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.

Click the options/image below to take the poll on Facebook.

If you are a business owner and you live above a rock you probably have a Twitter and Facebook account. You may or may not actually use these. You may even have someone managing them for you (which is completely fine). There are many mistakes that business owners have made in the past year when it comes down to their Social Media presence which is why I believe that these few resolutions should be on every business owners resolution list for 2011.

1. Stop automating your Social Media!

Yes, I know you were told at conferences, in webinars and by close friends of your uncle Bobs aunt Ruth’s cousin Gina’s grandma Esther’s first husband Larry’s new wife Betty’s best friend Martha’s kid Luke’s baby sitter Helen (did you follow that? haha). My point is that you may have been told that you could take a short cut with your Social Media by taking out the SOCIAL aspect and that is something I believe you need to put back into your everyday marketing strategy.

2. Realize that numbers mean nothing in your overall strategy.

You see it in Tweets, blog posts and Social Media work forums “I can get you 100, 000 new fans in 10 days for only $99.00″ and you think, SWEET! This is exactly what I need because I was told that in order to get anywhere Online I needed a lot of followers. If you were told this I hope that you realize and resolve that it is only about the quality of the connections that truly matter. Sure, having 10k followers on Twitter looks great, but isn’t it more rewarding to have 4k followers that pay attention to what you have to say?

3. Realize that Creativity is King and Content must support it.

Yes I said it, I am going against all of the so called Social Media “guru’s”. Creativity is truly King in Social Media. You can have all the Tweets, Blog Posts, Videos ad updates in the world, but no one is going to care unless you creatively get that content in front of their eyeballs. Start thinking outside of the box in 2011 and stop mimicking what your competition is doing. Actually stop caring at all about your competition because they are only competition if you allow them to be.

These are 3 simple resolutions to get you started in 2011, do you have any you would add or will be adding?

I love my DVR because I am able to fast forward through commercials. I flip through the ads in magazines to get to the articles. I also skip (when given the option) pop up ads Online. I hate being “sold” to and I bet you do too. I hate when companies directly @reply me on Twitter thanking me for following them when clearly I am not and this is supposed to be some weird way to get me to follow. I hate when businesses post their advertisements on my Facebook wall and pages I manage. I hate seeing businesses not thinking creatively.

All of the above mentioned ‘hates’ are the reasons that I think like the consumer when I am strategizing any Social Media campaign. I know exactly what I will respond to so why would I do the complete opposite when marketing my own business or someone else’s?

You already know what you want so take your own advice!

I can guarantee that by NOT thinking like your competition and taking some of this advice, you will begin to be noticed more Online with your Social Media campaign as long as you stay focused and consistent!

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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!

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365 Days of Blogging Challenge | Day 44

We are so lucky to have the Internet. I say this because 5-10 years ago it was impossible to be heard by so many people without the use of radio or television. We could write for a local newspaper, but that job wasn’t available to just anyone that wanted to have their thoughts, opinions and knowledge heard. It was given to a select few that wrote daily or weekly. It was tough to be heard.

Today with the Internet we have so many platforms to be heard on. You can vlog, blog, microblog, network, photoblog or answer questions. There are SO many ways to connect with people. So many ways to influence people and to help others out. If you know something, I mean REALLY know about something like let’s say…. Cars. Let’s say you know all about cars. You know how to change the oil, flat tires take apart an engine and more. You know your car stuff. Other people aren’t quite as fortunate as you are with your vast knowledge when it comes to automobiles, but you can share some of this with others.

Strategy:

If I was an auto mechanic and I was pretty darn good at what I do, I would leverage Social Media to stand out in the crowd. First things first though.

1. Create a blog/website platform of your own.

2. Get a Twitter account and start connecting.

3. Set up a Facebook Fanpage. Invite friends and family to start because let’s face it, you’re just getting the hang of all this Social Media stuff.

4. Create a YouTube account. Trust me, you can use this and not just to comment on other videos.

5. Don’t forget the FlickR or other photo sharing site (DailyBooth?).

OK now that you have the first steps in place you need to start making a list of everything that you could help or teach others when it comes to automobiles.

Some ideas could be:

* How to change a tire

* Oil Changing tutorial

* Replacing a water pump

* Checking your oil

Remember that even though it probably sounds easy to you, other people have no idea at all when it comes to vehicles. Another thing to think about since we are talking about cars, let’s say that my tire went flat on the highway and I am too far for anyone I know to come and help out. I have an iphone or some other form of smartphone where I can access YouTube and where people like you, the auto mechanic, would be putting those tutorials on how to change my flat tire. I typed in “How to change a flat tire” and came across your tutorial video. I was able to change my tire with your help and when I am done I send a Tweet saying “Thanks Mr. Mechanic for your flat tire tutorial on YouTube, you totally saved me $$$ *****Link****”

That video could also be placed onto your website where you would need to type out step by step instructions on what you did in your video so that all of us that have a “semi-smart” phone that can access the mobile web can still get the content even though our phone wasn’t able to play the video.

This is just one scenario on how your knowledge can help others, but I’m guessing by now you are wondering why you would do this.

Am I right???

You would do this because people are going to remember that mechanic that helped them with his video or blog post. They are going to remember and hopefully talk about how you saved them a towing fee and you are going to see this on Twitter, Facebook, your sites comments, YouTube and wherever else you are. This helps you because people from all over are able to see just how knowledgeable you are and people in your own geographical location will also connect with you allowing for  some of your Online connections could turn into Offline sales. All of this could happen if you chose to speak up, be the leader and share some knowledge.

Be that guy that we can see as the leader and the go to guy when it comes to auto repairs!

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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!

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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.

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You have a Facebook and possibly a Twitter account. You used to MySpace and you browse videos on YouTube everyday. Does this mean that you are now an expert in Social Media? Are you a guru? I am going to share with you some ways to spot a “fraudulent expert”.

1. You actually put in your profiles Online that you are a Social Media Expert/Guru.

2. When I Google your name, I do not find you at all within the first 3 result pages.

3. Your Facebook is filled with MLM links and your fanpage links to Mashable and Social Media Examiner posts because you actually do not have a blog.

4. If you have a blog, it’s not optimized. You have no links to any of your social sites and the only clear point on your blog is that you like to let everyone know that you are a guru.

5. You just joined Twitter a few months ago.

6. You seriously only have profiles on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.

7. You are not social at all Online.

8. When people ask you how to use Social Media, your first suggestion is to automate everything.

9. You don’t even know what #newtwitter is.

10. You still don’t know what “Facebook Like” for websites is.

11. You have no testimonials for your Social Media Expertise on LinkedIn.

12. Come to think about it, you don’t even have a LinkedIn account because you don’t see the point.

13. You think it’s still OK to feed everything that you say/do Online thru ping.fm.

14. You think that Social Bookmarking is a waste of time or have no clue what that is.

I seriously could (and want to) go on and on, but I really want to get to the point of this post too.

My point is that there are so many people that are self proclaimed Social Media Experts and unfortunately NO ONE can be an expert in anything Social Media. See guys, the Internet changes everyday. New sites are launched, new features are released and that means that Social Media Strategists have to spend time researching the benefits of all of it.

So……. are you a Social Media Expert?

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365 Days of Blogging Challenge | Day 38

Social Media is huge! Facebook is THE most popular network by far with YouTube and FlickR being close runners up. This is where your neighbors are. This is also where a large portion of your community hangs out. Are you taking advantage of these sites to let them know of your upcoming events? If you aren’t, WHY?!?

Here are some basic Social Media ideas that can work for ANY event

• Create an event on Facebook – invite your friends and encourage them to invite theirs.
• Use Twitter to promote that event you posted onto Facebook.
• Create a YouTube video. Use your imagination on this, but don’t forget to link to your event listing.
• Use your blog on your website to promote your event.
• Don’t forget about geographical niche based Social Media sites. This is where many members of your community are.

These are just a few ideas and tips. Make sure when you are going through your planning phase that you include Social Media promotions and if you need help coming up with a strategy to contact people that are heavily involved with Social Media.

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