The Social Integration of Twitter

While technology keeps us moving forward with each new development, the creation of the Tweet-O-Meeter that can measure Twitter activity in major cities cites the Titanic as inspiration for its design. While the tool measures tweets-per-minute, it’s sleek design is on display in the British Library for free
until July 16 2011. The exhibit shows how social media has integrated itself into society; to measure tweets world wide puts Twitter and its use at the height of importance.

While the design pays homage to the Titanic, its real success is easily noticed: the acceptance of social media in daily life around the world. Social media’s place in society has grown ten-fold within the last few years, placing constant contact and connectivity at the fore front of our civilization.A quote from blogger Gil Pizano states,

“The social in social media also implies the tools, places and services that allow people to gather for social interaction. Social media allows individuals to gather and express themselves in a much more simple and immediate fashion. By giving people this capability, they not only have the ability to share ideas, opinions and other contents, but also (if they wish) gain notoriety, and expand their influence.”

We have progressed to the stage in our society’s fascination with social media that we are not only heralding it as communication at its finest, but rather the influence it has around the world. Pizano adds,

“Needless to say, social media has forever changed the way society works, whether it’s the sharing of an idea, the communication of news, or the availability of a product or service. Society today is on the verge of a new way of existing that it’s never experienced before. No longer will people from one side of the world be really able to say that they will never see a person or communicate with someone from the other side of the world ever in their life. “

We are beginning to take social media off its glorious pedestal of a new invention and showcase it as another venue for communication. The telephone’s spectacle eventually wore off as well, and when it did it became a house hold item. The Tweet-O-Meter throws away the mystique of Twitter and puts it on the back burner to the real success story: the connectivity of the world in under 140 characters.

It’s Not What You Know. It’s Who You Know.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I’ve heard it my whole life. The funny thing about that quote is that you can hear it everyday but if that day ends and you still don’t know anyone it hasn’t really gotten you far, and when you’re a young college student with a busy schedule it doesn’t feel like you can really go door to door and introduce yourself to business owners. The thing that seems most unrealistic? That any business owners will take a college student seriously.

Can you see me now? I’ve made an appointment with your secretary and I’m eager to meet with you, but to say what? You’re going to ask me about my accomplishments and I’m going to tell you the truth: I have none. Most college students can’t afford to be at the school they’re at so they’re working part-time jobs that rule out the possibility of networking and others like me are competing in athletics to help pay for school. Which let’s be honest, is only turning into a career for less that 1% of us. So here’s the scenario, I graduate and I hand out a carbon copied resume of things I think are important. Mine says something along the lines of “I’m an academic and athletic all-american. I have a high GPA. I worked at some summer jobs and my bosses liked me a lot. Oh and here were the classes I took, but I don’t know anybody important.” Now what? It’s start to feel for a lot of us like graduating is just the step before being unemployed. And it’s scary.

The best I feel like I can do is try to market myself. Social media is huge with my generation and if you’re anybody you’re on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, FourSquare, etc. So I did what any kid in my situation should do. I created an online portfolio.  If we don’t have time to go door to door maybe CEO’s surfing the web have time to come to us. Maybe our network that consists of mostly college students we’ll end up competing against can develop and transform into a professional atmosphere. Maybe if we get some help. So check it out and see what you think: jaclynjmk.wordpress.com

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Today’s post was written by Jaclyn Luscomb,  a junior at the University of Indianapolis.  She is majoring in communications with a double emphasis in journalism and human communications. She is pretty smart cookie according to her GPA. Current member of PRSSA [Public Relations Student Society of America]. I’m also a repeat NCAA all-american in swimming.

How Social Media is Changing Journalism

Social Media has without a doubt revolutionized interactive communication and the journalistic approach to news. We all get our news from various resources with fewer of us looking to more traditional media for ours news consumption. In some extent or another all journalism will feature, if not already, a social component. The Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Pew Internet and American Life Project collaborated to create a survey that explored the new participatory culture for news to gain a greater understanding of trends in media. For one content is changing to become more personal and therefore more social. Another aspect t that has caused a change in news in the increase in timely information. We are able to check at any given moment what the headlining news is. Therefore, people are turning to different platforms to get their news.

It’s interesting to note that the regular readers of The New York Times are 34% younger than 30, compared with 23% of the public, which suggest that a new generation of readers is discovering the virtues of the newspaper. Yet many still turn to the Internet to get their news putting a strain on how journalists in the past have conducted their work. Their entire industry is changing due to the rise of social media and the Internet.

While there are many options for the news consumer there aren’t many choices for a journalist. They either adapt of risk losing a job. We are seeing a rise of citizen journalists and bloggers are being seen as credible sources for news. How can a journalist make a living when their entire training has since then been changed? It’s time to start thinking about how journalism has changed due to social media. It’s a topic worth exploring. After all the journalist set the agenda for the news you consume.

Click here to download the report!

6 Tips for Successful Cross-Promotion of Restaurants

Sometimes going the extra mile for an event in your restaurant can make all the difference. I work very closely with one of my restaurant clients who came to me with a patron of theirs who wanted to showcase their art in the restaurant for an evening. I was brought in to help market this one-night event. What was going to be a simple evening of tray pass h’orderves and art, started to get my wheels spinning. What could I do to get more people to come to this event without spending a lot of money? What would get me to come to an event at a restaurant? Quick brainstorming led me to connect the dots in cross-promoting this event with the actual guests themselves. Here are the key elements I used to make this first Art Mixer event so successful that it is now a monthly event that has increased in attendance each time.

1) Invite a Guest Chef - While it would have been easy enough for the restaurant to cook the h’orderves themselves inviting a guest chef adds an unexpected element and intices people to come out for something special. There are many foodie chef bloggers online who blog about their food and would love the opportunity to come share their food at another restaurant. After some quick research of top food bloggers in the area I was able to reach out via Twitter and line up 6 chefs who wanted to participate for free to help get their name, restaurant and blog noticed. Each of them shared the event on their site with their audience.

2) Invite a Local Acoustic Musician – While art shows are great on their own, adding some music can liven up the space without taking away from the show. This was actually the hardest piece to pull off, as musicians want to get paid and the restaurant was not allowed to have amplified music. The way around this was using acoustic musicians that are not well known. Finding musicians is easy but often times they are struggling to meet ends meet and want some compensation. Convincing them to play for free is not easy but what I did to convince them was explain that it is an event to support and promote local artists and that I would share their bio on our website and send out an email blast to our customers with a link to their music, which could in turn help them get more gigs. Done! To actually find these musicians I turned to our Facebook fans at the restaurant. By simply asking if anyone knew any local musician we turned up 2 immediate suggestions who were both willing to play for free. Those musicians in turn knew more musicians that wanted to play at the restaurant as well.
3) Invite a Guest Artist - Customers love to see art in a restaurant, especially art that comes from the local community. We were lucky to have out first artist volunteer. What I did to find more artist was contact a couple local art bloggers and ask them to help me spread the word about the event and that I was looking for talent. This was the easiest piece to complete, artists were contacting me left and right to have a free spot to showcase their work. Once patrons from the restaurant heard about the event they too were submitting their own art to be considered.

4) Wine Tasting - What is an art show without wine. By including wine in the mix we were able to charge patrons to attend the event and participate in a wine and food tasting. We asked one of the wine representatives to come in for the event and pour wine and educate the customers on what they are drinking which in turn also increased future sales of those wines. Once the other wine reps found out that one company was successful in doing that they all wanted a chance to share their wine. Setting up a wine station with the wine rep doing the work instead of a restaurant employee saved the restaurant in labor costs.

5) Throw in a Theme - While the talent in this event are changing every month, changing the theme can help keep the event fresh and fun. In October we did an Oktoberfest beer tasting instead of wine, made a german influenced menu and had the musician do his own renditions of classic Oktoberfest music. Another suggestion just came from one of the artists. His art is mixed media “street” art so he wants to have food that compliments his art. What we will do for this one is challenge local aspiring chefs via our Facebook and email blast to come up with a gourmet street food menu and who ever comes up with the best menu will be chosen to come cook their items at his art show.

6) Partner with a Local Farmer’s Market - If you are lucky enough to have a Farmer’s Market in your town this can be a great way to cross-promote your restaurant while supporting local farmers. I contacted the new local Farmer’s Market and they were thrilled when I offered to send them one chef every month and shoot video and photos of the shopping at the market for fresh produce for a local restaurant. This was a home run for everyone because the chef blogged about the experience, the market was able to brag about a local foodie chef making an appearance and share the chef’s blog with their Facebook fans and the restaurant got a free plug on each of their sites as well. The restaurant is now considering bringing seasonal recipes with produce from the farmer’s market to continue cross-promoting each other.

There are many moving parts to this type of event but the reason it is so successful is that each of the guest talent has their own local audience. They all come together to promote each other on a small scale which in turn draws a greater turn-out. Each artist has sold at least 5 of their pieces at each show (ranging from $200-$1000 each piece) and one was even sold to a person that was just walking by and happened to peek inside. By leveraging the restaurant customers via Facebook for suggestions we were able to find artists that the community already enjoyed and that didn’t cost us a single penny. Our new slogan: Bringing together local talent and fresh produce supporting small business and local artists!
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Daniela Bolzmann is the Social Media Community Manager for Symbaloo. She graduated from California State University, Fullerton, in 2009 with a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. Daniela also freelances as a social media marketer, helping restaurants and retailers in her home town of Orange County. She writes about her lessons in being a community manager, freelancing and being Gen Y on her blog and can be reached via her many social networks.

21 Ways to Build Trust and Sales Leads in Social Media

This is an old post with some new features. Feel free to add comments and suggest new ideas for building trust in potential clients and sales leads while using social media.

In the new economy there is one major truth that stands above the rest. Trust equals revenue. If you are a small to mid-sized business it is the amount of trust you can build between clients that strengthens your brand.

With trust comes happy clients and with happy clients come referrals. Trust is a fundamental block of building business. Marketing is built under the assumption that stories can create an emotional bond between a consumer and a brand… a client and a service. Can you tell a story… create a service and en experience that builds trust?

Social media can help you build that trust.

1. Content

Content is the number one way you can build trust with potential clients. By creating meaningful and thought provoking content you are building a bridge to later sell that person on your services. Talk about what you do on a daily basis. When I  say you.. it means you are writing and communicating stories that happen to you on a daily basis.

2. Tell A Story

The stories surrounding your company are the only thing that creates differences between the competition. It is extremely important that you allow for your clients to tell your story for you. The people who love what you do… and the people you serve… are the best people to tell the story of your company. Forget about mission statement and vision statements… ASK your clients.

3. Transparency

This can also pertain to content or how you use a specific social network. Be human. The people who are interested in your thoughts and suggestions want to know about you as a person. They could care less about a sale you are having or the amount of money you can cut off their bottom line. They want to know how you helped LARRY the plumber or Susan the account.

4. Picture of Your Day

When you are using social networks make sure you put up pictures of your daily life. If you have a cell phone with a camera takes some pictures of your daily routine and share them with your connections. Just don’t over do it. We can only look at so many professional business or glamor shots in a day.

5. Picture of You

Use your real picture. I don’t know how many times I have said this. Don’t use your logo. There is only one exception to this rule. If you are usingTwitter for your business and personal (see my company @Brandswag for an example). Also, do not use a glamor shot from the 1908s. We ALL know you are lying… the only person you are trying to fool… is yourself.

6. Saying Thank You

If somebody helps you share information or decideds to retweet a post.. make sure you thank that person. They are helping you spread the word… they are your online evangelists.. If you miss a thank you.. don’t let it kill you.. but try to make the most of the people that help you out.

7. Do Not Auto-DM on Twitter

See my post… I hate Twitter Auto-DM

8. No Hard Selling

I don’t care about your enewsletter or the new lotion you are selling. Also, just because I reply to a tweet or a message does not mean you can message me back and sell your wares. Social media is a long sell process. You are developing content in order to gain an order of trust with people in your area of influence. We are now experiencing a relationship driven economy… get on the train.

9. Time is Important

Remember that you are building relationships.. do not trust the people that tell you to add 1023920 friends and make $10,000 a month. It is a load of crap. Build your following slowly… create relationships in an online environment that can be transferred offline.

10. Criticism is Important

You will be criticized. It is a truth of open communication. Take it with stride and respond. If you are debated… make sure you debate back. Stand up for what you believe and you will gain trust with the people who are listening…. and watching.

11. Have fun

Good Lord… is it that hard? You have the ability to connect with thousands… and thousands… and thousands of people from every nationality… and life experience. Just imagine your ability to expand your knowledge base and learn?!

One thought: If you are not enjoying and having fun with what you do… quit… go find something else.

12. Send a Handwritten Note

People are thanked and communicated with on a daily basis through social media. If I need someone to thank… I usually send them a message or an email. It is very rare that I will get a thank you card in the mail from someone on social media. Talk about building trust and setting yourself apart!

13. Guest Post on Another Blog

There are times when you can write different posts for other blogs in order to reach a new audience.  It can help you build trust and brand awareness if your content is shared on other sites other than your own blog. This shows other people believe in your content.

14. Send Out Random Surveys to Your Clients and Readers

There are plenty of sites that have services for survey design and distribution. It is important that you ask your readers and clients to contribute to the business planning process through social media. It is important that you know what they are thinking… you also want them to understand you care.

15. Be Aware of Your Search Engine Rankings

If a client or potential client is researching social media and your name is ranked for the search terms… you are building trust. Check out Slingshot SEO if you are wanting some help in the world of search engine marketing.

16. Comment on Other Blogs

Comments on blogs and websites allow for your name and ideas to be spread at a faster pace. This is old news in terms of marketing on the Internet… it is known around the world that if you post comments… you will receive more traffic. Post 1-2 a week on your favorite blog.

17. Get Involved in Your Community and Share on Social

Community development and participation is key when building a business. It is the community whether online or offline that drives business for every small business owner. Get involved in your community and share your involvement on social media. This could mean that you share a picture of attending a fundraising event on Twitter or Facebook. You can also get involved with Causes via Facebook.

18. Be Responsive in Your Social Media Use

From the Science of Building Trust in Social Media post from Mashable:

Olson finds that when only text is available, participants judge trustworthiness based on how quickly others respond. So, for instance, it is better to respond to a long Facebook message “acknowledging” that you received the message, rather than to wait until there’s time to send a more thorough first message. Wait too long and you are likely to be labeled “unhelpful,” along with a host of other expletive-filled attributions the mind will happily construct.

It is important to remember that being responsive is huge. When a problem is happening on social media… it is happening.. NOW.

19. Do Not Over-share Your Content

We want to know what you are doing but we REALLY don’t what to know what you are doing…. does that make sense? There is only so much content you can share on a daily basis. Unfortunately there are no true laws (or rules) that apply to each social networking site. In my book Twitter Marketing for Dummies, I write about the 4-1-1 rule… for every six pieces of content you share (4 should be from other people, 1 should be your content, 1 should be content from your industry).

20. Be Findable

It is important that your social profiles are findable when an individual is searching for you whether through Twitter or Google. Check out this post by DigitalTattoo on being finable online.

21. Create a Facebook Group for Your Circle of Trust

We all have a circle of people that we trust to network and drive leads to our business. I have a set group of 10-15 people that I ask constantly for leads and I help them bridge connection for sales and business development. Create a Facebook Group to help drive 24/7 conversation between the group. It is important to create deeper and meaningful relationships with your core supporters.

You must first understand the new functionality of Facebook Groups. David Armano has a great post on the Harvard Business Review describing the new Facebook Groups.

Please add to this list!

Over $1 Million Dollar Sale from Flickr

Did I get your attention?

I was at a recent chamber of commerce speed meeting – you know, where you sit across from another member and give your one-minute, thirty-second elevator pitch. Well… I didn’t want to talk about TKO Graphix (www.tkographix.com). I wanted to talk about social media. So I said, “TKO – we do large format graphics, vehicle wraps, banners, signs and – by the way – what are you doing with social media?” You already know what I heard: “What is social media?” “Nothing, it doesn’t work!” “I’m not big enough,” “It takes too much time,” and, “I don’t know what to do.” (We offered to help.) I also heard, “I’m dropping everything and only doing Facebook!”

How Did We Secure A 6000 Vehicle Contract (Over $1 million sale)?

TKO Graphix social media strategist, Josh Humble, published photos of our work on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkographix/). Jeff Moore of Moore and More Print (http://www.mamprint.com/blog.html), in St. Louis, saw our photos. Josh and Jeff reached out to each other, and continued to correspond and socialize within the network. One of our national account representatives, Glenn Burris, drove to St. Louis and visited Jeff. They had lunch and talked about how we could help each other. They were socializing face-to-face. Jeff was contacted by an advertising agency that needed a large format graphics company with traveling installation crews. Jeff recommended his friends at TKO, and the ad agency contacted TKO. Glenn and Tom Taulman II, TKO’s President, traveled to St. Louis and gave a big-ass presentation (BAP) to a big national company that shall remain nameless. Glenn and Tom met with the BIG company again. TKO provided a proposal and was awarded the contract.

We are currently re-branding 6000 vehicles at 221 locations in North America. We’re manufacturing the decals and wraps, de-identifying the vehicles, and installing the new graphics. This… is… a…game… changer.

The Answer? A Multi-Faceted Marketing Plan

Now, let me tie back to the first paragraph. Social media DOES work, but it should be part of your marketing plan, not just a plan in of itself.

• Social Media – Josh publishes TKO’s photos on Flickr and manages the account.
• Social Networking – Josh and Jeff correspond via the network.
• Traditional Networking – Glenn and Jeff meet over lunch.
• Friendship Networking  – Jeff recommends TKO to the ad agency.
• Sales Presentation – Glenn and Tom give a presentation to the BIG company.

Without a combined marketing effort and plan, TKO would not have been awarded this contact. So… when someone tells you it doesn’t work, tell ‘em about our 6000 vehicle contract (unless it’s our competitors, then tell ‘em it doesn’t work). When someone says I’m only doing social marketing, and dropping everything else, you may caution him or her not to quit everything they have been doing.

The Call To Action – Let’s Help Each Other.
What SM successes can you share? Let’s gather ammunition we can all use when faced with non-believers. Tell us your story. Be an advocate. Share. #SMworks

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Randy Clark is the Director of Communications at TKO Graphix, where he blogs for TKO Graphix Brandwire. Prior to TKO, he spent 13 years with Unique Home Solutions as Marketing Director and VP of Operations. He is an avid flower gardener, beer geek, and he fronts the Under the Radar rock & roll band http://bit.ly/9mJ59m

20 Ways Businesses Are Using Foursquare

I know. We are trying to figure this “foursquare” thing out. I understand completely. The research team at Brandswag (Rachel Elsts and Stephanie Gray) decided to put together 20 different ways foursquare is being using in the business setting. Hopefully this will help you in your search to using Foursquare for increased revenue and interaction.

1. Retail stores

Retail Stores are using Foursquare to get shoppers to not only “check-in” but to buy. It’s coupon clicking for retail without the hassle of having to chase a sale. Below are some great examples:

Express “$30 off $90 @ Express stores now-9/14/10, ring code: 2793. Limit 1 offer per customer. Offer must be presented at the time of purchase. Other terms & conditions apply, see store associate for details.”

American Eagle - “Check-in to any A store and unlock a 15% Off discount towards your next merchandise purchase. Expires 9/30/10. Limit one per customer”

2. Restaurants

Restaurants have been among the most popular places to use Foursquare. Many restaurants are being to play around with the application so be sure to “check-in” when your out. Some great examples of restaurants using the application are:

Carrabba’s Italian Grill - “Show that you’re the Mayor of Carrabba’s and enjoy a complimentary dessert with the purchase of an entrée. Grazie!”

Granite City Food & Brewery - “One Complimentary Appetizer or Flatbread for the Mayor!”

3. Fitness Clubs

Fitness clubs can engage with clientele by using Foursquare. The Five Seasons Family Sports Club offers this deal for checking in “See Thad, Fitness Director, for your complimentary Personal Training Session. Thank you for being a member. (one per member)” This is a nice incentive for current members to use the application. As a  guest who happens to visit I would consider becoming a member upon discovering this…after all I could be getting a FREE training session.

Currently they have this ad running.

4. The vast majority are doing it- even small business!

Corporations not necessarily related to customer service such as restaurants, retail stores and so forth are using Foursquare. SpinWeb (Indianapolis, IN)
“Since this is your third meeting at SpinWeb, you’ve won a free massage at Healing Key! Ask us for your gift card ” Pretty nice incentive and thank you for business gift. Businesses can give a personal gift without having to promote it all over town. It feels exclusive.

5. Parks are using Foursquare.

Parks are slightly different than any other venue. Its a venue where people assume interaction so using Foursquare to heighten this interaction is second nature.  For Instance, Conner Prairie Interactive History Park offers“$2 off General Admission on your first check-in! (one discount per Foursquare account “

6. Want to rule the town?

Mayorship is not a new perk of using Foursquare, but being recognized in the media because you’re the mayor is. Metromix Indy recently ran a cover story with the top mayors all around Indianapolis. Now, some Starbucks are even offering special discounts for “mayors” of their location. It may just be a title, but it does seem to come with fame (and a little fortune.)

7. Sport teams move to Foursquare

Redskins fans are in for a Foursquare reward: check in at the game and obtain a special Redskins badge. With the increase in geolocation social media, football season is sure to start to jump on the Foursquare bandwagon, with the Redskins leading the way. The move into social media will be a great way to measure fan base and game attendance plus the ability to make the game more interactive to fans. And the ultimate reward for constantly checking in at FedEx Field? VIP tickets. Not a bad idea at all.

8. MTV and the Entertainment Industry

MTV recently paired up with Foursquare to offer a contest to users that frequently checked into local music venues. Whatever venue had the secret “Moonman” badge put the user into a contest to win tickets to the VMAs on September 12.

The real question now is what celebs checked in at the actual event?

9. Get a discount on all the books you could ever want.

Borders has entered the digital e-book market and is using Foursquare as a new marketing strategy. Borders said it had started running a promotional campaign focused around Foursquare, where customers would receive a 10 percent discount off all full-priced books after every third Foursquare check-in at a Borders store. Borders is planning to roll out the campaign to all of its 26  stores and would keep the deal going for an initial two months (via Delimiter).

10. Did you check-in before or after you ordered your burger?

At 4food in New York City, the owners are giving customers a chance to rate their food and tell their friends immediately after eating. LED screens are displayed around the restaurant showcasing twitter mentions and Foursquare check-ins, while customers are encouraged to rate their meal during their visit. 4food states that they have yet to spend a dime on advertising, because they let their reputation and customers do it for them…and isn’t that what social media is all about?

11. FREE FOOD.

Two words that have driven crowds to dress up, wait in line and even forced college students to skip class. So how does it apply? Qdoba offered free burritos for those who checked in during a visit and shouted “I’ve been burrito boredom!” Not only does this have consumers become more outgoing due to Foursquare incentives, but the social media advertising has done the chain restaurant wonders.

12. (Socially acceptable) Gaming

With an increase in businesses participating in Foursquare, the competition between friends, peers and even strangers for mayorship/badges has taken gaming to a whole new level. The social media aspect is evident, as most hardcore Foursquare users post their status to various SM sites. However, there is a constant competition of who can become mayor of the workplace, coffee shop, etc. Coworkers “check in” fervently to try and win the title, glory,and available coupons.

13. Voice Recognition

It may not be the most socially acceptable way to check in, but Vlingo has created a way for  the Android app users to “check-in” on Foursquare by voice recognition. It’s a speech check-in feature that will save time, even if it does raise a few eyebrows.

With the new app, Android users can speak a simple “check-in to [insert place name]” command after tapping the home screen button. The command will prompt Vlingo to automatically pull up the location in question, and other nearby venues, on Foursquare, providing users with a fast alternative to touch-based Foursquare check-ins. (via Mashable)

14. Foursquare on Broadway

Have you seen Foursquare in Times Square lately? The geolocation social media app recently had a digital advertisement appear above the American Eagle store in New York City last week, encouraging users to check-in and find their friends. Foursquare is moving up beyond the local Starbucks check-in to the city that never sleeps…moving up has never been so rewarding.

15. SXSW (events) and Foursquare

South by Southwest is a popular music festival in Austin, TX flooded by young adults. The festival has been  integrating technology into the activities for the duration of  the week long event. Three years ago, Twitter dominated and this year Foursquare was all the rage. Over 15 badges specifically created for the festival and SXSW  stated that “Foursquare is a great way to keep track of one’s friends during a busy and crowded day in Austin, TX.”

16. Analytics/Check Stats

Businesses are using Foursquare to track the statistics of their locations in many ways. Here are the real time statistics businesses get insights into:
customer behavior while at venue

• most recent visitors
• most frequent visitors
• the time of day people check in
• total number of unique visitors
• histogram of check-ins per day
• gender breakdown of customers
• portion of foursquare check-ins broadcast to Twitter and Facebook

17. Foursquare as a Businesses Mobile Application

The application works as a real life walking advertisement; a potential customer checks-in somewhere down the block…they see that nearby there is a special deal just for checking-in…chances are they will visit. Foursquare tells users where the deals are and how to unlock them. Essentially, they drive traffic to your location.

18. Customer Service and Support

Foursquare helps guide the customer to this answer though tips and to do lists via friends on Foursquare. The users who give tips are customers with more than an opinion but an experience. These customers speak on the behalf of the company (good or bad). In a nutshell, customers are checking-in and soon discovering what’s so great about the product, venue or food from relevant sources. Businesses can let the customers speak for them and use their word of mouth  to spread the love.

19. Managing an Online Reputation

The application appeals to tech-savvy users and companies use it to promote themselves on various social media channels. Social media allows companies to have greater control of their online reputations. Foursquare is another way a business to manage its reputation by engaging with customers that they know have been to their location.

20. It’s still an open playing field.

Businesses are still figuring Foursquare out, which means now is the time to figure out a locations strategy. Businesses can bring all the things that make social networking fun straight through their doors.  Foursquare offer incentives ( a reason to visit the location), a game and a way to connect with friends. Why not play?

LinkedIn Offers New Promotional Tab

Hospitality Industry Changing with Social Media

Hotels and the Hospitality industry as a whole has undergone some changes due to the rise and growth of social media. The industry has largely been changing because of  social media with the advantage and disadvantage of unfiltered feedback.  If a customer experienced a bad stay…watch out. We live in a world where an individual could make a large problem for an industry who aims to please.

People now go straight to various social sites to find good deals, customer reviews and more. Hotels have no choice but to go full speed ahead with integrating social media into their marketing efforts. Customers use their “voice” (more like a bull horn) when dealing with this industry and can be brutally honest. There are thousands of reviews to be read and hotels must listen… in order to provide the best service possible. If there are reviews out there… it is safe to say that other customers are probably reading them.  Through the use of social media hotels can now focus their efforts by reading online reviews through Facebook and Twitter versus searching all over the web.

Facebook and Twitter are also great ways to drive users to the hotel’s website. Usually potential customers are new to your brand name and can be beneficial when measuring social media success. Also, hotels can set themselves apart by showing expertise (knowledge capital). Consider setting up a blog that details trips and activities to do near or at the hotel. Customers go where they feel secure.

When it comes to the dreaded negative comment… Social Media allows hotels to act quickly and be responsive. Instead of deleting negative reviews… highlight the positive ones. After reading the first 10 positive reviews people tend to quit reading the rest anyway. Another benefit for hotels is the ability to keep tabs on what their competitor is doing. Essentially, social media has given the Hospitality industry more value when marketing their services. Instead of people questioning where to stay, hotels can now market effectively with its other sites backing up its claims.

4 Tips on Writing Great Stories for Your Brand

When telling a story how do you make it a worthwhile read? How do you captivate your audience? Reflect on your daily activities to look for life experiences to help reach and engage with your audience. How do your use your life experiences to shape your story?

One thing to keep in mind when writing your story is the focus. As storytellers we can easily go off on tangents and get distracted. Stay on track by sticking to the focus of your story. If your having trouble finding your focus then stop and think….

and think…

It’s easy to forget a fundamental key in storytelling…thinking.

After some reflection and thought the focus may come to you once the story’s been told. The focus is what the story is about…why it was told.

Ask yourself four questions when preparing your story:

1. Why does my story matter? Why are you telling your story? You think it matters but who else does? This goes hand and hand with understanding your audience and telling them a story they’d connect with… emotionally.

2.What’s the point? What’s the purpose of the story. To teach something? To share an experience that changed you? This is your focus. You should be able to define what that is with only a few words.

3.Why am I telling the story? Original content comes from people who are simply willing to tell their story not attention seekers. So what’s your motivation behind the story?

4.What does this story say about me? Does it reflect you in a good light? Does it tell you audience who you are? Does the story flow? Is there a clear understanding? You want to make your story understandable and relatable. You want to be liked but you want to leave them with something to chew on.

By answering the four basic questions… your audience may be able to make a real connection with your story and ultimately you (your brand).

Why is it important to focus? Because we want to know what the story was about.

We want to know why that story was shared.

We want to take something away from it… connect with it.