Just like Taylor Swift, Twitter doesn’t have the best reputation. Yet despite its bad publicity (Thanks, Kanye), we have a soft spot for this problematic platform at WideFoc.us. After all, the benefits outweigh the bad: With an average of 336 million active users, think of the interactions you could create for your brand. Widefoc.us coaches many clients through the perils of Twitter, and we manage their accounts in order to hone in on their target audiences, build thought leadership, and promote products. With our B2B brands, Twitter can be a powerful way to develop relationships — with distributors, resellers, potential strategic partners, influencers, and the media. Revelatory! If you can navigate through Twitter’s sometimes turbulent seas, you can have direct conversations with potential customers and access to a massive audience on one platform. Not to mention, the entertainment value that Twitter provides is unparalleled. Studies show that Twitter acolytes are more likely to respond to hashtags rather than to other users. The simple explanation is that they want to interact with certain concepts or discussions that hashtags identify. Hashtags should promote interaction and prompt users to spread positive word-of-mouth. Let’s consider the top five hashtags that swept Twitter lately, created by brands to the delight of users. 1. #WakandaForever I find very few films more perfect than “Black Panther.” T’Challa’s incredible journey of identity and leadership swept the box office and made over a billion dollars in the process. Not only did it gross a ridiculous amount of money, the film was the most-tweeted about movie ever, thanks to its branded hashtag, #WakandaForever. Disney leveraged this simple, yet poignant movie line into its online content to help accrue mass popularity. Not only is the hashtag memorable, but it struck a chord with black audiences. What is special about #WakandaForever isn’t its marketing capabilities, but its human spirit and authentic connection to the film. 2. #20PercentCounts Public awareness campaigns are powerful. Adidas partnered with the Lean In Foundation to promote equal rights on Equal Pay Day. They launched #20PercentCounts in order to illuminate how much more money men are likely to make than women in the same roles. Not only did they deliver the hashtag with video content, but promotional content in real life, including using the hashtags on bags and in stores, prompted consumers to take to Twitter in order to support the cause and the brand at the same time. 3. #DoWhatYouCant Samsung really knows how to speak to its consumers, who care about innovation and forward-thinking technology. Samsung also believes in its product, particularly the Galaxy Note8, which they promote as the “Fastest Phone Ever.” Not only did Samsung use this hashtag to promote at the Paralympics, and make the campaign inclusive to those with disabilities, but they integrated the hashtag into VR experiences created by the Galaxy Note8 and the Galaxy S9, like “The Mission to Space VR: A Moon for All Mankind.” Their VR experiences are exceptionally popular with museums and schools, which partner with Samsung for continued tech and space education. It’s heartwarming af. 4. #HowFashionTravels It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Lexus has long been a sponsor of New York City Fashion Week, as a brand that wants to align itself with high fashion and a hyper cool aesthetic. For the last three years, this crazy-popular hashtag has been an event-only one for those interested in taking photos of Lexus vehicles at New York Fashion Week. This year, they teamed up with “Black Panther” to take on the event, creating a custom Lexus LC 500 to commemorate their partnership with the Marvel movie and #NYFW at the same time. Lexus also partnered with reputable fashion bloggers on Instagram for more exposure. We’re feeling inspiration for our car-centric clients already. 5. #OpenYourWorld We’re stealing this one from our SproutSocial pals. In the world of brews, Heineken stood out with this heartfelt campaign about breaking down barriers for beer. Video content to accompany this hashtag featured people with varied political beliefs and identities participating in good-natured activities like building furniture. The pairs then popped open a cold one, having settled their differences during the team-building exercise. The video content and the accompanying hashtag prompted 500,000+ shares, plus Twitter interaction between people from all walks of life. Heineken proved that uniting audiences can be achievable, no matter how different, with a brave hashtag. These five campaigns give us all the Twitter #feels. Not only can it be profitable for brands to be on Twitter, but it allows for so much positive interaction with your customers. There’s good in the Twitter world, non-tweeters; you just have to know the right hashtag to find it (and follow the right accounts, be consistent, share quality content, engage engage engage…). Too much for your company to do on its own? Drop us a line — we #gotyourback. KT Heins is a Community Manager at Widefoc.us who specializes in technical writing. When she isn’t at the office, she is most likely hanging out with her Chiweenies, “working” on a novel, or participating in bar trivia alone. Follow her on Instagram @ktotheheins for mountain views, cold brews, and fancy food.

The Holderness Family has once again captured this mama’s feeling with their latest parody. For the Seiffertt Family, May will be chock full of field days, band and orchestra concerts, conferences, and more. If your May isn’t quite so full, Denver has numerous festivities to keep you busy and entertained. Cinco de Mayo May 5 & 6 Civil Central Park Free Admission Time to brush up on your taco eating skills! Kick off a weekend celebration with a parade commemorating freedom and culture. The community joins together with vendors, musicians, and contests to support NEWSED’s development for West Denver residents. An Evening with Alan Cumming: A Legal Immigrant May 9 Paramount Theatre $39.50 - $79.50 Whether you are in the mood for music, serious dialogue, or hilarious antics, this evening is sure to please. Film and TV star Alan Cumming, who declares himself to be “a story-teller and provocateur for hire,” is bringing his stories and songs to Denver! Colorado Chocolate Festival May 11 & 12 Denver Mart ​Admission: $5 Kids under 5: FREE Purchase Taste Tickets for Samples: $10/dozen I consider chocolate a stress reliever, and therefore therapy, which negates any troublesome calories. Treat your sweet mum to chocolatey goodness – or just go have a bite for yourself. Special tastings like wine-chocolate pairings might cost a bit extra, but we all know that chocolate and wine are like the mom’s version of peanut butter and jelly. Try a Chocolate Dipped Whaaaat? Or join Name That Chocolate. The event runs Friday and Saturday, so you can still give mom what she really wants most on Sunday: a chance to sleep in. (My kiddos, take note.) Stampede: Animals in Art Through May 19 Denver Art Museum Admission $10 While many dating profiles feature Denver singles with their beautiful dogs, my sister has pictures with her ball python and geckos. I might suggest she go to The Stampede exhibition at DAM. This exhibit gives viewers a chance to try their hand at their own animal art and gain a better insight into how certain pieces were made. Everyone — single or not — can appreciate the artistic value of our animal friends. Denver Arts Festival May 26 & 27 Stapleton Free Admission The Denver Art Festival is celebrating their 20th year! Not only can you visit a diverse selection of artists, but you can tap your toes to live music as you dance your way to the kids art zone or shimmy to the wine and beer garden. The festival is a wonderful way to end an eventful month and relax a bit before the summer swings into full gear. Enjoy! Katie Seiffertt is Office Manager at WideFoc.us. When she isn’t keeping WideFoc.us World Headquarters in tip-top shape, she is wrangling her posse of kids, bingeing Netflix while drinking Malbec, or beginning another art project.

Everyone on the WideFoc.us team gets this question at least a few times per week: “In light of Facebook’s recent troubles, are your clients concerned about staying on the platform?” From Zuckerberg’s robotic non-apology to Congress, to news of major breaches in user data access, to confusion about privacy settings, to the Russians (and others) gaming ad targeting and pages to affect voters, and simmering anger at the way Facebook didn’t take proper precautions to protect us, you might think the app/platform/website/ad service/media outlet/all-consuming distractor was about to crash and burn. But it’s not. With TWO BILLION users, including people of all ages and demographics, a robust advertising program, and an intuitive digital experience, Facebook has become part of global society’s daily life. And that’s before we even get into their other products and services, like Instagram, Oculus, worldwide messaging juggernaut WhatsApp, and others we don’t even know about. Facebook has simply become too vital in how we share content — photos, links to articles, rants, family news, etc.— to just go away. It’s an essential part of our digital infrastructure, like email and instant messaging. As much as we love to hate it (similar to our relationship with email), just about everyone in the United States uses Facebook nearly every day. Grandparents stay in touch with their families and old college pals (Baby Boomers are among the top Facebook users). Young parents use it to share baby’s first step, commiserate about how to get poop out of the couch cushions, and ask for recommendations for upholstery cleaners. Millennials use Facebook, less than just about any other demographic, to stay in touch with friends and family. Facebook isn’t cool or trendy. It’s not sexy or, honestly, even all that fun anymore. But it is the easiest way to share and learn about what’s going on in the lives of our local and far-flung communities. Advertisers know that too. Facebook users aren’t the customer; they’re the product. We (as users) trade our privacy for the access and interactions the channel provides. And Facebook serves users up to advertisers in real time, using what it knows (from what we post, what we like or comment or share, what websites we visit, who are family and friends are, where we live…) to allow for better targeting, better insights, and more effective messaging. As creepy as it sounds… okay, it’s very creepy. But it’s also helpful. Wouldn’t you prefer to see ads customized for you in your newsfeed? When Facebook advertising works well, it’s compelling and clickable, beneficial to the user, and worth a second look. As a social media agency, we use Facebook’s deep, granular targeting to help our clients meet their business goals, whether it’s to increase qualified website traffic, generate impressions of thought leadership, build an email list, or to encourage donations to a nonprofit. So we appreciate how powerful the tool can be, even as we’re wary of it. We write copy and create visual storytelling that is resonant for our clients’ audiences. Our ad approaches use deep strategic targeting that focuses the budget on users who are most likely to find the content relevant, worthwhile, and interesting. That means ad dollars go further, because we’re not taking a scattershot approach. We want qualified leads — people likely to buy or donate, people who will share an important post, people who should find the content entertaining or informational — to be our clients’ Facebook (and Instagram and Twitter) fans and to be their current and future customers. Or investors. Or donors. Or brand ambassadors. Solid targeting saves our clients money, but it’s also less-likely to offend Facebook users, meaning online reputations stay solid, and you, a Facebook user, aren’t as likely to be served an ad that annoys you. And though we’ve all been privy to rumblings about changes in Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm, we haven’t seen significant changes in paid vs. organic reach or cost-per-action (be it clicks, page likes, or post engagement) for our clients. Facebook still needs to make money, after all, which means it needs advertisers to find value on the platform. Social media and digital marketing are very new industries — and proper measures must be put into place to protect users. Cars didn’t always have seat belts, and buildings didn’t always have emergency exits. But public policy and regulations led to safer vehicles and public areas. These big breaches have brought discussions about the risks and rights of users on private networks to the forefront, and it’s past time to build safety policies for entities that collect so much personal data from us each day. We’re already seeing a slow and steady improvement in this area, but it won’t happen if we don’t push for it as digital citizens. As social media professionals, we’ll stay current on this process, and contribute to building better guardrails wherever we can. In the meantime, we’re not giving up on Facebook at WideFoc.us World Headquarters — it is still the primary social network for engaging with wide audiences, whether B2C or B2B. No platform is better at messaging the right people about the right thing at the right time, which is what our clients look to us to do. Eric Elkins is CEO and Chief Strategist at WideFoc.us. Eric brings nearly two decades of experience to our clients. In his other life, he’s a single dad, an avid eater, and a bourbon aficionado.

WideFoc.us is seeking a talented, detail-oriented social ad strategist to assist in driving business goals for our clients on social media channels. The position is contract and part-time to start, with potential to join the team as a full-time employee in time. Responsibilities: Work with our clients and community managers to determine goals per quarter or year, as well as more granular ad objectives for each month Determine which platforms would be most successful to meet client objectives Look at content weekly to determine which organic posts did well or need help and set up small ad campaigns to promote them Help community managers with appropriate ad copy and photos that will perform best with their ad objectives Conduct frequent A/B testing for each client to determine which ad styles are returning optimal results Read data weekly to determine what needs to be adjusted and what is performing well Analyze data at the end of each month and use findings for client reporting and to inform objectives for the following month Meet regularly with community managers to inform them on ad progress and train them on building and optimizing ads for each client Content responsibilities as needed Qualifications: 2+ years working in Facebook Power Editor Intermediate or better experience working in advertising APIs for Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest Must have experience writing high-performing ad copy and building campaigns from scratch Intermediate or better experience working with marketing data; able to analyze the data in a way that tells a story and informs future advertising decisions Skilled in reporting and breaking down data for community managers and clients to explain the “why” and the “what happened” Previous case studies of clients whose ads have performed at or below the standard CPAs Experience managing both daily and lifetime budgets, as well as overall campaign budgets, to fit each objective Advanced understanding of ad objectives and products on social channels, and which will work best with each client Team player; must be patient and a good communicator and have experience working with all personality types If you’re interested in this contract position, please email a resume, writing samples, 1-2 case studies or examples of your social advertising campaigns, and a quick description of how you approach social media advertising to info@widefoc.us. Be sure to put “Ad Strategist” in the subject line.

Though it’s little, February is fierce! If you’re not already racing to the mountains to enjoy our latest fill of fresh powder and blue sky days, we’re here to give you winter-filled alternatives to shredding the gnar. Sure the weather is chilly (finally), but February is not the time to Netflix the days away. It is, however, the perfect season to Instagram your snow day adventures and warm your body and soul with hot toddies. Plus, we’re in luck because Denver is filled with festivals, conventions, concerts, and more. Of course, if we’re missing a “must go to” event of the month, let us know so we can share it! Ales, Apps, & Barrels of Fun! February 1 $35 Let your inner child run rampant! The Children’s Museum is hosting its first, ever adults-only event to explore the museum’s world-class exhibits. A long list of local breweries is offering tastings of the area’s best craft beers and light snacks, so drop the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa’s and drink the evening away. John Williams: An American Tale February 9 - 10 Price Varies Can’t get enough of the “Cantina Song”? Celebrate the renowned composer’s birthday week with The Colorado Symphony as they play select John Williams’s pieces from Star Wars, Schindler's List, and also some compositions you might not have heard before. GalaxyFest 2018 February 9 - 11 $0 - $209 Time to prepare a cosplay outfit! GalaxyFest is back for its seventh year, celebrating multi-genre pop culture while supporting local science, tech, engineering, math, literary, and art non-profits. Geek up and meet your favorite actors, authors, and animators from across the globe during this weekend of fan-girling. Denver Tequila Festival February 17 $22 - $100 One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, FLOOR. Social Scene is returning to Denver to warm up our winter one shot at a time. Sign up for the tasting and enjoy featured food and drink specials while mingling tequila enthusiasts. P.S. Lyft is offering a promo code and is donating a portion of your fare to local charities. Denver Restaurant Week February 23 - March 4 $25, $35, or $45 a person Better put on my stretchy pants, ‘cause Denver Restaurant Week is here! Celebrate the delicious destinations of the Mile High City by enjoying multi-course dinners for a set price. And the best part? You don’t have to venture that far from home –– check out the list of participating restaurants. Celebrating David Bowie February 25 $35 - $65 Dust off your copy of “Changes” and start prepping your Ziggy Stardust makeup as friends, bandmates, and world class performers give a proper musical tribute to the Thin White Duke during the Denver stop of the “Celebrating David Bowie” tour. Which song are you looking forward to hearing the most? And if you’re looking for Colorado weekend getaways… Loveland Fire and Ice Festival Loveland, Colorado February 9 - 11 Free Tommy Knocker’s 10,000th Brew Party Idaho Springs, Colorado February 10 Price Varies Snowmass’s 35th Annual Mardi Gras Celebration Snowmass Village, Colorado February 13 Free

Twitter went wild, but still isn’t making money. Facebook got self-conscious, but still is slowly taking over the world. Instagram emulated Snapchat, but still managed to be its own unique platform. Snapchat plateaued, but still ranks as the most trusted social network for younger users. And LinkedIn? Well, it’s still LinkedIn. Another year, another algorithm. When it comes to changes in social media platforms from year to year, 2017 wasn’t as monumental as the year before. With incremental adjustments and advancements, but no flashy launches, quick flameouts, or new tech to change the way we interact with the world, you may not have noticed the changes to our online landscape. But at WideFoc.us, we track even the most mundane online developments that could affect our clients’ social presence. Whether it’s new ways to use an established channel like Instagram, adjusting to changes in functionality (and character limits!) on Twitter, or digging into the latest Facebook ad products and algorithm tweaks, the team works to develop new strategies and further drive up results week after week. If 2016 was the year of Snapchat, where it shook up marketers and its user base with new ways to engage and tell stories, 2017 was the year when video truly took supremacy as the most engaging form of content — it ruled in driving visibility, while strategic targeting of videos could bring down cost-per-view below a penny. That made videos the most cost-effective way to increase on-page engagement and overall visibility. And with Facebook launching ways to target users who viewed videos with additional advertising and content, they became a surprisingly powerful way to build new audiences for campaigns —to increase a fan base, to improve page metrics, or even to drive more website clicks and online conversions. While Twitter’s leadership grappled with trolls and fake users and global tensions, the platform’s central place in the national zeitgeist meant more users actively using it to get their daily dose of news and outrage. Bad news for our polarized society, good news for savvy marketers who could dig into Twitter’s slowly evolving advertising products while actively using real-time conversations and trending topics to increase visibility and interactions for their clients. Snapchat went public even as its user base flattened out. Those Spectacles we bought for the team to use out in the field? They were popular in late spring and early summer, but haven’t left the shelf in months. The ‘chat is still popular as hell with teens and early 20somethings, and the ads are among the most engaging and trusted of any social channel today. But we still don’t have clients for whom it would make sense as an outreach platform. The biggest success story the WideFoc.us team has leveraged is Instagram’s improvement of Snapchat-like functionality, which has allowed us to create interactive 24-hour Stories for clients, with huge increases in visibility and engagement. Being able to tag users, float hashtags, build branded narratives, and even go live, has allowed our visual storytellers to become social media correspondents at events and in the field, creating a dynamic sense of immediacy and intimacy. Add in more and more powerful audience targeting, including integrated Facebook/Instagram campaigns, and the results can be astounding. Which is all a long way of saying that video will be THE STORY of 2018. As the form of content with the most potential for visibility at the lowest cost-per-action, videos just keep getting more useful when driving targeted audiences’ behaviors. Animated GIFs, slideshows, 10-second pops of action, 30-second how-tos, even minute-long interviews are getting easier and cheaper to produce, which makes them even more compelling for business marketing purposes. Social media platforms love video, because the content keeps eyeballs on their apps longer, engaging viewers and providing real-time data about levels of interest and effectiveness. That means we’re investing more time and energy into working with our clients to produce video content to share across channels. Whether we create it in-house or in the field, assist clients by providing shot lists and video ideas, or work with professional filmmakers and digital storytellers to cultivate assets, we optimize targeting, timing, and subject matter to drive business goals. I’ll be curious to see how the reigning social platforms keep their users invested in the next year, while upstarts like Kiyo try to claim a user base and make a dent in people’s daily lives. Will Snapchat make a turnaround? Will Twitter find a way to detox its channel? Will Facebook get cool enough for the next generation of digital natives? (Doubtful, probably not, nope.) Whatever happens, we’ll be here to make sure your social media presence keeps up with latest developments. Happy new year! Eric Elkins is CEO and Chief Strategist at WideFoc.us. Eric brings nearly two decades of experience to our clients. In his other life, he’s a single dad, an avid eater, and a bourbon aficionado.

When I’m not writing, producing, and curating content at widefoc.us, you’ll find me at the movie theater. While Senior Community Manager Stephanie ups her audiobook game for 2018, I prefer to unplug and connect with my roots: my passion for film studies. This isn’t your mama’s blog post that just tallies Hollywood’s top 89th Academy Awards contenders. This list may contain potential honorees, but also includes movies that may fly under the Academy’s radar. Why? To put it simply, 2017 was a phenomenal year for film. In fact, I loved so many thoughtful movies this year, selecting just five nearly made me break out in hives. Here are my hive five: Call Me By Your Name Based on Andre Aciman’s novel of the same title, Call Me By Your Name is a feast for the eyes and heavy on the heart. Set in the 1980s, the film chronicles Elio, a young Jewish man who bonds with his father’s handsome research assistant during a summer spent in Lombardy, Italy. Starring the impressive Timothee Chalamet and formidable Armie Hammer, “Call Me By Your Name” is a poignant and poetic coming-of-age queer film by Luca Guadagnino. The film’s dialogue is engaging, yet disarming, and as revealing as a diary entry, exposing each character’s innermost desires and the fear in that desire. A complex romance punctuated by a sun-drenched Italian countryside; the film leaves the viewer stunned by its beauty and overwhelmed by a certain je ne sais quoi, a feeling similar to falling in love the first time. Ladybird I’ve been a longtime fan of Greta Gerwig, particularly her ability to capture the fierce bond between women and the feminine search for identity. Ladybird is not only her finest film to date, but an introspective narrative that explores the complicated relationship a woman can have with her mother. In the movie, protagonist Ladybird dreams of abandoning stifling Sacramento for college in New York, but must suffer through her senior year of Catholic high school first. Hardheaded, brash, and selfish, Ladybird may seem like your typical teenager, but Saoirse Ronan’s heartfelt portrayal elevates the character as a young woman desperate for independence yet acceptance at the same time. This one is likely to win big come Oscar season, but may lose out to well-funded blockbusters like The Post. The Big Sick A short aside: If you aren’t following Kumail Nanjiani on Twitter, (Pluto is!) stop what you’re doing, admit you’ve made a mistake, and follow him immediately. Now that you’ve improved your Twitter feed, no need to thank me, let’s talk The Big Sick. Nanjiani’s big screen debut is a thoughtful examination of modern dating, biracial relationships, and the familial diaspora. Based on Kumail’s real-life romance, the protagonist of the same name is a blossoming comedian who meets charming grad student Emily. As their relationship intensifies, the two struggle to see a future together. What really makes The Big Sick startling is that Nanjiani has repurposed the rom-com genre formula to explore a modern Muslim’s struggle with his first-generation parents and identity in contemporary America. The result is a heartbreakingly authentic film with romance as a catalyst to personal development. Columbus I’m a sucker for the midwest and films that appreciate its stark beauty. Columbus is mediation on living, dying, and the purgatory between the two. Protagonist Jin (John Cho) is forced to visit his estranged ill father in Columbus, Indiana. There he meets Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), a dedicated daughter and architecture enthusiast, who stays in Columbus, rather than pursue her dreams of college, to care for her mother who is a recovering drug addict. The two bond while traversing around the university hospital and campus. An extraordinarily quiet film, with an emphasis on ambient sound, Columbus captures the beauty of Columbus, Indiana, highlighting its architectural accomplishments. Director Kogonada complexifies every architectural space, no matter how sparse, with engaging cinematography and natural light. Each setting the characters inhabit appears as idle and empty as the characters feel. Get Out I’ll admit it: I’m a horror junkie, capable of consuming even the worst of what the genre has to offer. I will watch literally any horror movie, no matter how trashy. That being said, Get Out is one of the scariest films ever made: not only due to its technical prowess, but also its disturbing subject matter. Horror has always been used as a genre to inform society of its innermost struggles: racial inequality, homophobia, poverty, mental health issues. Considering context, some films even reflect global fear of nuclear threat. Yet horror movies often punish “offenders” of conservative society. Director Jordon Peele subverts genre technique, and instead of punishing the film’s subjects, it radically empowers them. The revealed horrors are gut wrenching, but brutally honest about racial fear in America. KT Heins is a Community Manager at Widefoc.us who specializes in technical writing. When she isn’t at the office, she is most likely hanging out with her Chiweenies, “working” on a novel, or participating in bar trivia alone. Follow her on Instagram @ktotheheins for mountain views, cold brews, and fancy food.

So long, 2017. Welcome, 2018! An entirely new year to enjoy and a fresh opportunity to discover a new you (or to keep rocking the same brilliant you you’ve always been). Whatever you decide, we’re with you. Here’s a quick rundown of my top January picks. As always, if you see something we missed, please let us know. Her Paris: Women Artists in the Age of Impressionism On view through January 15 Denver Art Museum No cost for members; $24 for adults Women have always found a way to overcome misogynistic attitudes, and “Her Paris: Women Artists in the Age of Impressionism” at The Denver Art Museum beautifully expresses ways in which we’ve done so. From using hat pins as self defense to forming painting groups, women of the 19th century proved they were badasses. Hot For Teacher January 13 Voodoo Comedy Playhouse $10 What do you say to comfort an English teacher? They’re, Their, There. Perhaps this isn’t the best joke for stand up, but if you want a good laugh, you should see our pal Noah Geisel’s next “Hot for Teacher” show at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse. Join a group of witty teachers as they share their side-splitting school tales. You’ll surely give them an A+ for their performances. Our own CEO Eric (a former elementary school teacher) performed in one of these shows in the past! Official Women’s March on Colorado: One Year Anniversary January 20 Denver’s Civic Center Park No cost “The question isn’t who is going to help me; it is who is going to stop me?” Ayn Rand 2018 welcomes the second Women’s March On Colorado, where thousands will join a peaceful march through the streets of Denver in solidarity for social justice, human rights, and equality for women and all marginalized people nationwide. MomUP! Project January 25 The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace $25 to $40 (VIP) After the crazy holidays, goodness knows all mamas need a break. You can find me chilling with my mum friends, rocking a swag bag, and sipping on a cocktail on January 25 at the Mom Up Project. Join Denver vendors to find the gift you may not have received this past holiday season. Too much walking? Grab a drink and have a seat for words of wisdom from an astounding lineup of speakers. Colorado: 9th Annual Wine & Trees January 25 The Denver Botanic Gardens $36 for JNFuture members; $54 for non-members Join WideFoc.us (we’re a proud sponsor) at The Denver Botanic Gardens for Jewish National Fund’s “Tu Bishvat in The Rockies.” This annual dinner event is an evening to remind us of the connection between the earth, our ancestors, and future generations. Learn about the significant impact JNF has had on improving Israel’s environment, and how those innovations have been shared with other nations around the world. Katie Seiffertt is Operations Manager at WideFoc.us. When she isn’t keeping WideFoc.us World Headquarters in tip-top shape, she is wrangling her posse of kids, bingeing Netflix while drinking Malbec, or beginning another art project.

You’re out and about in the city and come upon a scene that you find compelling and picturesque. You’re enthralled by bright colors, twinkling lights, and interesting people doing terribly interesting things. You feel alive and don’t care who knows it; oh, how you wish you could share the wonders of your life with the world! Lucky for you, you have your very own smartphone and a sweet, sweet Instagram account on which to share fantastic photos with people around the world. But sometimes, when you shoot photos with your phone, all you get are blurry images that don’t express the sense of wonder you felt. So how do you capture the ambiance and emotion of a three-dimensional live situation in a two-dimensional still image? As a professional photographer, that’s a question I need to answer with every shot. Here are my three tips to help you take compelling photos your online fans will love. Juxtapose, juxtapose, juxtapose Not the literal meaning, but more how you choose to place (or pose) the subjects and objects in relation to each other in your photo. Experiment with various angles when you find a scene to shoot. Search for objects or words that could add meaning or intrigue. Be on the lookout for people/situations you could incorporate into the photo. The image below is an example of opportunistic juxtaposing. The words across the photo are mounted on the front door glass of the gallery, and the door was propped open when I walked by. Shooting the photo through the door glass gave the illusion of floating letters on the streetscape. Voila! Juxtaposed! Off-center, please. It may seem counterintuitive, but photos are infinitely more interesting if the subjects and objects of interest are not centered. The “rule of thirds” lays it out for us. If you divide your image into a grid of nine equal rectangles, the most interesting compositions happen when sightlines and objects or subjects fall either along the gridlines or on the intersection points. In this image, the tree trunk follows one of the vertical lines at a third, and the dog sits at the intersection of two dividing lines. The image is more visually appealing than if the dog or the tree were centered in the frame. See below. Centered: Not as cool! (Even though the dog is super cute.) Like any rule, there are exceptions. Centering objects or subjects in an image can be effective and interesting, especially when the object itself is particularly compelling. However, when aiming for candid or artistic vibes, off-center is almost always the way to go. See the (natural) light “Photography” means “pictures of light,” which is the perfect way to think about your photos. For many images, it’s best to have enough light from a direction that illuminates the features you want to capture. A common lighting problem in many cell phone photos is bright backlighting, which tends to leave subjects and objects too dark to see. Fancy professional lighting equipment can take care of this problem, but cell phone cameras—even those with the little flash—aren’t generally capable of filling in the light. Therefore, it’s always best to make as much use as possible of the natural or ambient light surrounding your subject. You can fix some images by editing after the fact (see Help me fix this! below), but it’s always better to address lighting issues while you’re shooting, if possible. When you encounter a bright backlighting situation, the first thing you can do is use the focus tap on your phone to adjust your camera’s settings. On most smartphones, tapping the part of the image you want to be the focus of your photo not only adjusts the focus, but also adjusts the aperture to brighten that part of the image. However, if the backlighting is too bright, your cell phone camera will not be able to adjust for it. If focus tapping doesn’t do the trick, try to re-pose your subjects or objects, or shoot from a different angle. In particular, rearrange the photo so that the natural or ambient light you have available to you shines on your subjects or at least is not directly behind them. This should adjust the illumination of your subject to varying degrees depending on the brightness of the light and the angle of the light compared to the camera phone. Help me fix this! Most smartphones have basic photo editing tools for adjustments if your image is still lacking after you shoot. You may want to try filters and see how each one changes your image. But editing tools offer more control over how you enhance the photo. The most useful editing tools on smartphones include cropping, exposure, and shadow settings. Cropping can be used after the fact to adjust the image to comply with the “rule of thirds,” or to omit objects or subjects that you don’t want to appear. Even with this simple adjustment, you can dramatically alter the composition and vibe of your photo. Exposure settings can be adjusted to change the brightness of the image. Increasing the exposure will make all of the colors appear whiter or brighter; decreasing the exposure will darken the image overall. Adjusting shadow settings will change the darker parts of the image with minimal impact on the brighter parts. Increasing the shadow setting can reveal details in areas that initially appear mostly black. Decreasing the shadow setting can further darken the dark areas in your photo. One more fancy resource When you’ve finished polishing your photo and are ready to upload it to one of your social media accounts, you may find that the particular social media platform automatically changes the dimensions and proportions of your photo, which could omit important parts of your image. Sprout Social provides a publicly-available, up-to-date resource listing major social media platforms with their corresponding image scales and recommended dimensions. Posting your photo at the scale and dimension recommended by the platform will ensure that your image uploads with the composition you intended. Happy smartphone-photography! And remember if you need our assistance making your social media channels pop, we’re here for you. Brian Hartman is Visual Storyteller for WideFoc.us. He has been taking photographs since his childhood in Kansas. Other things you might find Brian doing include writing, eating queso on a patio, playing music with toddlers, or planning his next road trip.

I am a firm believer that the holiday season does not begin until Santa Claus crosses in front of Macy’s Herald Square on Thanksgiving. It’s time to dust off the menorahs and practice your gift wrapping skills, because IT’S FINALLY HERE! There’s more to the holiday season than Christmas tree lighting and latke parties, so here are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy Denver this month and end 2017 with a bang. And, of course, if we’re missing a “must-go” event of the month, let us know. RiNo Made Holiday Pop Up Shop! Until December 31 Free Our client, RiNo Art District, encourages you to shop local! From now until New Year’s Eve, stop by The Source any day of the week to buy art, jewelry, and handmade gifts for your loved ones, all made by RiNo members. And while you’re out there, it wouldn’t hurt to buy a cold one at one of the many RiNo bars and breweries! Jackalope: An Indie Artisan Fair December 9-10 Free Interested in one-of-a-kind gifts for your friends and family? Stop by the Jackalope Artisan Fair at the McNichols Building. With more than 150 local artists attending this year, you’ll be certain to find a unique present for that special someone, or you can make a craft at one of the workshops. All proceeds and donations will benefit the Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies. Tiny House Holiday Village December 9-10 $5.00; Children 12 and under: Free A new take on miniature Christmas villages! Until December 8, visit the Tiny Village in Northfield Stapleton and enjoy the festive light displays. And on the last two days of the village pop-up, you can even go into the micro-living spaces to see what all the tiny homes hubbub is about! Dreidel Night at Grandma’s House December 16 - 17 Prices Vary Buy a brewski and get your gelt! Grandma’s House is hosting a Dreidel Night! Jews and gentiles alike are welcome to gamble while enjoying Grandma’s beer during Hanukkah. Try for a gimel. Don’t know how to play? My Jewish Learning can help. New Year’s Eve On The Rocks December 31 $175+ End 2017 on a “Bad and Boujee” note at the first, ever New Year’s Eve on the Rocks! With headliners Migos, Post Malone, and Young Thug – you’ll enter 2018 like a rockstar. -- By Kaleigh Myers Community manager Kaleigh Myers lived in New Jersey, Las Vegas, Amish Country, and Chicago before finally settling in Denver. When not coming up with a clever caption for her Instagrams, you can find Kaleigh in her car on her way up to Summit County for a weekend adventure in the mountains.

Whether you’re a marketing director, a CMO, or a small business owner, you probably look at the consistent work and intention that goes into an effective social media plan and think, “I can’t do this myself.” And you shouldn’t. Between building out a strategy, creating a content calendar, keeping up with posting each day, getting conversational, monitoring for problems, and running targeted boosts and ads, effective social media engagement — that actually works toward measurable results — requires sustained, daily intention. But if you’re going to hire someone to help you, figuring out if they have the chops to actually make it worth paying for isn’t always easy. A good talker (or a person with 100,000 Twitter followers) isn’t necessarily a proficient community manager. And just about every agency out there — PR, branding, digital — claims to offer social media management. But that doesn’t mean they’re good at it. So here are six questions you should ask before making your decision. 1. How will you decide what and where to post for my company? A competent practitioner doesn’t start the conversation with answers, but with questions. The “post five times per week on Facebook” approach doesn’t work for every business (it barely works for anyone). So if your person is prescriptive from the start, that’s a red flag. At WideFoc.us, we always ask plenty of questions at the outset: Who are your target audiences? What are your business goals? What are you hoping social media will do for your company? When you ask this question, expect the person to respond by asking for more details about your organization and your goals before responding. And then look for a thoughtful answer that includes high level details about using curated and owned content, consistent posting on a daily basis, and choosing social platforms that will reach your audiences. 2. How often do you recommend posting on social media channels? Again — there’s no blanket answer, though we know that 1-3 posts per day on Facebook and Instagram, 7-15 on Twitter, and at least 5-7 per week on LinkedIn are the minimum for effectiveness and audience-building. Engagement comes from consistency, and someone who offers to post a few times per week isn’t building audiences for you or helping enhance your online presence. You’ll also want to find out how they manage your social communities. Many agencies run on the set-it-and-forget it model, where they post everything in advance, without concern for daily monitoring or real-time interaction. So much can change in a few hours — a relevant topic can start trending, meaning your community manager should sub in new content at the last minute; a tragic national event may require your team to suspend all posts out of respect; a conversation could be taking place on Twitter that just begs for your brand’s expertise; or someone posts a negative comment or a customer service issue on one of your channels, needing a quick response. All of these require daily, real-time monitoring and engagement. Tweets that were written the week before have their place, but nothing is better than retweeting or replying to something current on the fly. You need a team that understands your brand and can engage on your behalf within a short time. 3. Do I need an advertising budget? If so, how will you use it? Daily organic reach on social platforms is low, but on Facebook it’s less than 2%. It’s all pay-to-play there (and to some extent on Instagram, as well). That means you do need to put money behind your efforts for anyone to see what you’re doing. We allocate social ad spends to meet the needs of our clients: building an audience through fan campaigns, increasing visibility and interactions via targeted boosts and post promotion, driving website traffic with clicks campaigns. Your social media strategist should have a similar approach. Make sure you ask about targeting. How will the agency or community manager find and get you in front of your target audiences? What methods will they use to identify audiences and measure success? What are some examples of campaigns they’ve run in the past? If your practitioner doesn’t have deep knowledge in using social ad spends to drive results through strong messaging, strategic targeting, and testing effectiveness, you’re just throwing money away. 4. What if something goes wrong? Whether it’s an angry tweet or an online smear campaign, your social media team should have experience in dealing with negative outcomes. Look for a crisis response process that catches the problem and provides a recommended plan-of-action. Ask for examples of times the practitioner dealt with problems. How did he or she work to diffuse the situation and provide ongoing support? What is the process the agency uses to assess and engage when negative sentiment occurs? 5. How will I know if it’s working? Reporting on social media effectiveness should be a given. Look for monthly meetings, where you go through metrics, talk strategy, and make a plan for the coming month and quarter. And a good strategist walks you through successes and the challenges — what performed well and what didn’t, with thoughts on why and a plan for improvement. Sometimes, social media KPIs drop or flatten out, depending on a slew of variables from time of year to content choices to user error. Testing, learning, and reporting are essential elements of effective social media. 6. How much is this going to cost? Your strategist probably won’t have a figure to present off-hand, unless you’ve already gone through the proposal process. Costs should depend on how much help you need, what platforms should be addressed, who is providing content, budget for ad spends, etc. But a rough idea of how you’ll be billed and what the range of costs will be helpful. And social media is one place where pricing comparisons aren’t the only thing that matters. Ask what you get for that budget — owned and curated posts across how many platforms, how often? How does strategy work? What is the discovery and planning process, and is that included? What about reporting and meetings? And real-time communications and course corrections? What if your community manager goes on vacation or gets sick? Often, the low-budget approach means a cookie cutter effort, which isn’t going to drive the results that a competent team of professionals can provide. What is the financial value for you of a new client or customer? And how many new customers per month will you need to pay for the social media work? Consider quality and what it means to your bottom line. Of course, we would be happy to answer all of these questions for you, if you’re looking for social media support. We’d love to chat with you. Eric Elkins is CEO and Chief Strategist at WideFoc.us. Eric brings nearly two decades of experience to our clients. In his other life, he’s a single dad, an avid eater, and a bourbon aficionado.

The Widefoc.us fam reads an absurd amount of books, but because our team is composed of side-hustle junkies, we often run out of arm strength and bag space to lug our books around; and that’s where audiobooks (we LOVE audible!) trot in. Audiobooks help us stay in the loop emotionally, cognitively, physically, and spiritually -- when your game is social media, it’s imperative to remind yourself to remain focused and grounded in the real world. Here are my 5 favorites right now. Warning: These books contain a plethora of profanity because I like my books with a side of wicked hardcore snark. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg If you’re obsessed as to why you consistently pick up that cookie when chatting with a co-worker or why you twirl your hair while sitting in traffic, this book is something you’ll want to listen to. Duhigg opens the scientific door to break down why we do the things we do and how we can transform our habits to ensure we’re living our best lives. He makes the point that we aren’t our habits and why thoughts are just that: controllable, changeable thoughts. Unf*ck Yourself, by Gary John Bishop “Sometimes you have to intervene with yourself on behalf of yourself.” If you aren’t a sucker for profanity and strong Scottish brogues, then this may not be your shot of whisky. Gary John Bishop’s strong approach to making yourself a better you guides listeners on a self-actualizing journey. He puts the power back into your hands and emphasizes the importance of getting off your ass and doing, not just talking about it. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, by Lindy West I heard Lindy West on NPR for 45 seconds and I knew I had to download “Shrill” immediately. If you’re a loud woman in a sea of individuals who are consistently telling you to quiet down or change your body, while simultaneously making you feel as though you’re just taking up too much space, you’ll listen to this book over and over and over again. And it’s not just about embracing your voice; it’s more about loving the person you are. There’s no shame in our loud game, ladies. Be heard. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach To Living A Good Life, by Mark Manson Will whatever you’re fretting about right now matter in two weeks? One year? Probably not. Not for a sensitive audience, Mark Manson’s profanity-laden book drives home the need for people to stop distracting themselves with daily nonsense (social media feeds being one), and really begin investing in our real lives. This is an aggressive judgement on our uncertainties, personal problems, and faults; but as any harsh plate of reality often does, this book leaves its readers with a surprising sense of hope for the betterment of our endeavours. You Are A Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, by Jen Sincero If you’ve been searching for a book to kickstart your inner fiery badass, Jen Sincero’s self-help guide will definitely do the trick. I’m not an exercise fan (on any level), but her approach to knocking the self-help genre, while addressing that some of the cheesy techniques actually work, is what makes this book so appealing. She shares very personal stories that are not only relatable, but also speak to her bottom line — if you want to slay, you have to get off your ass and do it. Preach. --By Stephanie March Stephanie March is a Denver native (people seem to like this detail), hates hiking and the mountains, but will travel for a cold PBR and an enlightening convo about the awesomeness of Anaïs Nin. She’s a senior community manager and specializes in sending semi-inappropriate GIFs to her team members. It’s a skill, people.