Foursquare is Not Child’s Play
I’m willing to admit that it took me awhile to really take a look at foursquare mainly because it was limited to big cities and since I spend most of my time in Frederick I didn’t see much worth in it. When it opened up and didn’t force you into the closest location, I decided to give it a try. I know it annoys a lot of people seeing the Tweets about where you are and if you just became Mayor of that establishment, but after using it for awhile I do see a lot of value for small businesses.
Here is the scoop if you are not familiar with foursquare. As a user of foursquare, you check-in at your current location via your smartphone loaded with the foursquare application. Based on GPS, foursquare will try to pinpoint your current location. Once you check in, you earn points, get suggestions of things to do at that establishment, and find other friends and locations nearby. Did you catch the part about suggestions of things to do? File that away for a minute. You collect points and based on the number of times you have checked in, with those points you earn badges and become Mayor of locations. In the process, you can choose to tell your Twitter and/or Facebook friends where you just checked in.
Sounds like just another annoying waste of time, right? Not so fast. I think there is a definite opportunity for businesses, mainly retail and restaurants, with foursquare and future location-based and mobile social networks. As I mentioned above, there is the ability to create to do items for a location. What this means is as my friends on foursquare visit a place they can put a note of something to try, eat or do while at that location. They can also recommend something nearby your current location. The thinking being, if my friend tried it and recommends it, I will give it a try. This is providing word-of-mouth on the spot and in real time.
I don’t personally announce my location on Twitter with every check-in for privacy reasons, but I like to check in to see if anyone has a recommendation for me to check out. It gives me the option to try something different or explore a new location. I also find it interesting that when my friends or I do tweet a location, it often begins a conversation on Twitter. It promotes companies without them know it or being involved. I’ve learned about places I haven’t visited before, but are now on my to do list. Pretty powerful stuff.
One last feature that should be of interest to small business. Businesses are beginning to offer a special offer through foursquare, whether it be something free with purchase or a discount, to users of foursquare that frequent the business. Offers can be used to reward a foursquare user on a certain number of visits or for being Mayor of that business. By showing your phone to the server or at the register, you can prove your status and receive the offer.
Rewarding loyalty is something that businesses have known for a long time and this is just one more way to reward those that offer repeat business. Also because it is a game too, don’t be surprised when a little friendly competition breaks out to be the Mayor of your establishment. Don’t believe me, read this article or this one for how foursquare is being used by other companies.
So what do you think? Is foursquare just a game or something in which business should pay attention?
On Target: WSJ Article on Adult Usage of Social Sites
Last week I read an article that really caught my eye and wanted to share with you. Over on the WSJ Blog, I read “A Third of Adults Now Post to Sites Like Facebook, Twitter Once a Week“. Here are some quick bullet points as to why I think this article is so important:
- Social Networking is not just for kids any more. We have known this for awhile, but here is more proof.
- Twitter is used much more for conversing than Facebook. This furthers my thinking that you use these tools very differently and you need to be ready to interact when you take the jump into Twitter.
- “70% of adults online are at least ’spectators’ in social media, reading blogs, tweets and online forums, although they might not participate”. This line is the most significant to me because so many people base results on number of comments or interactions and quite frankly most people are just not yet comfortable to leave comments. Keep doing what you are doing and know it is being read and probably passed on.
Overall, these are great numbers to validate social media even further. The numbers will continue to grow until it becomes so mainstream they no longer need to do surveys like this. 
Contestant #2 – Kim McClure
After reading Kim’s reason for why she wants my ticket to the Frederick Chamber New Media and Technology Conference, please leave a comment with why she deserves it the most. At least put her name in the comment, so I can tell it is not a spam comment. Voting ends Wednesday, January 27 at 3:00 pm EST.
Willy Wanka and the Chocolate Factory is one of my all time favorite movies. The message the movie leaves you with is: if you are a good person no matter what your financial state . . . if you have what it takes – if you keep trying -if you find people that beleve in you and your cause - your dreams can come true . . .
That is the basis on which I would like to use social media . . . My dream is to use social media in an effective way to introduce a new non-profit project called the Healing Spaces Project. Healing Spaces is a project that creates healing environments in the homes of children affected by serious medical conditions. It will serve sick children who have the most critical need for a healing environment, who will physically and emotionally benefit the most from the healing elements we use to transform the child’s room, and whose family lacks the economic resources to create this healing environment.
I have started to take steps to spread the word . . . like setting up a Facebook page for my business which promtes the project, using my business website to promote the project and contacting the media . . . but I know there is so much more that I could be doing . . . I just don’t know how.
Here is where I need your help to educate me about the powerful abilites and possibilities of socaial media and hopefully I will be singing . . .
“Cause I’ve got a golden ticket
Cause I’ve got a golden ticket
I’ve got a golden chance to make my way
And with a golden ticket, it’s a golden day!”
Sincerely,
Kim McClure, ASID, LEED AP
Find out more:
www.intdesignservices.com
Facebook – Interior Design Services
https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_Life/display_features.htm?StoryID=99979
Contestant #3 – Doree Lynn Miles
After reading Doree’s reason for why she wants my ticket to the Frederick Chamber New Media and Technology Conference, please leave a comment with why she deserves it the most. At least put her name in the comment, so I can tell it is not a spam comment. Voting ends Wednesday, January 27 at 3:00 pm EST.
Although I am not a big fan of Willy Wonka (it kind of freaked me out as a child) I could definitely make good use of that “golden ticket.”
The benefits of attending the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce’s New Media and Technology Conference (#FredNMT) would be priceless. We are a very small non-profit agency with a very small budget with which we do great things by providing shelter and services to homeless women and their children. We help families get back on their feet again by giving them hope and a future.
Doing more with less in this economy is the only option we have and social media/ marketing/ networking can help us achieve that goal. Our strategic plan directs me to increase awareness of homelessness issues, educate the community and promote philanthropy. I want to learn how I can incorporate new media in to an effective media strategy. I want to capture people’s imagination. I want to move them to want to make a difference. I want to tug on their heartstrings and (frankly) their wallets, too.
We have a Twitter account (@HopeAliveInc), a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HopeAliveInc) and a blog (www.hopealiveinc.blogspot.com), so I feel like we are one step ahead, but I don’t want to fall two steps back by not utilizing those tools correctly. Additionally, networking at the conference and learning from peers is something I can’t get by working in my cubicle in Sabillasville.
I appreciate this opportunity (pick me! pick me!) thanks for asking.
Doree Lynn Miles
Development Manager
Hope Alive, Inc.
301-241-4005
Contestant #1 – Mary Koster
After reading Mary’s reason for why she wants my ticket to the Frederick Chamber New Media and Technology Conference, please leave a comment with why she deserves it the most. At least put her name in the comment, so I can tell it is not a spam comment. Voting ends Wednesday, January 27 at 3:00 pm EST.
Golden ticket – how could I not want that? I feel like I’m 5 in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory! Just the sound of it makes my mouth water.
In all seriousness, though, I’m pretty new to social media and learning what it could do for me and my freelance business as well as my budding photography career. I am really interested in learning more to help me be knowledgeable and on the front-line of social media for my next employer and my own business ventures. And yes, I definitely would like it because I am unemployed and can’t afford to go otherwise. Plus, I LOVE Frederick and would love to move there. Social networking, and networking in general, at an event like this can certainly help with that!
Recently I’ve joined twitter and started my own facebook business page, but I know there is so much more that I could do and learn. I am one of many artists involved in a twitter live auction event put on by @140hours that is turning my photography hobby into a potentially good side-gig. 
It’s also helping charities (including a special Haiti-relif auction where 100% of sales are going to Haiti rescue/relief), so it’s a win-win for me and my personal goals of giving back to the community. Additionally, being involved in these art auctions has taught just how powerful social media can be. So, the more I can learn about how to promote myself and my business, the more I will be ready for the whatever comes next while keeping up with my goals of giving back to the community as best as I can!
Thanks for considering me!
Me and my freelance company info can be found at:
http://www.hiremary.com
http://www.mkdesignhaus.com
http://www.twitter.com/chelandria
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baltimore-MD/MK-Design-Haus/
Facebook Profile vs. Fan Page
I’ve have recently seen a trend on Facebook that has me concerned and, quite frankly, frustrated. I have been getting an influx of friend requests from companies and organizations. What this tells me is that people are setting up profiles for their companies or organizations rather than Fan Pages. At first I just found this as odd behavior and sort of annoying, to me. Then I decided to dig around in Facebook’s terms of service and help files and found this:
Here’s another explanation of the difference:
While Facebook obviously is not enforcing this rule right now, they will get around to it. When they do, they will shut down those profiles and all the time and energy spent creating that community will be lost overnight. These companies may as well take the time to get it right now before their community disappears.
Being “friended” by a company or organization is not the norm and you are less likely to pick up followers with this approach. People are use to Fan pages and interacting with organizations through their. Trust levels go down when a profile is presented to them in friend requests. Also when people search for Fan Pages they are likely to overlook a profile that the organization has forced its name into first and last name boxes.
There are also privacy concerns for your community. People set their privacy settings differently for their friends than Fan Pages. They are more open to sharing videos, pictures and information with Friends and “Friends of Friends” as Facebook calls it, since there is a level of trust. The connections with an organization using a profile to promote itself connects people that may not want to share information.
If you know someone doing this, please do them a favor and direct them to set up a Fan Page. I don’t want to signal out the guilty again, I just want them to be aware of the mistake and correct it before it is too late. Communities take time to build and they are nurtured on trust, getting Facebook set up correctly goes a long way to building and nurturing your community. Once they get their Fan Page set up, invite those connected to the profile to get involved on the Fan Page.
Any other Facebook issues you see that should be addressed?
Frederick Chamber New Media and Technology Conference Ticket Competition
I am very proud that my company will be the Diamond Sponsor of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce’s New Media and Technology Conference (#FredNMT). Not only am I a sponsor, I’m also fortunate enough to be a presenter. I’m really looking forward to the event and just happen to have an extra ticket. Dare I say, a golden ticket?
In order to have some fun, I’ve decided to run a little competition to give away the golden ticket. So here is what I want you to do: leave a comment on this post with the reason I should bestow the golden ticket upon you. Be original and creative, but give me a true reason attending this event would be beneficial to you, your company or organization. Feel free to leave links in the comments if you want me to view your blog, video or photos.
I will post the 3 I think are best as blog posts. Then those selected will need to get as many people as possible to comment on their post and the post with the most comments wins the golden ticket.
I need to get your story of why you deserve the ticket by 5:00 pm EST Friday, January 22. I will post my favorites on Monday the 25th by 10:00 am EST and people will be able to vote via comments until Wednesday, January 27th at 3:00 pm EST. I will announce the winner on Wednesday, January 27th at 5:00 pm EST. One entry per person and people can only vote once on each post. In the case of a tie, I will select a person at random.
Comment away.
Give Them Something to Talk About
I received a call the other day from a very nice woman from the March of Dimes inviting me to a lunch to learn more about what the March of Dimes does with the hopes that I will get involved in their upcoming fundraiser. She was very honest about the nature of the lunch and I said that I would be happy to receive an invitation and check my availability for the lunch. As usual this phone call got me thinking about marketing and social media. I loved the open and honest approach of an invitation to lunch knowing we were going to get a pitch. I was giving them permission to pitch to me.
What really got me thinking was that even though they were probably not aware of it when they invited me, I was most likely going to Tweet about the event or share information on Facebook. That’s just my usual M.O. That led me to think that it would be really advantageous to them to include a hashtag and link on their invitation. Sidenote: I have not received the invitation yet, so it is possible they are including these.
Why?
Even if you are not using social media to promote an event, chances are some of the people you invite are. Why not make it easier for those people to share information about you and your event. Provide a hashtag and even a trackable link using a service like bit.ly. Events and organizations that use social media often assign hashtags to events very early on, but there is no reason you can’t do the same even if you are not active in social media. Let your community do the promoting for you. People love to promote things they believe in and feel strongly about.
Another advantage to including a hashtag and trackable link is that you can actually track the conversations and measure your reach. By using a service such as bit.ly, you are able to see who tweeted your link and see how many times it was clicked. You can also set your hashtag up at “What the Hashtag?” and see who is using it and how often. Now if you aren’t currently involved in social media you won’t be able to respond, but at least you can track the reach. From this information you may find a very strong case for including social media into your marketing plan for the next event.
It all comes down to the fact that no company or organization can completely ignore social media. Even if you don’t want to actively participate in it, give your community and fans the ability to promote for you. This is especially true for non-profits that may not have the resources to commit to social media, but want to elicit help from supporters. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
To Follow or Not to Follow
As most of you probably know, my main Twitter account is @bethschillaci, but I also set up @villageworks a long time ago to keep it under my control. While I rarely use my company account, over the holiday break I decided I was going to use it more often in the new year as part of my overall marketing strategy. I logged into my VillageWorks Twitter account and found some new followers to check out. As I looked over the list, it made me think about what my “Follow Back Policy” should be for this account. What I mean by this policy is how am I going to decide who to follow back on Twitter.
As I see it, I have the following options:
1. Follow back everyone that follows me.
2. Follow everyone that does not appear to be spam, a bot or something completely inappropriate.
3. Select people based on their Tweet Stream (what they tweet about for those uninitiated) and profile. If they seem to have something interesting and relevant to my conversation, I will follow them back.
On my @bethschillaci account I started using option 2 and as my list of people I followed got bigger, I feel like I moved to option 3. I’m not sure when I made this switch and I’m sure I have missed a lot of interesting people and conversations along the way, but it worked for me.
I know you are dying to know what my final decision was for my @villageworks account, right? OK, probably not, but I’m going to tell you anyway. I have decided to go with option number 2. Why? Because I want people to be able to get in touch with my company via direct messages if they choose to. I know this leaves the door wide open for spam messages, phishing scams and all of those unpleasant parts of Twitter, but I find it important that anyone should be able to legitimately reach me directly.
By now you are probably wondering if I have a point? I do, I think. Seriously, these are some of the things you are going to need to consider when using social media. Who you will connect with and how you will allow others to connect with you. It just takes a little bit of planning to get what you want out of social media.
What is your Twitter Follow Back Policy? Why?
Missed Opportunity
The names have been left out to protect the not so innocent. Seriously, the point of this post and similar ones I will do in the future is to provide you with some real life examples that you will hopefully learn from and use to make decisions on how you will use social media tools. This way you will end up in my posts where I do name names because you are doing it right.
It all started last month when we began to plan a pre-holiday Tweetup in Frederick. We had the date and time, but were unsure of a location for lunch. At one point someone mentioned a downtown restaurant that also happens to be on Twitter. Using their handle in several tweets I expected them to reach out and offer to hold tables for us or at least RSVP for the event that is going to be in their own restaurant. Now I want to point out that this Tweetup was not a last minute planned affair. We had sent out the invite at least 3 weeks before the date and I know it was tweeted at least 2 times a week. My point here is the restaurant should have seen the tweets in their Mentions area of Twitter within this timeframe.
The person that organized the Tweetup called the restaurant to reserve a table for our group of 15. When we got to the restaurant they had us at 2 different tables which made it almost impossible to communicate with everyone without disturbing other diners. Overall it was just a bad experience and we are not likely to return their for a future Tweetup. Will we all as individuals return to the restaurant? Most likely we all will. It’s a favorite in town with good food whose main flaw is they aren’t using Twitter as effectively as they could.
What could have happened instead was the restaurant that we mentioned and went to for the Tweeetup, could have seen our mentions and responded. Even if they didn’t fully understand what a Tweetup was, they could have responded with a question and how they could help, it would have gone a long way. At the very least they could have set up tables where we would have been able to talk with each other more easily. The restaurant could have alerted the hostess, so she didn’t seem so confused when we walked in and said we were there for the Tweetup. We weren’t looking for free food or special treatment, just an invitation would have been welcomed.
If you are going to use a social media tool, you have to be ready for 2-way communication, not just another place to post your promotions. You need to be prepared when people include your company in the conversation and be willing to jump in and see how you can help or answer questions. Yes, it can be overwhelming for small business, but be willing to reach out to say hi and ask questions if necessary. People on Twitter are very friendly and helpful especially if they love your business. They are happy to receive your news and promotions, but if someone reaches out to you, be prepared to respond. Silence is not your best option in social media.
The takeaway here is that social media is a useful means of communication, but remember it is now a world of 2-way communication and if someone reaches out to you, you need to be willing to answer and offer assistance. Quite frankly, if you are not ready to do that you may want to think twice if you are ready for social media without a little training and/or guidance.
