A lot of businesses think that simply Tweeting about a sale, event or promotion will bring people in their doors, to their websites and money in their bank accounts. This, although true for many larger well known businesses, is not true for smaller businesses. We are not easily known nor is our logo quickly recognized by thousands, but this isn’t quite a bad thing. Tweeting may be the first step, but never make it the last step.

Let’s say you’re planning a local event or sale.

Twitter may be your first stop/ thought to promote, but do you have a landing page with details or a way for people to contact you with questions? Are you reaching out to other networks?

Here is exactly what I would do and the sites I would use, including Twitter, to promote my event.

Event name: Fake Event/ Sale 2012

Sites to use:

Your own website/ blog – List all details (directions, attire, date/ time and contact information)

Tumblr

This Social Blogging site is one of my favorites and has a ton of possibility for sharing and indexing. Make sure to build a following on the backside and add all proper keywords as well as a link to an event posting or listing, preferably the LinkedIn or Facebook event and your website.

Facebook

Fanpage if applicable as well as the creation of a Facebook event

Tip: Unless completely unable to, create your event under your personal account. Creating it under a page takes away the ability to contact and message those that have RSVP’d yes and maybe as well as those that have yet to RSVP. 

LinkedIn

You can create an event here just like on Facebook. Share the event on your LinkedIn profile. You can also send individual messages to connections you know would be interested in attending.

Google+

If you’ve begun using this platform then I suggest promoting here as well. Be sure to use your location as a hashtag (mine would be #Tampa) for others to find it as well as predetermined hashtag for said event.

Local media blogs

Here in Tampa the TBO.com is a great place to list your event as are many of the local radio stations and other media sites. Do a search in your town for local media sites and see if they have an event submission section or an email address to send news/ events to.

Local bloggers

See if any would be willing to blog about your upcoming event. Make sure you give them all of the details as well as how they can stay up to date with the event details. Include your Twitter, Facebook, website, Tumblr, Foursquare and contact email as well as all details for the event.

Foursquare

If you have a physical location the possibilities are endless. List on the locations Foursquare page about the upcoming event, if it’s your own listing and the event or promo costs money, make a Foursquare special with a percentage off of the event or promo OR create a special that gives people an incentive to attend.

Pinterest

I personally haven’t had a chance to test out how well event promotion is on here, but I soon will and what can it hurt if you’re already pinning away?

EXAMPLE: Join us Sat for out Fake Event/ Sale – Check in and receive a free cupcake (or something like that)

Don’t Forget The Press Release!!! 

Eventful.com

Great place to post local events and sales

Video and Image for promotion

Use sites like YouTube and FlickR if you want to take your promotions one step further with a more visual aspect.

Twitter

Yes now we can come back to Twitter. Now we have a place to send people to. We have listings on other networks.

Do you have a #hashtag picked out? For our event we’ll use #FakeEvent2012 and every time we Tweet about the event we’ll add that at the end of the Tweet. Why use a hashtag? Easy tracking to see who else is talking about your event or sale

In conclusion, if you Tweet it they might come, but your chances are much higher when you take advantage of all that is in front of you.

This poll is originally posted on Facebook. Click the poll image to go directly to the poll.

Thank you for participating!

Connect with KiMedia Strategies on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Tumblr?

I recently attended Social Fresh here in Tampa and although I thought it was a great refresher course for me, I think it was a great conference for those that are just getting their businesses going with Social Media. I thought the content for the most part was 100% spot on…..That was until we got to the Foursquare and Location Based presentation.

It all started great and quickly took a turn south for me when there was a comment stating that if you do not have a physical location you can’t use Foursquare for any promotions and specials which is totally incorrect. The amazing thing with Social Media is that the possibilities are endless. Let’s take for example what the NFL and SuperBowl did this past February. How many of you checked in from your couches and received a badge showcasing your pick for the game? I’ll tell you how many….

Approx. 216,000 users checked in during the game.

Let’s Break This Down

If you are not familiar with Foursquare, it is a location based Social Media tool where users (consumers) check in at various locations that they visit, post a blurb and/or picture should they choose and maybe even a tip for other visitors. These check ins could be fed and shared with Twitter and/or Facebook should the user choose to do so. Foursquare is game-like where users earn points and badges as they check in anywhere and everywhere. Users that frequent a venue the most and check in through Foursquare the most ultimately become the Mayor of that establishment.

Why Should Any Business Owner Care?

* Foursquare has over 6 million users worldwide.

* Your venue (if you have a physical location) is probably already listed and is not being monitored and managed.

* Did I mention that there are over 6 million users worldwide and that these check-ins can be shared with Twitter AND Facebook?!

How Can I Utilize Foursquare?

If you have a physical location you can claim that location and start offering Check-in and Mayor Specials. A check in special could be something as simple as a free cup of coffee with purchase just for checking in and maybe a Mayor special could be 50% total bill. These are just examples and that is the easy part.

The comment/statement that bothered me so much at Social Fresh is what I really want to talk about!!!

So maybe your business is much like mine where my office is in my home and I don’t really have clients that come to my office. Most people would think that there is no way that I could use Foursquare however, they are incorrect. Foursquare offers a feature called a “shout” which is what they used for the World Cup. In order to earn the World Cup 2010 badge Foursquare states:

Send a shoutout to friends on foursquare.  The shout has to include “Gooooooooooooal!” or “Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”

in the text to count.  You do not have to checkin to a location as part of this shoutout.

 

Now this is to earn a badge, but why can’t businesses do this? As long as they are tracking, monitoring and paying attention Online this could totally work. First you want to specify that they have to share their shout on Twitter and/or Facebook. Now let’s say that I am on the phone with a new client and they read on my Website that they could get 20% off of their second month of Social Media Strategy and Management just by simply “Shouting” “Talking to @_KimRandall from KiMedia Strategies about my Online presence & how we will be getting started with a Social Media Strategy”. Because I am paying attention to the Interwebzzz and monitoring my name/brand I am seeing that this was posted and now this happy client will be getting 20% off of next months Social Media services.

Who Sees This?

* The clients Foursquare connections

* The clients Twitter connections

* The clients Facebook connections

* My potential new clients!

Conclusion

Thinking outside of the box really does pay off!

Have any Foursquare Strategy questions? Email me at kim [at] kimrandall [dot] biz

Next week (Monday November 15, 2010) I will be educating kids on Social Media. My main topics and

focuses will be on the obvious, staying safe while having fun. I also want to talk about how kids have a one up on adults as they can easily begin to build their personal brands in their teens. They can research and learn so much more. They don’t have to only rely on the

local library, newspaper and news to learn new things. The sky is totally the limit for these kids. With all of this said there is so much more room for mistakes. Things that we do and say Online can stay with us for a very long time and that’s scary. Post the wrong picture and your future employer might see it.

I want to know what parents are concerned about with their children being Online. I am not a parent, I only taught Preschool for 9 1/2 years and am now seeing the kids I first started out teaching joining these sites. I cringe when they request to be friends on Facebook. Not because of what I post, but because of the other people I see them connecting with and the things that they post, how they post it and how others comment. They know no better though. Let’s face it, we are their role models and I know one too many adults that post horrible updates, pictures and do things that could in turn harm them.

So parents, please share with me some of your concerns about your children being Online. I would love to hear them!

Let’s Connect!

Logging into Facebook today I’m sure you noticed a new addition to your news feed. Facebook was keeping track of users that claimed to have voted in todays elections. How awesome is that? I’m sure it sparked some political debates and since I try to stay away from that I didn’t even go looking for them.

Did you vote?

If you did, did you check in on Foursquare?

If you did I bet you got one of these sweet badges!

What do you think about these social platforms? Do you think it encouraged more voting?

YOU DECIDE! (hehe)

Let’s Connect!

365 Days of Blogging Challenge | Day 42

There are hundreds of thousands of Social Media platforms on the web today. These platforms serve different purposes as well as audiences. Some people are drawn to a more visual experience and prefer videos and images, but others enjoy reading, connecting and engaging. Remember that it doesn’t matter what YOU prefer, it only matters what your audience likes, where they are at and how to get them excited and engaging with your brand.

This is why in every strategy I create I focus on the four main elements of Social Media.

* Images

* Videos

* Social Networking

* Microblogging

There is the fifth element that does not always pertain to every brand and business and that would be location based Social Media.

OK so you now know the four main elements so we need to evaluate the playing field and see which of the thousands upon thousands of platforms is the most populated with REAL people that will engage with your campaign.

Currently the best platforms would be:

* FlickR & DailyBooth – Both are image sharing, but they offer a different purpose.

* YouTube – This is the most popular and populated site for videos. News channels search it for great stories, people browse it like they used to flip through TV channels and this makes YouTube the top choice for video.

* Facebook is the #2 website Online today and is the largest/most powerful Social Network. Facebook provides a platform to share images, videos, links, create fan pages for your brand, events and so much more. What are you waiting for

* Twitter is by far the largest Microblogging site out there. Sure, it may be filled with some spammers, scammers and heartless idiots, but it’s where a huge majority of people are at. People that could be talking about and engaging with your brand.

By implementing these 4 elements of the Social Web you are increasing your brand visibility, which is indeed what you want, right?

I just gave you four HUGE secrets to Social Media Strategies and all I ask is that you follow through, create a strategy and give these tips a chance.

Social Media Campaigns take time and patience, the worst thing you can ever do is give up too soon!

Connect With Me!

You hear that you need to do it. You read about it, your friends talk about it so you do what any uneducated person in the world of Social Media would do. You go to Google, type in Social Media Expert and choose the first one. Their website is horrible, but heck….. They are an expert so you send an email (because there is no contact phone number) and wait for a response. When you finally get around to chatting with the “expert” you are impressed, but not because of the glowing recommendations . You are impressed because they sound like they know what they are talking about. They use big words and that of course makes you trust them.

Before you actually sign the check, hand over your credit card information or click “ok” on Paypal you need to ask some questions. Too many people are out there looking to scam others and I do not want you to be one of those people.

Here is a list of questions to ask:

1. How long have you been using Social Media in a professional way?

You want to know this because this is going to give you a good idea of how long they have been researching different Social Platforms.

2. What’s your full name?

You want to ask this because you want to do a Google search and see everywhere that you can pull the person or company up. Can you even find them?

3. Do you have a website and/or blog?

No website or blog? You might want to think twice about hiring someone that has neither.

4. Can I find you on Twitter or Facebook?

You want to see their Twitter and Facebook accounts. Are they social? What do their sites look like. Remember that how their Social Media looks is very likely to reflect on how they will treat yours.

5. Do you have any testimonials?

No testimonials? *RED FLAG*

6. Who have you worked with?

If you can’t get even one company name out of them *RED FLAG*

7. Can you promise me instant success?

If they say yes *RED FLAG*. No one can promise anyone instant success Online. Social Media Strategies take a lot of time to create and build upon. Run fast if you are promised this!

I hope some of these help because I am getting tired of hearing all the “I got screwed with Social Media” stories.

Connect With Me!

Facebook just launched Facebook Places and is talking about a question/answer feature to add soon. AOL acquires Yedda an information resource site where users are able to ask questions and others can answer and share their knowledge, much like Yahoo Answers. Google is supposedly working on a “Facebook killing site“. Twitter launched the “location” feature and much more recently they launched the “who to follow” feature (you know the same sort of feature that Facebook has been rockin?).

What’s my point?

My point is simply WHO IS GOING TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

Stop trying to do the same thing or just “one up” each other. Instead how about you come up with something so super unique that people will be talking about it’s geniusness for months (maybe years if you are a super uber genius).

That’s of course my opinion, what do you think?

Connect With Me!

365 Day Blogging Challenge | Day 9

For me, I feel as if Facebook is pulling a Google right now. They are kinda late to the game on the whole Location Based Social Media world, however they are in fact FACEBOOK. The number one Social Platform world-wide so I suppose anything is possible. My heart is kinda rooting for Foursquare to keep their lead in this arena, but I am excited to see what Facebook Places is going to bring to the table.

What are your thoughts on Facebook launching into the world of Location Based Social Media?

Do you currently use Foursquare or Gowalla? If so which one and why?

Connect With Me!

365 Day Blogging Challenge | Day 5

I have been so lazy today, but I have an excuse/reason for it. I feel like s%#t and have stayed in my pj’s reading Tweets, emails and surfing the web after sleeping 12+ hours last night. I also caught the Cards game (they lost) and caught up on some infomercials LOL.

The one thing I found that had me hooked was this game called Home Sheep Home. I am completely addicted and only forced myself to pull away from the game to write this post. I may go back to it, but I am also thinking I should probably go back to sleep. Either way I’ll probably be counting sheep (LOL).

This week is gonna be a super busy one since it is my first actual week back to reality since my mini-vacation. I will be speaking in Clearwater on Tuesday about Foursquare and in Tampa on Thursday.

Another awesome piece of news; Epic Thanks Tampa Bay has officially opened up the nominations for a local change maker. Not sure what this is all about, check out Epic Thanks Tampa Bay.

So if you know of anyone making a difference in the Tampa Bay area please be sure to let us know by filling out the nomination form Online.

It’s officially time for some more Nyquil and a cough drop for me!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Connect With Me!