We are FIVE days away from PodCamp Nashville 2012 and I couldn’t be more excited! Looking at all of the tracks offered, there really is a wide range of information that will be available to attendees, for FREE! If you haven’t already committed to going, you should. This event will surely offer some invaluable information as well as some great new connections.

I’ll be holding a session about location-based marketing. I have written about this before on my blog, but this session will offer much more than just basic information. Be sure to check out the session description below.

If you are planning on heading to PodCamp Nashville, come to my session and say hi! I’d love to meet you! If you aren’t planning on heading to PodCamp Nashville, I will be sure to post my slides up on SlideShare after the event. Either, be sure to follow my Twitter to get live updates from PodCamp! Follow me @YourSoclStatus or @KateSalyers and don’t forget to search the hashtag for my session-specific tweets! Hashtag: #pcn12square

Session Description:
Check-ins and social offers can be great for raising awareness, gaining new customers and boosting loyalty among existing customers. But they can also be disastrous to the bottom line if not implemented properly. This session explores the basics of FourSquare, the mechanics of check-ins and offers, when they’re appropriate for a business (and when not) and who the key players are; all with plenty of time for Q&A!

In this session expect to see the following and more:

With rumors of a March 30th automatic change date, businesses are scrambling to make the necessary changes to their business page to make sure it is ready for the timeline switch. During my transition, there were a few new features added and a few current features taken away. Listed below are some of these changes to help make your transition as smooth as possible!

Timeline Switch Tips:

• Timeline offers the option to turn a post into a “Milestone”. Doing this changes your posting size to the full width of the page
• Timeline gives you the option to “pin” a posting to the top. This guarantees that your posting will be the first thing visitors see for 7 days. After those 7 days, it will return to its original spot.
• With timeline comes the loss of default landing tabs. No longer can you send visitors directly to a call-to-action page or coupon page. Instead all of your page applications are grouped at the top.
  • HINT!– With timeline, you have the option to rearrange your page applications. Apart from photos (which will always be the first application tab) you have the ability to move your applications around!

Hope this tips help ease your transition! Remember, you might not like the changes that Facebook is making you do, but if you want to keep your business page you will have to embrace the changes. What better way to embrace than knowing how to best utilize the new setup?

 Are you using FourSquare yet? I bet your customers are! Recently I encountered a client of mine who told me he did not want to be on FourSquare. So, we tackled Facebook first and then I said I would check back in with him about using FourSqare. About two weeks later he called me and said, “Is there any way we can start on FourSquare? I am available to meet today or tomorrow to work with you on getting started!” I was thrilled by his eagerness, but had a feeling it wasn’t because he suddenly decided he wanted to get involved with FourSquare.

My hunch was right. We met the next day and he explained to me that he had heard from five different customers, let me repeat, five different customers, about FourSquare. They all wanted to know why he wasn’t actively using FourSqare and offering specials. Interesting! Even when business owners don’t want to get involved, the customers end up pushing them in that direction based on what their “needs” are.

Needless to say, we claimed his venue, set up a manager’s special and a mayor’s special. He has now reached over 1,000 check-ins at his venue and he has been running a mayor’s special for about six months.

I challenge all of you to think about certain strategies that you aren’t involved in. Although you may not want any part of it, your customers might! Keep an eye on evolving trends and keep an ear to hear what your customers want!

Mini-Series Tip #3: The most important tip! Start digging through your timeline!
The idea is that all of your status updates and posts will now be
arranged chronologically. Yes, even that post from Freshman year in
college that you forgot you put up! Since the timeline goes back to
your birth, it will include every year up to the present and provide
you with an option to fill in the blanks with information and pictures.
Just like the top of your timeline, everything on the timeline is
customizable for privacy.

Hint!: Take the time to read through EVERYTHING!
Remember that you are what you post online. Your reputation might
just depend on it!

SMX West is a three day conference that offers many different tracks ranging from SEO to Social Marketing and everything in between. This year the keynotes are Google’s Susan Wojcicki and Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan. These two will surely bring some great information and I cannot wait to hear what they and all of the other speakers have to say!

For my panel, “Doing Check-Ins and Offers Right”, we will being hearing from Rodney Hess, Account Manager, Search Influence, Daniel Lemin, Brand Consultant, Social Studio, Conrad Saam, Director of Marketing, Urbanspoon (@conradsaam) and Rodney Hess, Account Manager, Search Influence and myself, (@katesalyers), Owner of Your Social Status. Here’s some things you can expect to hear during this panel:

• First hand advice from Urbanspoon
• A case study about the use of Groupon and other local coupon offer services
• ROI and general check-in information
• The location-based marketing process from start to finish

Not going to be at the conference? No problem! Follow @katesalyers or @yoursoclstatus for live tweets from the conference!

Yes, it is another new social media site. Much like FourSquare, its users will be able to “check in” to venues via Google maps. Google has been allowing users to share their location via Google Maps for the past year or so. Without users knowing, Google has figured out a way to turn this in to another location-based social media platform. Soon, the “Leaderboard” will be available for Google Maps users to view where they stand via a point system.

For all current FourSquare users, does Google Latitude Leaderboard sound enticing enough to jump the FourSquare ship? Maybe you will try both? We will soon see!

Mini-Series Tip #2: Get to know your new page and new set up. Although it is all of
the same information, it has been organized and clustered in different
areas on your page. Below the cover photo, you’ll find all of your
profile’s information that was in a left hand column now clustered into
different categories or apps: friends, education, relationship status,
photos, etc. Be sure to click on each app, to adjust the privacy
settings.

Hint!!: You can specify how you want those apps ordered
to appear on your page. You can also set it so that they don’t show at
all!

Many of you might not know yet, but you will soon! Facebook is forcing the Timeline on every user.

Mini-Series Tip #1: Pick a great new profile picture.  Timeline offers two profile images. The first is your normal, small profile picture. The second is a large cover photo at the top of the page. You can easily change the picture by choosing from photos you already have on Facebook or by uploading a new one.

Hint!: For those of you promoting yourself or your services, choose to utilize the large profile picture with your business, expertise, etc.

Although Pinterest has been up and running since March 2010, it has recently started to gain steam. With more traffic running through each day than some of the top social networks combined, Pinterest has given us a new way to connect. Whether you are connecting with a friend or marketing to an audience (the Female under 45 predominately) this platform plays off of a traditional cork board with a virtual “pin board”. Easily organized, users can pin what they find interesting. The next step for businesses is to make sure that this audience is pinning your product! If you haven’t already, be sure to log on today and check out Pinterest. See how you might be able to use it to connect with your audience!

QR Codes are sticking around. After their initial run, QR Codes seemed to take a dive only to be revived! QR Codes, also known as Quick Reference Codes, are definitely going to only get bigger in 2012 since this year has been dubbed, “Year of mobile marketing.” With that in mind, it would be best to consider a few different QR Code generators before moving forward.

There are many QR Code generators out there, but do you know what is more important than generating the code? Tracking it! Any good marketing plan should have a form of measurement included. When generating QR Codes, make sure that you use a service that includes analytics. Being able to measure and adjust your marketing plan or strategy is just as important as using the codes!

Here is a link to a list of some of the top QR Code generators. Just remember, double check that you have a way to track your code before generating it. Personally, I use Delivr since it has some great built-in features, including analytics.