Using keywords is a key to getting your business, your brand and your message in front of the right people. In the August 2011 issue of CustomRetailer Magazine we give you some tips.

Last month we talked about the importance of doing your keyword homework, as well as some of the ways to hone in on the keywords that best align with your business and brand. Now that you’ve done the research, it’s just as important to use that information to precisely craft your messaging, communicate that message effectively and reach the right audience. Here are a few tips:

Enrich your profiles and pages.
Take a look at the bio sections within your social networks and make sure you’re including the best phrases that reflect your brand. Instead of wasting space with words like “guru” and “ninja,” increase your effectiveness with focused narratives that describe the services you provide. Short and sweet is always the best practice, so people are more likely to absorb key points. Plus, some networks limit the amount of characters you can fill—Twitter only allows for 160!

Use keywords in your messaging any way you can.
When you’re sharing content via Facebook and Twitter, try to use your keywords wherever it makes sense. Don’t try too hard to make that happen, turning your updates into something that sounds computer-generated, but just keep it top of mind as you’re crafting your messages. For example, a custom integrator sharing an image from a recently finished job might update their corporate Facebook status with something like “Whole home automation, complete with lighting control, at its finest—this is the stuff we live for.” instead of “Just finished a big job at a customer’s pad and we’re happy to report it looks great!”

Tweets should include brand-related keywords within the first 40 characters. With experience, you’ll find there’s a balance between being interesting enough to entice people to click through to consume your content and overusing your keywords. Since you’ll share content via shortened URLs to conserve characters, consider also customizing the text with your keywords that describe it, as long as it stays concise and makes sense, via a service like Bit.ly.

Describe. Tag. Repeat.
It’s also important to use applicable keywords in conjunction with all the photos and videos you post on your social sites. Next time you’re posting on Facebook, Flickr, Twitpic or YouTube, include relevant keywords in captions, titles, tags and descriptions. Take it one step further and make sure your image files are named with the relevant descriptive keywords or even your company name, separating each word in the file name with a dash or underscore so a search engine can effectively tell that each word is separate.

Using keywords socially in these ways will feel natural with a little practice. It’s a small step, but an important one, that can go a long way with getting your business, your brand and your message in front of the right people!

Image credit: thingsihavelearnedinmylife.com

Keywords are the “key” (pun intended) to a host of things regarding marketing because they provide clues to behavior and preferences. Identifying keywords traditionally becomes essential as businesses focus on search engine optimization for their websites or prior to an investment in pay-per-click advertising. But keywords are just as important when it comes to social media marketing, and their proper use should be a core strategy. Here are our thoughts on the subject, from the July 2011 issue of CustomRetailer Magazine.

Social media puts the conversations people are having about the products you sell, the types of services your business provides and the brands you offer out in the open for you to find. It’s right-here-right-now information in raw form, affording you the opportunity to learn about your audience so you can effectively target them. Beyond that, it’s important to study how people’s behavior varies across different social platforms so you can adapt your approach as well.

Where to begin?

Identify general terms associated with your business. You’ll have an idea of what many of them are, as they’re likely the expressions you use in your marketing materials. If you have a corporate website, take some time to examine your Google Analytics to see what words and phrases are directing people to your site. Become your own customer and conduct a search on Google for a product you sell or a service you provide. As you type in the search box, watch how the autocomplete feature anticipates your search term. Take note of the words or phrases that populate as options, as they’ve more than likely been searched before. Throughout this process, be careful not to automatically assume that how people search on Google is how they’d use social media to search for answers and service providers or communicate needs—but it’s a good starting point.

Take those keywords and phrases to the social space.

Because the content users generate on Twitter is normally in the form of quick quips, questions and links to more extensive blog posts described by keyword-heavy headlines, start there. Do a general search, using some of the phrases you compiled from your Google search. Keep an eye out for any descriptive words that you see people associating with your search term. If ‘home theater’ is the term you’re using, note how often people tweeting about that use words like ‘simple’ or ‘custom’ as an adjective to describe their thought. Don’t forget to also search using hashtags, combining keywords into a searchable phrase, like #hometheater. There is an assortment of websites that can help you conduct keyword research and track hashtags and trending topics, but that’s another lesson for a future installment.

Now hop over to YouTube. As the second largest search engine, people are using YouTube nearly as much as they’re using Google. But be careful to assume that they’re using it the same way—that’s not the case. You’ll want to go through the same motions you did with your Google search, typing your search term slowly so you can keep an eye on how the autocomplete feature kicks in. YouTube Suggest works similarly to Google, using a predictive model to display popular queries ordered by relative search volume. YouTube also offers a Keyword Tool that generates new keyword ideas tied to their promoted videos.

Eavesdrop effectively. Knowing how people are searching for the services your company provides and what words or phrases are typically used within those conversations allow you to better understand your customers and opens a door to finding potential customers. Taking the time to research the keywords and phrases that align with your business will allow you to craft your messaging precisely and communicate it effectively. Now that you’ve done all this research, it’s important to use it. Next month we’ll talk about some ways to make the most out of all this newfound knowledge.

A how-to guide for social communication, from the May 2011 issue of CustomRetailer Magazine.

Last month we talked about how social media is changing today’s workplace and the importance of setting corporate policies for social media interaction. So now that your company is out there in the social space, it’s important to make sure it’s being done right—and that your social media voice accurately reflects your brand. Here are a few tips and best practices when it comes to social communication.

Put the right person in charge.
Designating someone to represent your business and manage your brand’s social media presence is an important first step. It can’t be just anyone though! Choose someone that’s trustworthy and will represent the business in a proper fashion—that includes everything from tone of voice to reliability (remember, social media interaction is happening all the time). Whether that person is the business owner, an employee or a contracted third party, it’s crucial that the designated individual is up to speed on the company’s mission and stays consistent with messaging that accurately reflects that mission. For larger businesses, consider a team, but be sure that there’s a clear policy in place for online engagement and reacting to public posts.

Identify the voice behind the curtain.
Though people like the idea of interacting with a brand, we all know a logo isn’t doing the talking. Part of the beauty of social media is that it gives us, as humans, the opportunity to reach a business without first dealing with a robot or recording. Make sure it’s clear who is posting the content on your corporate Facebook page and who the body is behind your company’s Twitter feed. This doesn’t mean you have to publish a lengthy bio of the voice behind the curtain—something simple will do the trick: “You’re tweeting with @kimberlyfab”. If there is more than one person managing a social account, ending posts and tweets with initials help denote which team member said what.

WE said/she said.
As the social media representative of a brand, it’s important to always remember that the ‘you’ is now the brand. Content needs to be written from the brand’s perspective. Though it’s acceptable to personalize tweets and posts with your own voice (that super personality is part of why your voice was chosen to represent the company socially!), try to stick to using the pronoun ‘we’ versus using ‘I’ statements. And remember not to get too personal. People connect with companies on social networks because they have an affinity for their products or services, not because they want to know personal details or personal opinions about those who are managing the accounts. It’s great to share pictures, articles and opinions, as long as it stays on message for the brand.

Do your homework.
If you’re sharing an article or a blog post on behalf of a company, be sure to read the whole thing before you do so. If you’re retweeting something from a corporate Twitter account, check the link first. Not only do you want to make sure it’s not broken and that it takes your audience to the place you intended, remember that retweeting is a virtual stamp of approval on behalf of the brand. Even if the link is from a seemingly credible source like CNN, or someone you trust and typically interact with, take the time to make sure the content is on message with the brand. Sometimes a headline can be misleading and it’s not worth the risk of sharing something that’s not relevant or offensive to your community.

Always be professional.
It’s especially important to maintain consistent professionalism in the social space because everything is public. Professional language, grammar and spelling are all important parts of that. Sure, typos may happen from time to time or a mixed message may be shared. Because you want the company to be displayed in the best possible light, fix that typo. Remember though that all messages live on in cyberspace, so sometimes a delete and repost doesn’t do the trick. If someone has posted a comment to a corporate Facebook status update and you later notice a typo, deleting it also erases that follow up comment. Because retweets happen fast and furiously in the Twitterverse, those typos can easily get shared over and over, even after you’ve deleted and reposted the tweet. Simply adding a message acknowledging the error or a quick follow-up tweet with a correction illustrates that professionalism is of high importance to your brand.

There’s a final key lesson a social brand manager should learn before stepping into any social media role on behalf of a company. Since social media is all about two-way communication, it’s important to remember that having a social presence opens a company’s doors to public criticism. That distaste has the potential to be heard by countless others who are following the frustrated party or keeping an eye on your brand. If someone is discourteous, be sure to respond politely, maintaining the respectful identity of the brand, and take the conversation offline to handle the issue accordingly. Always remember that the words you use become those associated with the brand — in both good times and in bad!

Image credit: furlongpr.com

If you’re wondering how to set corporate policies for social media interaction, read our thoughts from the April 2011 issue of CustomRetailer Magazine.

Even if your company isn’t active in social media, your employees likely are. And as the use of social networks grows, so grows the blending of personal and professional contacts. Though your employees’ personal time is their own, as a part of your organization, they’re technically representing your brand 24/7/365—especially in cases where they’ve connected with professional contacts via a personal social network. Without a social media policy, how can you manage what’s being said about your company and be sure that your brand is being best represented?

Be clear about expectations and consequences.
Your social media policy should outline how you expect your brand to be communicated, both on and off the clock. It’s no longer just about telling employees what they can and cannot do on company computers; but rather, defining the acceptable brand representation through their online voices. Remind employees that anything posted online shouldn’t disclose information that is confidential or proprietary. Provide relatable examples of unacceptable behavior and clearly define the consequences for the brand and for the employee if expectations aren’t met.

Make it a team effort. Encourage evolution.
When crafting a policy, make the exercise a collective effort by some of the most active social media users in your company. This will ensure that you’re remembering to consider all the possible social networks and their implications. Another benefit of collaboration is that it assures built-in advocates of the policy, making it easier to implement company-wide. Since social media is ever-changing, encourage employees to share changes with the policy writer and offer new ideas for the policy’s evolution. Set aside time once a quarter to review the policy and consider updates.

Be positive. Provide positive reinforcement.
Since regulations aren’t usually welcomed with optimism, create a positive outlook by focusing on what employees CAN do, versus what they shouldn’t. Start by assuring employees that the company recognizes that social networks grant a more relaxed and casual public atmosphere—unless an employee is engaging in communications on behalf of the company, in which case, communications should consistently support brand strategies at all times. Cite and share examples of acceptable social media activity.

Be realistic.
Once you’ve created a social media policy that you feel adequately protects your company’s reputation, offer a standard disclaimer that employees can attach to their individual social networks and personal blogs. Something simple and direct like: ‘The thoughts expressed here are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of [insert company name here]’ is a significant delineation between an employee’s personal and professional lives. Finally, remind employees that if they comment on company business in any capacity, they should identify themselves as an employee of the company and state their role.

Because there are so many different social networks that can present various implications, it may be wise to eventually drill down further and consider separate codes of conduct for each venue.

Image credit: socialfresh.com

Looking to get your company on the map? Consider a social media contest. Our latest suggestions in CustomRetailer Magazine‘s monthly social media column — March 2011.

Constant engagement is key to marketing your company’s presence across the various social media platforms successfully. However, engagement can’t happen without having fans and followers to engage with. Last month, we established that one of the most popular methods of encouraging engagement is hosting contests and giveaways. Brands of all sizes have been participating in contests and giveaways to increase their audiences, primarily using Facebook and Twitter to host these promotions.

When planning contests or giveaways, be aware of any legal regulations. Be sure to look at the Terms of Service or User Agreement for the social tools you’re considering. For instance, you must administer all contests on Facebook via a third-party app on the Facebook platform. If you administer promotions that violate Facebook’s rules you run the risk of having your company’s pages disabled completely. There are a wide variety of third-party apps offering promotion services that meet Facebook’s rules, including Wildfire, Strutta and Votigo. These apps allow users to create various types of promotions, including photo, video, quiz, trivia and more.

There are several different types of contests and giveaways that your company can run using social media platforms, ranging from nearly free to a relatively costly.

Promotional Code Giveaway – This is the most common form of social media giveaway seen on Facebook and Twitter. Your company can host a deal where fans simply like a Facebook page or follow a specific Twitter account and are given something for free after doing so. Typically, this giveaway is a discount code, which will drive traffic to your site and encourage purchases.

Retweet and Hashtag Contests – These contests are hosted on Twitter and are relatively inexpensive to run. Free sites, such as Tweetswin, allow users to create and run a Twitter contest, promotion or giveaway, simply by creating their listing. The listing will ask entrants to follow their company on Twitter, then retweet a phrase with a specific link and hashtag. Tweetswin keeps track of all the entries, picks a winner and lets the host see vital information about their promotion. The low barrier of entry in these types of contests typically means more people will participate.

Photo/Video Contests – You can ask followers to post a photo of them using your product or ask them to make a funny commercial for your brand. One thing to keep in mind here is to make sure it’s easy to upload entries. The aforementioned apps make these types of contests possible, and the price will vary depending on how customized you’d like the contest to be. Additionally, you can make photo/video contests more interactive by allowing the public to choose winners.

Answer a Question – Companies can use a trivia question, which may encourage fans to explore their website in an effort to find the answer, or ask a question that just makes the fan or follower spend time thinking about the brand or what services the brand provides. When it comes to Twitter, be sure to tell entrants to answer it and use a hashtag, so that it’s searchable and trackable.

Remember the contest shouldn’t be the start or the end of your social media strategy. You need to first have valuable content in place prior to the contest so that new visitors know the value your business provides on a regular basis. And of course, it’s just as important to continue to provide interesting and valuable content after the promotion to ensure those new fans and followers stick around.

Image credit: conferoinc.com

Keep it simple, keep it fun and keep it interesting — from the social media column archives of CustomRetailer Magazine, February 2011.

By now, we all know that incorporating social media into your overall marketing strategy can offer huge benefits whether you’re in a B-to-B or B-to-C environment. It can help to create visibility for your company, provide a useful channel to engage with target audiences and garner brand loyalty. But building a social media presence isn’t something that happens overnight—it takes time and resources to create brand awareness and increase your reach.

To make your social media investment immediately worthwhile, consider using contests to speed up the growth of your fan base and generate instant engagement. Using social media channels that your audience is already familiar with, like Facebook and Twitter, as a place to host your contest can provide a measurable increase in traffic and overall knowledge about your brand. When implemented correctly, online contests can be inexpensive and easily executed with limited resources and can lead to some outstanding results.

There are two important pieces to running a successful contest:

1) Have an exciting, valuable prize that is relevant to your target audience. Not every contest needs to offer an all-expense-paid home theater makeover, and if the prize isn’t something that will grab people’s attention, likely your brand won’t stay top-of-mind. Though value of the prize is important, its relevance to the person you want to reach takes priority.

2) The most important factor is to keep it simple, yet fun. Your current and potential fans and followers do not want to feel like they’re being solicited. Entering your contest should give them a sense of excitement while helping to spread the word about your company as well as the product or service you’re trying to promote with the contest.

Additionally, if you require a contestant to fill out a form with detailed personal information, they will feel as if they are being set up for a lifetime of unwanted emails from your company and are likely to not join your social networks or participate in your contest.

People should be able to enter your contest by posting an update on a social media channel they already use. This simple update spreads the word about your contest, while promoting your business. Have a “retweet” or a “hashtag” contest that enters individuals into drawings by doing something as simple as retweeting a message and following you on Twitter or hashtagging a phrase and tweeting it to be entered. The more contestants that enter, the more people see your name, garnering more interest about your company and/or product and in turn leading to new customers and potentially increased profits.

Next month we’ll talk about various types of contests, ranging from simple and nearly free to run, such as the “retweet” and “hashtag” method on Twitter mentioned here, to a little more in-depth and costly. In the meantime, give your first contest a shot. Remember: keep it simple, keep it fun and keep it interesting. Social media contests can be extremely effective and lead to increased buzz about your business when done right.

Image credit: blueliquidmedia.com

Tips for entering the new year on a social high, from our monthly social media column in CustomRetailer Magazine — January 2011.

It’s the time of year where we make resolutions to address bad personal habits and focus on improving ourselves. While we’re doing it personally, we should do it professionally. So as we make our resolutions to eat healthier and get more sleep, we should consider making resolutions on how our businesses can best embrace social media this New Year. Here are some simple places to start.

Make sure your business has a presence on the major social networking sites. At a minimum, your business should have a presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Stop worrying about the information overload or not having the infrastructure in place to manage these new forms of communication. Instead be glad there are venues available now that offer free insight on what your current and potential customers want, and an easy way to reach them.

Identify your social media mentors. We all have mentors in life. Professionally, what companies have caught your eye based on a recent marketing campaign, new product or service? Highlight those types of businesses and keep a close eye on how they’re using social media. Watch for ways you feel their tactics could work for your business.

Create a social media strategy (and policy!) for your business. Once you’re all set up, what are you going to do with your audience? Start by building a list of realistic goals. Some common ones include increasing brand awareness, managing your reputation, increasing website traffic, increasing sales and improving search engine rankings. Each goal should have metrics for measurement and a way to track results. Brainstorm each goal to populate a list of creative ways to reach those goals, remembering that social media has changed the traditional marketing landscape—a regional sales promotion can turn into a national one through incentivized sharing, and an unfavorable product review can spread like wildfire. Being clear about what you’d like to get out of your social media investment, and consistently updating those goals to reflect changes in your business, will help you stay on strategy long term.

Social media policies should be set and communicated to anyone representing your brand to ensure that the company’s message remains consistent. Training employees on your expectations regarding appropriate language, tone of voice and how to handle customer service dilemmas is crucial. Anyone who has the power to speak on behalf of your company should have extreme comprehension of your business strategy.

Look your best. Your social media profiles should be an extension of your business, so make sure that they reflect your brand identity. Customize Facebook tabs to support current marketing initiatives. Your Twitter background should complement your website’s design and include a prominent logo, complementary branding and contact information, making it easy for new fans and followers to reach key people. Your YouTube channel can even be customized to reflect your brand’s colors and style.

Give people a reason to join your network. “If you build it, they will come” is not only a misquote from the movie “Field of Dreams”—it’s also a weak strategy. You have to give people a reason to engage with your business online. Regular company updates and behind-the-scenes insight on your business are interesting, but you should also consider sharing relevant industry news or being a source for education. Distributors that want to attract dealers to their social networks should share best practices on how to sell new technologies; manufacturers will want to share product reviews or post examples of how consumers are using their products in their homes. Offering entry into a sweepstakes for posting a comment or sharing a sale is an easy way to entice people to publicly show affinity for your brand.

Reward loyalty. To reinforce loyalty, it’s important to demonstrate value for maintaining a relationship with your business socially. In some cases, this can be as simple as offering items or services that are exclusive to your social audience. In other cases, exclusive content or a bigger discount that is only available to fans and followers makes people feel like they have a special connection to your business that not everyone else has and ensures they keep your business on their radars.

With the holidays right around the corner, we thought it best to share some ways businesses can use social networking to drive sales during a time when people are at a spending high. From CustomRetailer Magazine‘s monthly social media column — December 2010.

As a retailer, it’s smart to build excitement about holiday shopping on your corporate Facebook page. Remind fans about the new inventory you’re stocking your shelves with every day and share holiday sales. Post candid pictures of the hottest new items and remind people of extended shopping hours. Take it one step further by choosing a few days to suggest that fans share your holiday sale with their networks for an additional discount. Give consumers motivation to share positive shopping experiences publicly, enticing friends and family to follow their lead and get the things on their holiday lists. Something as simple as a coupon for their next shopping trip, or entry into a sweepstakes not only thanks consumers for their purchase, but also develops an affinity for the store.

Manufacturers can use Facebook to similarly build excitement about new products and share details about where they can be purchased in time for holiday gifting. Hosting a ‘Like’ button on product pages is a great way for consumers to share their enthusiasm for something with their Facebook networks. When the user clicks the ‘Like’ button on a website, a story appears in the user’s friends’ News Feed with a link back to the originating website—yours.

In order to encourage sharing content this way, Facebook even provides a step-by-step process for web administrators to add this feature for free: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like

If your organization has the resource of a social media team, make sure they’re using Twitter creatively to find people on the hunt for something specific, sending them @ messages, alerting them that your store has the item they want. A quick search on Twitter.com can populate a list of potential customers ready to buy specific items. One more click of the mouse narrows the search to those nearby, based on the location listed on the business’ profile. A nationwide online retailer that notices a potential customer is in search of a new 3D TV should proactively send a link to the most popular options they offer in the category, or send a coupon for free shipping on the item if bought on their site within the next 24 hours. Social media has changed the shopping experience quite a bit: retailers and manufacturers now have the opportunity to shape consumers’ buying experiences from the moment it’s a public thought. Now go out and sell them!

Image credit: blog.campaigner.com

Last month we talked about the importance of using social media to enhance your trade show presence. Here’s the second half of the 2 part series published in CustomRetailer Magazine‘s monthly social media column — November 2010.

Continuing to tweet during the show will keep your followers’ attention, spark interest and incentives and inform them about products and events at your booth. Don’t be shy. Personally invite followers to your booth with an @ message; include your booth number—they may be close by. LiteTouch did this at CEDIA, tweeting a quick hello to @customCEsocial, stating that two executives at their booth would love to reconnect with them.

Give followers an incentive to continue engaging with your company throughout the show. Have contests and events on the show floor that require attendees to keep up with your tweets. Make it so they must visit your booth to claim their prize and check out your products. During CEDIA EXPO 2010, OmniMount had a daily installation demo of one of their new products, followed by a giveaway, which helped to significantly increase booth traffic and was fun for attendees.

When the trade show is over, it is vital to continue engaging and make people remember the show. Post show recaps and photos highlighting the most memorable moments of the show and any new products that were debuted to show those who did not attend what they’ve missed. Linking your Twitter to a company blog that has a post packed with highlights from the show—or even other relevant blogs that cover the channel—is another outlet to market your company post-show. Also, retweeting what an attendee says about the experience at your booth is a great way to keep people talking about your company or brand.

Thank attendees for coming to your booth. Showing gratitude to those who tweeted good things about your company. If you’re not doing this, you could be losing out on outreach opportunities to potential customers. Implement these strategies for your next trade show and you should see an increase in community engagement and booth traffic. Good luck, and we’ll see you at CES!

Driving traffic to your booth (or anywhere) is just a tweet away. This is part 1 of a 2 part series published in CustomRetailer Magazine‘s monthly social media column — October 2010.

With a successful CEDIA EXPO 2010 behind us, and 2011 International CES nearly here, this is the perfect time to talk about how companies can harness the power of Twitter to build buzz around a show presence and increase attendance at a booth.

With smartphones, it has never been easier to engage with followers from the palm of your hand. Most attendees will be plugged into an advanced mobile device throughout the show, take advantage of this and feed them information! During CEDIA EXPO, many companies successfully used Twitter in their show promotion, also pre- and post-show!

Tweeting in the months leading up to a trade show can be extremely effective in helping to build brand awareness, introduce and educate about new products and services, deepen relationships with existing customers, and generate new leads. It is important that your tweets are searchable, so use keywords, phrases and most importantly: hashtags. The most popular hashtags used when referencing CEDIA EXPO were #CEDIA10 and #AVtweeps.

During your pre-show Twitter conversations, you’ll start to build a list of followers that are interested in your company’s participation at the show. As we pointed out last month, regularly engaging in relevant conversation is the most important way to build and maintain your community. By the time the show rolls around, relationships will have developed and followers are more likely to be interested in what you’re saying. During the show, you want to keep them engaged (whether they’re there or not).

OmniMount kept their community engaged by putting a Web cam in their booth to stream live video to their website. Similarly, Crestron connected with their online community by consistently posting videos from their booth on YouTube and tweeting links to the videos. Both are great ways to enable followers who can’t attend, to still be part of the action.

In Part 2, we’ll discuss building your show presence and more examples of tweets that work.

Image credit: conferencehound.com

We contribute a social media column to CustomRetailer Magazine every month — in the September issue we talk about social networking best practices that will get your business on track to successful social media engagement. With so many options, and everything happening at a rapid pace, it might be difficult to know where to start. So start simple — just listen. A great venue for listening to an industry, and more specifically, your current and future customers, is Twitter. Twitter allows people to express their feelings in short bursts, so you get a really solid read on what people are actually thinking and feeling, without having to ask. In a lot of cases, these ‘feelings’ relate to brands. People are providing real-time insight and opinions of products, marketing campaigns and customer service experiences via tweets around the clock, so the first step is to tune in to what they’re saying. As it relates to our business category, this could be anything from a brand in general, to a specific product or service, to a retail experience. These raw shares can help you make critical business decisions — and it’s all out there just waiting to be heard.

Social media allows businesses to develop a personal relationship with people — Twitter especially. The general public uses Twitter for a gamut of reasons: to connect and share experiences with other people or groups that have similar interests, live in a certain area, and often to show affinity (or in some cases, the opposite!) for brands. People are out there developing their own little communities and becoming a part of others. As a business, you’ll want to search out people and other businesses that are tweeting about our industry or product category and start following them. Associations, organizations, media outlets and writers are also great follows because they share tons of information relevant to the space. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for customers new and old, people who are familiar with your company and those that may not know your brand, but should. And once your ears are trained on that bevy of people that really matter to your business — your community — watch how they interact and the types of things they share. It’ll be vast and mainly informal, but interesting and educational.

What are you waiting for? People are interacting all around you (and in some cases about you — but that’s a lesson for a separate installment!) so get in there talk back. Feel free to have an opinion on an article or a current event, and if you can tie it in as it relates to your business, even better. While you tweet about the benefits of your products or services, keep in mind that your conversation should be just as much about them as it is about you. Remember that when you’re the voice of a brand, it’s important to show off your corporate personality with every tweet — it will increase the likelihood of gaining and retaining followers long term. Eventually, Twitter can prove to be a great tool for your business — a marketing vehicle for blog posts, company announcements, event invitations and customer service. But for now: engage.

Image credit: dublin.metblogs.com

Yesterday would have been my father’s 68th birthday. I traipse through the 4th of August every year with a heavy heart. Joseph Michael Fabiano passed away in October of 1984, when I was just 5 years old. We had a short 8 months together from the time my parents learned he had aggressive pancreatic cancer to the day he closed his eyes for the last time. This piece of me is something I keep close to my heart and rarely talk about, even with family and my closest friends. So why am I blogging about it?

Well, yesterday I was feeling emotional and tweeted completely out of character.

And the result of that tweet is the reason for my post today. Though Twitter may be meant for people to share fleeting thoughts, good, bad, emotional or indifferent — I’ve made a point not to use it that way. While I’m open about my likes and dislikes, share articles and blogs that impact me or introduce friends that I see commonalities between, my stream rarely reflects a sour mood, and never reflects my innermost layer. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve been vocal about an off mood before — but never so personal. There’s not much behind why that is, other than of course, just maintaining a generally positive attitude as any PR professional would.

But yesterday was different for me. I tweeted my raw thought at a moment in time with abandon. It helped me momentarily release a little tension, the kind that is normally reserved for my diary [Note to anyone close enough to dig through my closet — this diary is purely mental and resides only in my head.] Typing those two sentences publicly gave me the temporary push I needed to put my ‘blah’ mood on the back burner and get on with a busy day. The unexpected result was a bevy of DMs from the Twitterverse. There were a few from friends (old and new) just sending a virtual hug, another a personal story of similar loss, and one was a random off-color joke meant to make me giggle (which it did). I laughed and cried intermittently, and all together it resulted in the least gloomy August 4th in as long as I can remember.

So what to share on Twitter? Go ahead; bare your soul at will. And who cares? You might be surprised.

Image credit: www.geardiary.com

As news of the upcoming Benefit for James John Zintak spread, a sweet friend came up with a clever way to help. Instead of rounding up donations to create a home theater package to auction off at the benefit next weekend, we’re raising funds. Whatever we raise will buy a gift card to Abt Electronics — and the winning bidder can purchase the home theater equipment of their choice there. To start things off, Omni+ has donated one of their new media consoles, the Edge, as the centerpiece — now we just need to raise enough money to buy a gift card that’ll cover the TV and audio system. Aforementioned clever friend offered to donate $100 to start things off if she could find someone to match. Well, I’ll match that. So now we have $200 — who’s going to match me?

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Everyone has a story to tell or a cause to support — there are countless ones you hear every day about people who are facing battles that are tough to swallow. It’s impossible to help everyone. But we can still try. Social networking allows us to share stories like this with people we wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. And that’s what we’re trying to do here. It’s our little way of helping where we can. While we’re sharing this story with the hopes that enough people will see it, raising essential donations to help give him the care he needs, it’s also to share his inspiring story of strength.

This post is dedicated to a little boy close to our hearts (the godson of a dear friend, Zach Eyman), dealt too tough a hand at too young an age. James John Zintak was born to Dan and Samantha Zintak (Eyman) on July 29, 2008. The first child to the Phoenix police officer and local grade school teacher, James was an active, healthy, typical little boy — until out of nowhere, he wasn’t. At 16 months old, he experienced continuous high fevers, was hospitalized with pneumonia and eventually was diagnosed with a very rare disease called CGD (Chronic Granulomatous Disease). In layman’s terms, James’ immune system doesn’t work well enough to fight off bacteria and fungus that is normally present in the human body — instead it attacks his delicate system. At the worst point, James had to have some of his right lung removed because of a very bad infection. He was in the hospital for several months, but is now home under very strict care and visits the hospital every week. Instead of living a normal life as an active toddler, James requires daily medications and shots and has limited contact with everything from the environment to his family.

His parents are hoping to have a successful bone marrow transplant before the year’s end to cure this disease. Two perfect donors have been found for him — and as long as they can keep him infection-free until the surgery, hopes for recovery are high. Finally, some good news!

Thankfully the Zintak Family has been blessed with a network of family and friends all over the country that have been supportive every step of the way. They’ve provided everything from updates from James’ hospital room to the organization of a fundraising benefit to help lighten the load of soaring medical bills, consistent treatment for James, as well as any obstacles that may lie ahead for them. While donations are important, it’s just as critical to tell his powerful story of a little fighter with an undying spirit that refuses to give up.

The Benefit for James John Zintak is being held on Sunday, August 8, 2010 at Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, IL. With more than 200 people in attendance, the event is sure to raise awareness about this rare disease and pull together critical funds for the Zintak family to continue with James’ care.

While any donations are welcome, we’re specifically trying to pull together a ‘Home Theater Package’ to auction off at the benefit. If you’re in the position to donate a TV, audio equipment, or accommodating accessories, . Every little bit helps! Even passing this along to your networks helps — you never know whose heart you’ll touch. Thank you for reading.

There’s been a lot of buzz about Earth Day this week, so my attentiveness to my regular recycling routine has been heightened. And that’s what Earth Day is designed to do — inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. So instead of just sorting my paper and plastic, conserving electricity and grocery shopping with reusable totes, I took it one step further this week. My husband, pup-daughter and I have a two-ish mile walk we try to take every night the weather cooperates, through these woods behind our apartment complex. It’s pretty deserted back there and always quiet, so it’s a nice relaxing wind-down from our hectic days. What isn’t relaxing is the miscellaneous pieces of trash strewn about along our route: everything from construction waste to beer cans and candy wrappers to…broken plastic hangers? True story. Who litters this helpless space? I see it, it bothers me consistently, but I do nothing because I’m walking a dog, carrying on a conversation and thinking about dinner. Not this week. This week, armed with trash bags and gardening gloves, I cleaned up our path. Over the course of several days, anything I could carry got brought back to our dumpster. I know it’s not going to change the world, or even clean up our woods permanently, but it’s my contribution. Earth Day buzz was certainly my motivator this time, but I’m committed to keeping it up.

Along those same lines, I’ve noticed that more and more companies are stepping up to the plate en masse to help green our planet. Efforts are focused on reducing waste, conserving energy and of course, recycling. In this vein, I’m proud to be a partner to OmniMount, a company that’s been very focused on eco-friendly initiatives for quite some time now — and it didn’t take Earth Day to motivate them to do something drastic! Above and beyond their green routine, they’ve come up with a unique spin that has nothing to do with the products they manufacture: textile recycling. No, they’re not secretly on the cusp of announcing a shift in manufacturing focus. They’re just interested in showing that as a company whose bread and butter is flat panel mounting solutions, they support more than TVs. And for those of you that know the fine folks that make up the team over there, you won’t be surprised to know that The BRAvo Event has been supported wholeheartedly (Read: We are mounting an organized effort to collect BRAS?!?!)! While this initiative has been developing behind the scenes for a couple of months now, they’re announcing BRAvo today as their appreciation of the environment on this 40th anniversary of Earth Day. I’m inspired by the grand effort, so wanted to share the details here.

So what do bras and Earth Day have in common, again? Not sure. But the headline caught your attention.

When my business partner and I first started designing our website, we thought nothing could be cooler than planting our blog on our home page. It would keep our site constantly looking fresh and be a motivator to post content regularly. Since it’s been something like two months since we’ve posted something, I think it’s safe to say that our reasoning was slightly off.

Personally, it’s been weighing on me. I haven’t posted anything because I haven’t had the time to craft something fabulous that I’m interested in hanging out there for the world to read. I’ll admit, I’ve considered writing ‘just anything’ to give our site a refresh and cross it off my list. But at a very timely moment, I came across a post from one of my undercover advisors that made me take a deep breath and realize that keeping up with our blog shouldn’t be an obligation. It should be a passion with a positive result. His post made me feel comfortable about only posting content that we consider really great. If it so happens that our posts are fewer and farther between because we’re busy reading other great blogs, doing something amazing for one of our clients, or educating ourselves on something new, well… such is life!

So what’s the epic content with a positive result for today? I’m going to share my undercover advisors. When I first got into this business, it took extensive research to find social media marketing personalities that share valuable thoughts regularly and encourage growth genuinely. Sifting through countless new media ‘gurus’ wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had, or the best use of my time. So if sharing my undercover advisors helps even one person save time or find some inspiration, I’ve done my good deed for the day. While there are more on my short list, these three folks share content that truly shouldn’t be missed. They’re undercover because I’ve never met them, but advisors because by following their Twitter feeds and blogs, I feel like I do!

@unmarketing | Scott Stratten is the president of UnMarketing and a key influencer in the social media marketing space. He says what he thinks, when he thinks it and is a constant reminder of things we, as marketers, should be doing to engage customers.

@AmberCadabra | Amber Naslund is Altitude Branding and more. Her posts are educational, her writing style encouraging and her shares are urgent reads for anyone in the business of branding via social media.

@PRSarahEvans | Sarah Evans is the brains behind Sevans Strategy, a public relations and new media consultancy. She’s committed to the continual development of PR professionals and is a constant reminder of the importance of doing social good, professionally and personally!

Would love it if you’d share who your undercover advisors are and why.

Image courtesy of http://www.edgarkhachatryan.com

One of our clients is doing something we think is really fun, so we wanted to share here. Omni+, a new designer brand of home theater furniture, has a product offered in a striking green gloss (seriously!). With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, the company was inspired to allow fans of the collection to try their luck to winning one through a Twitter promotion. It’s easy and free to enter, and there’s no need to give Omni+ any personal info (unless you’re the winner). It’s as simple as tweeting a phrase to be entered to win.

If you’re not familiar with Omni+, here’s a little bit about the recently-launched brand: With a fresh approach to design, Omni+ brings purpose to your home theater furniture. This hip and distinct collection is truly made for all spaces. The Omni+ mission is to make sure each piece has the perfect blend of beauty plus brains — making them just as hardworking as they are high-styled. Their designs aren’t created in a vacuum, but instead are collaborations with renowned designers (including Karim Rashid) and inspired by the elements of the world. For a closer look, visit http://www.omniplusfurniture.com.

The promo starts Saturday, March 13, 2010, and Omni+ will be looking for followers to retweet up to three tweets per day through Wednesday, March 17, 2010, when the contest will end at midnight (12:00 a.m. Arizona Standard Time). A winning follower will be chosen at random on Thursday, March 18, 2010. You are welcome to share this opportunity with anyone on Twitter! The Omni+ Green Prism Giveaway instructions are as follows:

(1)  Simply follow @omni_plus on Twitter

(2)  Copy and paste the following phrase into your ‘What’s happening?’ box and press ‘Tweet’. With a #fresh approach to #design, @omni_plus brings purpose to #hometheater #furniture: http://bit.ly/bcsEJW #greenprismgiveaway

(3)  Every tweet of the catch phrase by an omni_plus follower is a valid entry, between Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 12:00 a.m. through Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. (limit to three entries per 24-hour period

If you’re interested, here’s a media alert with more details and images: http://pitch.pe/51634

I always get excited for Super Bowl Sunday… and it’s not because I am a huge football fan. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely enjoy watching the New York Jets play. They had a great season this year and if they’d made it to the Super Bowl, I’d be looking forward to Sunday’s festivities for different reasons than I am now.

For me, the actual game itself falls last on my list of reasons why I love the Super Bowl. In case you’re interested, here are the reasons why I enjoy Super Bowl Sunday year after year (and yes, this is in a specific order!):

1. The food — Every year I eat various dips and wings until I can’t breathe; there really is nothing better than the array of junk food at my house for the Super Bowl!
2. The commercials — I rank the commercials from my most favorite to the one I like the least… it’s a game in itself for me!
3. The half-time show — This may move down a spot depending on who is performing in a given year. The Who is great… so I’ll give them the number 3 spot!
4. The pool — Who doesn’t love the chance to win some money!?
5. The game — I guess because Super Bowl Sunday wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the game, it has to be on my list somewhere!

But I’m here to talk about number 2 on my list: the commercials. This year companies have spent approximately 3 million dollars for each 30 second spot that runs during the game. I’m sure we can all agree that 3 million dollars is A LOT of money for any one time buy… but I personally think it’s worth it, for selfish reasons. When a company is spending that kind of money and knows 100 million people are watching, they’re going to make sure their commercial is memorable (or at least try!).

For me, the real entertainment comes in between plays, when brands like Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, E*Trade and GoDaddy.com debut their world-class commercials. As is pretty public knowledge at this point, this year there will be no Pepsi commercials, and when they first announced the news, I have to admit I was disappointed! Instead, they opted to spend $20 million on a social media campaign called, “Pepsi Refresh Project”, which I think is awesome. It’s great that they’re embracing social media in such a big way, but couldn’t they just do both?!

If you think about it… the 3 million dollars for a 30 second spot is a huge amount of money, but because social media is so prevalent now, it isn’t just airing on CBS and then going away. The way I see it, the power of social media will make the 3 million dollars spent more worth it then years past. Those commercials will be posted on YouTube and tweeted about for the weeks following Super Bowl Sunday, in addition to subsequent runs after the big game. I hope advertisers continue to see the benefits of spending the big money to run commercials during Super Bowl, because I know I’m not alone in my love for the commercials and lack of love for the game. Who’s with me?

Social media has given everyone the ability to experience the disaster and the relief efforts through the eyes of those on the ground, bringing a new level of realism to the situation. Haiti has been a trending topic on Twitter since the earthquake hit over a week ago. It seems as if almost every person with an active twitter account has tweeted or retweeted something related to Haiti relief efforts. Many celebrities, including Ryan Seacrest, Ellen DeGeneres, Lance Armstrong and Kim Kardashian, used their Twitter feeds to plead for earthquake-relief donations for various charities and to promote telethons and benefits that they’re participating in to help raise funds.

Organizations such as the American Red Cross and Save the Children have used social and mobile campaigns to raise tens of millions of dollars to help Haiti. At any given moment on my Twitter or Facebook feeds over this past week I’ve seen “Text the word “HAITI” to 90999” to give $10 to the Red Cross”. As a result the Red Cross has raised 21+ million dollars to date, with more 2 million people making donations. Save the Children (one of my personal favorites) tweets, “Text SAVE to 20222 to donate $10 to @SavetheChildren for Haiti earthquake victims! (US Only) Pls RT!” and also tweets about the Child Friendly Spaces they’re building for the children of Haiti.

Just yesterday on my Facebook newsfeed a post caught my attention and I thought it was a perfect example of how it’s not just the big organizations and celebrities that are organizing projects and using social media in an effort to help Haiti. It read, “If you would like to go to Haiti email me at . We have a plane out of NYC that will be leaving on Friday & sending relief workers there for 2-3 wks. Everything is organized, now we just need: 1. Doctors 2. Nurses 3. People with previous disaster relief experience 4. Medical training. If you want to drop off supplies send me a message & I will tell you where to drop it off!” I am certain that this trip could not have come together without using social media to spread the word and find the right people who could take this incredible trip to bring aid to the Haitian people.

Amid the devastating loss and despair, social media is responsible for giving hope to a suffering country, by bringing people all over the world together to help. I think before the earthquake in Haiti most people viewed social media as a way to connect people—to brands, friends, family and their favorite celebrities. This past week has magnified the power of social media to effectively spread information worldwide and unify people around a cause.

What are you doing to help?

I travel quite a bit. While every trip brings some interesting take-away to the party, my routine of being a pleasant passenger is generally the same. I swiftly get settled in my seat, properly stow my carry-on, secure my seatbelt and fiddle with my iPhone until the flight attendant announces that electronic devices are no longer permitted. My favorite part is during the taxi to the runway because that’s when it’s time for the safety reminders. Inevitably, each flight attendant adds their own little flair. Some take it very seriously and read the safety instructions by the book. Others crack jokes. I’ve even had a few that set their speech to a tune and serenade travelers. While everyone has their unique way of communicating this important information, there’s one message that never varies and it’s with regards to evacuation in the case of an emergency. Keep in mind that the closest exit may be behind you.

While these safety speeches and the ways of delivering them vary, this message never does. Must be important. On a flight last week, I started thinking about what that key message means and how it relates to my life now. I’ve come up with this: even in the height of an incredible adrenaline rush, take pause to make a wise decision. If an alarm goes off and you’re rushing to safety, give yourself the chance to review your options to make sure you’re making the best call.

Starting your own business is exhilarating, energizing and empowering (It’s also humbling and sometimes overwhelming, but that insight is for another day.). I think I’ve been on an adrenaline rush for several weeks running now! In the heat of getting social4media operational, I’ve found it’s too easy to get lost in powering forward to get things done so I can move on to the next thing; or make a snap judgment so I don’t waste crucial time. The reminder from my travels has given me perspective though, in more than what to do in the case of an in-flight emergency. While it’s important to move quickly and be agile and efficient, it’s just as important to take notice of everything going on around me to make the wisest decision possible. And if that means I have pause, to evaluate and choose sensibly (in business, as well as personally), well, so be it. I have the feeling it’ll be worth it.

It’s that time of year when everyone starts making New Year’s resolutions. We make commitments to modify bad habits, do things that will improve our lifestyles, make sacrifices that will benefit the greater good—traditionally, big promises to ourselves and others! Often, these big resolutions get abandoned when we get busy or distracted. Why is that? I think it’s because we tend to think too broad at the start. OH while visiting family over the holidays: “I resolve to get fit and healthy this year – and stay that way permanently.” “This is the year I’m going to get a better job, one that will make me rich.” “In 2010, I’m going to learn something new and impressive – like a foreign language!”

While all these things sound great, and I’d like to add each to my personal list, I believe setting sights so vast sets us up for a letdown. Breaking things into more manageable chunks usually proves more successful in general, right? So doesn’t it make sense to practice that same philosophy here? While you’re making your resolutions this year, I challenge you think more tactically, making resolutions you can keep – and build on with the help of a little momentum. Following this strategy, here are a few of mine, including the one to keep you posted on my progress – not daily, but definitely progressively!

Instead of resolving to find a way to snap into shape and stay svelte forever, how about this: I will work some organic vegetables into my diet and pay more visits to my local bikram yoga studio – baby steps on the way to eating and being more health-conscious regularly!

Instead of resolving to find the perfect job that will change my life, I’ll try: I’m going to focus on the pieces of my profession I enjoy the most – and see where that road leads me.

Instead of promising to learn a new language in a short time, when often that takes years of practice to master, I’m aiming for: I plan to learn something new every day. Some days I’ll feel accomplished with catching an article I wouldn’t normally, and other days I’ll devote to that new word or phrase in Italian. Felice Anno Nuovo!

What are some of your resolutions this year?

We’re in the midst of a communications revolution and social media is at the crux. With millions of social media networking site users, more than two hundred million blogs, video sharing sites, micro blogs, wikis, forums and countless other modes of interaction, it’s challenging to know where to begin. But as social media growth continues, the brands that are integrating social channels into their marketing campaigns are the ones that are truly inspiring customers’ interest and loyalty.

Social media is a fascinating way to reach people and at a more aggressive rate than traditional media. Through various online venues, individuals can become brand ambassadors and businesses can show off their personalities. A company’s communication becomes more participatory and interactive – attributes which are more likely to create willing recipients out of those who would normally be passive targets of one-way media. It’s particularly important for accessory companies to get in there and develop relationships with users and engage them in a creative way that makes them inclined to become part of the two-way conversation. As a flat panel mount manufacturer, OmniMount is faced with the challenge of getting consumers to think past the flashy TV and see mounting options as more than just a behind the scenes accessory. Their corporate Facebook page has become an extension of their website as far as product information is concerned, but offers a place that consumers can share pictures and experiences in an informal fashion to a willing audience.

Social media should also be used to share your message and showcase your niche. Know from the onset that depending on the size of your company and the breadth of products offered, someone (in some cases a team) will have to devote serious time to sharing that message. It’s more than building a fan page on Facebook or creating an account on Twitter and hoping that people become your fans and followers. You need to talk to them about your company, what makes your products different and why your message matters to them. These individuals choose to receive your message for a reason; then it’s up to you to keep them updated on the most recent information and coming back for more. Monster Cable does this well via Twitter by keeping their nearly six thousand followers abreast of the latest promotional events surrounding their celebrity-endorsed products, as well as posting links to product reviews and interviews with key executives. 

Social media is also about connecting with customers and educating them in the process. These days, dealers and consumers alike are reading before they shop and evaluating options before they buy. For accessory companies that offer higher-end products, it becomes even more important to communicate that high quality value proposition. Blogs and videos go a long way here because the content is compelling. In addition, as the world’s second largest search service, YouTube makes video content accessible. Universal Remote Control has a host of informative stories, relevant insight from the product development team and videos in their centralized Control Room.

Social media also serves as a key tool to making customer service more interactive. If a customer has a problem with your product and posts a bad experience on your Facebook page, it needs to be addressed immediately. Hear the problem, offer a solution and do what you can to turn that customer around. Customer service departments do that all day every day, but now that public venues are available to everyone with Internet access, it’s crucial to a company’s overall image that satisfaction is reached swiftly. After all, it’s not just one customer that is waiting to see what happens. The Neat Company regularly uses Twitter to answer customer questions about compatibility and hardware, as well as share success stories.

Successful marketing involves satisfying your customers through exceeding the expectation of what they will get from your products or services. Use social media to explain your products incrementally and over time your customers will begin to associate your brand with their needs. And because all the options out there have unique values, it’s important to find the perfect blend.

Social media is today what the Internet was in the 90s. Looking back, using the internet was a completely foreign form of communication and completely overwhelming. Today, the internet is not only mainstream, it’s an absolutely necessary communication vehicle. That’s where we’re headed with social media, so now is the time to incorporate it into your marketing mix. If used properly, it will help you build a solid relationship with your customers and add value to your brand.