Outsource Locally » Social Media

Facebook’s new Pages

Nathan Paul Womack — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:36:14 +0000

The new update to Facebook largely standardizes Pages’ appearance and function to that of a Profile. Before getting around Facebook as a Page was really convoluted. Now you switch from using Facebook as a person with a profile to using Facebook as a manager of a Page.

This makes several things easier. It is now simple to like Pages with other Pages. You can also comment on posts made by other Pages as a Page. Also, each page now has its own News Feed with updates from other Pages and, most importantly fan feedback (posts, comments, likes, etc.). The News Feed relates this Page information while you’re using Facebook as a Page.

The layout of the new Pages is identical to the layout of the new Profiles. Featured pictures are at the top and what used to be tabs are on the left. Don’t worry your custom FBML tabs still work just fine!

Marketing Messages in the Palm of Your Hand: Text Message Marketing

Nathan Paul Womack — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:29:47 +0000

As technology advances, so do marketing strategies. We see appearing in new places all the time; traditional advertising isn’t working as well any more. As trends show, users are text messaging their friends, family, or acquaintances much more than calling them. It only seems right that marketers take advantage of this and start marketing through this medium.

Text messaging has been around for over a decade, marketing through this new medium is a relatively new and inexpensive method. Consumers benefit because they can receive coupons or promotional codes to get great deals in the palm of their hands – no need to cut coupons! The first thing a marketer needs to do is to find a provider that will give you a subscriber list and send out you ads.

Major League Baseball is taking advantage of this to the fullest. Once you register and enter your favorite MLB team, you can receive team alerts, scores, injury and trade updates, trivia, all-star balloting, and much more! The idea is to bring fans and MLB closer – and it only costs the user $3.99/ month. An enormous number of other companies are integrating SMS marketing into there strategy as well including, Orbitz, Champs, and Twitter, and local companies near you!

Is this a short-lived marketing strategy or a highway to success? We would love to hear your opinions!

Also, for Colorado companies, we have a wonderful local provider for double opt-in text messaging providers! Give us a call 303-834-7718

The New Generation of Twitter

Nathan Paul Womack — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 01:12:06 +0000

One of the fastest growing social networks now has a more sophisticated look! Twitter will now have a brand new interface. The new Twitter allows the user to upload their multimedia content. This means we can feel more connected with our followers and those we follow on the site. We can get a full insight to their world through the videos and picture they post and share with us. Instead of saying “I hit the most amazing waves surfing today,” we can actually show our followers just how phenomenal those waves were on video and the viewer would feel as if they were there!

Following the celebrities we admire will now be more engaging as we catch glimpses of their lives. Twitter will also have many of its more popular 3^rd party clients (such as Tweetie, Tweetdeck, Seesmic) on the default interface allowing us to access them much quicker and easier. The new interface will be divided in half with the familiar features on the right such as followings, favorites, and trending topics. The left column will be the new streamlined view of the Twitter feed.

Expect to see these changes rolling out across Twitter feeds this week!

Social Media Revolution 2

Nathan Paul Womack — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:56:04 +0000

Are you still skeptical about the power and permanency of Social Media?

This video is sure to convince you otherwise. Social Media Revolution 2 is a refresh of the original video with new and updated social media & mobile statistics that are hard to ignore. Based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman.

Coming Soon: Twitter Business Center

Nathan Paul Womack — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:47:27 +0000

Twitter Business Center is currently in beta testing available to a select few accounts but is going to gradually expand to more accounts. Also known as the Twitter Toolkit, some of the features available to businesses will be free, and others are expected to be developed and offered for a fee.

Why is this great news? Here are a few reasons:

These accounts will be verified by Twitter (previously limited to individuals)
Provides potential followers with much more detailed information about that business (allows for businesses to convey the benefits of following them, and potentially doing business with them)
Business accounts can receive direct messages from anyone, regardless of whether they follow that person or not (huge for using Twitter as a customer service tool)
Contributors tab allows businesses to add multiple users to the account so they can tweet on its behalf
This shows Twitter is becoming more dedicated to getting businesses the tools they need to be successful on Twitter

Stay tuned. We will keep you updated.

Insta-monials; Instant Testimonials

Nathan Paul Womack — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:14:49 +0000

Social media allows us to give and receive instant gratification, and to respond directly to it! What used to be a tedious process in obtaining these positive comments from your happy clients, and another “to do” list is now as simple as a click of a button.
Here are a couple of ideas:

Create one, standard ‘script’ for requesting testimonials from your satisfied clients and use it throughout these different mediums. *Make sure that somewhere in that script you ask them what benefits they have realized in using your product or service! Also, ask them if it is ok for you to use their recommendation on your website or in other marketing collateral.

If you’re already connected to them on LinkedIn, simply send a request for a recommendation
If they are your Facebook friend, send them a quick message asking them to post a few words on your profile/page
Email them a link directly to your Facebook business page and ask them if they wouldn’t mind giving you a shout out
Create a quick, 5-question survey on a free online tool such as http://SurveyMonkey.com asking open-ended questions about their experience in working with you

Make it easy for them by choosing the medium they use most and request it from them there. Just remember to ask for their feedback every time you’ve delivered your product or service to your clients! You’re already providing consistent, superior value to your clients in all you do, now it’s just a matter of reminding them to tell you what they liked most about their experience!

Retail Inventory Management: Another way to use social media to help your business

Nathan Paul Womack — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:03:27 +0000

The number of ways a business can use social media to increase their audience of raving fans and to build their community of potential buyers and, in the end build up the bottom line, are endless. It is our intent to frequently give you quality, useful social media tips for various industries.

Retail

If you have ever worked in retail (or been a customer in a retail establishment for that matter) you have seen the heaps of clearance/discontinued merchandise in the stock rooms, or tucked away on the back endcap in the back row of the back corner of the store. Some of it may have been sitting there, collecting dust for years. If a product doesn’t make a pretty display, or there isn’t quantity of the product, it won’t sell on the sales floor.

Or will it? What if the morning manager took a picture of one of these lonely items with their smart phone, posted it to the store’s blog (which is of course set up to disseminate posts to their other social media sites) and announced the one-day deal on the item (while supplies last) on all their social media sites, broadcasting it to their entire community! This would take about 30 seconds to do, and if done with 5 products each day, could reduce the inventory of these old items, sold to the fastest bargain buyer!

Social Media: Get on the Train

Nathan Paul Womack — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:43:54 +0000

“Of the estimated 3.5 billion word-of-mouth conversations that occur around the world each day, about 2.3 billion of them – roughly two out of three – make reference to a brand, product, or service. Word of mouth is manifesting itself through digital social media, where it spreads both farther and faster.” (Dave Evans, Social Media Marketing, 1 Hour a Day)

With social media you can start conversations regarding your brand, you can find the conversations already taking place, and you can participate in them and respond to positive comments (and even rectify negative situations should they arise.) The catch? You actually have to participate in social media! The sooner you get out there and start building your community and growing your online presence, the better because if not, you will be playing catch up. This goes for small businesses as well as the ‘big guys’ because we are all on the same playing field on the social web!

This train has already left the station and if you hurry, you may just be able to catch up.