VMS-Washignton – Social Media, Part Two … Tell Me a Story

On Tuesday, I shared the first installment of my article recounting Social Media Day  — an event sponsored by the teams at GTX Marketing and Fresh Consulting. I was honored to share the piece not only with my readers, but also folks like Mike Whitmore and Kathy Ireland. I was thrilled to see Part One circulating on Twitter and shared via friends on Facebook. Once again, the themes put forth at Social Media Day were brought home to my front door. If you share it, they will come.

When we re-convened after lunch, Jenny Kuglin (@jenkuglin) content manager and social media maven for Fisher Interactive, shared a story about news anchor, Kathi Goertzen. Kathi’s story highlighted the human connection people associate with a brand. In this case,KOMO News and Fisher Communications. Kathi had been off-air for some time in recent years as she battled (and continues to fight) a brain tumor. Kathi was hesitant to return to a place in front of the camera due to disfigurement from her disease. Jenny knew that people were curious about Kathi so the communications team at Fisher helped Kathi launch a Facebook page, which as of this article, has over 71,600 fans. She can also be found on YouTube, Twitter (@InspireHopeCure), and via her website. Nothing tangible is being exchanged, but Kathi has a story to share and people want to hear it. Content is king.

Though, in the words of Rod Brooks (@NW_Mktg_Guy) “Content is gold. Kings die; gold lives forever.” The theme of the afternoon was story and Jenny, Rod, and Paul Anderson(@ProLango) did a wonderful job of introducing the sociable side of social interaction. Yes, we were all on social media because we run businesses or work for companies where marketing and social presence matter. But few of us participate in social media with the intent to NOT make friends, as many of us enjoy when our interactions move off-screen to the in-person realm.

Rod stated, he is 90% personality, 10% business when it comes to social media. His advice, “Bring yourself to work.” Be genuine. Travel. Engage with the world. Be quirky and interesting. Rod talked about the wild success of the Northwest Profiles series of commercials and cards based on stereotypical Northwest personality types. Pemco realized that people didn’t necessarily want to talk about insurance, but you know what? “People want to talk about the neighbors,” said Rod. That became the key to Pemco’s marketing success and social amiability.

Jen, this time Jen Houston (@JHouston89) of Waggener Edstrom’s dynamic communications team, stepped on stage and delivered another talk relevant to the theme of story. “Content is the currency of influence,” said Jen. People still desire eye contact and human connection. Among her many morsels of social media advice, “Be a content guerrilla.” Pics, travel, drawings on napkins — capture your life and essence of who you are — this is your brand and your story. Know who your audience is and track where those people are. Monitor your brand and be engaging. “Nuance is necessary to engage.” Choose the channel that  best allows you to tell your nuanced story and bring value to your audience.

Jeff Dance (@Jeffdance) of Fresh Consulting delivered a talk about creativity and storytelling. Logging ideas is good for our brain. Drawing images is also good for our brain. Basically, we should strive to engage in a dance that complements both hemispheres of our brain. (Think  of the “Liger” from the famous movie, Napolean Dynamite.) People are craving meaning and simplification — and people remember stories. Where can we tell our stories, beyond the social media platforms discussed up to this point? In the About Us page on our websites. On WordPress analytics, the About Us page was the #1 most-visited page besides the homepage. Customers want to know who you are and what you bring to the proverbial table. Jeff closed with the sage advice, “Be educational, be useful, be entertaining … or be ignored.”

Heidi Miller (@heidimiller) was the final guest speaker and imparted valuable wisdom about the social media exchange. “Be yourself, share a picture of yourself, and don’t be a jerk,” she advised. Heidi reiterated what Rod had said — there’s no need to be all business. Share your integrated self, ask questions and engage in conversation with others. Don’t delete comments — EVER! As mentioned by Mike and other panelists — you must monitor your brand your social presence constantly. If an issue should arise via your social media network, one to two hours for a response is ideal, but more than twenty-four hours is too long. Heidi illustrated examples of TSA and Domino’s Pizza properly responding to customer feedback via a very public platform. There are polite ways to engage with even the most angry customer and your image depends on your response and handling of a situation.

Social Media Day was a blast to attend and and honor to photograph. I gained so much valuable information that my assistant and I have been working overtime trying to implement all the tidbits, buttons, and tags that we learned that sunny afternoon last weekend. Technology is changing the world we live in and I welcome the opportunity to keep up and engage. Thank you for reading and “walking with me” as Kathy Ireland stated at the event. If content is gold, I am feeling pretty golden right now and I can’t wait to share more stories, photos, and backs of napkins from my upcoming travels and photo shoots. If you’re new to Twitter, remember to follow the people mentioned in this piece (via the links provided or “@” symbol after their name). Of course, you can find me onFacebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Catch you on the social side.

~Trishann Couvillion (@fire_eyes) Fire Eyes Photography

About trcouvillion

Best Corporate Event Photographer and Business & Headshots Photographer in Seattle. Event Photography for many top Seattle and Silicon Valley companies work with Trishann Couvillion of Fire Eyes Photography and well known individuals such as Steve Ballmer; CEO and President of Microsoft, Dennis Miller, Christopher Gardner, Michael Lewis and many others have been photographed by her. Check out her Corporate Website @ http://www.fireeyesphotography.com

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A Fresh Approach to Media, Part One ~ by Corporate Event Photographer Trishann Couvillion

A Fresh Approach to Media, Part One

Social Media Day was a one-day event organized by Fresh Consulting and GTX Marketing, both Seattle-based companies. Fresh Consulting specializes in strategy, design, and technology services for businesses and GTX Marketing focuses on innovative Web design to strengthen business brands. Last Saturday, hundreds of attendees sat in the southwest corner of the Century Link Events Center to listen to the social media mavens that Fresh Consulting and GTX Marketing had invited to share tips and strategy in this digital age.

Rod Brooks (@NW_Mktg_Guy), senior marketer for Pemco Insurance, acted as emcee for the day and if the Starbucks coffee in the Bassett Furniture sponsored lounge hadn’t woken the morning’s attendees, then Rod’s taxi-yellow suit was sure to do the trick. He shared some statistics about consumers, how to advertise to your intended audience, and parted with the advice: “Know your talkers; give them something to talk about; make it easy to share.”

Mike Whitmore (@mikewhitmore) stepped up to the podium to introduce his friend, Kathy Ireland (@KathyIreland). Mike had been blogging during his late wife’s battle and eventual death from cancer. It was via those blog posts and the Twitter platform that Mike and Kathy formed a friendship and business connection.

Kathy, a former supermodel who exudes femininity and poise, shared her background in modeling and how it prepared her for the thick skin required to succeed in business. She stated that, “all the rejection” was one of the gifts of her modeling career. Though she is one of the most successful women in today’s business world (regularly touted on topForbes lists) Kathy also experienced nights spent at the airport while traveling for business with her husband and business team because they couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel. “Whatever material things you have to give up is not a sacrifice — it’s a  bold investment,” she stated.

She learned the value of investigating reputations and getting to know who you’re really doing business with before starting a partnership or affiliation. Also she knew she had to, “Ask powerful questions to get powerful answers.” Regarding social media, Kathy didn’t like the Twitter term “followers,” rather she prefers to call them “people who walk with me” and states, “You have the information that they need. Give it to them.”

Kathy concluded her talk by opening up the floor to questions. One of the best came from a young girl in the audience who asked Kathy, herself a mother, what she would teach her kids about business. Kathy, clearly charmed like the rest of the audience, offered: “Treat others like you would want to be treated. Be kind. Be a good listener. Give 110%. Give more than what’s expected. Work hard.”

Mike Whitmore once again took the podium and launched into the value of video content in business. Imagery and storytelling create conversation around your product and the product can be and should be a subtle component of your imagery content. Mike told a story about Keith Ferrazzi (author of Never Eat Alone) and how, once again, a personable connection made via Twitter translated to a “real world” chance to meet and engage. Mike said Keith was a “genuinely nice human being” and Mike loves the book and encouraged everyone to pick up a copy.

Mike’s advice: “People are talking about your brand. Know what they’re saying.” Monitor your presence on the Web and make sure it is an accurate reflection of your business. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and now Pinterest are the top sites with which businesses and consumers engage. On a given day, 400K people sign up for Twitter. If you’re a business and don’t have a presence on these sites, you should!

As Mike spoke, I paused to look at the event attendees around me. From the moment the event began, Seattle’s social media savvy in the audience had been tweeting up to the minute accounts from the show to the Twitter hashtag “#nwsocial.” It’s amazing the ability people have to pay attention, or half attention to a speaker while tweeting to theiraudience. Every speaker mentioned in this article has a Twitter handle after their name. If you’re not on Twitter yet, they’re the people you should follow and begin to watch how they use hashtags to reference a current trend. Here’s a Twitter primer from Mike:

@ symbol : Used before a person’s name or handle, it’s how you tweet to them publicly.
# hashtag: A way to sort data and follow a meme or trend.
bit.ly: A shortened Web address. Makes links friendly to Twitter’s 140-character per tweet limit.
“RT”: A retweet. A way of saying, “I like what you said,” and then sharing it with your followers.

Twitter is microblogging; you need to tweet. Mike also shared his approach to Twitter called being the “GAP.” Genuine. Accurate. Positive. 96% of people ages 18-35 are on a social network. Businesses want to market and engage with that demographic. Twitter can be intimidating to some as you begin to get comfortable with the platform, but if I can do it, you can too!

Stay tuned in the coming days for Part Two of Social Media Saturday where panelists and speakers discussed the value of content and storytelling. Can you tell a robot did not write this piece? This type of content and exchange between people like you and me is something we cannot outsource and something only humans can bring to life.

~Trishann Couvillion (@fire_eyes) Fire Eyes Photography

About trcouvillion

Best Corporate Event Photographer and Business & Headshots Photographer in Seattle. Event Photography for many top Seattle and Silicon Valley companies work with Trishann Couvillion of Fire Eyes Photography and well known individuals such as Steve Ballmer; CEO and President of Microsoft, Dennis Miller, Christopher Gardner, Michael Lewis and many others have been photographed by her. Check out her Corporate Website @ http://www.fireeyesphotography.com

View all posts by trcouvillion →