Thanks to the FlashYourGadgets Photo Booth at Social Media Camp in Victoria this weekend, exposing yourself to cameras isn’t just for drunk co-eds in Cancun. This new kind of social media attraction, created by One Net Marketing, caught a lot of attention, proving that geeky is the new sexy.
The idea came to me last spring as I was walking the conference floor at SXSW. I realized that I was in the middle of “Geek Spring Break.” But something was off - the geeks I saw weren’t lifting up their shirts – instead they were busy checking out the latest tech devices, comparing their knowledge on social media apps, and of course – drinking lots and lots of booze. The phrase “Flash Your Gadgets” popped into my head. The Photo Booth was born.
The inaugural Western Canada Social Media Awards, dubbed The Westies, attracted a large response--bringing nominations from cities as far as Edmonton (are they really West Coast?) to Seattle and Portland. Over 100 nominations were received, and votes were cast in all categories. After the nomination period ended, voting began and the top 5 in each category advanced to the finals where a panel of judges choose the winner.
While it was not disclosed at the time who the judges were, they were announced at the dinner - Scott Stratten of UnMarketing and previous keynote at Social Media Camp 2010 and Sean Moffitt of Wiki-Brands who also spoke at SMCV 2011 were among the list. In a video message to the camp, Scott revealed that Victoria was his favorite city to visit in his last book tour. Similarly, during his keynote, Jay Baer announced that he would like to move to Victoria once his kids flew the coup – are they just out to flatter us or have they too drank the Victoria Kool-Aid?
During the dinner at Social Media Camp people ate their mash potato martinis and waited to see who would take home the hardware.
Amongst the varying degree of preparedness of acceptance speeches, the most touching and emotional moment of the dinner came when tear-filled Raul Pacheco-Vega (@hummingbird604) collected the “Most Inspiring Social Media” user award on behalf of Derek K. Miller who passed away at the beginning of May. It was at that moment where the concept of “what we post lasts forever” truly hit me in a remarkable way. Thank you for sharing your life with us Derek – your blog has created an online legacy that will continue to inspire others.
Social media metrics will soon be as standard and prevalent as search and PPC analytics. That was the consensus of yesterday’s panel on Social Monitoring at Social Media Camp 2011, covering popular tools, strategies, and metrics.
Amber Naslund, co-author of The Now Revolution, was perhaps the most vocal (and helpful) panelist. One sound bite that got lots of attention on the #SMC11 Twitter feed was her distinction between monitoring and listening.
“Monitoring is collecting data points, but listening is all about gathering relevant data that you can act on.”
This became the theme of the discussion, and most of the audience’s questions focused on practical tips and strategies to start measuring social media ROI and performance. Here are some highlights from the Saturday discussion. I’ve organized the post around the audience’s major questions.
Is there a difference between B2B and B2C Monitoring?
“Social media is not a three month campaign,” warns Sean Moffitt, the co-author of Wikibrands. “You have to commit.” Luckily, his presentation at Social Media Camp 2011 provided some powerful tips to help your company truly commit to building a social brand in 2011.
Here are some highlights.
Think inside the box.
Don’t just stab in the dark. Set some rules and overarching principles for building your online community. To act properly, though, you need rules that empower you versus dry, prescriptive rules.
Look to leaders at creating communities for some models. Some great examples of community builders, according to Moffitt, include Amazon, Firefox, and Kraft.
“We’ve created our own Frankenstein--and we call him real-time business,” began Amber Naslund, co-author of The Now Revolution, at Social Media Camp 2011 in Victoria, today on June 4th. Her keynote delivered a tightly-packed action plan for organizations, offering the foundations for developing an evolved and measurable social media strategy.
As Amber made clear, real-time business can pose immense challenges for your company. Every customer is a reporter now, and, at any instant, your customer can become either your biggest threat or advocate.
To illustrate the potential damage of real-time feedback, Amber cited a review of a small hotel on Tripadviser.com. It’s title: “I can feel death creeping up on me as I write this.” Her point was that your customers are responding. Right now. And sometimes their bad customer experiences are unleashed with poetic bits of customer angst like this:
It's SOOOOOO gross. Like something in a horror movie. I'm about to walk out to my car to get my own blankets because this bed is so gross I don't even want to imagine how many people are brought here to be murdered. DO NOT STAY HERE. My wife and I are gonna go get tested for HIV because of this bed.
Words like “pioneering” and “renegade social media policy” were used by the three panelists in their opening speeches during the “Adapting Social Media in Government” at Social Media Camp 2011 on June 3rd.
On the panel, there were representatives from the Department of National Defense (Canada), the Ministry of Transportation, and the City of Nanaimo, British Columbia. While the panelists were quite enthusiastic and proud of the government’s adoption of social media, the audience seemed less impressed. Overall, many complex questions were raised about metrics and the practical purpose of social media in government communications--and, for the most part, the audience was left without many clear answers by the panel.
One audience member raised an important question about the specific ROI goals of the government using social media. She wanted to know if the panelist’s agencies had a specific goal such as creating awareness or building trust with constituents. Various responses were provided by all three government representatives, but it seemed that many government agencies still don’t really know why they are using social media, other than the fact that is has revealed itself as more than a passing trend.
Last year, I spent a few hours with Jay Baer, the co-author of “The Now Revolution.” He was visiting Victoria and during our visit I learned something personal about him. He loves tequila. I also was lucky enough to receive his business card, made from metal, which doubled as a beer opener. So for my review of “The Now Revolution,” I thought it would be fitting to include a drinking game based on the MS codes in his new book, “The Now Revolution.”
But to play the drinking game, you’ll need to know more about “The Now Revolution.” So here’s my review. It covers the “good,” the “bad” and, the “ugly.” Pay attention, though. There will be a test.
Many people have always joked about Victoria, BC and its residents being comprised of mostly college students and retired people; no one would expect Victoria to be one of the most social media savvy communities in Canada. Techies, marketing professionals, and rising social media stars, are starting to unite- reshaping the identity of this tourist destination as the next social tech powerhouse.
This is not only noticeable from the sheer volume of small to mid-size technology companies blooming as vibrantly as the cherry blossoms that line its British-style streets, but by the number of inspiring events that connect this community in a collaborative rather than competitive way. Victoria is also attracting some of North America’s leading Social Media Rock Stars who are excited to share insight and ideas with the social community in Victoria.
One such event is Social Media Camp, which was founded in 2010 by Chris Burdge, President of bWEST Interactive and Paul Holmes, President of IdeaZone.ca. The first Social Media Camp sold out with nearly 500 participants, and the second Social Media Camp scheduled for Friday, June 3rd & Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at the Victoria Conference Centre will host between 600-800 guests.
While located in Victoria BC, “this is not just a Vancouver Island thing, it's a west coast thing. Victoria is not only home to a hospitable and strong community of social media and marketing professionals but is also a beautiful place to come and visit. This year we have seen many registrants from places as far as New York, Chicago, Boston,” says Chris Burdge. Perhaps this could be the start of a South by South West (SXSW) style conference north of the border?!
On December 4th photographers from around the world will grab a camera, find people in need, and take their picture. Help-Portrait founded by Celebrity Photographer Jeremy Cowart; is a community of photographers, coming together across the world to use their photography skills to give back to their local community.
Founder of Oprius Software in Victoria, Alan Smith, may be a seasoned entrepreneur by day, but what he really loves doing is taking photos of people. His love for photography motivated him to organize the Help-Portrait Victoria chapter – an event that the community has embraced with open arms.
The free event aims to provide professional portraits and career photos for those who cannot afford this type of service; moreover, it’s about honoring people and making them feel good and pampered for a day. You can come down to Relish Café between 9-5 on December 4th, and take part in our event. Fish Hair Salon is offering free hair styling and portraits will be taken free of charge by some of Victoria’s best photographers including Smith himself. Your portrait will be printed on the spot for you to take home as a 4X6, an 8 X10. You will also be provided with a digital copy of your portrait on DVD to share or print yourself at a later date.
“It’s really nice to see the community get together for such a great cause. Everyone has been so gracious in assisting, and we can’t wait to see the smiles and happiness we can bring to people. That’s what this is really about- using our combined skills to make people feel happy and appreciated,” says Smith. To get an idea of what to expect, here is a video of the Help-Portrait event in Chicago last year.
How can you get involved? You can join the Help-Portrait Victoria group here to get involved. (Hint: they are in need of make-up artists). Most importantly, they need people to spread the message families, youth, adults; anyone who wants a professional portrait can come down to the event. Please spread the word to groups, organizations and individuals who may know people who would like to have their picture taken.
Christmas should be about community and what Smith is most excited for is the motivation behind this event; “It’s about GIVING the pictures, not taking them. These portraits are not for our portfolio, website, or for sale. Money isn’t involved here. This holiday season, we want to give families something they may have never had before—a portrait together.”
Partway through an interview with Jay Baer, he handed me a shiny gold object that looked as if it could be a fancy room key; after all, we were in a hotel. Did he just hand me his room key? I quickly realized it was a slick medal business card and bottle opener. I knew we were off to a good start.
We have officially entered into a new wave of rock star. The “social media rock star.” But while Jay Baer does enjoy a good tequila, and his business card could be interpreted as flashy bar trick, he is the type of “rock star” with longevity: completely hype-free, passionate about what he does, overly humble, and perfectly genuine.
Jay Baer is the author of extremely popular blog and social media strategy agency “Convince and Convert.” I have been following his blog for the past year – if you don’t read it, you should start. His blog focuses on new trends in social media, the real strategy behind successful social campaigns, and emerging online technology advancements. He uses a lot of his own personal case studies - his favorite being the work he did for Sweet Leaf Tea.
He is also co-author of “The Now revolution,” currently being pre-sold on his website. Besides a guaranteed amazing read, “The Now Revolution” also embraces engagement and interactivity in true Jay Baer style. There is a reason we call him a rock star. The book utilizes Microsoft tag technology where codes are placed throughout the pages that can be unlocked for access to exclusive bonus content including videos, tips, discussions and resources. You can also download a free chapter of his book on Facebook.
Nicole: I want to know about the real Jay Baer and how he got his start- how did you end up becoming a social media rock star?
Jay Baer: I started working for the government as a spokesperson for the Juvenile corrections facility. I was in a position where l would do anything to not have that job. Two friends started the very first internet company in Arizona, circa 1993. I had never been on the internet, I didn’t even know what it was, but I didn’t care, it could have been a Mango farm.. I was in. I was instantly the VP of Marketing for an internet company having never been on the internet. This was the start of my digital online marketing career. In a year the company grew like 6000%. I then worked for a local media site, working for a family, that covered news, sports and weather. It was soon acquired by a big company. Working under a large corporation was pretty much “death by excel” so I knew that it was not my scene and I was out of there. When I was 29 I started my own agency, “Mighty Interactive” out of my house and did digital marketing strategy for about 5 years, won a lot of awards and then I sold it to another agency. It was clear that I liked to do my own thing and not work for someone else so as soon as my contract term was up, I went off on my own again and started Convince and Convert.Social media side was a natural progression.
Nicole: Was there one or two clients while working as “Mighty Interactive” that helped to launch your career?
Jay Baer: No. Not at all. It was the exact same thing I do now. Be the hype-free guy who gives companies real advice and actually answers the phone. There is no magic formula. A lot of the people in professional services have no business being professional services providers. They are not responsible, they are not fast, and they sell a people a big bill of goods. I just became over time, the guy that corporations came to who needed no non-sense advice.
Walking around the Copeland Communications sponsored tweet-up, arranged for Mr. Baer and fans, you could pin point the people in the room who had just spent the afternoon in one of Jay Baer’s intense training sessions. Like the physical exhaustion and spiritual enlightenment after a Birkams session, participants walked the floor a little weary and somewhat dazed albeit with their heads held high; a tell-tale sign of glimmer and enlightenment brought on by Jay’s real energy, genuine strategy and passion for the medium. Unlike most social media conferences, bathed in hype and irreplaceable examples of fortune-500 success stories, Jay Baer offers the humble reality that it takes a solid strategy and a lot of time to become successful with social media.
Nicole: Most of the companies that seem successful with Facebook are the fortune 500 companies. As a small, unknown brand, how do you make social media work for you?
Jay Baer: Set a clear path and expectations for what you will be using social media for: is it to engage customers, is it a form of customer service, or is it for customer acquisition? If you are looking to acquire new users, instead of focusing on giving away coupons or relying on giveaways as many strategists might recommend, use existing loyal customers as a conduit and give them the tools to become a volunteer army to promote your brand.
Nicole: Many people assume that social media is a “quick win” solution. Is this true?
Jay Baer: The truth is that social media is the slowest media that we have ever invented because we are literally winning the hearts and minds of each person every day. Social media is like re-creating the telephone and its something we will be doing for years.
Nicole: There has been a lot of news recently about the Facebook Edge Score*. Do you think that people will start to “game” this algorithm similar to how people attempt to “game” Google search?
(*The Facebook edge score is a social ranking algorithm that organizes the content you see in your “Top News” stream based on what you as a user interact with most frequently.)
Jay Baer: I think it is more difficult to game edge rank because it is not as if Facebook makes a judgment that says your first, your tenth and your 100th, like Google does. Its basically, here is what facebook thinks is the collection of edges that merits your attention and that’s based on comments and likes. I don’t think it is possible unless you can somehow manufacture fake comments and likes.
Nicole: Do you think the algorithm will become smarter or change over time?
Jay Baer: Absolutely.But it’s not about them re-writing the algorithm. Facebook will start to take more data points into account. Right now its primarily likes and comments, and status interactions - but they could add tab interaction (when fans come to your page and interact with a tab), they could add the amount you interact with blog posts/ websites off –domain that have a “like” button attached to it. The Facebook open graph is so big- and what they want to do is essentially become the plumbing for the web. They can use interactions that don’t happen in Facebook as part of the formula- that is what I believe is going to impact the future of the Facebook edge score. The sum total of you interacting with the brand – anywhere you go on the web.
The future of online technology is improving on the things we do in our day-to-day lives. Marketing will become more personal and hyper-targeted. Jay used an example by pointing to the new Starbucks digital network with Yahoo where you will soon be able to get free access to subscription content such as newspapers, music and movies whenever you are in a Starbucks store. The ability for Starbucks to serve hyper-targeted ads and special offers to you through this new digital network is a real possibility for the future according to Jay. Walmart could also have a similar impact by utilizing their loyal fan base and offering daily Groupon-like discounts to their customers.
It is clear that we are shifting towards a time where we finally have the technical ability for true one-to-one communication with our customers.
Victoria has been lucky – thanks to our surprisingly large number of social participants (go #yyj!) and trend-setting agencies such as Copeland Communications who brought Jay Baer to town. We are seemingly a go-to city on the social media rock star tour. Scott Stratten, “UnMarketing” and Julien Smith, “Trust Agents,”joined us just a month ago for Social Media Camp. Who will follow Jay Baer’s act and grace us with their physical social presence?
Best Social Media Customer Service Award
Social media metrics will soon be as standard and prevalent as search and PPC analytics. That was the consensus of yesterday’s panel on Social Monitoring at Social Media Camp 2011, covering popular tools, strategies, and metrics.
“Social media is not a three month campaign,” warns Sean Moffitt, the 
Last year, I spent a few hours with Jay Baer, the co-author of 
One such event is Social Media Camp, which was founded in 2010 by Chris Burdge, President of 
Partway through an interview with Jay Baer, he handed me a shiny gold object that looked as if it could be a fancy room key; after all, we were in a hotel. Did he just hand me his room key? I quickly realized it was a slick medal business card and bottle opener. I knew we were off to a good start.
