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Think social media is a passing fad? Think again.

The 2009 Social Media Brand Engagement Report explores the social media efforts of the Top 100 Global Brands, including Starbucks (#1 rank), Toyota (#21), Dell (#2) .

The article provides excellent insight for anyone still not conviced social media can create an impact, or for anyone who is convinced but isn’t quite sure how to do it.

The article has an in-depth look into 4 featured companies and gives the reader a peek behind the scene. For example, Starbucks has a staff of 6 people manning 11 social media channels and they explain how manage that and who internally is responsible for it.

The study shows that those organizations that adopted and properly used social media (i.e. engaged customers) saw an 18% increase in their revenue between July 2008-July 2009.

When used right social media can show significant returns and limitless potential. “Recently, we found that for every four people we interacted with…another three people are added virally…” explains Starbucks.

How can you find success using social media? Fenix offers a few suggestions.

Stay focused: don’t try to do everything at once. Start small. Choose one or two channels/tools and dedicate time to using them properly. Be sure to benchmark where you are at  and  monitor your activities to see the impact of your efforts. Build a following, get the format right, and then adopt new tools/channels. This approach is designed to help you see success early on, so you don’t abandon your efforts. This approach is recommended for those of you just starting out. Determining what to start with can be tricky, we can help.

Stay on schedule: be sure to set aside time devoted to conducting social media, and social media monitoring, activities. Unless it is your full time job, you have to balance this with your other duties. Once you figure out the format for tweeting, blogging or whatever channel you choose, and corresponding monitoring, you will get into a groove. As with all initiatives, don’t abandon your channel. If you choose Twitter, then be sure you have the ability to keep the tweets up to date. Never abandon.

Don’t push: don’t use your chosen channels to solely sell your products or services. The key to social media is engagement and conversation. So while it’s okay to talk about your products and services, it’s better to find out who is talking about you and communicate with them. Encourage participation in your social media channel, thank users for their time/comments/feedback, answer questions, provide information, spark dialogue, encourage users to talk amongst each other.

Monitor: you must monitor not only how effective your social media efforts are, meaning the activities you do  online, but to monitor the web in general to determine what is being said about your organization. Twitscoop, Facebook Lexicon, Technorati, Google Insights, are all [free] tools you can use to search for your organization and see what people are saying. Tools such as Google Alerts and TweetBeep will send you email notifications when your brand has been mentioned online or on Twitter respectively.

Use tools like Google Analytics to see how your own social media efforts are driving users to your website (if that is the objective) for example. Monitoring is the only way to find out if your efforts are working and the only way for you to stay on top of your brand chatter. Use this information to make decisions about your organization and your marketing/social media initiatives.

Get Viral: use your followers to spread the word and encourage additional followers of your brand. Word of mouth has always been a tried and true method of awareness building and the Internet offers a global opportunity.

Be wise: a protocol is beginning to form online with respect to social media usage and best practices. Be aware of this protocol and follow it wisely. If someone follows you, take the time to find out whether you should follow them back. If someone leaves a comment on your blog, be sure to review it and respond if required. If someone has promoted you, your brand, your product online, be sure to acknowledge that coverage. You get the idea.

Have fun: really. Social media is fun. It’s immediate, done in real-time involving real-people. It’s brevity makes it manageable, so go ahead and enjoy it. You just might like it.

In summary, the Workshop includes:

1. Presentation (Morning)

• Overview & introductions
• Social media definitions simplified
• Fundamental elements of social media/web 2.0
• Social media tools & applications
• Statistics that will blow your mind!
• Examples social media engagement specific to your industry
• Best practices

2. Facilitated Working Session (Afternoon)

The purpose of the working session in the afternoon is to work with you to fill in the blanks and questions that need to be addressed before an effective social media engagement strategy can be written and implemented. The social media marketing workbook/presentation format has been designed to allow for maximum interaction and productivity.

After each step is presented, participants will be given a few minutes to fill out the questions for that step (note: many steps are to be completed after the workshop). Each step will be followed by a short Q & A period to allow for further discussion.

The following 10-steps will be covered:

Step 1: Define the Key Issue(s) and Desired Outcome(s)
Step 2: Gauge Your Existing Web Presence
Step 3: Conduct a SWOT Analysis
Step 4: Determine Your Online Competition (including concurrent initiatives)
Step 5: Set Strategic Social Media Marketing Objectives
Step 7: Choose the Right Social Media Tools & Marketing Mix
Step 8: Develop a Social Media Press Release
Step 9: Social Media Performance Measurement
Step 10: Ongoing Monitoring and Engagement

At the end of this process, workshop participants will understand the requirements for a basic social media strategy framework that will allow them to move forward with their initiatives.

Completion

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to…

• Properly use and leverage on-line social networks, consumer generated content, blogs, podcasts, wikis, video, RSS feeds and virtual worlds
• Incorporate automated social media monitoring activities into their daily schedules
• Ensure that their web properties are visible to all major search engines through the latest search engine marketing tactics and social media optimization techniques
• Establish relations with influential bloggers working within their industry
• Properly and accurately measure performance of their online tactics
• Effectively respond to negative online feedback
• Leverage the wisdom of the crowd by “crowd-sourcing” certain elements of their job
• Save a considerable amount of money by using free, open-source applications
• Stay well ahead of the curve by aggregating information from multiple sources
• Apply learned concepts into a strategic social media engagement framework

Typically, at the end of the workshop we are asked to develop a Strategy for the organization. We can happily provide this service to if the need arises. A cost for this can be provided once the workshop is complete.

Book NOW!

Contact Jennifer MacKinnon to book your workshop now 613.564.3344

First of all, don’t try to force anything. Sometimes it is important to take a step back from whatever you are creating and re-assess. Oftentimes I get very caught up in what I am doing, which is a dangerous leeway into frustration. I find it helps to switch tasks for a while, or even leave the computer and take a walk; when you come back to your design you can see it again with a fresh pair of eyes.

We are not all creative geniuses, it is impossible to come up with new, interesting ideas consistently. I do not recommend plagiarism, but taking a look online at websites similar to the style you are trying to achieve may provide new inspiration for your own works. A great resource for this is http://visionwidget.com/showcase/graphics/84-get-design-inspiration-online.html, it features 50 beautiful websites full of unique styles and layouts.

Get a second opinion. People generally know what they like and it is important to remember that your design isn’t going to just be viewed by other designers, so have some friends or colleagues critique your work.

Try some fresh colours. Oftentimes it is difficult to pinpoint exactly why a design isn’t working, so in order to jumpstart what may feel like a flat idea, try completely re-vamping your current colour scheme. This is a quick and simple way to overhaul the look of a piece, modernize something classic, or change an overall mood you are trying to portray. I like using the Colour Schemer Gallery, http://www.colorschemer.com/schemes/ for ideas on which shades work well together. This website is based off the colour schemes of various websites, which you can go and preview.

Finally, remember that design is supposed to be fun! Don’t make it just about work; create some personal artwork in your own time. Developing your personal style should be enjoyable!

A few more great resources:

http://www.gomediazine.com/category/freebies/

For some vector freebies

http://blog.uprinting.com/10-fab-flyer-design-ideas/

Beautiful flyer designs

http://www.texturelovers.com/

A great resource for textures

Below is a link to a comprehensive list for all things Twitter; from getting started to mobile clients and Twitter stats. Enjoy!

http://traffikd.com/resources/101-twitter-resources/

Twitter is quickly becoming a mainstream communication tool used by hundreds of brands and thousands of companies to connect with customers and colleagues, and to create brand awareness. In the age of Web 2.0, creating conversations online is key. Twitter helps facilitate the opportunity to communicate with customers, clients, colleagues, prospects and more.

The true value of Twitter is that is provides the ability to build lists with the power of instant messaging. Understanding how to take advantage of this is key for organizations looking to market themselves.

Getting started with Twitter is simple: sign up for an account at www.twitter.com. You can also deploy desktop tools, as mentioned above such as Twhirl, Tweetdeck, Nambu (MAC) and mobile tools such as Twitterberry for Blackberry which allow you to post tweets from your mobile device. This way you can tweet from anywhere.

The benefits of Twitter are vast. Here’s a short list of reasons why you must add Twitter to your business toolbox:

- it’s quick: with an upper limit of only 140 characters, updating your account daily (if not more) is achievable. The beauty is brevity – short, concise status updates are easily achievable in your busy day, and easily digested by those reading them. The ability to embed hyperlinks allows you link to longer thoughts. You’ll have to use bit.ly or tiny url to shorten the hyperlinks.

- it’s relevant: by sharing information about yourself and your company you are relating to people following you in a unique, and intimate, way. A touch of personal information lets people identify with you better and get you know you/your organization.

- syndication: you can use Twitter as a channel to promote your blog, so that everytime you post something to your blog you post the link on Twitter for promotion.  This isn’t recommended as the norm, as the very idea of Twitter is your status at this moment. But it’s okay to cross promote these types of things

- conversation building: the new way of marketing is focused on conversation building which facilitates relationship building. The Internet has dramatically changed how we access information, and the manner in which we receive it. Twitter is the perfect conversational tool. Tell follows what you think, your ideas, opinions, articles you have read, people you have met, achievements you have made, conferences you are attending, links of interest, tools of interest…all of this is what makes you interesting to your followers.

- PR: sending out press releases and communiques can be offset by updating the status on your Twitter account and watching the power of y0ur followers retweet the post and spread it virally.

- customer service: use a tool like Twitter’s Search feature to find out what people are saying about your company, product or service. Use twitter to monitor these conversations and respond. Set up a customer cares account and talk to those customers who are having trouble with your product/service.

- audience: every tweet you send goes out your entire list of followers, who have followers, who have followers, who may see your tweet.

- repeat: retweeting on Twitter is huge. Users will take an interesting tweet and retweet (repeat it) on their account, thereby expanding the number of Twitter users who see it. It’s like forwarding an email but to a whole community of people, as opposed to just one person.

- everybody is doing it: seriously, everybody is doing it. And I’m not referring to tweeners and text messaging. That’s not the demographic. Rather, Twitter is being used by business professionals and corporations to connect and stay informed. Where else can you be on the receiving end of a “thought train” by someone like Barack Obama and see who associates with and follows. Or Evan Mathews, Bill Gates, Oprah, Sarah Milstein…whoever you find interesting

Using conventional email, it’s not appropriate to email a list of business contacts a message about a movie you saw the night before. But on Twitter it’s perfectly acceptable. And although that doesn’t seem “business oriented” doing so simply acts as another mechanism for sharing with your followers. Allowing them to get to know and trust you.

You can keep your tweets completely business oriented and formal, or you can filter them with some less business news such as a corporate retreat, bar-b-que or weather status.

The idea is to get talking. There are people out there that want to know about you and this is your forum to tell them. Corporate press releases do little to generate a connection with people personally. Twitter allows this opportunity, because much like blogs, they are letting people in, but in a far more digestible manner. They are letting outsiders get a peek in your organization at things you may not normally mention. It is this subtle, yet highly effective, transition that makes Twitter unique.

For example, something as simple as tweeting about a conference the night before and thanking attendees for their participation goes over huge on Twitter, but isn’t something you would normally send a press release about. It is these little things, little messages, that create loyalty with your followers and provide insight into your organization.

In an age when email open rates are low, Twitter can be more effective at reaching target audiences. Installing a desktop client means you can be notified when new tweets are posted. And, at 140 characters, you can read the whole tweet instantly. You can scan a scrolling list of tweets in the same time it would take to read only one email. You can gather a lot of information in that time frame.

I use Twitter to stay informed. I follow a number of people I respect and admire and then learn from them. Their tweets are mostly relevant and informative, yet sometimes simply entertaining. I find articles worth reading, tools worth downloading, conferences worth attending and more Twitter users worth following. All of this helps me stay “in the know”. Something that is obviously very important in my industry.

I am also a huge believer in using Twitter to ask questions. You can generate considerable traffic and awareness by asking questions and answering questions on Twitter.

The LA Times used Twitter in Oct 2007 to send updates about the status of the wildfires in California, as did the LA Fire Department and Red Cross.  Fort-seven members of US Congress have Twitter accounts, and often tweet from behind closed doors meetings with President Obama.

Sarah Milstein talks about an organization called Crowdvine who monitored their activity on Twitter and found many a customer. One of the founders saw this messages and immediately responded, prompting a customer service channel that allows Crowdvine to receive and respond to these issues immediately. Interestingly, in between the tweets between the customer and Crowdvine,  a tweet appeared from a competitor telling the customer to use their organization instead of Crowdvine.

There are many examples of organizations and businesses using Twitter. This article touches on only a few. But it is intended to illustrate that Twitter isn’t new, it’s now. And you must start using it.

Once you get started, you will become familiar with Twitter Search, Twellow and other directories for finding people to follow, as well as retweeting, hashtags and more.

For a great overview of how to generate traffic via Twitter and Twitter tools, such as BubbleTweet, Tweetlater, TwitterHawk and more,  I recommend reading the following article called Twitter Traffic Tips Revealed.

Interestingly, as I was finishing up this article, the following article was released that might be of interest – Nine Twitter Tips for Business.

Now, go get started.

@FenixSolutions

]]> http://fenix-solutions.com/blog/2009/05/07/twitter-for-the-business-executive/feed/ 2 http://fenix-solutions.com/blog/2009/05/07/twitter-for-the-business-executive/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fenix_blog/~3/dzI6rZNx7dM/ http://fenix-solutions.com/blog/2009/05/02/fenix-launches-online-community-for-nhrc-targeted-at-housing-researchers/#comments Sat, 02 May 2009 19:22:48 +0000 Jennifer MacKinnon http://fenix-solutions.com/blog/?p=164 See the new NHRC Web site.