Posted in Marketing, indianapolis, politics, social media, social media marketing

1 comment

5/03 2009

Announcing a Bid for Congress on Facebook

(hat tip to Hoosier Access for the post about Brose McVey)

In my opinion the political world received a massive dose of social media when (now) President Obama created a massive viral MACHINE using sites like Facebook and Myspace. We are now experiencing a shift between traditional and new media marketing in the political world. This shift may be small but it is still being pushed across the mainstream world.

Brose McVey is running for the 5th Congressional District against Congressman “Indiana” Dan Burton. Where did I witness the announcement? Facebook. Brose McVey’s update status read something like this:

Brose McVey is running for Congress in the 5th CD.

Now… I know that Mr. McVey will have something extremely formal for his ACTUAL announcement but it is encouraging to see the political world embracing the use of tools like Facebook and Twitter.

As long as the use is genuine and not a hard sell.. Is Dan Burton on Facebook?

Posted in Guest Post, Marketing, Micro-Blogging, small business, social media, social media marketing

1 comment

3/03 2009

Guest Blog: America’s First Viral Restaurant: Kogi

Jamie Varon spends her days writing on her blog, intersected. Intersected is that place where work, love, and life all meet and you wonder, “Where the hell do I go from here?” She is also currently looking for a job (any takers?) and resides in the Bay Area. Her goal is to one day achieve world domination through her blog, but for now she’ll settle for a decent readership. Jamie is a writer, a marketer, a graphic designer, and on her good days, a comedian.

By now, I think most of us have heard about Kogi BBQ. It‘s been said to be “America’s first viral restaurant” because the Korean BBQ taco truck tweets where it will be headed to in LA and hundreds of people show up at the location they post on Twitter. It’s buzz and viral marketing at its best and even Twitter co-founder Evan Williams was impressed at how the taco truck had utilized his micro-blogging platform. What’s interesting about this company, beyond their “buzziness”, is that there are two very fundamental things to learn from them in regards to how small businesses can utilize social media.

1. There is no right or wrong way to use social media

No one could have predicted that Kogi was going to splash onto the social media scene and become as successful as they have. I’m sure many people would have thought Kogi’s idea was ridiculous: “You want to use Twitter to do what!? To tell people where you’ll truck will be? Yeah, like anyone will show up.” But now, it seems brilliantly simple. This mysterious and elusive taco truck can only be found through word of mouth; the Easter egg/scavenger hunt aspect of it only makes it more… cool. They utilized Twitter in a way that no one else had. And, that’s the essence of social media: make it work for you.

The internet and the landscape of social media has become intensely diverse that you’d be hard-pressed to find a niche that is not represented somewhere. For small businesses, that’s perfect for marketing your company. Find out where your niche is hanging out online and saturate that area. Be creative and mold what’s already available within social media into something that works for your business. Be inspired by what Kogi has done and how they have morphed a simple networking site into a legitimate cornerstone of what makes them successful.

2. Small or large business: there’s a place for you here

With over a million users on Twitter, Kogi isn’t attempting to reach all of them. Their audience is fairly narrow, because the only people that can visit the truck are the ones in the LA area. So, although Twitter far surpasses just the LA area, Kogi has found a way to reach their market within the broadness. They’ve found a voice within the interminable noise of millions of users. Small businesses can do that, even though social media can seem intimidating.

There’s a way for even the internet to feel local. There’s a way to shrink down the scope of social media, so you can have the “what a small world!” moments all the time.

Be creative. Be relevant. And find ways for social media to work for you.

Evan Williams Predicts That “Normal People” Will Use Twitter In Five Years (tsurch.com)
The Latest On Twitter: CEO Williams Talks (paidcontent.org)
Main Point of Twitter? Re-Tweeting. (kylelacy.com)

Posted in small business, social media marketing

0 comments

3/03 2009

I Dare You To Influence Me

In the world of small business owners… we would all love to be influencers. We would love to be perceived as the expert in the matter of which we are selling and we should be. A question that keeps surfacing among the “small biz chatter” is directed toward the subject of influence.

Well… I think we are here to finally answer that. Thanks to Lisa Hoffmann and Mashable. Lisa was reading a post from Micah Baldwin (Lijit Networks) called HOW TO: Measure Online Influence and I decided to check it out and read it for myself.

I wanted to sum up some points Micah made and push them towards the small business owner.

Social media marketing is very much a brand development tool for the small business owner. The majority of the time it is used for lead generation or visibility in a specific industry or region. Now, in order to realize the potential of social media and get excited.. instead of smoke and mirrors boredom… let’s look at Micah’s definition of Influence:

Influence = (Personal Brand * Knowledge * Trust)

So.. in order to maximize your reach online.. you need to be able to focus on the three top tiers of influence listed above. I am going to add another into the mix in order to speak to the small business owners in the group:

Influence = (Personal Brand * Offline Interaction * Knowledge * Trust)

The main purpose of talking about influence and personal brand recognition is to add the concept of offline social networking (something a small business owner lives day to day). In order to maximize your influence online you need to be be able to take it offline and create a 2-Touch-Point model of influence.

You should read Micah’s post about the concepts of influence, personal brand, knowledge, and trust because it is great! We need to remember that the Personal Brand building of a small business owner has to include the offline and online networking in order to be strong.

How active are you on the social networks? (web-workathome.com)
Seven Deadly Online Marketing Sins (articlesbase.com)
Social media transparency: How realistic is it? (socialmediatoday.com)
10 Small Biz Social Media Tips for Today (kylelacy.com)

Guest Post, Social Strategy, baby boomer, social media

2 comments

2/03 2009

Guest Post: Social Media, For Folks of My Vintage!

Today’s guest post is by Linda Fitzgerald. What is She working on?

Growing an online community for ‘chronologically maturing’ women traveling through the 2nd half of the journey. Developing and launching the face to face companion neighborhood networks known as “AFFILIATED WOMEN INTERNATIONAL.

Kyle laughs when I use that phrase! It refers to those of us who grew up in the shadow of the “greatest generation”. Those who are supposed to sit on the porch & do nothing!

But social media is not just for the young. It’s become a phenomenon valuable for all ages. Ask folks who work in geriatrics about using social media as a means to keep the brains of elder persons alive and well. Not to mention the health benefits of staying connected to others in order to reduce a sense of isolation that leads to early death.

Those of us who are not yet confined to anything except our computers find social media an excellent tool for developing online relationships that are as strong as many we’ve had for years and meet face to face with on a continual basis. Ask me! I can tell you that the friends I’ve made online via a number of social networking sites, including our own, are priceless.

Did it take me longer to learn to use the tools? You bet, but the practice of not using books (Face book for Dummies or some such material) to enhance the learning process made it all the more exciting when “I did it!” And it kept my brain cells from atrophying. The process of trying to figure out different forms of social media, i.e. Twitter, can be exceedingly frustrating. But once we’ve got it down – the process is absolutely fantastic.

The one thing I enjoy the most is the ‘youth’ of those with whom I now connect and build relationships. Many are young enough to be a grandchild! I never think of it and they are kind enough to never remind me. That in itself is healthy and emotionally satisfying.

I recommend to my ‘vintage’ friends that they dust off the system and at least make a Face book page. For no other reason than to reconnect with friends from high school or college. A few weeks ago I had that pleasure. Got a Face book message from a woman I knew from my young adult days who had been a close friend of my brother. I recognized her immediately and we’ve now reconnected. It was the highlight of an otherwise mundane day.

Have a ‘vintage’ friend or family member you want to keep mentally alert and emotionally healthy? Get them engaged in social networking. Don’t take an “I don’t have time” for an answer.

And certainly don’t take “I’m too old” as an excuse. I’m a perfect example that “old dogs can learn new tricks”. At least social media “tricks”!

Allen Weiss: What the Young People Say About Social Media (mpdailyfix.com)
You Can’t Advise Clients on Social Media if You’re Not on Facebook and Twitter (chrisabraham.com)
Why I use Twitter (socialmediatoday.com)
Facebook’s Thiel Explains Failed Twitter Takeover – BusinessWeek (tsurch.com)

Marketing, Social Media Community, Social Strategy, small business, social media, social media marketing, twitter

3 comments

2/03 2009

Yes. My Voice Matters.

I was reading through my weekly intake of Jason Falls at Social Media Explorer and came across a post with a reference from the Cluetrain Manifesto. First off, I love the book. I read it when it came out a couple of years ago and still keep it around my desk. In his post, Jason makes reference to Cluetrain point fingers at the marketing industry asking them, “Where is the consideration of the people?”

From Cluetrain:
Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.

I agree with Jason when he says that the Cluetrain Manifesto basically introduced the concept of social media to Corporate America. It is also extremely important for small business owners to understand the concept of listening and starting conversations.

Social Media has a wide array of people. Some people need your product or service.. other people would rather not listen to your hard sell speech about blah. blah. blah. It is about the conversation.. the personality.. and the person on the other end, not you.

I would encourage you to read Jason’s post because it has some awesome points for all matter of people using social media as a strategy for growth. I want to focus on the concept of using a human voice while in the depths of social media. Whether you are using Twitter, Facebook, or Plaxo (etc) it is important to listen first and speak second.

How long is it going to take us to learn that the CONSUMER is now in control of the conversation? It is no longer about quantity. It is no longer about how many direct mail pieces you can send out or how many banner ads you can buy.

It is about the them not about you. Use Twitter and Facebook as a tool to speak as you would your best-friend at a barbeque (okay bad example but you get the drift). We are all in the same rat-race here. Trying to help each other succeed in the cut throat world of small business marketing.

Talk about what YOU do not the industry or the sale of the day. How do you help people? How do you creat relationships with your clients? That is what people what to hear. They are to be inspired.

Top Trends and Apps: How Do People Use Twitter? (briansolis.com)
You Can’t Advise Clients on Social Media if You’re Not on Facebook and Twitter (chrisabraham.com)
The 4 Customer Types of Social Media (kylelacy.com)
The Twitter Adventure: observations (email-marketing-reports.com)

My Life, business

2 comments

1/03 2009

Being a Results Driven Blog and Company

As some of you may know… actually the majority of you should know… I own a company called Brandswag in Indianapolis and Oklahoma City. Our company helps small and mid-size businesses with blogging, social media marketing, graphic design, and simple web design. Overall we are a viral-marketing consulting company.

The biggest problem we have had over the last six-months is taking social media marketing from a “smoke and mirrors” marketing tool to an actual results driven solution for clients. We have finally started to see results from our consulting engagements and we need to make it a point to share those results.

My blog is for theory, conversation, and ideas (as well as some rants) but I wanted to start giving a taste of what Brandswag is doing in the community. Enter: the Brandswag Business blog. We launched the blog a couple of weeks ago and have been adding thoughts and ideas to it ever since.

I wanted all my readers, as well as the community, to know that we are going to start posting case studies and marketing plan developments to the blog. This will be an in-depth look into our process as well as the success factors of clients.

From logo design to website design to social media… make sure you check it out and remember to Subscribe.

Social Strategy, Word-of-Mouth, social media, twitter

5 comments

28/02 2009

Punch Inactive Users in the Face!

I love Twitter.

It makes life a little more interesting every day that you use it. There is one problem that I have been presented with over the course of the past few days. Inactive users.

Inactive users really upset me and when I say upset.. I am meaning… more along the lines of “wrong order at a restaurant” upset. I just don’t understand the point of spending time to add multiple people and then NOT using the tool every again. But that is their prerogative. (Thank you Ms. Spears)

I had a URL come across my Twitter Feed today to Twitoria. This is the first thing I read when I clicked through:

How many friends are you really following? Twitoria finds your friends that haven’t tweeted in a long time so you can give them the boot!

FINALLY… (unless I missed another one) a tool that allows you to delete people that are inactive on Twitter, something that really cleans up the mess of inactive users. I

I started using the tool and it has extremely easy functionality… it is pretty straight forward. While I was un-following the fifth or sixth person I realized… Why does this matter?

They don’t tweet.. They don’t flood my stream with stupid magpie tweets or worthless hard-sell links.. So why does it matter if I delete them or not?

I haven’t answered that question but it you are wanting to delete the number of people you are following.. Twitoria is a great tool to do that.

Now.. can somebody please create an application that allows me to auto un-follow Twitter idiots?

Mind Your Ps & Qs: Twitter Delete Disabled (pistachioconsulting.com)
Magpie Threatens to Destroy Twitter (ewriting.pamil-visions.com)
Delete All Direct Messages of your Twitter Account at once (or at least try!) (gubatron.com)

Advertising, Micro-Blogging, Reputation Management, Seth Godin, Social Media Community, business, content, small business

2 comments

28/02 2009

Use Your Highlight Reel to Build Your Story

I should just start a blog called, “Seth Godin Strikes Again!” because he is constantly reminding me of GREAT concepts in marketing. He has a post called, Which parts are you skipping? The concept of the post is to remind marketers that it is important to build a foundation to your story, make the good parts of the story easy to find and the beauty of the entire process… not just a piece.

This is an important concept, especially for the small business owner who is looking to establish a strategy in social media marketing. It is extremely important to build out a strategy (a foundation) before you begin using the hundreds of tools at your fingertips in the world of social media.

Every tool you use, whether it is Facebook, Vimeo, or your personal blog, is a highlight of the overall picture: You and Your Business. Social media marketing is a small piece of the overall puzzle but it does help you develop small highlight reels that build brand development.

Remember to focus on the overall strategy and use your highlight reel to pull people into the story.

You Can’t Advise Clients on Social Media if You’re Not on Facebook and Twitter (chrisabraham.com)
Can Social Media Really Help You Blog? (streamxy.com)
How to Sell Anything to Anyone (ducttapemarketing.com)
The TRULY CARE Factor: It’s What You KNOW Not What You Think! (kylelacy.com)

Corporate Strategy, Marketing, Social Media Expert, Social Strategy, Viral Marketing, blogging, business, social media, social media marketing, social networking

4 comments

27/02 2009

All Shapes and Sizes

Guest post by Social Media Consultant Colin Clark

I spend the majority of my day every day thinking up creative ways for businesses to use social media tools to improve their bottom line. The one thing that I’ve found is that if I put together social media action plans for 10 different companies, all 10 would be very different, even if they were in similar industries.

The reason for this is that it’s extremely important to look at all aspects of your business before delving into social media, because once you do you’re baring your soul to anyone who you interact with online. Since every business is composed of different types people, every strategy must be optimized to ensure those people will be successful in communicating with people online

So many consultants are saying ‘You must blog’ or ‘You must have a presence on Facebook‘. It may or may not be the case. The only ‘must’ is that you ‘must’ use good judgment and good marketing fundamentals to put together a strategy that’s going to be successful.

Reputation Management, Word-of-Mouth, indianapolis, relationship

5 comments

27/02 2009

Huntington: A Bank That Cares in Indianapolis

I have always been a fan of rewarding companies or individuals who really take the extra step to help an individual. I experienced that today with a local bank in Indianapolis.

My company was switching banks and were investigating a couple of local institutions in the area. While investigating I remembered meeting with an individual named Scott Long who works at Huntington Bank.

We decided to meet with Huntington to discuss our options. Needless to say it was a great meeting but the beautiful part comes next…

I had some personal issues arise and Scott helped me over the wall. We were able to secure a checking account through Huntington and move towards a more secure and organized financial future (as a company).

I have had bad experiences in the past with banks because of things that happened 5-8 years ago. Scott went overboard and helped me out of my problems and put me on the straight path.

Do you want to know who is going to succeed in this world? The people like Scott who take care of people… individuals… business owners… and employees. I will be with Huntington for a long time because of the support they gave me as an individual and for my company.