Challenge: Within the past year Hy-Vee has made significant investments in online customer service, including assembling a team of six individuals solely devoted to helping customers across a variety of digital platforms and social networks. Because each team member possessed diverse backgrounds and varying levels of experience, Hy-Vee felt it was critical to bring the entire group up to speed with an advanced training session.

Solution: Lava Row was hired to develop custom curriculum and facilitate the training engagement for Hy-Vee’s support team. The discussion was focused on rapidly-changing customer expectations, industry case studies, response scenarios and establishing an online voice consistent with the company’s legendary “helpful smile” spirit. We worked closely with Hy-Vee’s Customer Service and Social Media Coordinator, Larry Ballard, to build out the training goals and expected outcomes.

“Lava Row did an awesome job of putting us in a comfort zone that empowered our customer care crew to engage shoppers in the digital space and treat social media as a tool to solve problems. Now, customers benefit from the quicker service they expect, and our support team members enjoy the instant gratification that comes from solving problems in real time. Tapping Lava Row’s expertise was the first step in a sea change for Hy-Vee’s approach to customer care.” — Larry Ballard

For more information on Hy-Vee’s dedication to customer service, including a peek inside their new “Customer Care Center,” check out this feature on SupermarketNews.com.

It’s more important than ever to ensure your company’s teams are educated on social business opportunities and empowered to take action. If you’re interested in developing a training session for your group, we’d love to help - please contact us.

The Midland is home to many technology-related companies, some of which include Torsion Mobile, a recently-expanded T8 Webware, and Silicon Prairie News. We actually took over SPN’s old unit on the fifth floor. They left lots of pistachio shells on the floor. Dwolla also inhabited the building for a few years.

After a few coats of fresh paint and new carpet, the space is looking great. We snapped a few photos today:

Behind the divider is Nathan’s workspace.

Our official conference table, recently purchased from IKEA.

Norah Carroll hard at work and wearing her office slippers.

Here’s a nice area to kick back and relax in. It was the site of our very first #MidlandBeers (a weekly gathering of Midland Building residents with beers at 3pm on Fridays.)

If you’re ever in the area, stop by and say hello! We’re in unit #518 and the dorm fridge is stocked with Summer Shandy. Peace.

Some back story: I watched Page One after a strong recommendation from my friend Ben Godar, who rarely lets me down with his taste in movies. After seeing it, I thought it would be fun to host a viewing at the Lava Row office with a few friends and beers. But that seemed limiting. We can only seat 20 people here, and the metal folding chairs aren’t very comfortable. Plus, I really wanted the event to be accessible to anyone who works in digital media, the news business, the intersection of both, and college students.

That’s where Xochi Adame and CDS Global stepped in as a partner. They’ve been a great help in building out this event to the scope and size that it deserves. CDS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst Corporation and employs 2,500 people worldwide. They are based here in Des Moines. Please join us – we look forward to seeing you.

Event details: The first 50 registrants receive two free drink tickets, a small popcorn and box of candy. The first 50 tickets are claimed already, but you may still register below. Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase at the Fleur’s concession area. Networking starts at 6:00pm and the movie begins at 7:00pm, after a few remarks from myself (Nathan) and Kristin Runyan, chief information officer and vice president of product management at CDS Global.

More information:
Follow the hashtag on Twitter: #PageOneDM
RSVP on Facebook and invite friends: facebook.com/events/290255697702009
Official press release via PRWeb

We have worked with Veridian Credit Union, Iowa’s largest credit union, for about a year now. When we first met their team, they were in a place many other companies are in today: comfortable with their presence on social platforms, but eager to find unique, innovative ways to expand their use of social media companywide. One of their goals was to integrate social media more cohesively into marketing campaigns, a goal we began to tackle this fall with the grand opening of their new branch in Coralville, Iowa.

In anticipation of their grand opening, the Veridian Credit Union team wanted to get to know the Coralville community in a creative way and give back during the holiday season. The Veridian team formed a group they called the Surprise Squad, made up of Coralville branch employees (but didn’t reveal this to the community). They wanted to put the focus on the power of good deeds and random acts of kindness; their identity, they announced, would be revealed later. In the months leading up to the Coralville branch opening (and even now), the Surprise Squad brought anonymous good deeds each day to members of their community. They delivered rolls of quarters to people at the local laundromat, treated community members to free lunch at local restaurants, even paid the deductible to repair one family’s damaged vehicle. And along the way, the Surprise Squad distributed cards encouraging the people they surprised to visit their blog, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

The campaign received a tremendous amount of support online and offline, as community members, inspired to see good deeds happening around them, began to pay it forward. The Surprise Squad page on Facebook now has almost 3,000 fans, and was frequently visited by local community members sharing their Surprise Squad experiences with the rest of the Facebook community. Coralville residents could follow the Surprise Squad’s activities by visiting their blog, which was updated each day with a recap of that day’s surprises; looking through photos from the surprises uploaded to Facebook and flickr; and watching live reactions to the surprises through the Surprise Squad’s YouTube channel. The Surprise Squad also used Twitter to tweet out clues about their next surprises.

The final piece of the puzzle was a donation contest run through the Surprise Squad’s Facebook page. For the first two weeks of the campaign, local community members could nominate local nonprofit organizations for a chance to win a $2,500 donation. Following the nomination period, the Coralville community rallied their family, friends and neighbors to vote for their favorite organizations, and many organizations were neck and neck in the days before the competition ended. In the end, the $2,500 donation was delivered to the Preemie Project, an organization that makes blankets and onesies for premature babies born at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

We’re incredibly proud of Veridian Credit Union’s success with this campaign, and with the support they received from the community and from local media. The most effective campaigns aren’t just shared through social media; social media is integrated into their very core, from concept to execution. The Veridian Credit Union team did a terrific job seeking ways to incorporate social platforms at every step of the process, and we’re excited to share their success as a model of a well-planned, well-executed campaign.

Here at Lava Row, we cross paths with college students on a pretty regular basis. We sit on panels at universities, speak in front of student groups and participate in local networking events with students. Nathan served as an adjunct instructor at Drake University, teaching an Internet marketing course to upperclassmen. Norah graduated from college a year ago, and remains involved in Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication as a graduate. As we’ve met incredible, driven students from schools across Iowa, we’ve answered one question more than any other: “How do I get a job working with social media?”

On Friday, December 9 at 3pm, we’ll present our first local workshop specifically for students interested in working with social media after college. Join us for a (free!) candid discussion about how social media is playing in to marketing, communications and journalism careers — and how it’s affecting companies as a whole — and what that means for your future career. We’ll discuss the skills you’ll need to have to get hired, the platforms you’ll need to play with and the tools you’ll use to make it all easier. And we’ll talk about the ways in which social media for business is fundamentally different than how we use Facebook, Twitter, foursquare and other platforms in our personal lives.

Interested in joining us? Register at the bottom of this post — seats are limited to the first 20 registrants. Click here for directions to our office; metered parking is available along Market Street and SW 2nd Street (so don’t forget your quarters!).

On Tuesday, December 6th, we’re hosting a day-long 2012 Social Media Readiness workshop, designed to give businesses small and large an in-depth, advanced outlook on the social media landscape over the next 12 months.

Tickets are $129 per person – this includes five hours of content, a catered lunch and beverages. We cap the session at 20 participants to make sure everyone has time to have their questions and concerns addressed. To reserve your seat via Eventbrite, you may use the order form below or click here.

The session is structured around six common “paint points” that organizations are currently facing when integrating social media into their business, and how to overcome these obstacles:

• Catching up to the speed of information. How to develop custom radars to stay tuned to relevant topics and issues and manage a crisis online.
• Organizational silos. How to build a cross-department, multi-discipline social media team.
• Lack of structure. How to develop policies and process for engaging on behalf of the company and stay efficient.
• No commitment to education. How to structure and implement internal certification programs to educate as many team members as possible.
• Not enough human beings. With limited manpower, how to determine who gets charged with social.
• Lots of platforms. How to select which networks are best for your needs and audience. We’ll also take a look at tools you’ll need to have in your quiver for 2012.

Please join me in congratulating Hillary Brown as she embarks on a new adventure with The Integer Group’s public relations department, starting on Monday, November 21st.

Hillary joined Lava Row in the summer of 2008 and she’s been a major factor in growing the business and keeping our clients happy. We’re really going to miss her expertise, attention to detail, extreme work ethic and upbeat presence in the office.

Hiring your first employee is a terrifying thing. You go from being responsible for killing just your own food to making sure another human being gets paid. Twice a month. With health insurance. And it certainly takes a unique, brave type of person to raise their hand and say “That sounds fun – I’m in!” Luckily, Hillary helped stabilize many layers of the business and I never had to worry.

Do me a favor and wish Hillary the best on Twitter, and make sure you stay connected to her on LinkedIn. Godspeed, @hillabean!

In our next Lava Lunch series workshop on Wednesday, November 30th, we’ll share examples of how various organizations of all sizes have used blogging to reach their audiences — from moms to liquor fanatics. We’ll also take a look at the most effective ways to structure your blog’s content, share tips for managing a multi-author team and discuss a few “must haves” that make any blog more social and more sharable.

Refreshments and catered lunches will be provided. We’ll get started at noon, but feel free to stop by between 11:30 and 12:00 for some good, old-fashioned networking.

Tickets can be purchased at the bottom of this post for $30.00 per person, plus a nominal Eventbrite fee. Full event details and directions can be found on the Lava Lunch page.

In the past year, we’ve seen companies big and small begin to use Facebook as a meaningful extension of their communications efforts. From customer service to social campaigns, more and more businesses from all industries are using Facebook pages to communicate with their audiences in new ways. Now that your company has its own Facebook page, are you taking advantage of all the free tools Facebook has to offer?

In our next Lava Lunch series workshop on Thursday, October 27th, we’ll dive deep into the existing and emerging Insights features behind Facebook Pages — how to find them, interpret them and act on them. We’ll also discuss the best third-party tools for monitoring your page, including best practices for staying efficient when moderating a Facebook page.

Refreshments and catered lunches will be provided. We’ll get started at noon, but feel free to stop by between 11:30 and 12:00 for some good, old-fashioned networking.

Tickets can be purchased at the bottom of this post for $30.00 per person, plus a nominal Eventbrite fee. Or, skip the fee and pay with Dwolla. Full event details and directions can be found on the Lava Lunch page.

 Image via My Fun Circle

Social networks are great for amplifying your company’s voice and reach – but they’ve also given a powerful megaphone to your customers, your audience, and the general public. Are you prepared for the inevitable “social media age” crisis that will demand the full attention of your communications team and push them way outside their comfort zone?

In our next Lava Lunch series workshop on Thursday, September 29th, we’ll share examples of how various organizations of all sizes have handled (and mishandled) unexpected crises. We’ll explore different tactics to get your team prepared to tackle everything from disgruntled individuals to full-on doomsday scenarios.

Refreshments and catered lunches will be provided. We’ll get started at noon, but feel free to stop by between 11:30 and 12:00 for some good, old-fashioned networking.

Tickets can be purchased at the bottom of this post for $30.00 per person, plus a nominal Eventbrite fee. Or, skip the fee and pay with Dwolla. Full event details and directions can be found on the Lava Lunch page.

Photo: underbiteman via flickr.