We’re so excited for our Nov. 9th meeting at KA restaurant. The format for this session is going to be a little different, we’ll be putting our collective energies together to create a social media strategy. You’ll have the chance to work together, moderated by some of Hawaii’s most experienced social media experts.

We have some handouts available for the meeting tomorrow, available for your download. Please bring them with you as you see fit. We think they will energize the brainstorming and provide you with some resources to boot!

See you there!

Tara Coomans

Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media Strategy

Social Media Strategy – Modified from Jay Baer

ABC’s of Facebook Groups vs. Pages

Who Participates Online (using Forrester Categories)

Art of Listening (infographic)

Age Distribution for Social Sites

Here’s the interactive link to Forrester’s Demographic analysis of online users that I mentioned last night at the SMCHI meeting. (click here) (Thanks to everyone who came! It was great to see such great energy!)

UPDATE: Download the PDF here.

Plus Roxanne Darling wrote a review of the SMCHI event over on Bare Feet Blog with many more links.

With over 91 million web pages dedicated to telling the world about social media, we’re pulling in local experts to give us their insights on developing a social media strategy relevant to the Hawaii market.

Many times, the focus is on the technology. Have you heard someone say “How can I use Twitter for my business?” But perhaps our real focus needs to center on understanding the behaviors of our current and aspirational customer relationships. Building a network for them, letting them build the conversation. And what about using social media for recruiting, for tech support, for direct sales as well as for marketing and top level branding? There are numerous ways to approach “social media strategy” for your organization.

This program will offer hands-on, roundtable discussions focused on using social media in various types of business and for various purposes. So whether you are in marketing or HR, are for profit or non-profit, gov or edu, travel or retail, services or B2B, you’ll have an opportunity to explore what tools and tactics can be useful for accomplishing your goals. Attendees will be able to ask questions and incorporate best practices into the evening. We’ll summarize the discussion points and you are guaranteed to leave with specific do’s and don’ts for using social media.

Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Time: Doors open at 5:30 for networking; program runs from 6 – 7 pm.
Location: Ka Restaurant at Ward Center
Fee: This event is free and open to the public. Drinks and food will be available for purchase.

Come see how we use Twitter to manage the information flow at this event for live and virtual attendees, on multiple screens!

• There are several featured speakers (local and mainland experts) with a full day of seminars, luncheon, and exhibits. (Rob Bertholf, Dan Zelikman, Jesse Stay, Nate Riggs, Andy Beal, Simon Fiddian, Eric Baranda, and Roxanne Darling)
• Learn abour social media and search optimization, building communities, tricking out your Facebook page, video tips, cloud computing, and much more!)
• You have a number of options for purchasing a ticket – create a custom agenda for the day or pay just $3 for the Exhibit Hall.
• We recommend getting a full day pass which includes seminars, lunch, and the exhibit hall.
• You can use Discount Code "SMCHI" when registering to save $22 off (exclusively for members of this email list and applicable to the General Admission Ticket)
• If you tweet or blog about it, please use the tag #HISMS!

The main event will be followed by a meetup at about 5:30 – 7:00 pm, that is open to the public. We hope to see you there! Follow the tag, #HISMS, on Twitter to get updates throughout the day.

Read more on Facebook And check out the awesome custom programming on the Expo tab, created by our own Rob Bertholf!

Register Now

Even if you cannot come for the entire day, your SMCHI discount makes this THE MOST AFFORDABLE social media conference of the year in Hawaii! Plus there will be great exhibits, a steady stream of expert speakers, lunch, and plenty of time for networking. Your discount is applicable to the full event ticket that includes all seminars and lunch. On the other end of the spectrum, you can attend the Exhibits Only for just $3!

This event does replace our September event - so please do consider joining us for all or part of it. We will have a table in the Expo, so please bring your biz cards and fliers to share – our space is for all of you here in the Hawaii Social Media Club ʻohana! This event has drawn over 1000 people in the past so this in excellent opportunity to tell the local community about your skills and services! We’d also love some volunteers tp help us at the table.

When: Tuesday, October 5
Where: Ala Moana Hotel (free parking adjacent to the hotel in Ala Moana Center)
When: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm

Overwhelmingly, Hawaii’s social media practitioners expressed an interest in growing the club and attaining nonprofit status, which will allow SMCHI to focus on giving back to the business community in Hawaii. This comes by having at least 10 paying members to the parent organization, thereby awarding us “official” chapter status and all the benefits contained therein.

“Getting it” and “Sharing it” are two Social Media Club mantras. Its time to “share it.” Building a strong club that supports our Hawaii community as practitioners, social media fans and businesses takes action on part of the members.  As members need to get together to share it. Both public and members-only meetings are important – SMCHI would like to hold meetings for each group every other month. SMCHI needs volunteer members to help us keep up with our commitment to share it. For example we need members who will:

• Develop a topic and arrange for a relevant speaker.
• Develop meeting structure, planning and outreach.
• Each meeting needs a location and on-site details.

Once we get into the meeting groove again, we’d like to take that energy and consider planning a larger conference for Hawaii-based businesses, but first, we need to get our systems down for monthly meetings.

SMCHI belongs to its members. There is nothing we can’t do. Together.

Many members have expressed an interest in participation, but few have taken action. Let’s “Get it” together so we can continue to “share it.” WE, the members, are the passionate ones. WE have the opportunity to improve the state of social media in Hawaii. WE can help one another and businesses in Hawaii.

Consider this your personal invitation to shape the future of SMCHI.

No matter what island you are on, please tell us how you can contribute to SMCHI.  Regardless of your interests, we can probably use your talents! From monthly meetings to e-blasts to sponsorship for the club, all of these items are important to grow the club. We know each of you have talents in one area or another. Let us know what YOU’D like to do to become more involved with the club.

As an engaged volunteer, you can count on the team at SMCHI to actively look for ways to support you and your business in reaching its goals. There are many possibilities open to engaged members. Increasing SMCHI’s presence in Hawaii will only continue to open doors to SMCHI members and volunteers, as well as supporting our nonprofit and for profit organizations.

What Can YOU Do?
We are building our executive team right now. Please contact SMCHI via email, Twitter, Facebook or courier pigeon (if your really old school) and let us know how you can help SMCHI with its training and meetings.

WE can get it. Together. Please share your time with SMCHI.

We’re very excited about the future of SMCHI and can’t wait to hear from each of you of how you’d like to participate. No one’s talents will be wasted! Looking forward to hearing from you!

P.S. - Don’t forget that there are several levels of membership available. Membership has its benefits, but most importantly, it helps SMCHI attain its nonprofit status so we can continue our programs, most of which are free of charge!

First, I would like to thank everyone for your understanding

History:
I launched our Hawaii chapter in October 2008, public meetings launched in March, 2009. We have over 400 on our email list, and spent 6 months in 2009 shepherding a non-profit from web 1.0 to a full social media presence ont the web. (www.hanabuild.org). Our early meetings were 101, so others could follow along as we created the social assets for our nonprofit. We had, BTW, 14 who applied to the program.

What Matters Now:

• Our meetings have done a superb job at attracting Hawaii organizations (for profit and nonprofit) to come and learn about social media. But we are not attracting or supporting the practitioners, as is our main goal. This meeting discussed that in detail along with the requirements and advantages of becoming an Official Chapter of the Social Media Club. You can see the attendees here.
• Official Chapter status for Social Media Club: It requires a minimum of 10 paid pProfessional Members ($100 per professional membership; nonprofits may join for $50 and students for $25.) There are numerous benefits you can read about here, however the main one IMO is that we can fall under their nonprofit status and they will handle all bookkeeping, legal, and insurance for us. This gives us a tremendous amount of flexibility to actually accomplish things in support of our local community and organizations. Overall consensus appeared to be in favor of seeking this. Join the Social Media Club here.

These are the key points we distilled:

• There is interest in having practitioners-only meetings where we can talk at a high level about solving problems and using social media tools. This is professional development and peer-to-peer support, where we can talk openly in a mutually respectful manner. Non-members could be invited to attend one or two times to check it out.
• There is interest in continuing to hold educational outreach meetings for the business/nonprofit community at large.
• The amount of time required to convene these meetings is a concern. We are looking at having monthly meetings for the official, paid members and quarterly or semi-annual public events on a larger scale, possibly even another Podcamp-type event.
• Rox has been carrying the load for 2 years and wants a break.
• The name, “with “Club” in it, is confusing for people. It sounds private but it’s really very open. That has been a communication challenge.
• Like most groups, we have way more ideas than we can execute.

Specific Goals:

• Help promote the members so they can attract clients looking for professional social media services.
• Create a local Speaker’s Directory so other associations and organizations can find speakers fluent in the social web.
• Work with the SMCEDU group nationwide in develop related curricula.
• Develop special interest groups within our larger group who can meet at different times on specific topics (think Facebook, blogging, video, etc.)
• Connect more directly and more often with neighbor island members. Mahalo a nui to Peter Liu who came from Maui!
• Share more case studies and real life examples of solving problems with social media tools and strategy.
• Collaborate more specifically with related groups, such as PRSA, IABC, SMEI, etc.
• Consider changing to the 4th Tuesday to avoid conflicts with KanuHawaii and SMEI; after work for now, though prefer venue with easy parking. (We are looking in to this at several places.)
• Segment our email list so we can communicate more directly and respectfully with our audience.
• Use the email newsletter to feature members each month.

Let’s continue the conversation here and let us know how this group can serve you and what you can contribute to it. And be sure to join our email list so get the announcements and updates!

Event Agenda: 6:00 – 7:30 pm

• Review our accomplishments to date.
• Present the new and improved Social Media Club – the parent organization now with over 200 chapters.
• Discuss the implications for Hawaii re: the new membership structure and criteria.
• Brainstorm what role(s) our chapter can fill to build a stronger basis for social media practices locally.
• Share ideas for growing our businesses and educating the community.
• Explain the benefits of membership.

We do not plan to publicly live stream this meeting however we can conference call in our colleagues from the neighbor islands if you want to join us in real time.

Parking is available in the rear, or if full, you can use the empty lot around the block on Niu St. (Kalakaua then left on Pau to Ala Wai to Niu). Here is a Google map to give you the visual orientation.

Location:

ING DIRECT Cafe
1958 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI

A few more important reminders!

• Bring your business cards and your business colleagues!
• If you blog or Twitter about this event, please tag it: #smchi
• If you take pictures, please join our Flickr group, add your meeting photos to our pool, and tag them with “smchi”.
• Speaking of pictures, social media events generally have people taking photos, live-streaming video, and posting real time updates on Twitter and their blogs. We can assist if you prefer to stay under the radar; just speak to any of us before the meeting begins.
• Mahalo to Cleo Brown and ING DIRECT for hosting our event and providing valet parking at their spectacular space.

Direct from the SMC:
Social Media University is being produced by Social Media Club and hosted at the Sheraton Orlando Downtown Hotel from November 10-13th, 2010.

Social Media Club is the world’s largest organization of Social Media Professionals, with local chapters in 230 cities around the world. Our purpose is to promote media literacy, share lessons learned, promote ethical behaviour and advance industry standards. We also are organizing SMCEDU in order to improve Social Media education in universities by connecting students with professional opportunities through our local chapters.

This is SMC’s 1st Annual Conference, and it is something that is quite different then what you might be used to from a standard conference on social media. We bring the best of different learning and collaboration styles together to enrich your ability to apply deep insights from real industry masters. As you will see from the final schedule in a few weeks, it is going to be quite an impressive lineup.

What: Learn from a dozen of the true Social Media Masters in this deep dive for Social Media Professionals
When: Wednesday, November 10, 2010 – Saturday, November 13, 2010
Where: Orlando, FL USA
Sheraton Orlando Downtown
400 West Livingston Street
Orlando, Florida 32801

Can anyone say “road trip?”

DATE: TUESDAY, July 13
TIME: 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Fresh Café Scroll down for directions.
Hat tip to Tara Coomans for scouting this great location for us.

Our rockin’ panelists for this discussion include:

Jenn Wright

Jenn Wright: Jenn is an amazingly talented musician, songwriter, and singer. She plays with Simple Souls, is a member of the former MightyJ, and can be heard all over town playing in her own band and jamming with others. Her band Mighty J was one of the early adopters of social media – with a blog, a video podcast, and a genuine desire to connect with the fans. le Souls, the acoustic incarnation of established musical group, Kanalo, has been performing together since July 2003. What was initially a dare to play aside from their established band, Kanalo (which was then a 4-piece band), turned into a new passion for “unplugged” music and a fresh acoustic sound. Simple Souls holds it down with an acoustic guitar, percussions, 2 vocals and a killer list of songs. Follow her on Twitter @jroq.

Kenneth Makuakane

Kenneth Makuakane: Kenneth is recognized as a successful innovator in producing and recording Hawaiian music. He has over one hundred albums to his producing credits, working with artists such as Na Leo, Hapa, Amy Hānaiali‘i Gilliom, Raiatea Helm, Obrian Eselu and Jeff Rasmussen. He performs with the multi-award winning group The Pandanus Club, composing, engineering and producing each release. A prolific songwriter, Kenneth’s compositions have been recorded by local artists as well as international artists. And his music has been on the soundtrack of major films like “Honeymoon In Las Vegas” and “Parent Trap In Paradise.” Follow him on Twitter @kmakuakane

Shawn Mosely Livingston

Shawn Livingston Moseley: Shawn began his music career at the age of 4. A student of Kay Dolan, Shawn was nationally ranked by age 8 as one of the top 10 classical pianists for his age. At the age of 14 he shifted direction from competition to composition. After graduating from Punahou in ‘92 and parting with his band Dread Ashanti, Shawn graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA with a degree in Music Production and Engineering, and Songwriting. Shawn has worked as a producer, engineer, songwriter and musician in major recording studios through-out San Francisco, New York and Boston, as well as running a few of his own. Involved with artists as diverse as The Dave Matthews Band and Metallica plus many new up and coming artists, Shawn has dedicated the last 14 years of his life to producing and making records. Shawn now lives back home in Hawaii and is currenly working on his latest record “The Storm before the Calm” and teaching master classes in piano improvisation, song writing and music and vocal production. He no longer uses Twitter; we’ll ask him why.

Update: Dr. Trey has a schedule conflict and will not be able to attend.

Location:

Fresh Café
831 Queen St
Honolulu, HI 96813

A few more important reminders!

• Bring your business cards and your business colleagues!
• If you blog or Twitter about this event, please tag it: #smchi
• If you take pictures, please join our Flickr group, add your meeting photos to our pool, and tag them with “smchi”.
• Speaking of pictures, social media events generally have people taking photos, live-streaming video, and posting real time updates on Twitter and their blogs. We can assist if you prefer to stay under the radar; just speak to any of us before the meeting begins.
• Mahalo to Fresh Café for hosting our event. Mahalo also to Bare Feet Studios for covering all of our operational and marketing expenses.

@RyanAdverderada: @roxannedarling no thx for needed. Your team has taught me so much in just two meetings. @smchi can count on me to help spread the word!

@islevampir: @rob enjoyed chatting with you at #smchi tonight. Thanks for the ideas! The site I got my calling cards from is moo.com

@islevampir: @roxannedarling thanks again for the warm welcome tonight my first #smchi felt both fun & productive.

@judico: Hey @tdcinhawaii @smchi @rob @RoxanneDarling @angieb1019 I hear @freshcafehi is getting bike racks soon. Yay! #smchi was fun too

@RyanAdverderada: Big thanks to @rob @roxannedarling @tdcinhawaii and @smchi for another great meeting. Learned a lot and eager to put it in use! #smchi #sm

@hawaiitwentyten: @smchi Tip: @GeoLorean shows friends’ check-ins from Gowalla, Brightkite and foursquare in one stream #smchi #iphone #app

@rob: Great turnout @FreshCafeHI – join us for the Social Media Meetup #SMCHI

@5pyke: @smchi bummer i couldn’t make it. when’s the next meeting?

@coconutwireless: Tara, Rob and Roxanne talk location based social media #smchi http://flic.kr/p/88TNuk

@hawaiitwentyten: good morning Germany, good evening Hawaii! Meeting of Social Media Club of Hawaii is about to start right now http://bit.ly/ctaskd #smchi

@CommHive: RT @smchi: Join us @smchi tonight – location-based social checkins! http://bit.ly/9fkh7L” @freshcafehi

@Viil @smchi discusses location-based social checkins tonight http://bit.ly/9fkh7L looks like I might miss it, but should be interesting