How do you get your company noticed in the crowded world of Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and other popular social media sites? Well, Room 214 is getting an international reputation for helping brands get new customers through social media and we had an informal chat over beers one Friday afternoon to find out what’s on their minds.

TechStars in Boulder, Colo., and Cambridge, Mass., is a summer-long mentoring program open only to about 10 companies for each city.  In our visit to Boulder this summer, we found it to be both interesting and amazingly fun. The amount of entrepreneurial energy in the city of 300,000 is amazing.

And everyone was helpful.  We found one startup helping another, and every startup recommended another startup for us to visit.

Late one Friday afternoon, Robert Scoble, Rocky Barbanica and I just “dropped in” on Room 214.  We actually entered through the window!  We didn’t know what to expect, but what we found was an interesting and laid back group — enjoying a beer at the end of the work week.

The office was complete with the office dog. (What respectable startup doesn’t have an office dog these days?)

Turns out Scooby the dog was as laid back as the rest of the Room 214 team.

But this laid back team is also doing some pretty amazing work in brand-recognition, social marketing, and highlighting their customers.

Room 214 is a different kind of social media agency.  They actually have programmers (they are in the background of the video — generally staying away from the camera and building code). They build applications for their clients on social media platforms such as Facebook, providing the kind of attention to detail that helps make Room 214 a one-stop-shop for getting a company noticed.

Robert caught the whole wide-ranging conversation on his HD Camera.

If you are ever in Boulder on a Friday afternoon, and want to learn more about how to use social media, stop by Room 214.  Especially if you are thirsty, and just want to feel as if you are in a welcoming place.

Among the people in the video are James Clark, co-founder; Jason Cormier, co-founder; Wendy Hofstetter, marketing architect; Brandon Walen, innovator; and video producer Rocky Barbanica (in front of the camera for a change!).  And I make a small appearance at the end.

The Room 214 team openly talked about what they do that makes them successful — and how they help their customers win.

You’ll hear them list the three most important things to do with a Facebook Fan page, the Room 214 methodology for engaging influencers and the team ticks off the smart people they follow on Twitter.

“We really believe in teaching people how to fish,” Clark says in summing up Room 214′s strategy.

Links relevant to this video include:

Room 214 Web site – http://room214.com/

Room 214 Facebook — http://www.facebook.com/Room214?v=app_10442206389

TechStars – http://www.techstars.org/

SmartyPig — http://www.smartypig.com/

Travel Channel — http://www.travelchannel.com/

Travel Channel’s Man v. Food — http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_v_Food

• marketing
• marketing strategy
• Room 214
• social media
• TechStars