Don't Waste Your Weekend Business! Get Social...with Social Media

The weekend can be one of the most beneficial times for businesses and organizations of all types to impact their followers and friends via Social Media. Yet, since Friday, Saturday & Sunday often degrades into chaos for many of us, we neglect to do so.

That translates to a wasted opportunity as the consumers who are most likely to roll into your restaurant, shop, bar, festival, showing, concert or event are at their most active (and open to influence) when you just don't have the time to update your status on Facebook or Twitter. Bummer.

So what do you do? Make the time.

It's not enough to pre-promote your event thru the week and hope they'll remember to show. The beauty of Social Media is in it's immediacy! (I bet there's a pretty good reason that the word "media" is the primary root of the word "immediacy.")

If you're a real estate agent, make sure you're tweeting reminders about your open house on Saturday morning. If you're handling marketing for a festival throughout the weekend, gosh darn it, get those status updates and new pictures up on Facebook with regularity. Don't wait until the weekend is over! Showcase the fun everyone's having at your party and do it WHILE the fun is ongoing. Yes, believe it or not, there are plenty of people sitting at home on Facebook or cruising around looking for a good time, their cell phone anxiously ready for your tweet.

While post-promoting the event is fine (and something you should do) wouldn't it be all the better if those friends and followers were making your cash register sing and tickets sell?

If you're a nightclub anxious to get some more booties shakin' on the dance floor, a well-timed tweet at 11pm on Saturday night can do the trick.

If you're a retailer disappointed with a slow weekend, then crank up the Facebook and Twitter charm on Sunday at noon and roll out an impromptu "Friends & Followers" sale or sweet discount. But c'mon now. Make it interesting. That whole "10% off" thing is SO boring.


Yeah, I know, this is all pretty much common sense. But many of us forget to do it. The weekend is busy. But make it even busier by staying in touch and relevant at the exact time your followers and friends are most open to your message. In other words...Get SOCIAL on the weekend!

How to Steal From Intel: Inside...Their Social Media Policy

No, really. Go ahead. Steal it. You should.

We have all kinds of readers, users & members at the International Social Media Chamber of Commerce. Home-based entrepreneurs, restaurant owners, enterprise CEO's, digital media strategists, Social Media directors, non-profit marketing directors...you get the idea. Every one of you a different kind of business and organization with many different goals and levels of social media comprehension.

If you're a small business owner or a one-man/woman shop you may not think an established "Social Media policy" is one of your most pressing concerns. And, it's probably not. But, the cool thing about the Social Media policy outlined for employees of Intel is that it makes sense for pretty much any organization or business galloping through the Social Media forest.

For a large corporation or any business with multiple employees...it works.

For an individual or entrepreneur trying to utilize the medium...it works.

So, if you're new to Social Media, or a small business, imagine the Intel policy as a guideline for how to best function & interact in this incredibly rewarding environment.

If you're a larger entity that lacks a clearly defined policy for your employees/volunteers (and don't forget sub-contractors & vendors!) then you can't go wrong by stealing a lot or a little from the Intel dictates.

Seriously, even if you're something like a mom-and-pop restaurant chain with a couple of locations and 15 or 20 employees, that's potentially 20 people with blogs, Facebook & Twitter profiles that represent your business and image. Make sure they understand both the benefits & the pitfalls available with Social Media.

Here's the Intel Social Media policy. Think about making it your own.

http://www.intel.com/sites/sitewide/en_US/social-media.htm

Are You Like a Used Car Salesman with your Twitter Welcome DM's?

The controversy over how to best utilize welcome messages with Twitter Direct Messages (DM's) will likely always continue to rage. For those of you relatively new to Twitterland it's a definite conundrum. How should one best respond to an individual nice enough to follow your tweets? Of course, the best answer is the simplest; a nice, personal message that doesn't attempt to sell or move someone to another list or page. After all, that's why we call it SOCIAL media and SOCIAL networking. It's supposed to be about building relationships and friendship. But, what if you're picking up so many follows that personalization becomes difficult or impossible?

Should you use auto-DM's? Or, Oh my God!...should you not? Are "free gifts" OK? The schools of thought on what's acceptable and what's not or as diverse as Twitter utilizers themselves.

If you're attempting to build relationships with prospective clients and customers do you really want to come off like a used-car salesman? One who jumps on a customer as soon as they walk in the showroom and twists your ear with an immediate pitch?

DM etiquette with a new follower demands the same sort of manners and respect that you'd offer any new acquaintance strolling across your path in person.

Melissa Walters is an Ohio blogger who makes this point very well on her site "The Melissa Mission." Her advice?

Make it from your heart
Make it about them
Bless their life in some way
Be REAL, fakers need not follow back.

Read Melissa's entire Blog post: http://www.melissasmission.com/blog/2009/07/dear-twitters-auto-direct-messages-weak-unfollow/

A Pizza Perfect Example of Rewarding Followers on Twitter

Bruno's is a pizzeria in the small college town of Eggert, New York, just outside Buffalo. And, it's a picture perfect pizza example of how every restaurant, bar and retailer can benefit from a loving approach to Twitter marketing. While Facebook plays a role in their social media strategy, it's the Twitter opportunity that they seem to focus on most. And, for good reason. Twitter is a device ideal for an immediate call to action...perfect for a pizza place or any retailer that wants foot traffic now.

Here's why I like what Bruno's is up to. The Twitter sign-up page on their website for the Tweet Deals program is great. It's appealing to the eye, and easy to use, while also describing the benefits of their "Friends & Followers" approach. http://www.brunospizzeria.com/twitter.html

Management has clearly defined the benefits of being a member of the "opt-in" Tweet Deals program.

"Bruno's is testing a new promotion to reward our most loyal customers with great short term offers. Here's how it works...

Three times during the month of May, a special Tweet Deal email will be blasted to all Bruno's Fan Club members. We will post a Tweet Deal that starts with three numbers which represent the promotional price and how many customers can purchase at that price. For example, when we tweet "3-6-9 Large Pizza-1 Topping," the first 3 callers can buy a Large 1 Topping Pizza for $3, the next 6 callers for $6 and then next 9 for $9. (Limit one Tweet item per order, must be picked up within an hour of ordering.)"

That's it. Nice and simple. Is there any reason why any retailer, restaurant or bar can't do the same thing and even better? Use your imagination and you'll find many ways to excite and reward your followers (and move product) with any variety of offers; tickets, discounts, free cover-charges and more.

But...and this is a big BUT....Bruno's is also making several mistakes. A check of their Twitter page shows that they ONLY have 22 followers! How is this even possible? It would appear that some serious effort needs to go into making customers aware of the program and twitter-only specials. Additionally, a different approach needs to be taken on Bruno's Facebook page when announcing their Friends & Followers deals. There's confusion to be found as the Facebook postings fail to make clear the duration and specifics of the freebies. Without that precision, an establishment runs the risk of alienating customers rather than rewarding them. And, we're all here to be social and make friends, right?

Brain Food: 137 Twitter Tips for Small Business

Much thanks to our new, best tweeps at Small Business Trends (@SmallBizTrends). Anita Campbell and the gang released a nice piece compiled from the collective wisdom of their readership. "137 Small Business Twitter Tips" rolls out some basic reminders and gems of thought.

One nifty nugget comes from @LoriBourne at Montessori for Everyone. "Promote others more than yourself," she says. "The goodwill you accrue is amazing."

Download the pdf file and check it out for some Social Media brain food.

http://smallbiztrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/smbiz-twitter-tips-2.pdf

Seeking Social Media Experts to Help Those New to the Field!

Are you a business owner or Social Media manager with a question on how to proceed or best benefit from your Social Media strategy? Email us at the address below or, if you follow us on Twitter, DM the Chamber and we'll do our best to answer the question or direct you to someone who can.

Social Media experts, consultants and strategists, please volunteer to answer specific questions by contacting us at the same email or via DM.

It's one more way the International Social Media Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to "raising the tide" for all in the Social Media field.

mailto:socialmediachamberofcommerce@yahoo.com

What Can Social Media Do For a Dental Practice?

I'm excited about Dr. William Thompson and his wife, Becky, at Grandview Dental in Grandview, Ohio. That's because they're a prime example of a local business/service provider that's just now beginning to comprehend what Social Media can mean for their practice and business. And while the International Social Media Chamber of Commerce is here to grow opportunity, knowledge and relationships for everyone, it's this category of "newbies" that I'm especially stoked about helping. Of course, most organizations ARE relatively "new" to the discipline of Social Media. But, effective methods of branding and growing within SM are even fewer and far between within the medical field.

So what can Social Media do for a dental practice or any physician? Quite alot we think and, apparently, so do they. Grandview Dental (@Grandview Dental) is a prime example of a business/service provider in Central Ohio just now beginning to enter the social media fray. I've been reading their Twitter and blog posts for a few days and the search for knowledge is apparent. Here's a dental practice that knows Social Media is a place they want to be. But, how to get there?

So far, they've done all the right things in their quest for understanding. They cruised over to the social media seminar at the Grandview Chamber of Commerce, established their Twitter account http://twitter.com/GrandviewDental and weren't afraid to ask questions and take that advice. For example, Dr. & Mrs. Thompson initially established their tweet profile as @ColumbusDentist. With good reason, a speaker at the chamber meeting suggested they alter that to @GrandviewDental for better branding purposes, and so they did. Ask and ye shall receive.

It's also good to see the doctors' Blog prominently placed on the top nav bar of their main website http://grandviewdentalcare.com/blog/ On that blog, they ask a very, very good question. "Why would I Want to Follow My Dentist on Twitter?" That question is answered so well, I'd love to reach out and give 'em a big ol' hug! Here it is:

As you would expect we tweet about dental care with perhaps a link back to our blog or some other dental website. It might be how to combat a toothache at 2 AM, or a video on how to floss or some new procedure we are offering at our office.

Allow patients to ask questions or give us feedback which some businesses feel is a scary thing about social media. We want to know if we have (or haven’t) met your expectations so that we can try to correct the situation.

We also tweet about special discounts in our office

We have contests and giveaways that include tickets to local events (hey, we are trying to make a dental office fun here) - We have 2 tickets to the Pretender’s show on Aug 16th which we will be Tweeting the details on how you could win them. That’s reason enough to follow us….

Local Columbus and Grandview Events

Recognize our patients and fellow Grandview Business neighbors

Pictures and videos about staff stuff

Recipes or other food/wine related stuff

Stuff about overall health and fitness

Yep, I think I'm gonna love these guys. They're gettin' it! Why would you follow your dentist? For information, for tips, for fun, for discounts, for freebies like concert tickets, for great customer/patient service and followup....yes, the list goes on and on.

Grandview Dental understands it's the intimacy of social media that will help to build and solidify this practice like no other...especially while other dentists and physicians are slow to take advantage of the opportunity.

So congrats Grandview Dental! You're on your way and we look forward to seeing your growth through the adoption of this stellar thing we call Social Media.

What Consumers Really Want from Social Media

Excellent reminder today in a story from a local TV station about why consumers utilize social media. It's these types of topics that the International Social Media Chamber of Commerce is also here to drive home to our membership.

To a large extent, consumers are not interested in a non-stop barrage from businesses urging them to buy a product. That will cause them to tune your message out and lose them as a follower or friend. The key here in your tweets and messages is to offer a MIX of such info. Certainly there's nothing wrong with making customers aware of your latest offerings and specials...provided that's kept to a minimum AND there's additional value in your message.Keep them tuned into your personal broadcast with things like Daily Tips pertinent to your business.

@ZettlerHardware does a good job of this with regular tips like this "Pro Tip: to fix a small water leak, put petroleum jelly into the crack and wrap the pipe with a rag or tape. works on lead & plastic pipes."Any business or organization can do the same. This is just one example of keeping your followers and users engaged with extra value that strengthens your brand without bombarding them constantly with advertising messages or other irrelevant info.

The Mission of the International Social Media Chamber of Commerce

The mission of the International Social Media Chamber of Commerce is, of course, multi-layered

...To help businesses and organizations develop their social media strategies and profit from them

...To help social media firms and entrepreneurs grow and market their services and platforms...to traditional enterprise and other social media firms

...To educate all on the rich possibilities of social media

...To provide networking and community-driven opportunities

...To provide turn-key programs for membership that will impact consumers now and build bonds only available through social media

...To help keep you up to date with the rapidly evolving world of social media technology, ideas and trends

...To bring you together with peers and provide possibilities galore!