Wondering what the latest social stats are? You’ll appreciate this compelling Slideshare 13 Killer Social Media Statistics from 2013 …and to show just how dramatic the growth is, check out the 2011 presentation created by former colleague (and super smart social media enthusiast) Diane Rayfield.
So here you go, all the steps to getting started including answers to the most commonly asked questions – in one help-link-packed downloadable presentation. It’s even downloadable & editable for Pros free (Creative Commons)
The same reasons that make Twitter so popular are those that make describing twitter problematic.
While that might not makes sense at first glance, once you realize that Twitter has no real product direction or single “primary use” you may begin to realize just how difficult it is to describe (and figure out) Twitter’s relevance as a businesses tool.
Here’s a parallel challenge:
Come up with one blanket statement that clearly describes what our existing land line phone systom does.
Why is that a challenge? Well, in your description you will have had to include all uses of consumer land line phones such as fax transmission, internet connections, VOIP phone line connections, 911 ermergency services, automated home alarm warning services, etc. So, that being said, please consider the technology of Twitter just as complex.
That’s all great, but WTF is Twitter?
The direct answer: Twitter is whatever you can make of it.
That’s probably disappointing, but its absolutely the reason people say things like “I’m still figuring Twitter out” or “trying to get used to Twitter” or “I don’t get it.” The unfortunate fact is, once you create your account you are stuck trying figure out what to do with little to no direction and that takes time most people don’t have. Fortunately there are a lot of folks, like myself, willing to spend way too much time writing stuff like this and trying to help out:-)
10 things you can do with Twitter (for free):
Connect with fans using Twitter by offering relevant information.
Provide updates on your product for active Twitter users (millions & growing).
Improve your website by posting updated information to your site via Twitter (RSS) fed widget.
Offer scheduled information to anyone interested. May included daily, weekly or random information to customers which could include specials, coupons,
Follow experts in many industries for fresh information as it happens.
Post last minute deals, specials, emergency information, etc. to customers or other interested parties (because users choose to follow you we can assume they are “interested”).
Update any RSS capable reader or product connected to the internet.
Get found in real-time keyword searches. *Google, Bing and other search engines are adding Twitter search results to their own first page results and further integration is ongoing.
Have your “tweet” reposted in the streams of organizations followed by tens, hundreds, thousands or even millions of passionate people.
Publicly comment on anything.
So why use Twitter?
First and foremost, because the simple act of posting information on Twitter significantly increases the chances of being found in search engines and because using Twitter as one of your marketing channels makes for a great introduction to using Twitter.
What did I miss? Got more ways to use Twitter? Do you disagree? Please add your thoughts and ideas in the comments.
If you like this explanation, please link to it in your blog posts > Twitter
City Treasurer Stephanie D. Neely invites you to her Tweet Up for Small Business Week in Chicago.
When:
Wednesday, May 26th at 5:30pm Where:
ING Direct Cafe
21 E. Chestnut St.
Chicago, IL 60611
Workshop:
5:30 – 6:00pm – One of the great secrets to social media marketing
A 60 second video that will change your business.
6:00pm – 6:30pm -Operating lean and efficiently. All you need to change your personal and business finances are “The Plan and $1.”
Social media is the wave of the future towards helping expand and grow your business.
Get started today by attending this FREE event.
Join us at our FREE 9th annual Small Business Expo on Friday, July 16, 2010 at UIC Forum (Halsted & Roosevelt) from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.Over 30 workshops, network with other small business owners.
Spring is a very busy season for our Small Business Programs. We hope you can join us for one of our great contests or events including The Small Business Plan Contest, The “One-Hour-Mentor” Program and Small Business Expo. Happy Spring!
2010 Business Plan Contest to End Soon
Just a reminder that the deadline to enter your 2-page business plan template into consideration for the 2010 Business Plan Competition has been extended to Friday, April 9th. Enter for you chance to share in $10,000 in prizes.
Congratulations to our 2010 Elevator Pitch Winner “Second Act” Thank you to all of our outstanding contestants. Please consider entering our Business Plan Competition (see box above)
Small Business Expo
The 2010 Small Business Expo will be held on Friday, July 16th at the U.I.C. Forum. Join us for one of the best networking days in Chicago with over 130 exhibitors, 30 FREE Small Business Workshops, and 2,000 attendees. Sponsors, Exhibitors, and attendeess can find more information at FREE SMALL BUSINESS EXPO.
The “One- Hour- Mentor” Program for Chicago Small Business Chicago business leaders come together 4 times a year to help Chicago small business owners to brainstorm and problem solve. Workshops fill fast – NEXT One Hour Mentor May 26th at 10am.
There are less than 10 days to enter the City Treasurer’s 2010 Business Plan Competition. Submit your two page executive summary by April 5th, for your chance to share in $10,000 in prizes and be featured in the media. Visit www.chicagocitytreasurer.com BUSINESSCONTEST.
Winners will be announced at the Small Business Expo, July 16th at the UIC Forum.
City Treasurer’s FREE Annual Small Business Expo is set for Friday, July 16th at the UIC Forum from 8:30am-3:30pm. Network with over 2,000 fellow small business owners, 120 highly selected exhibitors and a full day of free expert workshops designed to grow your business. Learn more at http://www.chicagocitytreasurer.com
ORDER SOCIAL MEDIA BIZ CARDS! Click an image below
Global consumers spent more than five and half hours on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in Dec. 2009, an 82% increase from the same time last year according to Nielsen. Social networks and blogs led mediums in terms of ave. time spent in Dec., followed by online games and instant messaging. With 206.9 million unique visitors, Facebook was the No. 1 global social networking destination in Dec. 2009 and 67% of global social media users visited the site during the month. Time spent on Facebook has also been on the rise, with global users spending nearly six hours per month on the site. While the U.S. had the largest number of social media users, Australia actually led in terms of ave. time spent on social media sites.
Average Time Spent per Person on Social Media Sites – December 2009 Country Unique Audience (000) Time per Person (hh:mm:ss) United States 142,052 6:09:13
Japan 46,558 2:50:21
Brazil 31,345 4:33:10
United Kingdom 29,129 6:07:54
Germany 28,057 4:11:45
France 26,786 4:04:39
Spain 19,456 5:30:55
Italy 18,256 6:00:07
Australia 9,895 6:52:28
Switzerland 2,451 3:54:34 Source: The Nielsen Co.
The same reasons that make Twitter so popular are those that make describing twitter problematic.
While that might not makes sense at first glance, once you realize that Twitter has no real product direction or single “primary use” you may begin to realize just how difficult it is to describe (and figure out) Twitter’s relevance as a businesses tool.
Here’s a parallel challenge:
Come up with one blanket statement that clearly describes what our existing land line phone systom does.
Why is that a challenge? Well, in your description you will have had to include all uses of consumer land line phones such as fax transmission, internet connections, VOIP phone line connections, 911 ermergency services, automated home alarm warning services, etc. So, that being said, please consider the technology of Twitter just as complex.
That’s all great, but WTF is Twitter?
The direct answer: Twitter is whatever you can make of it.
That’s probably disappointing, but its absolutely the reason people say things like “I’m still figuring Twitter out” or “trying to get used to Twitter” or “I don’t get it.” The unfortunate fact is, once you create your account you are stuck trying figure out what to do with little to no direction and that takes time most people don’t have. Fortunately there are a lot of folks, like myself, willing to spend way too much time writing stuff like this and trying to help out:-)
10 things you can do with Twitter (for free):
Connect with fans using Twitter by offering relevant information.
Provide updates on your product for active Twitter users (millions & growing).
Improve your website by posting updated information to your site via Twitter (RSS) fed widget.
Offer scheduled information to anyone interested. May included daily, weekly or random information to customers which could include specials, coupons,
Follow experts in many industries for fresh information as it happens.
Post last minute deals, specials, emergency information, etc. to customers or other interested parties (because users choose to follow you we can assume they are “interested”).
Update any RSS capable reader or product connected to the internet.
Get found in real-time keyword searches. *Google, Bing and other search engines are adding Twitter search results to their own first page results and further integration is ongoing.
Have your “tweet” reposted in the streams of organizations followed by tens, hundreds, thousands or even millions of passionate people.
Publicly comment on anything.
So why use Twitter?
First and foremost, because the simple act of posting information on Twitter significantly increases the chances of being found in search engines and because using Twitter as one of your marketing channels makes for a great introduction to using Twitter.
What did I miss? Got more ways to use Twitter? Do you disagree? Please add your thoughts and ideas in the comments.
If you like this explanation, please link to it in your blog posts > Twitter
*Post updated 4/23/2010!!! Please sign up for your email news letter!!! (upper left of sidebar)
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This list combine’s new & traditional marketing and is somewhere between the obvious, hanging a “We’re on Twitter” banner, and the incredibly inventive but perhaps not so practical. “BakerTweet”, for example, automatically tweets from donut shops whenever their donuts are fresh! Please let me know what you think and add to the list in the comments!
1. @YourBiz Shirts
Click image to add your Twitter name!
2. Sign-on cards with JUST your social networks on them is a great way to bring attention to your web efforts! It’s a no brainer to add your social networks to your business cards, but having separate cards printed up can include each of your social network sign-ons, your email & website or blog. You might just see them run out before your regular business cards do!
3. @YourBiz Vehicle Magnets should be long and practical for multiple locations such as above the rear tire. Please avoid big huge ridiculous white squares with tiny writing that are slapped on the door!
4. Across a vehicle’s rear window is a great place to add @YourBiz in large letters!
*For #s 1 – 5 keep in mind folks on Twitter immediately recognize @YourName as a Twitter sign-on so, in most cases, the “Twitter.com/” can be scratched. You can use any of these ideas for your @twittername or your /facebook name. When choosing a name, try to balance these three traits: as short, simple and close to your business name as possible. All reasons we chose @inovedia from InovediaMarketing.com for our Twitter sign-on.
6. iPhone contests create buzz!
Step 1. Go to the apple store.
Step 2. Consult your attorney. I am not one, I don’t pretend to be one and if you don’t you’re on your own.
Step 3. Purchase a gift card for the equivalent value of the iPhone you want to give away (adding $ for monthly service gives you bonus points).
Step 4. Create a plan to tweet, use Facebook & your email list to execute a contest everyone will be talking about.
Step 5. Create signs, banners, flyers, etc.
Step 6. Reap the reward & email me your story!
7. Are you on Twitter? If you have a restaurant, ask if anyone the table is on Twitter & follow them while placing their order. Ask them to tweet where you are or what you’re ordering. Don’t tweet that they are there without asking as that could be a major faux pas!
If you’re thinking social networking is impractical you probably don’t have the right tools in place. Here are a couple of suggestions that will help make it easier to access Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. throughout the day.
8. Get a smart phone! Treos are older clunkier phones, but they’re still great tools for social networking with cameras that work find and keyboards that rival any blackberry for under $100. New phones with contracts are now ridiculously cheap with versions of the iPhone now under $100 and the Palm Pre under $200. Suck it up and get a “store phone” that can be kept at the counter or front desk for whoever is on duty. No more excuses about not tweeting because I wasn’t at my desk.
9. A netbook placed at the back of your restaurant or on your store counter with internet access. I picked up a Lenovo S10, which I love, for under $350. It’s small, inexpensive, light weight and there’s no DVD drive tempting employees to watch movies (though HULU will be a click away). More importantly, all the social networking tools you’re business requires will be right at hand. Truth is, even most out of date laptops will do the trick!
10. Ping.fm is a free site that let’s you send status updates and photos to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendfeed and a slew of other social networks all from one place. Genius! Chi.mp is another option that let’s you send to multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and comes in very handy if you have multiple businesses or if you’re rocking both personal & business accounts.
Got more ideas? Want to add to these or trash them? Please chime in with your comments!
You have a store front, so does your competition. You have a website, so does the competition. You might even have a blog, a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account but if your competition doesn’t already, they will soon. So, how can you stay ahead in the marketing game? How can you stand out from the pack, ensure growth and make a difference that will really matter?
Build a community.
What does that mean? It means create a market place where you can provide a product or service to draw like minded individuals or folks with common interests. This could be anything, a blog, a tip newsletter, quote or photo of the day, whatever you can come up with and, if successful, your new market place will provide you a growing community filled with those who need and/or want your service.
Where do you begin?
Identify your ideal customer.
Identify your ideal customer’s needs or wants.
Identify new products that can deliver that content.
Experiment and test your ideas without breaking the bank.
Set expectations and deliver on promises!
Commit to the long term!
Ideal Customers: These aren’t your favorite customers or even your best customers. These are the ones who want or need your product the most. If you make baseball bats you are probably interested in reaching kids who play baseball, their parents or perhaps schools who outfit entire teams.
Identifying Needs & Wants: This can get a bit tricky so ask them! Social media is great for this! If you’re not active on Twitter or Linkedin, start now! Linkedin groups are a great place to ask questions and get feedback but start now so you can get comfortable using the site.
New Products Brainstorming: Successful new products can be as simple as a branded e-newsletter, a blog or podcast and as complicated as an un-branded video sharing site. If you’re an electronics store, avoid creating a gadget blog because there are already so many out there. Your going to have to be much more creative! Investigate hobbiests and other niches, perhaps there’s an opportunity for that electronic store to blog about installing or tweaking car stereo systems. Look at your staff for hobbies and passion to tap into! Testing: If your new product resembles a blog, newsletter or other niche website take advantage of WordPress.com’s free blogs to create test sites. If you’re considering a podcast build a free channel on youtube, if it works you may just end up sticking with it anyway! If you have an idea that’s not working toss it right away! With proper benchmarking steps in place, failing strategies can be quickly eliminated.
Set Expectations & Deliver on Promises: Trust is, with out a doubt, the key ingredient for any community and once you lose it there no telling if you can regain it! It’s very important to be as transparent as possible! If you’re creating a new unbranded product don’t deny or hide the fact that your company is supporting it. If the product is good and solid there’s no reason to hide. If you plan on serving ads begin doing so early-on to set the expectation of how many ads there will be and try to stick to a posting schedule.
Set your own expectation, this is not an overnight process! While marketing costs can often be curbed with good social marketing plans and by utilizing resources and databases you already have, such as lists of email newsletter subscribers, vendors, trade inventory, etc., this is a process that will take time to build and cost you time to maintain!
Commit to the long term: Depending on the community, you may have to moderate or provide content for as long as the product is in place. Understand that to keep a community going you have to be actively involved!
The possibilities are endless! With an ideal community at your fingertips you can speak to folks who are actually listening whether your strategic goals are brand building, product positioning, increasing press coverage, educating new customers, re-educating existing customers, driving traffic, creating buzz or creating new revenue streams. Even more importantly, you can reach folks who are actually interested and that’s an amazing thing!
Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie D. Neely is proud to announce the launch of the 2009 Small Business Expo Ambassador Program. Latest research being used by the Flashpoint Academy of Chicago indicates the in this world of social media – 55% of people get their news from their friends and family!
In the spirit of a new generation of communication –
EXPO AMBASSADORS ARE – Those groups helping communicate our message about the Free Small Business Expo on Friday, July 17th at the UIC Forum to their networks of 250 or more. These links will remain listed through the EXPO.
Any group getting 25 mentions or more will be listed on the EXPO AMBASSADOR Page of the City Treasurers Website – throughout 2009
Richard Bouchez is a certified Inbound Marketing professional specializing in Social Media Marketing & New Media content development. Richard’s web, audio & video work has been honored with Emmy, Promax & CBA awards.
“We’re @” on front & Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin on back!” width=”325″ height=”325″ />
10. Ping.fm is a free site that let’s you send status updates and photos to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendfeed and a slew of other social networks all from one place. Genius! Chi.mp is another option that let’s you send to multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and comes in very handy if you have multiple businesses or if you’re rocking both personal & business accounts.
InovediaMarketing.com 