Pinnacle Image Media Group

Use of media in communicating your story

Make friends on Facebook.. but don’t follow them!!!

Anyone who uses social media tools knows there is a lot to learn about them.  I recently found out that mixing social media tools can cause confusion or at least be good for a laugh.  I have been using Twitter for the past 18 months and receive a lot of my news and community information through some of the local people I follow.  I decided it would be good to follow more people in the area so I did a little research on how to find them.  One of the tips that I picked up was that I should send a Tweet stating that “I am looking for people to follow in Knoxville” so that when I follow people, they might look at my account and decide to follow me as well and not wonder why this random person is following them.  Looked like a good idea to me… so I did it.

Only problem… I forgot that my Twitter account automatically sends my Twitter updates to my Facebook page so there on Facebook it says “I am looking for people to follow in Knoxville”.  A friend of mine, Jeff Davis, who seems to find humor in most everything, posted a response on facebook that said, “Umm… Bobby.  Most stalkers are a little more discreet”.   We all had a good laugh but it points out the differences in social media.  Everyone wants followers on Twitter, but friends on Facebook.  Just a reminder that I still have some things to learn about social media and I plan to share a lot of that journey here as we move forward.  Hopefully, my mistakes will just be shortcuts for your journey.

By the way, want to follow me? It’s /pinnacleimage on Twitter and I’ll be sure follow you back (and I promise not to stalk you!!! LOL)

Twitter – What a community

I’ve been using Twitter for about a year and a half. In Knoxville, that meant that I was an “Early Adopter”. One of the first things we used it for was sending updates from football games we were covering. We had been streaming on-demand highlights of high school football games at Grace Christian Academy for 4-5 years.

We ran across Twitter and decided to start sending end of quarter and end of game scores to fans who were not able to make it to the game. It was a great idea and lots of people really appreciated it… once they understood it. It was a real challenge to get people to be interested, then understand how it worked and that it didn’t cost them anything! The turning point came at the last game of the regular season when GCA traveled to Cosby. It was on Halloween night and it rained all day and all the way through the game. Lots of people who wanted to come didn’t make the trip and suddenly became very interested in this thing called Twitter.

While I was on the sidelines shooting video for the highlights we would stream the next day (in the rain), my wife, Joyce was in the stands (in the rain) sending the Twitter updates. Without telling me, she started sending a play-by-play stream of updates. After the game she was excited to tell what she done and I was quite concerned as I am aware of her “limited” knowledge of football. I could just imagine all the messages that mentioned “home runs”, “three point plays” or who knows what! Fortunately, she had sat beside a player’s father who told her what to say and we actually had a great stream of updates.

Tonight I realize how far Twitter and Social Media has come. While working on a website design for one of our clients, I was able to keep up with the President’s State of the Union address without watching it. My Twitter feed was filled with facts and opinions both during and after the speech from an assortment of media outlets, friends and other folks I follow. It was really like a nationwide “chat room” that had a lot of participants and you could instantly see people’s reaction without waiting for the media to interview “regular” people like me to get their opinion and put it on the morning news. The feedback/opinions were instant and was only filtered by my choice of people to follow.

Tonight’s activity really opened my eyes to how far social media has come in our society. It’s moved way past just geeky people like me. It’s made realize that I have to quit thinking about “implementing a better social media strategy” and actually do it. Twitter, Facebook, blog, Web 2.0… The market/society has really jumped on this social media thing… even in Knoxville… and we’re going to get fully on board. How about you?

Save your memories

Memories are a very special part of our lives and old pictures and videos are great reminders of those special times. And, faded photos can sometimes be special as they have aged along with the memory. But when old videos fade, it’s not good.

VHS tapes which many of us used when our kids were growing up are well known to deteriorate over time. After just a few years, even tapes that are stored in dark, cool places can start to show signs of deterioration by looking graining, having faded out places and color errors. While transferring to DVD will not restore what is already lost, it will prevent further loss for years to come.

We just finished a project for a lady who had some footage of a tribute honoring her husband for his Christian business ethic and involvement in starting a foundation to help other business people. It was shot several years ago and already the image is fading but is still viewable. We transferred the footage to DVDs and she is planning to give one to each of her children as a “very special” Christmas present.

Transferring your VHS tapes to DVD now can not only preserve your “video memories” for years to come but can make new memories this year as the perfect Christmas present for family and friends.

Social Media for Business???

Wondering if social media will work for business? Will it work for your business? Nashville publisher Michael Hyatt recently twittered a link to socialnomics.com which has a great video showing the positive results of using social media by businesses. Check it out Michael’s blog here: http://michaelhyatt.com/2009/12/social-media-roi-socialnomics.html (by the way you should follow him on Twitter /michaelhyatt and follow his blog – very informative!) or at this direct link: http://socialnomics.net/

And keep checking back here as we point you toward more great social media ideas and resources. And, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/pinnacleimage or check out our blog at www.pinnacleimage.com/blog

Social Media – 101

Got questions about Social Media?  It can really be overwhelming.  A properly executed on-line strategy can yield great results, but it takes the right strategy with a huge range of social media options.  Just the number of online tools today is huge including: an education-based website/blog, a good SEO strategy, podcasts, images with tags and descriptions, customer testimonials, Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, fan pages, YouTube and the list seems to go on and on. 

Well, if you need a great resource for getting started, check John Jantsch’s outstanding article on “Social Media: Getting Started”.  You can read it here:  http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/social-media-getting-started-john-jantsch

He offers a great overview of many social media tools and ideas of how to use them and where they fit into a marketing mix.  Check it out today!

Frontdoor.com/Scripps project now available for viewing

Frontdoor.com, a Scripps Networks website focused on real estate, recently made available 3 videos about Knoxville which we were pleased to produce.  The videos are used to present a view of the area to people across the country who may be considering a move to Knoxville. The city guides at frontdoor.com provide extensive  information about the neighborhoods and amenities that make a city unique.  In addition to the videos, you will find photos, maps, home searches and listings.

The “Overview” video included interviews with residents and vendors talking about their favorite things about Knoxville. The size of the city (big enough.. but not too big), a hometown feel and the proximity to the Smoky Mountains seemed to be consistent themes with the people we interviewed.  The amenities and opportunities in downtown Knoxville were popular topics as well.The “Best Of” video includes several different venues and activities that are considered to be some of the best things that Knoxville offers.  The Art Market on Gay Street, the Farmer’s Market, the Smoky Mountains, World’s Fair Park, Volunteer Landing and the Chop House were included as things that were unique to the city or make living in Knoxville special. Of course, there are many more great things about Knoxville than we were able to include in this short video (especially lots of restaurants).

The “Neighborhoods” video took a look at neighborhoods from Fountain City to Farragut and Choto to Sequoyah Hills. The wide variety of home styles and price ranges were featured. 

Producing these videos were a lot of fun and we learned a lot.  Especially, in downtown Knoxville.  We have walked or driven by many of the shops downtown hundreds of times and never knew what was waiting behind the storefront.  We were surprised at the wide variety of merchandise available in these stores and impressed with the friendly people who worked there. Stopping in the Mast General Store and catching a 5 person band performing at the back of the store was a real treat. Of course, sampling the food on display behind the store on the “Promenade” walkway was lots of fun too even though it was really cold outside that day. And, attending the Blue Plate Special at radio station WDVX is always enjoyable.  It is one of the few (or only) radio shows in America that features live performances by mostly local artists. If you’ve never been there… go soon!

Probably the hardest part of the production was deciding what we couldn’t include. 

If you want to check out the videos, go to http://www.frontdoor.com, Click on Explore Cities at the top of the page, choose Knoxville, TN, then look for the videos on the right side of the page. 

Or, click here: http://www.frontdoor.com/city-guide/Knoxville-TN-USA