Twitter 101

At only 140 characters per tweet, the same as an SMS (Text) message, Twitter has been used as a tool by many celebrities, businesses, and organizations to get the word out about what it is they’re doing and how it affects “Tweeple” or “Tweeps” (a.k.a. people of Twitter) around the world. With Twitter, it’s not about quantity, but instead it’s about quality, and when tweeting (a.k.a. posting information) on behalf of your business make sure you are always aiming to interest others. Be aware of the target audience, and what it is they want to hear. Always retweet (a.k.a. Tweet another person’s exact tweet) interesting tweets, but only if they pertain to your company or the focal topic of your Twitter. Retweeting is a great and easy way to gain followers and spread important and interesting information.

Another benefit to your business or organization is the concept of a hashtag (represented by #____). Using a hashtag in a tweet will put your tweet on a twitter feed (a.k.a. list of tweets) sharing the same hashtag. For example: “I’m trying to take my #dog to a #dogpark. Where can I find a good one in #Sacramento?” is a tweet that will show up in the #dog feed, #dogpark feed and #Sacramento feed. Someone is more likely to see it and help answer this Tweeter’s question quickly. This Tweeter may even gain followers who have the same question or common interests, like owning a dog in Sacramento. Hashtags are very simple, and it’s recommended to start one to help brand your company. However, be wary: don’t just flood your tweets with hashtags. It is only recommended to have, at most, 3 hashtags per tweet. Flooding is frowned upon in the Twitter community and can lead to a loss of followers.

In reality, this is only scratching the surface of the vast Twitterverse. Remember: Twitter is about quality NOT quantity. Twenty random posts per day is not as great as one or two posts per day about a specific topic. Tweeps (a.k.a. Twitter “friends”) follow you because they wanted to know more about your company and your topic. Less is more, and if you have a lot to say, there’s always a way to link your larger posts from other websites (like this blog, for example) to one of your tweets… but we can save that lesson for Twitter 202.

The Nuts and Bolts of Social Media & Public Relations

Web presence is more than just a website these days.  Making your content shareable and participating in the conversation through social media is part of the ever-changing face of public relations in 2011.

Managing Social Media Channels. Did you ever wish you could be in more than one place at the same time?  As far as I know science has yet to master that phenomenon; however your “voice” CAN, and should be in more than one place at the same time.  Centralized campaign management systems (i.e., HootSuite and TweetDeck) enable a manager to listen, aggregate, publish, and manage multiple social media distribution channels all from a single portal.

The Consumer. Remember that by making your customers cheerleaders for your brand, you create a win-win situation. Bonus!  Social media extends an indispensable tool for gauging audience opinion by way of a two-way conversation in which both sides (customer and company) can exchange views.   Business Intelligence (BI) refers to the gathering, storing, and analyzing of data to help business users make more informed and therefore more advantageous decisions.  In an article published in 2006 (“Social Network Analysis and Business Intelligence”), Dr. Ramon Barquin, president of a consulting firm since 1994, wrote, “Stay tuned, social network analysis and business intelligence travel in lockstep these days.”  Now five years later we enter 2011, and there is little doubt that his words held up.

Networking With Influencers is 100% simpler today than was before.“Influencers” can be journalists, reporters, bloggers, or anyone of influence who covers topics in your industry.  By establishing relationships with these influential people you may find that you’ve snagged your business a mention and maybe even a feature story.  MuckRack.com is a free website that enables you to search for and locate journalists.

Sharability is a must!  By creating something interesting that grabs your audience’s attention people will naturally want to share it with their friends, and even comment or blog about it (further increasing your exposure).  To help them out, each social media site has its own share buttons (i.e., Facebook’s “Share” and Twitter’s “ReTweet”).

Multimedia, such as mobile marketing, photo, video, and file sharing, can work within the social media arena to spread the word and help build brand awareness. Check out Windows Movie Maker, or iMovie for Mac users, and note that by publishing videos or photos somewhere on your own website and then linking them in your press release, you’ll drive traffic to your website (the centralized hub for your business).

Consumers “Pull” Themselves to Your Media Message. More and more today we see a shift in the way society accepts and digests brand messages.  It’s becoming commonplace for consumers to “pull” media messages in their direction (i.e., RSS Feeds and Google Alerts).  As a voluntary recipient of your brand message, this type of consumer is ultimately more responsive.

 

As you can see there are various ways to increase your public awareness. Public Relations is a vital part of any business, big or small. Your company is only as good as its word of mouth, so share it with the world and get your company social today. If you need help with your online presence contact the staff at Social Media Platform and they’d be more than happy to help. You can contact them at http://smp4you.com, http://facebook.com/smp4you or http://twitter.com/smp4you.

Public Relations and Social Media

As consumers, wouldn’t most of us be more likely to trust the endorsement offered by a family member, a friend, or even another consumer we’ve never even met over a company’s endorsement of their own products/services?  Undoubtedly.  By leveraging the power of public relations and social media you have the awesome capability of building buzz for your business while attaining third-party credibility.

The traditional press release is evolving and although print media still has its place, social media is taking center stage.  The major difference between a traditional press release and a press release embraced by social media outlets is the exceptional capability social media has as a viral marketing tool.   It only takes the click of a mouse and your message can spread like lightning from one person to another.  Consumers have always shared with friends, family, neighbors, and the like — the good the bad, and the ugly about a brand.  Social media has simply created a premier platform to spread the word.  Having a presence for your business on popular social media networks such as Facebook is becoming increasingly compulsory.  The relatively new phenomenon offers word-of-mouth marketing on steroids.  Think smart!  Create a win-win situation by making your customers cheerleaders for your brand.  They’re truly the best sales agents a company could ask for.

social media and pr

The Value Social Media Brings to PR?

• Easily distribute through various channels
• Embrace the power of the consumer
• Get the conversation going! (2-way communication)
• Grab the attention of journalists and/or bloggers (they may write about your company’s story)
• Sharability (use a “Share” widget and allow readers to post/share information at lightning speed)
• Multimedia capabilities (i.e., YouTube videos, surveys, links, etc.)
• Ability to build inbound links and backlinks
• Pull PR makes it easy – the media and your intended audience target themselves for you!  They find and pull themselves to your news (i.e., RSS feeds).

What One Thing Do People Associate With Your Business?

It may not be what you think, such as your main product or service. It might be something seemingly insignificant to you, but particularly memorable for them. It may not be as simplistic or as silly as associations children may have with a place (e.g. “the red store” or the bank where “the nice lady gives out candy”). However, remember each interaction a consumer or prospective client has with your business, whether it be in person or online through social media, can have a direct impact. Your business may stand out from others simply because your tweets or Facebook updates feed them valuable tips or make them laugh. Your business might stand out in their minds from your competitors if you went above and beyond your normal business routine to give them exceptional service or follow up to see how they are doing some time after the sale or time of service. The good news is, through social media, you can tailor your message daily to help sculpt the positive experiences and interactions with your customers and seek their nearly immediate feedback as well.

Social Media’s Immediate Feedback Saves the Gap

Okay, “saves” may not be the right word, but thanks to social media, the Gap realized very quickly how dissatisfied fans and consumers were with their recent logo change. One such story regarding this week’s gaffe can be read at Mashable.com. Kudos to the Gap for listening to their followers and reverting to the former, well-loved logo.

We realize that not every business decision can be submitted to all your supporters for their approval, but I think this example illustrates the value of listening to their opinions nevertheless.

2 October blog post ideas Inbox X work X Reply | Melinda Jones Here are two ideas for October blog posts, the first one of more immediate re… Oct 13 (2 days ago) Melinda JonesLoading… Oct 13 (2 days ago) Melinda Jones to Sonja show details Oct 13 (2 days ago) Here are two ideas for October blog posts, the first one of more immediate relevance, and the second one could be used at any time. Let me know what you think.     *jumping on checking on all those SMP accounts now…* — Social Media’s Immediate Feedback Saves the Gap Okay, “saves” may not be the right word, but thanks to social media, the Gap realized very quickly how dissatisfied fans and consumers were with their recent logo change. One such story regarding this week’s gaffe can be read at http://mashable.com/2010/10/11/gap-logo/. Kudos to the Gap for listening to their followers and reverting to the former, well-loved logo. We realize that not every business decision can be submitted to all your supporters for their approval, but I think this example illustrates the value of listening to their opinions nevertheless. — What One Thing Do People Associate With Your Business? It may not be what you think, such as your main product or service. It might be something seemingly insignificant to you, but particularly memorable for them. It may not be as simplistic or as silly as associations children may have with a place (e.g. “the red store” or the bank where “the nice lady gives out candy”). However, remember each interaction a consumer or prospective client has with your business, whether it be in person or online through social media, can have a direct impact. Your business may stand out from others simply because your tweets or Facebook updates feed them valuable tips or make them laugh. Your business might stand out in their minds from your competitors if you went above and beyond your normal business routine to give them exceptional service or follow up to see how they are doing some time after the sale. The good news is, through social media, you can tailor your message daily to help sculpt the positive experiences and interactions with your customers and seek their nearly immediate feedback as well. — Reply Forward Reply | Sonja Dyess to me show details Oct 13 (2 days ago) I saw that about the GAP and was thinking the same thing!!! These are both good. Go with it. Don’t forget to fill out the tag section and categories when posting on the blog. Make sure you did those with the other postings you have done. J Great job as usual!!! Sonja Dyess “I’ll Tweet You Right” Social Media Platform 904.429.7519 www.smp4you.com www.facebook.com/smp4you www.twitter.com/smp4you From: Melinda Jones [mailto:melindaj7@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 1:07 PM To: Sonja Dyess Subject: 2 October blog post ideas – Show quoted text –   Here are two ideas for October blog posts, the first one of more immediate relevance, and the second one could be used at any time. Let me know what you think.     *jumping on checking on all those SMP accounts now…* — Social Media’s Immediate Feedback Saves the Gap Okay, “saves” may not be the right word, but thanks to social media, the Gap realized very quickly how dissatisfied fans and consumers were with their recent logo change. One such story regarding this week’s gaffe can be read at http://mashable.com/2010/10/11/gap-logo/. Kudos to the Gap for listening to their followers and reverting to the former, well-loved logo. We realize that not every business decision can be submitted to all your supporters for their approval, but I think this example illustrates the value of listening to their opinions nevertheless. — What One Thing Do People Associate With Your Business? It may not be what you think, such as your main product or service. It might be something seemingly insignificant to you, but particularly memorable for them. It may not be as simplistic or as silly as associations children may have with a place (e.g. “the red store” or the bank where “the nice lady gives out candy”). However, remember each interaction a consumer or prospective client has with your business, whether it be in person or online through social media, can have a direct impact. Your business may stand out from others simply because your tweets or Facebook updates feed them valuable tips or make them laugh. Your business might stand out in their minds from your competitors if you went above and beyond your normal business routine to give them exceptional service or follow up to see how they are doing some time after the sale. The good news is, through social media, you can tailor your message daily to help sculpt the positive experiences and interactions with your customers and seek their nearly immediate feedback as well. — Reply Forward

How Press releases and social media work together

When you hear “press release,” what do you think of? If your thoughts tend toward the negative, try to consider a few thoughts. The press release often gets a bad rap as outdated and bland because they were originally used for print publications and too many lack value to the reader and don’t invite the reader to a call to action. Press releases are simply a tool that should be considered when forming a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Press releases can be submitted electronically, to print and online media outlets alike. In today’s world, social media and the internet literally put resources at the fingertips of those seeking answers. Traditional media outlets, such as newspapers, magazines, television and radio, still have a very wide reach and each have their strengths, also.

To avoid the common pitfall of bland press releases, use creative press releases that capture the attention of media and public alike. Concentrate on what is important to your audience. Consider their needs, challenges and most pressing concerns and how your product or services can improve their lives. With social networking, people are not only looking for your main product or services, but also advice, tips, and guidance that will help them do their jobs better or save time and money. Most likely, they will be looking online for these resources or asking friends near and far, for their input.

As social media allows for more two-way communication among companies and clients, press releases can be used to foster that sense of interaction. Use press releases, both in the local print media and online, to lure customers by offering them something useful like a free report, for example. Include in the press release the announcement of the availability of the report, example of some of the material inside, and how to send for or download the free report.

Print media and online media are not mutually exclusive. Many print magazines also publish online in order to capture both the paper-in-hand readers and online readers. Who says you need to choose one over the other?

Why Social Media

Times are tough right now, no doubt about it! Businesses large and small are treading water, unless you’re in the medical field, and they have their own issues.  Social media came to surface in 2004 and has exploded in the past year.  You might have noticed that your junk mail pile is getting smaller as time goes on, but your junk e-mail has grown by leaps.  Welcome to the wide world web!

Marketing and public relations has taken on a different face.  Traditional marketing and PR is expensive, that is why it is imperative for today’s businesses to consider the route of marketing and conducting public relations through the means of social media.  If you get the right expert, your opportunities could explode before your very eyes.  Sounds great, and it is!  

People spend more time on the internet than on any other form of media known to human life form.  If you want to truly build relationships with current and future clients, then social media is where you need to be.  If you want to keep hoping someone is going to use your services, then keep dumping loads of money on commercials and postcards, than have at it.  If you truly believe that is the way to find your paying customers, than why are you reading this blog? Don’t get me wrong I appreciate it, but think about what I have stated. 

Here are some interesting facts for you to ponder:

• Americans Have Access to a Trillion Web Pages
• Print Circulation is Down 7 Million Over the Past 25 Years
• Past 5 Years – Online Media Outlets Received over 30 Million Unique Readers
• More Videos were uploaded to YouTube in the LAST 2 Months than if ABC, NBC and CBS Had Been Airing New Content 24/7/365 since 1948!
• 2009 Traditional Advertising has had a Steep Decline – Newspaper 18.7%, TV 10.1%, Radio 11.7% and Magazines 14.8%
• 2009 Digital Advertising Significant Increase-  Phone Applications 18.1%  and Computer 9.2%

If you liked what I had to say this time around, see what you can actually learn next time.

To find out more about the true Social Media Platform, visit us at http://www.SMP4YOU.com

Recession Got You in a Pickle?

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was driving from Jacksonville, Fla., to Pensacola, Fla., and I noticed there were a ton of empty billboards. I could remember years ago seeing billboard after billboard full of ads, and now they are empty or have vanished. Where did they go?

Once I arrived at my destination, home, I ,of course, logged on to Facebook.  The next thing I thought was there were all my billboards.  Facebook has its own billboards known as Facebook ads. Times have changed and for the better. Marketing now is much more affordable. Instead of waiting for someone to drive by, and hopefully, see your billboard that costs you $15,000 a month, they go to the internet, put in a great keyword, and there it is. Now don’t get me wrong. A few billboards, like the ones in Time Square, are useful to a point, but if you don’t have massive amounts of cash to fork over, than the point is mute. Another point is Time Square is probably one of the places this can possibly happen, even the billboards that are mobile, i.e. buses and vans with constant changing signs, are basically useless and a waste of money.

First of all, these means of advertising could one, not catch folks attention because they are busy driving. Another point is how many folks will pass your billboard before they see it, much less be interested?

Billboards are all over the internet, and they show up based on what you search.  How great is that? Another form of billboards are social networking sites.  This brings me to what I have been seeing in the news.

I was watching Charles Gibson on the nightly news, and there it was again.  One more way social media is a must in today’s economic survival.  Businesses are tweeting about their holiday sales, and hospitals are making videos to create awareness of breast cancer.  Social media has taken over large and far, therefore, it is not business as usual.

If you plan on surviving in today’s world of business, take in account that you must use social media in various lights.  Social media is not only a great marketing tool but a powerful public relations tool.  Best Buy uses Twitter to answer complaints, and now their customer satisfaction has increased significantly.

When looking at this year’s marketing budget and marketing plan, this is an area that needs to be pondered and strategically considered.

To learn more about how Social Media can drive your business to new heights, go to http://budurl.com/smp4you