Rewards

We all like to get rewards don't we?  Whether it's a coupon for something we buy on a regular basis or a discount or even sometimes just plain recognition as a human being!  Rewards can also be a big part of a PR campaign, especially to build awareness for new products and services.
I think this is especailly true on social media platforms like Facebook, and so do the folks over at American Express, as you can tell by reading this LINK.

While the first two tips are probably more appropriate for larger businesses, the other two seem like they would work for smaller organizations.  As a matter of fact, I'm going to test this out on the Ann Tracy Fine Art & Photography page on Facebook.  I'll report back in a few weeks.

40 More Things

One of my Twitter friends has the meat of the story for this blog post - thanks Pete at Mashable!  This looks like a very inclusive article dealing with all current social media portals.

Me?  I'm still waiting for my jet pack!

Guest Post

Welcome to the Social Media pool 

where the water is quite warm

By Jane Gassner of MidLifeBloggers

Here are my social media bonafides:  first used the Internet in 1994; started blogging in 2004; signed up with Twitter in 2006; went on Facebook in 2007.  Those dates tell you one thing, that I’m an Early Adopter.  And that I’ve had to listen to a lot of people--friends and relatives--question, nay sneer, at my use of social media.  She who laughs last, etc etc and many of the sneerers are now friending me on Facebook or following me on Twitter.  They’ve gotten the word from the 21^st century that the ways we communicate on both a personal and a professional level has changed.  

Still, I must admit I went through a period of disenchantment with both Twitter and Facebook.  For the latter, it was an overwhelming and seemingly endless stream of messages from people I had once considered quite bright--educated, serious, smart--calling out their need for a pig or a cattle trough or some such thing on a Facebook app called Farmville.  With Twitter, it was the onslaught of Tweets selling something, someone, somewhere crowding out the Twitter conversations I was used to having with people I knew. I was mad at both sites for a while, sulked some, but then I pulled up my Big Girl Panties and figured out a way to wrangle social media to serve my ends, rather than those of the nameless hordes.

One of those ends is marketing.  Social media has become the go-to place when you want to hit as wide an audience as possible.  Yes, hard-core marketers have already figured this out, but they’re not the only ones. Writers, artists, actors, filmmakers--those of us formerly confined to our garretts--are tapping in the spotlight of social media.

Several weeks ago, the Sacramento Social Media Club held a panel discussion featuring the ways in which artists of different genres are using social media to communicate with the public and enhance their sales. You can read the article I wrote about it on Sacramento Press here.  Suffice to say, the general message from all the artists was that social media is the way they connect with and broaden their audience

Last week, I was at a SITS blogging conference at which actress Jessica Bern talked about how she uses video blogging (vlogging) to enhance her career.   Voted one of the top ten humor bloggers of 2009, her series bernthis is a popular feature on Youtube.  Here’s some of what Jessica suggests when you’re planning a video of your work to post on Youtube:

• Pick a detail of your work and build a story around it
• Three minutes max is ideal--figure out a way to go as short as you can and still get your message across
• You need movement, so find a prop that is appropriate
• You can do multiple takes and then edit them together in one of the video-editing programs
• Create your own Youtube channel that is set it so only your friends can see your videos and ask them to critique.
• Last but not least:  Set a goal for your vlog and work toward it

Bottom line:  don’t be afraid of social media.  It really is your friend.  In fact some of the research being done now shows that contrary to the idea  that the web kills human interaction, using social media can create positive social bonding.  Paul J. Zak, director of the Center for Neruoeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University in California, is quoted in a recent NY Times article as saying:  “The Web is bringing businesses back down to the individual as the average company becomes smaller, more niche and specialized.  Paradoxically, the Web is moving us back to a human-centric business model.”

For those of us selling the fruits of our imaginations, that can only be a good thing.

Making a Splash

Sorry I haven't been as up to date on this blog as I have been on my other one, but after getting back from the hubby's family reunion, had much to do and then last week, a hideous cold struck.  It's been five days already and I'm still recovering.  But that doesn't mean that social media has not been on my mind!

I'm going back through the book Trust Agents to pull some interesting tidbits to put here, although you really should go out and get a copy - perhaps your library has a copy.  But thanks to my Linked In group and Tony Gates, here's another take on social media:



But do you believe in the wisdom of crowds?  If something is popular, does that make it good?  I did go to Reddit and searched for art topics and guess what?  Nothing was there.  So because nothing is there, does that mean it's not good?  Let me know... and Merriest of Holidays and the best of the New Year!

More on Social Media

I have a friend who is becoming a social media maven.  He sees it as a way to promote his own work as an artist as well as helping other folks promote their products and services via social media.  His name is Chad Sorg, if you google him, you will find that he's on Facebook, Twitter, you name it.

Meanwhile in the corporate world, news of social media could be the engine for job creation!  One of my Linked In groups posted a link to a very interesting (and charmingly named) blog.

Views on PR and Social Media

Here are more views on Social Media from Linked In professionals around the country.

• Kathy Griffith, who is in Administration for Qoro, LLC Fine Art Services in the Philadelphia area has this to say:  "Qoro, LLC (www.qoro.com and www.qoroart.com) is using all forms of social media to forward our new website and online art gallery. We have used Facebook, LinkedIn, blog and Twitter (all joined together) to reach more artists and end clients. We have seen increase in our stats to our website in the few months that we have ramped up the social media PR but have not reaped the ROI/Sales from those hits yet. 

• We have reached many artists we wouldn't have with just cold calls or emails but what we need to reach is the end clients that want to purchase the fine art giclees.  This is our dilemna, how do you friend people you don't know or reach them? We are hoping that providing the artists with information they will come to us for their prints and that is working slowly.   If you would like more information on our social marketing plan, please feel free to call at 877-470-4278 or email kgriffith@qoro.com. 

• On the West Coast, David Dubrino an Online Marketing Manager at DRS & Associates chimed in with this comment: I think the key is that you have to use all of the social tools out there together to help each social account and platform. You also just can't create the accounts and then leave them, whether it's a blog, twitter account, fb page etc... you have to be consistent and stick with it... every day.   If it's NOT your goal to get people to your website so that they will contact you to hire you for your services or purchase something, then you don't need to worry about social networking. Otherwise it's going to be crucial to your business sooner than later.

• And finally we hear from Giselle V, who is a Sales Director at the Deco Design Center in the Miami Beach area:  Deco Design Center http://www.decodesigncenter.com is using all forms of social media but we prefer twitter and linkedin the best out of all of them. Facebook is more difficult I think and less targeted clients. You can follow us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/DecoDesignCente 

It seems to me that everyone who has commented on this issue realizes the importance of Social Media  in the 21st Century.  Apparently it's more of a PR than an marketing tool from the comments we've listed over the past few posts.  Which is something that I've always felt.  If you disagree, tell us... leave a comment!

Since this blog is already linked to FB, I'm going to go Twitter about it now...

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