SMC Seattle » building community http://smcseattle.com If you get it, share it Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:59:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 SMC Seattle October Event: Building Ambassadors Using Social Media http://smcseattle.com/smc-seattle-october-event-building-ambassadors-using-social-media/ http://smcseattle.com/smc-seattle-october-event-building-ambassadors-using-social-media/#comments Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:00:46 +0000 Amy Lakhani http://smcseattle.com/?p=1315 click and register

smcseattleHow do you effectively build ambassadors around an idea or product using social media?

Some brands have stumbled upon finding ambassadors, but others have set out to intentionally encourage this level of engagement. Join us on October 26th as David Armano, Senior Vice President at Edelman Digital, shares his insights on how to build a blueprint for managing your social embassies and creating advocates to help – through paid, owned and earned media.

A big thanks to this month’s sponsor, Swedish Medical Center, for making this event possible.

Get your tickets now — our events sell out in a snap!

About the Speaker:

david armanoWith 14 years of digital marketing and user experience design under his belt, David Armano is a senior vice president at Edelman Digital. Advertising Age has ranked his blog, Logic + Emotion, one of the top media + marketing blogs. His writing and visual thinking has been cited by Forrester, the Boston Globe, and has landed him in BusinessWeek on several occasions, including their “Best of 2006”. Previous companies on his resume include: Critical Mass, Digitas, Agency.com, and Chicago Tribune.

Armano says he blends strategy with design, and looks for new business opportunities around the social Web to enhance the customer experience, connect individuals and innovate. He lives in the Chicago area, where he enjoys surfing the net, riding his motorbike, and spending quality time with his family.

Other fun facts from Armano: “I don’t have a middle name, consider myself a connoisseur of beef jerky and have been occasionally known to wear cowboy hats, but only if the mood strikes me.”

About Swedish Medical Center:

sweedishlogo

Many thanks to Swedish for being the PREMIER sponsor of this month’s event! And, happy 100th birthday Swedish!
 

Swedish is not only on the cutting edge of the medical world, they’re also part of the growing world of social media. Whether you’re expecting a baby or dealing with a complex medical condition, or anything in between, Swedish has the people, technology and experience you can trust. For a century, Swedish has been the premier health-care provider in the Pacific Northwest and is meeting the needs of local neighborhoods through Greater Seattle and the Eastside. Help Swedish celebrate the grand opening its newest facility, a new ER and Outpatient Center in Ballard on Saturday, Nov. 6th. There will be great food and lots of fun activities for the whole family. Visit http://swedish.org/ballard for more details about the grand opening celebration.

Alaska-Air-Logo

Special thanks to our travel sponsor, Alaska Airlines!
Now offering low fares and nonstops to four Hawaiian Islands.
  • Follow Alaska Airlines on Twitter.

October Event Details:

Date – Tuesday, October 26th
Time – 6 to 9 p.m.
Location – The Canal - 5300 34th Ave NW, Seattle, Washington  98107
Tickets - $15, includes two drinks and appetizers
Parking - The Canal has ample parking in the lot located in front of the building. Additional parking is available in the Ballard Locks parking lot after 5 p.m.

click and register

]]> http://smcseattle.com/smc-seattle-october-event-building-ambassadors-using-social-media/feed/ 2 Wrap-Up: Dec. Event with Veronica Belmont http://smcseattle.com/wrap-up-dec-event-with-veronica-belmont/ http://smcseattle.com/wrap-up-dec-event-with-veronica-belmont/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:18:14 +0000 JenCabala http://smcseattle.com/?p=875 Thank you to everyone who attended SMC Seattle’s biggest event yet!  More than 250 of you came out to Redmond to learn more about building community from Veronica Belmont. 

Many of you have asked for access to Veronica’s slides and she has graciously allowed us to post them here.

Building A Passionate Community

A big thanks to Windows Phone for being the premier sponsor of this month’s event!
Follow Windows Phone on Twitter
Follow Windows Phone on Facebook
Follow Windows Phone on YouTube

Thanks also to Alaska Air for being our travel sponsor!
Follow Alaska Air on Twitter

Next month will be SMC Seattle’s one year anniversary! Although a date has not yet been set, it’s sure to be a good time and another sold-out event.

We’ll post the details here, but to get notified first sign-up for our email alerts.

]]> http://smcseattle.com/wrap-up-dec-event-with-veronica-belmont/feed/ 1 Veronica Belmont Talks About Building A Passionate Community http://smcseattle.com/veronica-belmont-talks-about-building-a-passionate-community/ http://smcseattle.com/veronica-belmont-talks-about-building-a-passionate-community/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:19:34 +0000 JenCabala http://smcseattle.com/?p=848 How do you engage and build a passionate and community for your brand? Veronica Belmont, will be leading a discussion at Social Media Club Seattle’s December 8th event on how to build a passionate community that actively contributes and advocates for your organization. Before her talk at SMC we asked her a few questions about herself, and about building community.

Veronica Belmont A little bit about Veronica . . .
Veronica is a technology and gaming-centric video host based in San Francisco.  Currently her projects include Qore (a monthly interactive magazine about the PS3 for Sony) and Tekzilla (a weekly tech help and how-to show on Revision3.com), along with a bi-weekly column on MaximumPC.com.  She’s worked worked as a producer and on-air talent for CNET Networks (now CBS Interactive).  A social-networking junkie (with almost 1.5 million Twitter followers), Veronica has been a speaker at South by Southwest and New Media Expo, among other national tech events.

Why is a passionate community important?
Anyone can create a Facebook or Twitter account, but you’re not going to create a true community unless you put the extra effort into it. A passionate community wants to be involved — they care about your product and feel like they have a personal connection with the brand. When other people are evangelizing your brand for you outside of the company, it’s a lot more meaningful.

When did you first realize the importance of a passionate community?
Probably when I was a producer for the podcast Buzz Out Loud at CNET. We knew we had the good numbers for the show, but when people started creating comic books about it, drinking games, Photoshop contests… well, we knew we had something really special on our hands, and the type of passionate community that wasn’t typical of the CNET audience.

What are some first steps to building and recruiting a community?
Being prepared to put the time into it! It can be a full-time job for one or more people, depending on the size of the company. I spend upwards of 4 hours a day just maintaining my various networks online. You can’t be passively involved.

What is a common mistake brands make in building or relating to their community?
The soapbox syndrome, as I like to think of it. Companies just regurgitate PR stuff into their Twitter streams, and it never feels authentic. People are following your brand because they want to see a different, more personal side of it.

Is there a good way to deal with the trolls/haters entering your community?
If your community is strong enough, they’ll often take care of it for you. But there are usually two responses that I tend to give to trolls: Either you completely ignore them (until they get bored) or you respond to them directly, and in a very non-confrontational manner. Half the time they’re just looking for any kind of response at all, and once they get it they stop bothering. Other times, they’re just looking to get a rise out of you.

What do you hope people learn from your talk?
I hope people learn that although it’s very easy to get started with social networking for your brand, it can be a much bigger time investment than they might think. You have to put way more out there than you can expect to get back. It should be part of a bigger strategy, not something that just gets added onto the side.

Have a question about building community for Veronica? Please post it in the comments. We will try to ask as many of your questions as possible at the event!

You Can Find Veronica . .
veronicabelmont.com
twitter.com/veronica
www.facebook.com/Veronica-Belmont


December Meetup Event Details:

Date – Tuesday, December 8th
Time – 6:00-9:00pm
Location – Microsoft Conference Center: 16070 N.E. 36th Way, Redmond, WA 98052
Tickets – Sold out!

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