1. Panic – “Our Interactive Department has a hard time building billboard-esque microsites. What are we going to do?”
2. Call a third-party vendor – “Yes, we know you charge an arm and a leg for your ‘proprietary’ software or will gouge us for a costly monthly fee for your software as a service, but our client wants this big bell and whistle and wants it now.”
3. Rush to market – “Here’s your on-line community, Mr. Client. Isn’t it lovely?”
4. Wonder where the crickets came from – “You know, we put the ‘community’ up there, but no one is signing up. I wonder what we did wrong?”

The problem that exists in scenarios like those described is that most agencies aren’t experienced or skilled enough with social media to understand the difference between the technology and the strategy. They also don’t understand that a website does not a community make. You have to have the community first.

This is why our Brand Enthusion process at Doe-Anderson provides the perfect backbone for our clients who are interested in building on-line communities. Because it’s not about throwing up a Facebook-like application and hoping people come to it. It’s about giving your existing community on-line tools to better facilitate their connection with the brand or with each other as members of your community.

Notice I didn’t say “on-line” community there. Forget the Internet. Forget the technology. Forget the tools. Think about the people. They might be on-line but they’re always off-line. They’re real, live human beings. They have community around your brand whether the Internet works or not.

Maybe it’s just you and your employees. Perhaps you can extend that community to your spouses and friends. Whether you’re a new brand and have very few “enthusiasts” or a 200-year-old company that has hundreds of people you’ve touched over the years, you have a community. So if you think you want to build an on-line community, what you really want to do is give your existing community on-line tools to enhance their experience with your brand.

Brand Enthusion, as we see it, is all about building an army of brand loyalists to help spread the good word about your product or service. As we help create that, we listen to them and find out what tools they might want or need to evangelize. Sometimes, on-line tools make sense, and we build on-line community tools to help them.

And, while it’s probably appropriate to admit that not all brands have a need for an on-line community per say, it would be irresponsible of me not to make the argument to the contrary. Don’t you think members of your community will be more engaged and more passionate if they can find people just like them to share that enthusiasm with?

The bottom line is that on-line communities are not websites. They’re off-line communities with a regular on-line stop. Don’t make the mistake of throwing up a social network without thinking through the strategy and building what your existing community wants.

It’s the same thing as building a jungle gym in your backyard and wondering why your kids don’t play on it … when you never had kids in the first place.

But that’s what I think. What about you? The comments are yours.

img courtesy bobster1985 on flickr

Image by Guillermo Esteves via Flickr

We’re kicking off an exciting era at Doe-Anderson in the interactive department and a lot of the continuation of our recent forward momentum hinges on four very important positions we must now fill. Doe is looking for a senior web developer, senior application developer, social media manager and interactive project manager to grow our staff. See the position descriptions below.

As the newly-appointed Director of Interactive and Online Communications, I am looking for individuals to help me enhance and expand our service to our clients and our agency. We have a proven interactive diagnostic process that has resulted in recognized web excellence in sites like Sun Tan City and The Cabbage Patch. My hope is that these four individuals will help us continue to grow our capabilities, making Doe Interactive an industry leader in content-centric website development and results-oriented applications.

Enough of the rah-rah. Here’s what we’re looking for. To apply, email a cover letter and resume to hrdoeanderson –at — doeanderson.com. Since these are interactive positions, you’ll get our attention if you deliver the resume and cover letter or supplemental work portfolio items in a creative way. And since I’m a social media guy, if you’re interested in the social media position, you should connect with me about the job on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Senior Web/Interface Developer

Overview
Doe-Anderson is seeking an experienced, talented Web/Interface Developer for a full-time position joining our Interactive Team.  As a Web/Interface Developer, you will work closely with other interactive developers, application developers, designers, and art directors to build new and redesign existing products, features and websites for Doe-Anderson and its clients applying best web practices and web standards.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree or higher in computer science or related curriculum
• 3+ years experience in launching interactive web sites and applications
• Proven track record of understanding web-based application design and development

A strong understanding of: Web design, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Adobe Photoshop

• Experience with creating interfaces that utilize CSS-based, table-less layouts\
• Proven track record of understanding web-based application design and development
• Experience with cross-browser, cross-platform website and application development
• Must demonstrate design and development skills across a wide range of technologies including: CSS, HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, W3C DOM methods and properties

Preferred (but not required)

• Experience with C# and Visual Studio .Net
• Experience with MySQL and PHP
• OOP methodologies and techniques
• Experience in a team development environment
• Experience with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Flash
• Experience with social and mobile application development (Facebook, iPhone, etc.)
• Demonstration of design and development skills across technologies including:
• Advanced JavaScript and AJAX

Responsibilities

• Team up with Interactive staff to design easy-to-use, innovative user interfaces
• Design and develop graphical user interfaces that use JavaScript, AJAX, CSS, and XHTML
• Build prototypes to demonstrate concepts.
• Implement user feedback loops to enable iterative support for ongoing enhancements.
• Research and analyze statistics and usability testing techniques to ensure user interface maintains level of usefulness.

Senior Application Developer

Overview
Doe-Anderson is seeking an experienced, talented Application Developer for a full-time position joining our Interactive Team.  As an Application Developer, you will work closely with other interactive developers, application developers, designers, and art directors to build new and redesign existing products, features and websites for Doe-Anderson and its clients applying best web practices and web standards.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree or higher in computer science or related curriculum
• 3+ years experience in launching interactive web sites and applications
• Proven track record of understanding web-based application design and development

A strong understanding of: Server-side web development, ASP .NET (C#), Relational database design & development (stored procedures, view, etcÖ), SQL Server 2000, 2005

• Experience with Adobe Photoshop
• Experience with cross-browser, cross-platform website and application development
• Must demonstrate design and development skills across a wide range of technologies including: CSS, HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, W3C DOM methods and properties

Preferred (but not required)

• Experience with creating interfaces that utilize CSS-based, table-less layouts
• OOP methodologies and techniques
• PHP and MySQL
• Experience developing social and mobile applications (Facebook, iPhone, etc.)
• Experience in a team development environment
• Demonstration of design and development skills across technologies including:
• Advanced JavaScript and AJAX

Responsibilities

• Team up with Interactive staff to provide solid application and database development.
• Provide ongoing maintenance and support to multiple databases and applications.

Social Media Manager

Overview
Doe-Anderson is seeking an experienced, talented social media manager for a full-time position joining our Interactive Team.  As a social media manager, you will work closely with clients, client services and the interactive team to provide social media counsel and management for Doe-Anderson and its clients applying best social media practices and community management standards.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree or higher in communications, computer science or related curriculum
• 2+ years experience in community management, social media execution or similar roles
• Proven track record of participating and integrating social media into personal and professional success

A strong understanding of: Blogging, Social Networking, Social Bookmarking, Online Communications and Conversational Marketing, Educating Others About Social Media

• Proven communications skills including strong writing and oral communications
• Experience in blogger relations or outreach efforts

Preferred (but not required)

• Experience with project management software (Basecamp)
• Experience with basic HTML and CSS coding, website wire-framing and project management
• Experience with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
• A noticeable personal brand in the social media space

Responsibilities

• Work with client services and clients to develop social media strategies and programs to compliment Doe-Anderson’s overall marketing service in building brand enthusiasm.
• Work with Interactive team, including developers and project managers, to deliver web-based sites and applications that meet and exceed client expectations for engagement and performance.
• Integrate social media thinking throughout the agency, bringing the social web to life for all of our clients and our internal team.

Interactive Project Manager

Overview
Doe-Anderson is seeking an experienced, talented interactive project manager for a full-time position joining our Interactive Team.  As an interactive project manager, you will work closely with clients, client services and the interactive team to provide project management for Doe-Anderson and its clients applying best interactive practices and interactive standards.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree or higher in marketing, communications, computer science or related curriculum
• 2+ years experience in interactive account management/project management, account services or similar roles

A strong understanding of: Interactive media/web development, standard documentation practices, diagrams, Microsoft Project, Visio

• Proven communications skills including strong writing and oral communications

Preferred (but not required)

• Experience with basic HTML and CSS coding, website wire-framing and project management

Responsibilities

• Serve as a liaison to multiple clients and to the interactive department.
• Be responsible for the day-to-day activities on all assigned interactive clients and will work with account teams to generate ideas and recommendations for interactive projects.
• Oversee projects from start to finish, including estimating and budgeting.
• Work closely with the Interactive development team on technical issues.

If you’re interested in any of the positions, follow the instructions. We’re not hip on those that don’t. I’m looking forward to your resumes.

Wait until you see the “big surprise” at the tail end of this video. Todd leads off with a few new staff introductions, then … well … you just gotta see it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The cast of characters included Lindsey Neely, Brooke Anderson (in the bear head), Jennifer Block, Amanda Elgin, Kathryn Nassr, John Stammerman, CFO Tom Mudd (yes, that was Tom … dancing!) and our fearless (obviously) leader Todd Spencer.

We all nearly choked on our halloween cookies.

Okay everyone, what’s the silliest thing your CEO (or CFO) has ever done in public?

Each cycle of Interns at Doe (we have three seasons or sessions with 3-4 Interns each every year) picks up where the last set of Interns left off with SoKY, reviews their recommendations for moving forward, then meets with the client to formalize goals, objectives and priorities. The Interns then handle the client services and even some of the public relations, media or print production work for the projects. They work the jobs through the various departments, writing creative briefs, working with the art directors, copywriters, the digital marketing staff and so on, to complete the work and serve the client’s needs. Any work that isn’t able to be completed in the three- to four-month time frame of the Internship is carried over with recommendations for next steps to the following round of Interns.

The process gives them first-hand, working knowledge of how nearly all aspects of the Agency works and has proven very successful in helping our previous Interns get their arms and minds wrapped around the world of brand building. In fact, one of our Interns in the summer of 2006, Lindsey Neely, is now heading up our intern program and is a brand architect here at Doe.

Here’s the presentation we saw this morning summarizing what they set out to, and did, accomplish, what they learned and what recommendations and work they are passing on to the next round of new talent we bring to the Agency:

The thematic gist of their presentation was that everyone is a fan of the Special Olympics because we’re a fan of character-building, hard work, passion and so on. Everyone at Doe is also a fan of our Interns.

(David Bonner doesn’t know I’m posting this. Shhhh! Don’t tell.)

Click on over to my Flickr page to see the Photo Set of our Day in the Office. In the meantime, I’ll see if Stammerman can’t whip up a little Flickr plugin action to put the gallery in the post.

Enjoy!