Join us on Tuesday, April 24 at 415 Westlake for a conversation with Alex Wheeler, vice president of global digital marketing at Starbucks, about how Starbucks keeps ahead of the curve in the ever-growing competition for the hearts, minds, and tumbler mugs of the consumer.

How do you measure that? It’s a common question those in social hear on an (almost) daily basis. For some, it’s cause for concern, but for those who have a plan and tools in place, it’s a chance to flex their analytics muscle. This March, we’re going to be doing a lot of flexing!

Join us on Tuesday March 20 (we’re making a slight departure from our normal last-Tuesday rotation, so mark your calendar) for a deep dive into social analytics with Chuck Hemann, Director of Analytics for WCG. We’ll be taking our discussion straight to City Hall – literally – for a great event sponsored by social SaaS juggernaut Vitrue. For those of you looking to avoid parking in the area, we’re team up with our friends at Uber Seattle again to provide transport to and from the event.

So, put on your analytics hat and come prepared for a night filled with numbers, networking, and definitely a few laughs.

Get your tickets here.

About the Speaker

Over the last seven years, Chuck Hemann provided strategic counsel to clients on a variety of topics including digital analytics, measurement, online reputation, social media, investor relations and crisis communications. Prior to joining Edelman Digital, he was VP of Digital Strategy and Analytics for Ogilvy Public Relations. Before joining Ogilvy, he was the Director of Social Analytics for WCG, a global media services company based in San Francisco.

Chuck started his career working for Dix & Eaton, a full-service communications firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was responsible for supplying research and information for all of the firm’s practice areas including media relations, marketing communications and investor relations. He also co-chaired the firm’s digital communications practice.

Chuck is a former Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research, a global, nonprofit research and education foundation think tank focused on the latest developments in media and communications. He is the co-organizer of the Social Media Business Summit Track at BlogWorld Expo, a frequent speaker on the topics of influence, measurement and digital analytics.

About Our Event Sponsor

Vitrue

Vitrue is the leading Social Relationship Management (SRM) platform, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology, that partners with brands, marketers and agencies around the world to maximize their social community engagement. The Vitrue SRM platform gives brands the ability to scale across multiple social networks, target global to local, and publish content that drives and facilitates the two-way dialogue between brands and their fans. In addition, Vitrue, an original Facebook Preferred Developer Consultant, provides clients access to deep analytics, industry insights and best practices, product training options and high-touch customer service, giving brands a competitive advantage.

Vitrue on the Web: www.vitrue.com

Vitrue on Twitter: @Vitrue

Vitrue on Facebook: http://facebook.com/vitrue

About Our Venue Sponsor

Seattle City Council

The Seattle City Council is committed to ensuring that Seattle is safe, livable and sustainable. These nine Councilmembers are elected to four-year terms in nonpartisan elections and represent the entire City, elected by all Seattle voters. The Council approves the City’s budget, develops laws and policies that promote the health and safety of Seattle’s residents and oversees the City’s police, fire, parks, libraries, and electric, water, solid waste, and drainage utilities.

The public is encouraged to join Councilmembers at all full Council and committee meetings and comment on current legislation by signing up before the start of each meeting. Visit the Council’s website for meeting calendars, agendas and video footage.

Seattle City Council on the Web: http://www.seattle.gov/council

Seattle City Council on Twitter: @SeattleCouncil

Seattle City Council on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/seattlecouncil

About Our Transportation Sponsor

Uber Seattle

Have you always dreamed of having your own private driver? Well, dream no more! Uber is an innovative black car service which helps you request a swanky ride with the tap of an app. And, SMC attendees get their first ride FREE. Just download the app to your phone, enter the promo code “SEA_SMCMAR” and request away! Within moments a fancy car with a lovely driver will whisk you away in style.

Existing Uberers: 50% off your ride to and from the SMC Seattle event! Just enter promo code “SEA_SMCMAR50″ before riding.

Sign up here.

The global markets have changed. Where brands and corporations once ruled, customers are rising up and making decisions with their wallets (and conversations). Is your company ready to be a part of this change?

Join Social Media Club Seattle (SMC Seattle) at 415 Westlake on Tuesday, February 28 for a talk featuring Sean Moffitt, author, strategist, and all around good guy. He’ll walk us through some of the main points from his book “Wikibrands: Reinventing Your Company in a Customer-Driven Marketplace” and look at how things are the same (and yet very different) now in 2012.

We’ll also have some great discussions and a great group of people. Hope to see you there. Buy your tickets here.

About the Speaker

Sean Moffitt is author of the 2011 award-winning book – Wikibrands – Reinventing Your Company in a Customer-Driven Marketplace , Managing Director or the Wikibrands customer engagement consultancy and President, Agent Wildfire Strategy & Communications Inc., a leading new media, social influence, word of mouth and customer engagement firm based out of Toronto, Canada.

With one foot in traditional business and another in new digital worlds, he has previously led the efforts behind established brands Molson, Guinnness, and Proctor & Gamble in exective roles and now partners with many Fortune 500s and startups as an evangelist for web-enabled customer engagement and collaboration in business. Visit www.wiki-brands.com, www.agentwildfire.com, and his blog “Buzz Canuck” for his musings on all things web, marketing, and new culture or contact him on Twitter at @seanmoffitt.

About Our Sponsors

Google Places

Google Places is a local recommendation engine that connects people with the places they love. You can easily find, rate and review places you’re familiar with, share your opinions with friends, and as you and your friends rate and review more places, you’ll see recommendations based on your tastes and those of your friends in your local search results. Google Places is great for users, as it helps them find new places they might like, and it’s great for businesses and organizations to help them get discovered and increase awareness.

Also, stay tuned during the event for a special contest from Google Places!

Google Seattle on Twitter: http://twitter.com/GoogleSeattle

Google Places Comm. Mgr.: http://twitter.com/charleskoh

Charle’s Google+: http://gplus.to/ckoh

Google Places on the Web: http://google.com/places

2011 was a year filled with incredible advancements in the digital and social spaces. Companies and tools came on the scene and caused a ruckus, while others snuck out the back door. With 2012 right around the corner, it’s time to put on our prognosticator hats and make some predictions.

Join us on Tuesday, December 13 for an Ignite-style event, sponsored by Bing featuring a growing list of area and industry experts that will focus on coming trends and how social will impact our lives in the coming year (and beyond). Come help us send 2011 out with a bang!

December Event Details -

Date – Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Time – 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Location – Microsoft Main Campus (Redmond)

Tickets – $10 (Includes Drinks and Appetizers)

About the Speakers:

Mark Briggs, King 5

Mark Briggs is the author of Entrepreneurial Journalism, a book about the rise of journalism startups and how to start your own journalism business. It was published by CQPress and released in October 2011. He is currently director of digital media for King 5 Television in Seattle and a Ford Fellow in Entrepreneurial Journalism at The Poynter Institute. Previously, he co-founded Serra Media, a
Seattle-based technology company, and spent nine years running newspaper websites in Everett and Tacoma, Wash.

Kushal Chakrabarti

Kushal began working on Vittana on a gut feeling in 2007. After months of talking to anyone who would return his calls, reading everything he could find on education and microfinance, and putting together different pieces of the organization, Kushal decided to devote himself full-time to Vittana in May 2008.

Previously, Kushal ran technology for a billion-dollar team at Amazon.com and is the author of 20+ patents, papers and talks. In his free time, he runs Ironman triathlons and trains guide dogs for the blind. Kushal was named one of Seattle’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2010 and the Greatest Person of the Day by the Huffington Post in 2011.

Donald DeSantis

Donald DeSantis is a developer and designer at TechStars company Giant Thinkwell. In his free time, he travels to faraway cities and helps ensure that Startup Weekend events are awesome. You can find him on Twitter at @donalddesantis.

Pascal Schuback, King Country Office of Emergency Management

Pascal Schuback is a Core member and the Seattle city lead for CrisisCommons. Pascal’s day time job is a full time Emergency Management Program Manager at King County Office of Emergency Management.  He is presenting on behalf of CrisisCommons and how they use the integration of technology, open data in emergency management/public safety arena and global crisis and humanitarian aid.  With a focus to better prepare, plan, respond and recover from all types of disasters.

About the Sponsor

Bing is more than just a search engine; it’s a decision engine that provides useful tools to help you make more informed decisions and get what you want fast.

Find Bing on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/bing

Find Bing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bing

Find Bing on the Web: www.bing.com

About SMC Seattle

SMC Seattle fosters an online community where diverse groups of people who care about social media can come together to discover, connect, share, and learn. To learn more, visithttp://smcseattle.com/, follow SMC Seattle on Twitter: http://twitter.com/smcseattle or become a Fan of Social Media Club on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SMCSeattle

These days, the hip question to ask is whether to invest resources in SEO or social media. But if you get rid of the silos and instead focus on reaching your audience and solving their problems, you can reach customers via both search and social media more easily than if you just focused on one or the other.

Join Social Media Club Seattle (SMC Seattle) at the Seattle Art Museum on Tuesday, October 25 for a presentation featuring Vanessa Fox, author of the critically acclaimed “Marketing in the Age of Google: Your Online Strategy IS Your Business.” She’ll discuss the intersection of search and social and how to harness the power of holistic marketing (search AND social) for increased brand awareness.

October Event Details

Date – Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Time – 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Location – Seattle Art Museum

1300 1st Ave.
Seattle, Washington
www.seattleartmuseum.org/

Tickets – $15.00

Parking – Street parking, paid lots, and valet services available

About the Speaker:

Vanessa Fox, called a “cyberspace visionary” by Seattle Business Monthly, is an expert in understanding customer acquisition from organic search. She shares her perspective on how this impacts marketing and user experience and how all business silos (including developers and marketers) can work together towards greater search visibility at ninebyblue.com

She’s also an entrepreneur-in-residence with Ignition Partners and Features Editor at Search Engine Land. She previously created Google’s Webmaster Central, which provides both tools and community to help website owners improve their sites to gain more customers from search. Her book, Marketing in the Age of Google, provides a blueprint for incorporating search strategy into organizations of all levels.

About the Sponsor:

Efficient Frontier is a leader in online digital marketing, managing and optimizing search marketing, display and social media campaigns for advertisers and agencies around the world.

Context Optional is the top Facebook Preferred Development Consultant and provider of social marketing management solutions for brands on the leading social networks, including Facebook and Twitter. Together, Efficient Frontier and Context Optional offer the only unified ads and engagement solution for brands to acquire, activate and drive value from fans across the customer lifecycle.

I asked Brian Rauschenbach to share some of his thoughts on why folks should attend the conference, so read on for his thoughts. Oh, and go register now!

By Brian Rauschenbach, Seattle Interactive Conference

We are very pleased to extend a special invitation for all SMC members to join us for the first annual Seattle Interactive Conference, a major two-day event set for November 2-3 celebrating the convergence of online technology, creativity, and emerging trends in one of the world’s most innovative cities. SIC brings together entrepreneurs, developers and online business professionals from throughout the US and beyond for a powerful combination of in-depth presentations, networking opportunities, and uniquely Seattle social events.

An event of this nature is long overdue for the Pacific Northwest and we are very happy to extend a great discount offer for all SMC members to get $100 off the price of registration when you use the code smc2011. Attendees will have the rare opportunity to explore disruptive technologies and business models from industry thought leaders and peers in areas ranging from online commerce and social media to gaming, interactive advertising, entertainment, and much more.

The speaker line-up is packed with local and national interactive industry veterans, including some SMC members like Shauna Causey of Nordstrom, Jonathon Colman of REI, Kevin O’Reily of Spring Creek Group, Erica May of Pop Cap Games, Blake Cahill of Banyan Branch and Sean O’Driscoll of Ant’s Eye View, among others.

We have also planned some great after-parties each night, starting with the pre-event ‘Battle of the Geek Bands’ contest and party set for the evening of November 1. Held at Showbox SoDo, the November 1 pre-SIC party also features an exclusive set performed by The Presidents of the United States of America. The evening of November 2 will find a digital vs analog DJ set with FOURCOLORZACK vs. DJ NEIGHT1000, held at the Showbox Market, with Shabazz Palaces performing, as well. Entrance to these events is free for all SIC attendees.

We’ll be announcing some final additions to the event’s overall agenda and speaker roster, as well as some more closing party artists soon. Overall, SIC is shaping up to bring our region the world-class technology event it deserves — from professional, networking, and social standpoints. So, go register now and don’t forget to use the code smc2011! See you in November.

And, as a special treat, we want to offer one of you a FREE pass. Simply leave a comment below saying which speaker you are looking to hearing from the most and you’ll be eligible to win. Simple!

SMC Seattle and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association have teamed up to present the Talkable Brands Exchange here in Seattle. We’d love for you to register now for the event and come learn from top brands on how they have created and leveraged their brand advocates.

What goes better after a conference filled with learning about word of mouth marketing and meeting some of the brightest minds in the space? Why, spending more time with them at the official closing happy hour hosted by SMC Seattle, of course! Also, you’ll have the chance to go deeper into the topics of the day as speakers and panelists from the WOMMA event will be onhand.

Join Social Media Club Seattle (SMC Seattle) and WOMMA on Wednesday, September 21 for a reception filled with good food, great drinks, and amazing conversations. The event, hosted at Bell Harbor International Conference Center, will be the perfect way to cap off a great day-long event. Don’t forget, WOMMA Talkable Brands Exchange attendees receive free admission to the reception, so sign up today.

There will be giveaways throughout the night, including a pass and lodging for WOMMA’s national summit in lovely Las Vegas, Nevada. So, be there and bring your lucky shoes because you could be headed on a trip filled with great learnings, interesting people, and maybe a little table time courtesy of WOMMA and SMC Seattle.

Register for the WOMMA Talkable Brands Exchange here.

Register for the SMC Seattle Closing Happy Hour here.

September Event Details

Date – Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Time – 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location – Bell Harbor International Conference Center

2203 Alaskan Way, Pier 66
Seattle, Washington
P: 206.787.3952
www.bellharbor.com

Tickets – Free for WOMMA Talkable Brands Exchange attendees. $10 for non-attendees of the WOMMA Talkable Brands Exchange event (limited to 100 tickets).

Parking – Street parking, paid lots, and valet services available

To spotlight WOMMA, we asked WOMMA president Rod Brooks to write a quick post outlining the event and how you can sign up.

By Rod Brooks, WOMMA President

When you hear “word of mouth,” what comes to mind? Storytelling? Sharing experiences? Referrals and recommendations perhaps? At its core, the common denominator is people. People talking to people. Friends sharing with friends. Face to face. Voice to voice. And now, via digital messages and mobile technologies.

My first real awareness of the power of friend-to-friend communication stems from a popular 1980s television commercial with Heather Locklear pitching Faberge Organic Shampoo. Some might recall Heather saying, “It was so good that I told two friends about it. And they told two friends. And so on. And so on. And so on.” As Heather’s image and voice multiplied exponentially, the power of a personal recommendation became clear.

That power remains real today. Smart marketers and brand managers recognize the consumer is in charge and able to influence the rise and fall of products, brands, and companies that excite or disappoint. It’s critical that word of mouth, both online and offline, be well understood and integrated not just into marketing strategies and campaigns, but into the overall operations and leadership of your entire enterprise.

On Wednesday, September 21, The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA)the pioneering association for brands and agencies, is coming to Seattle. It’s an opportunity for marketers to participate in a face to face knowledge forum where brands and practioners openly share and discuss their social marketing successes, learnings, and best practices. The one-day event will be held at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle. WOMMA has partnered with the Social Media Club Seattle who will host their monthly event following the WOMMA Talkable Brands Exchange. Those attending the TBE will receive complimentary access to the SMC Seattle reception.

WOMMA is the premier nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing and advocating the discipline of credible word of mouth marketing. Founded in 2004, WOMMA comprises more than 350 regional, national, and global marketers – brands and agencies – who jointly shape how businesses ethically and effectively use word of mouth marketing to enable talkable brands.

Attendees of the Talkable Brands Exchange Seattle will hear from WOMMA members with hands-on, practical knowledge of implementing WOM campaigns, including Hershey, Warner Brothers, McDonald’s, Unilever, Ogilvy, Keller Fay, Brains in Fire, and more. Topics include:

• Measuring Consumer Motivations: The Key to Brand Connection
• WOMMA’s Stand on Next-Generation Ethics Challenges
• Social Customer Care: The Brand’s Role
• Conversation Triggers: What Gets Customers Talking
• Respond, Listen… How to Engage Your Audience
• Bringing SEXY Back to Offline Marketing

Attendees will have access to empirical data that demonstrates what it takes to ignite consumer conversations, learn how to effectively leverage social media as a service and support channel, and be reminded it’s important to bring “sexy” back to offline engagement.

If you are a brand marketer of any level tasked with implementing or measuring offline and/or online engagement initiatives, I encourage you to attend this valuable event. Seats are limited, so register today! For more information go to http://womma.org/talkablebrands/seattletbe/

The world of social commerce is growing quickly. In order to be successful, brands need to not only be on top of technology trends, but also get their audiences. In most cases, those audiences are made up of segments from Generation Z – the socially-connected, always-on, share-til-they-drop audience that fuels purchases and influences their friends.

Join Social Media Club Seattle (SMC Seattle) at WithinSodo on Tuesday, August 30 for a talk featuring Kathy Savitt, Lockerz founder and CEO. She’ll discuss the inherent challenges in online marketing to Generation Z and touch on some of the ways brands are finding connections with these active social citizens.

The topic of social commerce is a hot one, so we’re taking this month’s event to a new space with a great outdoor area. We’ll also have some great entertainment, music, and a great group of people to keep the party going on into the night.

Visit http://smcseaaug11.eventbrite.com/ to reserve your spot!

About the Speaker

KathySavitt is a former Amazon and American Eagle Outfitters executive and is currently the founder and CEO of social commerce company Lockerz. Created from Kathy’s vision to create the homepage for Generation Z, Lockerz has grown from 50 members to nearly 18 million members in less than one year. Kathy believes that the power of Gen Z as cultural disrupters will significantly impact both prior and future generations. Lockerz is funded by Liberty Media, Kleiner Perkins Caufied Byers and Live Nation Entertainment. A major source of her inspiration is her two teenage daughters.

About Our Sponsors

Google Places

Google Places is a local recommendation engine that connects people with the places they love. You can easily find, rate and review places you’re familiar with, share your opinions with friends, and as you and your friends rate and review more places, you’ll see recommendations based on your tastes and those of your friends in your local search results. Google Places is great for users, as it helps them find new places they might like, and it’s great for businesses and organizations to help them get discovered and increase awareness.

Also, stay tuned during the event for a special contest from
Google Places!

Google Seattle on Twitter: http://twitter.com/GoogleSeattle

Google Places Comm. Mgr.: http://twitter.com/charleskoh

Charle’s Google+: http://gplus.to/ckoh

Google Places on the Web: http://google.com/places

Votocracy

Votocracy is a social media platform that harnesses the power and reach of Facebook and Twitter while putting the fun, passion and public engagement back into politics. For as little as $1, any man, woman or teen of voting age can register and start their campaign with Votocracy and gain access to millions of potential supporters through social media networks, daily interactive polls, national advertising campaigns, Votocracy’s online community, and through offline events. The brainchild of a speculative “well if I were President” dinner conversation among seasoned marketing and technology veterans, Votocracy aims to be the great political equalizer and return the voice of politics back to the people. Learn more or jump into the action at www.Votocracy.com

Votocracy on Facebook (app): http://apps.facebook.com/votocracy

Votocracy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/votocracy

Votocracy on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/votocracy

Votocracy on the Web: www.votocracy.com

Photo of show stealer Bill Sleepers courtesy of Richard Wood and Kapchur.us Photography - http://kapchur.us

It has unfortunately been a couple months since I have been able to make it to an SMC Seattle event and while I know that they are ALL

great events, I think I picked a great one for my return.  Another sold out crowd packed Seattle City Hall to hear from Lee LeFever, Jason Reid, and Ben Crawford about how they have used video in creative ways to tell stories and solve problems.

The crowd was introduced to the panel’s talents through three short videos.  From Lee LeFever and Common Craft we saw how they helped explain those pesky QR codes.  Next we watched how Ben Crawford’s team at Epipheo Studios creatively explained what the site Movieclips.com is all about.  Finally, we saw the trailer for the now famous “Sonicsgate” documentary from Jason Reid of R2 Productions.

Through the variety of questions that SMC Seattle VP and President-Elect Shauna Causey presented the panel, each provided insightful experiences that helped the SMC Seattle crowd get a better understanding of what is really important when creating engaging video content.

Make it Quick

There is always a push-pull battle about the optimal length of a video.  Overall, the goal should be to keep it as short as you can, get to your point and cut out the noise.  While some may sit and watch a 5-10 minute video, most want things in a short and consumable way.

Keep it Simple

Many think they need to explain all twenty features of their product in order to get the message across, when in fact, if you focus in on the top one or two you are more likely to engage the viewer.   Make sure the content is written in a way that anyone can understand and follow so they walk away with your main point.

Solve a Problem

With all the information available online, focus on how it will save people time and money and make their life “awesome.”  People are interested in content that will actually help them in some way.  Maybe it is understanding QR codes, or the purpose of a website, or simply getting people informed on an issue.

It’s about the Content

The panel raised a great point with regards to the question about how to create a “viral video” – the fact is that the content is what drives a video to go viral.  You need to have solid content that is relevant, interesting, engaging, and share worthy.  With those things in place, you have a better chance of a video going viral.  Oh, and if anyone ever tells you they will make you a “viral video” – don’t believe them!

Have a complete communication/marketing strategy

The panel agreed that you can’t simply create a video, post online, tweet about it and expect it to be successful.  You need to think about a complete strategy that includes things like; press releases, calling journalists, partnering with media sites, etc. as well as using social media.  Twitter and Facebook are all great ways to amplify the message, but they are not the only things.

Over the course of the event, the panelist provided a number of key elements to making a great video.  To wrap things up, here is the Top 10.  If you have others, please add them in the comments.

Top 10 Key Elements to making a great video

1. Capture the viewer’s attention in the first 5 seconds
2. Show the pain, then show the pain resolved
3. Don’t forget to put your branding on it.
4. Talk with “The Evangelist” – the person that can answer the “why” questions.
5. Focus on the one core thing you want to get out of the video
6. Make it quick and make it real
7. Don’t worry about making it professional
8. Do research on other videos and the styles they used
9. Try and push the limits – Find that edge
10. Make it delightful, otherwise it won’t stick.

———–

P.S – I would be remised if I didn’t mention one final item from the evening, which I think provided perspective to many of us in the social space.  SMC Seattle Board member and emcee for the night, Brian Westbrook, introduced us all to Bill Sleepers, who at 96 years young is the oldest attendee ever at an SMC Seattle event (maybe even SMC global).  Bill, who lives at the Merrill Gardens Retirement Community in Mill Creek helps educate others in the retirement community about social media.  He offered three things that he tries to convey that I think we can all learn from:

1)      Get them to say “Yes” – Don’t be afraid of it.

2)      It help keep you in touch with your kids

3)      Don’t need to study, just do it! All you need is a finger.

———-

Mike Jensen is the VP of Service Delivery for R2integrated in Seattle.  In his role there he oversees a wide variety of marketing, digital, and social media projects for the company’s west coast clients.  A life-long Seattle native, you can follow Mike on twitter at @mjtwit and keep up on his busy personal and professional endeavors on his Posterous blog CHIRPS