Putting Burlington (BTV) on the (Social Media) Map

This morning I attended the second Burlington Vermont Social Media Breakfast (twitter hashtag #btvsmb) at the Sheraton Hotel. For info on the background of this event and a quick overview, read Rich Nadworny's account at his blog. The speakers for this one where Sarah Evans known as @prsarahevans on Twitter and Jason Kintzler of PitchEngine who is known as @pitchengine on Twitter.

I enjoyed both of their presentations -- Sarah's on general PR and social media, and Jason's on Pitch Engine and the evolution of the Press Release -- because they provided a strong case for why the social media space continues to grow and evolve and why it is NOT a fad.

My main take-aways from today's presentations and breakfast have a little to do with what the presenter's actually presented, but more to do with my impressions of our BTV community when it comes to this thing called Social Media.

> PR and Marketing and Advertising have to work together now in ways they never have before. Ok, so this didn't really come from the audience -- but is a key take away. No longer can it be advertising in one corner, PR in another and Marketing somewhere else. They must work together to craft an integrated communication strategy. Things are moving too fast and your brand is too important to segment these skill sets any longer. @pitchengine talked a bit about Advertising vs. PR as did @prsarahevans and it is clear that PR pros have to consider Adwords and SEO in their pitching strategy and Marketing/Advertising must consider not just the outgoing messages but the incoming messages as well.

> It's NOT ABOUT THE TOOLS! I believe both @prsarahevans and @pitchengine highlighted this fact and I couldn't agree more. The tools keep changing and evolving. It's how the PR pro uses the available tools to leverage their message and connect with their brand influencers that is key. That's the strategy. And each tool should be used differently.

> Burlington, VT is Rock'n the Social Media. Well...kind of.... What I saw today was a group of individuals in the room who are all over the map when it comes to social media -- some are swimming in the deep end and others are standing on the side wondering if they even want to dip a toe in the water. But, what the #btvsmb has done is provided an affordable way for all of these individuals to come together to meet and hear from thought-leaders in the field about how social media is evoloving and how a brand/business can benefit from the use of social media. Did this morning move anyone closer to getting their toes wet? I think it did. The ongoing conversation including the Wednesday evening #iBTV Twitter chat might help too. (Thanks @joemescher for jumping on that!)

> There's a vacuum at the top. So here we are in this room with these two innovators in the social media space and questions focused on moving people in the organization (in other words, the boss/ceo) to be willing to give social media a try. And this, my friends is the challenge. While there were a mix of individuals in the room, many got the fact that they had to at least know what is happening in the space. BUT when they go back to their 9to5 will the boss LISTEN to them? I get this question when I do presentations too -- how do you get the administration to LISTEN and allow you to try the social media, and I certainly experience it in my roll as a prof at Champlain -- and my answer is simple. Keep at it. Be patient. Provide information. But, CEO's if you value your brand and your company perhaps instead of sending your staff to these events you should come too.

Next week EpikOne is hosting another Seminar for Success that will include speakers from Google, Gannett Digital and Core Industries. Part of the event will be at Champlain College and the last day in downtown Burlington. It's another opportunity for our local businesses to learn about strategies and tactics -- and if I know the Epik crew it will be well worth it.

So in two weeks time we have @prsarahevans, @pitchengine, @avinashkaushik, @schutzsmith and Matt Jones all here in Burlington, VT.

How cool is that?