Pelham police identify vandals who destroyed fence

PELHAM — Police say tips and Facebook pictures helped them identify and catch the vandals who damaged a fence built at Raymond Park for an Eagle Scout project.

Several juveniles, ages 15 to 17, were responsible. They will pay for new materials and rebuild the fence as well as clean up other vandalism in the park, police said.

The agreement was reached among police, the town parks department and the parents of the juveniles.

Police did not release their identities.

Eagle Scout Tom Lynch, 17, made a public appeal for help in finding the vandals less than two weeks ago.

They had pulled down the fence he built and for which he collected more than $600 in contributions from the community.

“I’m very pleased about that,” Lynch said yesterday. “I think it’s very good work the police are doing.”

Lynch is a senior at Pelham High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 25.

“My interest was never to put anyone in jail,” he said. “I don’t think they will damage something they build themselves. I think they will learn a great lesson from that.”

Lynch said the parks department is overseeing the repair job. The work is to be done this fall, he said.

“I’ll be there when they rebuild it,” Lynch said.

He doesn’t know whether he will get an apology.

“I guess. But I don’t want to force anybody to apologize,” Lynch said. “If they take it on themselves, it will mean more.”

The new cedar fence, more than 200 feet long, was knocked down last month.

“All of the juveniles involved were interviewed with their parents at the Pelham police station,” police said in statement announcing the case had been solved. “Detectives were able to identify the individuals who had first destroyed the fence and also were able to identify who was involved in burning the fence after it had been damaged, as each crime took place on different dates.”

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SES San Francisco experts say targeted content key to social marketing

More than one-third of consumers say they are more likely to make purchases with a company after they become its fan, follower or a subscriber. Jeff Revoy, CMO of iContact, shared this insight with SES San Francisco attendees during his presentation in a session on content marketing and social buzz.

Revoy and fellow panelists offered insight on the value of garnering convertible fans, focusing on the idea that it is more important to acquire relevant social followers than mass audiences. The way to do this, they suggested, is with relevant content.

Search author Liana Evans reminded marketers that viral content doesn’t always translate into leads. Instead, she says it’s better to be “viral” within your niche community by sharing social content that will matter to truly convertible audiences.

“Focus on what [your prospects] want,” Evans said. To monitor which content is most effective in engaging social consumers who could be interested in your products, she recommends marketers watch the “Active Users” data for their Facebook pages and plan social content according to what drives positive results.

Similarly, Mike LaRotonda of Votigo said marketers who don’t work in “sexy” industries should think of the intangible benefits of their products and services and create social content that surrounds these issues. A sign company generated Facebook posts in a contest that asked business owners to explain why they needed a new storefront (and why the company should give them a free sign). Some shared humorous stories about their lackluster stores, others told heartfelt stories about their dreams of owning a business. The resulting campaign received hundreds of entries, and the content both entertained and highlighted the benefits of LaRotonda’s client’s product.

Revoy shared a related case study on a client who sells LED light bulbs. The client created a blog post about what happens if a baby touches an LED bulb. (No damage is done to the baby because the energy-saving bulbs don’t get very hot – hence, the blog emphasized a selling point). It generated a high volume of comments, showing users were engaged by the content.

These case studies also emphasize another point: content that is relevant may become “viral” in the sense that it will be shared by relevant audiences with other relevant audiences. That said, it’s important for marketers to invest in targeted social content.

Revoy went as far as to say that content is king for social marketing – even more than it’s king for SEO.

Brafton has reported that B2B and B2C investment in social and content (and social content) is rising. Marketers are well-advised to focus on generating content that will meet their social audiences’ information needs.

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