Archive for Social Media
FourSquare: What’s in it for Small Businesses?
So what in the world is FourSquare anyway? At first glance it seems to be another mindless game for people who have too much time on their hands. You score points for checking and snag the title of Mayor when you’ve checked into a location more times than your friends. So who really cares?
While new FourSquare users may find taking the time to check in at their everyday stomping grounds somewhat pointless, I’ve found a much more meaningful use for it. I take supporting locally owned businesses very seriously and FourSquare has created an easy way to accomplish this goal with amazing success. I already tweet about the businesses I frequent, but being able to ping them on FourSquare is like Twitter on steroids!
FourSquare allows me to:
- Add previously unlisted businesses, giving them exposure they wouldn’t have had before
- Share their specific address, map location and phone number so new visitors can follow my lead and drop in to try them out
- Offer tips (to do’s) and shout outs detailing why I frequent their company and what makes them unique
Mashable recently discussed how FourSquare is making waves in local communities:
Pioneering a Deeper Connection Between Place and Patron: Twitter offers a way for businesses to connect with their customers online. FourSquare puts location in context and extends that connection to the offline world. The model of the location-based game is such that any venue willing to make an extra effort can get to know their socially active customers on a more personal level, and even encourage meetups in their space. Of course, it’s a two way street, as FourSquare users are unconsciously contributing to the relationship by sharing tips and to-dos with the entire FourSquare community. As a result, information is being shared and stored by users — similar in fashion to Yelp — but presented in a way that makes it immediately helpful. It’s community on a whole new level.
So if you’re ready to make a bigger effort to support your favorite locally owned businesses, sign up for FourSquare and shoot me a friend request! Then download the mobile app for your iPhone, Blackberry or Google Android and start sharing your favorite places with others. To me, it’s all part of treating others the way I want to be treated 
What do you think? Is there any real potential here?
P.S. Sometimes there’s even a little something more than a warm, fuzzy feeling in it for you. Check out the growing list of companies offering freebies to their mayors here.
Be a Fly on The Wall: Ghost Blogging is the Topic
Jennifer, Alicia and I talk on the phone all the time! We talk social media, business, parenting, our frustrations and we often call each other and ask about product ingredients, plastics, toxins and the list goes on! Wouldn’t you LOVE to be a fly on the wall and listen to what we have to say? Sometimes you’ll hear all three of us, two of us or maybe a guest or two? What we always promise you is that you’ll get “us” and hear our voices, opinions and thoughts without scripts or edits! It will almost be like you’re eavesdropping but we’re inviting you!
To begin our first off the cuff, Fly on the Wall conversation, Alicia and I are talking ghost writing, social media and transparency. We are specifically chatting about Andy Wibbels blog post on ghost writing being a fraud and here is what we have to say…
10 Social Media Lessons Learned From Blissdom
I have used this description several times throughout Blissdom but last year someone (not trying to steal I just cannot remember which blog it was that I read – if it is you please tell me) but they said BlogHer 2009 was like a theme park. It was something you did not want to miss so you rode all the rides, ate all of the food and just soaked up the thrill, excitement and adventure. So true, I did not want to miss a second of BlogHer 2009 (or 2010 coming up) but if that was indeed BlogHer, Blissdom was like a spa. It was relaxing, invigorating like a good exfoliation and all the knots of who am I and why do I blog seem to have been massaged right out! I attended every session possible, had amazing conversations without losing my voice and best of all I was able to observe.
When it comes to marketing and social media I have some anecdotal notes:
1. Less is more. No swag is better then junk swag. If you give me swag make it memorable and something I will use with a lasting impression (i.e. Lands End Canvas Bag, food, jewelry, etc.).
2. Brands Need to Get Creative. Throwing stuff at me is old school now; I want to be impressed and won over. Hosting a lunch with your product and having your branding on the menu, allowing us to sample the differences in what you offer and using your product for decor; fabulous. Great job Arnold Food, Conagra Foods and Hunts!
3. Preplan! Get creative and introduce yourself before I arrive and leaving stuff for my family was a huge plus! I learned more about your companies before I arrived and felt more inclined to thank you and introduce myself. Bravo to Hallmark and Orville!
4. Twitter = Brand Exposure. At Blissdom everyone was tweeting and if you don’t believe me visit the Social Studies report and you’ll see the waves being made online and if you’re brand got exposure – good for you!
5. Interact. A product is great but when I can talk to an educated representative that makes the sparks fly! If I have questions I can get them while I’m at the conference verses remembering to email or connect later.
6. Sponsorship with Integrity. Blissdom encouraged sponsorship but gave a guide for bloggers and let companies be noticed with a sponsorship page. Great tactic and throughout the entire event I was only handed one thing that was spammy – a plus and guess what I left it behind and the brands represented in a cheap white bag weren’t remembered!
7. Creative Sponsorship. The brands that sponsored and believed in the bloggers were represented well. Hosting dinners for groups they wanted to interact and connect with, buying business cards with coupon codes and holding dinner focus groups to maximize the knowledge and potential.
8. Social Media Footprint. If you are a blogger what is your impact? What do you do for brands and what can you do for them? Do you have metrics and proof that you are what you say you are?
9. Case Studies. Barbara reminded me that a case study doesn’t have to be complex. One page but it shows a result and how you achieved this result. Get busy Bloggers!
10. Transparency and Passion. If you’re a blogger be yourself but think of who you are and who will want to invest in you. If your raw and rough around the edges be that but don’t expect a soft and fluffy brand to sponsor you! My Blissdom spa experience was truly wonderful! Those that were greenies like me could be who they are or let their hair down and drink out of a plastic cup and be okay – I’m still alive! The ego’s were checked at the door and for that I am so appreciative! If you still don’t believe in mixing with this space of mom bloggers you are missing out!
Big Brands and Social Media Verses Small Business
My local chamber of commerce is amazing and recently I had a great cup of coffee from the Grand Traverse Pie Company and we talked social media and technology for small business. It was a great conversation but it left me thinking about some of what I said. You know when you say something that you must be feeling or thinking and it comes out for the first time into words and then you have to ponder what you said to see if you meant it? Well, that’s how I felt after making this statement:
“Most small businesses want me to give them the information for free on how to do something or get started but brands are starting to pay.”
Okay, reread this a few times.
Yes, even after I read it I’m not sure I mean it or if it means what I think it means OR if I like what it says.
The reason I said this was because of my recent experience with some new start ups that want all of this time from me through email and phone conversations – then they tell me I am not in their budget. I’ve had consultations where I literally feel raped, used and left with nothing. I’ve had social media strategies and proposals ripped off and used with no credit to me – even awards won and again no credit.
I’ve yet to have this happen from a “brand” and when I say brand, I mean a company that has actually branded themselves and have a reputation. I know, I might have been stupid a few times, overly excited and passionate verses business savvy, so I do take some of the blame. But it’s also partially why I feel that bloggers and people like myself are leaning towards brands that have contracts with PR companies – we’re less likely to be taken advantage of.
Is the Light Bulb On Yet?
If you still don’t get it, let me spell it out for you – small business and start ups need to not just want everything for free but really begin to recognize that there are free resources, guides, webinars and services out there – but it is necessary to budget for social media and digital marketing.
Here is what I hear often:
“Oh, I have a cousin who does web design – he went to college for it and he did my site and will keep it up to date.”
“My neighbor’s son is really into Facebook, he’ll set up my pages and get Twitter ready for me with followers, etc.”
Here is what I see:
A website made with a free template on a WordPress platform and things are all messed up with the business owner not knowing how to make things better; they’re left with no knowledge on how to handle the backend and be self sufficient.
A Facebook personal page instead of a business Fan Page, or a group with promotions or activity that is not allowable by Facebook. The teen knows Facebook for them but not for business.
The Fat Lady Sings
I’m not really fat but I’m singing. If you’re a small business or start up here is what I am singing: Bloggers and small fish that do consulting we do want to work with you and help you. It is up to you to find the right fit for your company but don’t take advantage and be sure to budget accordingly; you get what you pay for.
#ecowed Lead and Handbags the 411
Last October I attended a BlogHer meet up in Washington D.C. for the documentary My Toxic Baby by Min Sook Lee (our green mom blogger portion was cut) and it was the first time I had ever met Jennifer Taggart, The Smart Mama. Alicia from The Soft Landing helped support my way to Washington and now look at the three of us, we’re the 3 Green Angels! Funny how things work out and come full circle, isn’t it?
After a long day and jet lag Jennifer, Jessica of The Green Phone Booth and I decided to do some XRF analyzing of toys and yes my purse. You can watch the video over at Green and Clean Mom and though we had some laughs, great drinks and lots of fun the toxic lead coated purse is not a laughing matter! Diane Sawyer recently did a report on this (guess she should have talked to us last year; we were ahead of the curve) and our pal and green expert, Dr. Greene rings in on the dangers of lead during the interview but now The Smart Mama is flying across country to do what…test handbags for lead!
On the heels of her trip across country (more on this Wednesday) and the importance of learning about the danger of lead our #ecowed party, January 27, 2010 will be focused on what other than: LEAD and HANDBAGS. So mama think about that fancy handbag you just lug over your should or that great knock of you see for $10!
RSVP and by leaving us a comment and you could win a eco-friendly non-toxic purse to replace the not to safe purse you might be toting!
Join Us:
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 from 10p-11p EST
How to Attend the Twitter Party – It’s FREE!!!
1. Join our discussion by using the #ecowed hashtag in each of your tweets so we can all follow the conversation.
2. Follow http://www.twitter.com/3greenangels so you can respond to the discussion and ask us questions.
3. Use Tweet Grid to make following the conversation easier.
HootSuite Super Powers for Small Business Professionals
I think I’m in love
I’m too busy to use 15 different programs to get my social networking done effectively. I work full time and still need to squeeze in good quality interactions with my blog readers, customers and colleagues.
HootSuite to the rescue
Ahhh, HootSuite. Such sweet music to my overwhelmed ears. And it gets even better by the day as more useful tools are added. HootSuite has been one of the most widely used Twitter web apps and I’d venture to say that those numbers will increase sharply with their recently launched iPhone app. Now small business owners can manage several aspects of social media from any computer or while on the go.
HootSuite’s super powers
- Allows you to add multiple social media accounts
- Supports Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Pages, Ping.fm and Wordpress.com Blogs
- Twitter stats for all URL’s shortened using their ow.ly service
- Keyword tracking with separate columns
- Saved searches
- Twitter lists function (which can be used as a group type setting)
- Option to schedule tweets for a later date/time
- Browser bookmarklet allows you to tweet instantly, schedule a tweet and shorten links – all with the click of a button
- HootSuite provides desktop apps to compliment the web app too: Mac and PC programs, Chrome and Firefox extensions, even Greasemonkey scripts
My favorite super power of all is HootSuite’s surprisingly versatile iPhone app for Twitter. I’ve tried many different apps for Twitter and I come away with a handful of pros, along with a list of things I wish they could do. HootSuite has a few shortcomings too that the TweetDeck app makes up for, so I use them together to make quick work of my social media interactions. TweetDeck’s Facebook integration is a plus and its detailed group management tool rocks for following and retweeting my favorites. But overall, I find myself using the HootSuite app for everything else.
>>> The short of it – - HootSuite is a must for busy business owners looking to simplify and condense the time spent on social media marketing! Grab your apps here and get started saving precious time and energy.
Take a quick video tour of the HootSuite iPhone app
Certified Social Media Expert, What?
Have you ever written a post, think you saved it and then BAM – you cannot find it? That has happened to me and I’m bumming because I had a great post on what it means to be a social media expert, and how the heck does one know if someone is qualified to call themselves an expert or flaunt this title – but it’s missing in the trenches of my laptop. Now I have to try and recreate all of my thoughts, research and links to great content but like all things there is a simple lesson for all bloggers – save your work where you can FIND it! Duh.
Social Media Expert
The title is used loosely, or so it seems, with many people using the word and not having much experience, client base or testimonials to back up the door plaque they’ve glued to the wall. Conversation Marketing has a humorous but truthful post on how to figure out if someone really is a social media expert and as I retype this I’m again laughing at the idea of people saying they are an expert after 6 months and no blog! Over at Openpresswire there is less laughing and more name calling but a great break down of the different types of social media experts out there and how just about every other person is saying they’re a “social media expert”. Gag. Luckily we have Chris Brogan breaking it down and essentially saying, “If you call yourself a social media expert please know…”
Social Media Certification
What about having a pretty little certificate or banner on your website declaring that you’ve gone through 8 weeks of training to be a social media expert? I have mixed feelings on this because I know the way the world works, those with certifications and degrees sometimes have more to fall back on and when it comes to the online world in 5 years I worry this could make or break some people – yes regardless of experience. Not that I think this is right but when someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about has something fancy to sell the person who is naive about social media looking for guidance, I see someone being taken for an expensive joy ride and getting nowhere fast. This means those with the talent, the true expertise and experience could be overlooked because of certifications and fancy degrees.
Luckily, I’m not alone in my skeptical thinking, but I’m joined by others in the field like Beth Harte, Andy Quayle and 
Olivier Blanchard. All of which talk about the dollar amount spent on the programs, the legitimacy of the programs and how is one supposed to know one certification is better than another? The time spent on the programs which take those practicing in the field away from the doing to relearn Twitter? That makes no sense and doesn’t seem to really serve my clients well. As Olivier Blanchard so nicely points out those in the industry should be part of the Social Media Business council verses aiming to be certified or looking to a new set of standards when there are already standards in the industry.
A step up from certification could be a Master’s degree in Social Media and as Mashable reported this is obtainable in just under one year for less than $7,000. The issue happens to be finding instructors qualified to teach the students because most of them already know the material! What does this tell me?
Social Media Expert is Not a Degree or Certification
When I look to others in the field and coin them as “experts” I look for the following (oh and being on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and having a blog with RSS is a given):
Looks Like Duck, Acts Like a Duck, It Probably Is a Duck. How long have they been blogging, using Twitter, Facebook and how many friends and followers do they have? Maybe they have more than one Twitter account and if they’re going to teach someone about Alexa rankings, Google Rankings – what the heck are their stats?
What Are Others Saying? Do they have any testimonials or past client experience? Who have they associated with, partnered with that can give them some clout in the field? Have they been covered in the press and what about speaking at events, a book, ebook, etc?
Picasso. If they say they’re an artist then I want to see the artwork to be the judge. Assess the work, read their blog, view their Twitter streams and pay attention to what this “expert” is up to.
Anyone can say they’re an expert but when you use this word it has a double edge to it and can often cut you if you’re not careful. It makes me nervous to even type the words, but in the 3 years I’ve been doing this I’ve learned that the best people I know in the field of blogging and social media don’t call them experts but are usually coined as such by others. They’re modest, students learning about the new applications that change shapes as fast as the clouds, experimenting with different networks, mediums and are the ones in the trenches trying to keep up with the fast paced world – so they can teach and guide others. Many of them are yes, bloggers who started like me, innocently trying to reach others and found that I had a new passion that I was good at, in my humble opinion. Perhaps this is why agencies and big companies are reaching out to the so called, “little guys”. Catch is, these “little guys” have partnerships with others now and have recognized their worth – so don’t take advantage of them because they’re not wearing a name tag that says, “Expert”.
Do you call yourself an expert?
Flipping a Website or Blog: Advice and Lessons Learned
Have you heard of flipping a website or blog? Like buying a home, remodeling it and then selling it – same concept, except the market is probably better. Monica of Healthy Green Moms and I bought a website last December, after Monica did a ton of research on key words and back in December or 2009 organic baby products was a hot key word. Monica did found a great website hosted on WordPress with the URL we were looking for and some great content that was search engine friendly. As an experiment we decided to do a redesign and use what we knew how to do well – build the website to have revenue potential, a great Google ranking, decent Alexa and content SEO friendly content. Our goal was to spend as little time as possible, write in general terms so that any new owner could easily be seen as the author and to profit. Yes, profit and when we started we had hoped to keep the website for at least 6 months to one year but Monica was pregnant, I started getting busier and we decided to experiment with selling the website and seeing what we could get for it.
We launched the website in January of 2009 and in March of 2009 we successfully sold the website via Sitepoint for $1200 after spending three months and $300. An estimated 25% profit margin – time not included and for our first go at it flipping a blog, I was satisfied. What was learned from this process of flipping a blog or websiteis the following:
1. It is possible to buy a website and flip.
2. The potential buyers were all interested in revenue potential with spots to sell advertising and affiliate links already built into the content and set up.
3. A Google Page rank of 3 or higher and Alexa that was below 500,000.
4. A low bounce rate and proof that there was an increase in page views.
5. Social networking sites already set up, like Twitter and Facebook.
If flipping a website or blog peaks your interest here is my advice:
1. Set a budget and timeline and stick to it with solid goals of having at least 50 posts, a Google Page rank of 3 and a monthly revenue stream of at least $25 or more.
2. Be legally prepared to sell the site and list what is included in the sale. Transferable revenue, inventory of intellectual property rights, agreement to compete or not compete with the new owner and will the writer stays on to write for the website?
3. Use a safe payment option such as PayPal or Escrow and have a verified Sitepoint account.
4. Consider having your website or blog appraised or using someone to help you negotiate the sale if the dollar amount is high.
5. Be prepared to consider the time and money you will invest. Consider the blog design cost, hosting, etc.
Monica and I truly believe that had we kept the website for a longer period of time we could have made a better profit but since we’ll never know maybe I’ll have to try again. For some great advice on flipping a blog consider, ProBlogger or Entrepreneurs-Journey.
