WideFoc.us

Elkins to speak on blogging panel June 29

Eric Elkins will join fellow bloggers to speak on a panel that will explore the idea of blogging as a form of self-portraiture.

Other participants include:

• John Common, Hit Record and Play
• Eryc Eyl, Westword music writer
• Michelle Lee, In the Kitchen With Bossygirl
• Naomi Zeveloff, The Lady Finger

The panel is part of the Mizel Museum's "My Self" exhibition, which opened May 4.

Details:
When: Monday, June 29, 8:00 pm
Where: Forest Room 5 Restaurant, 2532 15th St., Denver, 80211
Cost: $5

Feel free to RSVP on Facebook!

Wink Optical taps WideFoc.us to build client base and awareness

Boulder-based Wink Optical is a very special place. Owners Dr. Liz and Brian Erley have created an “optical fusion of personalized service, leading edge science and distinctive style.” Their fully-digital equipment is among the most advanced available, which means their  prescriptions are the most accurate in the region. And their paperless system makes them a very green organization.

Creative Strategies Group, an event marketing and sponsorship agency handling Wink’s PR and marketing, brought WideFoc.us into the mix to help the company leverage its upscale client base and reputation for superior accuracy and scientific expertise.

Wink's marketing goals pose a unique challenge —  They need a localized outreach that attracts discerning individuals willing to invest in themselves (their high-quality services aren’t inexpensive but you truly get what you pay for). How do we build awareness of their amazing customer service and highest-quality diagnostic tools for a very targeted audience?

The good news is that Boulder is packed from mountain to valley with early adopters who are smart and tech-savvy and are willing to spend a few extra dollars for the very best services and products. They don’t compromise when it comes to their health, and they know that their eyewear is an essential part of their day-to-day wellness.

WideFoc.us has created a plan for Dr. Liz and Brian to spread the word, in a very personal way, about how they care for their patients. Through the launch of a Wink blog and use of LinkedIn to build awareness of their thought leadership in the optical industry, plus the use of Facebook and Twitter to cultivate localized conversations and affinity with Boulder influentials, WideFoc.us has created a hybrid approach, with lots of coaching and shared execution, to help the Erleys “Think Globally, Wink Locally.”

Social Media Scorecard insights are an object lesson

 

(click on the image above for a full-size version)

Last week, a client asked WideFoc.us to perform a quick-hit competitive social media analysis for a QSR, where we'd look at a range of competitive brands and rate their efforts. This wasn't a full-blown Social Media Audit Package; just a scorecard for easy reference and future discussion.

The project proved interesting in practice and results, as we looked at major brands like Chipotle, Starbucks, Nike, Red Bull, among others, and took a snapshot of their online presence.

What we saw:

1. Everyone had some sort of Facebook presence—fan pages and groups with high member levels, even some applications, but most of their pages' content was anemic at best.
2. Their Twitter presence (except for the rare exception) was non-existent or poorly executed.
3. Most companies we looked at didn't have a corporate blog, and, though all of their websites had feedback funnels for customer response, very few actively engaged social media-friendly practices like sharable content and online consumer interaction.
4. Flickr and YouTube presence was inconsistent.
5. But the really glaring omission, with every company studied, was a lack of LinkedIn engagement. Are your executives on LinkedIn? Are their profiles current? Are they active in LinkedIn Answers, proving to the community that your company is staffed by thought leaders? We were very surprised to note how deficient these huge brands were in establishing themselves on the professional network.

Overall, we were underwhelmed at the results, but gained a lot of insight into what some major corporations are doing, and where their competition has potential to take advantage of their uneven social media strategies and execution. More on that next time.

Mix1 hires WideFoc.us

 Mix1 is a forward-thinking company that produces two high-quality healthy beverages. The drinks, which were created by wellness guru Dr. James Rouse, are growing in popularity with several psychographics – including active moms and people with special dietary needs (e.g. those suffering from Crohn’s Disease or Celiac).

Mix1 has retained WideFoc.us to help identify where market segments are gathering —both the potential customers who will find Mix1 a special, useful addition to their lives, but also to gatekeepers like physicians, dieticians, and other nutrition experts, who might recommend the beverage as a meal replacement or supplement to their clients — and to assist in creating an online outreach strategy (content, thought leadership, branding, conversational media, etc.) that will engage potential customers and influencers.

WideFoc.us is looking forward to building awareness for a product whose qualities truly make people’s lives happier and healthier.

Talented writer/marketing genie joins the WideFoc.us team

With a bolus of new clients coming on board this fall, including Pearl Izumi, Mix1, United States Equestrian Federation, a PR agency (with offices in San Francisco, Boston and London), a major national retailer, a political campaign and a non-profit organization, WideFoc.us is fortunate to have Dina Chaiffetz join the team as a research associate.

Dina’s background includes work at advertising and consulting firm AdHouse Creative as Creative Coordinator, where she developed concepts and copy for advertising campaigns, and as Junior PR Xpert at Xstatic Public Relations, where she conducted research, news writing and media relations.

As research associate, Dina works closely with the team and clients to find relevant targets for social media engagement and to brainstorm ideas for seeding and buzz-building. She also takes on writing copy for news releases and client messaging.

Dina’s instincts in the social media space and in marketing practices make her a powerful addition to WideFoc.us Corp.

Summer Vacation Ends, Examiner Title Changes

Eric Elkins is writing again for Examiner.com, a user-driven content network, made up of national and regional "examiners" who expound on a variety of subjects.

Eric's new title is National Internet Business Examiner. Look for his musings about social media, ePR and general web biz subjects several times each week.

Pearl Izumi engages WideFoc.us

You may recognize the Pearl Izumi name from its line of high-quality cycling gear. But the company’s running shoes are gaining great, um, traction with athletes in the know. When they launched their polarizing “Run Like an Animal” campaign a few months ago, complete with a powerful microsite, the company found itself right in the middle of a firestorm on the nature of running.

And that’s just where they wanted to be.

Now that the initial shock of the campaign has faded, Pearl Izumi has asked the WideFoc.us team to work closely with the company to propagate their message and increase sales of their running shoes.

After completion of a Context & Inquiry phase, where we will immerse ourselves in Pearl Izumi marketing and branding initiatives—everything from email campaigns to current online initiatives and metrics, WideFoc.us will create online content recommendations that integrate with a social media propagation strategy plan.

From discovery through execution, WideFoc.us will work closely with Pearl Izumi, to make sure goals and outcomes are in alignment.

We’re excited to get started.

WideFoc.us on the Road

This week, Eric traveled with client bSocial Networks to Sand Hill Road in order to speak with several venture capital firms about Market Lodge, the company’s social commerce solution.

Eric’s role on the team was to discuss the company’s position and marketing strategies—Market Lodge’s value proposition to identified Millennial segments, how messaging would be propagated to influencers, and what marketing strategies and tactics would be used to encourage conversions.

The team sat down with partners at several companies, including Norwest Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, and Sequoia Capital, and generated solid indications of interest.

WideFoc.us is happy to join its clients in the funding process, providing specialized insights on social media strategies and marketing as they relate to client offerings.

Fun with focus groups (part 1)

I’ve spent the last few days helping to moderate focus groups for one of our clients. Market Lodge is an application (currently on Facebook, soon to be on others) that allows users, or Keepers, to create storefronts right on their profile pages. They can choose from tens of thousands of products that they have, or recommend, or want, feature them in their Market Lodges, and earn 10% whenever someone makes a purchase.

We took on the parent company, bSocial Networks, as a client, because I could see Market Lodge as having the potential to be the holy grail of social network monetization—everyone benefits—from social network users, to vendors, to social networks as entities.

So spending hours with the target demo (Millennials—who, along with Gen-Xers are a WideFoc.us specialty) was truly thought-provoking. Granted, the sample size is small, but my instinct tells me that most of the sentiments we picked up are valid.

Here are our first four key insights:
1.    We’re seeing a slight but pronounced behavior and motivation differences between students and young professionals. Students (and recent students) and Millennials who are establishing themselves in the workplace use social networks in different ways, with different goals. More on that someday soon.
2.    The drift from MySpace to Facebook is real. Everyone we spoke with spends most (if not all of) of his or her social networking time on Facebook. The few who had MySpace pages said they hadn’t visited them in weeks or months. LinkedIn is on the rise among young professionals.
3.    Millennials are sensitive to purchase recommendations from their friends, but still make their own decisions based on pricing and perceived value. And the friend making the recommendation must be perceived as truly qualified. If you don’t know crap about speakers, your friends aren’t going to act on your recommendation about those woofers you picked up.
4.    Application fatigue is very real. Zombies? Vampires? Sick of them. New applications must be useful and interesting, and have a very clear value prop to have any sort of longevity. Many group members had removed all but the most basic of apps—what’s left are the tools that allow them to share their personalities and predilections with minimal fuss (good news for our client). Getting their attention about a new app is another story altogether.

Looking back at these first four thoughts, I admit they’re pretty obvious. And insight doesn’t = execution success. Still, it’s good to know you know stuff.

Work for WideFoc.us

WideFoc.us has a team of powerhouse contractors, but it's time to start scaling.

We are currently searching for someone in the Denver area ready to work 10-20 hours per week (likely increasing as the summer progresses). The job would be a mix of guided social media research and blog and forum seeding, some copywriting, and administrative assistance (helping with new biz proposals, invoicing, meetings, etc.). We are looking for a strong writer with a good sense of the internet and social media; someone who’s independent and responsible, and doesn’t need a ton of direction.

We are not ruling out interns and talented college students.

Please email your resume and writing samples to info@widefoc.us.