Media Emerging

I don’t talk about my pet projects much here, but this time I just gotta…

Save the Date: The Panthers Purrsuit is Saturday, October 23.

The Panthers Purrsuit, presented by the Allen Tate Company, is a citywide social media competition. Think scavenger hunt, road rally, riddle and social media all in one.

Start by signing up for The Panthers Purrsuit. You’ll receive your first clue — a Purrsuit Riddle — via email. Earn 3 Purrsuit Points by solving the riddle and completing the challenge.

(Full disclosure: I am compensated by the Carolina Panthers for producing this event.)

Follow the Clues

On Oct. 23, you’ll follow navigational clues from Bank of America Stadium to check-in spots throughout Charlotte. Clues might be simple (Drive 1.3 miles, turn left, continue for 0.7 miles, turn right at the light…) or tricky (Navigate to tallest building in Charlotte. Look for a man wearing the national colors of Cameroon.).

Remember, it’s not a race. Your job is to get to each destination safely. You get no points for arriving first, or for driving like an idiot.

Check In with Location-Based Mobile Apps

Once you arrive at your destination, check in on location-based apps like Foursquare and Gowalla to earn Purrsuit Points.

Check the “Tips” and “To-Do” areas, too…you might find bonus Purrsuit Points or other valuable info.

Complete Social Media Challenges

After checking in, you’ll have a chance to earn more Purrsuit Points by completing “social media challenges.” Again, challenges will range from the simple (Tweet a photo of you and the business owner) to the silly (ex., Convince a stranger to sing “Afternoon Delight” and upload the video to YouTube).

You’ll have multiple opportunities to earn Purrsuit Points at each check-in destination. What’s your strategy? Try every challenge? Pick and choose based on how many Purrsuit Points are up for grabs? Spend all day at one stop or visit them all? It’s up to you!

Rack Up Purrsuit Points, Earn Prizes

Rack up points, discover local businesses, meet new people, and have fun — and maybe even earn a prize or two. The grand prize is a trip for two to see the Carolina Panthers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ve got tons of other great prizes up for grabs, too. There’s even a special prize pack for supporting non-profits in our community during the Purrsuit.

Rally to the Finish Line

The ultimate fun happens at the finish line. We’ve picked a secret location in Uptown Charlotte for a TweetUp after party. We’ll tally the scores, award prizes, and celebrate the event with a party. It’s a great venue, and you’ll get to reconnect with some of the people (sponsors and contestants!) you met throughout the Purrsuit.

Purrsuit Hint: We’ve built a unique challenge at the finish line, so plan on rallying there, even if you’re still Purrsuing. You’ll need to work together with other teams to complete the final challenge.

Two Amazing Sponsors

The Panthers Purrsuit wouldn’t be possible without The Carolina Panthers and the Allen Tate Company, the #1 real estate company in the Carolinas. Dozens of other sponsors support the Purrsuit, too, and you’ll meet them throughout the event. Be sure to thank our sponsors and get to know their people — show ‘em what the social part of social media’s all about!

For a guy who runs a pretty big PR agency and serves some pretty big clients, Todd Defren sure appreciates the little things.

As is his habit, Todd dashed off another thoughtful post this week — this time sharing five tips for dealing with marketing’s relentless pace in the social media era. “Good stuff,” I commented as I shared it via Twitter. Check out Todd’s reply to me and Arik Hanson, who also shared it:

“A RT always nice & appreciated, but it’s the extra couple of characters’ worth of praise that warm the heart. ;)”

A-friggin’-men, right?

ReTweets are nice. I love traffic and attention — who doesn’t? But there are other ways to help a blogger. Better ways.

David Spinks once helped my blog by adding his voice to it with a co-post about brand avatars. He made this blog’s richer, more vibrant, and he brought more traffic than a ReTweet would. Elizabeth Sosnow did the same with her guest post about B2B social media.

Arik Hanson helped me by refusing to let me be without a job. The dude held a Tweetathon on behalf of Sonny Gill and I that generated over two dozen job leads for me…inbound job leads. Think I’ll ever forget that? (Sonny and I returned the favor — with an assist from Southwest Airlines, we got him to Blog Potomac)

When I need advice on joining an agency, Amber Naslund helped put me in touch with Gini Dietrich, and Gini has helped me with advice, encouragement, lead generation and comic relief ever since.

Lisa Hoffmann is my on-call sounding board, and more often than not, saves me from saying something stupid. And when I need an intellectual sparring partner, there’s nobody I’d rather match wits with.

You get the picture. Each of them has left a stamp on my memory — images that don’t vanish like Tweets in a stream.

It doesn’t take a ton of effort to help another blogger — just a smidge more than a RT is enough to make an impact. Try these:

• Email a word of appreciation, encouragement or kinship to keep the blogger’s drive up
• Offer to write a guest post to lessen the burden of content creation
• Give her something of value to share with her readers
• Listen (remember that old SM rule?) and identify a need — then offer to fill it
• Reply to other readers in the comments section to turn a pretty good post into a humming conversation
• Give him a little link love
• Call, DM or email to ask how their business – not their blog — is, and find a way to help alleviate a business headache

What are some ways you help bloggers?