Alabama Social Media Association – ALsocme

Erika Napoletano, the blogger behind RedheadWriting.com and columnist for Entreprenuer Magazine, is the author of a new book, “The Power of Unpopular,” where she explores the business strategies, case studies and how-tos of organizations that grew by staying true to themselves, and letting their natural fans find them.

Napoletano will discuss “Branding: The Inherent Power of Unpopular” at the Alabama Social Media Association April 24 meeting.

Find out her five key features of the unpopular brand and the difference between “unlikeable” and “unpopular” business decisions, which are often confused.

She will be on hand after the event to sign copies of her book.

Networking begins at 11:15 a.m., with a free lunch sponsored by Momentum Telecom and presentation at noon, taking place at the Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre, 1811 Third Ave. N. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Location sponsor is the Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre; catering sponsor is Momentum Telecom. Door prizes will be provided by Griffin Technology and MailChimp. Beverage sponsor is Dekalb Office.

See who’s coming to this event!

Tickets are limited, so reserve your seat today.

Our ticket policy: Your ticket does not guarantee entrance; the first 120 ticket holders to arrive will be seated, and the next 25 will be in our standing section.

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Special note: Birmingham-based Books-A-Million will have Erika Napoletano’s book, “The Power of Unpopular,” available for purchase and signing at our event.

By buying the books, you help support ALsocme as 20 percent of the profits will be donated to our nonprofit organization. Supplies are limited.

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Even experts can learn a lot about social media from James Spann because, as he says, his ‘servant’s heart’ is in it. The ABC 33/40 chief meteorologist  shared his passion for engaging with the community via social media, and gave tips for others to harness its power at  ALsocme’s Feb. 20 educational meeting.

Spann (@spann) spoke to a packed audience at the Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre (the first sold-out event for ALsocme.)  The Emmy Award winner  passionately portrayed the impact social media has recently had in his life with the following three powerful examples:

• The first example, graphically portrayed on the screen behind him, was 4/27/11, or the day that 252 people were killed by a sweep of tornadoes through Alabama. He admitted that he was affected so deeply by the damage that it was six months before he was even able to speak about it. He vividly portrayed the destruction and his role in alerting citizens to the danger. He shared that he manages all his social media himself and hand-types every tornado weather alert on Twitter, responding to as many messages as possible. In his own words, “I’m not an all-caps kind of guy, but when you see me type TORNADO EMERGENCY about your town, dig a hole!”

• His second example regarded the enormous outpouring of support for victims after the tornadoes. Because of his huge following on Twitter, he became by default the channel for the Alabama ‘needs’ and the ‘haves.’ He did not anticipate the role social media would have in providing relief and connecting people throughout the state. And he believes that it was the first time that social media became an imperative part of relief following a natural disaster in Alabama. He said that although he’s a meteorologist first, he believes in providing useful information beyond the weather when necessary.

• The third example was the social media outrage directed at Diane Sawyer and ABC News after her comment that Alabama residents were not warned about the sweep of tornadoes through the state.  Spann challenged Diane Sawyer to a now-famous Twitter debate with the whole-hearted support of the Alabama social media community firmly behind him. Diane Sawyer was forced to recant (although she never apologized) after officials at ABC News were overwhelmed by the response.  As he said, it was a proud moment for the social media community of Alabama.

Finally, a few James Spann words of wisdom regarding social media included:

• When people follow you (on Twitter), follow them back
• Be genuine; People will find you out if you’re not
• Handle your words yourself. No one else can do it for you effectively
• Have a servant’s heart in social media
• Provide useful information in a timely way
• Everyone is important and deserves useful information even in remote rural areas
• Business leaders who belittle social media just don’t get it!
• Everyone has time for social media — it’s a matter of making it a priority

We’re most appreciative of James Spann taking time out of his busy schedule to address ALsocme.

Note: To hear the entire presentation or view photos, stay tuned for the video by Amy Polley and photos by Lynsey Weatherspoon which will be posted soon at www.alsocme.com.

Thanks to Amy and Lynsey who donated their services, as well as our sponsors The Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre, Ted’s Restaurant, Instant Sign Center, MailChimp, and Griffin Technology.

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James Spann, Chief Meteorologist at ABC 33/40, will be the speaker at the Alabama Social Media Association Feb. 20 educational event.

Spann, who has received national attention for his innovative use of social media to educate his audiences, will share his practical advice on using Facebook, Twitter and Google+ more effectively.

“The secret to social media is all about treating people right, and getting them engaged,” Spann says. Attendees will learn how to increase followers and create more meaningful conversations through his practical examples and insight.

Networking begins at 11:15 a.m., with a free lunch from Ted’s Restaurant and presentation at noon, taking place at the Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre, 1811 Third Ave. N. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Spann, a Hunstville native and Emmy winner, has received accolades for his efforts to harness social media to educate thousands of Alabamians during the tornadoes of April 27, 2011, as well as Jan. 23. He has utilized social media to convey real-time breaking weather events, and to organize community efforts to rebuild in the wake of disaster. With more than 30 years of broadcast experience, Spann has been named “Best Weather Anchor” in Alabama by the Associated Press and Alabama Broadcasters Association multiple times.

Location sponsor is the Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre; catering sponsor is Ted’s Restaurant. Door prizes will be provided by Griffin Technology and MailChimp.

See who’s coming to this event!

Tickets are limited, so reserve your seat today.

Our ticket policy: Your ticket does not guarantee entrance; the first 120 ticket holders to arrive will be seated, and the next 25 will be in our standing section.

•

Sorry — sold out!

• Be sure to sign up for our free mailing list — subscribers get the first opportunity for tickets to our educational events.
• Check our site for the latest ALsocme events.

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Photo: Angela Blake Photography

The Hill Event Center’s second-floor ballroom has been the setting for
the Alabama Social Media Association’s educational meetings throughout 2011.
(See more photos of our meetings at Hill Event Center.) 

By Wade Kwon

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to attend one of our five educational meetings this year, you may have discovered an event space downtown that was hiding under your nose.

We’re proud to have the Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre as our location sponsor this year. It’s next door to the landmark theater, with two large unique spaces for meetings, receptions, parties and other events.

I first discovered the space a couple of years ago at the Birmingham Shout gay/lesbian film festival. It made a great screening room and hangout area.

About 500 people swarmed the facility for this year’s Birmingham Restaurant Week opening night party, sampling dishes from dozens of local establishments.

For the Alabama Social Media Association, we’ve taken over the second-floor ballroom for our lunchtime educational meetings, seating up to 120 comfortably, with space leftover for reporters and bloggers, our speaker, a bar in back for serving our lunches (no liquid lunches, by the way), sponsor tables, video cameras and drop-down screen for presentations.

This ballroom is a large rectangular carpeted space with dance floor, lighting system and sound system (which is how you hear our presenter as well as our cool music mixes before and after), along with wireless Internet. To the side is a full kitchen.

The Alabama Theatre marquee is visible right outside the third-floor Loft at the Hill Event Center.

On the third floor, you’ll find the Loft, a modern cool setting unlike the traditional elegance of the ballroom. It too has a bar and plenty of room for meeting, dancing or relaxing. Plus, it has a great view of the Alabama marquee, a real showstopper at nighttime events.

We’ve worked with Jessica Cannon (@jmontanacannon), the Hill Event Center event coordinator, all year long, and it has been nothing but success after success. She hasn’t faced a problem yet that she hasn’t been able to solve for us, usually on the spot. She tells me that several parties are already booked for December, but you still have time to reserve either space (or both) for a company Christmas reception, a lunchtime meeting or other event.

One popular option, she says, is for groups to have happy hour in the Hill Event Center before walking next door to the Alabama for a movie, including the upcoming Holiday Film Series.

To find out more about the Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre or book an appointment to tour the facility, contact Jessica Cannon at (205) 252-2262, ext. 118, or hilleventcenter@aol.com. Or visit the website.

Wade Kwon is a co-founding board member of the Alabama Social Media Association.

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The Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre was the venue for the Sept. 29 educational meeting featuring a panel of five moderated by Ike Pigott. A standing room only crowd began arriving early  to hear Ed Bowser, Julie Brannon, Chris Davis, Melanie McCraney and Julie Wall speak. And as anticipated, each panelist had a unique story to share regarding their successes with social media. All agreed that there is no single “one size fits all” solution for utilizing the many forms of digital communication now available.

Melanie used social media to share the location of a Duracell battery charging station after the devastating tornadoes in Tuscaloosa. Chris talked about how, as a financial planner, he counted on others via social media to talk about money which is often difficult to address directly. Nonprofits, fundraisers, community outreach, and advertising agency strategies were just a few of the other items addressed by the panelists.

Ike Pigott finished the discussion by asking each of the panelists what they had learned. Their answers illustrated that even the “experts” gain from hearing about the experiences of others. As the panelists stressed, digital or face-to-face, social media is still social and involves effective communication, regardless of the means.

To order tickets for the next event 24 hours ahead of public registration, please sign up for the e-newsletter using the box in the upper left.  Seating is limited and based on registration.

Thank you to our sponsors Daxko (for providing lunch), Angela Blake Photography, Archer Creative for videography, Griffin Technology for door prizes, Instant Sign Center for table signage and Bud’s Best Cookies for the treats!

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