Research shows links, not conversation, lead to high Twitter follower counts

According to research by Dan Zarella – a social media scientist at Hubspot – engaging in thoughtful conversation with your followers on Twitter does NOT result in more people following you. (For more on Zarella’s research, click here) For many, myself included, this is somewhat earth-shattering information. For years now, we’ve been preaching a strategy of “engage, engage, engage and social media success will be yours!” Were we all wrong? Does consistent conversation not help, but actually damage your overall social media value? Not necessarily. I believe there is a fatal flaw in reaching that conclusion from Zarella’s research (especially from a fundraising standpoint).

In a related post about his link/follower/reply ratio data, Zarella says…

“If you are a marketer, there is no point in pursuing a twitter strategy that doesn’t include getting as many followers as possible.”

No point in pursuing a strategy that doesn’t lead to the highest follower count possible? So 5,000 people who don’t even remember they’re following you is better than 500 who talk about you on a weekly basis to their friends and family? If that’s the case, there are plenty of snake-oil salesmen who’d be happy to help you reach your goal of attracting “10,000 followers in one week!”

Make no mistake, providing quality content is an essential tactic to any successful social media strategy. I would surmise that’s the best takeaway from Zarella’s numbers. It is, after all, solid data and that’s something that should never be ignored or carelessly discarded. But we’re not talking about an “either/or” scenario with social media. Do both. Provide quality content via links and then talk about those links in meaningful conversations with the followers who engage you. High follower counts are something we all want, but the quality and influence of each follower is something that can’t be ignored. Those quality relationships are the ones which will be most impactful in helping you and your organization achieve its goals via social media.

For more on how a strategy of engagement leads to increased giving, please read this previous post that includes a Q and A from Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

Black Bean Burgers (Whole Foods Recipe)

Grill season is back! If you're looking for a tasty treat to please every member of your patio party - veggies included - I recommend the Whole Foods online recipe for Black Bean Burgers.



In addition to the ingredients listed in the recipe, add one chopped jalapeño and a TON of hot sauce (Tasbasco, Frank's, etc) to the mix before you form the burger patties. Don't go light on the hot sauce. I can't give you an exact measurement, but copious is the best way to describe the amount I added and it wasn't too much.

Bon appétit!

How to Produce Simple, Quick Video for YouTube

Do you have a Flip camera? How about a cell phone? It doesn't take much to produce simple, high quality video these days IF you know the basics of videography. The following video has some tips to get beginners started in the right direction.

Making YouTube Video Work

A recent video Warehouse Media produced is having a solid first 24 hours on YouTube - 340 views after day one. As is often the case with successful YouTube videos, the strong early view count was no accident. Yes, cats on keyboards and crazy dance moves can make for amazingly popular YouTube videos, but relying on a cute video leading to viral success is to YouTube strategies what relying on the lottery is to investment strategies. This video is working, because of a well-thought out team approach that included excellent work from Kelly Sayre (@SportKelly) and Ryan Ott (@IamMNnice).

Kelly works with the St. Cloud Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and wanted a couple YouTube videos that would promote everything there is to do in Central Minnesota. She worked with Warehouse Media to produce the videos and together (Kelly, Ryan and myself) worked out a strategy to get those videos watched. Here are the key components...

Involve people in the video who will help get it seen

• The woman interviewed for the cross-country skiing section will be sending the link to her friends and members of her ski club
• Those who had venues featured and contributed media (photographs) shared the video with friends

Work with your friends

• Local radio station WJON had a strong existing relationship with Kelly. As a result, the station posted the video on their website.
• WJON also allowed us access to their sound-proof booth for recording the audio (thanks!)

Help those who help you

• As part of the total package, Warehouse Media provided a half-day video training session to the St. Cloud CVB. Kelly invited friends and colleagues as a way to say "thank you" for their help throughout the year and with the video.

The video below is the finished product. Hopefully, the strong early showing is just a start. Either way, it serves as a great example of how YouTube is one of the most "social" sites of them all ...and is a reminder of what it takes to have success in the medium (other than being extremely lucky:)

Skiing Blackcomb Mountain

Took out the Flip™ cam and grabbed some video on top of Blackcomb Mountain on a recent trip to Whistler. Which got me wondering ...would a ski hill be willing to trade a free trip for some significantly-reduced (or free) video work? (Much higher quality than what is shown below, of course).

If you are a ski hill and want to add some video to your marketing, click here. If you just like looking at pretty footage from on top of a mountain, check out the video below!

The Arizona Massacre

Blame for this shooting doesn't rest solely on one extremist's PAC. It goes to all those who make a living on dividing Americans by making us fear and hate each other. This shooting is the result of a mentality that says we shouldn't tolerate those with different political views than our own. That is wrong and it has to change.

For a sadly ironic story that says so much about where we are as a country at the moment, click here.

Gophers v. Hawkeyes, 11//27/10 at TCF Bank Stadium

All's well that ends well.

That couldn't be more true for the 2010 Golden Gopher football squad. Interim Coach Jeff Horton's 2-3 record may not be impressive at first glance, but consider the teams the Gophers played in that five-game stretch.

• A home loss to a Penn State team that is well-coached and on its way to a bowl game after wrapping up a 7-5 season
• Another home loss to Ohio State - A top 10 team that will likely be playing in a BCS bowl game
• A road loss at Michigan State - Another top 10 team that would have been the Big 10 champion if it were decided on the field and not in the BCS
• A come-from-behind road win against bowl-eligible Illinois
• A win against a ranked Iowa team, in a trophy game, that might qualify as the most exciting, satisfying Gopher victory since Mason beat Michigan

According to the experts, Horton will not be considered for the head coaching job. Knowing that, I think I join a large number of the Gopher Nation who'd like to thank him for the job he did taking a broken season and making it interesting and a lot of fun to watch down the stretch. Let's hope this late-season success propels the Golden Gophers into the next era of winning football at the U!

Dayton v. Emmer Recount

To celebrate the recount for the Minnesota gubernatorial election, I present to you, the greatest moment all-time in Minnesota election recount history...



Special thanks to Jed Hirschfeld for reminding me of this ballot from the Coleman v. Franken recount.

What the Vikings Should Be Thinking

The more I think about it, T Jack could easily give the Vikes a 2-1 record in the next three games (Lose to the Pats, win at home against Arizona and on the road at Chicago) By then, Brett's healthy enough to beat the Packers at home and the Vikes are 5-5 and (probably) in a tie for first at that point.



There. Problem solved. No need to lose any more sleep or productivity. Skol.

Minneapolis and Saint Paul at Sunset and Sunrise

Work on the Riverside Plaza video communications plan is underway! Earlier this week, I made my way to the top of the tallest building in the apartment complex. From 40 floors up, downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul are even more beautiful than they look from ground level...

Here's looking east toward downtown Saint Paul at sunrise...

The sun going down over Minneapolis...

Riverside Plaza: Rebuilding Minneapolis History

It's a city within a city. More than 5,000 residents living in high rises on a space about the size of Target Field. It's a place with history - this winter it could be added to the state's historic register - and also a place with nearly 10,000 Facebook fans. If you've ever lived in Minneapolis, you know that place; perhaps by its not-so-flattering name, but for those who live there it's Riverside Plaza.

Riverside is back in the news and that's a good thing. Check out this FOX 9 report for part of the story:

Now here's the rest of the story. To answer Jeff Passolt's question at the end of the above FOX piece, this January the landlords will be starting a two-year renovation project that will rehab every square foot of living space in Riverside, including new plumbing to address the pipes mentioned in the FOX story. The renovation will preserve Riverside's history while once again making it a comfortable home for the people who live there. Warehouse Media is fortunate enough be the firm chosen to produce the video communications associated with the renovation.

The videos will...

• Communicate important renovation-related messages with all of Riverside's residents in several different languages. (Versions will be translated in multiple languages to serve the community's diverse population)
• Explain why the renovation is happening and what needs to be fixed.
• Talk about the history of a complex that has been part of Minneapolis' skyline since the early 1970's.
• Tell stories about life as a resident in Riverside.

The last point is what excites me the most. Perceptions of the people who inhabit this place aren't always positive. Probably because the people with those misconceptions don't know stories like the one where a child who lives in the complex, whose family makes roughly $10,000 a year, led a massive fundraising effort to gather money and supplies for the earthquake victims in Haiti. Those aren't the stories you'll see on 60 Minutes, but they are the stories we'll be telling on Riverside's soon-to-be-developed YouTube channel.

So stay tuned...

Warehouse Media Expands

While I've talked personally to many of you about this, my career path has taken an unexpected, but (so far) rewarding turn - I am now 100 percent self-employed. Yep, Warehouse Media is no longer just a silly Twitter handle ...it's also the silly name of my company!

In short, I create high-quality video content for organizations to use on their blogs, websites, Facebook pages ...basically, I give you something to show people online. Which is important, because Google loves nothing more than YouTube videos (SEO). For more, check out my short video explanation of Warehouse Media:



So if you know anyone who wants to get noticed using video, please send them my way! Justinwarebco at gmail dot com.

Minneapolis Recycling - Sort it ...sometimes

Recycling is beyond important. The amount of glass, plastic, metal and paper that would otherwise end up in landfills is evident every time you drive through one of Minneapolis' many alleys on that area's recycling collection date. So, it would stand to reason that the city would make recycling as easy as possible for its residents. After all, plenty of other midwestern cities have adopted commingled recycling (where the city does the sorting for you) ...so why not Minneapolis? Well, here's the explanation from the city:

Sorted recycling generates the biggest revenue. Revenue from recycling provides money for:

-Large item pickup
-The voucher program
-Clean City programs
-Ongoing operating costs

If the City of Minneapolis used single-stream recycling (all recycling in one bin, as some areas do), the higher cost of processing these materials would result in lower revenue, and possible cuts in other waste services.

OK, that makes sense. I really do appreciate being able to leave large items out and have the city take them, at no extra cost. Which leaves me with just one question ...if all recycling needs to be sorted by individuals, then where does the trash from the commingled recycling in city parks go? In those blue cans, conveniently placed all over heavily used public areas, we discard all of our recyclable waste all in one intermixed container. Is that recycling sorted by hand? ...or does the city have a machine for that?

This is not a complaint, just an honest question. If anybody knows the answer, please share! Ultimately, I'd like to see recycling made as easy as possible for everyone.

Offshore Wind Potential

Coastline touches more than half the United States and off those coastlines exists massive energy potential. Oil? Nope. Wind is the energy source and there is enough of it to power the entire country with energy to spare. In the video below, fast forward to the 4:46 mark for more on the power potential off-shore wind has to offer (or watch the whole video ...it's worth six minutes of your time!):

(Video courtesy of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory or "NREL")



A lot of Federal money goes into subsidizing the current form of energy pouring in off our coastlines - and recently, onto our coastlines thanks to BP's colossal, on-going spill. Let's push our lawmakers to start redirecting those subsidies toward clean forms of energy, like the offshore wind turbines described in the above video. It's the only guaranteed way to prevent another oil spill like the current disaster taking place in the Gulf of Mexico.

Behind the "B16 Ten" Logo

The Big 16 appears to be over before it happened, which is a shame for an alum from the University of Iowa.

On June 11th, with Nebraska joining the Big 10 and seemingly assuring the destruction of the Big 12, many members of the sports world theorized the Big 10 would be adding as many as 5 teams, making it a 16-team league. Had that happened, the conference would be in need of a new logo. And within the day, a graduate student from the University of Iowa produced the image you see embedded in this column. His name is Chiraag (he asked that I don't use his last name) and he cobbled the could-be logo "just for fun."

"I thought I had an idea that worked for the Big Ten if they did expand to 16 teams ... and wanted to share it," said Chiraag. "I've been pleasantly surprised with all the support and compliments I have seen on many different online forums. Graphic design has always been a hobby of mine, and as a graduate of a Big Ten school (University of Iowa), this was a natural interest of mine."

Chiraag has not been in contact with anyone from the Big 10. If Nebraska is the only addition, it's likely he won't ever hear anything from the conference. However, should Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Missouri or any other combination of four teams end up joining the ranks, will Chiraag's hobby turn into a lucrative business brought about by the instant, info-sharing nature of the Internet? It'd almost be worth adding four teams to find out, wouldn't it?

The "Pro-am" Journalist: Is it Safe to Eat?

Here's a quiz for all your bloggers and/or journalists out there: what do many bloggers feel entitled to that would also make most true journalists lose their job? Answer: publicly begging for payola. See exhibit A (the following stream of tweets from one weight-loss blogger)



On one hand, I can understand why this blogger was upset. They were essentially told they'd be getting something in exchange for a blog post advertising GNC products only to have GNC later back out. So what happened? Probably only the folks at GNC know, but since this is my blog, I'd be willing to venture a guess.

The upset blogger claims she wants to "review" GNC's products. Reviews are trusted to be as free from bias as possible - something that gives an accurate appraisal of something to help inform consumers of whether they should buy/eat/wear/travel to something. So, good reviews are obviously something a company likes to see written about their products. But what happens when those reviews or the reviewer is less than credible?

A lot of smart PR and marketing strategists will tell you that, given the savvy of the modern media consumer, the last thing you want is to have reviews look unauthentic. Some strategists would even suggest planting a poor review amongst a sea of positive reviews just to make those positive reviews appear more credible. So, knowing that those same savvy consumers might notice that this one particular "reviewer" only reviews what she gets for free - and assuming GNC knows that fake reviews can be more detrimental than beneficial - it's quite possible GNC said "thanks, but no thanks. We'll get our good reviews the old-fashioned way - with a solid product." Which led to this...



Of course, the whole thing could just be disorganization on GNC's part, but that's not the point. The point is, this blogger is unwittingly telling everyone that follows them on Twitter "hey, my blog is for sale! These reviews are bought and paid for and, let's face it, are really just more annoying advertising!"

To be fair, journalists are sent fee product for review on a constant basis. That said, the very thought of so publicly complaining about not getting free merchandise in exchange for a review would be abhorrent to any properly-trained journalist. And that's just it - the vast majority of everything published on line has no legitimate training behind it.

Check out this story from Ad Age on "Pro-am" journalists. If you don't have an account or don't want to log in, here's the paragraph that matters most from that piece. It's a quote from former New York Observer Editor Peter Kaplan:

"The relationship between the reporter and the editor is the one safeguard when it comes to the business of truth telling." In assessing the recent rise of so many content farms (large masses of content gleaned on the cheap from untrained citizen journalists), Mr. Kaplan referenced Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," and perhaps minted a new quote for future observers: "What these sites are producing," he started before a long pause: "You know what it is? It's like sending unchecked meats out to the public."

That's precisely what the angry GNC blogger is providing - unchecked meats that might not be safe to eat. The blogger means well and could have written an honest review. But we don't know. And she represents an ever-growing demographic of "Pro-am" journalists with little or no training and just as much credibility.

None of this post is meant to dissuade anyone from serving as a citizen journalist. Instead, it's meant as a reminder of how important it is to get our information from credible, reliable, cross-checked sources. Our democracy depends on an informed public and that depends on reliable, well-trained journalists - not bloggers who throw temper tantrums every time a bone gets pulled from their teeth.

LOST

It took a solid 12 hours for my LOST-induced state of zen to wear off. The euphoria of the grand finale episode remained strong as I lay in bed watching the Jimmy Kimmel post-LOST wrap up; through a good, but short night's sleep; as I fought morning rush-hour traffic on 494 through Bloomington; it even stayed intact through the weekly round of morning meetings once I got to work. Clearly this was a powerful television experience.

SPOILER ALERT! If you keep reading, make sure you've seen the finale.

The episode more than delivered on the questions I needed answered. Mainly, what was really going on in both the island and sideways worlds - what was real and what wasn't and if something wasn't real, than what was the purpose of that fictional realm? Turns out (I think) the island was a real place where the survivors really did survive. But these are just details to add substance to the story. What was the show really about?

There are a LOT of people who want to say it was all about religion. LOST certainly had heavy religious themes. After all, the series closed with everyone presumably transitioning into some sort of heaven-esque after life. That said, while religion had a major role to play in the storytelling of LOST, saying the show was all about the truth or existence of religion or faith is still too simple. Much like the island and ancient philosophy, religion was another detail used to tell the story.

LOST was driven by the stories of the show's characters and every one of those characters was flawed. Kate was a murderer, Sawyer a con man. Locke and Jack had daddy issues like no other, as did Hurley who also believed he was cursed. Then there was Benjamin Linus, who many have called the greatest TV villain of all time. Every one of them found redemption. Even Ben - who we all finally learned to trust thanks to his poignant apology to Locke before Locke entered the church - turned out to be a good man and Hurley's island-guardian sidekick for who knows how many hundreds of years.

The main message and on-going theme of LOST was that through all the potential to be evil, there is good at the core of all human beings. For all the bad deeds done by the cast of characters, there was redemption available by doing something good of equal or greater magnitude.

That's a message that makes ya feel good - and it's why much like myself, so many millions of Americans went to bed with a inexplicable feeling of zen following the conclusion of what might be the greatest TV show of a generation.

Extremely Random Facebook Photo Musing

The best thing about Facebook are the pictures that users don't necessarily choose, but are often the first photographic representations of a person on their profile. You know, that first round of pics titled "Photos of You" when you're looking at your own profile?

Every other album is what the user chooses. Of course, a user can untag themselves and remove a photo from their "Photos of You" album, but that's being a little disingenuous with your friends, don't you think? "Photos of You" is sort of the "this is who I really am, without a filter" album. If you find yourself constantly removing images from this album, what does that say about your comfort level with yourself?

Since this is turning into a preachy post, I'll put my money where my mouth is and show you that, despite the potential embarrassment, I'm happy to allow some of my less photogenic moments to stay tagged. Is this a flattering picture I would choose to post on my own? Probably not. Was it a good rendition of "Born to Run"? Absolutely not. Is the arms-raised image of Robert Plant in the background awesome enough to save the photo? Without a doubt. In the end, I'm clearly having a great time, dressed up in yellow face as Simpsons character Kent Brockman during a good friend's 30th birthday party. If that doesn't give you a free pass to do a terrible karaoke rendition of a Springsteen song, then I don't know what does. I'm more than cool with people seeing this side of me. If I'm not, then I shouldn't engage in behavior that leads to such a picture being taken.

If you like the person you see through another person's lens (literally) then you're probably in decent shape overall. If you often feel the urge to "untag" yourself, perhaps you should take a closer look at the actions depicted in the photo instead of untagging and hoping the unflattering image goes quietly back into the Internet ether from which it came. Just sayin'...

The Blogger - Tomorrow's Don Shelby?

Personality is an important thing when it comes to catching someone's attention. Make them laugh or cry, scared, awestruck or just generally impressed, a person with personality is usually able to command another person's attention better than someone lacking charisma. So it stands to reason that one quality you'd find in a journalist is a good, approachable personality.

For decades in TV news, that personality belonged to an anchor. If you look at the golden years of local news in Minnesota circa the '80's, you'd find KARE-11's Paul Magers duking it out with the about-to-depart Don Shelby from WCCO - both great news guys who knew how to command a viewer's attention with that oh-so-cool balance of stern sincerity that was broken occasionally, and always at just the right moment, with a little down-home humor. That was the media world of yesteryear.

In today's media world, it's not enough for a reporter to be polished. Today, there has to be a genuine connection between that reporter and his or her audience. There has to be give and take. Reporters have to listen to feedback (good and bad) and react to it appropriately. They have to write an occasional blog post that offers more to a story - or perhaps why they chose to tell a story in a certain way. They have to use all the new media tools available and facilitate on-going conversations with news consumers. Last but not least, they have to use that new media to show viewers, listeners and readers their personality. Reporters have to connect with news consumers and show them why they should be trusted with getting the facts right and giving them sound information to base decisions upon.

So is the blogger the new anchor? Maybe. More likely though, is that a good blog is just a solid tool in the arsenal of the modern reporter. A way to not only add to and clarify a story, but also an opportunity to add a little aweshuckedness and levity to what is (and should be) a serious topic - good journalism.

...

Want some examples? It's not all about personality alone. Check out this story from Mashable for examples of how a few journalists have used Twitter and Facebook to advance the quality and timeliness of their work.

Tough Times Disappear at Target Field

On a recent Saturday night, my wife and I enjoyed a nice dinner with my parents, headed home and starting kicking around a few ideas for how we'd spend the next five or six beautiful hours of freedom that only a Saturday night can offer. After crossing a few things off the list and realizing there would probably be some easy-to-get, inexpensive tickets to the Twins v. Orioles game at Target Field, (rain postponed the game from the night before) we decided to jump on the train and head out to the ballpark.

For $10 a piece, we got seats worth $12 (not huge, but it's always fun to get a deal, right?). From there, we grabbed a couple beers and headed to our seats which were tucked neatly into the right field corner. Like so many spaces in this beautiful park, these seats were dripping with character - bleachers that offered a nice view of the action in a party-like atmosphere.

We arrived late, but the game was a good one (1-0 Twins in the top of the 4th inning). The temperature was not what most people would consider baseball weather with a game time reading of about 45 degrees, but the sky was clear, the grass was green and the gloves kept our fingers protected from the icy cold emanating from the beer cups in our hands.

About an inning into our night, my wife got a text from her brother saying he was just a few sections over. We grabbed our beer and headed to their section, watching the game the entire time thanks to Target Field's open concourses that offer numerous sweeping views of the action. As we walked, met up with and talked to my brother in law, we couldn't help but notice some of the other things that make this park so sweet.

There are the countless meeting areas where you can chat with friends and still catch a big play with a quick glance every time the crowd erupts. There are the outfield seats that seem impossibly close to the action (seriously, it feels like you're sitting on Cuddyer's shoulders in the right field sections). There's the State Fair food on a stick in the concession area behind those seats. There are the sections of stadium that were actually built over existing freeways - something that isn't noticeable from inside the stadium, but is surprisingly apparent when you walk around it. The undercover roadways are the result of trying to squeeze a major league ballpark into a tiny, 8-acre parking lot. When the plans for this park were being drawn up, architects and organizers were criticized for trying to squish a stadium into such a small space. Now that it's open, the limitations caused by the size of the land seem to be more benefit than detriment. Because of the lack of space, architects were forced to get creative and the end result is one of the warmest, coziest, most unique environments I've experienced in pro or college sports (that includes more than a dozen arenas, stadiums and ballparks).

And then there's the view.

Yes, this view that gave us an incredible rainbow after a short, early May rain shower.

All the bells and whistles are what you'd expect with a new ballpark - the character and coziness is beyond what you'd expect - but that's not what makes the Twins' new home so special. With everything that's gone wrong with the world lately, Target Field is a place where we can all take a break from reality and focus on something that we got right.

A lot of us have lost or are losing jobs; we've been fighting viciously over things like health care and none of us trust the leaders we've elected to clear up those debates; we've seen businesses leave or collapse and well-known business leaders crumble into piles of corruption; we're tired of being at war and being perpetually reminded of terrorism - but for a few hours at the ballpark on a Saturday night, we can forget about those things and sit back with awe-struck smiles on our faces as we take in Minnesota's new meeting place. A ballpark to watch our constantly-overachieving, small-market baseball team play ball against the beautiful backdrop of the downtown Minneapolis night sky.

Target Field wasn't free. As a Hennepin county resident, I pay the sales tax increase nearly every day. But it's hard to quantify and put a price on the feeling of community generated by the new ballpark. At a time when we need it the most, Target Field makes us feel good, if only for a few hours at a time. To me, that makes every penny spent well worth it.