Businesses say they find Facebook, Twitter most useful social media tools

When asked to evaluate social media tools, slightly more businesses said they found Twitter (26.5%) useful when compared with those who prefer Facebook (24.5%). Both services were considered the most useful out of all the tools listed, with blogging coming in third at 15.1% and 17% saying they find none of the services helpful.

“It’s probably that they haven’t dedicated the right amount of time and thought to managing social media,” said Lyn Mettler, president ofStepAhead Inc., a Charleston public relations and marketing firm that specializes in brand awareness and social media. “I always say social media should be, in a dream world, a full-time job for somebody.”

She said companies use strategic social media campaigns to generate sales leads, interact with customers and build brand awareness, but it’s important to have reasonable and attainable expectations.

“If you expect it to bring you in just tons of business, that’s not goingto happen either. I think it’s a tool about building awareness of your brand,” Mettler said. “You have to be on there quite a lot and have a strategy.”

Mettler said a lot of people stumble because people think they can set up a free Facebook or Twitter account and post occasionally and generate a lot of sales leads.

“That’s when social media becomes a waste of time. You need to give it all you have or not do it at all,” she said.

Several large companies, such as Comcast and Blackbaud, use social media to interact with customers and handle problems by responding to online postings. Mettler said StepAhead manages customer service issues for Myrtle Beach Hotelsonline reservation service when there are problems with a room or a customer isn’t happy.

“We deal with customer service issues for them almost on a daily basis,” she said. “You’re top-of-mind, and you’re one click away.”

Several of the businesses that commented on the Daily Journal poll seemed to use several social media tools and understood what to expect from them.

One business uses Facebook to connect with potential customers.

“Facebook because the people there already know me and are sold when they contact me.”

Other comments:

• “Twitter has been a great way to get in front of potential clients and demonstrate our expertise.”
• “It’s more of a three-way tie: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn combined are more than the sum of their parts!”
• “Twitter can be useful for local virtual networking but LinkedIn has actually brought me new clients.”
• “Hard to give direct exact results — allows us an opportunity to communicate and listen.”

TweetDeck Adds Foursquare and Google Buzz!

Last week the world was introduced to the new version of TweetDeck, and we think these updates are more than just your standard upgrades. In fact, they could have a huge impact on the growth Foursquare and Google Buzz, not to mention there are some great tools to make Twitter infinitely more useful.

The new version of TweetDeck allows users to set up columns to monitor Google Buzz and Foursquare updates and allows you to add those profiles as accounts. In the Google Buzz column, users can “like,” comment and even email contacts directly from Tweetdeck. We’re very excited about the Foursquare column, which allows users to view updates in real time, see venue information (if they have specials, who’s there now), check in from a venue, insert a shout, view user badges and more! This will make Foursquare much more useful, easy and top of mind for Twitterers.

If that wasn’t enough to get you excited about the new version of Tweetdeck, they also added global filters, video uploads and update scheduling. Global filters allow you to create a filter to hide any messages that include keywords you don’t want to see, so your columns won’t be full of Justin Bieber updates, that is, unless you have Bieber Fever You can also now take a video with your Webcam and upload directly to Twitter, as well as schedule updates. Hallelujah! While other services allow you to do that, having it on Tweetdeck will keep you from having to log in to some other program if you’ve got a quick one you don’t want to forget about.

Have you downloaded the new version of TweetDeck? If not, visit www.tweetdeck.com to download it today. Let us know what you think!

Foursquare Ain’t No Fad and Here’s Why

I’m a big fan of Foursquare (just ask any of my co-workers ) and believe that it’s about to really take off. Check out my TwitterMoms post about why I think Foursquare “ain’t no fad.” Please weigh in and let’s a debate going!

Twitter Triumphs in Customer Service

Twitter is used by businesses in many different ways, including creating awareness, increasing sales, promoting events and meeting customer service complaints head on. Great customer service is usually thought of as an oxymoron, and most folks are thrilled when encountering even mediocre customer service. This deficit in the customer service world can be supplemented with the use of social media tools, such as Twitter.

Social media tools allow businesses to respond quickly to issues and complaints, reach out directly to customers and showcase their level of support to the online community. A company that is doing a fantastic job of using Twitter as part of their customer support arsenal is Comcast Cable. In 2008, Frank Eliason, a customer service manager at Comcast decided to reach out to customers via Twitter, and the company hasn’t looked back since. Eliason’s twitter account, @comcastcares, supplies Comcast customers with the immediacy and personal attention they seek.

I experienced this phenomenal customer service first hand. Last week, after receiving my Comcast bill in the mail, I decided to shop around for prices on cable and Internet. I found a great deal with DIRECTV and called Comcast customer support to see if they could match it. They said no!

Frustrated, I turned to Twitter! Later that evening, after 9 p.m., I sent a tweet to @comcastcares, stating that I was thinking of switching to DIRECTV, but wanted to stay a Comcast customer, and could they help me out. About 10 minutes later, I received a tweet back from @comcastcares, asking me to email all the details to a Comcast customer service agent. I immediately emailed them all the details of my account and what DIRECTV would offer.

The next night a customer service agent from the local Comcast customer service office called me and offered to lower my rate even more than DIRECTV would! I was completely surprised and very happy with the news. After the phone call, I tweeted about how much I loved Comcast and how I was going to stay a loyal customer, and now a whole blog is dedicated to this short but sweet Twitter interaction.

Am I happy with Comcast? Yes. Would I have switched to DIRECTV if they hadn’t sent that tweet? Yes, I had my appointment all set up.

This just goes to show that when considering adding social media to your marketing and public relations department, don’t forget it’s a great customer service and customer retention tool, as well. Have you had any customer service interactions on Twitter?

Social Media is Just One Big Referral Network

Hop onto Twitter or Facebook pretty much any evening during prime time and you’re almost certain to see some friends posting comments or tweeting about TV shows. Who hasn’t seen many a comment about Lost or Glee? In fact, I’ve seen so many comments about Glee, I’ve thought about watching it just to see what all the hype is about. Those friend recommendations piqued my interest more than any TV commercial I saw about the show.

That’s the power of social media. And it’s a power NBC is harnessing as it continues its “Fan It” initiative into the 2010-2011 TV season. Fans signs up on the NBC website and then earn points for talking about NBC shows on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Points are good for NBC merchandise (wonder how many points I’d need for an Office bobblehead?) or for entries into mega contests (wonder how many points I’d need to appear on Parks & Recreation?).

In an Associated Press article last week, Adam Stotsky, president of NBC Entertainment Marketing, is quoted as saying, “A recommendation from a friend is infinitely more powerful than any message we can put out through conventional marketing channels.”

That’s sums up nicely what social media is all about and why it’s critical for businesses to be part of the landscape. Social media has expanded the concept of word-of-mouth marketing beyond asking our neighbors to recommend a good plumber into a global network of referrals.

If your business isn’t paying attention to social media, it’s missing an opportunity to reach potential customers, reward them for their business and respond to their questions or complaints. Last week I asked on Twitter if anyone could recommend a good company to pressure wash my house. I received a recommendation from a Twitter follower so plan to call that business this week.

What would have made that example even more powerful is if this particular pressure washing business was on Twitter and could have reached out to me directly, possibly offering a free estimate or a discount.

I applaud NBC for recognizing the massive referral system that is social media and hope it serves as an example to other businesses that engaging your customers, rewarding them for their efforts and thinking beyond conventional marketing channels has to be a part of your business plan.

On the Menu

Regulars of the Mustard Seed, Boulevard Diner and other Charleston-area Dine With Sal restaurants can get ready to tweet, “like” and “check in.”

The popular restaurant group, which owns nine local restaurants, has engaged Step Ahead Inc., a local firm that specializes in social media marketing, to launch a social media campaign.

The campaign will include a Dine With Sal Facebook page, Twitter account and Foursquare profile. Foursquare is a smart phone application that lets users “check in” at different locations to win points and see where their friends are. Users who frequent a particular spot more than anyone else in a given week become the mayor, and users also have the opportunity to earn “badges” for various activities.

Locals can soon look for specials for those who “check in” on Foursquare and for “mayors” of the group’s restaurants.

“We’ve noticed our customers are becoming more active on their smart phones, ‘tweeting,’ checking in on Foursquare and other activities,” said Sal Parco, owner of Dine With Sal Restaurant Group. “We decided it’s time to reach out to them through tools they enjoy using and feel like this is a very powerful way to directly connect with our customers and encourage new and repeat visits. We’re really excited to see the response to this campaign.”

Dine With Sal restaurants include Mustard Seed, with locations in Summerville and Mount Pleasant and on James Island; Boulevard Diner on James Island and in Mount Pleasant; and Sette, Uno Mas, Long Point Grill and the Village Bakery in Mount Pleasant.

http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/news/34174-on-the-menu-for-may-11-2010

Selling Social Media to the Boss

Getting your boss to sign off on a social  media campaign can oftentimes be about as easy as putting a man on the moon!

Check out this post on our client Spirit Telecom’s No Static Blog with tips on how to approach higher ups and sell them on the benefits of social media. First on the list: don’t use the phrase “social media”!

How did you sell your boss on social media?

Dine With Sal Hires Step Ahead Inc. to Launch Social Media Campaign

CHARLESTON, S.C. –  Regulars of the Mustard Seed, Boulevard Diner and other Dine With Sal Charleston-area restaurants can get ready to tweet, “like” and “check  in.” The popular restaurant group, who owns nine local restaurants, has engaged Step Ahead, Inc., a local firm that specializes in social media marketing, to launch a social media campaign.

The campaign will include a Dine With Sal Facebook page, Twitter account and Foursquare profile. Foursquare is a smart phone application that lets users “check in” at different locations to win points and see where their friends are. Users who frequent a particular spot more than anyone else in a given week become the mayor, and users also have the opportunity to earn fun “badges” for various activities. Locals can soon look for specials for those who “check in” on Foursquare and for “mayors” of the group’s restaurants.

“We’ve noticed our customers are becoming more active on their smart phones, ‘tweeting,’ checking in on Foursquare and other activities,” says Sal Parco, owner of Dine With Sal Restaurant Group. “We decided it’s time to reach out to them through tools they enjoy using and feel like this is a very powerful way to directly connect with our customers and encourage new and repeat visits. We’re really excited to see the response to this campaign!”

Dine With Sal is a local restaurant group owned and operated by Sal Parco. Restaurants include: Mustard Seed (with locations in Summerville, Mount Pleasant and James Island), Boulevard Diner (with locations in James Island and Mount Pleasant), and Sette, Uno Mas, Long Point Grill and the Village Bakery – all located in Mount Pleasant. For more information, visit www.dinewithsal.com.

About Step Ahead Inc.
Step Ahead, Inc. is a Charleston, S.C.-based company that combines the best of traditional public relations with social media and Internet marketing to help maximize visibility for clients both online and off. The company’s clients include Spirit Telecom of Columbia, Myrtle Beach National resorts, Charming Inns of Charleston, Charleston Parks Conservancy, Golf Island of Hilton Head, Sunset Rentals of Hilton Head, SpiritLine Cruises, Dine With Sal restaurant group and others. The company has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur magazine, as well as on MSNBC.com and SmartMoney.com. Visit www.stepaheadinc.com or call (843) 606-0226 for more information.

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Additional articles of interest:

Inc. Magazine: How to Make Money on Foursquare

New York Times: Linking Customer Loyalty With Social Networking

Social Media: A Full Time Job

The good news about social media is that businesses are finally understanding that it needs to be a part of their marketing plans; the bad news is they aren’t allotting enough resources to make it really work for them.

If I had a dime for every poor PR person who I see straddled with the job of keeping the company Facebook and Twitter page updated, I’d be a rich woman.  I used to be the company PR person and I know how much that person is already carrying on their shoulders. Often their job entails: marketing, community relations, event planning, advertising, employee relations, government relations … oh, and that little thing called media relations, which by itself can be a full time job for a decent-sized company. Social media has now gotten thrown into the mix.

Now, if you had to pick an existing job to add social media duties to, PR is definitely the one I’d choose. Afterall, those people understand the company’s brand and message, and hopefully are skilled communicators and writers. But it’s matter of time – and social media takes a lot of it!

So what’s the solution? I whole-heartedly believe if companies truly want to do social media right (and to me, there’s no point in doing it any other way, because it just becomes a waste of money when the results don’t match expectations) they need to either 1) Add a new position whose job is entirely social media (and better yet, create a social media team) or 2) Hire a social media firm with proven success.

Adding it to a plate that is already full is a recipe for disaster and is the reason why social media sometimes gets a bad rap for its bottom-line results. You can’t expect that by posting to your Facebook page once a week, taking several days to respond questions and comments, and linking your Twitter account to Facebook, which always cuts off your posts because they’re too long for Twitter, to cut muster.

The only time it really works to add to an existing job is if you can find someone extremely into social media, who’s willing to be on at home, check in on their phone while out and generally be on all the time. That does happen occasionally, but you want to be sure that person doesn’t ignore their original job duties and that they don’t burn out.

The benefits of paying someone to do social media are:

1) That is their sole focus, so other duties aren’t neglected.  Social media is no longer a distraction.

2) They can keep accounts updated multiple times daily.

3) They can quickly respond to questions, comments and complaints.

4) They can proactively monitor tools like Twitter and Foursquare for mentions of the company and for prospective customers and interact with them, rather just be in reactionary mode.

5) They have time to brainstorm creative promotions.

6) They can stay up to date on the changes in social media (which goodness knows is a daily occurrence) and adapt campaigns accordingly.

7) They can put together a plan with goals, strategies and tactics.

They can compile and review metrics to see what’s working well and what isn’t.

What do you think? Should social media be added to an existing job? If so, who’s? If not, should you add a job? Hire a firm? In a future post, I’ll offer some tips on what to look for when hiring an outside company to manage your social media presence.