Twitter Basics — What is a Hashtag Campaign?

To: New Media Dayton – Thank You Letter

Carole,

I just want to thank you and all of the wonderful people in the New Media Dayton community for providing the clothing that we just delivered to the Dayton Gospel Mission through your Pajama Drama. You absolutely made a difference in some needy lives. I sincerely appreciate the synergy of combing your efforts with our Thanks for Giving program to make a very special delivery downtown this week.

I have posted a quick note and video with some pictures of the mission on my FB page. Thank again giving to our community, and Merry Christmas to all!!

http://www.facebook.com/DrGoffe

Dr. Gregory A. Goffe
“From Pain Relief to Wellness Care”
www.DrGoffe.com
www.Facebook.com/DrGoffe
www.Twitter.com/DrGoffe

New Media Dayton Gives Back – “Pajama Drama” Project

New Media Dayton launched last Saturday with a meetup at The Pub (at The Greene). Overwhelmingly and enthusiastically, it was decided that while it is all well and good (and FUN) to have get-togethers to share info and network…we really need to find a way to harness the power (the gift!) of social media and give back to our community. (Huge thanks to Leigh Caraciolli for putting into words what has been brewing into many of our hearts!)

I woke up the next morning wondering how to bring this idea into being. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but making them a reality is a different story! I wanted to find a project we could jump into that already had legs and not try to invent something new…in other words, find a worthwhile community project that was already established.

Later that day I found myself at the chiropractor — Dr. Goffe — in Centerville, looking at a flyer on his wall that said “Thanks for Giving to our Community…Dayton Gospel MIssion is in need of the following items…” and I thought PERFECT! I told Dr. G that New Media Dayton is looking for a project to jump into for Thanksgiving holiday time and he volunteered to let us join in on the drive and use his office as a drop-off point. Another reason this seemed perfect to me is that years ago I visited the DG Mission and wanted to find a way to get involved but ended up being pulled in another direction. This downtown Dayton Mission has been around for a long time and is a light in our community.

Allison showing pajamas purchased at Target

A couple of years ago, Chaplain Ken gave me a tour of the soup kitchen and the warehouse where they store food to give out. They have been hit especially hard this year with needs from families and children as our economy shifts and the cost of food only goes up and jobs have been harder and harder to come by. (Besides food, they also give new hats, gloves, pajamas and other items to families in need.)

So here’s where YOU come in. I challenge you to round up support from your co-workers, your family and/or your church community to round up as many BRAND NEW PAJAMAS FOR CHILDREN — I’m calling it “Pajama Drama”. (Click here to read the story behind the project.) Using social media tools round up as much drama and support to amaze and encourage Dayton Gospel Mission with NEW PAJAMAS.

WHEN: December 10th is deadline for collection of pajamas.

WHERE (several options):
(1) Drop off during business hours at Goffe Chiropractic Center, 387 Regency Ridge Dr., Dayton 45459
(2) Bring with you to the Dayton Connect Happy Hour at Madison’s on Thurs/Dec 3rd at 5:30 PM
(3) Drop off during business hours at Lucid Salon — 35 E. Mulberry, Lebanon

Note: Contact me if you want to volunteer your place of business for a drop off location.

WHAT: Brand new (not used!) childrens’ pajamas for kids ages 1 through 16.

If you have ideas on how to make this project even better, please let me know. Please be creative! Use all your social media skills and tools to make this a success. I can’t do this myself…and I don’t want to! Come on and shine…make this first give-back project AWESOME!

New Media Dayton -- Thanks for Giving!

Robin Gentry McGee dropping off warm, new pj's at Goffe Chiropractic

New Media Dayton Event 11/14/09 – My Two Cents

HUGE THANK YOU TO Paula Ivins — owner of Lucid Salon in Lebanon, Ohio — for sponsoring the event! Also huge thanks to The Beavercreek Pub at The Greene — you made us feel welcome and treated us like British royalty. You rock!

I don’t have a head-count yet, but the group of people that attended last night’s New Media Dayton event at The Beavercreek Pub filled up the patio room. I was shocked. You know how sometimes you plan something but you don’t really know until the event takes place if anyone will actually come. To see all photos from event, view Flickr photo stream located on the right-hand side of this page. Go to my Twitter page and view “NewMediaDayton-IRL” list to view complete list of people who attended (who are on Twitter).

New Media Dayton 2009 packs the patio room at The Pub / The Greene

Why was the turnout so spectacular? I think the reason is a word we use a lot in the advertising/marketing world — BUZZ. There was a lot of buzz leading up to the event. The base of the buzz has been going for two years now, started by Community Manager & Leader for New Media Cincinnati — Daniel Johnson, Jr. This awesome, humble guy has been selflessly dedicated to community building for two solid years. As someone who likes to chase “shiny things” I am in awe of him for sticking with this, all this time WITHOUT PAY. Someone really ought to hire this guy! Any company looking to get involved in social media needs to start with a Community Manager and this guy is doing a bang up job. (Climbing down off soap box now.)

Secondly, the people of Dayton who are the power-players in Social Media — Chris Celek, Gina Kay, Duane Myers, Jeff Zaret — all enthusiastically promoted the event and never once did I hear any of them ask “what’s in it for me”. All of them “get” it. People like Kelley Tibbs, Mike Cornett and Bryan Suddith gave selflessly of their time to meet/talk and help plan beforehand.

Bryan Suddith (Guest Host) and Jeff Zaret

I’m hearing lots of great feedback…people telling me what a great time they had…telling me that they felt it was a huge success. I’m super pleased myself and I’m so encouraged by the sheer number of people and the fact that people I admire and adore (but haven’t met IRL until last night) showed up — Amanda Hite, Leigh Caraciolli and Nicole Walls. When they walked in the room they lit up the place!

Amanda Hite, Leigh Caraciolli, me and Nicole Walls

Take-aways:

- What can we do to include more variety of people…more hipsters…people living in urban areas…people of all ages and backgrounds? Thanks to PreppyDude for bringing this up. (Would changing up location help or is keeping location static going to create consistency?)

- What are we doing to help our community? Leigh Caraciolli (FleurDeLeigh) spoke to this beautifully. So we get together and have a good time and congratulate each other and toss a drink back but what are we doing with this gift to give back?!

I’ve saved the “what went wrong” and “what I’ve learned for next time” for last:

1. A huge screw up was the U-stream thing. We were supposed to be streaming live and inviting people via Twitter to watch the event while it took place and we would read their tweets and answer questions live. I COMPLETELY FORGOT. I forgot. I was so caught up in the moment and giddy with excitement that this thing was really happening that I lost track of the technical stuff. Would someone please step forward and take ownership of this important piece?! I am an airhead and a socialite. My strength does not lie in technical stuff, unlike my hero, Daniel Johnson, Jr. Here is link to partial ustream video.

2. Have a full tank of gas in the car BEFORE the event. No one knows this, but as I left my house with NO TIME budgeted for getting gas, I seriously envisioned myself running out of gas on the side of the road on the way to The Pub, explaining to everyone that I had run out of gas. Very mature. That would have been horrifying for my “personal brand”.

3. Sound issues. Make sure we have a microphone that we can pass around that is not a very pricey and delicate, tiny, did I mention EXPENSIVE piece of equipment. I’m sure Mike was having a heart attack as it got handed to people over and over.

4. More sound issues. Dedicate a microphone and amp specifically so the people in the room can hear. It was often hard to hear some soft spoken individuals.

5. Face the camera when I talk. I totally had my back to the camera. Doh!

6. Assign someone to be the go-between to the out-side world. Someone to watch Twitter stream and U-stream comments and bring them to light so that we have interaction with those listening in.

All in all…what an awesome event! Can’t wait to do it again. We’ll take the month of December off. See you second Saturday of January. Same time/place. Be warned ahead of time…if you complain about anything, you will be put in charge of that area to make it better for next time! Ha!

BowlHer 2009 Video

Social Media Policies from 82 Organizations

Social Media Policies: Click here.

Pumpkin Patch Follow Five

Susan Powter
Roni’s Weigh
Dr. Goffe
Kelly Olexa
Fun Fit Family

Answering the question “How do brands interact via Twitter?”

Here’s a great example of how one brand, Quaker Oats, is engaging with their customers via Twitter. As you can see by the image below, they are using their company name…added the word “talk” — easy solution.

Loreal – Are you Listening?

Loreal, I hope you are listening because I have some valuable info that may help you enter into a whole new realm. Here’s the scoop. I was chatting on the phone today with my sister, Sue, who lives in another state. She and her hubby were driving to church and I was driving home from the grocery store with my newly acquired box of Loreal Hair Color. I explained to her that my loving husband would be applying it for me when I got home and she laughed and said that her hubby applies her hair color, too. We laughed about how “romantic” it is to have our husbands do that for us (in a kind of sarcastic way).

Anyhoo, I returned home and called my hubster into the bathroom where I was awaiting his presence. As he stood there trying hard to fit the tiny gloves over his large man hands I explained how I had talked to my sister Sue and her husband does her haircolor, too. We laughed together and THIS IS WHEN I HAD THE A-HA MOMENT! Loreal…do you know how many of your customers actually have their hubby’s apply their hair color? If you knew this, you might want to consider including another set of gloves in your package IN A LARGE SIZE FOR MEN.

What does this entire post have to do with social media you ask? Here’s the deal. I am going to get on Twitter and Facebook in a minute and send out a post to all my followers about Loreal hair color and the glove size. Within seconds / minutes, I will be having a conversation about the product and will hear feedback. Maybe. It depends who is online and who is reading my stuff today. Then again, Loreal, if you have your hashtag set up already, you will be following my conversation and others and gleaning valuable information/feedback from your customers. Convo to be continued.

Oh! And P.S. Now I’ve just revealed to the world that I color my hair. How’s THAT for authenticity?!

Fresh Batch of Twitter #FollowFive – Girlfriends Only

For this week’s Follow Five, I’m just choosing girlfriends:

1. Debba Haupert — @girlfriendology — Debba has shared a hotel room with me on two separate occasions for several days at a time (Blissdom and BlogHer). She knows all my secrets, bad habits and STILL continues to be my friend. She deserves a medal in authenticity. She IS A TRUE girlfriend…true to her brand…she walks the talk.

2. Robin Gentry McGee – @RobinGMcGee — Robin and I were friends many years ago in my wilder (single girl) days. We lost touch for a while and have picked up where we left off and haven’t skipped a beat. She has a heart of gold. I remember way back when (10 years ago?) I had my wisdom teeth (all four!) removed and she delivered home-made soup — two kinds! — to my home. Robin is a master whole foods chef. I just want to hang out in her kitchen and see how she does what she does!

3. Lani Muelrath — @lani_muelrath — Lani and I have never met IRL (in real life) but we have video skyped. She has been a huge encourager to me with my fitness/weight loss blog. I want nothing more than to hop on a plane and attend her Muscles, Mud & Merlot retreat!

4. Casey Kurutz — @SlimPerfect — Casey is the first person/company ever to take a chance on my and let me be a brand enthusiast for their product and attend a conference — BlogHer — to host a contest. I made a few mistakes and blunders along the way but Casey is such a sweetheart that she always took the highway and thanked me for every little thing I did even when it wasn’t perfect. She makes doing business FUN. Such a gentle, kind spirit.

5. Lauren Turner – @LTurnerDesign — Lauren has been my summer intern as I have launched my new social media business. I’ve never had an intern and I have to say having her in my home and working closely with her was a total blast! She is a graduate of The School of Advertising Art and is mega-skilled with graphic design…very creative…super responsible. I would love to be able to afford to hire her FULL time one day!