SMC of SLC

By Jessica Petersen, SMC of SLC member

In March 2009, I sat in a room full of SXSW attendees listening to food bloggers discuss their love for food and how they have made their success. One of these bloggers was Salt Lake City local, Kalyn Denny of Kalyn’s Kitchen. Now admittedly, I don’t recall specific details to what they recommended. However, I do recall walking away thinking “I love food and if Kalyn can do it successfully in Salt Lake City, why can’t I?” That following June, Foodie SL,UT was launched.

My original focus was recipes, restaurants and interviews. Approaching my one year mark, I’ve found a much more fun niche in restaurant reviews and local food producers. I have also asked another food lover to become a Foodie SL,UT – details will soon be announced.

What have I learned in the last year?

1. SLC is a great place to dine. There are an unbelievable amount of delicious choices in our small city. I’m very passionate about helping others discover them with me.
2. Restaurants love bloggers. I’m often invited to dine at restaurants and provide my reviews. Most times the restaurants will fully or partially comp my meal.
3. Blogging takes time. Eating food takes very little effort. Writing about it is a different story. I typically have to set aside 3-4 hours per blog post. This time includes writing the post, processing my photos & distributing it amongst various social media networks. It’s wise to target 2 blog posts per week to keep your readers attention and garner the attention of advertising affiliates. If you keep an even remotely busy schedule, it can be hard to find time to squeeze this time in. I personally rarely average my own recommendation.
4. Delicious photos are important. Decent food photography is not hard and you can find a ton of tips online. Taking the time to make your photographs look tasty pays off.
5. Don’t feel restricted to local posts. Traveling is also a passion of mine. While I try to keep the bulk of my posts related to Salt Lake, I’ve found my readers enjoy hearing about the food I eat in my travels.
6. Interact with your readers. I always respond to my reader’s comments. I invite my readers to join me for monthly foodie outings to local restaurants. Dining is a very social experience; I certainly don’t want to do it by myself. Check out my Google calendar for the next foodie outing.
7. Have fun! Being a food critic doesn’t mean being a snob. As you can tell by my blog name, I’m a proponent of having fun and being inviting to all.
8. Guest posts are always welcome. I’m not the only one with an interesting point of view. If you love food as well, you are welcome to write for my blog. You certainly do not have to restrict your post to a restaurant review.
9. Blogging isn’t the only venue to reach people. You will also find Foodie SL,UT on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Google Calendar, Urban Spoon, Foodspotting and Foodbuzz. There are many other places that can be utilized as well, however I have found it best to pick a handful of avenues to focus on. Too many can become overwhelming and often result in content that is not very useful to your readers.

What do people often ask me?

Q: Have you ever been invited to review a restaurant you did not like?
A: Yes. However, I save the good reviews for my blog and place bad reviews on Urban Spoon. There is no point in wasting my reader’s time with entirely negative reviews.

Q: Do you do this full time?
A: No. I design user experiences for software for a living. I’m a geek who happens to love food and I certainly do not recommend anyone quit his or her day job to blog. Food blogging in particular takes an upfront monetary commitment to eat out and purchase food. Making a monetary profit as a blogger does not happen over night. However, profiting emotionally does. So remember that your passion should drive your motivation to blog, not the need to make a buck.

Q: You seem to travel a lot, how do you make this possible?
A: I’m fortunate to have an employer that sends me on business trips and has great vacation benefits. However, I have also begun to master thrifty traveling… that’s another blog post!

What’s next?

Monetize Foodie SL,UT! Once I can achieve my goal of 2 blog posts per week, I will seek out affiliate advertising for my site. However, in the meantime I will begin asking for restaurant donations for give-aways to help garner readership.

I have decided not to take money from restaurants for food reviews however. I want my readers to trust what I am telling them is coming from me and not the check a restaurant gave me.

I appreciate any tips or suggestions you may have, and of course welcome your questions!

Jessica Petersen is a passionate foodie and avid social media user and blogger. Follow her food adventures on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Google Calendar, Urban Spoon, Foodspotting and Foodbuzz.

by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt, SMC of SLC member

The Utah Social Media Community is excited to welcome a social media summit, Building Trust in a Connected World, to Salt Lake City on May 11. The summit features Chris Brogan, Julien Smith, and Mitch Joel, three New York Times bestselling authors and thought leaders in social media marketing.

Each summit attendee receives breakfast, and a complimentary copy of Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith and Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel.

*Trust Agents will help you better understand the trends beneath web technologies, and how they apply to your communications experience going forward.

*Six Pixels of Separation integrates digital marketing, social media, personal branding, and entrepreneurship in a clear, entertaining, and instructive manner that you can quickly understand and apply.

Registration Link

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
Tuesday, May 11
7:30-8:30 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast Networking

8:30am-12:00 p.m.
Speakers and roundtable Q&A

Location:
Noah’s
322 West 11000 South
South Jordan, UT 84095 USA

Event Cost: $65 for members, $75 for non-members
Registration fees are non-refundable

Important Note:
This event is hosted by the Women Tech Council.

SPEAKER BIOS

Chris Brogan
Chris Brogan is an 11-year veteran of using social media and web and mobile technologies to build digital relationships for businesses, organizations, and individuals. Brogan advises these clients on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value. Chris’s blog is in the top 5 of the Advertising Age Power150, and in the top 100 on Technorati.

Julien Smith
Julien Smith is an author, consultant, and speaker who has been involved in online communities for over 15 years. He was one of the first people on the web to use podcasting, as well as one of the first web personalities to get broadcast by traditional radio. Smith has since worked with and been interviewed by numerous media organizations such as CNN, CBC, CTV– and a bunch of others that don’t start with the letter C.

Mitch Joel
In 2006, Mitch was named one of the most influential authorities on blog marketing in the world. Joel is President of Twist Image, an award-winning digital marketing and communications agency. Marketing Magazine has dubbed him the “Rock Star of Digital Marketing,” and “one of North America’s leading digital visionaries.”

Every week UtahPulse educates and enlightens Utah’s business leaders about social media through the “Social Media Minute.” Since members of SMC of SLC are on the forefront of social media, our members write the Minute! As we head towards 2010, we’re looking for a variety of folks who would be interested in contributing to the Minute next year. It’s a great opportunity for your “voice” to be heard on social media issues by some of Utah’s business movers and shakers, as well as by your social media peers!

The Minute should be about 800 words on a social media topic, and deadlines are on Wednesdays at 5:00. (Take a look at UtahPulse to read past Minutes!)

If you’re interested in contributing, please comment on this blog and we’ll get you on to the schedule. Oh, and if you contributed in 2009 we’d love to hear what you have to say in 2010 as well!

Happy Holidays and get writing!

Be sure to use the SMC of SLC discount code, SMCSLCdc09, when registering!!

* * *

Date: Wednesday, December 9 & 10, 2009, BetaLoft (357 West 200 South, Suite 201, 84101), downtown Salt Lake City, UT.

Instructor: Josh “Shua” Peters: social media author, active SMCSLC member, and consultant who has worked with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, single owner companies, and everything in between.

Format: Attendees will learn as a group, building a solid social media foundation for themselves or their company. Workshops will start at 9am and end at 6pm. Twenty-minute breaks every two hours, provided lunch at 1pm.

Attendees Benefits:
* 16 hours of intense hands on training and education ($2,000 value)
* Both digital and physical (signed) copies of Josh’s book, TwittFaced ($26.99 value)
* Lunch provided both days ($20 value)
* Solid foundation for which to grow the social presence for you or your company (continually gains value over the years)

Please Bring:
* Laptop, netbook, macbok, or some other form of portable computer (wireless internet access will be provided)
* A good picture of yourself (in jpeg, gif, or ping format)
* A hunger to learn and desire to participate

Outline:
Day 1

* The basics
* The who, what, when,where, why, and how of Social media
* The Big 4: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs
* Audio, video, and other senses
* Creating a story and building your community
* Finding your customers and fans
* How to engage and not spam
* Best practices
* The 4 basic marketing approaches and social media’s application in them

Day 2

* Strategy, measurement, and advanced tactics
* Defining your goals, creating a strategy, and implementing the tactics
* Listening
* Defining goals
* Creating strategy and planning
* Engaging and Implementing your strategy
* Measuring
* Impact vs ROI and other fun stuff
* Twitter, FaceBook, and other platform strategies
* Strategies and tactics for your business
* Social Media for PR, Marketing, sales, communication, and more
* Integrating your efforts to maximize your results
* Social media inside the firewall (a.k.a. how to optimize your work environment)

Parking: available on the corner of 300 West & 200 South. Cost is $5.00 per day with no re-entry (hence the delivered lunch). Beta Loft is half a block west on the south side (same as parking lot).

For more info on Josh Peters:

Blog: Shuaism
Twitter: JoshSPeters
Facebook: JoshPeters
LinkedIn: JoshSPeters
Email: shua @ shuaism (.) com

Note: The SMC of SLC is not conducting this workshop. But we are helping to promote it as Josh Peters is an active SMC of SLC member in good standing, and because he is offering a discount to SMC of SLC members.

It is the SMC of SLC’s pleasure to highlight member Josh “Shua” Peters: social media strategist, amateur artist, and  *major* horror movie fan. Josh is also the brand new co-author of the book Twittfaced. Josh describes himself as a “very analytical, strategic, and detail-oriented person.” Read on to learn even more about Josh. (Oh, and the next time you see him at a SMC of SLC meeting, feel free to ask about his numerous tattoos! He’s happy to spill the goods.)

*         *         *         *

SMC: First up: please explain the quotes in your name: Josh “Shua” Peters. Inquiring minds wanna know!

JSP: “Shua” is the nickname I’ve gone by for a long, long time. It’s pronounced SH-WA (like the upside down E).

SMC: Cool. Give us the skinny on you as an interesting individual and Utahn.
What were you like as a teen versus five years ago versus today?

JSP: I don’t know if I’m interesting, but I definitely have a story. As a teen I was your average, awkward Wyoming kid in who didn’t know how to talk to girls (Still struggle with that at times!). I was trying to be a good son, but also had a mad desire to be a punk rocker. In college, I transformed into said punk rocker. But I had no musical talent, so I became friends with all the punk bands, dancing on stage and helping with security.

Yet even with sporting a 9-inch Mohawk, I was able to impress my professors with my grades and work ethic enough to nab departmental scholarships every semester.

I moved back to Utah about eight years ago. (I was born and raised here until ninth grade, then my family moved to Wyoming.) Once back, I calmed down the crazy hair somewhat – but then later had no choice because it started falling out. At least I had some good times with it while it was there!

I found myself doing menial jobs, which I hated. One day I decided that complaining wasn’t going to get me anywhere. So I started reading, learning, and returned to school, to create a future for myself. I’m not yet where I’d like to be, but I’m steadily working on getting there. Earlier this year I finished the University of San Francisco’s Master Certificate in Internet Marketing. A future goal: to own a house with a yard!

SMC: You’re obviously a creative guy. How/why did you channel your energy into social media?

JSP: I got started in social media back about three years ago when I was working on a startup called RoyalAnts (a social events calendar platform that isn’t dead; it’s just on the back burner for the moment). I began looking at how we could market the site with a very limited ($0.00) budget. To get up to speed, I started doing a minimum of two hours of research a day. I read everything I could get my hands on, attended webinars, and created guidelines around each platform I encountered.

At one point, about two years ago, I spent over 16 hours a day – for several weeks straight – immersing myself in social media. I blew through all the vacation time at my day job just so I could grasp the concepts I was seeing. Soon I began offering advice to friends, and advising on and auditing company plans. I nabbed my first big client earlier this year.

SMC: On your “shuaism” blog (pronounced SH-WA-ISM), you label yourself as a “social media strategist.” How did you earn that title — beyond setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts?

JSP: Well, that’s really all I did … that’s all it takes to be strategist, don’t you know? Just kidding! I now have extensive experience working on social media plans and strategies for companies – from single-owner startups to huge companies such as Symantec.

SMC: So, social media strategist…and now new co-author of the book Twittfaced. Word on the street is that there’s a cool (ironic?) story about how Twitter helped you to get Twittfaced published. Spill!

JSP: Well, my co-author Jacob Morgan and I wrote an e-book about social media, which we released for free on Twitter. Knowledge of the book spread, thanks to some awesome Twitter friends. One day I got an email from a publisher asking if it was ok to share the book with their new authors. I said yes. About an hour later, I got another email saying that the owner of the company loved the e-book and wanted to know if we were interested in writing a full book for publication. That’s the inside scoop on Twittfaced.

SMC: Interesting! But why write a book focused solely on Twitter? Is it your favorite social media tool?

JSP: Actually, only one chapter deals with Twitter. Twittfaced is a guidebook for understanding and maximizing social media in general. But Twitter is pretty much my favorite social media tool.

SMC: Josh, you just ponied up for the SMC of SLC’s 2010 Board – serving as the club’s membership director. What do you see as the club’s chief benefit to members? How do you plan to help grow the membership and the club’s reputation within the greater Salt Lake City business community?

JSP: I think the networking aspect is the biggest benefit of being a part of the Social Media Club of Salt Lake City. It’s a great place to meet people and exchange ideas. I hope to help grow the membership by helping to create and put on killer events.

SMC: That’s inspiring, Josh! Please leave us with a take-away, if you would: Sum up, in just one sentence, why social media blows your mind.

JSP: Social media blows my mind because of how powerful and flexible it is; you can accomplish just about anything online with it.

**Find Josh here:
Shuaism
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn

Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt is a freelance writer, editor, and social media trainer/marketer. Catch her online at www.Bell-Rehwoldt.com, http://www.facebook.com/SheriBellRehwoldt, and http://www.linkedin.com/in/sbrehwoldt

Social Media Club of Salt Lake City members have yet another tool to stay connected.

This one’s just like Twitter, but it’s specifically for Utahns.

It’s called UtahTalks. It’s a microblogging service assembled by Stay N’ Alive Productions (@jesse).

If you really need to know, it runs on the free Laconica microblogging software.

We encourage all SMC of SLC members to register for an account and contribute to the Utah microblogging community on UtahTalks.

As many of you know, I spent last week in Las Vegas participating in the 2nd Annual Social Media for Communicators conference. On Friday I gave a presentation on the importance of maintaining an online newsroom as a one-stop-shop for the media and a search placement tool.

I’ve got a whole notebook full of notes. Suffice it to say, I was inspired!

There’s so much happening in the social media space it’s difficult to keep up. But I’ve got a few dozen new tips and tricks I plan on trying out, and sharing with SMC of SLC.

Do you Poken?

The first one, which I think is just too cool, is a Poken. It’s a little keychain gadget that stores your social network account information and allows you to connect with others by touching Pokens.

It’s kind of like beaming your contact information between PDAs/mobile phones.

You’ve heard of being poked on Facebook? Now you can look forward to connecting virtually with those you meet in person by exchanging Poken cards. You just touch your Pokens, then when you next plug-in your Poken to your computer, you automatically get connected with your new friend.

This page describes how it works.

The only drawback to Pokens is, because they’re made in Switzerland, it’s a bit tricky to actually get one in your possession. So, I’ve ordered some. They’re on their way.

I’m offering them to any SMC of SLC member. If you want one, just place an order on my website for it and once it arrives, I’ll ship it to you. The cost is $17, which covers the Poken, shipping and credit card processing fees on my end. Just type “Poken” in the invoice number field.

I’ll let you know when what I’ve ordered is sold. If they’re popular, I just may order some more.

April 2 Update

My order is sold.

Stay tuned for the possibility of SMC of SLC placing an additional order and selling the Pokens as a fundraiser.

I recently ran across this great list of examples of social media put to use by companies and organizations, large and small.

The list is from the Interactive Insights Group and it’s titled Social Media Case Studies Superlist – 19 Extensive Lists of Organizations Using Social Media (posted 12/3/08 and updated since then).

This is a great summary of social media in use by many different organizations.