Last-Minute Votes for SXSW 2013 + 10 Events You Won’t Want To Miss

We’re sneaking up on the deadline to vote for the speakers and panels you want to see at next year’s SXSW Conference and Festival. As you may know, the always highly anticipated event, which takes place March 8-17, 2013, is made up of music, film and interactive presentations from the top creative and innovative individuals and brands in the world. There were approximately 3,200 speaking proposals submitted for the 2013 SXSW Interactive Festival (more than ever before). If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve pulled together 10 suggested individual and panel presentations featuring some of our clients here at SHIFT.

Disclosure: A few of these panels were submitted on behalf of the SHIFT team. If you like what you see, feel free to show some love and vote! PanelPicker voting closes September 4.

• Appthority (solo): Co-Founder & President of Appthority, Domingo Guerra, will discuss how developers can best monetize mobile apps. Apps Behaving Badly – Developers Gone Wild
• H&R Block (dual panel): H&R Block’s Social Media Director, Scott Gulbransen and Elasticity’s Aaron Perlut will join forces to share how a brand can become more relevant to a young, social consumer. How a Hairy, Sexy ‘Stache Made A Brand Relevant
• Eloqua (panel): How do you measure the immeasurable? How do you quantify creative? A panel made up of speakers from Eloqua, Intel, TheNextWeb and Sevans Strategy will answer these questions for those social media and PR pros out there. How Do You Measure ‘Brand’?
• Zoosk (panel): This panel, made up of speakers from Zoosk, BranchOut and StumbleUpon, will discuss their experiences building social networks focused around specific verticals such as romance, careers and discovery. Let’s Get Vertical: The Next Evolution in Social
• Repair.com (solo): Product and marketing veteran Chris Spanos will discuss ways that companies, especially those playing in the product and service industries, can keep their brand top of mind, even when they’re out of sight. Out of Sight, Top of Mind: Keep A Brand Relevant
• Apperian (panel): This panel will discuss what is driving the “applification of business,” how it empowers employees and transforms the work environment. Applification of Business
• Engauge (solo): This topic will explore what happens when the rise of “making things” combines with a manufacturing revolution. MIY – Make It Yourself
• Limos.com (solo): Chief Product Officer Doug Anderson of Limos.com will discuss how anyone can use and monetize on technology to make a name for themselves as an independent and successful business. How tech slays Goliath: Meet today’s Davids
• PacketVideo (core conversation): Led by Jerome Rota, who manages PacketVideo’s suite of consumer products (including myTwonky), this conversation will offer a platform for attendees to discuss how today’s technologies and social networks are fueling “social curation.” Web Content: Discover. Collect. Share. What Next?
• Merchant Warehouse (dual): In this session, Henry Helgeson, co-CEO of Merchant Warehouse, and Andrew Boch, Head of Operations of LevelUp, will discuss the steps needed to push mobile payments into the mainstream. Pushing Mobile Payments Mainstream

The Space Between: Digital and Traditional PR Look Really Similar These Days

By Dave Levy, @levydr

I have at least one or two media contacts with whom I rarely, if ever, email. It’s not that I’m not doing my job; it’s that whenever I have a pitch or want to soft-sound a story idea, I have to shrink the thought into way-less than 160 characters so I can direct message them on Twitter.

It will not surprise you to learn that most of these “Tweet First” contacts are bloggers. A few years ago, blogger engagement was a separate category from traditional media activities. In fact, during the growth of digital PR back six or seven years ago, we had two distinct teams with their own tasks related to either traditional pitching or blogger engagement. I was working in the latter camp, and by way of talking to people who blog, and who were some of the first on Twitter, it was kind of a natural progression to stop emailing each other and then just tweet.

Blogging looks a lot more like mainstream news these days (or mainstream news looks more like blogging, that’s a chicken or egg post for another day). Along with that, the space between what I’ve been doing in my career around online news sources and what colleagues who have filled more traditional media roles has gotten really, really small. Sure, my leading example here talked about how bloggers and I talked through Twitter direct messaging. But it isn’t only bloggers who rely on Twitter for everything from news to getting leads from sources. There are even reporters who have grown in their careers to join traditional outlets by way of being active online bloggers (and, again, plenty of writers who once wrote for large organizations have jumped to independent, online outlets).

When I got into this business, it felt different to be talking to a blogger, but maybe it shouldn’t have. I don’t know if I’m ruining some big secret, but there really isn’t that much that’s different in terms of what we do when we reach out to an online-only reporter. Journalists and bloggers alike are writing stories, and sometimes we as PR professionals have – or think we have – a tip that will help them create content. Ultimately, we have to take the time to get to know the writer, what they consider relevant and the best ways to reach them. That process doesn’t change on the basis of reaching out to either a blogger or a traditional journalist.

As a final bit of homework, I’ll challenge you to think about what pitching a story in a direct message is like. It’s really, really good practice to take your pitch and try and get all the important parts into less than a sentence. If you can do that, you’ll have a better sense of your story and what you are trying to say – no matter who you are reaching out to.

 

Facebook Timeline for Brand Pages: What’s the big fuss?

The social media world has been abuzz since last week’s official launch of Facebook Timeline for all brand pages. Timeline has been available for personal users for a few months, and while it’s been optional, it’ll ultimately be the only choice for people and brands alike. I’m now accustomed to seeing the new look on my friends’ pages: huge cover photos of sunsets, babies or pets (I’m guilty of at least two. See for yourself.), but how will Timeline actually transform a brand’s presence on Facebook? After speaking with reps from the site, taking an online webinar and reading up on all of the official Facebook documents, I’ve come to the conclusion that Timeline can enrich a consumer’s view of a brand. How can it do this? By creating a page where consumers might spend more time and by allowing brands to seem more human.

Personal uses of Cover photos are often sunsets, babies or pets.

Here are some details about how Timeline works:

Cover Photo vs. Profile Picture

The new cover photo seems like a simple concept. It’s like a profile picture, but bigger. But Facebook claims that it’s more than that – and they may be right. The suggested use of this space is for an image that captures the essence of your brand. Not a logo, not a promotional photo, not just text. The cover photo is the soul of the brand page, and should convey the soul of the brand. On the other hand, the profile picture should convey the facts: the logo, the label, etc. Facebook chose a few brands as guinea pigs for Timeline. Among them were Coca-Cola and Manchester United and not surprisingly, their pages look great (I’m guessing their sizable Facebook advertising budgets didn’t hurt). The Manchester United page is the perfect example of the Cover Photo vs. Profile pic discrepancy. Their profile pic is just the Manchester United logo. And yet their cover photo is of an emotional, uplifting photo of the victorious team, evoking immediate emotion from any user. Even from me!

What it means for brands: Emotion sells.

Manchester United gets it right with an emotion provoking cover photo

Pinning Your Posts

Another new feature for Timeline is the ability for brands to “pin” a post to the top of the page for up to 7 days. This is all about the first impression – any user landing on a brand page will see exactly what the brand wants them to see. The days are over when negative customer feedback live at the top of the Facebook Brand Page wall. This gives more power to the brand over all headlining content on their page. And while users are still encouraged to post on brand pages, Facebook has introduced a new option for consumers to privately message brands. This should cut down on some of the customer service type questions that are often prominently displayed on Facebook walls. Barack Obama’s profile is a great example of keeping the positive message up top, including user photos of reasons why they support Obama, positive videos and quotes from the President himself.

What it means for brands: Choose your pins wisely. They’re the introduction line in your consumer conversation, and you now have the power to control it.

Obama pins positive posts. And check out his great cover photo.

Views and Apps

Here’s a big change: Brands can no longer select a landing page for their users to view first. Everyone will land to the brand’s Timeline. The only way for users to go straight to an application is through a paid media buy. Facebook has also changed up the way applications are displayed – they’ve said goodbye to the text links on the left side of the page and opted for pretty thumbnails at the top of the page, right next to the Photo and Like images. Brands will be able to move the thumbnails around, displaying which applications get top priority, although the Photo and Like thumbnails are stationary. This results in a nicer presentation, but a more top-heavy page, where users will need to scroll down below the fold to get to the real meat of the page.

What it means for brands: Brands can no longer dictate for users to arrive on welcome pages, “like to enter” tabs or apps. So, create thumbnails to make your apps pop.

Milestones

On to the main course: And here’s where brands can really show their personalities. The milestone function allows brands to chronologically add in the opening day of their business, the day they made your first dollar, when they expanded globally, etc… The actual timeline on the Timeline allows brands to expose their history to their users. Do consumers care? Brands are tasked with injecting their milestones with fun, interesting facts – otherwise the Timeline will fall flat. Starbucks started their Timeline with opening their first store in 1971, and for a company that has grown so quickly – it’s a fun read. Obama also gets this right. His milestone posts bring us back to the 1970s with fun facts such as: “Obama gets his first job working the counter at Baskin-Robbins” or “Obama moves in with his grandparents in Hawaii”. But then there’s Coca-Cola. Their first milestone on their Timeline is the company’s start in 1886. A brand with such a long, rich history should be fascinating to read about. But do consumers have time to scroll though their entire history? I’m not so sure. Especially since the Timeline functionality is still very sluggish. Once we see improvements with the speed, it might become a more attractive read.

What it means for brands: Keep this section short and sweet, with punchy and interesting facts. Brands want users to find your brand charming and inspiring, not just read a history text book.

Coke’s milestones take us back to pre-Facebook times in 1886.

There’s no question – Timeline is pretty. And it will allow brands to speak to users in a whole new way. I just hope that Facebook doesn’t lose sight of the importance of the consumer to brand and consumer/consumer conversations, both of which seem to take a back seat with this new look. If the goal is to make brands seem more human, then human consumer engagement should still be a top priority. But as we’ve seen with Facebook in the past, there’s certainly more change to come.

The Power of Pinterest: Why Everyone Should Join the Pin-sanity

By Donna Ho (@donnatho)

So what’s with all the hype around Pinterest? As cliché as it sounds, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve most likely heard of the virtual pin board and social photo sharing website. Or you’ve been asked just a few too many times, “Are you on Pinterest?”

While it may have initially been an online spot for food lovers and wedding hopefuls, the site has become much more as a number of brands, businesses, and influencers have joined the Pin-sanity. The site was recently named one of the top 10 websites within the Hitwise Social Networks with nearly 11 million total visits in a week. And according to a study by Shareaholic, Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google Plus, YouTube and LinkedIn combined.

Everyday People Pin

Just a few months ago, I was that person who didn’t get it. Why was this virtual pin board so cool? After taking another poke around the site, I quickly became a Pin-somniac. What’s not to love about bookmarking and organizing you favorite photos and feeling creative? Being able to click through images to other interesting links made the site even more addicting and exciting, which brings to me to why others are catching on to the social media network trend.

Brands Pin

As brands have become comfortable with Facebook and Twitter and are learning the ins and outs of Google+, they are now adding Pinterest to their social media repertoire. The ability to pin and share photos through links helps drive traffic and therefore, increase visibility and sales. A marketer’s dream, right? Chobani and Mashable are just a few examples of some who are successfully pinning their own product/content. Marketers are even thinking outside the box, using Pinterest for contests, adding a Pin-It buttons to their site and using hashtags.

Brands are not only using the site to promote their own product, but create a brand personality online that will engage users.

Take for example, InStyle Magazine created a board for a Valentine’s Day Gift Guide, in which its 4,000+ followers most likely re-pinned, liked and purchased these products.

Influencers Pin

Just like Twitter and Facebook, people follow personal brands and enjoy seeing what their favorite guru’s inspiration. Fashion Director for Marie Claire, Nina Garcia, an expert in the fashion trend, for example, is very active in the Pin world with more than 240,000 followers interested in the upcoming seasonal fashion.

Whether you’re using the social network to spark ideas for your clients or for your own personal enjoyment, Pinterest is a fun and easy-to-use social tool that I believe has the power to stick around for a while. Although the site’s user base is mostly female, I have a feeling the guys won’t be too far behind to catch onto the trend. Are you convinced of the pin-sation?

Social Media Week New York

Last week New York City’s streets were filled with social savvy SHIFTers jetting from one panel to another for New York’s Social Media Week.  Below SHIFT’s own Reshma Fernandes (@reshma) shares a few insights into one of the panels she attended:

Can We Tweet Yet? Social Media in Financial Services – hosted by Actiance on 12/15 (Joanna Belbey) @belbey

Key takeaways

• Social media deployment is a lot more successful when all the internal stakeholders from HR to legal to security departments are at the table at the beginning of the decision making process

• The Regulators treat social media the same way as any other client communication so record keeping is of paramount importance

• Put together a social media policy – every employee that represents your brand should undergo training on social media do’s and don’ts since finance is heavily regulated

 

 

The Real Winner of Super Bowl 2012: Social Media

By Dave Finn (@DFinn0711)

We all know how quickly social media has changed the way information is shared and consumed. Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and all the rest transcend boundaries and are now used as key outlets for foreign governments, Major League Soccer teams, media publications, school districts and everything in between. Simply put, social media provides individuals and organizations a microphone that projects their voices across the globe.

The host committee of Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis is the latest example of an organization using social media to consolidate and project its voice and the information it has to share. Raidious, an Indy-based digital marketing firm, has put together a team to manage all Super Bowl-related social media activity. With at least 70,000 fans in town to watch Giants-Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium yesterday and thousands more in the area to enjoy Super Bowl Week festivities, the team’s mission was simple: get the important event information out efficiently.

This was Indianapolis’ first crack at hosting a Super Bowl – and as far as I know, Indy isn’t a popular tourist attraction – so it’s likely that most visitors to the city knew absolutely nothing about it.

That’s where the social media team came in.

In addition to monitoring key words and trends contained in the countless number of Super Bowl game-related tweets, the team used social media platforms to share parking, ticket, event and facility information as well as directions to restaurants and bars, complete with drink deals.

Downtown Indianapolis’ layout is very condensed, so traffic was a nightmare all week. But the social media team didn’t let that fall through the cracks. On Friday, @SuperBowl2012, the team’s official Twitter handle, responded to an Indianapolite (Indianapolan? Indianapoler?) complaining about the gridlock:

Because of the social media team’s efforts, visitors to the capitol of Indiana experienced one-stop shopping for all relevant logistical information – and that’s the key. This brand new effort by the Indianapolis host committee demonstrates social media’s ability to unify a variety of different information in one place. The people running Super Bowl XLVI’s festivities certainly had a lot to say, but social media platforms afforded them one voice with which to say it.

With so much to do and see for fans during Super Bowl Week, this new age task force did its best to minimize aggravation and maximize the enjoyment of one of America’s biggest spectacles. They did it by using social media.

By many accounts, Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis was a huge success. And to think we’ve barely talked about the football game.

Google’s Search Plus your World: Why bother with SEO when all you need is Google+?

By Madeline Willman (@MadelineWillman)

A few months back, Google came out with its Google+ brand pages and SHIFTer, Kristi Eells, wrote a post about why healthcare companies should care. Kristi explained that at the time, “creating a Google+ page will not carry weight over companies without a profile…” However, on Jan. 10, this all changed when Google released its biggest change with “Search Plus your World,” a feature that integrates Google+ pages into users’ search results.

Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land wrote an extensive article explaining how Google’s Search Plus your World works. Here’s what you need to know:

Search Plus your World allows users with Google accounts to search ‘globally’ or ‘personally.’ When you are logged into your Google+ account you will see posts and pictures from your Google+ profile and from those in your circle. For example, when I search for SHIFT Communications, five personal results within my Google+ page and circles show up that mention “SHIFT Communications.”

When logged into Google+, Search Plus your World will automatically be turned on, but you can opt-out by clicking a toggle:

However, even when opted out of Search Plus your World and not logged into Google+, Google still shows Google+ pages before Twitter and Facebook pages when searching a particular topic. For example when searching for “music” Google provides Britney Spears and Mariah Carey’s Google+ pages on the left hand side. One may question why some of the biggest pop stars in the world like Katy Perry and Justin Bieber don’t show up: They don’t have Google+ pages.

This proves that if you want to have a better chance of showing up in Google’s results, a Google+ page is in order.

The change has shocked the tech community with backlash from influencers like MG Siegler who noted, “Google is using Search to propel their social network. They might say it’s not a social network since it’s a part of Google, but no one is going to buy that. They were late to the game in social and this is the best ca
tch up strategy ever.”

There are also multiple anti-trust and privacy discussions, but even though there has been ongoing controversy over Search Plus your World; it doesn’t seem to be disappearing any time soon. Google is the king of search with 64 percent of the market share (according to comScore’s December findings) and if Google is making it a priority, brands probably should too.

Regardless if Google is doing the right thing or not, the fact is: Google+ pages show up in search results before Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin results – if you want your company to have a better chance at staying at the top of search results you should think about getting on board and building out a Google+ profile.

Read Search Engine Watch’s Jason Cormier’s take on the issue in his article, Why Your Business Needs to Be on Google+ Now and check out how to build a Google+ page below:

Facebook Timeline Launches: Four tips to keep personal information private

By Marlesse Marino (@marlesse)

It is official folks, Facebook Timeline is here! Instead of a seeing a disjointed list of wall comments, status updates, mobile uploads and Farmville requests, the new Timeline displays an organized and visually interactive story of your Facebook life dating back to when you first signed up with the social networking site.

Facebook users will also have access to a new tool called Activity Log. According to a blog post by the Timeline team, “your activity log is a place where you can review all your posts and activity, from today back to when you first started using Facebook. Only you can see your activity log.”

Along with the awesome new interface (it’s seriously beautiful, check it out here if your profile hasn’t updated yet), comes a potentially not-so-awesome new way to expose parts of your life that you never intended to share with your employers, clients and my personal nightmare – FAMILY MEMBERS. In a September post, former Mashable editor-at-large, Ben Parr went so far as to state that Facebook Timeline was assisting in euthanizing the concept of privacy.

According to the Facebook blog, “Timeline gives you an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect your most important moments.” While this sounds poignant, there are certain “important moments” on Facebook that I would appreciate that no one “rediscovers.”

With Timeline making it easier than ever to find out what your best friend ate for lunch two years ago, or for others to find out what you wore on Halloween as a college freshman (Cave Girl – don’t judge), I thought it would be pretty useful to provide a refresher on Facebook privacy and the perils of over-sharing on the Internet.

1. Update your privacy settings: Since Timeline shows everything you’ve posted in a single view, it provides easy, scrollable access to your past Facebook blunders. Although Facebook Timeline is rolling out today, you have a seven-day review period to go through your profile and hide or delete unwanted posts, so take advantage. Facebook offers security and privacy tools for a reason – use them!

(Photo courtesy of SpaceDust.AtSpace.com)

2. Be mindful of who you talk to online: The old saying, “stranger danger” is definitely applicable to people you talk to on Facebook or any social networking tool, not just the weirdos in vans with tinted windows advertising free candy. Take for example, this story by New York Times Bits blogger, Nick Bilton. After receiving a comment from a user on Instagram, Nick goes on a 10-minute stalking session on Google which culminates with him finding the full name, phone number, home address and place of employment of a person who commented on a few of his Instagram photos. You would think that writer for The New York Times won’t hunt down your personal address for fun, right? If you did, read Nick’s article proving you very wrong.

3. Discriminate when deciding to share information:  There are tons of Facebook applications out there, so be cautious when allowing anything to access yours and your friends’ personal information on Facebook. For an extreme example of the amount of information you share when you permit application access to your account, check out Take This Lollipop. Take This Lollipop is an interactive short video, which shows a deranged man in a windowless room looking at YOUR Facebook page. The site asks you to sign in with your Facebook login, takes information from your account and weaves it into the video. You get to watch a creepy man stroke pictures of you with his grimy hands, and then continue to stare in horror while he use Google Maps to find out where you live. This video terrified me to the point that I deleted every app that was on my account.

4. If you have to ask, don’t post: If you have to question whether something is inappropriate, don’t post it. It probably is, so just tell your friends in person. The Internet will not be at a loss if your potentially inappropriate comment doesn’t make it onto the World Wide Web. Even if your privacy settings are extremely limited, an error in the system can make that once-private comment available to everyone. Just last week, Facebook had a snag that exposed personal, private photos of many of its users, including Mark Zuckerberg. The glitch was fixed almost immediately, but the system was down for enough time for me to get the personal photo below of Zuckerberg hanging out with his girlfriend and his adorable dog below!

 

These tips boil down to one thing: Once you post something to the Internet, it’s there forever. Think twice before you hit enter, especially now that Timeline allows for even easier access to your private life.

What are your thoughts on Facebook Timeline? Do you think it puts an end to privacy? What steps are you taking to keep your personal information hidden?

Speaker Spotlight Series with Rue La La: The Value of 210,470 Facebook Likes

By Sarah Borup ( @SarahBorup)

Rue La La’s fan base is nothing to turn your nose up at. With 210,470 Facebook likes and 23,149 followers on Twitter, they’re doing okay. But, what happens when you put those numbers into context?

Competitors HauteLook, with 70,820 Twitter followers and 388,655 Facebook likes, and Gilt Group, with 136,568 followers and 342,673 likes, come out on top – if numbers alone is your metric.

Tuesday night, a few of us Beantown SHIFTers listened in on Millennial Branding’s Speaker Spotlight Series as Stacey Santo and Colin Hynes acknowledged the numbers game, and reminded us about that good ‘ol truism: quality over quantity. Mary Sullivan (@marys213) left thinking,

“What really became clear was that Rue La La gets social media. It recognizes and understands that having engaged fans is more valuable than having a large number of fans. As PR pros, I know we constantly stress this to our clients, but it’s nice to hear it from the brand perspective.” 

I couldn’t agree more. As a company self-proclaimed as not only using social, but being social, Stacey and Colin had a few more words of wisdom to share.

• Curation – Branding is about curating a lifestyle. For Rue La La, this translates to making shopping easier and more interesting, and life more stylish.

PR Takeaway: The brand is powerful across all industries, including tech and B2B. Content being shared, conversations carried on and everything in between create a company lifestyle. All PR activities should map back to those pillars, as well as the life the company wants to lead.

•  Social ROI – Clear objectives lay the foundation for ROI. Rue has an additional customer service Twitter handle, measured on how fast they reply and resolve customers’ issues.

PR Takeaway:  Without a clear vision of what a social channel is being used to accomplish, there’s no chance at quantification. This was a great reminder that numbers aren’t the only metric. Sentiment and engagement count, big time.

•  Audiences – Knowing your audiences and keeping them happy is at the heart of business, hence Rue’s monthly member focus groups. User experience is a concentration for companies across the board.  

 PR Takeaway:  We have so many audiences in a single day – clients, coworkers, reporters, bloggers, Twitter followers, so on and so forth. While we don’t hold focus groups, we know how to best give the experience our audiences want when interacting with us.

• Change – Industry change is lightning fast and competitors introduce new things…often.  Another SHIFT PR gal, Linda Battaglia (@LBattaglia), listened closely as Stacey said, “competition makes you stronger and better, and keeps everyone moving forward.”  In Linda’s words, “She put a positive spin on having competition – pretty motivating!”

PR Takeaway:  Learning is continuous, and it happens through curiosity, formal training, experiences and sometimes morphing competitors’ success and making it your own.

All in all, we walked away with new ideas and validations on old ones, as well many reminders that a company must do what works for them. It’s about wearing many hats, but only if you can wear them all well.

Why Awards Matter – SHIFT and the Bell Ringers

By Derek Lyons (@dwlyons)

At SHIFT we like to believe we are different from other PR firms.   Those differences take on a few distinct forms:

• The creativity we bring to the table each and every day for client programs
• The way we use social media as a transformative element for ourselves and our clients
• How we are a talented bunch who value dedication and determination

Now, I’m not saying you need a shiney plaque sitting up on the wall to affirm these beliefs.  But having some external recognition doesn’t hurt right?

As an 11 year veteran of SHIFT, I was proud to see all of the above attributes on display in the multiple awards the agency and individuals took home at the recent Publicity Club of New England’s annual Bell Ringer awards.  Whether it’s a Gold Bell for Rapid 7’s Organizational Identity Campaign, the company’s employee-driven Slice blog taking home the only win in the Agency Blog/Social category or our own Amanda Munroe being bestowed with the inaugural Ringer Award, it was a banner night for SHIFT’s Boston office.

I can tell you the office was buzzing and we’re proud that both our clients and industry peers know and respect our work.  Congrats to all the SHIFT winners, and we’re already planning on taking home even more next year!