Working Partners
Starting a business with a friend, colleague or relative can be exciting and rewarding—but making it work can be a challenge. Here are 10 SETS OF PARTNERS who have built successful businesses and managed to enjoy the ride.

ERIC DIETER AND JASON MITCHELL
WHAT THEY DO: Co-CEOs of Movement Strategy, a social media marketing agency.

HOW THEY TEAMED UP:
Dieter and Mitchell were close friends before they started their social media marketing agency. The two, both 24, met at the University of Colorado and bonded over their common interest in advertising and competitive skiing. Mitchell started his own company in 2007 to market a small solar energy company and brought Dieter on board with him to launch movement strategy in 2008. Now the agency represents, among others, the Denver Nuggets, the New York Knicks and Whole Foods. Mitchell says the agency aims to quadruple revenue annually for the foreseeable future due to the high demand for social media marketers and low supply of people who do it well.

THE DIVISION OF LABOR:
“For a time, I felt like I was doing all the work,” Mitchell says. “And Eric felt like he wasn’t pulling his weight. Eventually the two learned their strengths; Dieter manages the company while Mitchell recruits new clients. In June, Mitchell opened a second office in New York, while Dieter stayed at Movement Strategy headquarters in Boulder, Colo.

WHAT THEY’VE LEARNED ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS:
Finding a balance of responsibility was a challenge for Dieter and Mitchell, but once they realized they wanted to take the business to the same place, how they got there mattered less. Their competitiveness bonded them. “We both hate to lose,” Dieter says. “We hated being shown up in class or beat down a ski hill, and we both hated the idea of letting Movement Strategy fail.”

Beyond Viral: How Successful Marketers Are Embracing the Social Web

2. Making a Consumer Community
Marketers have jumped on the relatively recent explosion of online communities. If customers have the ability to talk to one another, why not create an incentive and a space for them to talk about your brand?

One way to accomplish this is to offer customers something they might actually do in real life. Marketing agency Movement Strategy, for instance, recently created an online forum for two of its NBA clients, the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks. The site — NuggetsVsKnicks.com — operated during an actual game between the Nuggets and the Knicks, giving the fans a place to cheer on their team (and trash talk the other). By integrating with Facebook — users cheered by “Liking” their team — Movement Strategy was able to give a real-world analog to the digital interaction.

What works: Campaigns that encourage community among their customer base can really help to build loyalty.

NBA teams create social media rivalries

The Denver Nuggets beat the New York Knicks on Tuesday night in Denver.
Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets won Tuesday's game against the Knicks and they're leading in Facebook likes. But there was also another battle won by the Nuggets.

Yes, yes: The teams tossed together a little social media battle at nuggetsvsknicks.com in anticipation of Tuesday's game.

Participation was simple: Fans were encouraged to give a Facebook "like" to their team of choice on the site. The team with the most likes won the battle.

The site was still active at the time this story was published, and the Nuggets had nearly doubled up the Knicks (914 likes to 566 likes).

While these certainly aren't huge numbers, the battle also encouraged fans to use the teams' Twitter hash tags -- #nuggets and #knicks -- to talk trash on the platform. (Cleanly, of course.)

Between the like and hash-tag encouragements, the showdown was an idea that succeeded in drumming up some increased exposure for the teams in the social streams -- an important goal in a space that's filled with an endless amount of content, publicity and opinion.

Freebies on Facebook and Twitter

...'If you're persistent, you can win'
This is important: If you intend to leave comments on Facebook, set up your account notifications to filter out subsequent comments -- that is, unless you want to hear from a million new friends. To do this, click "Account," then "Account Settings," then the "Notifications" tab; scroll down to "Wall Comments" and uncheck the box that says "Comments after me on a Wall story."

Want more chances to win?
Don't neglect local businesses. "It's a little more realistic," says Jason Mitchell of Movement Strategy, a Boulder, Colo., company that helps business clients find customers via social media. One client, the Paramount Theatre in Denver, ran a "joke of the week" promotion -- and as few as 10 people at a time entered to win free tickets.
A franchisee may have its own page, separate from the mother ship's. Hagen gets a "Friday Freebie" from her local Chick fil-A.

Try hash-tag searches on Twitter - for example, "#giveaway" or "#freebie." Keep in mind that you'll wade through a lot of results. It might be easier to find a reputable freebie blogger or two and follow his or her lists of giveaways.

Check the Facebook application "Wildfire" for a list of all current promotions. "If you're persistent, you can win," says Fruchter, of High Impact Digital.

Howdy, Partner: Teaming Up In Business

“...Another motive for uniting with a partner is that it can simply be more comforting to have a co-pilot than to attempt to build a business alone.

"Going out there with someone you know and are comfortable with helps you get your feet wet," says Eric Dieter, who joined his former University of Colorado classmate, Jason Mitchell, to launch an advertising agency in 2008 called Movement Strategy LLC. But Mr. Mitchell says there's been one major downside to the partnership. "The business overshadows the friendship," he says. "Every time we're talking, it's business-related."

The origins of business partnerships, much like in love, span the gamut, from complete strangers who connect through the classifieds to former band mates who discover they share more in common than an appreciation for music. (Please read how numerous business partners got to know each other in the gallery at bottom.)”

I helped the Denver Nuggets give back, and you can too

The NBA is well-known for its charitable acts. As a long-time fan of the Denver Nuggets, both on the court and pertaining to their good deeds, they never let me down when it comes to helping people. In partnership with Kroenke Sports Charities, fans can help the Nuggets give back, just like I have, without even spending a dime.

Some may have heard the word through the official Denver Nuggets Twitter or facebook fan page. If not, here's your chance to team up with the Denver Nuggets to help fund youth sports programs. Simply visit facebook.com/DenverNuggets and click on the Give Back tab. From there, click to share and Kroenke Sports will donate $5 to youth sports programs, up to a total of $175,000.

No other major professional sports team has used Facebook for this type of promotion.

Denver Nuggets 'Give Back' Facebook Application

This morning, Movement Strategy, Boulder launched a Facebook application for the Denver Nuggets and Kroenke Sports Charities. Each time the “Give Back” tab on their Facebook page is shared, $5 will be donated to underprivileged youth sports programs in Denver. When they hit their goal of $175,000 raised, over 4 million people will have seen a post about the cause on Facebook.

Go give it a click and give back to Denver.

Westword #WebAwards winners!

Best Use of Social Media by a Sports Team: Denver Nuggets

Social media is about hustle as much as it is about clever tweets or timely Facebook news. The Denver Nuggets strategy seems to work in time with its on-court play. Run by Movement Strategy, the Nuggets on Facebook and Twitter keep in touch with fans, with only a slight filter that makes you think its run by a PR firm. Nominees: Denver Browns, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids.

Jared Harding, Manager of Interactive Media and Digital Strategy for Kroenke Sports Enterprises

“With so much buzz surrounding Facebook and Twitter, we knew that we needed to successfully market and communicate in that space. Movement Strategy was able to help us develop a strategy outlining exactly how we could utilize social media to interact with our fans on a daily basis and build up a great method of communication in the process. We have since seen an increase in ticket sales, awareness about promotions and have started building stronger relationship with our fans. Additionally, within a period of just three months, Movement Strategy has helped us increase our Facebook fan page by over 50,000 people. Movement Strategy has been terrific to work with. They are responsive, knowledgeable and extremely creative, and we look forward to continue working with them in the future.”

Anna Biggs, Tour Coordinator

“Movement Strategy has proven to be a great addition to the marketing team at Warren Miller Entertainment. Jason and Eric were able to bring our abstract ideas regarding social media marketing to fruition – quickly, effectively and for a very fair price. Most notably, they executed a very successful contest on our Facebook profile, which generated a massive amount of viral response and grew our fan base by 1100%. The buzz surrounding social media networking has taken the marketing world by storm, and many marketing firms have casually jumped on the bandwagon – trying to capitalize on this movement. Unlike many of their competitors, Movement Strategy is the real deal. They are young enough to truly understand the technology, well informed about the industry, understand how to accomplish specific goals, and don’t overcharge for their services. It has been a pleasure to work with these guys.”

Scott Rosenfield, Creative Director

“Here at Gathering of the Vibes we have been very fortunate for the past 18 months to add the extraordinary talent of the Movement Strategy team to our Viral Marketing efforts. Both Jason and Eric have proven time and time again to be very pro-active and attentive to our needs. Their ability to execute both production and develop strategy, in a timely and precise manner, has been a major factor in the growth of our social networks. They have a clear understanding of the current social media technology and continually introduce us to emerging technology with insight into leveraging them into revenue streams.”

Volcom, DogFunk Partner On T-Shirt Throw Down

Dogfunk.com and Volcom have teamed up again for another contest. Check out the Volcom T-Shirt Throwdown Design Contest exclusively on the Dogfunk.com Facebook page. Contenders must submit an original t-shirt design to be voted on by the Dogfunk.com Facebook community. The Volcom crew will take the top 50 and narrow it down to ten.

Professional skateboard and Volcom team rider Mark Appleyard will choose the winner, who will receive the grand prize— a trip to Cali for the DamnAm Contest in October, $500 to spend on Volcom, and the production of 20 shirts featuring the winner’s design. The contest runs until August 5, 2011 at 11:59 pm MDT.

Grand prize package includes:
TRAVEL October 21 - 23, 2011 (trip valid during these dates)

• Two [2] round trip tickets to Costa Mesa, CA
• Two [2] nights lodging near Costa Mesa, CA
• Two [2] round trip ground transportation or rental car

GOODS

• $500 shopping spree at Volcom store
• T-Shirt design screen, printed and 20 t-shirts made of winner’s design

Event attendance at DamnAm Contest:

• Skate contest attendance + VIP area
• Two [2] ticket to the concert
• Surf with the Volcom crew (if applicable)