Social Media in Wilmington N.C. « Talk, Inc

Register for Social Media Webinar on April 23

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

There’s a low hum moving quickly around the world that’s about to erupt into a loud roar.

It’s the online conversation.

If you’d like to learn more about how to harness the power of internet marketing and social media to grow your business, register for our free, 1-hour webinar.

TALK THERAPY - How The Online Conversation Can Grow Your Business.

DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2009

TIME: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT

Space is limited. REGISTER HERE.

Upon registering you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the webinar on April 23.

Millions of people are talking to each other online about everything from their favorite rock star to the type of car they like to drive. With the advent of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis and RSS, the balance of power has shifted away from business and into the hands and keyboards of consumers. Is this a threat or an opportunity? I think it’s an opportunity. But only if managed appropriately.

Online technologies are changing at lightning speed. Every day, we discover new, better and cheaper ways to market businesses online. A burgeoning industry of SEO, SEM and social media experts are scrambling to help you optimize your website, launch a blog, and build your social media campaign.

Business as usual no longer exists. Consumers have taken communications into their own hands and they are talking about your business, products and services online. You can either join the conversation or get left behind. Get started now, and you’ll have a jump on your competitors. Wait too long and you’ll be playing catch-up.

Tags: Advertising in Wilmington N.C., Branding in Wilmington N.C., Public Relations Agency in N.C., Social Media in Wilmington N.C., Webinar
Posted in Professional Development | Comments

Things We Love 3/18

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Debbie loves Groundswell, a book by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research – This is one of the best books I’ve read yet about social media and its impact on marketing communications. Li and Bernoff define social media and detail methodologies for incorporating it into your marketing mix. They also provide a series of case studies that articulate how companies across the country have employed these methodologies with great success. It’s well written and will change the way you think about social media.

Holly loves GoToWebinar – After hours of researching websites with webinar capabilities, GoToWebinar has come out on top. The site offers great branding options for a personalized webinar experience as well as detailed post-webinar reports, polling and survey options and a simple, but efficiently designed program. See for yourself when Talk puts GoToWebinar to work on April 23 for Talk Therapy - How the Online Conversation Can Grow Your Business.

Kelly loves TweetLater – As someone who is slowly, but surely, getting used to the multi-faceted world of social media, I find TweetLater highly effective in helping me keep my Twitter account up-to-date and fresh. Through TweetLater, I am able to schedule tweets, follow those who follow me, send welcome direct messages to new followers and track replies I might have missed, due to a heavy workload. Sign up today at www.tweetlater.com.

Kirsty loves Greater Wilmington Business Journal Power Breakfast Series – The Business Journal in Wilmington manages to consistently get more than 500 of the community’s business leaders in one room for its panel discussions once a quarter. The event is not only informative, but hands down one of the best networking opportunities in the city. Debbie served on the panel discuss for this quarter’s breakfast on the “Power of the Internet.” It was great to see her and other Internet marketing geniuses in our community weigh in on the powerful trend.

Shawn loves Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug - Who would have thought a book about Web navigation and usability could actually be a good read. This book is a common sense approach to the layout and messaging of a Web site. It is a very comprehensive analysis of what to do and, more importantly, what not to do. Simple little things that most would overlook are brought to the forefront, analyzed and corrected. Krug’s approach is all about the visitor and what they will be thinking while visiting a Web site. Where am I? Where should I begin? Where did they put xyz? A truly informative read for anybody that has a hand in the Web site design process.

Susan loves Magic Cubes – These interactive promotional items provide a great way to capture your audiences’ attention. Not only do magic cubes offer a cool platform to state your message, they give us fidget-prone people something to mess with while we work. (After receiving a sample pack to demonstrate a cube sales kit concept to a client, I can’t stop playing with the 6 samples on our conference room table.)

Tags: Book Review, Marketing, Online Marketing, Social Media in Wilmington N.C.
Posted in Marketing | Comments

Power Breakfast Series Draws 500+ Biz Leaders to Learn about Internet Marketing

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Greater Wilmington Business hit another homerun this morning with its Power Breakfast Series on Leveraging the Power of the Internet. More than 500 business leaders gathered to learn from six local business owners, myself included. Brett Martin, owner of Castle Branch; Fred Meyers, owner of Queensboro Shirt Company and Chip Mahan, owner of Live Oak Bank had compelling insights on how they have effectively used the Internet to grow their businesses.

Justin Queen of Blu Zeus and Mike Duncan of Sage Island brought the web developers’ perspective into the discussion. I spoke on the impact of Social Media on today’s business arena and how it is changing the balance of power in marketing communications and putting it into the hands of consumers and business people online.

If you weren’t able to attend, check Greater Wilmington Business’ website at www.wilmingtonbiz.net for an article detailing the discussion.

Some points on social media to remember:

Social media has changed the balance of power — people are using online technologies like Facebook, blogs, etc. to get the things they need from each other rather than from traditional institutions like corporations
Social media involves two primary elements — people and technology. Concentrate on the relationships first; technology second
If you’re thinking about adopting social media into your marketing mix, use the POST method (courtesy of Forrester Research): People, Objectives, Strategies and Technology.

PEOPLE — Understand where and if your customers are engaging in social media
OBJECTIVES - What are your goals?
STRATEGIES - Determine what methodologies to use to achieve your objectives
TECHNOLOGY - What applications should you use? Blog, Social Network? Wiki?

Social media is all about conversations with people. So keep people first and foremost in your planning. Who are your customers? Where are they online? What information is important to them? How do they like to access this information?

Thanks again to Greater Wilmington Business for hosting the series. Publisher Rob Kaiser and his entire staff have done a wonderful job with this quarterly series and I look forward to the next one. Every local business owner should try to attend. But sign up early. He’s sold out each breakfast!

Tags: Internet Marketing, Marketing, Social media, Social Media in Wilmington N.C.
Posted in Marketing, Public Relations, Talk | Comments

Register for Social Media Webinar on April 23

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

There’s a low hum moving quickly around the world that’s about to erupt into a loud roar.

It’s the online conversation.

If you’d like to learn more about how to harness the power of internet marketing and social media to grow your business, register for our free, 1-hour webinar.

TALK THERAPY - How The Online Conversation Can Grow Your Business.

DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2009

TIME: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT

Space is limited. REGISTER HERE.

Upon registering you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the webinar on April 23.

Millions of people are talking to each other online about everything from their favorite rock star to the type of car they like to drive. With the advent of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis and RSS, the balance of power has shifted away from business and into the hands and keyboards of consumers. Is this a threat or an opportunity? I think it’s an opportunity. But only if managed appropriately.

Online technologies are changing at lightning speed. Every day, we discover new, better and cheaper ways to market businesses online. A burgeoning industry of SEO, SEM and social media experts are scrambling to help you optimize your website, launch a blog, and build your social media campaign.

Business as usual no longer exists. Consumers have taken communications into their own hands and they are talking about your business, products and services online. You can either join the conversation or get left behind. Get started now, and you’ll have a jump on your competitors. Wait too long and you’ll be playing catch-up.

Tags: Add new tag, Marketing, Social media, Social Media in Wilmington N.C., Webinar
Posted in Professional Development | Comments

PR pros have leadership role to play in social media

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Traditional PR and marketing agencies are going the way of the dinosaur. And when I say traditional, I mean ones that are not incorporating social media and internet marketing into their core services. Why is the traditional agency threatened? Because traditional media (TV, radio, print) is no longer the most relevant voice in the marketplace. Today’s conversation is online - and consumers are the ones doing all the talking.

Here are the stats to prove it (courtesy of Adam Singer, author of The Future Buzz):

• 1 trillion - the unique # of URLs in Google’s index

• 2 billion - number of searches Google does each day

• 684 million - the number of visitors to Wikipedia last year

• 70 million - the number of videos on YouTube

• 133 million - number of blogs indexed by Technorati since 2002

• 77% - percentage of active Internet users who read blogs

• 3 million - the number of tweets per day on Twitter

• 150 million - number of active Facebook users

• 236 million - number of visitors attracted annually to Digg

Lots of impressive numbers, but what do they mean? These stats illustrate that millions of people around the world are online, talking to each other about everything from their favorite rock star to the type of car they like to drive. People have taken the conversation online and away from traditional media and businesses. Forrester researchers Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff call it the Groundswell in a book of the same name. The groundswell is “a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.” In other words, people are looking to each other for information and are no longer relying solely on the marketing information provided to them by businesses.

Because of this, businesses have lost control over how their companies and brands are perceived by consumers. The balance of power has shifted, away from business and into the hands - and keyboards - of consumers. Is this a threat or an opportunity? Depends on your perspective. Businesses thrive on control, so this lack of control is discomfiting. But if you take the time to understand the groundswell and how you can participate, it presents an overwhelming opportunity to directly interact with your customers.

This phenonemon has many names: groundswell, social media, online conversation, etc. Call it what you will. But it all boils down to two primary components: technology and people. A mistake made by many business people is to focus on the technology. They jump into blogging and Facebook with great enthusiasm but with little strategic thinking. As Li and Bernoff point out, the successful way to engage your audiences online is to “concentrate on the relationships, not the technologies.”

So if the social media is about relationship-building first, technology second, shouldn’t you entrust your online marketing to your communications professional, not your IT department or website designer? The savvy PR practitioner is already engaged online and has both the technical and communication skills to help businesses master this new frontier. More and more PR agencies are incorporating internet marketing capabilities in-house so they can present their clients with an integrated approach to communications. One that marries traditional “offline” marketing with new online opportunities.

It’s a new world, and I’m thrilled to be in it.

Tags: Marketing, Public Relations, Public Relations Agency in N.C., Social Media in Wilmington N.C.
Posted in Public Relations | Comments

5 Things I Learned From My Dog on Twitter

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

My dog Camden is a 6-year-old Schnauzer who is a fixture at Talk, Inc. She accompanies me to work and does an excellent job as office greeter, therapist and muse. Camden’s alter ego can be found @TalkBarketing on Twitter. Here, we’ve connected with animals and animal lovers from all over the world. Camden has taught me much about Twitter – life lessons that I’m working to apply to my own account @TalkDebbie.

Here are Camden’s Five Canine Commandments for how to behave on Twitter:

BE PLAYFUL
@TalkBarketing communicates in a playful way that makes it fun and easy to interact online. Depending on the topic, she can be playful, sarcastic, funny and challenging (in a non-threatening, doggy kind of way). The result is more followers and more interaction. By finding Camden’s voice, she has helped me find my own @TalkDebbie.

SHARE THE LOVE
Love and generosity abound in the animal world. The dogs and cats Camden follows don’t compete the way us humans often do. They support each other and are generous with their compliments and retweets. @TalkBarketing interacts in a personal, generous manner that I hope to replicate @TalkDebbie. When Camden tweets, there are lots of nosetaps and tailwags delivered to her “anipals.”

EMPATHIZE
When it comes to empathy, our four-legged friends have much to teach us. The concern for each other demonstrated among these animals is astounding. If someone doesn’t hear from one of their anipals for a while, tweets are sent our inquiring about their health, whereabouts, etc. Lots of support also goes out to cats and pups with aching tummies and dreaded vet visits.

PRACTICE DIVERSITY
@TalkBarketing is following dogs, cats, horses, pigs, birds, bunnies, hamsters and goats. And a moose in Alaska (big shout out for @AlaskaMoose). If you follow people (or animals) outside of your primary interest area, it will make your Twitter experience much richer and more interesting. By the way, the cats on Twitter are prolific! If you’re a dog – PLEASE get your barking butt on Twitter. We need you!

NO BITING ALLOWED
With all these “wild” animals on Twitter, you’d think the fur would be flying from time to time. But there’s nary a growl or hiss in site. Sure, there are plenty of smack downs between the dogs and cats, but it’s just in jest. I wish the humans on Twitter would take a lesson from the anipals and reduce the venom that pops up too often online. If you’re going to Twitter, practice some courtesy and respect. Or Camden might just sick her friends on you!

If you’re curious about a dog’s perspective of life in the Carolinas, follow me @TalkBarketing. *Tail wags* all around.

Tags: Social media, Social Media in Wilmington N.C., Social networking
Posted in Internet Marketing | Comments

No budget marketing tips

Friday, March 6th, 2009

When times get tight, it’s no secret that the marketing is the first thing to go. On our blog, we’ve written about what a tragic mistake this is. If you aren’t showcasing your brand out in the marketplace you basically ensure its quick death. Here are a few “no budget marketing tips” to tide you over. Warning: the following strategies require a lot of elbow grease, but if business has slowed down, you have no reason not to try them out. Or, if you’ve had to sacrifice your media buying budget, invest instead in a great PR firm who can guide you through the following no budget marketing strategies:

1. Public Relations

I wouldn’t recommend delving into the world of media relations without a trained professional to advise you, but there are certainly some tactics you can employ to get the press to cover your business. You can learn a lot from Peter Shankman’s free service, Help a Reporter Out. He offers some sound advice to help you be the best publicist you can be for your company.

2. Barter

Smart marketing is so often about creating smart partnerships. Sure you can’t afford to hire XYZ Corp., but if you know they need (and can’t pay for) some of your widgets, then you’ve got a deal! Be sure you have your marketing objectives in mind and reach out to the companies that can help you get there. If you can offer them something they want in exchange, then you’ve essentially doubled your no budget marketing budget.

3. Get online

Does your company offer a product or service that can really help others? Do you think you have advice to share that can help people find solutions to their problems? If the answer is yes, then you were practically born to blog! Check out sites like ProBlogger and CopyBlogger to learn everything from the basics to really sophisticated online marketing strategies. It may not necesarily be comfortable for you to learn the fundamentals of marketing online, but you know what, neither was building your company. And if you want to stick around for the long haul, commit to embracing this wildly effective (and inexpensive) marketing strategy.

4. Network

I’m a huge proponent of “your network is your net worth.” People that say that Chamber After Hours and other professional mixers aren’t effective are simply not effective networkers themselves. You don’t have to join everything. Again, keep in mind your marketing strategy and pick the groups you would like to be a part of, which may have the most key influencers to help you get there. And then you have to work. Hard. Keith Ferrazzi is my favorite thought leader on this subject and you can learn a lot from him about how to create and keep relationships that will help you grow your business.

Tags: Marketing in a Recession, Public Relations Agency in N.C., Social Media in Wilmington N.C.
Posted in Marketing, Public Relations | Comments

Things We Love

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Debbie loves wii bowling – Most gizmos don’t live up to the hype, but this one sure does. I had my first wii experience on Saturday night at a neighbor’s cocktail party. From the avatars that looked like each of us to the real life feel of “throwing” the ball, I was hooked. And it was the best game I’ve ever bowled in my life. I scored 210! I’ve never broken 200. Not even close. Went straight home and started scouting online to see how much one costs. Technology continues to amaze me. Bowling, anyone?

Holly loves Postsecret.com – You might have heard of Post Secret the book, which is a collection of postcards that reveal the hidden secrets of hundreds of strangers, but now the author has created a blog that gives fans a weekly dose of secrets. The postcards expose feelings, events, messages and confessions that are often heartfelt and riveting. This blog has been successful because it is a unique concept that can’t be found anywhere else on the web. With so many blogs to choose from, all bloggers should realize that they must set themselves apart in order to shine.

Kelly loves CopyBlogger.com’s 10 Effective Ways to Get More Blog Subscribers – At Talk, we measure the success of our blog by our subscribers, even more than page views or actual traffic. CopyBlogger.com offers specific strategies you can implement today to increase the number of subscribers to your blog immediately. Assuming, of course, that you are already writing the absolute best content you possibly can, you will learn tried and true techniques such as starting a podcast, becoming a guest blogger on another site and using viral e-books. These tips helped Brian Clark of CopyBlogger.com obtain 6,000 subscribers to his blog in 10 months, and can certainly help you learn how to do the same.

Kirsty loves Ning. Ning.com powers the largest number of social networks on the Internet – Users across the globe are customizing their own social networks through Ning to interact with fans, raise awareness, exchange tips, connect with event attendees, network with professionals and find support. Sign up once to join whatever networks you like. My favorites are the Wilmington, N.C.-bases 3rd Street Plaza and networking guru Keith Ferrazzi’s Greenlight Community.

Shawn loves Venice From Above – Its always interesting so see something from a new perspective and these pictures are no exception. I don’t recall ever seeing photos of the “City of Water” from above. They are amazing and make me want to visit. Enjoy.

Susan loves Query Shark – This spare-time blog from literary agent Janet Reid is devoted to helping writers learn how to pitch their writing. While meant for authors, it is also a great resource for marketers and PR specialists. Her tips on word choice, not burying the lead, and sentence structure are invaluable to anyone who needs to get right to the point in a well-written way.

Tags: Copywriting, Social Media in Wilmington N.C.
Posted in Talk | Comments

An Online Marketer’s Reading List

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

The older I get, the more I realize I don’t know. Particularly these days, when online marketing is evolving at lightening speed. So I’ve been reading a lot lately. Not just a little. A LOT. Usually I’m good for one book at a time. But these past few weeks, the pile on my bedside table and on my desk has been growing steadily. Here’s a summary of the titles I’m enjoying right now. I hope you enjoy them too.
The Cluetrain Manifesto, The End of Business as Usual by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke (@clockerb), Doc Searls (@dsearls) and David Weinberger (@dweinberger) - The Cluetrain Manifesto began as a Web site (www.cluetrain.com) in 1999 when the authors, who have worked variously at IBM, Sun Microsystems, the Linux Journal, and NPR, posted 95 theses that pronounced what they felt was the new reality of the networked marketplace. According to Locke, “the fundamental principle of The Cluetrain Manifesto is that companies have been blind to the sea change that the Internet represents, and are desperately clinging to methods that workded wonders in the broadcast era but that are radically counterproductive online.”

The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott (@dmscott) — Scott argues that marketing’s old rules are becoming more and more irrelevant. With the decline of traditional mass media marketing (TV, radio, print), there are new opportunities online. Scott provides a guide to RSS, vodcasts and viral marketing, without neglecting the fact that technological wizardry can’t substitute for a well-thought out marketing program.

Groundswell by Charlene Li (@charleneli) and Josh Bernoff (@jbernoff) — These two Forrester Research analysts have created an excellent primer on social media (You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and how your company can participate — and benefit. The book will help you evaluate new social technologies and guide you on how to build these technologies into your business.

Search Engine Optimization Plain & Simple by Andrew S. Hazen, founder and CEO of Prime Visibility — An outstanding book on website optimization and search engine marketing. A step-by-step guide to making your website the number one result in customer searches on every search engine.

Web Design for ROI by Lance Loveday and Sandra Niehaus (@sandraniehaus) - A how-to book on how to design your website to maximize your ROI and how to get your website to increase your sales and leads by 10% to 50% or more.

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug (@skrug) — An easy-to-read book on how to create a website that allows users to surf merrily through a well-designed site without having to think too hard about how the site works. Krug uses a mix of color screen shots, cute cartoons and diagrams to make his points. Much of the content is devoted to proper use of conventions and content layout, and the “before and after” examples are superb.

Tags: Marketing, Social media, Social Media in Wilmington N.C.
Posted in Marketing, Public Relations, Talk | Comments

10 things every new twitterer should know

Friday, February 27th, 2009

As I was brainstorming topics for a Twitter post, I struggled to come up with a concept that other Tweeple haven’t written about yet. Google “Twitter tips” and you will spend an eternity searching through advice about how to integrate your life with this social networking tool. Much to my excitement, last night my husband, and budding social media afcianado, finally started a Twitter account (@rpiperusmc). So, to help him and other new users come to love Twitter as much as I do (@kpiper), here are 10 things you should know off the bat.

1. Twitter is a writing exercise. I think that’s why so many writers have caught on to the trend. Use your 140 characters wisely. Be intimate, be funny and be useful. This is hands down, the best way to gain new followers.

2. Build me up, buttercup (as in your Twitter page). Photos of people work best and be sure to fill out your profile so people know who you are. Finally, you don’t have to be a graphic designer to customize your page. There are plenty of free customizable tools on the net. Like @twitbacks, @tweetstyle, @BackTwounds.

3. This blog post was sponsored by the letters RT, D and the symbol @. Add an RT in front of a user’s name to attribute a tweet they posted that you want to share with your friends. Want to send someone a private message? Add a D. The @ symbol allows you to reply to someone in the Twitter’s open forum. Don’t forget to check your replies and direct messages habitually so you don’t miss out on conversations.

4. Follow me. Follow @cnnbrk for your news, @mrtweet for networking, @hubspot for SEO, @JuicyGossip for celeb news, @mashable for social media news.

5. Download a desktop client. Avoid the hassle of logging onto the Twitter website to manage your tweets. I recommend @twhirl for beginners and @TweetDeck for when you outgrow that.

6. Download mobile application for twittering on the go. For the iPhone: @Twitterific or @PocketTweets. Blackberry: @Orangatame’s TwitterBerry. All other smart/non-smart phones: @tinytwitter.

7. Thou shalt not Twitterbash, Twitterhate or Twittervent. Twitterbashing is unloading on people whether your know them or not. Twitterhating is criticizing a tweet in a public arena. And Twitterventing is telling everyone what a terrible day you’re having. Think of this as “don’t air your dirty laundry.”

8. Say cheese and be sure to use @TwitPic. Hands down the best way to share photos on Twitter.

9. For busy Tweeple, visit @tweetlater, where you can send automated “welcome” replies to your new followers and schedule up to 60 tweets in the future. Perfect for people looking to dole out advice over Twitter.

10. Hashtags are your friends. Wondering why someone types a pound sign and a phrase at the end of their tweet? They are setting up hashtags. Follow @hashtags and visit www.hashtags.org to add one, like #followfriday, when twitters suggest their favorite users to follow.

*Bonus Tip* Have fun with it! Every Twitter user uses it differently, so take my advice and let it marinate for a while until you learn how to best mesh Twitter with your lifestyle.

Tags: Social Media in Wilmington N.C., twitter
Posted in Talk | Comments

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