The State of Michigan Really Likes Social Media

Did you know there is a Facebook Fan Page for Mackinac Historic Parks or that the Michigan Grape and Wine Council regularly tweets about great local wines?  In fact, the Michigan government Web site lists 26 Facebook pages, 21 Twitter accounts and 14 YouTube channels maintained by the state on its “Social Networking (Web 2.0)” page.

While many of us have already heard about the Pure Michigan social media success story, it seems the entire Michigan government social media program is attracting a few eyeballs.  The multiple Twitter accounts have more than 28,000 combined followers and the 14 YouTube channels have generated more than 41,000 views.

When digging a little deeper, it looks like each outpost employs a different engagement strategy.  Many of the sites are merely acting as extensions of their Web counterparts and rebroadcasting information.  There are only a few channels that are actively interacting with fans and followers. While creating a dialogue isn’t always an essential part of a social media strategy, I think two-way conversations are playing an increasingly important role in the government 2.0 movement.

Overall, I’m glad to see that the Michigan government is experimenting and giving average citizens newfound access to lawmakers and important state programs.  Mark this down as another “local” social media experiment that you should keep your eye on.

Your turn.

What do you think of Michigan’s social media strategy?  Are you fan?  What are they doing well?  Where could they improve?

Filed under: Michigan, blogs, community, marketing, social media, social networking, twitter , Facebook, Government 2.0, Michigan, social media, State of Michigan, twitter, Web 2.0, YouTube

Social Media Club Detroit October Meeting – How to Avoid Presentation FAIL

Co-organizing Brand Camp University has been one of the most rewarding and time-consuming projects I have ever undertaken.  Hajj Flemings and I spent countless weekends discussing content, identifying speakers, strategizing promotion and experimenting with format changes at Caribou Coffee in Royal Oak.  We constantly bounced ideas off each other. Proposals were challenged.  Every so often, moments of brilliance surfaced, followed by a few facepalms.  Luckily, after every meeting, we left excited knowing that we were now one day closer to the big event.  As Hajj would say, “we were cooking with gas.”

During the six plus months spent developing Brand Camp University, we learned a lot.  This Wednesday, we are going to share some of that knowledge with the Detroit social media community at the Social Media Club Detroit October chapter meeting.

Some of the questions we hope to answer include:

1. Why do large social media conferences matter to the Detroit region?
2. How do you grow a conference idea?
3. What are ways to approach creating a conference?
4. What’s the appropriate balance between content and personality?
5. Why should you match conference content to the region/market?
6. How do you create reasonable conference expectations?
7. What are the complexities of dealing with rock star speakers?
8. How do you create “need” and make sure your conference stands out?

As an added bonus, we will also be holding a drawing for free tickets to Brand Camp University 09, which takes place this weekend at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield.

The Social Media Club Detroit October meeting will be held at Java Exchange in Detroit near Wayne State University. To RSVP, visit the Facebook event page. To learn more about upcoming Social Media Club Detroit meetings and events, become a fan on Facebook.

Filed under: Michigan, community, conferences, detroit, events, social media , brand camp university, conferences, events, Hajj Flemings, personal branding, social media, social media club detroit

Think Global. Act Local. How you can Support the Growing Digital Detroit Community

**Originally posted by Ken Burbary on http://www.i-detroit.com**

Detroit has an thriving community of Digital marketing, advertising, creative and technology professionals. The community does exceptional work supporting the online communication efforts of brands like Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jeep, GeekSquad, United States Postal Service, Unite States Navy, and Michelin to name a few. However, we’ve long lived in the shadow of our industrial reputation the region earned decades ago. We’re trying to change that and show a different side of Detroit, the Digital side. Some ambitious members of this community have submitted their ideas for panels at the 2010 SXSW interactive festival. For those unfamiliar with it, SXSWi is one of, if not, the biggest annual industry event. People travel from all over the globe to attend, learn and share their professional experience in digital communications.

“SXSW Interactive features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.”

I’m highlighting 6 sessions submitted by Detroit based Digital professionals. I’m asking for your help to get their ideas selected for the conference. It takes only a few moments of your time to vote. Simply go to the SXSW panel picker by clicking on the session titles below, and click the icon to vote (note: you will need to register if you don’t already have an account). Every vote counts. Let’s get these panelists into the “big show” and highlight the emerging talent that is right in your own backyard.

Building Social Strategies at Fortune 100 Companies - panel session with Scott Monty, Ford Motor Company

Description: Companies of all sizes are adopting social media and community, but large organizations have some unique challenges and opportunities. This panel will uncover best practices through stories told by social media leaders from Ford, Nationwide, IBM, Microsoft, SAP and Dell.

Using Social Media to Find a New Gig – panel session by Shelli Gutholm, Aquent

Description: Don’t expect to get your next job by stuffing a bunch of resumes into envelopes and sending to “HR”. The best way to find the job of your dreams is by networking through Social Media. Social networking helps bypass the anonymity of the proverbial resume “black hole”. How you can use Social Media to secure your next job? We will be reviewing the tools and best practices that job seekers should utilize in a search. Also, we will outline some of the common mistakes job seekers make when using Social Media, which could lead to your efforts being sabotaged before they even begin.

Real World ROI and Social Media Strategies – panel session by Cosmin Ghiurau, BOSSdev Inc.

Description: Why Social Matters to Business Calculating the ROI of Social Case Study: CPR Week Digital Campaign for the American Heart Association Available with a client representative to participate These three topics can be presented as independent sessions or combined into one session. All three topics are focused upon how business can effectively understand, implement and measure web 2.0 marketing programs. Knowledge on the latest research and methods for digital marketing and social media Resources to leverage to stay informed on digital marketing and social media Real world examples of how businesses implement and measure web 2.0 programs ROI calculator to estimate and measure your own web 2.0 programs

Beyond the Click: Converting Website Visitors into Customers – solo session by Ayat Shukairy, Invesp Consulting

Description: For an online business, persuading visitors to purchase your product or service is crucial to increasing sales. Using the science and art of analytics analysis, marketing, usability and software, discover how the Conversion Framework approach can convert online visitors into customers such as RHDJapan and Metro Uniforms.

Industrial To Interactive: From Old Town To Tech Town – panel session by iDetroit members

Description: The idea of your city being home to the next thriving digital community is enticing. However, traditionally non-tech regions face a challenge. How do you introduce, develop and grow a digital movement within a location that has never seen one? Detroit is one such city currently grappling with this issue.

Using Facebook to Leverage Social Marketing and Gain ROI - dual session by K. Alan Robbins, BOSSdev Inc.

Description: Panel will cover the evolution of the social networking universe; provide valuable information with respect to the capabilities and unique aspects of the Facebook platform; valuable tips to help you craft an effective Facebook guerilla marketing campaign; and provide key criteria to help you to pick an effective development partner.

Filed under: Michigan, community, conferences, detroit, events, iDetroit, social media, tech , alan robbins, aquent, ayat shukairy, bossdev, cosmin ghiurau, detroit, Ford, iDetroit, invesp, Scott Monty, shelli gutholm, SXSWi

Detroit Tweetups – GM Summer Tweetup Edition

General Motors has been pretty busy lately.  The brand has been virtually everywhere, launching new cars and making some pretty big announcements. So, with all this activity going on, you can image how awesome it was to hear that the GM social media team wanted to host a tweetup for Metro Detroiters at Bar Louie in Novi on August 10th.

Great food. Interesting conversation. A couple of cool cars on display.  How could the Detroit Twitter community say no?

The GM Summer Tweetup drew a great crowd of 50+ attendees

Connecting with the people in your backyard
For me, this was more than just another opportunity to see old friends and make new ones.  GM will always have a strong connection to Metro Detroit and many of us here are personally and professionally invested in the company’s success. This tweetup presented a chance for Detroiters to connect with the people behind one of our brands and hear more about where the company is headed.

For more thoughts on this topic, check out the video below featuring me and Chris Barger, GM’s Director of Global Social Media Communications.  Note the handsome expression in the video still.

Also, I’d like to thank the lovely Lish for helping organize this great event.  She did all the legwork and deserves all the credit.

As always, to stay informed about the latest news and events related to Detroit Tweetups, please join our Facebook group. To see who attended the GM Tweetup, check out the list of handles below.  If for some reason you attended the tweetup and your Twitter handle is absent, please post it in the comments.

@wendyclark
@lish
@davesacre
@becksdavis
@becksdavishubby
@kewlrats
@alexfishernet
@verdelifestyles
@1485peet
@genebrady
@ktkruzn
@dukedna
@lisakup
@anig05
@mollysly
@shedski
@hmayers
@hajjflemings
@skinjunkie
@cbaccus
@rockdrool
@margosha8
@turbobrown
@shaunan
@cxiro
@potsie
@tinawebanalytic
@hondagrrl
@freshmenz
@detroitvoice
@drintelmann
@rmercader
@lesleyhettinger
@mrb8507
@jfavreau
@danieleizans
@cbarger
@julieglissman
@qoswhit
@davemurr
@jwphillips
@tvdeegan
@rposluszny
@mabdelno
@metajp
@christas
@tomehenderson
@bchesnutt
@positivecities
@essohhbee
@joem32
@jangosteve
@davebenjamin
@tomshea

@ejohnsonroxx (not valid – anyone know this handle?)

Filed under: Michigan, community, detroit, detroit tweetups, events, social media, tweetup, twitter , detroit, detroit tweetups, General Motors, General Motors Tweetup, GM Tweetup, social media, tweetup, twitter

Detroit Tweetups – Live To Give Charity Tweetup Edition

I think most of the readers of this blog are now well aware of my affinity for recapping tweetups and other local events.  However, since the Detroit social media community accomplished something very special this past Wednesday, I’d like to hand the recap duties over to someone else.

Detroit Twitterers & Live to Givers!

The most recent Detroit Tweetup was a monstrous success. We attracted over 100 people (new #detroittu record) and raised over $1,500 for our Bloomfield Hills non-profit organization, Live to Give Foundation (L2G). If you are unaware, L2G helps families in their time of need in a PERSONAL way with mini movies that reveal our donators, fundraisers and families in need. We were launched in November of 2007 by two college seniors and now are run by 5 post graduates all under 23 years old. Social media (obviously including Twitter) is our main outreach and have raised almost $20,000 because of it.

With the support we gained at the Tweetup in Novi, we are able to provide the Shuck family with 2 more months of rent and utilities while they try to escape homelessness, joblessness, and medical issues.

Thank you to everyone who attended, Fox 2 and Channel 7 for the stories they presented, our generous sponsors (Identity Marketing & Public Relations, iDetroit, CRT Medical Systems, Twitart.com, LA Productions and C! Tech Solutions), Bar Louie for their hospitality and Brandon (@bchesnutt) for taking so much initiative to make this wonderful night happen.

We have created our “personal touch” video of the night’s festivities and encourage you to take 3 minutes to see the Tweetup fun!

done

From the bottom of our passionate hearts, thank you!

The entire Live to Give team
Ryan, Kevin, Matt, Ashley & Kelly

Thank you to everyone for helping make this first Charity Tweetup a success.  It’s always a great time when we all get together.  Doing some good in the process was an added bonus.

For those who are wondering, we will be exploring this idea again in the future.  To stay informed as to when this will happen, follow Ken Burbary and I on Twitter or join the Detroit Tweetups Facebook Group.

Filed under: Michigan, community, detroit, detroit tweetups, events, social media, social networking, tweetup, twitter , Bar Louie, C Tech Solutions, Charity, CRT Medical Systems, detroit tweetups, Identitypr, iDetroit, LA Productions, Live To Give Foundation, tweetup, tweetups, Twitart.com, twitter

The birth of TechKaraoke Detroit and a special send-off for Shannon Paul

At the recent Angelina Detroit #eatup, there was a ton of discussion surrounding what should be the next “activity” for the Detroit social media community.  One of the many ideas thrown out was to follow in the footsteps of New York City, L.A. and Chicago by putting together a TechKaraoke event.

What is TechKaraoke all about?  It’s simple: people get together, have a few cocktails and rock the mic.

Well, hold on to your butts because it looks like a karaoke event will be held next week thanks to @primesuspect.  We’ll also be using this opportunity to give a good friend of Detroit a proper send-off.

Our very own Shannon Paul will soon be relocating to Seattle as part of her new position with WeSeed. While we all hate to see her go, we definitely want to say “goodbye and good luck” in style.  Since Shannon is actually the one who first shared with me the idea of putting on a TechKaraoke-style event,  I find it only appropriate that she be a major part of the “first” gathering.

So, come join Detroit’s tech and social media community on Saturday, May 30th at Royal Kubo in Clawson as we give our friend a “very official” send-off (see what I did there?).  They’ll be great conversation, lots of laughs and the butchering of classic songs by your friends and neighbors.  This could also be the start of a TechKaraoke Detroit chapter!

If you can’t make it, be sure to thank Shannon for all she has done for Detroit.  We are sure going to miss her!

Check out the Facebook page for the event.

Filed under: Michigan, community, detroit, social media, social networking, tweetup , community, event, fun, karaoke, Shannon Paul, tech karaoke detroit

Social Media Strategy at the Third Annual Walsh College Small Business Conference

I was recently asked to speak on the topic of digital marketing and social media strategy at the third annual Walsh College Small Business Conference.  Walsh has always been known as one of the region’s top business schools, and their continued commitment to providing local companies with the tools and counsel for growth is definitely commendable.

This year’s conference focused on “The Big 3″ for small business: marketing, management and money.  Numerous breakout sessions where available that shed light on a variety of topics including cash flow management, tax strategies, H.R. regulations, business succession planning, electronic payments and marketing communications.

While floating among the conversations and seminars, I noticed that social media was a hot topic of discussion.  Even Jim Hiller, the conference’s keynote speaker and founder of the uber-successful Hiller’s Markets, regularly referenced the use of free social technologies as a way for small businesses to cope with the “post-advertising marketplace.”

However, with all this talk of social media this and social networking that, small businesses often get caught up in the technology before developing their strategy.  Companies need to create a plan that aligns with core business objectives instead of trying to repackage their goals so they can fit them into a certain network or community.  It just looks messy… and not in a good way.

As digital technologies evolve and continue to gain more traction, will we see more companies stating “we have Facebook” instead of “we have a strategy?” Are we already at that point?  What do you think?

Filed under: Michigan, community, conferences, detroit, graduate school, marketing, public relations, social media, social networking , Biggby Coffee, Chris Brogan, conversation prism, David Meerman Scott, Ford, Forrester, groundswell, Lee Odden, MIPRO Consulting, Peter Kim, Presentations, Quicken Loans, Slow's BBQ, Small Business, Small Business Coference, social media, Social Media Strategy, Todd Defren, Urbane Apartments, Walsh College

Hanging out at Ignite Lansing

I was lucky enough to get ahold of a ticket for last Friday’s Ignite Lansing, which was the first Ignite event ever held in Michigan.  For those who are not familiar with Ignite, here is a quick summary:

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. Since then 100s of 5 minute talks have been given across the world. There are thriving Ignite communities in Seattle, Portland, Paris, and NYC.

While I always try to attend as many Metro Detroit-based events as possible, it was refreshing to step outside of my usual geographic boundaries and visit another growing digital community.  I was able to meet plenty of new people and finally shake hands with @nicklucido and @mattfrendewey, two smart guys I have been following on Twitter for awhile.  I also want to give a special shout out to @kaseyincharge for quickly organizing a post-event tweetup.  To view the attendee list, search the hashtag #ignitelansing or check out my Twitter stream.

However, the best part of the evening had to be my buddy David Murray’s hilarious, informative and Oscar-worthy presentation – “Who Wants To Be Adopted.”  I followed Dave around with my Flip camera for most of the night (primarily because I couldn’t present my proposed topic about the elements of a perfect Arnold Schwarzenegger movie) and captured his evening of triumph for all to see.  Enjoy.

Side note:  A few weeks ago at Startup Weekend Detroit, many of us were discussing how the Detroit community could benefit from an Ignite event.  Based on the phenomenal reception I witnessed at Ignite Lansing, I think this is something we need to explore ASAP.

Interested in helping me organize an Ignite event in Detroit?  Leave a comment, drop me a tweet or shoot me an email.

Filed under: Michigan, community, conferences, detroit, social media, tweetup, twitter , community, David Murray, Ignite, Ignite Detriot, Ignite Lansing, Lansing, Presentations, social media, twitter

Detroit’s Growing Social Media Community

The inaugural Module Midwest Digital Conference represented a great moment for Detroit’s social media community. Many of our local rock stars took to the stage with recognizable leaders in the digital industry and shared their knowledge of all things social media with attendees who were eager to learn.

With Module being hailed as a winner and a successful Startup Weekend in the bag, I think it’s pretty clear that fantastic things are really starting to happen in Detroit.

So, what comes next? How do we carry this momentum forward? How do we become more than just a blip on the radar?

To find some answers, I asked Jeremy Tanner, Ken Burbary, Adrian Pittman, Damian Rintelmann, Scott Monty, Shannon Paul and Chris Brogan how they think Detroit can take things to the next level.

I’m really taking their advice to heart.  But now I’m looking to you.

What would be your advice to Detroit or another up-and-coming social media community looking to create a name for itself?

Filed under: Michigan, business, conferences, detroit, social media, social networking , Adrian Pittman, Amber Naslund, Chris Brogan, community, Damian Rintelmann, detroit, Jeremy Tanner, Ken Burbary, Marcel Lebrun, Module Midwest Digital Conference, Oz Sultan, Scott Monty, Shannon Paul, social media

Detroit Tweetups – Hanging with Chris Brogan Edition – #robtu

A lot of people out there (well, at least like 60,000) think Chris Brogan is pretty cool dude.  So, when it was announced that there would be a Tweetup in his honor at the Royal Oak Brewery, Detroit’s Twitter community came out in force… and with only 24 hours notice.

A surprise bonus was that social media firecracker Amber Naslund (pictured below with everyone’s favorite redhead – @damnredhead) was also present.  After introducing myself, I just had to thank her.  Why?  Because Radian6 is pretty awesome.

Be sure to check out everyone’s tweets from the event – #robtu

Here were some of my favorite moments:

• Getting the chance to finally meet @cbarger.  Heck of a nice guy.  Make sure you follow him.
• Loudly promoting Friday’s Module 09 conference.  It is going to be awesome.  Seriously. Buy a ticket.
• Being referred to as “Trouble” by @ambercadabra.  Obviously, my reputation proceeds me.
• Discussing a possible Tweetup collaboration with my new friend, the delightful @lish.
• Seeing many new faces.  This Tweetup drew people from all over Michigan, including @natalie_joy, @kaseyincharge, @andrea_ness and @ssiewert (a fellow Erma’s Frozen Custard fan).
• Reconnecting with @drintelmann. Our paths had not crossed in some time…. and it started getting annoying.
• Talking about the happenings here in Detroit with @chrisbrogan.
• Sharing my love of Band of Brothers with @kenburbary and @essohhbee.  CURRAHEE!
• Bumping into @bw313. I actually introduced her to Twitter back in February at another event.  This was her first Tweetup and she brought a not-yet-on-Twitter friend… who is now on Twitter as @ElaineMBrady.

Thanks to everyone for making it a great night and for playing a part in Detroit’s growing social media community.  You all rock.

Check out the list of attendees after the jump.

Filed under: Michigan, detroit, detroit tweetups, social media, social networking, tweetup, twitter , #robtu, Amber Naslund, Chris Brogan, community, detroit, detroit tweetups, social media, tweetups, twitter