L&S Unscripted

L&S has hired two new talented marketers – one in its Deadwood office and another in Sioux Falls.

Anne Dickman joins L&S as a social media specialist in Deadwood. Anne has previous experience in sales and web marketing for SaltWorks in Woodinville, WA and in finance, HR and marketing for the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Avon, CO.

Anne is originally from Le Mars, IA and earned her bachelor’s degree from Black Hills State University. She’s excited about returning to the area and working at L&S where she’ll assist clients with social media, SEO and other web initiatives. Offline, Anne loves the outdoors – she’s recently taken up fly fishing in addition to hiking, skiing and camping.

Minh Lee Goon joins the L&S web team in Sioux Falls. Minh Lee is originally from Malaysia and moved to South Dakota in 1995 where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at SDSU.

Minh Lee stayed at SDSU after graduation where he worked as the university’s web administrator until 2007, when he was hired as a web developer for VeraSun Energy. At L&S, Minh Lee will help manage and execute web programming for client websites and digital applications. He and his wife Theresa live in Sioux Falls where they are currently breaking in a new swing set with their two daughters, Audrey and Eliza.

In week six:

- Melody Morton rides the power of “7″ to victory

- We have a first-time pedometer champion

- Jeff Hanson is regaining form

The details are brought to you by this week’s sponsor, The China Buffet.

In the weight loss contest Morton “Orange Crushed” the field with a wicked 2.69% loss this week. Melody, who shares a last name with former Denver Bronco quarterback Craig Morton (jersey #7), was dragged to greatness by her 7-month-old golden retriever puppy, Elway, who was named after another former Bronco QB who also wore jersey #7.  So just like John Elway couldn’t win a Super Bowl until his team finally acquired a great running back, the running game powered Melody to victory.

The closest followers were Kevin Phipps (1.86%) and Michelle Adrian (1.11%).  This week’s grand total of 11 pounds lost was 2.5 more than last week.

The contestants still in the “Judge’s Club” by avoiding posting weight gains in any week are: Julie Flannery Allen, Korena Keyes, Nikki Gronli, Billie Jo Waara, Derek Soukup, Hanson, Scott Lawrence and The Judge.

Jeremy Peters earned this week’s pedometer championship and broke the century mark for the second week in a row with 102,466 steps.

Nipping closely at Peters’ heels were fellow centurions Morton and Elway with 100,956 steps. This week’s members of the 10,000-steps-per-day club were John Pohlman (97,850), Jeff Hanson (90,976), The Judge (80,320) and Sarah Rindels (76,434).

Total steps this week were down 10,000 to 836,009.   

The China Buffet watch for week 7:  Will Morton’s lucky number power her to victory again? Can Peters hold off the relentless steppers for a repeat? Will Gump return to pre-surgery form?

Reset your pedometers and let the week 7 contest begin.

-The Judge

In week five:

- John Pohlman “Steels” the weight-loss award

- Melody Morton gallops (Broncos reference) to the pedometer award

- Jeff Hanson misses the weigh-in

The details are brought to you by this week’s sponsor, Carnaval Brazilian Grill.

In the weight loss contest Pohlman was heard humming “The Steelers Victory March” as he stepped on the scale. After last week’s Super Bowl diet setback he annihilated the field with a gaudy 2.31% loss this week. The closest followers were The Judge at 1.39%, Derek Soukup at 1.26% and Courtney Lotzer at 1.05%.  This week’s grand total of 8.5 pounds lost paled in comparison to last week’s 22.5 pounds. Obviously we missed Hanson’s contribution.

The contestants still in the “Judge’s Club” by avoiding posting weight gains in any week are: Julie Flannery Allen, Korena Keyes, Molly Daniel, Nikki Gronli, Billie Jo Waara, Derek Soukup, Hanson, Jeremy Peters, Scott Lawrence and The Judge.

Morton earned this week’s pedometer championship by breaking the century mark with 112,596 steps. The accomplishment left her wondering how in the heck Hanson hit nearly 142,000 last week.

Morton was most closely followed by fellow centurion Jeremy Peters (100,517), Pohlman (91,981), The Judge (82,871), Kristy Anderson (82,608) and Sarah Rindels (81,631).

Total steps this week were down about what Hanson usually contributes to 847,407.  

The Carnaval Brazilian Grill watch is on The Floating Brain this next week. How strong will he be able to come back?

Reset your pedometers and let the week six contest begin.

-The Judge

In week four Jeff Hanson:

- repeats his double win from last week

- pockets the prize cash he left riding on the table

- smashes the pedometer record

- earns a new nickname (of respect) at the Sanford Wellness Center

The details are brought to you by this week’s sponsor, Doritos.

In the weight loss contest Hanson dropped another 4.5 pounds (2.34%). The closest followers were Courtney Lotzer at 2.05% and Sara Rindels at 2.01%. Mark Henderson (1.75%), Nikki Gronli (1.53%) and Laura Mitchell (1.51%) posted strong performances as well.  This week’s grand total of 22.5 pounds lost matched last week’s  total.

 As we near the halfway mark of the contest half of the contestants are still in the “Judge’s Club” by avoiding posting weight gains in any week. They are: Julie Flannery Allen, Korena Keyes, Molly Daniel, Gronli, Billie Jo Waara, Derek Soukup, Kevin Phipps, Sheila Rogers, Hanson, Jeremy Peters, Scott Lawrence and The Judge. Only Hanson and The Judge have maintained Judge’s Club “Emeritus” status by weighing in and recording a loss every week.

Hanson earned this week’s pedometer championship by melting the indoor track at the Sanford Wellness Center where a group of teenage boys were overheard saying, “Is that freaking Forrest Gump?!” as they observed The Floating Brain’s workout regimen. Hanson posted a gaudy 141,920 steps for the week.

Several contestants attempted serious charges toward dethroning Hanson. Michelle Adrian(102,313) became the only other to surpass 100,000 steps in a week. Melody Morton nipped at her heels with 99,262. Other members of the 10,000 steps-per-day club were: Jeremy Peters (83,135), Sarah Rindels (79,019), Kristy Anderson (76,544), The Judge (75,629),  Krista Noren (71,642) and John Pohlman (74,597).

Total steps this week were 985,433 compared to 902,972 last week.

The Doritos Crystal Ball predicts a new pedometer champion will be crowned next week as Floating Brain/Gump goes under the knife on Friday. Reset your pedometers and let the week five contest begin.

-The Judge

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:07 — 2.0MB)

There’s nothing funny about drunk driving. But who says campaigns to curb the dangerous behavior have to play it straight?

Lawrence & Schiller recently launched the Act Civilized campaign for the South Dakota Department of Public Safety. Writer Kristy Andersen joins The Extra Minute to discuss the story behind the campaign.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:37 — 1.8MB)

Talk about mobile marketing and most people will picture text messaging or web browsers on smart phones. But for the South Dakota Office of Tourism it has another, very literal meaning.

Full-size, semi-tractor trailers have been wrapped with South Dakota images. Now the rolling billboards are traveling from coast-to-coast raising awareness of the Mount Rushmore State.

Here is the story behind this unique form of outdoor advertising.

So you have started to monitor to the conversations and social activity after Week Three of our Social Media  Bootcamp, and you have an idea of what conversations are happening, where people are postings, and what the tone of the conversations are.

But like everyone else, you’re looking direction about how to engage and become part of a digital community’s conversation in an effective and acceptable manner that can help your business without alienating the passionate members of the community you’re trying to reach.

What is a digital community -   a communication system of social networks whose participants share a common interest, idea, task or goal that interact in a virtual society across time, geographical and organizational boundaries and where they are able to develop personal relationships.

Growth cycle of a digital community:  Tend to grow slowly at first – people are more motivated to provide content and contribute as the size of the community grows.  As potential audience increases, so does attraction of writing and contribution. 

Who are the citizens that make up a digital community?

• Peripheral  (lurker) – observes.  An outside, unstructured participant. Usually visits community in response to the prompting of others.
• Inbound (novice) – newcomer, just beginning to engage in community.  Starts to provide content.  Tentatively interacts in a few discussions.
• Insider (regular) – fully committed participant; consistently ads to the community discussion and content. Interacts with other users.
• Boundary (leader) – Recognized as a veteran participant.  Connects with regulars to make higher concepts into ideas. The community grants their opinion greater consideration. 
• Outbound (elder) – Leave the community due to new relationships, new positions, new outlooks; community may have moved in direction they don’t agree with. 

 Why you and your company should be engaging with Digital Communities:

1. Education

• Get the inside scoop – be the first to know what is going on
• Ask and answer questions – participate in the conversation
• Stay up to date on your industry trends

2. Networking

• Meet like-minded people
• New hires/staff
• Business opportunities

3. Public relations

• Know what people are saying about and how reacting to your brand
• Respond to press quickly
• Plant a story/lead
• Influence public opinion

4. Fundraising/Philanthropy  

• Tie into a cause – ask to join
• Special offers for those that participate – Incentives

5. Brand Awareness

• Around events and sales
• Reviews, ratings
• Tell your story

6. ROI

• Can track web traffic, click-throughs, RRS subscriptions, offer redemptions, digital mentions/conversations, downloads, customer surveys, subscribers, referrals, links

Although many high school and college students are graduating this month, one L&Ser is, too.

Account Executive Natalie Eisenberg just graduated from Leadership Sioux Falls, a program designed to meet the community’s need for active participation of informed and dedicated community leaders.

Throughout the year-long program, Natalie learned about topics, issues and challenges important to the city and its development over the last 50 years. She visited the Sioux Falls county jail and work release facility (no orange jumpsuit required) and even heard from an undercover drug detective. In other sessions, Nat and her classmates learned about personality profiling and leadership styles, listened to area leaders in business, politics and non-profit organizations and heard about the importance of LEED certified building at one of the city’s greenest structures, Cherapa Place.

Leadership Sioux Falls is one of more than 1,000 community leadership programs in the United States. Each year, its curriculum is developed with the idea of creating an integrated, total experience for participants. The topics change as the issues, challenges and opportunities of the community change. However, all sessions are designed to be interactive and thought provoking.

We’re proud to have a recent grad in Natalie. Hats off!

We’re pleased to announce an expansion of Kevin VanWesten’s responsibilities as Director of Production at L&S. In addition to his oversight of our art production staff and technology, Kevin will also be helping lead agency-wide technology initiatives and development as well as working to build our production capacity across disciplines. He’ll be collaborating with team members throughout the agency to identify and implement hardware and software solutions that will help us take advantage of new opportunities and increased efficiency.

Social media expert, Jeremiah Owyang, provides a glimpse into his Forrester Research study on the Future of the Social Web. He interviewed 24 of the top social media application experts across the nation - leaders from Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Looking at the next 4 years, Jeremiah presents five eras of the social web:

Social Relationships (fairly mature) – connect with others online and share information – MySpace, Facebook, Twitter

Social Functionality (current) - social networks become like operating systems allowing you to add applications to social networks and perform activities beyond sharing static information. Multimedia / Multi-platform collaboration. Example: Facebook and LinkedIn. This era is not at all mature, much growth ahead.

Social Colonization – wherever you go online or with your mobile device, your friends can go with you. You can make decisions based on this peer review wherever you go. Also, you’re constantly connected to people.

Social Context – now that we have portable identities in our devices or online, you can exchange parts of your identity for more relevant content. Personalized content, even to the extent of personalized television and multimedia content. Demographic, psychographic, preferences, previous buying behavior and social context (people you know) will affect the kind of content you will have access to. Because you control your identity, registration pages will go away. Lead tracking will be reinvented.

Social Commerce – Communities will work together to define the products/services that they will buy. Product feedback will become part of the product development process. Again, a new level of customization. Brands will bid for their information. Community buying. 

Great perspective – watch the video to hear Jeremiah firsthand.

Some might say there are no rules of conduct within the realms of social media. And they’re right. Hard and fast rules haven’t been adopted.

At the same time expectations of etiquette clearly do exist. 57% of the people attending Week 4 of the Lawrence & Schiller Social Media Boot Camp webinar series say they consider etiquette every time  the post online.  The remaining 43% think about it occasionally.

What are the behaviors to avoid? What things must you do? And what workplace considerations should you take into account? Click on the player below to view the recorded archive of “Social Media Dos and Don’ts”. Or scroll down for a brief recap along with poll results collected during this webinar.

Social Media Don’ts

• Social Media isn’t show & tell. Don’t use it to brag about, or worse yet, exaggerate your experiences and accomplishments.
• Don’t be pushy. No one wants to be spammed or read a post stuffed with keyword phrases or follow as your status is updated every five minutes or be invited to every Facebook group under the sun.
• Don’t be a headcase. Social media can be a place to vent (in moderation) but it isn’t therapy. Not a good place to complain about your boss or swear how much you hate your job.
• Don’t be sinister. Don’t try to hide behind someone else identity and be careful with the party pictures.  Snapshots uploaded after you’ve had too many shots will come back to haunt you.
• Don’t be offensive. “Funny” is subjective. Your sense of humor may not translate well online. Don’t cross the line into offensive. When in doubt, don’t do it.

Social Media Dos

• Do showcase your personality. This is what makes you interesting and fun to follow. Remember there is a difference between showing your personality and giving out too much personal information.
• Do consider limiting the number of groups you join. If you can’t keep up with all of them, it may be time to scale back.
• Do manage your tools. Take advantage of the applications which connect your blog or tweets to Facebook… IF your audiences are similar and the message is appropriate for all destinations. Learn more about Connecting the Dots in week 7 of our webinar series.

Workplace Considerations

• There is no privacy. Especially if you’re using a workplace computer.
• You represent your company online even if you’re posting on your personal account.
• If you work for a publically traded company, your tweets and blog pots can fall under SEC jurisdiction.
• The FTC is proposing guidelines for online marketing.

Bottomline, if you wouldn’t say it in person to your boss, you probably shouldn’t say it online.

In week three the man with the double hernia becomes our first double winner. He celebrates by issuing a challenge to fellow contestants.

The details are brought to you by this week’s sponsor, The Royal Fork.

Jeff Hanson battled through injury and living out of a hotel at the Tourism Conference in Pierre to capture this week’s honors for both highest-percentage-weight-lost and pedometer steps.

In the weight loss contest Hanson dropped 5 pounds or 2.54%. Closely following him was Laura Mitchell at 2.35% and Melody Morton at 2.28%. Congratulations to all three of you for maintaining your program in a un-diet-friendly conference environment. Molly Schenkel (1.98%) and Sheila Rogers (1.65%) posted strong performances as well.

Despite having a number of contestants living on the road this week’s grand total of 22.5 pounds lost doubled last week’s  total.

Hanson earned this week’s pedometer championship by walking around Luverne, MN during his son’s wrestling tournament over the weekend to amass a total of 80,223 steps. The usual suspects were on his heels:  The Judge (75,988), Jeremy Peters (71,701) and John Pohlman (71,012) also surpassed the 10,000 steps per day standard.

Total steps this week were 902,972 compared to 761,404 last week.

The Floating Brain doesn’t want his success to disincentive other contestants. So he has issued a challenge by letting his $42 in prize cash ride until next week. The competition for the double earnings will be steep. One unnamed contestant confidentially reported that he/she is shooting for 100,000 steps and everyone will have to avoid a Super Bowl crash.

Hanson will have plenty of motive to reclaim this week’s earnings as he will go on the injured reserved after next week’s weigh-in. Next Friday Hans will report to the Sanford Surgical Tower for a double surgery: hernia repair and something I’m simply not comfortable discussing or even thinking about.

Reset your pedometers and let the week four contest begin.

-The Judge

With the recent rise of text messaging and other cell phone technology, most are quick to point out its drawbacks. But the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety and L&S are using it in a whole new way that could save lives.

The Office of Highway Safety’s new “Act Civilized” campaign discourages drunk driving in South Dakota and promotes the use of designated drivers to get home safe. To support this effort, the state and L&S have launched a text messaging program that alerts users of sobriety checkpoints coming to their county. In select cities, users can also text in for the numbers of local cab companies.

Not only is the technology resonating with the campaign’s main target audience (males 21-35), but it’s setting a national example for other states. The campaign was recently featured in USA Today for what appears to be a first in discouraging drunk driving. Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, says he’s surveyed all 50 states’ highway safety agencies, and none reported having a program quite like South Dakota’s.

This text messaging campaign is not only a relevant application of modern technology to help with an old problem, but also a big win for every motorist on the road. Read the entire USA Today article here.

You can also sign up for text messages in South Dakota on the “Act Civilized” website.