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Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

Have you seen any Twitter hashtags on your favorite shows lately? I’ve started noticing this myself and then read a great article in TV Guide Magazine about the introduction of hashtags (#) scrolling at the bottom of your TV screen for certain shows.

Just last week, “#Glee” was shown throughout the entire episode of Glee and “#AmericanIdol” is loving their real time Twitter Tweets from devoted fans during the show itself.

Many broadcast and cable networks are now starting to add Twitter hashtags to the bottom of their shows: Fox, CBS, NBC and Comedy Central included. Fox marketing president Joe Earley says, “We thought if we provided the official hashtags, then more posts would aggregate.” Joe is right. If you want to aggregate information to view real time activity on your brand, name, product or service, hashtags are the way to go.

Monitter.com is a great online resource that lets you monitor hashtags in real-time from their website. You can even monitor up to 3 hashtags at once, which appear in three columns with the newest tweets in each column popping up at the top. It’s a powerful way to see trends and get in on the conversation that people are having, real time!

As DVR’s become more popular, social media is now helping TV networks drive people to watch their favorite shows in real time so they can be part of the conversation. In fact, NBC just launched NBC Live, a whole site devoted to promoting its shows via social media, while CBS just recently held its own “Tweet Week” devoted to its shows.

Social is starting to weave itself into the daily fabric of our lives, from the computer to our phone, to the way we search for information online and watch TV (which you can also do from your phone). So much cross over is very exciting for those of us in the social media industry. If you are not using the power of Twitter or Facebook to promote your business, you need to take a look at these results below and then ask yourself why not?

Last month, Comedy Central jump-started the hashtag trend with its Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump. The network reports that the show became it’s “most watched in history” and credited some of that success to its decision to run a “#trumproast” hashtag at the bottom of the screen throughout the special. Analysis shows that the “#trumproast” hashtag was used more than 27,000 times on Twitter during the telecast. That’s a lot of social activity for a 1 hour Television show.

Think there is no power in social media? Think again!

Can you believe it was just 5 years ago that Twitter began? What was once just a way to keep friends easily connected with real time updates like “Where you at?”, Twitter is now a tremendous tool for the business that knows how to use it properly.

Used for Branding, Customer Service, Coupon Specials, making joint venture partnerships, online networking, search engine optimization, driving traffic to your blog or web site, and more… Twitter is an online marketers dream. With keyword search, you can find someone talking about your product, service, or Brand, real time and reply back to them (whether they are following you or not.)

I caught Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter (find him @biz on Twitter), on Conan O’Brien’s Show last week. With the Tonight Show debacle and Conan being restricted on when he could appear in public and what he could say last year, he said Twitter was his saving grace. Visit @teamcoco to read his witty tweets.

Brian Solis blogged that Twitter, “has a reported 200+ million users (and bots) and a market valuation of $8 – $10 billion. It took 3 years, 2 months and 1 day to hit 1 billion Tweets. Now it only takes 1 week for Twitter to syndicate 1 billion Tweets.” If you are actively using Twitter, you understand how it works and can really see the power of it to connect instantly with someone you know, or have a common interest with. Even the mobile use of Twitter has grown 182% in the last year.

If you visit Twitter’s home page these days, their tag line reads, “The Best Way to Discover What’s New in Your World.” For the general user, you can find out what Oprah has to say, or stay up to date on the latest happenings of your favorite music artist or celebrity.

In January there was a lot of talk about how Twitter helped the people of Tunisia stay connected and avoid censorship by their government using the hashtag #sidibouzid.

Twitter is a lot of things to a lot of different users. For social media experts, having a networking tool available at your fingertips that can reach anyone (who has a Twitter account), anywhere, in any country, in seconds is phenomenal. As long as you have a business strategy in place regarding what you are saying and when, you should be seeing success with this aspect of “permission marketing”. If after reading this you thought to yourself, “I’m supposed to have a Twitter strategy for my business account”, then, you might want to give me a call.

Twitter itself reports that 460,000 new accounts were created each day on average in February 2011. Did one of those accounts belong to you or your business? Have you found connections that are a great source of referral? Are you tracking clicks and offer codes from Twitter? What do you use Twitter for? I welcome your comments.

I’m excited to be interviewed on by the team at Conscious Social tomorrow with their webinar “5 Keys to Social Media Success”. On the webinar, I will be sharing tips and showing examples of how businesses are being successful using social media marketing.

Conscious Social is an online community that offers FREE Social Media Webinars hosted by Laura Rubinstein & Karriann Graf. You can find them in Twitter at @KarriannGraf and @CoachLaura. Visit ConsciousSocial.com to attend my webinar for free and keep coming back to them to hear other experts reveal their marketing tips every week. You’ll also have access to time leveraging tools, and learn insider social media tricks.

Learning to navigate the Social Media spaces is definitely something you need to be taught in order to use your time efficiently. I highly recommend Conscious Social webinars as a great online resource. And, if you are looking for one-on-one, in person, Social Media training in San Diego, I can help. Or, if you are a small to medium sized business that does not have the in-house resources to facilitate your own social media campaign, HowDoIMarketMyBiz.com provides monthly social media services, speaking as your company voice.

You are a business owner. A struggling economy may not be the optimal market you’d like to operate in, but, we can’t do much to change where we are… or can we? History shows that companies that continue to market and even increase their marketing effort in a down economy grow their business even more when the recession rebounds. And, with social media marketing on the rise, there is no better time to take advantage of your time resources and “spend time” utilizing social media marketing to promote your business!

In a study by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, companies with even modest increases in marketing and advertising spending during the last recession saw gains in market share. Here’s a few ways you can give your business the best chance possible for riding out and rising above this troubled economy.

• Be Innovative!
  Using your Blog, Twitter and Facebook sites, launch a poll or survey using a free service like SurveyMonkey.com, to find out what new products or services your customers want to see. Social media is a great place to get real time results and listen to what people want. Needs are out there, now’s your time to shine by finding out what people want and creating a product or service to fit that need. Awareness and focus grows from economic downturn, so, instead of pulling back, get out there and find out what your market needs and why. Be the solution to their problem.
• Listen to Your Customers
  Strengthen your customer service arm by adding support through Twitter. Be there for your customers. Listen to their needs and strengthen the relationship by going above and beyond their expectations. This is the time to secure their loyalty and keep them connected to you through Facebook with positive, uplifting, informative messages posted daily. Be a thought leader and inspire them with your knowledge about your industry. Make the content so great they will want to “share” or “RT (retweet)” it.
• Keep Your Prices Steady
  Rather than reduce prices, increase the value of your offering. Your product or service has the same value it always did and people will spend money on things they want and need. To help make the sale on your product or service, try a limited time offer with an additional bonus ie.) “Order your lipstick before Sept 15th and receive a free purse mirror as an extra bonus.”
• Stay in Front of Your Customers
  Don’t cut the marketing and advertising budget. Keep top of mind to your customers by staying in front of them with mail, email, phone calls and social media. This is a great time to pre-schedule daily tweets to twitter, posts to Facebook and start writing one blog per day. Because many other companies are cutting back, your message will more likely be heard and reach your customer more easily because there will be less clutter. Social media by nature is permission-based marketing. When someone “follows” you in Twitter or “likes” you as a Fan in Facebook, or subscribes to your blog via RSS, they are giving you permission to speak to them, so make it good.

Be the smart company in this economy who rides out this storm and rises above the rest. Keep marketing in a down economy and when it turns around, you’ll be the one who has their loyalty, trust and a customer for life.

Contact me today for a FREE Social Media Marketing Report!

• Do you know how to use Social Media to get new customers?
• Are you looking for better and easier ways to market your business online?
• Were you aware that Facebook, Twitter and a Blog can help your business be found in Google search when you use your “keywords”?
• Did you know that Social Media is new newest way to network online?

Don’t miss your opportunity to get new customers and get the word out about your business, products, services or fund raising efforts using social media.

If you are in business you need to be using online marketing. If you are not yet using social media marketing or you have created social media accounts in Twitter and Facebook and are saying to yourself… “Now What?”, please email me to receive my FREE Social Media Marketing Report: “Top 5 Reasons Businesses Should Use Social Media Marketing”.

“I don’t have time”… “I don’t know how”…

If you know you need to start using social media but “don’t have time” or “don’t know how” to use these tools, I am here to help with training, consulting or implementation of your social media marketing campaign. I have over 15 years of experience in corporate Direct Marketing and I am trained in social media. I am dedicated to helping businesses add social media marketing to their traditional marketing plan for increased results.

Call or email me today for your FREE report.

And, if you don’t have time to read my free report, call me for a free 1/2 hour consultation via phone or in person (if you live in San Diego, CA) and I’ll tell you why your business MUST be using social media marketing!

Contact Joann Whetstine
Social Media Marketing Consultant
#858-212-8185

joann@howdoimarketmybiz.com

http://www.HowDoIMarketMyBiz.com

twitter.com/howdoimarketbiz
facebook.com/howdoimarketmybiz
linkedin.com/in/joannwhetstine

Here’s my last installment of notes from the Social Media Success Summit webinar. These are great social media marketing tips from two top bloggers. Blogging is so important to getting your keywords found online and having a social media marketing strategy in place BEFORE you begin your social media efforts in Facebook, Twitter and your blog will help you achieve your business goals.

“Making Your Blog a Social Media Destination”
There are 1.8 billion people online which equals 26% of the world population. You’ve got to be found online and dominate search results for your keywords. So, what can a blog do for you? Technorati’s “State of the Blogosphere” reports these numbers about blogging:
71% = Blogging provides greater visibility for your company
63% = It gets clients to purchase
56% = Helps you be regarded as a thought leader
40% = Makes you more visible so you are asked to speak at conferences on your product/service

If that’s not enough, here are more reasons why you should blog: Enhances reputation, Establishes your brand, Builds credibility, Helps you get traffic (SEO), Helps you build your list and most importantly, it Brings you more business! Be sure to create great content, use your keywords, and tap into what your readers want. Via @denisewakeman

“Easily Integrate Social Media Into Your Marketing Mix”

Some people are just broadcasting in social media spaces and not responsive to customer service and replying to people. Don’t create a social media account unless you have a strategy in place to support it. Social media is about the pre-sale and relationship building. Once they love you, they will refer. Find out what your audience is interested in and give it to them in the way they want it. Talk to people about their problems then direct them to your articles that solve that problem. Network with those people who influence your audience for a bigger reach. Via @chrisgarrett

I love learning more and more about the dynamic, ever changing landscape of social media marketing. As it is still a relatively new industry, keeping current on what other companies are doing is essential to building your own strategy. Here’s some additional notes I’ve complied from the recent Social Media Success Summit #SMSS10 webinar series that can help you with your social media marketing efforts.

“Facebook Engagement – Building a Loyal Fan Base”
You have 420 characters to add compelling content to your Facebook page that adds value to your readers. Mix up the media of your content by using: blogs, articles, podcasts, videos, photos, interviews or slide shows. Post tips, questions, How-To Tutorials, polls, quotes and info on events. You can even post other people’s content. Make use of the FBML app and add a custom Welcome Page to your site. You could see a 45% improvement in conversion! The new “Like” app adds the element of social proof and when someone clicks it, it pushes out into their news feed. Very powerful marketing! Via @marismith

“Using Social News Sites to Grow Your Audience and SEO”
Using social bookmarking sites, such as the largest one, Digg.com with 350 million users, can support your SEO efforts when you publish content that gets shared. The top 50 users there provide 41% of the content. To participate in this space, you need to research the community you are interested in and become part of the subculture. Your headline should include a number, an adjective and a keyword for the best success. You should plan to build a relationship with a top user in Digg to have them post your content. Do your homework. Approach them with what they are interested in. Via @msaleem

“Twitter Power Panel”
@problogger @copyblogger @chrisbrogan Shared their strategies for using Twitter. Great stat: 44% of twitter users are the 1st to buy or try a new product before others. Build relationships before asking for the sale: send @ messages to people, get involved in the conversation. Twitter is a great tool for: promotion, info sourcing, conducting search, listening, promoting others, finding business opportunities, building your brand, building trust and authority, driving traffic! Make your posts useful, personal, relational and regular.

The Social Media Success Summit #SMSS10 continues to deliver powerful information on how you can utilize social media marketing in your business.

“8 Steps to Creating a Winning Social Media Strategy”
@JayBaer wants us to remember that tools change, so, start with a strong strategic plan for your social media efforts. Make sure you have a team at your office to support it. Decide who your audience is and don’t forget to listen to them. The best way to break through is make the company human. Tell stories or your customer’s stories (remember Jared from Subway?). Get beyond the features and benefits and make people feel your passion.

“How Mobile Marketing Can Improve Social Media”
@kimdushinkski wants you to know that even if you don’t think you are mobile, if you are sending email and someone checks it from their phone you are! You should even consider having a web page to your main site that is optimized for mobile so people can easily see how to contact you on their 2 inch phone screen. If you are ready to dip your toe into the mobile marketing waters, both Twitter and Facebook offer SMS test message feeds your fans and followers can subscribe to.

“The Future of Social Media”
@steverubel says that trends develop slowly but are timeless. Remember that people need to hear your message 3 to 5 times from 3 to 5 different sources for it to sink in. Tap into free tools online and become a data junkie to figure out what unmet needs are on the rise that you can provide the solution for and create content that will be passed around. All roads to content lead through Google, so, make friends with Google Insights. You could rise to the top of a search category if you are digitally visible in enough places. Klout.com is a great place to find out “who the world is listening to”.

I’m really enjoying the great reminders and ideas speakers at the Social Media Success Summit #SMSS10 are sharing. Here’s my recap of the Social Media webinars from the Tuesday sessions:

Getting the Most out of LinkedIn
@LewisHowes has spent a lot of time using LinkedIn and he’s learned by trial and error the best place to focus. With 65 million business professionals using this tool, he believes it is the #1 social media site to build your business. You can export your contacts (to use in other marketing ways, like email) and the demographics of those who use it are people with a high net worth (an average Household Income of $109,000). These are business decision makers, so, if you make a good connection for a business partnership, you can most likely close a deal quickly.

Top 3 places to focus:

1. Optimize your page for keywords.
2. Join as many targeted groups as possible.
3. Add Blog Feed and Video Apps.

How Big Businesses are Leveraging the Power of Social Media
This webinar had the marketing directors of Whole Foods, Best Buy and Home Depot talking about how they are utilizing social media. Many have “global” sites for the brand and also “local” sites for stores (since they are brick and mortar) – both in Facebook and Twitter.

They are using Flickr for photo streams, YouTube for both user generated and vendor generated content, in addition to their own videos which range on a variety of topics. They are putting their social media sites in printed circulars, in their windows (since they are store fronts) and sandwich boards in front of the stores.

Many are using twitter as a customer service outlet like Best Buy @twelpforce and some even have twitter accounts just for specific topics like Home Depot and their sponsorship of NASCAR racing @homedepotracing or Whole foods and their food and wine guys @WFMWineGuys. The big takeaway was to have fun with it and find out who is passionate about your brand and tap into that.

3 Reasons You Need a YouTube Marketing Strategy
@GregJarboe spoke about YouTube, pointing out that 86% of internet users are viewing videos each month and 81% of all videos are viewed on YouTube, so, you need to be there! Many people stop watching at the 10 second mark, so, your call to action and good content needs to be front loaded. You must optimize your video for keywords, so, be sure to put them in the Title, Description and Tags. If you need ideas for what to make videos about, visit the YouTube Creator’s Corner:

There is also an “insight” button in “My videos” of your account where you can see demographic info, referring URL info and where people are bailing out.

Bottom line is to add video frequently so people will subscribe to it (like your blog). And, every time you post a video on you tube, embed it in your blog as the views there count in YouTube.

Think there’s no power in Social Media Marketing? Think again! The blog “5 Minutes for Mom” is in their fourth year of hosting the Ultimate Blog Party UBP#10 and do they know how to drive traffic. Their “party” started last Friday April 9th and runs for 1 week until April 16th. As of today, they are reporting that the hashtag #UBP10 stream has had 15,704 tweets from 1,204 attendees, with combined reach 1,159,469 followers, and 29,397,282 unique messages! That’s some powerful stuff!

What’s an online blog party?
For @5minutesformom, hosted by @susancarraretto and @janicecroze, it’s a way to drive traffic to your blog, and the best part is that it’s for FREE. There are two ways to participate in #UBP10.

1. Give away a prize on their site.
2. Giveaway a prize on your own blog.

And, of course you can do both! It’s simple to fill out their online form with the prize you are offering (which had to be completed before the launch date) and once you have posted your “party” on your own blog, you just visit their McLinky page where you add your blog party URL (and your Facebook Fan page and Twitter URL as well if you like) and you have the ability from there to get tons of free exposure to your site.

The latest stats show they have over 2000 bloggers participating, and this is just half way through the party week! How’s that for activity on a free online marketing promotion?

What does this mean to you?
Social media is hot, it’s viral and it’s spreading like wildfire. If you’re not using twitter, facebook and a blog to drive traffic to your web site, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to not only generate new leads, but also make strong business partnerships that can further your reach into your target market.

My Party Blog Giveaway
If you are visiting me from 5 Minutes for Mom, thanks for coming to my party! I hope you’ll take a few minutes to explore my web site and blog and leave me a comment below telling me what you LOVE about social media. I will be giving away 1 FREE Hour of Social Media Training.

Want extra entries into the contest? Do one or all of the following!

• Follow me on Twitter and send me an @howdoimarketbiz message there telling me what you love about Twitter.
• Become a Facebook Fan and post on my wall what your favorite thing is about Facebook.

Make sure I have a way to reach you, by either enabling your email through wordpress, or leaving your email in the comment. One winner will be chosen at random by using random.org. The contest ends April 16th at 11:59 Pacific Time. I will announce the winner Monday April 19th. The winner has 72 hours to contact me, or another winner will be chosen.

And, don’t forget to head over to the Ultimate Blog Party (#UBP10) on the 5 Minutes for Mom web site! Besides having links to lots of great blogs, they are also having giveaways. If I were to win, my top three picks would be:

1. Tupperware Prize Pack – the winner will receive a box filled with fun Tupperware goodies.
   Provided by: Heather @ Marine Corps Nomads
2. 1 Month Subscription to Netflix. 2 DVDs out at a time and instant viewing to your computer.
   Provided by: 1stopmom
3. A $25 e-gift certificate to the Disney Store.
   Provided by: Kristin @ Couponing to Disney

Prizes 95, 83 and 71 would also be great! Enjoy the party!