VerveCast

We’re pretty darn excited about our latest award win—a national Clarion award for public relations from the Association for Women in Communications. We won the award for the Pfister Narrator program at The Pfister Hotel, which I blogged about a few months back.

In essence, the program works like this. We put out a call for entries, local writers apply for the position and a selection committee picks from a pool of applicants the candidate they feel is most worthy of the job. The chosen ‘narrator’ then spends a specified amount of time in the hotel’s lobby and other public spaces, interviewing visitors and guests and sharing their stories on the Pfister’s blog. The blog and stories are subsequently promoted through The Pfister’s social media outlets, like Twitter and Facebook.

The program has been very well-received. In fact, The Pfister’s website and blog traffic has essentially doubled since its creation. It has been beneficial to the hotel in terms of that online presence, as well as in relation to in-person communications with the hotel’s guests. The narrator serves as an ambassador for the hotel and guests who interact with her feel special, forming a unique bond with the hotel. It’s a win-win for The Pfister and its guests.

Thanks to The Pfister for partnering with us to create this unique program!

Oh, by the way, the search is on from now until Sept. 1 to find the next Pfister Narrator. Go here to apply, and tell your friends!

Do you think your tweets just alert your friends about what you’re thinking, but don’t do anything more? New social media statistics are stating otherwise and are proving that LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and other outlets are profitable for business. Here are a few facts that amazed me.
LinkedIn surpasses 100 million users

Best Buy has 2,500 employees helping people on Twitter

2011 Social Media Marketing Report – 58% of marketers surveyed are using social media for 6 hours or more every week

Facebook now tops Google for weekly traffic in the US

The second largest search engine in the world is YouTube

There are more 70 translations available on Facebook

After 23 years, Pepsi dropped TV advertising for last year’s Superbowl to spend $20 million on a social media campaign

It seems like the sharing of ideas is also helping companies increase their share of the profits. Businesses are reaching customers in a new and intimate way – and it’s proving to pay off.

I remember going to the Book Fair in grade school to buy the Harry Potter books. Those little paperbacks got quite the beating, as they went everywhere with me until they were finished. I’ve grown up reading the books and watching the movies… so you can imagine how thrilled I was to see the upcoming (and final!) movie’s trailer just a few days ago.

In case you were wondering, I’m fully aware of how nerdy that makes me. And no, I’m not ashamed. (Okay, maybe just a little…)

Pottermore Website

But back to the point. This trailer led me to find out about Pottermore. Potter-what? My thoughts exactly. It could be, well, anything. Speculation includes an online game, new fan site or online encyclopedia about the popular wizard.

Now, normally I would find the lack of information irritating, but I’m sucked in. Perhaps it’s my love for everything Potter (want to take a guess at what I dressed up as for Halloween?), or maybe it’s the very intriguing campaign.

Pottermore Twitter. Location from the first tweet take users to a secret street view.

The coordinates take you to this street view spot.

Wait, wait! I saved the best for last. Owls have taken over a special YouTube page, and they’ve been gathering for days. Seriously. When I checked just a few days ago, there were only three owls or so.

Owls gather on the YouTube page, as a countdown for the announcement ticks on.

Okay, so maybe you’re not quite the Potter enthusiast I am, but you must admit, this does make you wonder what on Earth this announcement – and website – could be. My vote? An online game. But we’ll just have to wait and see, I guess!

When you think about Facebook, you think about your college friend’s status update about his new car or the Girl’s Night event or your old co-worker’s new baby photos. And if I’m doing my job correctly, you’re thinking about a brand because you really love their products… or they’re running a contest that you’re dying to win.

It’s just a guess, but one of the last things you’re thinking about is creating a constitution. On Facebook? You’ve got that right. That’s exactly what they’re doing in Iceland, and I have to admit, it’s a pretty genius way to make decisions for very large groups. Okay, maybe Facebook isn’t the most appropriate place, but the recommendations are flowing on in.

The 25-member council who is drafting the new constitution is actively crowdsourcing information for the updated document – from livestock treatment to natural resources. And Facebook isn’t the only social application being used to gather information. The council is also seeking out recommendations on Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

A site dedicated to the creation of the new constitution says, “In this way the Constitutional Council [emphasizes] an open communication with the Icelandic nation and has given the people an opportunity to participate in the formation of a new Constitution of the Republic of Iceland. The Council’s work can also be seen on the major communicative media such as Facebook, Youtube and Flickr. Every day short interviews with delegates are put on Youtube and Facebook.”

As reported on SmartPlanet, Thorvaldur Gylfason, a member of the Constitutional council, said, “The public sees the constitution come into being before their eyes. This is very different from old times where constitution makers sometimes found it better to find themselves a remote spot out of sight, out of touch.

This brings a whole new meaning to the idea of “by the people, for the people.”

I’m a tweeter. I tweet about things that excite me (like being at the White House on Sunday night), but I also tweet about the things that bug me.

So when Glamour magazine said they’d print a question I asked, but attributed it to someone else, you know I said something. I tweeted about it.

Was it really a big deal? Of course not. But I was disappointed. Glamour, however, contacted me and asked if they could send me a little something to make up for my disappointment.

Sure, why not. I DM’d my address, expecting to get one of those cheap “free gift!” type knick-knacks that magazines promote to sell subscriptions. Regardless, they were making an effort and I was grateful.

Imagine my surprise when a decent size box shows up on my doorstep, with a Glamour bag inside, which included a very nice tote, bottle of fancy lotion and a new Glamour book that sells for like $25 or something.

And if that wasn’t way more than I ever thought I’d receive, I later noticed a handwritten sticky note on the bag, thanking me for being a loyal reader. Wow.

Needless to say, I was totally amazed that they went so far above and beyond what I ever expected.

So now what? Well, now they have one more happy reader who will continue to engage in the brand, probably even more than before. And I’m going to share my positive experience with my followers. Win for them, win for me.

Just goes to show that when a brand really digs deep and interacts with their audience, good things can happen. So stop just posting deals and links to your websites. Talk with your users. Get to know them. Treat them well. You’ll be rewarded.