Monthly Archives: July 2009

People, Brands, and Social Media at the Orsm09

Written on July 24, 2009 by Josh Peters in Social Media
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Softest Shirt Ever

Today was the last day of the ORSM09 and it was such a great experience to meet with all the people who were discovering the power of social media. A big thanks one more time to Hotcakes for letting me tag along.

Yesterday I wrote about how Twitter is the hot new thing at the ORSM09 and today I used the ORSM09 Twitter account to see who was at the show and talking about it. After about 15 minutes of reading through the RT’s I found who I wanted to speak with. However, most of them had already left for home (If I can get a hold of them then there will probably be a follow-up post).

However from the people who were still around I got some great information and I had the chance to talk to the guys from Gerber, EcogearBags, GoMotionGear, National Geographic Maps, and the one and only ClimberGirl.

 

Gerber

Gerber makes a lot of great knives and yesterday’s post had a picture of their latest knife, which I got after they posted it via twitter. The ORSM09 was their first stab (pun intended) at social media. They haven’t done much more than “fiddle around” with it so far. However the Wyoming based company they bought back in 2006 (Brunton) has been very active.

Brunton has had a Twitter account for over a year and recently have picked up the pace and have been engaging their community more through it.  Their Twitter stream is broadcast on their home page and a they have a FaceBook Fan Page that they use to distribute information about products and to communicate with their fans.

While I might have expected more from a brand whose parent company is so heavily engaged in social media (Fiskars) but it’s nice to see  Brunton leading the charge with Gerber not too far behind.

 

EcogearBags

This company is out to save the world one bag at a time and while their marketing folks had already gone home I had a chance to talk to their rep. He said social media is something that they know they need to do. They haven’t begun to do any research or anything else but the ORSM09 was their first run at twitter. This will be a brand to watch and see what they end up doing.

 

GoMotion Gear

I had the chance to talk with the founder of GoMotion Gear Jonathan Craig, and he was very excited about his company and social media. He said that by using social media he has been able to get to know his customers better and that one of their goals is integration.

Johnathan has begun using FaceBook to engage customers and fans alike, and he sees no reason to slow down and only building and learning more. They actually debut their Twitter account at the Boston Marathon and he liked the results so much it just became part of the business.

During the ORSM09 Jonathan used Twitter not just to talk about what he was selling, but to connect. He found and met with people via the ORSM09 twitter stream and met with fellow retailers and fans alike.

 

National geographic Maps

Another brand just starting to dip their toes into social media is this non-profit. After talking to their Marketing Specialist Kris Miller I can tell they are quite excited about getting involved, but she definitely knows some of the frustrations.

They have begun using social media to engage their fans and outdoors types alike to help make the maps and guides that will be helpful to the people who use them. This has also been a bit frustrating as their offers and engagement attempts haven’t always been met with a ton of response. My only advice to that is keep at it. Keep engaging, keep building, and soon you’ll start getting the response you’d like to see.

 

ClimberGirl

Sara Lingafelter blogs at RockClimberGirl.com, Tweets as TheClimberGirl, and is a lawyer from Washington. She was one of the most prolific twitter users there at the ORSM09 and I found out about events like the JetBoil cook off from her, but why was she there? She was there to meet people she’d met online in real life.

It’s pretty obvious that this show was right up her alley just based on her likes, but it was her Twitter use that made her stand out for me. Her and the other folks attending like her that used Twitter to meet and converse with new people and discover all the great stuff going on.

When it comes to social media the outdoor retail sector seems to be growing and the ORSM09 was many brands first attempt. It was great to see and I hope they continue to grow and explore.

Thanks for reading,
Josh “Shua” Peters

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What’s the hot new thing at the ORSM09? Why it’s Twitter!

Written on July 23, 2009 by Josh Peters in Social Media
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Swag scored via Twitter

My second day at the ORSM09 (thanks again Hotcakes for bringing me) has been filled with fun, adventure, and you guessed it, Social Media. Yesterday I spoke about a couple of brands that are just beginning to really delve into social media and so today I thought I’d look at one of our favorite social media power houses, Twitter.

Now despite what some people think about Twitter here, it’s actually become a very useful tool for finding out what’s happening and who’s chatting about the show. I’ve been following the ORSM09 twitter account with quite some interest. I’ve had it open on my phone’s browser at all times and watch it find out what’s happening and where.

One such brand who is taking advantage of Twitter and the exposure they’re getting through the ORSM09 profile is Gerber. During the lunch time lull they sent out a tweet that the first 12 people to come to their booth from Twitter would get a prize (which was rt’d by orsm09. The prize was one of their newest knives and a stainless steel water bottle (pictured above).

I was the first one on the scene quickly followed by fellow SMCSLC member Scott and the Gerber people were actually surprised. They didn’t really expect anyone to show up. As I walked away admiring my new swag I heard one of them say “that was the best thing that’s happened today”. It’s amazing how surprised people are when they see a response.

The ORSM09 twitter account has been THE thing to watch here. Them rt’ing all the tweets with ORSM09 in them has been incredibly useful. It has turned their profile into the one stop info location about what’s going on. I don’t have to follow the hashtag, I don’t have to follow the keyword, I just follow the one profile and I’m instantly in the loop.

Gerber is just one brand developing their social media muscles here. Take a look at how some of these other guys are promoting themselves via Twitter here at the ORSM09.

Ola Loa is reminding to take your vitamins today, but if you forgot to come by their booth and have some of theirs.

FlashPanStove has been interacting with many of the other brands on Twitter during the show.

Activewear brand Arc’teryx have not only been talking about their stuff, but cool stuff from others.

UsGlobalSat has been letting people know they’re at the show and giving out coupon codes via Twitter.

Kestrel has been talking about their product and the stuff they’re getting at other vendors.

And thanks to people like the DailyHiker I found out where to get free coffee at.

It’s good to see brands starting to adopt this medium and starting to use it. The one thing I’d like to say to them is start interacting more! So many of them are using Twitter as a broadcast and not a 2 way conversation that while I’m getting good info from them now, it makes me thing about next week when the ORSM09 ends.  Where’s the value of following them if all I’m going to get is pitches.

This goes for not just the brands at the ORSM09 but for brands everywhere. If you’re gaining followers and attention from using your Twitter profile at an event you need to engage your followers. If not, then they won’t really have a reason to stick around after the show.

Thanks for reading,
Josh “Shua” Peters

p.s. To all of you coming here from one of my business cards smile :) They’re printed on recycled material.

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Social media and the outdoors? Only at the ORSM09!

Written on July 22, 2009 by Josh Peters in Social Media
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More ORSM09 swag

So far the ORSM09 has been great! A HUGE thanks to Hotcakes for “sponsoring” me to get in. As previously mentioned I’m on a hunt for Social Media at the OSRM09 (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market) and let me tell you… I found it!

There are 2 brands that stand out from the pack in all of this. One is a great company called Horny Toad which makes great clothing and is involved in a multitude of charities. The second is a slightly larger company called Keen.

Horny Toad not only has some amazingly soft clothes, but they have a social media presence that is helping create and maintain a community of loyal fans around them under both the Horny Toad and Nau activewear brands. Talking to their rep Tami Snow they are a brand that truly believes in social media and have seen it’s power first hand. Everything from tweeting about events and sales to finding nominee’s for their Grant for change program.

Besides their website you can find them online in here:

From talking to Tami Snow it’s very evident that both brands love the way they can interact with their community to get ideas, feedback, and that to them social media is all about learning. Learning from your customers and how they use the products, how it fits into their lives and through these types of communication the brand is growing. They definitely understand the impact of social media.

The second company that blew me away when talking to them was Keen. I had a chance to sit down and talk to their marketing coordinator David Schott and it was an all around phenomenal conversation and what prompted it was the way they were promoting their social network for active people and fans of Keen.

keen community banner

After seeing this I decided I had to ask some questions like How has it helped their business, why did they start, who decided to begin, do they use other social media, and what’s in the future of Keen and social media?

It turns out they started by basically sitting around in a room talking about it and so they decided to do the first and most important thing in social media. Listening. To their surprise they found fan groups and people talking about them all over the web and already sharing their love of the outdoors and the company.

According to David their involvement in social media has given them invaluable insight into both their consumers and why they love the products. After talking to David he said that they have just scratched the surface and are excited to start delving deeper, which is a great thing to hear. And speaking of hear I wish I was recording this with my phone because David produced the greatest sounds bite ever. “It’s about sharing stories” yes it is David, and glad that your company is getting interested.

Now as i mentioned they have quite a few other ways they communicate and interact with their community.They’re listed below and worth checking out.

Both Horny Toad and Keen are making great progress and starting to see the benefits but after looking at their sites and profiles I’d like to suggest a few things (so hopefully you’re reading this).

  1. INTEGRATE! None of your social media entities even mention the other and your sites don’t link to your profiles. At the very least your blog should have the links to your accounts. This not only gets people to go to them, but it authenticates that you are who you say you are on those networks.
  2. INTEGRATE! If you have something awesome going on in your FaceBook fan page Tweet (or blog) about it. If there is a great conversation happening on Twitter, bring the subject up on your FaceBook fan page (and or blog). If you already are doing that, then awesome. I just didn’t see it when I was giving everything a quick look over.

Keen you’ve just recently started and from talking to David it sounded like you are heading in the right direction, but first thing you should do is switch from a FaceBook Group to a FaceBook Fan Page, it’s better indexed by Google and will fit your needs better. Second is TWEET! Your twitter profile has been dormant for a bit too long. Fill out the profile and start engaging all the people talking about your contest for a trip to Africa. This is a great opportunity for you.

That’s it for today. Tomorrow i’ll be back out there looking, listening, and engaging the people at the ORSM09!
2009-07-22-164541
(the guys at the OARS foundation know how to do it!)

Thanks for reading,

Josh

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Hunting for Social Media at the OSRM09 (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market)

Written on July 22, 2009 by Josh Peters in Social Media
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ORSM09 - Outdoor Retail Summer Mmarket 09 Swag

The ORSM (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market) is a yearly event here in Salt Lake City and is a huge draw for outdoor enthusiasts and retailers alike. Get to see the newest, latest and greatest from tiny startups to mega corps like Columbia.

This year the ORSM has gotten it’s toes wet in social media and for several months before the event started it retweeted people who were talking about it. This is a great exposure for the event and for the people attending. It gives people a chanceto see who else is coming and possibly make a new friend before the event.

Typically this isn’t a social media event, but it is a real life networking event and I’m getting in thanks to my friends over at Hotcakes (go check them out). The reason I’m going (besides free stuff) is to find out what’s being done by these brands in the ways of social media and by a lesser extent internet marketing.

I’ll be there wed (today), thurs, and fri so if you see me there flag me down and say hello. Until then take a look at the ORSM09 twitter stream and tag to follow the event as it happens.

 

What’s cool is that since they’re using the same twitter name for the event and the hashtag when someone does a search for just the name (ORSM09) they’re going to see not only the event tag, but also the events tweets.

I’ll keep you posted and thanks for reading,

Josh

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Changing your Twitter Username: A quick guide to keep you in the conversation

Written on July 13, 2009 by Josh Peters in Social Media, twitter
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Twitter

Recently I changed my Twitter name from RoyalAntsJosh to JoshSPeters for personal branding reasons. The name allows for more flexibility when working on future projects and helps with the personal branding thing.

Sometime along your social media journies you might decide to rebrand yourself or figure out a name that will work better for you, and when doing this there are a few things you might want to keep in mind when deciding to change your Twitter ID.

#1 See if it’s available and then make the change

It’s quite easy to change your Twitter Username, as these 5 steps show

  1. Sign in to Twitter.
  2. Click on Settings at the top.
  3. Under Account 2nd option is Username
  4. Erase your and type in a new one.
  5. If  it’s available type in your password and click save

Twitter Settings

#2 let everyone know that you changed it

Send out a Tweet or 2 letting people know you changed your name. This will serve to let people know and something you can point to when they say “I didn’t know you change your name.” Though you’d only point that out if you were an internet jerk… and you’re not an internet jerk are you?

Twitter Change Message

#3 Reserve your old name

This is a great tip. Since so many people are going to be used to seeing your name and you might have it listed as the old one in other places so putting a message on the page is a great thing.

Make sure you refenece your new one, and it’s also not a bad idea to log in and repeat the message every so often. My old account has picked up 4 followers and so sending it out again will hopefully get them to follow my new one instead.

RoyalAntsJosh Twitter Profile

#4 Monitor mentions of your old name

There are a couple of ways to do this. If you use something like Twhirl, TweetDeck, or Seesmic desktop then you can just have them search for the name and send you updates when it happens.  This will help keep your followers and you in the conversation as you transition to the new name.

Another option is to do a search on Twitter for your username and then watch it on your RSS reader.

Twitter Search via RSS

Either way you go, watching for mentions of your old Username is very important.

#5 Update your profiles

The reason I left this as the last one is simple. It’s the least important in the bunch. If you have your change message setup in your old account, people will know to go to the new one. If you have your Monitoring setup you can redirect people who found you by other methods.

I have profiles all over the place and some I’ve updated, some I haven’t and others I’ll do when I use them next. This part might take you more time than all of the other steps so far, but it will be worth it to get everything pointing to the right direction.

Bonus Tip: #6 Get new busines cards

One of the reasons I did this is because I was about to order new business cards and I wanted to have them reflect my personal brand more than anything else. If you just barely orderd a new stack and they have your Twitter ID on them (which they should) then you may want to hold off a bit. However if it’s time to re-order then there is no better time to make the switch.

Hope this helps, if you have any tips, tricks, comments, advice, or ideas about changing your Twitter Username please leave them in the comments below.

Thank you for reading,

Josh

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