Social Media in South Dakota

With social media growing at a steady rate in South Dakota. I had the chance to talk with co-founder of 9 Clouds, Scott Meyer.

9 Clouds is a company based in the Brookings and Sioux Falls area, that helps you choose and use the most effective online tools to grow your business. The ones that fit your goals and show measurable results, 9 Clouds help businesses through three service offerings: Training, Strategy and Digital Campaigns.

I asked a number of questions all regarding too social media in the state of South Dakota. Scott stated, “Facebook is the number 1 growing social media outlet in South Dakota, with over 52% of the state is using Facebook, while twitter is only around .35%.”

This also gives companies in the state a huge boost in media compared to other states. “South Dakota Companies get a good bump in media because there is not much competition regarding anything social media in the state. Keloland, The Agrus Leader, and other media outlets get excited to talk about it so it only benefits the company that much more.” Scott said.

So if you live in the South Dakota area, look for social media to start growing more and more. Companies are embracing the change for the good, the iPhone is on the two largest cell networks, and the media loves talking about it. Use and embrace social media and make the most out of it.

Foursquare: Not just for kids anymore

What is Foursquare?

The most common answer I hear is, “Isn’t that a game we used to play back in elementary school?”

Yes, it is a childhood game, and no, it is not just for fun anymore.

Foursquare is a location based social media website that has been making noise since its inception just over a year ago.

Foursquare may seem silly and pointless, but this is a tool that businesses and marketers are starting to jump on as a way of advertising as well as for PR opportunities.

It is very simple to use and can be used for fun or for business. All you need is a username, password, and a cell phone with messaging and/or internet capabilities.

Users can create to-do lists of things that they want to do or places they want to go. They can create new venues of places they have been, and compete against their friends to become mayor of different locations while winning badges along the way.

Scheels is a nationwide sports store that uses Foursquare to track and thank customers for coming in and visiting the store.

I checked into the Scheels in Sioux Falls a couple weeks ago, and the next day I got a tweet saying thanks for coming in and they hoped I would be back soon. I replied back to them saying that I’m an advertising major and that I was curious how they knew I was in the store. Sure enough they tracked my Foursquare check-in and started following me on Twitter because of it.

One of the beauties of Foursquare is that it is synced with your Twitter and Facebook. This allows all your social media to run seamlessly together.

This is one example of a large business using new technology to reach a huge audience that is already super connected.

Social Media: Commitments not Campaigns

Thursday, March 18th 2010 Aliza Sherman spoke with the South Dakota Advertising Federation in relation to Social Media and targeting consumers through this tool. Sherman defined social media as “a set of tools that facilitate social interaction about friendships and relationships.” This refers to a wide variety of online sites and tools that include but are not limited to social networking sites, video sharing, RSS feeds, blogs, micro blogs, and more. The issue today is how marketers can reach this mass audience effectively.


Sherman mentioned the problem with social media is the word “media.” Rather than thinking about online social tools being a new media, marketers need to treat it as the social web or social communications. To connect with consumers through these social communication sites, marketers must put aside the traditional use of demographics and focus on psychographics. Marketers need to understand “Measurement 2.0." The new measurement is moving towards understanding reach, engagement, influence and reverb (retweet/share). The time of reaching large audiences is leaving and now marketers must focus on reaching a quality audience vs. a quantity of consumers. Sherman stated that we must connect with hearts and minds rather than ears and eyeballs. For this reason “demographics suck” and “psychographics rule.” Today, in order to connect with people, we must focus on behaviors and not cut and dry data.


The new way of reaching people is through social ads on sites like Facebook. These ads can be changed, moved, and updated instantly. It is no longer a matter of placing a TV spot and letting it run for six months. Today “it’s not about campaigns, it’s about commitments.” People stop clicking on a social ad in a matter of days and at that time it must be changed. It is time for marketing communication specialists to get involved in the conversation instead of directing it.

I look forward to moving into this new exciting world. I, as a heavy internet user, find myself constantly using all kinds of social media and welcome ads that pertain to what I am trying to find. As a future marketing communications professional I look forward with excitement for the new tools available and the constant learning and exploring that is in the world to be done. Web 3.0 will be an interesting place to live and work.

We Are The World

The earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 12, has been a constant topic of conversation among people everywhere. Through all the buzz, you’ve probably noticed ads for the We Are The World Foundation, a non-profit organization raising money for Haitian earthquake relief efforts.

Insert Electric Pulp, a web development firm local to the Midwest. Although a team of only 11, the small company from Sioux Falls has been developing websites for big names across the country, including Stephen Colbert, Ford, and Hewlett-Packard, since 1996. Quality work is a staple for Electric Pulp that can be seen in each site they produce. Academic Earth, a site by the firm, came in at number nine on TIME Magazine’s 50 Best Websites 2009, beating out internet giants such as Google, YouTube, Hulu, and Amazon.

The WATW Foundation’s new website, world25.org, was built by Electric Pulp. It features We Are The World 25 for Haiti, a music video promoting the foundation and its cause.

The original song, a product of Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, and Quincy Jones, raised over $63 million for African famine relief 25 years ago. Richie and Jones teamed up for the new release, which was recorded February 1. Over 80 popular music industry celebrities were featured in the remake, and the music video premiered February 12 during the NBC coverage of the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Electric Pulp, in creating a home for the We Are The World Foundation, was able to bring its relief efforts to the web. The official We Are The World 25 For Haiti video is prominently featured on the site, embedded via YouTube. Viewers are also prompted to participate in the campaign’s main call to action: to donate $10 by texting “world” to 50555. Other tie ins include a Twitter feed, and links to find the WATW Foundation on social media sites, including Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Youtube. You can purchase the song on iTunes, buy an official tee, or keep updated on the foundation through its widget or mailing list.

All proceeds of course act as charity in support of Haitian earthquake relief.

So take a minute to check out the site built by Electric Pulp, and participate in the efforts if you can. Because it’s going to a pretty inspiring cause.