Brand builders Dooley Media launch Show & Tell marketing series

In this digital age, it seems that everyone uses social media — but very few use it well. For owners of a brand, especially, the endless catalog of social media practices and faux pas can fast become overwhelming.
 
That’s the issue local marketing gurus at Dooley Media hope to tackle with their new Show & Tell event series, which is designed to showcase the people and projects in Cincinnati that are using social media to effectively tell their brand's story.
 
The series format features three timed topics fielded by five Cincinnati thought leaders — as well as complimentary refreshments. Planners say that going forward, crowd participation will be a major focus, with planned topics that include visual storytelling, community building and customer acquisition.
 
"Social media is still considered pretty new for a lot of companies," says Dooley Media spokesperson Autumn Heisler. "We organized Show & Tell to get back to the roots of researching in a more collaborative space. That’s what social media is all about. We think it’s still best done face to face, and we want to bring together people who have lots of experience sharing ideas in an organic way."
 
The first event in the series took place last December at Cintrifuse's Union Hall and featured an open forum and panel made up of members of marketing teams for Crossroads Church, Rhinegeist and Procter & Gamble.
 
Panelist Jeremy K Smith from P&G kicked off the last session by describing a social media marketing "fail" that got a lot of negative attention last year.
 
“Red Lobster got a shout-out in Beyonce’s newest album, and everyone thought they’d respond to it right away,” Smith explained. “But they waited and came out with a cheesy joke, which led to an unsuccessful social media opportunity. Don’t be a cornball and don’t try too hard. Always be authentic with the content you’re publishing.”
 
Heisler says the idea outcome for the Show & Tell series is sharing resources and best practices. "If people who are smaller entrepreneurs or startups are feeling like, 'Oh, I can’t participate in social media because I’m not a copywriter or I’m not a graphic designer,' then we want them to know there are a lot of ways they can create content that matters to the people they’re trying to reach. The hope is that this series will empower them to take risks and create some different new things."
 
Show & Tell continues from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Union Hall, with speakers Levi Bethune from local fashion startup Cladwell, Christina Duccilli from Rookwood Pottery and others. General admission is $20; student tickets are available for $10. Click here to RSVP.