1. TVG is a finalist for the Top PR Firm in St. Louis! Check us out in the Best of the Best poll on the Small Business Monthly site and vote for your favorite small businesses.
2. Scott Langley, St. Louis native and son of former TVG staff member Carol Langley, heads to Pebble Beach to compete in the U.S. Open.  See how Scott and the rest of the participants are fairing.
3. Don’t forget this Sunday is Father’s Day! It’s a great opportunity to plan something fun with your dad. Here are some great ideas for things to do in St. Louis this Father’s Day weekend.
4. Twitter began testing the new “Promoted Trends” advertising in which brands can pay to appear below the “Trending Topics” at any given moment.  These new ads are unobtrusive, but will they be effective?
5. Pinnacle Worldwide (PWW) joined forces with the international PR network 27&More this week to help expand the reach of each network. This will give TVG and other members of each network access to the best PR consultancies all over the world.

Thank you for visiting our blog and come back next week.

1. Memorial Day was this past Monday and gave us an extra day of rest, but more importantly, a chance to remember those who have bravely served our country. We here at TVG thank all the men and women who protect our freedoms every day.
2. This week the 20th Leffingwell Hat Luncheon was held in Forest Park to benefit our 2010 pro bono client, Forest Park Forever. Attendees, including members of our very own TVG staff, flocked to the World’s Fair Pavilion in hats ranging from elegant to outrageous. This event demonstrates a creative way to raise awareness within a local community. Hats off to all who support this wonderful asset to our region!
3. We all know social media is about making connections, and Twitter is making it a little easier for us. This week they tested a “You Both Follow” feature, which will let you see the followers you have in common with someone before choosing to follow them. Similar to the mutual friends reference on Facebook, this new Twitter feature adds deeper connections to the site and lets us follow people within a more meaningful context. Make sure and find TVG on Twitter for updates on what’s new in social media.
4. Next week TVG’s own Andy Likes is playing in the St. Patrick’s Irish Open Golf Tournament. Proceeds go toward providing homeless services in Missouri, such as housing, employment and mental health programs.
5. The paradoxical Twitter account BPGlobalPR, which tweets daily about the company’s shortcomings, exceeds BP’s actual Twitter account by more than 100,000 followers. Yesterday the man behind the BPGlobalPR account identified himself (sort of) and explained some of his reasons for creating the account. Make sure you are monitoring what people say about your brand. Check out TVG’s Pulse software, which lets you monitor and analyze conversations centered on your business.
   ]]> http://www.vandivergroup.com/blog/2010/06/04/friday-5-june-4-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.vandivergroup.com/blog/2010/05/14/friday-5-may-14-2010/ http://www.vandivergroup.com/blog/2010/05/14/friday-5-may-14-2010/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 22:03:37 +0000 Eileen Buleza http://www.vandivergroup.com/blog/?p=724
6. Looking to work in social media, marketing, public relations, graphic design or web development?  TVG is hiring entry level positions and summer internships so contact us at 314-991-4641 or direct message Kelly Ferrara on Twitter.
7. Most companies are working up strategies to join Facebook, but some people are talking about leaving the massively popular social network.  Due to changes in their privacy settings and sharing of user’s information, unhappy customers are planning a Facebook exodus on May 31.
8. TVG is partnering again this year with the Ag Innovation Showcase being held at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis on May 24-25. If you are interested in attending, use the discount code AG20AT and receive 30% off of the registration price. You can register here.
9. Check out the news any given day and you’ll find a new crisis developing. For almost every crisis there is an organization or multiple organizations with a brand and reputation being impacted. Whether it is an oil spill, a plane crash or an employee’s actions, organizations everywhere are impacted by unforeseen crises. Make sure your organization has a crisis communications plan in place. For more information you can check out TVG’s services.
10. If you have attended a training session or conference on social media, changes are you’ve seen the Social Media Revolution video filled with stats and figures on the power and growth of online communications. Last week the video’s producer, Erik Qualman, released an updated version with new statistics.  If you need to convince anyone on the influence and power of social media, show them this video!

Happy Friday everyone and have a safe and fun-filled weekend.

1. Our friends (and newest client) at 4ORCE made some big announcements today.  Formally known as NGAGE, the digital agency based in St. Louis has introduced its new brand and announced the opening of a state-of-the-art UX lab. They will host an Open House on Monday and you are invited to attend and tour their UX lab.
2. This week Mashable put out some advice on how to clean up your Facebook page. As the site continues to grow in the business arena, it’s worth checking out.  You can find TVG on Facebook as well!
3. Did you know TVG has satellite offices across the country? This week TVG’s Kelly Ferrara and JJ Goldman made the rounds in Nashville and TVG’s Eileen Buleza met with Naperville, IL businesses at Women in Business.
4. This was a big week for sports- March Madness wrapped up with Duke and UCONN finishing on top, golf’s Masters Tournament teed off and baseball season started with opening days taking place across the country.
5. And to send you out with music for the weekend, here is the YouTube sensation of the week and Taiwan’s Susan Boyle- Lin Yu Chun.

Enjoy your weekend, and see you next week.

Here are some of the highlights and tidbits from this week.

1. Casinos have been in the St. Louis news lately, and this week the region welcomed another casino to the neighborhood.  River City Casino (run by Pinnacle Entertainment, the same company that opened Lumière Place downtown in 2008) opened on Thursday in Lemay, MO.
2. The University of Maryland released “The State of Small Business Report” and it states social media usage has increased from 12% to 24% in the last year among small businesses.  I’m surprised a higher percentage of small businesses aren’t taking advantage of social media, what do you think?
3. Are Toyota owners staying loyal?  That is a question Ad Week is asking this week.  Following the recent push of messages the company has sent out through TV and radio commercials, how do you think the company is handling its communications crisis and brand reputation?
4. The second annual Shorty Awards were presented this week.  What are the Shorty Awards you ask? Well it’s an award dedicated solely to Twitter users!  Check out the winners.
5. A topic of discussion this week at TVG included the best options for social media monitoring and reporting.  You can use free services like Google Alerts or Social Mention and then there are paid programs through Radian6, Vocus, Cision and many others.  We’ve used different methods for different clients. What is your favorite monitoring and reporting social media tool?

I’ve posed a lot of questions in this week’s Friday 5, so let us know what you think.  Have a great weekend.

1. Donna Vandiver returned from London after a meeting with the Pinnacle Worldwide network, where she serves as president.  The group of more than 50 privately-owned public relations agencies met to share best practices and initiatives for 2010.
2. The Olympics start tonight in Vancouver, Canada. Sponsors are using it as a way to continue growth in social media, while Procter and Gamble are thanking Olympians’ moms. What sports are you excited to watch this year?
3. Google launched a new social sharing tool, Google Buzz, as a part of their Gmail service.  Have you received and started to try out Google Buzz?  Do you think it is a valuable addition to the social media world, or just a repetitive program to manage?
4. TVG is participating in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge.  The Green Business Challenge is designed to help companies improve the sustainability of their business operations, share best practices and work together to help St. Louis become a greener region.
5. Some final food for thought before you head out on your weekend.  An in depth article by Brian Solis on Mashable, “Why Brands are Becoming Media.” Brian discusses the way brands engage in social media and the challenges around creating content.

Until next week folks…

You can follow the TVG team on Twitter at the following accounts:

@VandiverGroup - General Account

@DMVand - Donna Vandiver

@KellyFerrara - Kelly Ferrara

@TVGMediaGuy - Andy Likes

@TVGBrandGuy - Paul Van Klaveren

@LauraVandiver - Laura Vandiver

@EileenMacLean - Eileen Buleza

@CassieMcCloud - Cassie McCloud

@ShelleyLester - Shelley Lester 

@KannaTaylor - Kanna Taylor

@Grow_Life - TVG’s Agriculture Communications

@TVGEnviroGuy – Our newest account on Sustainability & Environment Communications from Max McCombs

My question is– with all the professional development opportunities within the field of communications- how do you determine which events will be most valuable?

Here is my personal filter process to determine which conferences and webinars are worth attending:

• Is the event topic relevant to me?
• Is the topic something I need to learn more about? For example, a training session on a new social network platform would be of more interest to me than one on an established platform that I have experience with.
• Does the event content match my level of experience? Some events are for beginners, some are for experts- make sure you know the difference.
• Have I heard of the speaker(s)? What is their reputation in the space?  Do they have relevant experience on the topic? Have you heard positive reviews of their speaking engagements?
• What is the networking opportunity? Who else will attend the event? Would the opportunity to meet these new people be of value?
• What is the cost of the event? Professional development event costs range from free to thousands of dollars- is the content worth the cost? Are there any extra costs such as travel?

Even after considering all these elements, taking time out of your busy schedule to learn can be a guessing game.  I’ve participated in webinars I thought would be extremely interesting, that passed all my filtering questions, and still ended up offering me very little value.

One of the most important, unpredictable elements I’ve recognized is your fellow attendees.  Workshops can often fall flat if the attendees aren’t engaged or are asking questions that veer the conversation off topic.  Stay engaged and speak up if you feel an important topic hasn’t been covered.

What do you use to evaluate professional development opportunities?  Have you attended any great events lately?

On a related note- Have a conference or training session you really want to attend but can’t for various reasons? Find out the Twitter #hashtag for the event and listen to the key ideas from those who are in attendance!

Do you stand apart from your competitors and other sites that your audiences visit? It may be time to consider refreshing/re-doing your Web site if:

a. Your color scheme is similar to key competitors.

b. The design says “I’m from 2000” instead of “I’m ready for 2010!”

c. You’ve added information over time to the site and it lacks logical organization.

d. It’s difficult for visitors to locate the information they want most.

e. The site has an excessive amount of words.

f. The content hasn’t been updated in the last year.

It’s important to develop sites with a strategic layout and design that reflect the corporate culture and key messages. A Web site should always be designed with the content in mind.

As you read the criteria above and start thinking to yourself, “We need to create a new site or update our old one,” TVG has the team of copy writers, designers and Web programmers to make your dream Web site a reality.