Piece of Cake

And the Winner is…

Kristen — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:02:01 +0000

Our client, Fun and Function, was voted the Best Special Needs On-Line Community in About.com’s 2011 Reader’s Choice Awards!

After a month of voting and nearly 7000 votes, they (and we) can wear the title with great pride!

Congratulations to Aviva, Daniela, Haskel and the rest of the Fun and Function folks – and most especially congratulations and thank you to their amazing community of fans/supporters. The collaboration and sharing that happens on their Facebook page is a beautiful sight to behold.

I couldn’t be prouder!

New Tools for Marketing Conversions – Text to Subscribe

Kristen — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:50:38 +0000

Excited to have recently implemented a text-to-subscribe solution for our client Ferrazzi Greenlight - we even got them some press for it.

MarketingVox – Case Study: Keith Ferrazzi Uses Text-to-Subscribe to Step Up Conversions after Speaking Engagements.

Is Social Media a Fad?

Kristen — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:02:56 +0000

Fascinating video.

Spreading Like Wildfire

Kristen — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:19:03 +0000

One of the key benefits of promotions conducted using Social Media is the way that the promotion becomes viral – passing from friend to friend and pulling in participants along the way. Wildfire is a great tool that you can use to easily build promotions (sweepstakes, contests, coupons, etc) and plant them right in the middle of Social Media networks.

My client, Fun and Function, is currently running a contest using Wildfire and it is so exciting to see the entries coming in. The Wildfire tool shares the contest, noting on Facebook walls as people enter, and then gathers the entries, manages a voting process, and more.

The promotions can be customized with all manner of graphics and branding elements and the costs vary depending on the length and complexity of the promotion. I am curious to see how it all ends up – but I would totally recommend trying out Wildfire if you are in the market for a promotional tool that is user-friendly, cost-effective, and full of functionality!

Outsource = Sell Out?

Kristen — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:27:52 +0000

Conversation Agent has posted an interesting article about the outsourcing of social media tasks with the controversy-inducing headline, “Should You Outsource Social Media?” This article, and the idea of outsourcing, have incited a lot of retweeting and opinionating in the world of Twitter. I thought maybe, as one of the potential “villians” in this scenario, I should weigh in.

At the end of the day, my opinion, and really the opinion of many of the experts in the article is, “It depends.” Always a helpful business tennent.

For the clients I am working with, who are able to give me frequent briefs on what is going on in their (usually very small) companies and what they want to communicate and to whom, it makes perfect sense to outsource the mechanics of getting the communications out into the world. Especially for a one-man (or one-woman) shop where the process of “making the donuts” is far more pressing than getting sucked into the world of Facebook and Twitter, having some help makes a lot of sense. Just like solo-preneurs often have a fulfillment house to handle shipping, a graphics firm to develop creative and an accountant who manages the books; having someone man Hootsuite is a perfect extension of the virtual organization model.

Now if you would rather image that those solo-preneurs are lovingly packing every box, hand-writing every receipt and flexing their Photoshop muscles to do it all themselves, that’s OK. But the reality is that one person (or two or three or ten) often can’t do it all. And rather than pass on the opportunities that social media offers, or compromise on some other critical part of the marketing process, outsourcing can be just the right solution.

I admit that for someone who is selling themselves – a coach or personality – outsourcing gets a little weird. I did manage Facebook for one of my clients who wanted to maintain only a personal page. Being “her” was uncomfortable and probably not all that effective. But editing her blog and taking care of the mechanics of posting her content on a bunch of sites was perfectly reasonable and a great use of outside resources.

The key is for successful social media outsourcing is to make sure your provider is in the loop on what is going on in the company, on point with messaging and tone, and acting as a brand ambassador for you.

It can be done.

It can be effective.

It is NOT selling out or not being authentic.

It is just being realistic about the best way to get everything done.

Split Personality

Kristen — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:38:54 +0000

I currently have three blogs underway, and for each of them I have a supporting Twitter account. And that’s just what I am doing for “fun”!

I am at this moment managing four Twitter profiles for clients, three Facebook accounts (plus my own…plus one for one of my blogs). And another client is coming on board next week!

This is a good problem to have, of course! And I am careful not to mix any of the profiles up. I would never tweet about special needs kids for my advertising client. It wouldn’t happen.

But when I am managing my own profiles, which are all essentially me, but different aspects of me, sometimes I get a bit confused. Am I talking about something professional? A humorous observation about self improvement? Or parenting and entertaining the kids? It can be challenging to keep track of what goes where!

I am finding that using HootSuite is very helpful in keeping me on top of everything without having to log in and out over and over again. And luckily there is a moment when it asks which profile the comments should come from, so I am less likely to talk about caffeine withdrawal to potential clients.

Cool Twitter Tool

Kristen — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:39:00 +0000

You need to try this.

http://Twitthat.com

Just put it on your toolbar and click it when you are browsing something you’d like to share.

Voila – instant Tweet!

Hotel Social Media

Kristen — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:33:33 +0000

I hadn’t really thought about how much feedback on different hotels is probably housed within Twitter, until I saw a link to this article. Interesting that hotels would legitimize social media comments in this way, it seems like the more explicit review sites (Trip Advisor, Hotels.com, etc) would be where they would want to hang their hats.

Hotel Social Media Dashboard Solution Includes Custom Twitter Client

This definitely makes the point that what people say in social media “counts” just as much as what they say when they are formally lodging a complaint or giving positive feedback, through any other media.

What are your customers saying about you??

Cake Talk

Kristen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:54:19 +0000

It seems like everyone is using social media these days. From old classmates connecting on Facebook, to celebrities sharing their every move, to businesses building a community, the uses for this new connecting technology seem endless.

So, as a small business, the temptation is the jump right in there and start posting. Your customers are out there and you want to talk to them!

But first, take a step back and consider the role of social media in your overall communications strategy. Consistency of your message and your brand are just as important (if not more important) in social media as they are in any other channel. Just as you want your collateral, website, packaging and advertising to tell the same story, you want your social media interactions to carry through as part of that integrated message.

And if they don’t, rest assured that your customers (fans/friends/followers) will call you on it. Transparency and honesty are king in the world of Twitter and Facebook. The key to success in this medium is to build real, value-added relationships with your audience. If your brand is known for being customer focused, you had better have a plan for monitoring customer comments and addressing them immediately. One complaint thrown out into the Twitterverse that falls on deaf ears can turn into a huge public relations nightmare.

While it is important to keep an eye on the business of your business in the land of social media, it is also key to provide value to followers. Share news stories, new products, tips and tricks. Ask for feedback on new ideas or dilemmas. Start a conversation.

While the goal of most of your business activities is surely to increase the bottom line, keep in mind that social media is not the same as advertising. Lean too far into the land of the hard sell, and relationships shrivel. Tread too heavily into trying to deliver your message at all costs, and hard-won customers head for the hills.

That said, I have seen some small businesses using these channels to great effect. Dixie Picnic, a restaurant, uses Twitter to post daily specials and new menu items. Every time I look I want to go there for lunch!

Fun and Function (currently a client of mine) uses Facebook and Twitter to ask customers which products they would like to see in their catalog and to uncover unmet needs. Brilliant.

The keys to successfully utilizing social media for your business are, in my opinion (and I would welcome your thoughts on this):

Consistency with the image of your company and brands
A commitment to participate on a regular basis
Value-added content that makes it worthwhile for your customers to connect with you
Willingness to address any questions or feedback from customers