23 Social Media Top Tips, Strategies and Techniques
July 31, 2009 by DrDaveHale
Filed under Archive, Blog, Social marketing
WOW!!! The last two weeks worth of columns on social media and Twitter tips have really been making a buzz around the Internet marketing world. Not only has every one of the posts made it to the first page of Google for the keywords social media tips and Twitter tips, but I have received emails from small companies and Fortune 500 corporations who have been highlighted in the articles.
Many of the companies wanted to just pass along a thank you for having their company mentioned in the column, but also to say they in turn have been contacted by other national media outlets wanting to feature their use of social media.
So, to finish this week off, I am going to close out this week’s main column by sharing more social media tips, techniques and strategies from the field. The companies mentioned here are vastly different; from small businesses to major hotel and resort chains.
Let me know what you think by posting a comment below.
Last year I started using social media to promote events and services offered by Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. Using Twitter, LinkedIn, webinars, SlideShare and blogs, I was able to reach out to clients and potential clients. In 2008 we had 51 events - some were free classes, some were workshops or webinars. 47 of the 51 events met or exceeded our attendance goals - the four that did not were the ones where we did not use any social media, just traditional promotional tools. Since January I have been offering private social media lessons to executives and business owners in Atlanta. I have four clients. One contacted me and said “If I don’t master this social media thing, I will lose business.” We started lessons the next day. Brandy Nagel linkedin.com/in/benagel
I just recently started using Twitter as a marketing tool. I set up two separate accounts, one for my interior design business and the other for my training business. I did the two because I felt my clients wouldn’t care to receive marketing ideas and my students wouldn’t necessarily care to receive local store sales and new places to shop in Las Vegas. At this time I haven’t received any business from tweeting, but then again haven’t been at it too long. But the positive thing I have already gotten are direct contacts to some large companies I otherwise wouldn’t have; such as Aaron Brothers Art & Framing, Benjamin Moore and Pottery Barn. I feel this is a great benefit because I now have a starting point of contact if I wanted to offer a seminar to their customers. Gail Mayhugh http://www.gmjinteriors.com
According to the Nielsen Research Group, social networks and blogs have moved ahead of personal e-mail among the most popular online activities people engage in. Knowing this, Pam Lontos has taken advantage of this new tool to market her business. As the president of a publicity firm, Pam utilizes social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Naymz to connect with potential clients by providing useful publicity tips and information to her friends and followers. Using this new marketing tool, Pam has been able to reach out to the right audience in a new way and has gotten multiple qualified leads from her efforts. Pam Lontos is president of PR/PR, a public relations firm that specializes in providing publicity to experts and companies. She is the author of “I See Your Name Everywhere: Leverage the Power of the Media to Grow Your Fame, Wealth and Success,” published by Morgan James. Pam is also a past VP of Sales for Disney’s Shamrock Broadcasting and a former motivational speaker. Pam’s expertise in social media marketing along with her personal experience make her a great source on this topic. Amanda Tucker http://www.prpr.net
About a year ago, we weren’t very active on social networking sites - we had our names reserved on Twitter, registered profiles on Facebook, and practically forgotten about our LinkedIn accounts. Cut to today, where we’ve jumped into social media with both feet, and we’ve had successes across the board with it. We’ve made money in a few different ways: We sold more to our existing clients; we got new clients; and we increased our rates. We also landed four high-profile speaking engagements in our state within the past five months, which wasn’t even in our marketing plan for the year, but have turned out to be high-visibility opportunities for us, and earned us thousands of dollars worth of free publicity to boot. Allen Voivod http://www.epiphaniesinc.com
With the City of Tempe staff, we use Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, Vimeo and other sites to recruit businesses to our community and reach out to residents. Try www.tempe.gov/newsroom to look around. I also use my personal Twitter and email to spread news and reach out. Recently quoted in Mashable about some of our experiences. http://mashable.com/2009/07/09/social-media-damage-control/. We monitor Addictomatic to see what is going on in the community. Cristina Baxter http://www.tempe.gov
I absolutely use social media as a marketing tool and have had great success. I use Facebook and Twitter as my primary means of social marketing. Occasionally I use LinkedIn but because I have alot of activity and followers on Facebook and Twitter my success rate is higher. In my work as a business coach I teach many of my clients how to sure these social media outlets as well so that they can gain exposure, build their list and open themselves up to prospective clients. It absolutely works if you have a plan and continue to be diligent in your approach. Maureen Campaiola http://www.meetup.com/Dare-To-Be-Phenomenal-North-of-Boston-Chapter-Meetup/
My company, Chicago Sailing, was fortunate to find a group dedicated to sailing on MeetUp.com. We offer them 10% off for all of their sailing activities on our dock and they promote us to their members. In addition we use Twitter and Facebook. Our relationship with the group on MeetUp developed last year. I created our Facebook fanpage and Twitter account this March. Meetup has directly led to $4,000 in revenue (every little bit helps) just this season. Thus far, Twitter and Facebook seem to be contributing to customer’s awareness of what is happening on our dock. Heather Clark http://www.chicagosailing.com
Interesting and very important question I must say. We run a virtual Assistant and Cold call outsourcing service called ‘VirtualAppoint Inc.’ here in Houston, so we know all about the advantages/importance of using social networks as an effective marketing tool. We use websites like Spoke.com, linkedin.com, Facebook, Twitter etc. Particularly Twitter has brought a lot of success to our business and helped us grow. I think it’s just a matter of knowing the right kind of people in the right places, and believe me these are the right places. Ron Davis http://www.virtualappoint.com
We collaborate on best practices, using Twitter and Facebook to promote articles of interest, blog posts and contests, as well as using Twitter to generate content ideas, copy, and buzz. It’s been an invaluable tool for connecting with the mompreneurs I write about on a regular basis. Nadine Silverthorne http://www.sweetspot.ca
I use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, YoutTube, and Flicker, as business tools. My dynamic web designer Gautam Chandna, opened my eyes to how these social networks can and do generate more than just ‘ chit chat amongst friends’ but actually ‘revenue amongst professionals’! I can say that I now have ‘tweets’ that generate income, many more visitors to my blog, and sale items directly to a public that are not random hits but expressly directed to my website by mutual interest of the topics I discuss in my blog. Hooray! This has been an exceptional business learning experience. Geretta Geretta www.gerettageretta.com
At Delights, we use Twitter on a daily basis to speak to customer, bloggers and other media outlets to keep our brand in front of them. Delight has a featured item of the day and using social media helps keep our customers and press current on new products. Twitter has been a great tool, but as far as sales go, we have found Facebook to be a more effective tool. Delight’s Facebook fans love receiving exclusive emails about sales, free shipping etc. Jenny Little, @Delight.com, http://twitter.com/DelightJenny http://www.delight.com
Fairmont Hotels has been on the micro-blogging platform since Fall 2008 and we’ve found it to be very beneficial. Initially, we viewed it as a media relations tool, as we realized a number of journalists and writers were actively using the service, however our strategy has evolved since then and we now use Twitter as a way to interact and connect with travelers, guests, media, and any other individuals interested in the Fairmont brand.
Via our Twitter feed, www.twitter.com/fairmonthotels, we share information on Fairmont travel secrets, new services, special hotel deals, exclusive promotions and much more. While we do share information on experiential packaging and travel deals, our primary focus for being on the platform is to help foster brand familiarity and enhance the awareness and understanding of our brand and our portfolio of world-class hotels. To date, we’ve received some great feedback from our followers and other users in this space and we’ve also been referenced several times as one of the most engaging/creative hotel brands on the platform. Mike Taylor | Public Relations Manager | Fairmont Hotels & Resorts | www.fairmont.com | Twitter: www.twitter.com/fairmonthotels
Related Articles:
Social Media Tips From The Field, Volume I
Social Media Tips From The Field, Volume II
Social Media Tips From The Field, Volume III
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