fLO works with small to medium size businesses in developing unique strategic solutions via a proven methodology that results in effective social media/online content marketing planning and implementation.

Scamworld: Content Marketing for Evil

May 16, 2012 ~
Reading the recent article on The Verge (via longoform.org- natch) entitled Scamworld:'Get rich quick' schemes mutate into an online monster is an exercise in horror. For here are many of the content marketer’s tools, being used not to help a business owner sell a good or service, but to fleece desperate people. Read the article! »

Dan Heath is Kool

May 10, 2012 ~
I had the opportunity to see Dan Heath (One half of Heath Brothers) speak yesterday about organizational change. Firstly, he is a great speaker and uses humor well and often - you should definitely check him out if you get the opportunity! I love the "bright spots" point he makes in the video above. Another item he spoke about that really resonated with me was how environment affects ability to make change. Read the article! »

Make Your Story WURQ

May 8, 2012 ~
We all love a great story. And great storytelling is the key to great content marketing. However, without the right help, a great story can just sit there, languishing. Put that shizz to work y’all! Here’s a great example. Some dear friends of ours have an edgy little theatre company in Sacramento. They are currently running SMUDGE by Rachel Axler, a writer best known for her work on The Daily Show and Parks & Rec. A reviewer, Kel Munger from the Sacramento News & Review, sees the production and writes a glowing review. Nice, right? But standard. Read the article! »

Facebook Gone in 5 Years?

May 2, 2012 ~
Alesha B, of Moms with Apps, posted a Forbes opinion piece by Eric Jackson yesterday positing that Google and Facebook could go the way of MySpace within the next 5-10 years. While Mr. Jackson makes some reasoned arguments, particularly in regards to the inability of technology companies to seize opportunities that occur with each wave of tech innovation, he also sort of willfully ignores other relevant statistics. Read the article! »

SEO Headlines Do Badly With Humans

April 30, 2012 ~
I love to read and I love me some longform.org. If you have not had the pleasure, Longform.org is a curated site of long form narritive non-fiction articles. So. good. Longform recently celebrated its’ second birthday and released some interesting statistics about their most popular articles. You can read all of the stats here, but the item that jumped out immediately to me was the title of this blog post. Read the article! »

Using Warm Fuzzies to Build Online Community

April 26, 2012 ~
When I was a kid, my parents had a book about Warm Fuzzies and Cold Pricklies. I can’t find a copy of it now, it must be out of print, but it was a book about how to use behaviors that provided positive feedback (warm fuzzies) vs. negative feedback (cold pricklies) and that generally everyone was better off and would get along with each other better if they practiced more warm fuzzies than cold pricklies. Not only that, you are more likely to get what you WANT from others if you engage in positive reinforcement. Flies with Honey. Read the article! »

Twitter Community - Identity Cues

April 25, 2012 ~
When you start a Twitter account, they recommend you start following others right away.That makes use for someone who is using Twitter on a personal level and is learning how it works. But if your goal is to create a community around your brand identity, you want to make sure that the individuals or organizations you follow instantly know who you are and what you are about so THEY can make an informed decision to follow you back. (Your ultimate goal) Read the article! »

Meme Community Building - Nyan Cat

April 23, 2012 ~
Our kids are currently obsessed with Nyan Cat and all it's various riffs and forms. If you have not yet had the pleasure of taking in the stupifying amazement that is NYAN CAT, by all means, click away. Nyan Cat has a similar backstory to many an internet meme, and wikipedia can tell you all about that. But a huge aspect of any meme's success is the ability to create and/or capitalize on spontaneously created communities. Let's look at how this played out in our little pop-tart kitty's story... Read the article! »

Twitter Community Do's

April 20, 2012 ~
There is truth in the idea that the social media/online content landscape is contastantly changing. Many business owners never get started in the space because they feel their time investment won't pay off in time before the landscape changes. While it is true that there are always new tools being created (Pinterest), interfaces being changed on the regular (Facebook), and new strategies for promotion being developed there are certain things that stay consistant. The tenants of building a community, no matter what social media platform, are the same across the board. Read the article! »

Building a Twitter Community

April 19, 2012 ~
After much weighing of pros and cons (and haranguing from my better half) I've decided it's time to separate my personal Tweets from our business tweets. This will alleviate seeing non-essential hoo-ha on our website. (Not everyone checking out www.flocontent.com is interested in my personal conversations) And it will also help with more clarity of vision/branding/identity and all that good stuff. Read the article! »

Why Build Facebook Communities Organically?

April 18, 2012 ~
I was speaking to a prospect yesterday about her existing social media efforts. She has a good sized organizing business on the east coast, is diligent about posting great and useful content and has built up quite a substantial following for a local business. However, the great content she is posting gets very little interaction from her fan base, and absolutely no sharing. Why? Read the article! »

I Live-Tweeted At The Ballet

March 7, 2012 ~
I wanted to do a follow up to my post about live-tweeting the Diablo Ballet performance last weekend. Practically, I experienced a definite learning curve. Dan, the marketing director for Diablo Ballet, had prepped us before the show and told us that we could tweet at any frequency we felt comfortable with but I still felt pressure to be tweeting consistently and consequently missed a lot of the performance. Next time, I’ll let myself relax a little! I also had a hard time determining what to tweet about. I shared my daughter and her friend’s observations and my own random thoughts. I believe I was the only tweeter selected with zero background in dance. While I wasn’t able to speak to the technical aspects of what was happening, I inadvertently dropped a few PR gems that were picked up by other tweeters and press outlets. I think the true value of this experiment... Read the article! »

Tweet Me To The Show

February 22, 2012 ~
I am so thrilled to have been selected to be a “text-pert” for Diablo Ballet. As a “text-pert” I’ll be live-tweeting (“tweet-pert”?) an Inside the Dancer’s Studio event beginning at 7:30pm PST on March 2nd. Inviting bloggers and tweeters to participate in live events is a fairly new phenomenon but seems to be gaining some traction. The Royal Opera House in London went down the rabbit hole this same time last year, other early converts include the Carolina Ballet in Raleigh, NC and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Whether it’s theater or dance or music, organizations are experimenting with allowing or encouraging designated persons (often with their own “tweet seats” so as not to disturb other patrons) to share the live experience in real time. It’ll be interesting to see how I do. Read the article! »

Facebook- Pew!

February 6, 2012 ~
Doing some research for a client today, I happened across this Pew Research Study released in June of last year. And I thought, this is some really interesting info, if a bit old. Than I realized the research itself had been compiled in Fall of 2010! How long is that in internet years? Still, the info coming out of the study is very interesting. For example, a recent report shows that most Facebook users receive more than they give. Read the article! »

Holly Jolly Social Media

November 29, 2011 ~
I did not buy a thing on Black Friday. Or over the weekend. Or on Cyber Monday. Sadly, I just do not have my shizz together like that. And it wasn't for lack of opportunity! Like many of you, I experienced the social shopping revolution that enables us to share coupons and sales info with our friends and relations in a way never imagined possible. Read the article! »

GroupCon

November 22, 2011 ~
Groupon or Groupcon? Read the article! »

Why the cops should stay off the twitter. A love story.

November 17, 2011 ~
To further prove that companies, agencies, people, organizations, cats, ghosts, and their mothers will dive headfirst into social media without giving a damn about strategy or goals or any of those nifty little things, I came across this today. Read the article! »

Spam on Facebook?

November 16, 2011 ~
There is spam on Facebook. Read the article! »

In or Out?

November 9, 2011 ~
Read the article! »

I'm as excited as a Pointer Sister

November 8, 2011 ~
a diatribe on transmedia storytelling, cause we're excited about it Read the article! »

$uper Tweet$

November 7, 2011 ~
Read the article! »

Check This Out!

November 1, 2011 ~
I hate that….. I hate reading it, and I hate creating it. Check me out! Look at this! Check this out! etc…. I feel these phrases are most commonly used when events are being promoted via the social web-o-sphere. So, I would like to offer my opinion on how to not make me hate you, cause I will hate your entire organization in the end of you continue to lure me with such phrases. This is most likely rooted in my disdain for the singles bar scene, or sausage fests, that seem to be a rite of passage for your early 20’s. Read the article! »

How Much Time It Takes to Monitor Social Media Accounts

October 13, 2011 ~
This post is the second in a series on how to calculate and quantify the time it takes to perform social media tasks. The first post broke down the time it takes to share links. Today I’m going to try to capture a more ephemeral topic, Account Monitoring. Account Monitoring refers not only to paying attention to what happens on your online accounts, but also providing feedback to the participants. The Pitch: Paying attention and providing feedback is an important element of any content marketing effort. For one, you’re providing instant customer service. For another, you’re prolonging the interaction and helping to increase your visibility and touch count. Determining the time and labor you may spend monitoring online accounts is going to be unique to your business, your personal time management skills and your online content marketing strategy. Let’s look at the main factors: Read the article! »

Facebook Changes - How They Affect Small Business

September 28, 2011 ~
There’s a lot of noise out there about what’s good (Timeline!) and bad (Ticker!) about the changes last week to Facebook (FB) and the more changes to come that came out of F8 that haven’t come down the pike yet. If you frequent FB for personal use you’ve probably already formed some opinions. We recently sent out the following message to all of our current clients (and most of our prospects too, actually): Read the article! »

How Much Time it Takes to Share Links

July 20, 2011 ~
The internet is riddled with content telling you how easy and simple it is to get started promoting your business with social media and content like blogs and videos. I wanted to create a series that is the anti-”Top 10 Tips to get your Brand Noticed on Social Media!” These posts will be about how to calculate and quantify how much time it’s going to take you, a staff member or an outsourcer to implement all those awesome tips. It’s about to get real up in here. Real about Labor. Today I'm giving you the dirty on sharing links.... Read the article! »

Google+: Yay or Nay?

July 13, 2011 ~

ok... it launched, it’s in beta, and only a few people have it, but now a few more people have it, but it currently does not have enough people using it to make it work.....  and this is going to be the next big social media experiment that promises not to be an experiment but social media 2.0?

it’s Google+....

After failed attempts at unseating Twitter and Facebook from their respective thrones with Wave and Buzz, is the third time the charm with google+?

What makes that question hard to answer is that with social media there is no black and white, and you generally cannot make complete reviews of something that is continually evolving. It’s like reviewing a movie after seeing a preview, judging the rock prowess of an 80’s hair band based upon the success of one song (no, I’m not looking at you Twisted Sister)...

Read the article! »

Will Social Media Keep You Safe?

June 29, 2011 ~

We here at fLO tend to get a little focused on certain applications for social media. (understandably so!) But one of the reasons I/we find working in this medium so exciting is because the ramifications and abilities of this new public space are ever expanding. Last week, my fabulous cousin was in town. Many people know her online as half of a popular sister foodie blogging team, but when she’s not writing about food she spends much of her time working on various homeland security  projects. She recently gave a talk about social media applications for security issues, she shared some of her thoughts with me and I thought I’d share them here too!

Last September, there was a shooting at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD. A surgeon was shot by the distraught relative of a patient.....

Read the article! »

The iPal Commeth

June 21, 2011 ~

We live in an interesting time. The age of information. Access and divulgence are higher than they have ever been and continue to grow. Social Media Networks are the same. Today’s youth generally have no problem divulging scores of personal information on sites like Facebook and using it as their main communication channel. It is this information that makes Facebook what it is and why people participate. Older generations are reluctant to participate in the same amount of divulgence as younger generations. They are more apt to divulge only basic information and then resort to traditional methods of communication. So as the generations remove self imposed limits on information where will that lead us in the future?

Read the article! »

Social Media and Going Green

June 7, 2011 ~

Make no mistake market transformation is a monumental task. What it entails is very complex and it requires a great deal of work on many fronts. After all it’s social change, and we know how that goes in this country. How can the proper use of social media help? Social media in its present form is that of a sharing community. Social media is not a fad, but a new way to use a powerful tool, the internet, to communicate with other members of society on levels not previously imagined. Social media is in a constant state of evolution. Social media will be a key component in the success of market transformation.

Read the article! »

You say Content Strategy, I say Content Marketing

June 1, 2011 ~

There is a bit of an argument going on regarding use of the terms “content strategy” and “content marketing”. Are they really two different things? Are the terms mutually exclusive? And what is it, exactly, that those of us who bill ourselves as “content strategists” actually providing?

Leen Jones (author of Clout) suggests that the difference is between using content specifically for marketing initiatives and using content as a commodity. Although she admits at the end of her post that the two are becoming more entwined as time and innovation chug on. 

Joe Pulizzi of Junta42 and the Content Marketing Institute (read: Big, big guy in this field) wrote a popular post late last year that basically stated that all these terms mean the same thing, what matters is who you’re talking to

After last year’s Content Strategy Forum, Newt Barrett wrote that content strategy is the “kissing cousin” to content marketing. A necessary tactic to employ to achieve effective content marketing. 

Not to be a complete cop-out....

Read the article! »

He's a Twitter Guy, I'm a Facebook Gal

May 18, 2011 ~

I’m about to make a bit of a shocking admission. I don’t really like Twitter. 

Oh sure, I get Twitter. I understand what you have to do to gain followers. I understand the principals of reciprocity. I even understand why so many people love the constant stream of interesting links, timely witticisms and window to world events as they happen- they find it addictive! 

I don’t know if it’s my personality or what, but try as I might I can’t get into it. I just have to say, it’s not my thing. Luckily for our business, my husband and business partner happens to love Twitter. He’s the source of all the awesome links and witty 140 character sayings. 

Now I do happen to enjoy Facebook...

Read the article! »

My Visit to Facebook

April 27, 2011 ~

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to lunch with a few of the members of the content strategy group at Facebook HQ. 

Yes! I was there! In the bunker! Where all the magic happens! And let me tell you, the lunch options were delightful. I can’t lie. It was pretty cool to get to visit the behind-the-scenes of a virtual place where I spend much of my time. But what was even more interesting was the conversation. 

Content Strategy is a term not everyone is familiar with...

Read the article! »

Compliant Social Media

April 12, 2011 ~

I’ve had a number of clients and prospects recently that work in highly regulated financial industries. They work within the confines of very strict compliance guidelines. Every email, every fax, every letter they send or use to communicate with clients or prospective clients must be scrutinized and approved.

 Networking is a must for individuals in these industries and social media (LinkedIn in particular) is a natural conclusion. FINRA has a social media task force, recently released some guidelines and it looks like they will be revised shortly. The SEC did a massive sweep of social media data in February and will likely have their own recommended practices soon.

 If you are a financial professional trying to navigate these ever-changing waters, there are a couple of new tools on the market that might help alleviate your compliance concerns, particularly in regards to record-keeping and suitability

 

Read the article! »

Facebook and Privacy and Advertising, Oh My!

March 30, 2011 ~

 

Every other month or so, and sometimes more often, I will see in my Facebook stream a status post by someone that says essentially:

“Look out! Facebook is trying to give your personal information to unauthorized advertisers! To stop it, Click on Settings, click on “Give my Personal Information to Advertisers”, make sure the checkbox is UNMARKED, otherwise the default setting is set to be automatically marked. TELL EVERYONE!”

The truth is, as an individual, I am somewhat loathe to share my information with people who want to sell me stuff. So I often do follow these instructions without really questioning what I’m turning down or perhaps more appropriately, what I’m turning down for others. 

Hear me out. Because, unless you spend a lot of time reading about social media marketing strategy, you probably haven’t thought much about what your online shopping experience is becoming. 

 

Read the article! »

Social Media and Content for Associations

March 17, 2011 ~

I gave a presentation last week to a very specialized local association. As always, it is interesting to format my message for a new audience. When speaking to new prospects, as well as here on my site, I always temper the (truly exciting) possibilities and opportunities with the realities of making an online content program successful. Social media and online content marketing is not the "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow.

Which isn't to say there isn't gold to be had, just that you have to work for it!

I thought I'd share a few of the key points for all my nonprofit homies in the audience.

First of all, social media and online content marketing can and should be used to help you reach your overall goals- just like any marketing program. Some common ones for associations tend to be:

 

Read the article! »

Microbudget Video

March 2, 2011 ~

A couple weeks ago I tweeted/FB’d a link to a video by a couple offering “movie-making” services. I admit, I was poking a bit of fun at their lack of professional style. But there is some truth to their argument that there are many reasons that you as a business or even personally could benefit from having a video made and distributed online – and you don’t need to spend a lot to end up with a polished product.

I recently worked with a client to shoot a short informational video series for his business consulting services. To keep down expenses, we shot with a hand-held Creative Vado HD (similar to a Flip) and used no external microphone. The only snafu we ran into was when the planned outdoor shoot had to be moved inside due to rain and we were limited to the lighting instruments available in the hotel room! In the span of three short hours we were able to shoot enough footage for three videos. As for editing, we used the very fancy iMovie software that comes pre-programmed on a Mac

 

Read the article! »

Evite SmackTalk (Or, How I fell in love with Pingg)

February 16, 2011 ~

I recently had to create an online invitation for my daughter's birthday party. I automatically logged in to evite.com (as you do) and started perusing the designs. Is it just me, or have things become a lot more limited there these days? Anywhoodle. I wasn't having any luck finding a design anywhere close to what I wanted and it occured to me, there HAS to be other options out there!

I've been using evite.com since probably pretty close to it's inception in 1998, when there was little to no competition. Until recently, there has really been no reason to look anywhere else. Evite gets the job done. If you're a prior user, your previous guests addresses are saved. The invitations get sent. The responses get tracked. Reminders get sent. But gosh darn if the interwebs hasn't gone and changed an awful lot in the past 5 years and there are some up and coming invitation services that have some great features that Evite doesn't. This is an article from 2009 (kisses, CNET!) which I used as a launchpad to find the new invitation service I'm totally in love with, Pingg.com.

 

Read the article! »

Sick as a...

February 10, 2011 ~

Arg. This week has really thrown me for a loop. I have been ill with a terribly evil virus. So I have no words of wisdom today. But many good ideas for posts about planning for the future.

 

Read the article! »

About fLO Content (A Prezi)

February 1, 2011 ~
Read the article! »

How to Start an EFFECTIVE Social Media/Online Content Marketing Strategy

January 26, 2011 ~

Ok. You’ve heard all the buzz. This post is going to assume that you’re already bought in to the idea that social media and/or online content is a marketing avenue you need to start using or utilize more effectively.

Now you’re thinking, How do I start?

Let me share with you the secret to beginning an effective social media/online content strategy

Read the article! »

How to Start Using Social Media (or YouTube, or Blog, etc...)

January 24, 2011 ~

A simple approach to start marketing through social media, new media and online content such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Blogging, Slideshows, Prezi, and pictures (whew!).

Read the article! »

It’s All About the Plan

January 12, 2011 ~

Fort Worth Business Press put out this great article about small businesses and social media. It highlights the biggest issue I come across with nearly every client and prospect I meet with: The need for a plan.

What’s exciting about social media and other online media tools is that they appear to be a cost-free venture with nothing but reward to reap. But the truth is, most businesses are out there with no plan or strategy and no method of evaluating and assessing their efforts.

So, ok, you have a Facebook Page with thousands of fans or a Twitter Account with legions of followers. What does that mean?

Read the article! »

How do you know you're making the right decision?

January 6, 2011 ~

 

 

 

 

Here's the simple answer. You don't.

 

Read the article! »

Do you Practice What you Preach?

January 2, 2011 ~

My very awesome website was designed by a very awesome website designer whose own very awesome website is… down. He likened it to the auto mechanic whose car is always in the shop. Of course, both designer and auto mechanic have physical examples of their work that they can show to people – evidence of their abilities.

So in that case, does the work speak for itself?

Read the article! »

Long Live(d) Content!

December 9, 2010 ~

When’s the last time you googled yourself?

Unless you’re the type that like to obsessively check up on what might be being said about you on a regular basis chances are, it’s probably been a while.

I was googling a prospect I am meeting with. As you do. And I suddenly thought, “Hmmmmm, he’s probably doing the same thing about me.” It’s been a long time since I took a look at what came up so I decided to check it out. And I was pretty surprised at what came up.

Want to check it now? Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Read the article! »

fLO Content: Origin Story

December 2, 2010 ~

I’ve written a personal blog for years but for some reason, starting this business blog gives me writer’s block. I think because my personal blog was just a natural extension of self and interests whereas this blog will be a very specific version of me. A very professional one!

A good friend and fellow content marketer (Hello @storytellingmaven!) told me that I should start with an origin story. How did I get into this business? Why do I belong here? What do I bring to the table?

Whew! That’s a lot of pressure.

Read the article! »

Buzzwords

act at the speed of opportunity alameda albuquerque analysis art association atlantic authenticity awsomeness bandwidth bay area ca lamorinda carpool celebrity chicago clients community community building compliance content content marketing content marketing free content strategy content strategy for medium business content strategy for small business cops dan heath dance decision-making diablo ballet driving east bay east bay area east san francisco bay east san francisco bay area eco economy email invitations event event planning evite.com facebook facebook changes facebook changes 2011 film financial planner financial professional flo flo content flo content marketing flo content marketing free flo content marketing services forbes google google + green green economy groupon hawaiian bbq heath brothers homeland security internet internet marketers internet marketing internet meme investment banking iphone is facebook making us lonely joe pulizzi kardashian lafayette lamorinda leed leen jones lindsay lohan linkedin longform.org market transformation marketing medium business meeting microbudget video music newt barrett non-profit nyan cat oakland organization pal penn state pew pingg.com plan planning police pop tart cat porn pr prezi producing promotion promotional video review robot brain safety san francisco scams search engine seo services shows simplicity situation small business smart phones snoop dogg social media social media for medium business social media for non-profit social media for organizations social media for small business social media marketing social media strategy spam stephanie shaterian storytelling strategy sustainability theatre titles transmedia trends twitter twitter community video walnut creek