Aside from the fact that this is a huge technological breakthrough, is the sheer impact social media is having industry. Even Ford, one of America’s staple corporations, is modeling their vehicle around the social media sphere.

The general consensus in San Diego is that if you have good food, groovy music, and tasty beer you are pretty much guaranteed a good time. There is one establishment in San Diego that has all three—Anthology in Little Italy.

Anthology is a first-class live music and fine dining space in downtown San Diego. The primary audience is lovers of Jazz, Rock, Latin, Indie and more. Anthology participated in the recent San Diego Beer Week and received a great outcome to the beer, food pairing and Fresh Vibes event.

The event brought a new audience and demographic. Anthology was thrilled with the ambience, vibe and new guests that San Diego Beer Week and the craft beer fans brought to their venue. Rather than be like everyone else and continue to praise wine and food events, they are looking to create a fresh new series of events.

Anthology is keeping it fresh by:

1. Having hosted their first craft beer and classic rock night on January 20th. One night per month they will feature beer from a different brewery and a menu designed to complement the brews.

2. Hosting various music and beer themed contests on Facebook and Twitter.

3. Keeping their event ticket prices low. (between $5-$10)

Anthology has taken into consideration the 3 things San Diegans value in a good time and used the SoCal lifestyle to turn a profit. They’re having fun and making money all at the same time; you really can’t beat that!

Last month we alerted you about the impending social media boom and encouraged you to jump on board. We did not, however, expect it to be moving along as quickly as it has been; and only 1 month into the New Year!

One of the biggest ways Americans mark the New Year is the Super Bowl. For 44 years the Super Bowl has been a tradition; changing little from year to year. This year, however, we saw drastic changes in the way that the NFL marketed the big game. They used social media outlets on a large scale to market themselves. Three major elements of their campaign this year were:

1. Using viral video and social media sites to manufacture controversy.

2. Generating buzz about, not only the Super Bowl, but sports in general with online contests and polls.

3. Taking on advertisers, like Pepsi, who are opting out of televised adverts for alternative online marketing schemes. This year’s was an online charity for positive impact called the “Pepsi Refresh Project.”

If you think the Super Bowl, one of America’s most profitable events, was taking a chance on social media marketing, you’re dreaming! The NFL knew how impactful social media marketing has been and will be in the future. They took advantage of an online phenomenon to power their corporation and lead them to even greater success.

Not convinced? Here are some facts and figures for the near future:

- Money spent on social media marketing expected to reach $3.1 Billion by 2014

- Social media markets expected to rise 34%/year over the next 5 years; faster than any other online media

- Facebook utilization is up 116% this year with over 200 million users

- Below is a chart displaying the forecasted U.S. Marketing Spending up to 2014

*All information gathered from http://www.mashable.com, http://www.clikz.com, http://www.techcrunch.com

You will learn how to create online video buzz to build your business!

Things you will learn:

Why Should My Business Care About Video?

• What’s the video buzz about?
• How to create a compelling story
• Busting down the myths

How Do I Get Started?

• How can you leverage video?
• Programs and cameras; how simple is it?
• Video hosting sites/channels, what’s out there, what to use?

There is no charge for this seminar, a light breakfast will be served. Seating is limited to the first 25 people, so RSVP soon.

Presenters:
Bekah Christie, Principal- Christie Media
Melani Gordon, Founder - gWave Consulting
Date/Time:
February 11, 2010  8:00-10:00 a.m.
Location:
Hive Haus - 770 11th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
(corner of 11th & F.)
RSVP:
Reply by February 9, 2010 (seating is limited!)

LET US KNOW YOU’LL BE THERE! CALL: 619-894-0384 or RSVP YOUR COMMENTS BELOW

One of the largest mistakes companies who utilize social media are making is not integrating social media marketing into existing activities. What are you doing already that you can integrate social media into? Let’s get real; it’s 2010 and it’s now necessary to have a mobile device that lets you accomplish what your computer can. Think about how much more media- productive you would be if you had a mobile device that let you update Twitter, Facebook and check your e-mail while sitting in rush hour traffic or standing in line at Starbucks?

Social media can be hugely overwhelming, but now’s the time to jump right in. You can no longer afford to not participate. It’s shocking, but true; companies that do not use social media to engage the public are quickly becoming idle. Americans are largely reliant on social media to get information and updates about various industries and companies, and if you aren’t linked in you are missing out on a massive portion of your client base. Many underestimate the power social networking has to build real, working relationships with their clients.

· 60% of Americans regularly interact with companies on a social media site

· 43% of consumers say that companies should use social networks to solve the consumers’ problems

· 41% believe that companies should use social media tools to solicit feedback on products and services

Social media is still often referred to as “new media,” however it isn’t; it is media. Think about the last major news story and how you found out about it? I think it’s safe to assume that the majority of you did not read it in a newspaper. You probably got an e-mail update from an online news source or saw someone’s status or post on Facebook or Twitter. We no longer look for the news; the news finds us. (Social Media Revolution, video, YouTube.com)

The contest ran for 30 days and increased their web traffic by 110% and a 13% increase in Facebook fans. In such a competitive landscape, Diamond Peak for sure marked this as a WIN.

2. With over 15 ski resorts in the Tahoe region, Diamond Peak gets innovative. Next up, Last Tracks Wine Tasting. The resort sales a limited amount of tickets every Saturday for those who want to enjoy the beautiful views of Lake Tahoe while tasting fine wines and tasty appetizers. Afterward, guests ski, telemark or snowboard down a freshly groomed blue corduroy run to the bottom (Ummm, I’d pay extra for that).

Why does this work? Because they took advantage of a feature that other resorts can’t compete with - The Diamond Peak Resort view of Lake Tahoe. We also spoke about a new concept “Early up powder.” Reminds me of the extended Disney Theme Park hours.

Well done!

Cari Turley, the manager of The Marsh Café, an active social media user worked with Denis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare, to develop a box application that would promote The Marsh Café on the social media site itself. With the excellent strategic plan to promote a new social media site, The Marsh Café in return got a lot of media coverage which brought attention to their business. Hi-five to the Marsh Cafe!

How you may ask? Take a look at these stats!

-    17%  of all consumers are planning on using social media during their holiday shopping

-    60% of those consumers are planning on using social media to find discounts, coupons, and sale information

-    53% of all consumers are planning on using social media to research gift ideas for family and friends

Age is no factor when it comes to social media. From those consumers who are planning on using social media as a shopping assistant – more than half are in the age group of 18-29, 33% are in the age group of 30-44, and 12% are in the age group of 45-60. With the internet being a top shopping destination for all ages; 22% of consumers are planning on shopping primarily online this holiday season with 44% of the shoppers planning on using coupons obtained online at local stores.

With the current economic downfall, social media is a key factor to attract those consumers who are planning on using the internet as a shopping aid. How will you market your business this holiday season?

Facebook was first created for college students, but now is used by everyone as a platform for social networking. There are currently over 200,000,000 active users distributed amongst 170 countries that Facebook is available to.  It was primarily created as a social networking site for users to keep in touch with family and friends. It soon turned into a huge source of networking for the purposes of business and personal use. Facebook allows uploading of pictures/albums, commenting on each others’ “wall”, updating your current status, creating an event, adding a music application, and etc. It is growing into an all purpose networking site which entails over 52,000applications you need plus 140 new applications being added per day (such as the quizzes that can predict when you will get married).

Twitter lets you update your status with a limitation of 140 characters via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. This can be a little tough, but have no fear you will get used to it quickly.  The upside of tweeting is that you don’t have to know the person to tweet with them. This eliminates the hassle of having to add someone, although you can and should “follow” people, so you can get updates on what’s new with them. For example, if a Tweeter (you don’t know) was looking for a fun Halloween party and you are promoting an event at a club, all you have to do is Tweet back with details on your event. It really is easy as that. Ranked at #1 for the fastest growing member community, in February 2009 there were 7,038,000 members, a 1,382% growth compared to the 475,000 members in February 2008. For businesses that are trying to promote a service or product, this is an excellent source of promotion, with so many people in the network, marketing to a specific target or expanding to different channels is easy.

Which one is better?

Twitter Pros:
·    Connect with anyone even beyond your friend circle
·    Easy to communicate simple thoughts or promote events
·    Anyone can follow anyone else – no acceptance required

Twitter Cons:
·    Character limitation to 140 per update
·    Tricky to navigate at first
·    Limitation on usage: sending private messages, finding people, and etc.

Facebook Pros:
·    Many usage functionalities: instant messaging, private messages, email, Multimedia sharing
·    Ability to privatize or publicize personal or business account
·    New applications added constantly

Facebook Cons:
·    Time consuming
·    Not immediate responses (have to add or accept to be friends)
·    Limitations on pages created (fan vs. group)

They both serve as good networking sites and both can be used through your mobile device (always an added bonus). Speaking of mobile devices, Facebook allows you to access all the functions used on the computer on your phone (Blackberry, iPhone, or any phone with an internet connection), which includes picture uploading, adding friends, changing your status, or taking a quiz. Twitter has many different mobile tools such as: UberTwitter used for uploading pictures, sending videos, and updating your Google Talk status with your last Tweet Tweelo which is the yellow pages for Twitter, and JustTweetit which is a user directory organized by genre that helps you connect with others easily. Why not have both for your business, the more you put your company out there the better. Use the Twitter account for daily updates and follow your clients as well as people you think might be interested in what your company offers. Use the Facebook account to create events and update the status of your company, at the same time use the fan or group page to broaden your client base.  It is a win-win situation that will help your company.