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So here's a gem which I hope will make you smile; I sure did.



Smiles aside though, there's good value in the message.

As fun as social media can be, it is also a place where careful moderation is best. 

Whether your prospects, clients, employers or friends and family are visiting you at Facebook, reading your tweets, connecting at LinkedIn, or reading your blog, you'll want to me sure who and what is coming in is as important as what you send out.

It reminds of the tried and true...we are only good as those we surround ourselves with.

Happy Friday
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When I have a moment to spare, I no longer go on Facebook...I go on FriendFeed.  I haven't quite figured out what that means...but I know it is a pretty significant change in my online behavior.

Once I put a bit more thought into this I'll write something more compelling...I just felt the need to share this tidbit of information with you all...





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As twitter has continued to grow it has become THE hot service that social media people like to talk about. Now that twitter has started to go mainstream, it has moved past the earlier adopters and is being used by more and more people.  However, the funny thing is most of the people that are using it still feel utterly confused by it. Those who aren't using it don't see the purpose in using it.
Most social media people will talk about using twitter in very general terms. They will talk about being part of the larger "conversation" and how important it is. While I don't deny that participating in the larger "conversation" is important most users  would like details on:

1)    What can twitter do?
2)    How do I use it?

Today I want to talk about the benefits of twitter and show how it was practically applied to a small business.  This is a simple plan with an explanation of the tools that are being used.

The Case Study

My friend owns a small pub in a college town. He recently redid his website to include a blog and began to branch out into social networking by creating a MySpace page, a facebook "fan" page, a regular facebook page, and a twitter account. His goal was to use these social media platforms to inform his customers what was going on at the pub that night, what special events were coming down the road, and to monitor what people wanted.

Since the pub is in a college town he figured that leveraging social media would be a great way to reach his current customers and touch some potential customers. While he used the social networking sites to target market and add people that might be interested in going to his pub he used twitter as his main communication hub.

Here are some of the tactics he applied and the tools he used:
   
Ease of creating a message

1)  He set up his mobile phone to update on twitter- (tool- twitter.com) This comes standard with a twitter account and often is taken for granted that people automatically know this. He now has the ability to announce specials for dinner, for drinks, or push special events while he is on the run.

Additionally this feature allows him to get instant feedback when things strike him. He can see games or events that he likes in other establishments and ask questions on the fly if his customers would be interested in seeing those games or events at his pub.

Ease of spreading the message

2)  He has twitter update his facebook status message automatically- (tool: twitter facebook app)   Being a business owner my friend's time is rather limited. He doesn't have time to log into facebook every time he needs to update his status. By using twitter to update his status on facebook automatically he is reaching out to multiple audiences on multiple sites.  Expect  a solution for MySpace to appear in the near future.

3) Has twitter posts go post to his blog- (tool: twitter wordpress plugin) Using this wordpress plugin my friend can also migrate his tweets to his blog. On his blog his tweets appear as posts, giving updates to his RSS or e-mail subscribers.

Monitoring the Response

4) Using Terraminds- (tool: terraminds)  The pub owner can track to see if anything was said about his business as well as his competition in the area by searching for keywords via this twitter tracker.  If people complain or say positive things about his pub he has the ability to respond with a thanks or correct any issues. This was something that in that past he didn't have the ability to do because the conversation was being held elsewhere.

He can also figure out trends using this, if there is a large party for example he knows the crowds will be in later in the evening and can appropriately prepare for that.  

Reach out to local users

5) Targeting active local users-(tool: twitterlocal.net)  Allows him to follow and engage local users in conversation. By setting it up for a twenty mile radius he can reach out and follow local users as well as creating contacts that can later become advocates.

Build Loyal Customers

6)  Participating in the conversation goes a long way-  (tool: thwirl- a twitter desktop application) By replying to messages and talking to customers a couple of times a week it allows you to be part of the conversation. This personal attention goes a long way to establishing loyalty and repeat business. People will remember the interaction by giving

As always with social media it does come back to the conversation. If you use the tools around the conversation the right way you can enhance what you get out of it. This is one example of what a small business can use twitter for. Other great examples of companies using twitter are Zappos (for customer service) and Robbie Gordon Racing (for event updates).

How have you been using twitter? And what tools are using?

Awareness has officially entered the world of twitter and would like to participate in conversations with you.
You can add our new twitter account here: http://twitter.com/awarenessinc



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