Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Well, here we are in August, 2010 and location-based social networks are all the rage. Everyone’s talking about Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp and now, Facebook Places. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn are all considered mainstream and imperative in terms of marketing.

However, it is obvious that many, if not most, businesses have yet to venture into the simplest and arguably the most effective type of social marketing…blogging.

Blogging is nothing new. Blogs date back to 1997, took off in 1999 and were considered mainstream by 2004.

It’s 2010 and your company hasn’t started blogging. Why is that? Are you afraid of what someone might post on your blog? Here’s the deal…people are going to talk about your company, whether it’s on your blog or in the grocery store. Perhaps you don’t see the importance and you’re not completely sold on blogging for business.

A recent study by eMarketer shows a strong increase in companies entering the blogosphere. Their study predicts that 43% of companies will be blogging by 2012.

Here’s a short list of 5 reasons why your company should be actively blogging:

1 - Blogging gives you the opportunity to establish yourself as the expert in your industry or field. Are you a local fitness center or gym? Your blog should contain posts and information on why someone should join your fitness center, as opposed to your competition. You never want to downgrade your competition on your blog. Rather, focus on what your fitness center has to offer and emphasize all the positive attributes of your facility and staff.

2 – Blogging gives your current and potential customers a platform to ask questions and communicate with your business. This adds credibility and can increase customer loyalty. Monitoring your blog closely, answering questions and replying to comments will promote trust and transparency.

3 – Search engines love fresh content. If you don’t add new content to your website on a regular basis the search engines have nothing new to crawl and distribute. Integrating a blog into your site makes it easy to post fresh information on a regular basis for the search engines to find.

4 – A blog is another chance to issue a press release, announce an event, launch a new product or make an important announcement. Blogging is marketing. What are you marketing? Your business!

5 – Your blog serves as what I call your “content distribution source.” With every blog post you publish, you can take that article, create profiles on dozens of other social platforms and post. Not only will this generate more traffic to your blog and website, but you’re also creating links, which will aid in search engine optimization.

Maximizing your blogging efforts will take time, but it’s worth it. Post often, include important keywords for your business/industry and engage with your audience. In my opinion, this should be the first step in creating a powerful social media presence and personality for your company or business.

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By: Scott Dickson

When asked if they’re utilizing the power of social media and relationship marketing, many business-owners and CMO’s will reply, “Of course! We have an awesome Facebook page and we’re getting started on Twitter.”

Well, that’s great. But, setting up a Facebook page and linking your posts to a Twitter profile doesn’t mean you’re “on Twitter.” It means you’re doing it wrong.

In my opinion, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket by relying too heavily on Facebook. Don’t get me wrong, Facebook is a huge piece of the puzzle. But, if you’re not executing effectively AND not implementing other social media platforms, you’re missing opportunities to engage your potential audience.

YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine on the planet. If you do a search for your company, will it appear in the search results? Better yet, if you own a restaurant in Charlotte, do you have a video tagged appropriately that shows up in a YouTube search for “restaurants in Charlotte”?

If you’re business to business, you must be on LinkedIn, right? Are you a wedding photographer with pictures saturated and tagged on Flickr? If you’re a movie theater you must be using Foursquare to reward your mayor and other customers checking in. And how about Twitter? Are you engaged? Do you really know what it means to be engaged on Twitter, or are you just pushing out content?

Are you utilizing the power of social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Propeller, Stumbleupon, etc.?  Have you claimed your blog at Technorati? Do you even have a blog? Is your website set up to convert visitors into potential customers?

Is your head spinning?

Chances are pretty good you’ve watched this video ad nauseum. But, it does drive home the point that there are other platforms to pay attention to.

So, yes…Facebook is gigantic and amazing.  You’d be crazy not to work very hard to have a commanding presence there. However, you shouldn’t stop at Facebook.

Take the time and do the research on the other opportunities…or, you can always just contact me!

A shameless plug, no doubt. But, hey…it is my blog.

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By: Scott Dickson

Your employees should be some of your biggest evangelists and ambassadors. When launching a social media marketing plan, it’s very important to get those employees excited about engaging and interacting. 

Let’s look at one example…Facebook. Your employees can be very effective at facilitating the growth of your Facebook page or group. But, why would you even need their help?

Here are five reasons why you should encourage your employees to get involved:

1) Great ideas can come from any level of an organization. Encouraging employees to engage on Facebook fosters collaboration and allows workers at all levels to contribute ideas.
 
2) Encouraging employee awareness of the Facebook page/group builds morale and boosts confidence. It shows the public and the employee that the organization is forward-thinking and takes itself seriously when it comes to new media. 
 
3) Employees engaging and becoming more active on the Facebook page/group will help the organization project a more positive image to the public, therefore enhancing the public’s view of the organization and its transparency.

4) Customer support. An employee can provide support and feedback online through Facebook by responding to complaints and thanking customers for comments, etc.
 
5) Employees suggesting their friends to “like” the page or join the group, helps it become more “viral” and facilitates a stronger growth of the audience on Facebook.

The next question should be, “How do I GET my employees to engage on our Facebook page or group?” That’s another blog post, but I’m thinking time off would be a great way to do it! Just kidding…well, sortof. Stay tuned…

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It’s hard not to notice all the local AND national brands out there in social media land that just don’t get it.

For instance, on Twitter I see many well-known businesses and organizations who have apparently just given up completely. Typically, they haven’t posted a tweet in 2 months or longer and they don’t follow back. It’s like they tried it, didn’t work…moving on. Giving up is the easy thing to do.

A popular song by Journey suddenly pops into my head…”Don’t Stop Believin’”

Here’s the chorus:
Strangers waiting, Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights, people, Livin’ just to find emotion
Hidin’, somewhere in the night

Yep, that sounds about right. They’re hiding somewhere in the night…waiting on “the boulevard.”

With so much hype surrounding social media, it’s easy to understand how a business can set up a Twitter account, post a few tweets and then wait patiently for the social media tooth fairy to arrive with thousands of new potential customers…only to be disillusioned when nothing happens. 

Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way. Social media is just like anything else. You get out of it what you put into it. Take some time every day and do a Twitter search to find interesting people to follow and by all means, follow people back. You don’t have to follow everybody back, but you should check them out and follow those that make sense to you.

Most importantly…engage. One of the best ways to grow your audience is to participate in pertinent conversations and provide interesting information to your followers.

Don’t expect a glorious appearing of new business in the first month. But, do monitor your analytics closely to see what’s working and what isn’t…keep managing & tweaking the process and you will see results. Above all, “Don’t Stop Believin’”!

For more information, or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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The social media “experts” are coming out of the woodwork like crazy. Here’s a little tip for you…there is no such thing as a social media expert. Social media lives and breathes. It evolves and changes. It turns left and right and this way and that way. There are no experts. There are only some who know more than others and some who pretend to know more than others…otherwise known as a snake oil salesperson (notice I didn’t say salesman or saleswoman).

Having said all that…here are a few tips on how to tell if the person who called on you is someone who truly knows their stuff…or someone who may know the lingo, but probably can’t deliver.

A snake oil salesperson…

1 - Tweets about themselves and what THEY are doing…constantly.
2 – Uses automated programs like “Top Followed” to grow their list of followers.
2 – Does not re-tweet others and isn’t involved in conversations on Twitter.
3 - Has a Facebook page containing posts with no links, has only been live for a month and only has 20 fans.
4 – Doesn’t have a blog on their website, or they haven’t posted on their blog in 2 months.
5 - Can’t provide success stories or share any case studies of their work.

The snake oil salesperson is out there and on the prowl. Don’t get led down the primrose path. Do a little homework and make a good call. Work with a consultant who has a proven track record of success and can back it up.

For more information, or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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Over the past 6 months I have proudly served as a coach/speaker at the Talk of the Town Social Media Workshop series at The Broyhill Inn in Boone, NC.

High Country Mom Squad founder, social media maven and close friend, Sarah Pinnix; created this series to help local businesses implement and execute social media and relationship marketing effectively. With her amazing experience and knowledge of the art form, I jumped at the chance to be involved.

Together with Sarah and website design/development expert, Boomer Sassman of Big Boom Design, we held hands with notable area businesses and walked through the social media maze together.

So…as we come to the end of our first round of Talk of the Town Social Media Workshops it’s gratifying to think back to where we all started more than 6 months ago. Most all of our attendees didn’t have a blog and few had a Facebook page or a Twitter account.

As more High Country businesses come to these workshops and jump online with social media marketing, these early adopters will already be masters of the art.

In our last session on Tuesday, February 15th we wrapped up and shared success stories. Mast General Store has nearly 5,500 Facebook fans as we write this. The NC Christmas Tree Association is getting tons of traffic on their blog and site. Appalachian Regional Healthcare System is setting up multiple Facebook pages, writing social media policies and growing followers like crazy on Twitter.

Doug Uzelac, General Manager of The Broyhill Inn & Conference Center and host of our workshop series states,

“Social Media Marketing is such a fast growing segment and it is the Broyhill Inn’s pleasure to be to be able to host these very informative sessions.  I would greatly recommend folks that have an interest in increasing their social media knowledge to attend.”

This is a serious workshop series where we get down in the hole with you and dig. We show you how to make relationship marketing work for your business. We give you the tools and help you understand measured results. We walk you through step-by-step from setting up your blog, Facebook, Twitter and much, much more. Most importantly, our team provides one-on-one personal coaching to make sure you’re getting it. We do much more than just helping you get set up.

Our smaller, more intimate and controlled setting makes it easier for you, the business owner…to learn, implement and execute effectively.

Vicki Stevens, Marketing Manager for the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System adds,

“The Talk of the Town series provided phenomenal insight to the world of social media and assisted our organization in establishing a new presence with our audience. I highly recommend the series!”

To learn more you’ll have to sign up for our next round beginning in March and we’ll share more personal testimonies and quotes in future posts. For details, CLICK HERE and register for our next series, beginning on March 2nd!

Visit http://talkofthetownworkshop.com, follow the workshop on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

“When are you going to do a workshop in the Winston-Salem area?”, you ask. It’s in the works and the wheels are in motion, so stay tuned for an announcement…coming soon.

For more information or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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By: Scott Dickson

With every agency in town pedaling their version of what Social Media can do for your business it’s very easy to get confused with where to go for answers. One person reads a book and suddenly they’re an expert.

Here’s the thing…opinion and theory are great, but no match for years of experience and a proven track record of execution and success. This is why you should do your homework before investing in a workshop that could potentially send your brain into a tailspin.

Sure, you can read books and blogs, go to workshops and learn the knowledge. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to deliver the goods. It takes real time experience to develop the ability to execute effectively.

Hiring a consultant takes the burden off you, the business owner or director of marketing….and puts it on them. You need to find someone you can strategize and plan with. You also need to hire someone you can trust…someone who can provide references and has proven the ability to navigate the maze of Social Media with measured results.

Hire someone who understands content development, websites, search engines and analytics. Many times these areas are overlooked and without the proper foundation, your Social Media marketing campaign will fail.

Sure, I participate in Social Media workshops as a speaker and coach on a regular basis. However, the people I particpate with are folks who also have the experience, knowledge and street cred to back it up. Their hands are dirty too.

Make the right decision and hire the right person. You have a business to run and other issues to deal with. Concentrate on what you do best. Let the consultant do what they do best.

And if you think this blog post was written to persuade you to hire me and others like me….you had better believe it.

For more information or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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Source: Center for Media Research

Most media professionals receive the Center for Media Research’s email newsletter. However, this one is definitely worth sharing…

According to a nationwide telephone survey in 2009 of the Inc. 500 list, under the direction of researchers Nora Ganim Barnes and Eric Mattson, social media has penetrated parts of the business world at a tremendous speed. It also indicates that corporate familiarity with and usage of social media within the Inc. 500 has continued to grow in the past 12 months.

Key findings from the study are that:

 - The technology that continues to be the most familiar to the Inc. 500 is social networking with 75% of respondents in 2009 claiming to be “very familiar with it” (compared to 57% in 2008). Another noteworthy statistic around familiarity is Twitter’s amazing “share of mind” with sixty-two percent of executives reported being familiar with the new microblogging and social networking platform.
 - While social networking and blogging have enjoyed growth in actual adoption, the use of message boards, online video, wikis and podcasting has leveled off or declined. The addition of Twitter (considered by respondents to be both a microblogging site and a social networking site) in the latest study shows that 52% of the Inc. 500 companies are already using this tool for their business.
 - 43% of the 2009 Inc. 500 reported social media was “very important” to their business/marketing strategy. And 91% of the Inc. 500 is using at least one social media tool in 2009 (up from 77% in 2008). In addition, 36% having implemented a formal policy concerning blogging by their employees.

As of 2009, 75% of respondents claim to be “very familiar” with social networking tools.   In 2007, 42% percent were “very familiar” with social networking and 57% were “very familiar” in 2008.  However, as the chart shows, across the board a significant percentage of the companies are “very familiar” with each of the technologies studied.

From familiarity, the survey moved into the companies’ actual usage of social media. While familiarity is related to adoption, even the least familiar tool (podcasting) has 37% adoption. Social networking and blogging have enjoyed growth, while the use of message boards, online video, wikis and podcasting hasve leveled off or declined. The addition of Twitter in the latest study shows that 52% of the Inc. 500 is using this tool for their business.

When asked if the use of social media has been successful for their business, Twitter users report an 82% success rate while every other tool studied enjoys at least an 87% success level. Measuring success was investigated and most respondents report using hits, comments, leads or sales as primary indicators of success.

When asked if they plan to adopt any of the social media technologies that they are not currently using, they clearly intend to continue immersing themselves in these tools.  44% percent of those without corporate blogs intend to have one. 27% percent of respondents who do not currently have a business presence on Twitter plan to move into that space. Even though the use of online video appears to have dropped slightly, the intent to adopt it appears strong. 

With more than 20 million people on Twitter in the U.S.(50 million worldwide), there are ample opportunities for audiences to engage with corporations and brands, says the report.

The key is listening and engaging, says Weber, but the study indicates that companies are not engaging effectively. Among the Fortune 100 companies examined by Weber Shandwick, only:

• 26% of their Twitter accounts were primarily used as a one-way flow of information that offered no engagement with followers.
• 24% of the Twitter accounts were primarily used for brand awareness. Many appeared to be on Twitter simply to have an online presence.  
• 16% were used mainly as sales vehicles for company products and services.
• 9% were directed primarily to customer service
• 8% focused on Thought leadership it.
• 14% of accounts were used for other reasons such as recruitment or employee-specific information, or their accounts were locked and not visible.

And, the conclusion of the Weber Shandwick study is that for the majority of Fortune 100 companies, Twitter remains a missed opportunity. To maximize the benefits of Twitter, says the report, companies should offer opinions and encourage discussions, reach out to their communities of customers and advocates, build relationships with new customers and look for untapped supporters. 

For more information or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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While some companies have banned the use of social websites altogether, many still allow employees access in the workplace to sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

The question is, “Are you being careful with what you post?” There are some legendary stories out there of people who have totally dissed their bosses on Facebook, only to discover that the boss was actually watching. Not smart.

Here’s a list of things you can do to stay safe and not run the risk of being incredibly embarrassed…or fired, some of which are pretty much common sense.

1 – Don’t post any comments or status updates that may bring your company/employer into disrepute.
2 - Don’t use social networks in any way to attack or abuse colleagues or competitors.
3 – Don’t post direct references to any business-related activities regarding your company/employer.
4 – Don’t post personal stuff during work hours. Do that away from the office.
5 – Only post positive work-related comments and information.

Remember, posts are time-stamped, so if you call in sick and decide to post a picture of yourself having lunch with your friends or shopping at the mall….you’re only asking for trouble.

Be careful out there. The boss might be watching!

For more information or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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By: Scott Dickson

It would be very easy to come up with more than 5 reasons why your business should be utilizing social media.

Here are 5 significant reasons to consider…

1 – Establish yourself as an expert – Blog about your business and share tips and advice to help you stand apart as the expert in your field. Share those blog posts on your Facebook page and Twitter profile and your audience will come to you with questions.

2 – Word of Mouth – Your potential customers are talking to their friends and family about their purchases. If your fans and follwers trust you they’ll tell others…increasing the chances they’ll buy from you.

3 – Build Relationships – The audience you develop through social media will be more loyal and feel more connected to your business. Communicate with them on a personal level and some may become ambassadors or even evangelists for your business.

4 – Increase Website Traffic – Once you develop a sizable audience and begin posting links to products, pages, blog posts, etc. you should see an increase in traffic to your site. Measure the analytics closely and record the metrics on a monthly basis.

5 – Search Engine Optimization – Google indexes content on Facebook pages, Twitter profiles and other social sites. This creates links back to your site, which should increase your search engine rankings and bring you more business!

For more information or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

Visit: DicksonInteractive.com

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