Archive for the ‘social media’ Category

In this very well written article from The Washington Post and PC World, small businesses are counseled to “set up a Twitter account, establish a Facebook page, and start talking.” Unlike some articles I’ve read, this one is on point with a good explanation of how to establish goals, listen to the conversation and gain results.

So far in 2009, 66 percent of marketers used social media in some form, according to the Association of National Advertisers. That’s up from just 20 percent in 2007.”

The article brings together the latest metrics and good case studies about how several businesses use social media. The article also mentions several of the best of class tools for using social media and tracking results.

Bloggers are influential. A study reports that 50% of those who report reading blogs, trust them for their evaluations of products. And of those using blogs to evaluate products, 52% of respondents said that blogs tipped their decision on which product to purchase at the time of their purchase.

In memory.

This morning at my referral group, I presented an impromptu social media overview to members. A good number of members have personal facebook pages. Several had facebook business pages and three had twitter accounts.

There were some who are just learning about the conversational aspects of how to use social media and those who were already savvy. All were interested in the opportunity to increase their business using social media.

How can you use social media to grow your business? Here are some excellent ideas from David Hale on Examiner.com.

They are as varied as the businesses represented and all feature some great ideas for inspiration.

Establish a social media account if you don’t have one. Find others with similar interests, follow or friend them and read their tweets and posts to facebook. Add your own in response to theirs. Get a feeling for what interests them. When you are comfortable, you can begin to initiate conversation about subjects of interest to you. As you continue to find followers, you will gain followers. Then you can find opportunities that will allow for the right opening for inquiries about doing business together.

Just remember, the emphasis is on social, not media and you’ll be on the right track.

Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons pthread

Twitter is hard for many to grasp. The idea of sharing online what are seemingly inane comments about your life and work mixed-in with thoughts about your business or products seems like a waste of time. But remember the old adage? “People buy from people?” Well, that’s true here.

Used well, Twitter humanizes people in corporations and behind brands. Just ask the folks @Zappos shoes.

Twitter is a very effective tool to shape brand perceptions. There are a crop of articles and examples of how Twitter is helping PR pros and companies.

MediaBistro which is a great resource for publicists and writers posted an interview with Robert Quigley, Austin American-Statesman Internet Editor that includes how he has used Twitter to increase audience and develop new audiences for that publication.

AdAge has a great article from @TomMartin regarding how he demonstrated the ability of Twitter to reshape perceptions of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. His research before and after his Tweets regarding the festival demonstrated attudinal change.

Closer to home @webprgirl Lyn Mettler is using Twitter to promote a virtual Myrtle Beach Blast. Not only will she reshape awareness for the participating hotels, she will plant the idea of Myrtle Beach in the minds of people at the right booking time in the year. It will be interesting to compare and track bookings at each hotel before and after the event.

Tweet on! I’m @Cheryl_Smithem on Twitter and I look forward to learning about your business and how you use Twitter. Share your experience. Write up how your company is using Twitter and I’ll post with your byline.

Within the last several days I’ve noted a number of new followers on Twitter (@cheryl_smithem) as well as many more #CHS (that’s twitter for Charleston, SC) followers.

I think we’re on a roll in Charleston with WCBD TV2 getting all their on camera and production/executive staff on Twitter. Jared Smith wrote a warm welcome tutorial for them and for all of us who’d like to learn more about the major tools on Twitter.

And with the Charleston Metro Chamber hosting a Web 2.0 seminar for their members, sleepy Charleston is cresting into the new age.

Many here are already tweeting away and you can find out what’s the latest to cheep about by searching Twitter using #CHS.

Even though my 22 year old son does not get Twitter, many journalists do. You can find who at Business Week is using Twitter and many other major publications such as the New York Times.

In order to share your news with these publications, follow first, learn their personalities and then when appropriate you can possibly even tweet a story idea. However, make sure to develop a relationship with all you follow and add to the conversation. On Twitter it gets pretty boring when all you do is promote your company and products. Try to befriend and assist. Share resources. Be transparent about who you are. But remember the twitterverse is live and what you tweet lives on.

Be sure to follow me @cheryl_smithem

Photo courtesy of flickr’s Creative Commons and nagillum

“The number of US women over age 55 using Facebook grew by 175.3% since September 2008, making mature females one of the fastest growing demographic groups on the social network, according to usage statistics released by independent blog Inside Facebook.”
It’s interesting to note that teens, formerly the largest component on facebook are now the smallest component.

How does one use facebook as a marketing tool? Many small business owners are successfully creating fan pages and friends groups and posting exclusive offers for members of the group. Facebook is one way to market socially at very low cost. Some have created applications to drive interactivity with items linked to their products or services. Creating applications has a higher cost than the old fashioned friend / fan page.

Best facebook marketing tips:

1. Post exclusive events to your fan page
2. Make sure your friends invite their friends to your group
3. Post a flickr stream to your facebook page and be sure photos from your recent events are there for tagging
4. Interact with the memeber of your fan group, noting their changes and updates and commenting on them to create a tighter sense of community.

When it comes to reaching women, it’s time to face facts; it’s facebook!

A great new slide show has been created that shares the major points of what is social media. It’s written in a simple, direct way that really gets one’s attention and makes the point that the revolution in media is done…happened…over.

View the slide show and you can amaze your friends with your knowledge of social media!

Over the last few years, I’ve had clients respond with strong a “no” when we’ve suggested that they have a blog. Most have concerns that they won’t be able to keep up the posts and most don’t want the exposure to negative comments that they believe the company will receive. Others worry about the expense of delegating someone to respond. With good management, authenticity and transparency in posts and responses to comments, many of these objections can be overcome.

The positive points of having a blog for your business are capably enumerated in this post from Conversation Agent. Especially insightful are these points:

Blogs allow you to:

• provide topical and relevant information and resources regularly, to become an appointment
• receive feedback from your readers and engage them in discussions that are relevant to them
• distribute your content more widely thanks to Google and the larger business community online

Valeria Maltoni’s helpful suggestions of how to organize one’s thoughts and ideas work.

As she notes, printed and mailed newsletters have their place as do e-newsletters, but a blog allows for two way conversation. As we’ve noted in previous posts (Ask your users what they think), we want to listen and engage more than talk to.

Blogging is a rewarding way to engage your customers and provides immediate and updated news to them.