After working with dozens of clients to develop Social Media strategies and find ways to effectively engage their most loyal consumers, while at the same time converting prospects, you learn a few things about what it takes successfully manage [and hopefully, grow] a community. You also learn that for an agency that has the talent, resources and know-how to achieve Social Media success, what is often the determining factor for successful Social Media efforts is actually not budget, interestingness of the product or service you’re working with, technical savvy of the brand but rather, the client’s relationship with the agency team.
So, what’s in the client relationship? I’ve found that when clients are most accessible, available and see the work as a collaborative effort it lends itself to a richness of information –it enables the agency to be that much closer to the reason the fans are there in the first place; your brand.

Here are just a few of the learning’s that have come from our closest client relationships. If you’re not practicing these suggestions with your agency, I urge you to start!

Give us a History Lesson, and Include Photos!


When you start a relationship with a peer [be it professional or personal] you usually say something along the lines of “So, tell me a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? Where’d you go to school?” Learning the history about someone is not only valuable in determining who they are today, it’s also interesting! It also creates opportunities to bond with the person through shared interests and experiences. Shockingly, it’s no different with brands. What I’d classify as shocking is how few brands freely offer up this information.

What you may think of as boring may actually be some of the most interesting content you can share!
Want proof?
While digging through the archives for Smirnoff [one of our clients] we came across this gem. We thought it was pretty cool and guess what – so did Smirnoff’s Facebook fans!

Check out the old sign that Pepsi shared with their fans. Certainly your brand has some of these artifacts hanging around somewhere, why not share them with your agency?

Now of course you can’t just grab any fact or any photo and expect it to be a win with your community. And don’t put the onus on yourself or your team to go through all of your archive material searching for a diamond in the rough – .zip the material and send it to your agency, that’s what we’re here for. Any agency that’s worth their weight will treat that .zip file like it’s a treasure chest, and in most cases it will be.

Determined that your brand has nothing interesting to share? Challenge your Social Media team to find interesting ways to spin it.

Continue reading “5 Easy Tips for Getting More out of your Social Media Team” »

June 30^th, 2011: Social Media Day – a memorable day for the industry. And for those who attended DEI Worldwide’s Social Media Heroes fundraiser, the night was even more memorable. Held at South in Santa Monica, Social Media Heroes contributed all proceeds to the Los Angeles region of the American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Attendees were entertained, informed, and, most importantly, contributed to an extremely worthwhile cause.

The evening started off with a bang as hosts Aaron Chrenen and Ben Lepley debuted their deliberately long-titled comedy musical “Social Media is Changing Everything: An Exploration of Social Spheres Through Modern Song.” L.A. Comedians kept things rolling, with feisty Laugh Factory veteran Dimo, offbeat Comedy Store veteran Ryan Unger, and savvy Montreal Comedy Festival veteran Merrill Davis showcasing their hilarious brands of observational stand-up. The event wrapped up with a QR code raffle, giving contestants a chance to show off their smartphones as they scanned their way to prizes.

DEI Worldwide would like to thank everyone who made it to Social Media Heroes. Social media gives us all a voice and the chance to connect. It also gives us an immeasurable opportunity to help those in need. Again, thanks for coming out. We’re so proud to be a part of this industry.

Article by: Ben Lepley

The holidays are here, and we are getting ready to celebrate with family and friends. The shopping is almost done, and now comes the decision… do I donate this year? Since most of us will do the majority of our holiday shopping via the internet, why not make donating just as simple. By signing into your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts, you have the ability to contribute to a number of charities. This idea has been taken on by consumer brands through incorporating the notion of “Social Good”.

By tying their products and brand name to a charitable cause, consumer brands are able to attract consumers, as well as give back to the charities they care about. Last year, DressBarn partnered up with Toys for Tots using Twitter as their platform to raise awareness and donations. By following @dressbarn, and using the hashtag, #dressbarntoys, $1 was donated to Toys for Tots.  Not only did this provide an easy way for people to donate during the holidays, it brought attention and loads of traffic to the brand’s social sites.

Other nonprofit organizations are taking similar approaches. Charity: Water, a non-profit organization that provides clean water to developing countries is garnering support via social media. The organization donates 100% of the money raised to provide clean water to underdeveloped countries. They wanted to keep the idea that donating to a charity is for the good of the cause, so they take care of any additional fees to ensure that your full donation goes to those in need. In just four years, Charity: Water has made significant progress and a positive impact.

Continue reading “‘Tis the Season to Donate” »

Sulkin Secant Art Gallery

August 25^th, 2010 became a National Day of Action thanks to the collaborative initiative between Andy Sternberg, Citizen Effect, the Social Media Club and more. Upon learning of this nationwide call-to-action, we jumped at the opportunity to help by hosting our very own benefit event here in Los Angeles, CA at the Sulkin Secant Gallery.

First, on behalf of David Reis and the rest of the DEI Worldwide employees, we would like to thank everyone who came out in support of our Gulf Coast Benefit event in Santa Monica! We witnessed a great turnout and raised approximately $900 for the CitizenGulf Education Program. All donations will be going directly to Catholic charities to support the education programs for children of fishing families affected by the oil spill.

We couldn’t have pulled this successful night off without the generosity from Jeff Sulkin, who graciously let us use his beautiful Sulkin Secant Gallery and helped to organize the event.

Jeff Sulkin

DEI Worldwide Marketing Associate, Jennifer Lam and CEO and President, David Reis kicked off the event by welcoming everyone and introducing several speakers including, Solar Energy expert, Wayne Pendrey.

The evening was spent enjoying delicious finger foods, wine, the beautiful art gallery and all the entertainment. We were honored to have wonderfully talented musicians (and a comedian) who filled the interior of the gallery with music and laughs from the outdoor “stage”. Jason Soudah, a talented Irish singer/songwriter and pianist was the first to perform followed by Huntington Beach, rock duo, Echo The Sky, acoustic rock singer, Michelle Mangione and comedian, Dimo.

Continue reading “DEI Hosts CitizenGulf LA: National Day of Action” »