#speakeasycm

This week we sat down with Karina Lopez, co-founder of KC You There, an agency that does everything from event management to social media management. She is also the community manager for E! News' TV correspondent Alicia Quarles. 

What is your community manager “superpower”?

Quick thinking. Connecting the dots.

What are sites that you read on daily basis?

My Twitter feed acts as my go-to news links. As for fun reading, I'm all about lifestyle blogs like theglitterguide.com.

What’s a specific campaign that you are proud of?

It's hard to choose just one. We've had the privilege of working with so many amazing brands & clients, but one in particular that stands out is our golf client, OnCore Golf. They're the only company we've worked with since the conception of the brand, so seeing it start with nothing to making history is something I'm truly proud of. Not to mention when we all began together, we were all under the age of 30.

Which campaign you wish you had done?

There are quite a few campaigns I've loved. One that always seems to stand out was the #MJDaisyChain campaign. During last NYFW, the Marc Jacobs team invited us to the press/vip opening of their pop-up MJ Daisy Chain store in the Lower East Side before opening to the public. While you could not purchase the new perfume with actual money, you could "purchase" by tweeting, posting a photo on Facebook or by posting an Instagram of the product and the hashtag. You then showed the "check-out" girls your social media mention and voila, you could pick out 1 of 3 products to take home. The products ranged from a mini bottle of MJ Daisy chain to a mini roll on perfume or a beautiful daisy clip with the scent inside of it.

What’s your best time-saving shortcut?

The Go-Daddy email app on my iPhone.

If you could only use one social channel, which would it be and why?

While I love Facebook (to keep in touch with family) and Twitter (I use it as my "daily newspaper"), Instagram has become a force of its own. We've actually gained new clients because of it, ranging from clients who are looking for event design to PR. I've even met new friends from the blogging community who I now see on a regular basis!

What was one surprising thing that you learned from your audience?

They're confused and intrigued. While KC You There is an event management and PR company, we wear many hats. We may be coordinating a 400 person wedding from beginning to end one day and traveling to the PGA Show in Orlando with our golf client another day. And every once in a while we'll make appearances on TV as entertaining & lifestyle contributors. I get it, it's a lot. We make it work, as we never want to put a cap to our creative work. Did I mention I manage all the social channels for E! News’ Alicia Quarles now?

When I have a creative block I ______________________ for ideas.

Disconnect for a bit. Sometimes you just need a minute to yourself to get back into it.

If you’re were not doing this job, what would you be doing?

It's hard to tell. I truly have interests in so many things. I do know one thing, I'd have to be my own boss.

In the next 6 months what are we all going to be talking about?

Ask me in 6 months.

Check out more Speakeasy interviews here. 

This week we sat down with Shauna Bellow, Director of Social Media at ALOHA, to learn more about her experience with Percolate and to dive deeper into the social campaigns she's leading.

What is the brand voice for Aloha?

ALOHA is ever positive, happy, healthy, and encouraging. The brand mission is about spreading love, light, and happiness through our innovative products and unique voice.  

Tell us more about your #alohamoment campaign.

An #alohamoment is an experience that inspires, delights, and makes you feel alive and happy! This hashtag is used in photos of sunsets, yoga poses, healthy meals, etc.

You maintain a great presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Do you have different approaches to each channel?

Thank you and absolutely! Each platform engages a different audience. Posts regarding product deals, launches and inspirational quotes perform best for ALOHA on Facebook. Twitter is more of a “chat room” for us. It’s where we go to discuss all things health and wellness with experts, influencers, and, of course, our fans. And as you know, Instagram makes everyone a photographer! We populate our feed with #regrams (to show some love) recipes (for all the Instafoodies) and inspirational quotes like our popular #wisdomwednesday. 

What do you wish you knew a year ago that you know now about social media?

Never post anything you wouldn’t engage with. I always ask - Would I like, love, share, or comment on this? If the answer is no, I optimize from there.

How do you source inspiration when creating content for Aloha?

Sourcing is easy when I’m surrounded by resources like Pinterest, Instagram, Feedly, and a team of amazingly connected talented Alohis. My Feedly is my go-to for keeping updated on current events, fitness news, creative blog posts, recipes and photography. My team is always sending along cool new apps such as: Instafamers, typography, quotes. I am surrounded by inspiration.

What types of content do you see your fans engage with most?

ALOHA fans love to be motivated to be their best selves. I just think about what I need when I’m feeling down, insecure, or alone and translate that into a note, post, or status update. There’s nothing better than being lifted up when you’re feeling low. Fans also enjoy our recipe posts. Since the Daily Good Greens are versatile and delicious (she said - unbiased), our customers are always sharing, trying, and posting their creations with our whole-food blends. 

Your content on social is easily recognizable as Aloha. How do you maintain brand consistency across platforms and posts without sacrificing creativity?

Since launching ALOHA we’ve established brand guidelines that help keep us “in the lines” as we create. The guidelines are especially helpful when crafting content on the fly. We’ve made little cheat sheets to get us through those last minute moments.

What is the most useful part of Percolate for you and your team?

The social team and I spend a majority of our day in Percolate’s Content Planner. It’s a real step up from working in Excel. It’s cleaner, more convenient, and super organized. I love how I can tag co-workers in a “brief” from various departments to weigh in on creative, copy, and just to alert them to a post that may be beneficial to their efforts. The photographer app is also pretty amazing. We’ve been using it when our team sponsors events or attends group activities. Instead of texting or emailing photos, the team uploads them directly to Percolate’s Image Library where we can schedule and post from there.

How does social fit into the overall marketing mix at Aloha?

Social plays a big role in the marketing mix at ALOHA whether it’s driving traffic to our digital magazine, educating fans on our convenient monthly service feature, or announcing new products (more to come soon!). I like to think about social media as a loudspeaker. When we have our team marketing meetings I like to ask – what do we want to amplify this week?

What's one surprising thing you've learned from your audience?

I’ve been impressed and surprised at all the unique and delicious recipes our fans have submitted using the Daily Good Greens through #thedailygood and #goodonsocial.

Your fans send through lots of amazing shots of #alohamoments. What is your perfect #alohamoment?

My perfect #alohamoment is working with Percolate, #obvi.

This week we sat down with Lucie Zhang, community manager at Ralph Lauren. Find out about her favorite campaigns she has worked on as a community manager. 

1. What is your community manager “superpower”?

Real time photo editing.

2. What are sites that you read on daily basis?

New York Times, WWD, WSJ, Mashable, The Cut, and whatever other articles pop up in my Twitter feed.

3. What’s a specific campaign that you are proud of?

I'm fairly new to the team at Ralph Lauren and we have a lot coming up that I know I will be proud to speak about in a month or two. However, for previous campaigns I've worked on, I think one of the most rewarding ones was when I helped organize a nation-wide blogger program that highlighted one blogger from each state and also had a user-generated component that asked fans to submit a photo demonstrating their personal style for the chance to win a trip to NYFW and more. The campaign had a lot of moving parts and finding the perfect blogger to represent each state was a challenge, but in the end we pulled it off! It was also very rewarding to see how excited the winning contestant was to attend NYFW. Speaking of -- surviving NYFW every season feels like a feat in and of itself, but I love it every time.

4. Which campaign you wish you did?

There are a lot of fashion brands doing digital well. I think some of these campaigns really hit upon something smart and innate in the way humans share information and inspiration with each other. A lot of these campaigns now serve almost as reference points in brainstorms -- Burberry's Art of the Trench, Topshop's The Future of the Fashion Show, Chanel's Fall 2014 Megastore. Not only were these smart and beautiful, but the attention to detail really made the whole experience on brand. As for non-fashion moments: the Obama 2008 campaign.

5. What’s your best time-saving shortcut?

Command + Tab to flip between applications on a Mac.

6. If you could only use one social channel, which would it be and why?

Tumblr because it combines the beauty of Instagram with the immediacy and sometimes hilarity of Twitter, but also allows for the traditional long-form blog post.

7. What was one surprising thing that you learned from your audience? How many of them want to model for us.

8. When I have a creative block I ______________________ for ideas. Travel, even if it's just visiting somewhere new in NYC.

9. If you’re were not doing this job, what would you be doing?

I studied public policy, economics and journalism in college, so probably whatever job that would get me.

10. In the next 6 months what are we all going to be talking about? Ralph Lauren, obviously.

Chevon Drew is an Associate in the Client Solutions team at Percolate but prior to that she worked at ADP as a community manager.

What is your community manager “superpower”?

At every turn, my clients, colleagues and supervisors identified my community manager superpower as the uncanny ability to apply limitless amounts of creativity to any challenge they set before me.

What are sites that you read on daily basis?

As a NYTimes.com alum, I still read the Times every day. I also don't go a day without reading stories from The Next Web, Mashable, Social Media Insider, NPR, Colorlines, The CCR, Gothamist, Gawker.

What’s a specific campaign that you are proud of?

I'm very proud of the campaign I launched to convert HP alumni into online resources for consumers. The conversion rate was something to trumpet and it really helped both the alumni and the consumers fill a need to stay sharp on HP product expertise and understand new technology, respectively.

Which campaign do you wish you did?

The Starbucks 'Tweet-a-Coffee' Campaign that prompted $180,000 in purchases is the kind of campaign that tugs at my social media psyche.  I wish I could do the same thing, but for chai tea lattes worldwide. By now, you have guessed that I am outwardly a fan of both Starbucks and chai.

What’s your best time-saving shortcut?

Practicing kindness and compassion is the best time-saving shortcut I have found in life. It has great karma and can save people the time that can be wasted when conversations devolve into less than cordial exchanges. I've not perfected this yet. I have some rare moments when I don't get it right, but overall I am genuinely committed to being kind and compassionate whether I'm onboarding someone at work, volunteering on the weekend or communicating with a client who needs my help.

If you could only use one social channel, which would it be and why?

Twitter wins the social media survivor game for me right now. A picture is worth a thousand words, but you can't photoshop your words on Twitter. I dig that and find there's a certain insight to be gained by tapping into someone's cool stream of consciousness.

What was one surprising thing that you learned from your audience?

When I managed a community for ADP, I'd regularly reach out to members to do interviews. I was so surprised when I learned that one of the community members won the official Peeps candy diorama contest. It made for a quite a compelling (and delicious) story.

When I have a creative block I ______________________ for ideas.

Read anything I can get my hands on.

If you were not doing this job, what would you be doing?

If I weren't doing this particular job, I'd be with my family or helping youth and seniors learn to leverage technology. That's how I spend some of my time.

In the next 6 months what are we all going to be talking about?

Hopefully, my next hairstyle. I change my look so often that my colleague thought I was a new member of the team!

Taisa Veras is a community manager for Speakeasy CM, a networking group for community managers created by Percolate. She is also an Associate in the Client Solutions team. Previously she has done CM for Vespa USA, Giles & Brother, and WWDMagic.

How would you define “community”?

Community to me is the embodiment of people from different walks of life that are bound together by one or a few common threads. Building a community takes initiative, energy, and an understanding of what matters the most to that group of individuals.

What are some community managers you respect, and why?

I respect Oscar PR Girl because she able to create a persona and voice that represents one of the most well-renowned and respected fashion designers, Oscar De La Renta. She was also responsible to bringing to light the fact that high-gloss luxury brands and designers can have a presence on social without undermining their repertoire.

What’s a new piece of technology or app you’ve learned about recently? Why is it interesting?

I recently became obsessed with fitness and Fitbit is one of my favorite wearable fitness trackers. It tracks your activity during the day and your sleep quality at night, and will soon launch a collaboration with Tory Burch which I’m excited about.

What have you gotten better at over the years? How did you develop those skills?

I’ve gotten better at being able to step into my audience’s psyche and really grasp what they’re about. I developed that skill with experience from managing Vespa’s social channels to menswear jewelry brand Giles & Brother, I was able to learn to observe my audience in order to tailor valuable content for them.

If I could start my career all over again, I would definitely _____ this time.

Learn how to code.

What’s a mistake you see a lot of brands making when it comes to community management?

I see a lot of brands posting low quality images, not tagging properly, misspelling, and still not building a content strategy around what they’re pushing out. Social media has been around for a while now and I’d think that people wouldn’t make those basic mistakes anymore, but they’re still around.

What movie are you most looking forward to seeing this summer and why?

I’m looking forward to seeing documentaries more and ‘Palo Alto’ by Gia Coppola based on the book by James Franco.

What’s your favorite meme? (#tbt, Doge, planking, etc)

#YOLO.

If someone read through your web browser history for the last week, what would they be most surprised to find?

My obsession with obstacle races.

Ask one question of yourself that hasn’t been on this interview and answer it.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go next?

Marrakesh, Morocco.

Graydon Gordian is a community manager at Percolate and prior to that he was a community manager at Sesame Street.

1. What is your community manager “superpower”?

I don't know if I'd call this a "superpower," per se, but as a former journalist, writing mistake-free copy at a fast pace is something I've been doing for a long time. I've only been working on marketing for a few years, but my background was well suited for the job.

2. What are sites that you read on daily basis?

For pleasure I read a lot of different stuff: Grantland, N+1, Circa, The Hairpin. And, of course, 48 Minutes of Hell, which I founded. For Tech news, I'm fond ofGigaom and Re/code.

3. What’s a specific campaign that you are proud of?

Well, as we always say, we live in an era of sustained communications, not campaigns. But some of my favorite work I ever did was on emerging platforms at Sesame workshop, in particular Tumblr and Vine. We grew comparatively huge audiences on those platforms at times when many brands had yet to fully embrace them.

4. Which campaign do you wish you did?

Spotify's recent work on social has been unbelievable. In particular this is a brilliant use of Vine.

5. What’s your best time-saving shortcut?

Aside from Percolate? I'd say Giphy. Is it an essential tool? Absolutely not. But adding a little levity to work emails can go a long way trying to develop an internal community, not just an external one.

6. If you could only use one social channel, which would it be and why?

Twitter. Why? Because I'm first and foremost a writer, and even as the platform heads in a more visual direction, the character constraints make the platform incredibly engaging to write for.

7. What was one surprising thing that you learned from your audience?

I learned to trust their intelligence. The Internet can be a rough neighborhood, but a respectful, intelligent style will attract a respectful, intelligent audience.

8. When I have a creative block I ______________________ for ideas.

I ask a colleague. I'm a collaborator, and nothing sparks my creativity more than kicking around ideas with my colleagues.

9. If you were not doing this job, what would you be doing?

Working in publishing. I'm a bibliophile, and building a book business that can not just survive but thrive in this day and age is one of my dreams.

10. In the next 6 months what are we all going to be talking about?

The Spurs' 5th NBA Title, Brazil's 6th World Cup Title and what an amazing conference Transition was.

Julie Kim is a community manager at Julien Farel and she sat down with us to discuss all things social. 

1. What is your community manager “superpower”?

The power to relate any piece of content back to hair…. And I mean anything. Hair and horses – check! Topknots, ombre and Jared Leto – check! Elvis' hair for sale – check! Aren't you curious now?

 2. What are sites that you read on daily basis?

I check Twitter and Instagram immediately for a quick update. Then Mashable, Women’s Wear Daily, New York Times and Who What Wear.

 3. What’s a specific campaign that you are proud of?

I am most proud of our Power Beauty campaign. With the opening on our new Julien Farel Restore Salon & Spa, my team developed our key differentiator from all other 5 star spas in NYC and that is the Power Beauty Menu. This has gotten a ton of buzz throughout the press and we ran a month long #Powerplayer contest for our audience to nominate the #powerplayers in their lives to receive a day of luxury beauty for 2. It has been a huge success so far and I can’t wait to see where this campaign goes.

 4. Which campaign do you wish you did?

Obama’s campaign, of course. He was the first politician to take on social. Chris Hughes is a genius!

5. What’s your best timesaving shortcut?

Hot keys, Percolate and Dry-shampoo…They all work wonders.

6. If you could only use one social channel, which would it be and why?

Despite the power of Facebook, I would say Instagram. Besides the fact that I prefer this social channel for my own personal use, some say it will become the most influential platform in 2 years. I hope they are right. I find it to be the easiest way to grow an audience quickly and have them continually engage with minimal effort. Plus, who doesn’t love an endless feed of photos?

7. What was one surprising thing that you learned from your audience?

When you ask for a selfie, you shall receive a selfie.

8. When I have a creative block I ___________ for ideas.

 I usually need to leave the building for ideas. My best ideas come from reading magazines, watching TV, on Google, having new experiences or even talking to my mom gives me ideas. Fresh air, for fresh ideas.

9. If you were not doing this job, what would you be doing?

Set design. I used to work in the floral industry and almost entered into set design because it is creative in a more physical way of sculpture. I love looking at unique window displays and backgrounds of advertisements and thinking about how they were created.  

10. In the next 6 months what are we all going to be talking about?  

Well, what do we talk about today? Food, fitness, beauty, and more food…everyone is really into the whole Jay-Z and Solange thing. I think we are all just waiting around for the next big shocker from Kimye or #DeportBieber. And of course, Julien Farel…so hot right now.

Veronica Sepe used to manage multiple social media channels and now she's a Client Solutions Manager at Percolate. We sat down with her to find out what makes her love building communities and creating content for brands. 

1. What is your community manager “superpower”?

I don't know that I would call it a superpower, but I'm naturally social and good at reading people's moods and speaking to their interests. This was a great asset as a CM because it allowed me to create content tailored to my audience as well as speak with them as a real human with genuine interest, not just a CRM bot.

2. What are sites that you read on daily basis?

Tumblr is a go to, as is Twitter. But for more specific content, I head to any site in the Awl network, although I'm partial to The Hairpin. I've also been very into The Toast lately. I like to visit Buzzfeed to see how they are leveraging the site as a publishing platform for brands and Mashable is my favorite for a general snapshot of the internet.

 3. What’s a specific campaign that you are proud of?

I played a big role in helping a large beer brand revamp the entire look and feel of their Facebook page using Percolate. That was pretty cool.

4. Which campaign do you wish you did?

It's not a social campaign per se, but Will Ferrel's commercials for Old Milwalkee are amazing. I also love all of the mural advertising Adult Swim does around the city for their various shows, mostly because I love bright shiny things. Girls use of Snapchat for this past season was a great example of capitalizing on a new platform while speaking directly to your audience.

5. What’s your best time-saving shortcut?

My notebook. If I don't write down my list at the beginning of the day, I'm lost. I've tried various apps, but my notebook is really the only thing that works for me.

6. If you could only use one social channel, which would it be and why?

That is a tough one. I'm leaning towards Tumblr because I love how visual it is. But as Twitter starts to move towards a more image-based interface, I think that is where all my needs will be met. I'd miss Facebook, but my feed is increasingly just pictures of people finishing marathons and having babies.

7. What was one surprising thing that you learned from your audience?

I worked with two VERY different audiences: people interested in digital marketing trends and people interested in beer. Obviously there is overlap there IRL, but not necessarily so on social media.

For eMarketer, the most surprising thing about that audience was how engaged people were with the trends and data we were presenting. I loved facilitating those conversations and getting people excited about digital marketing.

For the beer brand I worked on, the audience was interested in kicking back and they were enthusiastic about sharing that with our page. The most surprising thing for me about that audience was the amount of engaging and on-brand UGC content they generated for us without any prompting. I could log on to the page any time of day and see a slew of new photos posted by our fans.

8. When I have a creative block I ______________________ for ideas.

Go running. Such a Percolate answer, but running is one of the few times I can't let myself get distracted by my phone, email or tv. It forces me to think and let my mind wander.

9. If you were not doing this job, what would you be doing?

Realistically or in my wildest dreams? Realistically, I'd probably still be a CM because I really did love it. In fantasy, I'd be writing for SNL. Or just traveling around the world, because in this alternate universe I'd also be very rich.

10. In the next 6 months what are we all going to be talking about?

Justin Bieber?

I'm really interested to see where the e-commerce space is headed on social, specifically on image-based platforms. On Instagram especially, it was been cool to watch the ways big retail brands, small boutiques and everyone in between have found ways to work around the fact that Instagram isn't exactly e-commerce friendly.