Views from the West – A blog about public relations & social media in the Rocky Mountains

Quite often, the question about how to effectively measure the success of a public relations campaign comes up in our community. So it is no surprise the same debate is occurring about the measurement of social media efforts. Before talking about social media measurement, let’s set one thing straight – social media should never live on its own, but is part of a strategic communications plan to achieve whatever the company or organization’s goal(s) may be.

When using social media in your communications strategy, there are many free ways to monitor the success of your online efforts. For many, this is basic information. But, for those of you looking for some simple ways to track social media, here are a few of our favorite free tools:

Technorati and Google Blog Search – blog search engines

Icerocket – blog, Web, Twitter, MySpace and other searches

Google Alerts – set up with your key words and receive alerts sent to your e-mail when the key word appears online (including Facebook, Twitter, news and more)

Google Analytics – add a little code to your Web site and see stats on its performance

TweetBeep – another key-word search that sends e-mails when your key word is dropped in Twitter

There are many other ways to track your social media programs, but more importantly, you must address what you are tracking. Audience engagement? Pure statistics? Share of the conversation? Many services that charge for social media monitoring programs are worth the cost, if you have the budget. Radian6 and Filtrbox are examples of companies worth looking into if you can move out of the free realm to monitor your social media efforts.

What are some of your favorite tools that measure social media success and what specifically do you find most important to measure?

Diane Amdur, senior counselor

Today is National Grammar Day.  It’s the day we “march forth” to celebrate language and good writing.

The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar established this day for “people who crave good, clean English — sentences cast well and punctuated correctly.”  I guess I am one of those people who appreciate clarity and a few rules, so we can speak and write as one.

Author Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, shares her Top Ten Grammar Myths today, to celebrate this occasion.

1.    A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.
2.    You shouldn’t start a sentence with the word “however.”
3.    ”Irregardless” is not a word.
4.    There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in “s.”
5.    Passive voice is always wrong.
6.    ”I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing.
7.    You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels.
8.    It’s incorrect to answer the question “How are you?” with the statement “I’m good.”
9.    You shouldn’t split infinitives.
10.    You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition.

Honor your words.  Choose them carefully.  Speak well.  Eat cake (since it is a celebration).

Gwinavere Johnston, CEO

All this stimulus money, where is it going?  Certainly not to small businesses who need it most.

Since small businesses employ more than half of the workforce, wouldn’t you think there would be special programs to help these businesses manage better in these tough times?  Not a penny.  In fact, a friend of mine went to the SBA because they’d promoted the fact that they had $30,000 grants for small businesses.

The clerk there discouraged him from filling out the mountain of paperwork it would require to obtain the stimulus money saying “you’ll be turned down in the end.”  Huh?  This advice was offered without knowing any information about the company.

What can we do?  Banks won’t lend money when you need it, and stimulus funds aren’t available.  The more I speak with small business owners, the more I realize that small businesses are being left out of the stimulus program.  How can we make our voices heard in Washington?

Michele Wells, senior counselor

Entrepreneurial ventures have always been a key driver of the Rocky Mountain economy, and they’re one of the reasons we’ve weathered the economic downturn better than most regions in the U.S. Now is the time for the Rocky Mountain’s most winning entrepreneurs to stand up and be recognized.

We’re helping get the word out about Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) program, now in its 24^th year. In June, Rocky Mountain award winners and finalists get to rub shoulders with their peers at an awards ceremony held at Denver’s Grand Hyatt hotel downtown. And, the regional award winners are feted with their peers from around the U.S. at the Entrepreneur of the Year gala, hosted by Jay Leno in Palm Springs next November.

From a pool of about 60 applicants, finalists are chosen based on at least three years of extraordinary business success in innovation and financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and local communities. A panel of independent judges comprised of local business owners, including past award winners and civic and academic leaders reviews the confidential nominations and selects the winners.

The nomination process isn’t that arduous, and if you know someone who deserves to be recognized, urge him or her to fill out the form. The Ernst & Young EOY team in Denver will guide would-be applicants through the process. Nominations must be received by March 19, and you may access the nomination form here.

More complete details and contact information may also be found in the news release posted on the JohnstonWells Web site.

Gina Seamans, APR, senior counselor

We love Valentine’s Day.

Perhaps you already know about our long-standing tradition of sending a valentine to our dearest clients, friends and community members. This year is no different. You can view the JohnstonWells valentine here.

While working on our valentine this year, I realized that I don’t know much about the history of Valentine’s Day. In less than 14 seconds, I was browsing History.com learning more about this favorite holiday.

There are a few competing legends that connect St. Valentine with love, but let’s just say valentines have been around for a very long time. So long, in fact, that the “modern” tradition of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14 began around 498 A.D. People in France and England believed that Feb. 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which led to commemorating a day of romance during the middle of February.

The oldest recorded valentine is a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. You can find this ancient valentine at the British Library in London.

Valentines Day didn’t cross the pond until the early 1700s, when lovers began exchanging hand-made valentines. It took nearly a century for an entrepreneur to realize the commercial potential. Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America in 1847. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures.

Today, more than one billion valentines are sent each year, according to the Greeting Card Association. The holiday is celebrated in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

And one more interesting tidbit: women purchase 85 percent of the valentines, but men spend twice as much as women on Valentine’s Day gifts.

As it should be.

Lee Bley, associate

Stress.

What does stress mean to you? For me, it can be positive or negative. Stress can be the exciting feeling before a big presentation, an unexpected adventure or even a first date. Negative stress, the one most of us are more familiar with, tends to do with finances, our careers, relationships and numerous other little inconveniences (cold weather, bad traffic, dirty laundry).

I recently attended a meeting for the LoDo Young Professionals. The topic was, “Why Is Stress Killing You?”  That question alone was enough to make me run for the door, but I figured I’d stay and finish my glass of wine.

Dr. James Turnbull, a local chiropractor, provided a run-down on what stress does to our bodies and explained why the stress we experience is far more destructive than say, the stress a zebra faces.

Although we are neighbors in the animal kingdom with animals like the zebra, their stress never varies, therefore, they adapt. Run from a lion, eat grass, and sleep – sounds manageable enough. Humans’ stress comes in all different forms and at all different times, which means we are constantly trying to adapt to these stresses. Stress creates a “fight or flight” response in our bodies, which then affects our cortisol, adrenal glands and adrenalin.

Basically, the super-non-scientific version of this information is, when stress constantly changes our chemical make-up, it can result in negative long-term health implications, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease, to name a few.

The signs of stress may be easier to spot than you think – trouble falling or staying asleep, dependency on caffeine, weak nails, and weight gain. All of these could mean your body is reacting negatively to stress.

So, what to do? Exercise, meditation, yoga and rest are a few ways to help you fight stress. We’ve noted some of our favorite ways to destress. Take a peek, and de-stress.

http://www.corepoweryoga.com/

http://www.puravidaclub.com/nectar_spa_denver.html

http://www.14ers.com/

http://www.denvergov.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.denvergov.org/parksandrecreation

Michele Wells, senior counselor

I spent two fattening days at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last week. When I wasn’t helping Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy sample their popular Colorado goat cheeses, I walked the floor, tasting farmstead and artisanal cheeses, chocolates, teas, coffees, charcuterie, jams, olives, yogurts, pates and other delicacies. In a one-hour spin through the South Hall, I sampled the best specialty foods from Italy, France, Egypt, India, China, Canada, Australia, Spain and the U.S.

The toughest part of all this tasting is taste-bud burnout. I’ve learned from past Fancy Food Shows to taste the subtle items, such as toasted barley tea and skyr (a yummy non-fat strained yogurt) early in the day, then work my way up to the goat, cow and sheep cheeses, prosciutto, Iberian ham and pate. I usually do my chocolate-tasting as I’m leaving the show. Tough schedule, I know.

The word from retailers I met is that business is strong, despite the crummy economy. Many attribute this to the increase in home entertaining. When you’re not paying restaurant prices for wine and food, it’s easy to justify $20 for a wedge of aged Gouda or some artisanal salumi. And, entrepreneurship in the specialty food world has spawned all kinds of new products, especially from American producers.

Though this used to be a show exclusively for the trade, the general public is now invited. The cost this year was $35 in advance, an amazing deal, and a good reason to visit San Francisco in January when much of the country is cold and dreary.  Now, I’m heading out to see if I can find a piece of my favorite from the show: Willapa Hills’ Two Faced Blue – a wonderful aged blue cheese made from a mix of sheep and cow milk. Bon appétit!

Gwinavere Johnston, CEO

Remember when Johnson & Johnson was such a revered company after they removed Tylenol from all drug and grocery shelves because someone had tampered with it, putting cyanide in some bottles? That was 1982.

Today, Johnson & Johnson is accused of knowingly using contaminated containers for Tylenol, Rolaids and several other over-the-counter drugs it manufactures. What’s more, the company is also under investigation for taking kickbacks for the sale of certain drugs. Here’s the Wall Street Journal summary:

“Federal prosecutors alleged that Johnson & Johnson paid one of the nation’s largest pharmacies serving nursing homes ‘tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks’ to increase sales of drugs, including blockbuster antipsychotic Risperdal.

Prosecutors charged in a complaint filed in federal court in Boston on Friday that J&J illegally paid Omnicare to get the pharmacy company to buy J&J medicines and recommend their use to nursing homes. Omnicare purchases nearly tripled to $280 million, prosecutors alleged.”

These charges make us wonder how a corporation can go from publicly idolized to being accused of and investigated for being dishonest on at least two fronts.

Can a culture or leadership change so easily shift a reputation from positive to negative? Does the CEO set the tone that in one era the company leads the way in product recalls and in another double deals and knowingly puts contaminated containers in the market?

Ah, reputation, how quickly it can change.