page.

Have a LinkedIn Page? Want to link? Check out my page LinkedIn page here.