Driving Tourists to Lowcountry Beaches

Even during tough economic times, the sound of the surf can be enticing. A new study says Americans are still flocking to the beaches, but it also says our national treasure should be treated more like a gem.

Summer vacation. a family tradition, but this year, a little pricier than years past.

“This is the week where it goes from summer season to sport season, so every condo and house out here probably drops by about a $1,000,” said David Weaver who’s visiting from Michigan.

Vacationers visiting the Lowcountry have already made August one of the busiest months rental companies have ever seen. But that attraction is not exactly being capitalized on.

“This seems to be a little, maybe in Michigan, a well kept secret which I think could use probably a better effort to publicize,” said Weaver.

A new study has found healthy beaches mean a healthy tourist economy for the U.S., but it also found a lack of investment in coastal infrastructure and international marketing. U.S. beaches contribute $320 billion to the U.S. economy every year.

That number is more than 25 times what National Parks bring in. Yet, the federal contribution, used to maintain beaches is less than 4 percent of the nation’s annual park service budget.

“I don’t know if funding the beaches is really a drop in the bucket of addressing the issues that face our economy,” said Larry Schwartz of Virginia.

Though researchers have highlighted the gains millions of dollars in advertising has made for foreign countries. Should the same happen here, Lyn Mettler says the strategy is online.

“Everyone is online and I think they should invest some of their marketing dollars, less on traditional advertising and put the money towards trying new technologies,” said Mettler.

She says Facebook, My Space, even trip advisor blogs are all effective ways to keep tourists coming and costs down.

The study was published in the latest edition of Shore & Beach magazine.

Should Brands Twitter?

(and if so, how?)

This is a question that Bud, Lyn and I discussed for our clients at Step Ahead. Being pretty evangelical about Twitter, we wanted to try and figure out how best to use it. Short answer? We don’t know.

Rodney Rumford has a great post ‘33 Brands that Suck on Twitter‘ – the basic premise being that most top brands, Budweiser, Disney, Marlboro, etc have either had their Twitter name hijacked, or they’ve claimed it and then failed to use it.

My initial thought was, what a waste! Here are a whole host of companies that are failing to interact with their customers. They’re missing the boat, stuck in the past, and many other cliches, but after giving it some thought, that might be too harsh.

There are a few companies that are doing Twitter well – Comcast and Dell both received press for using Twitter to respond to customer complaints for instance – but, not coincidentally, they are both in the tech field, where many Twitterers are. They can monitor for “Comcast sucks!” and try and help. But how exactly would that work for Marlboro?

Further, it isn’t specifially DELL that is writing, but Richard at Dell. He can engage in conversations without having to worry about misrepresenting the corporate overlords. Similar to the way Matt Cutts can blog about being a Google insider, and offer tips, news, etc, but all the while he makes it clear that the opinions are those of him as an individual not those of Google as a publically traded company.

So, how can companies use Twitter? Well, possibly as a replacement for RSS -linking to their latest blog post, or news release – which, while not groundbreaking, I actually find quite useful for keeping up to date on things. I don’t necessarily need to have a conversation with everyone! Beyond that, it’s time to use your imagination, think about who you want to attract and give them what they want.

I looked at a few top brands that *are* using Twitter to find out how they are approaching things.

• Quickbooks seem to be using it as a somewhat interactive training tool, with links to webinars, Q&As, videos and things.
• M&Ms have tried to use Twitter to create an identity of the Green M&M character, which I’m not sure works perfectly, but at least is an attempt at something different.
• Whole Foods is probably the best corporate use I’ve seen. They are actively engaging in conversations with their followers, joining in rather than just selling, and it seems to work for them – at the time of writing they have over 2600 followers!

So, we’re back to the begining. Should Brands Twitter? Maybe. I guess it depends on your brand and customers, but like with blogging, I think you’d be much better to not Tweet at all, than do it half-heartedly…I’m looking at you, MGM Grand!

Social Media Failing You? Here’s What to Do

I recently had a colleague, whom I’d presented a Web PR plan a few months ago, come back to me to say she just wasn’t getting the clients she expected from her social media efforts. So what gives?

I really put some thought to her dilemma, because for me this stuff works great, and thought you could benefit from my suggestions to her, as well.

So if social media ain’t working, try these tips:
1) Start Twittering!
As I have uttered many a time, Twitter has pretty much taken all the other Web 2.0 tools I use and put them into overdrive. It’s a perfect way to choose your target audience (follow who you want to hear you and who you want to learn from) and promote your blog, your events, and overall position yourself as the expert you are.

2) Cross-promote.
All these things work best together, not as isolated entities. Link to your Facebook page on your blog. Promote your blog posts on Twitter and in your Facebook status. Ask people to follow you on Twitter on MySpace. Link to your blog on your YouTube Channel. You get the picture. The more you cross-promote, the bigger this stuff builds.

3) Put the pieces together.
Use programs like FriendFeed that help you manage all this stuff under one roof. Link to your YouTube channel, your RSS feeds, your podcast, your blog, your Facebook page, Twitter, blah, blah, blah, here and people can truly follow EVERYTHING you’re doing.

4) Make time for this stuff.
I know you all are not the type to just set up your profiles and never go there again, but I’m betting you’re still not spending enough time on a lot of these tools to seem like you’re really “present.” If you don’t seem present, people will stop paying attention to you. Set aside 45 minutes to an hour each day and dedicate yourself to engaging this stuff. It seems like a lot, but you want it to work, don’t you?

5) It goes both ways.
Want people to comment on your blog? Comment on theirs every so often. Be active and interact. Leave a note on someone’s Facebook wall, add a video comment to their YouTube video, be a fan of their Facebook page, write a positive recommendation on LinkedIn. I promise they’ll pay you back in spades. Listen and you will be listened to.

6) Check your stats.
Make sure you have some analytics tool like Google Analytics so you can check to see what’s working for you and what isn’t. If you’re getting loads of referrals everytime you post a blog entry in your Facebook status, keep doing that! Pay attention to what key words people are searching that send them to your page. Try to do more blog posts that use those words.

7) Remember this is a PR tool, not a sales tool.
So the goal here is really to build awareness and position yourself in a certain manner, not directly drive sales. That’s up to you. This stuff will drive people to your Web site, your blog, your Facebook profile, but once they get there it’s up to you to close the deal.

Got any other tips? Let me know if these work for you.

Prank Calls…Web 2.0 Style

It is often said that the pr0n industry is at the cutting edge of any new technology, well if that’s true, then the jokers are not far behind.

Have you ever wanted to make a prank phone call but found yourself too busy? Well, never fear, Getmooh.com is here.  Simply enter the number you want them to call, along with a time, then select your message and you’re all set – you can have Alec Baldwin give your mom an abusive phone call for absolutely nothing!

Of course, it doesn’t have to be for prank calls. They also suggest you can use their service to escape from a tricky date (“I’m so sorry, I have to run, my room mate has lost his keys”), or send a ‘funny’ birthday message to a friend. The possibilities are endless. Especially as you can record and submit your own message for others to use if they wish.

Don’t you feel lucky to live in the 21st Century?

Six Degrees = Social Networking Success

You may have read a week or so ago the big news that scientists actually proved that like the oft-played game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” any person is indeed only 6.6 degrees separated from any other person. While that is truly an amazing fact, I can’t say it surprised me. I cannot believe how often I come upon someone my husband or I know or who knows someone we know.

Shortly after I read that, I had a really weird, but really cool, six-degree moment. I found a former colleague from many moons ago on LinkedIn and made her one of my connections. Well, one of her connections saw that, checked me out and came to realize we’ve followed the same geographic path throughout our lives. When I was in high school in Kentucky, she was in college there. When I moved to Cincinnati to work, she had too. And now she lives in South Carolina working as an independent PR practitioner and knows some fellow PR acquaintances of mine up in Greenville. And even though we were on parallel life paths, we never would have met each other had it not been for LinkedIn.

Which brings me to my point. Why does social networking work? Because we are all so closely connected anyway. We may just not know it. Social networking makes it apparent. There’s a quote from Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, about social networking “digitizing your social life.” It does that and it also makes it more efficient. Instead of hearing about a friend of a friend and having to remember them or make a mental note to call them when you need their service, now you can always be connected online with all their info. right at your fingertips and their Web site or email one click away.

It is a small world after all.

Happy 8-8-08

I really liked this idea from Charleston blogger Allisson Skipper, of eight things she’s into right now, so I thought I’d play along. In no particular order:

1. The Wire on DVD. My all time favorite show. I watched them all originally on HBO, but now I have my neighbors hooked on it, I’m re-watching with them. It’s just incredible the things you spot on a second look – plot lines that are subtly begun whole seasons in advance. And it’s still just as funny/moving/scary/etc each time.

2. Fantasy Football. Pre-season games have begun, so it’s time to start the research. I was terrible in one league last year, but won in my other one. Determined to do better this season, so I’m starting my reading now. And, of course, there’s the all important matter of picking the perfect team name. Any suggestions?!

3. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson. I first read it about 8 years ago, but I seem to go back to it every couple of years. It’s by far the geekiest book I own (from Wikipedia “(it contains) some highly technical and detailed descriptions of modern cryptography and information security, and subjects ranging from prime numbers and modular arithmetic to Van Eck phreaking.”) – but sometimes it’s fun to be a geek!

4. Twitter. If you’re already using it, then you know. If you’re not, you don’t see the point. I understand. *But*, give it a try! It’s so easy, and fun, you can actually forget that it’s a great tool for interacting with pretty much anyone. People who wouldn’t normally open your email will be replying to your tweets, if you have anything interesting to say.

5. Jott. You know when you’re driving and you suddenly remember that email you forgot to send? That’s when you need Jott. One quick call from your cell phone, and you can have Jott send it for you. Or you can set it to text you a reminder. Or you can create a shopping list as you run out of things. Or update your Facebook. Or search Amazon. Or, well, you get the idea. It’s so useful, that’s why it’s my favorite Web 2.0 tool.

6. English soccer. Or football as we call it. The season starts this weekend, so I’m full of optimism about Liverpool’s chances to claim a first title in almost 20 years. I’ll be depressed and disappointed by October probably, but right now the dream is still alive!

7. Big Brother. I’m so embarrassed. Each season I promise myself I won’t watch, as it’s the worst kind of trash television, but somehow I find myself in the room when it’s on, and that’s it.  I’m hooked again.  Oh well, at least now that I’ve ‘come out’ I can cheer for Catholic School Teacher Dan with a clear conscience.

8. Spaced. Finally got a US release on DVD after many years of waiting.  And with tons of extras (a whole DVD’s worth in fact) I’m so happy! If you liked Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, you should definitely check out the show where it all began.

Lyn Makes the Wall Street Journal

I can’t help it. I have to brag…a little. Last Sunday, I was quoted in an article in the Sunday Journal, a syndication of the Wall Street Journal that some 75 papers across the country subscribe to and include in their Sunday Business Section.

The article discussed how small businesses can use social media to market and promote themselves, a topic I know well and certainly love to talk about. It gives you the basics to get started, but check out my other blog posts for more in depth information on what you really need to know to best use this medium.

Lots of folks have been “Tweeting” and blogging about the article. Here’s a sampling of what they had to say. Please weigh in on your thoughts, as well on their blogs or mine.

Idaho Beauty’s Creative Journey Blog

“The thing that struck me was, after mentioning the various networking options, [the article] relayed advice from Lyn Mettler of Step Ahead Web Strategies: ‘…it’s important that businesses don’t use social media to directly try to sell their products.’ And then quotes her directly: ‘Clearly, these tools are about being authentic and not selling.’ This advice came as a surprise since I am aware of artists who successfully sell art on their blogs and I was considering doing the same.”

Jakob Morgan’s Marketing Ideas and Rants

“While I do think it is important to go out and experiment with various social media strategies I think it also very important to understand why you are getting involved in social media. Not only that, but you need to be clever with how you want to reach your users. Putting up videos, updating twitter 10x a day, writing a blog, etc. does not mean that you are going to be successful in social media.”

AMA Lunch in Charleston

Kudos to the Charleston AMA, who continue to impress with their lunch time speakers.

I just got back from Mt Pleasant after hearing Bill Leake of  Apogee Search and it was certainly worth the 200+ mile round trip.

Bill did a great job of explaining in very simple terms the factors and processes involved in achieving good search engine visibility. He is (obviously) very knowledgeable, quite amusing without being corny, and comfortable with the mic. All in all, exactly what you would want in a speaker.

So, as the SIMS Agency is also in the field of SEO, why was I so pleased to hear someone do a better job of explaining things than I could? Well, a few reasons really:

1. I am in no way a competitor of Apogee search. Whereas our clients our small-mid sized businesses, Bill works with the likes of Dell and Olive Garden.
2. I often feel that one of the things I could most improve upon would be explaining things to clients in a non-technical (or not overly technical) way. Bill certainly did this, and I feel like I learned something from his presentation.
3. Validation! At each step of the talk there was the confirmation that the way the SIMS Agency approaches things is the way he was recommending. This is a very comforting thing to know, especially for SEO where the topic is clouded by years of myths, lies, confusion and misinformation.

Many thanks to every one who helped organize this. I hope other people found it as helpful as I did.

Twitter Awards

Hey Twitter aficionados! I’ve got a challenge for you. Just exactly how creative can you be in just 140 characters? What if there’s an award in it for you?

That’s right, welcome to The Twitties, the awards for Twitterers. Feel free to nominate someone for the best “tweets” in 20 categories, such as “funniest tweet,” “best putdown,” “best flirtation” and more. You can even write something clever and nominate yourself. Voting starts September 1.

Want a taste of what’s been nominated so far for inspiration?

dunstan A pigeon flew into the side of my head today as I stared at a startlingly attractive girl on the street. I think my girlfriend sent the bird

hotdogsladies While I don’t typically fantasize about being with multiple women, I might be persuaded if they were all wearing KISS makeup.

Come on folks, I think we can do much better than that! Get to tweetin’ and nominatin’. Winners declared Oct. 1.

Create a Business Twitter Feed

I know by now you get that Twitter really is not just about What Are You Doing? as they ask on their home page. It really has become a feed of sorts, similar to an RSS feed, that you can populate with content on a particular subject.

Businesses (smart ones, and I know you are a smart business too) are starting to set up their very own Twitter feeds and allowing interested customers or potential customers or employees or whomever to follow them.

For example, if you live in Charleston (as do I) and want to stay up to date on the latest hurricanes, follow @hurricanes on Twitter.

I also read the other day that the Prime Ministers office in Great Britain has a Twitter feed. Follow him at what else but @downingstreet. On Sunday, for example you could follow the nuances of Gordon Brown’s meeting with Barack Obama. Nifty.

Southwest and JetBlue both have Twitter feeds. Follow them for travel tips, weather updates, airport problems, etc. Note, Delta has one, but is hasn’t been updated in about a year. Don’t do that.

Nonprofits are on there. What a great way to stay in front of your donors or recruit volunteers? See American Heart Association and animal rescue organization Dogs Trust.

A fun one: Ms. Green, the M&M. This is a great one! Very clever.

And my very favorite, just click here and see where it takes you (hint, must have grown up in the 80s to truly appreciate).

So you get the gist. Tons of businesses are twittering for promotion and if you can do so genuinely and cleverly, you should be too!

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