Conquering the Web: Lyn Mettler

After successfully starting one company, Lyn Mettler’s entrepreneurial drive prompted her to tackle a second company.

With her public relations firm, Mettler Public Relations, established, Mettler saw the potential for another company in a similar vein, but with an online component.

She wanted to tap into the bevy of technological strategies, such as blogging, micro-blogging and social networking, to boost brand awareness.

“I started recommending these Web tools to clients but got stuck because they didn’t know how to use the tools,” Mettler said.

So in October, she partnered with Bud Di Maggio and Simon Ashton of the SIMS Agency to create Step Ahead Web Strategies. They now are able to take clients from start to finish using Web tools, and they can maintain them if needed.

Mettler personalizes a Web PR plan for each of her clients and includes tools such as blogs, social networking sites, Twitter and podcasts. She emphasizes how clients can strategically use these tools to increase the company’s Web presence.

One of her recent clients was Golf Island, a partnership between the Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce and a Hilton Head Island-based association of golf courses. The association wants to bring golf tourism to Hilton Head Island, so Mettler created Facebook and MySpace pages for it and makes sure the content stays fresh. She also ensures continued communication between users and the company.

For example, if someone writes in with a question for a golf pro, Mettler makes sure it gets answered and posted.

“Once people make contact, it’s important to keep up that communication,” she said.

It’s basic public relations: Manage and monitor the company’s reputation and see what customers are saying.

“The wonderful part is that most of this is free, but you have to factor in the value of time,” she said.

Online sites are great, Mettler said, because they’re like “online watercoolers” where you can see what people are saying about your company. And seeing negative feedback can be useful, she said, because companies can address issues if necessary or clarify concerns on their blogs.

Mettler approaches this new online venue for public relations and marketing with a solid background. In 2001, before the advent of Web 2.0 brought even more functionality and integration to the Internet, she earned a certificate in Web design from Purdue University.

It’s a subject she’s taken an interest in, especially relating to her PR world.

“I saw the winds of change coming in,” she said.

To stay current with the ever-changing virtual arena, she immerses herself in these technologies and reads up on the new tools and trends. In realizing that technology is more specialized than ever, and one size does not fit all, she tailors plans for her clients.

For the downtown restaurant Circa 1886, she created video podcasts of the chef cooking dishes and posted them on video-sharing Web sites such as YouTube. As a result, people would come into the restaurant after seeing the video and ask for whatever dish was featured in it.

Mettler has taken her own advice and used social networking to get into The Wall Street Journal.

After she read an article about small businesses using online strategies for marketing, Mettler wanted to let the reporter know what she felt had been left out of the story. Eschewing e-mail as overcrowded, she sent the reporter a message via Facebook introducing herself and pitching her idea about social networking tools as marketing devices. The reporter messaged her back, and Mettler was quoted in the article that followed.

“I practice what I preach,” she said.

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.

Use Social Media to Bond With Consumers

By KELLY K. SPORS

(Click to See Original Article)

Do you tweet on Twitter? Or network on Ning?

A new and growing array of tongue-twisting tools and technologies is available to help people easily interact and share information online.

While it may be tempting to avoid these obscurely named technologies, there’s good reason for small businesses to learn what they are and how to use them: So-called social media can help small firms to better connect with and market themselves to consumers and others in their industries. And they’re often free.

Here are some tips to making social media work for your business:

Experiment

The best way to figure out what value social-media tools can have for your business is to try them out. You usually just go to a site and sign up for a free account. And most offer quick tutorials.

Experiment with a few to determine which site or technology helps you best connect with your customers or generate the most traffic. Analytics tools provided by the programs can show how many visitors you’re getting daily and where they’re coming from.

Twitter.com allows users to post on a profile page updates on their whereabouts or activities from either a computer or mobile phone. “Followers” then subscribe to your Twitter updates, or tweets, and even have them scroll across the bottom of their Web browser.

Ning.com users can launch their own online social network around any topic or business. They then can invite others to join and create profile pages with photos so people can discuss and swap information.

Social-networking sites Facebook and MySpace also allow businesses to create profiles and form a “group,” or special page, for people interested in connecting with them online.

Another option: Write a blog or produce a podcast. Blogs allow you to post information about yourself, your business or anything related to your industry. Readers can comment, subscribe to your posts, or forward them to others. Networking sites Digg.com and Del.icio.us allow users to mark content they like and let others know about it.

Luke Burgis, chief executive of FitFuel.com, a Las Vegas-based Web site with 20 employees that sells health and fitness goods, uses Twitter to post about five daily updates. Most are personal and not directly related to the business, such as concerts he went to or random thoughts.

The benefit, he says, is keeping customers connected to the business all the time and letting them see that he’s “human.” And it gives people the ability to ask him questions. Mr. Burgis says he has about 800 “followers” on Twitter.

He also uses a feature on Twitter that lets him see what others are writing about FitFuel on their Twitter pages. “We sort of have that personal connection with customers we wouldn’t otherwise get,” he adds.

Build Usage

Social media will benefit your business only if people actually use them to keep in touch with you. So you need to promote it.

Sending customers and associates emails about your new blog or MySpace page isn’t enough. You also should look for ways to advertise them in different places.

For instance, you might post a link at the bottom of all emails you send out or link to it whenever you post a message on a blog or online forum. And encourage users to invite their friends to check you out. Also, your business Web site should offer links to all your social-media applications.

Elizabeth Bailey, an event planner in Baltimore, started a blog last year on which she posts photos from events she organized, vendor recommendations, articles on event planning and tips.

At first, she sent emails out to customers and acquaintances. Now, she also includes a link in her email signature and mentions the blog in conversations with new customers and vendors. She currently gets about 2,000 unique visitors a month.

“It’s really given credibility to us as a business,” Ms. Bailey says.

Keep It Fresh

Once you’ve gotten the word out, you’ll need to build user loyalty. That means finding ways to keep people coming back for more.

Content should be updated frequently, preferably daily, and be interesting or useful to users. It also doesn’t hurt to add a variety of tools that followers can use, such as the ability to invite other people and post photos, videos and comments. The more interactive and thought-provoking or fun the content, the more likely users will return.

Lyn Mettler, founder of Step Ahead Web Strategies, a Mt. Pleasant, S.C., social-media consultant, says it’s important that businesses don’t use social media to directly try to sell their products. Instead, a business should try to use them to interact with users on a more personal level and show that the firm really understands customers’ minds. Social media can also help position business owners as “experts” in their fields.

“Clearly, these tools are about being authentic and not selling,” she says.

Businesses also shouldn’t fear or remove negative comments, as they help create a well-rounded discussion and help the business address customer gripes head on. “You need to be conversational and allow some negative comments and react to them,” Ms. Mettler adds. “You have to let go of control a little here.”

Be a YouTube Star With Step Ahead Web Strategies

Share Your Favorite Social Media Tools Via Video

MT PLEASANT, S.C.—From Facebook to Flickr and from MySpace to YouTube, almost everyone these days uses social media as part of either their work or personal lives. Step Ahead Web Strategies, a Mt Pleasant-based company that works with organizations to creatively engage Web 2.0 tools, is inviting the public to submit a video describing their favorite social media tool and why as part of a fun summer initiative.

The company has already gathered a handful of videos from folks in a variety of industries offering up their favorites, including Pandora, Facebook, Twitter, Jott, blogging and more.

“Whether you blog about your favorite celebrity, share family photos on Flickr or keep up with your friends and colleagues via Facebook, almost everyone has their favorite social media tool that’s made a difference in their lives,” says Lyn Mettler, president of Step Ahead Web Strategies. “In true Web 2.0 style, we’ve invited the public to take a break from work or the kids and share their favorites by submitting a fun video on YouTube. Who knows? Maybe we’ll all learn about some great new tools out there.”

People who would like to submit a video should visit the company’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/lynmettler. They can then post a video response to any of the existing videos or simply upload their video and tag it “stepahead”. The company will edit the best responses into a video to be posted on their Web site this fall. Visit www.stepaheadwebstrategies.com for complete details and information on the summer initiative.

About Step Ahead Web Strategies
Step Ahead Web Strategies offers clients a comprehensive online strategy from a public relations and marketing perspective. The company helps businesses and organizations expand their Web presence beyond their Web site, engaging the latest and most innovative technologies, including online video, social networking, search engine optimization, blogs, Podcasting and more, to reach their target audiences with the right message. To date, the company has worked with European tour company Breakaway Adventures, the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Golf Island, Sunset Rentals, Charming Inns of Charleston, Positus Consulting and Decorum, LLC. Visit www.stepaheadwebstrategies.com or call (843) 388-8376 for more information.

Does Your Store Need a Blog?

“Blog marketing presents a new medium to generate better customer communications and better public relations,” declares Eugene Fram, the J. Warren McClure Research Professor of Marketing at Rochester Institute of Technology. Despite its promise, few retailers have established a blog. Three experts look at their potential benefits and risks.

How It Works
A blog (originally called “web log”) is an interactive electronic site for sharing opinions or information. Readers are invited to post spontaneous comments that other visitors can read. Blogs are easy to start, fairly simple to operate, and increasingly common. Already, eight out of ten Americans know what a blog is and have visited at least one, according to Web Pro news. Every day, 175,000 new ones are created.

Blogs let a retailer develop a more personal customer connection. Two-way communication, says Kim Sheehan, Assoc. Professor of Communications and Marketing at the University of Oregon in Eugene, is “an opportunity to hear from customers in response to what you’re talking about. You can ask questions and invite them to respond. It’s a great way to start a conversation.”

You can set up a blog with free, user-friendly tools at www.blogger.com, www.wordpress.com, or www.typepad.com. Although a blog can have its own website, a link to it from Home Page encourages visitors to see what your customers are saying. A blog might have a theme, such as Customer Satisfaction, advises Lyn Mettler, president of Step Ahead Web Strategies in Charleston, SC. “Customers feel they’re being heard, without having to wait on the phone. You have a chance to tell about a possible new product line or service, and ask for their feedback. It’s like a focus group, on-line.”

A blog is predominantly a conversation, and shouldn’t read like a marketing or promotion tool. If you only use it to sell, people will be turned off immediately. “Your goal is to engage people, and show your store’s personality,” Ms. Mettler emphasizes.

Your postings can be brief, conversational, and casual, such as thoughts on a story you saw about something new in your industry, or High Point high-lights. “Be creative. Read other email newsletter for ideas. You could talk about trends in home furnishings, like What’s In/ What’s Out for Summer,” Ms. Mettler suggests.

“Anything you do on-line must have ‘social glue’ – what you and your customers have in common, whatever will draw people in,” says Ms. Sheehan.

“What kind of home furnishings information can you share? An example is new environmentally-friendly ways to produce or care for furniture. If you have an in-house decorator, post a weekly Quick Tip on how to update home décor.”

A new posting can take 15 minutes or less. Ms. Sheehan finds five sentences sufficient, starting as simply as, ‘Here’s what someone asked at the store. I thought you might be interested.’ “People want to know that someone is present on the other side of the computer. You can put photos, too. If you have a great new display, put in on your blog and say, ‘here’s our room idea.”

Get employees involved, and share responsibility, she stresses. “Talk to people! Ask staff members what they’re interested in, what they see customers interested in at the store. Then you can ask them to write something for the blog.”

Time and Cost Requirements
The best blog entries are entertaining and quick to read. Relationship building depends on how often customers blog and how often the retailer replies. Operation a blog does take some time, to read it and sift through comments, Professor Fram concedes. Because things more fast on-line, it’s important to update a blog at least twice a week. To maintain credibility, “be able to respond immediately. It won’t look good if someone posts a comment and isn’t answered for a week,” Ms. Mettler cautions.

While blogs are free to set up, the required investment is either time or a consulting service. Ms. Mettler started her company Step Ahead because many people want to use new technologies but are put off by time requirements. “We do some of the work for clients, like suggesting, researching, or writing a post for them in their voice. It’s not worth doing a blog if you don’t keep up with it! That does more harm than good.”

She recommends not making it look just like your website. “You want it to have the feel of a blog, with links to archives, and postings tagged by different subjects. Make sure a user has an easy time navigating your blog. If you’re not a good writer, you can always ask a local journalism student or writer to prepare brief entries. There’s no need to be super formal, just friendly. It’s not an essay or a homework assignment! Write how you would talk. Share your own perspective. Local shoppers are interested in what nearby (not national) stores have to say.”

The resources are probably from your promotion or public relations budgets, says Professor Fram, since those are the best people to develop the blog. “Retailers have only so many promotional dollars. Consider revenues, expenses and returns, including cost of staff time, overhead and space involved. Ask yourself, should I allocate this effort to blogging, or put ten ads in local papers offering a reduction on specific products?”

Risks and Rewards
“Word of mouth promotion can be very valuable. That’s what a blog is,” Professor Fram clarifies. “For decades, retailers have known that positive customer recommendations are highly effective in spurring sales.” Some large retailers have communications specialists who watch the blog world for comments about their store. Yet many businesspeople shy away from blogging or new Internet techniques, because they’re unfamiliar. Often, Ms. Mettler’s clients, concerned that they won’t be able to control negative comments or feedback, ask, “If people can post anything they want, do we want others to see it?”

In fact, “a single negative report can spread quickly on the Internet, causing huge public relations damage, at the very least,” observes Professor Fram, citing a predicament experienced by Dell Computer. One unfavorable comment, posted on the World Wide Web, circulated at lightning speed. The dissatisfied customer drew increasing attention, before Dell could even respond.

Had that irate Dell user been able to complain on Dell’s own blog, the company could have replied quickly, offered to correct the problem, and deflected all the unfortunate publicity. Allowing customers to communicate with your store directly is an excellent opportunity to control and maintain your image.

People with negative feedback will put it somewhere. If they post it widely, you may not even know until some damage is done. If one person has a negative thought about your store, others may also. Managing your reputation includes knowing consumer concerns, then shifting your message to ease any negative thoughts.
A blog can be set up allow disapproval of anything before posting. The sender may get a message saying, “This is a moderated blog.” However, Ms. Mettler advises clients to allow some negative postings on blog. “You can respond, clarify, and correct any misinformation. It’s better on your blog than out in cyberspace where you have no control. Visibility and credibility are the goals!”

By helping people see your store’s personality, a blog can make a difference in where consumers many want to shop. Showing you stay on top of the trends and know what’s going on is good for branding and establishes your store as experts. Blogs increase your on-line exposure, placing you higher in search engines. With frequent updates, a blog’s fresh copy continually improves its placement.

Consider what level of risk is comfortable. “You may find that 99% of bloggers like your products and services, but you do have to watch consumer feedback,” Professor Fram emphasizes.

Attracting Attention
It’s useful to be listed in blog directories. The biggest directory, www.Technorati.com, now tracks 112 million blogs, ranked by popularity. Set it up so people can easily subscribe to your blog. The retailer is notified of new posting, to see it and respond to it. Designate a staffer who will check e-mail regularly, to receive these notices.

Announce your new blog to your store’s entire e-mail list. Post comments on the big blogs in your industry (listed on Technorati). They they’ll respond to your blog, helping to make consumers aware of it.

Keep a signup sheet at your cash registers, and request e-mail addresses each time a purchase is made, advises Ms. Sheehan. “Put your blog on business cards, print materials, and even register receipts, and in newspaper ads, e-mail signatures, and direct mail pieces. Especially for stores with longer purchase cycles, spread the word. Promote the blog in off-line venues all the time.”

Establish mutual blog connections with other merchants in related (but not competitive) fields, such as paint store. Put a link to them on your blog, and they’ll have one to your blog in turn. Some blogs run occasional contests, which Ms. Sheehan considers a great way to get comments. “Ask people to post their favorite color; one entry will be randomly drawn to win a gift certificate or other small prize.”

Some people actively participate, others will simply read a blog. “Ask them to comment! Many people don’t say anything because they don’t have good writing skills, but will respond if you ask a simple, low threat question. To build interaction, try something like, ‘as summer approaches, what colors are you looking at?’” Ms. Sheehan suggests.

Summary
“This is a good opportunity to start a blog, since so few retailers have them yet,” says Ms. Sheehan. “It’s much lower-cost than other marketing tools, and you don’t even need computer skills.”

Search and the Changing Face of Public Relations

In a conversation I had some time ago with E-Consultancy.com CEO Ashley Friedlein, I remarked that I felt the future of public relations was in search marketing. He gave me a very puzzled look from under a furrowed brow and said something like, “How do you mean?”

Some 18 months later, we were together at an industry event and the PR topic arose again. By this time we were both aware of the dramatic impact the blogosphere, social media sites, and social networking sites were having on PR and brand and reputation management. So this time, no puzzled looks, just some very in-depth conversation about the future.

In a previous column (and a number of others), I mentioned the diminishing value of the on-page tweaking and basic directory listings provided by the average SEO (define) shop. Certainly that last column generated some interesting feedback. One e-mail I received stood out from the rest.

Lyn Mettler is president of Step Ahead Web Strategies in South Carolina. Mettler wrote:

I thought you might be interested in one example of a new company who is doing exactly what you suggest…Step Ahead Web Strategies was formed by myself, a PR professional interested in the Web, along with my partners who run a pure SEO firm…

We offer clients strategy, management, and implementation for using the new social media tools online to promote themselves and their companies beyond traditional PR and SEO. We help them craft strategies for blogging, online video, social networking profiles, and more to reach their target audiences with the right topic.

I 100% believe in what you’re saying (I think traditional PR firms may be on their way out as well), and that’s why I decided to found a company that explores these new tools for clients.

What struck me particularly was her comment: “I think traditional PR firms may be on their way out as well.”

How many traditional PR firms are embracing new style strategies such as the ones Mettler describes? I started looking at how many PR firms are up to speed.

I was stunned at how few I came across that actually had search and social media in the mix. Last July, I wrote a column that concluded with me raving about David Meerman Scott’s book, “The New Rules of Marketing and PR.” The book is actually about search marketing, and I was keen to recommend that anyone involved in search should have a copy. It never occurred to me I should’ve been recommending it just as vigorously to my many PR industry contacts.

This week, I’ve had my nose buried in an excellent new book, “Influencer Marketing: Who Really Influences Your Customers?” It provides really good insight into the way marketing per se is changing. Moreover, it offers an invaluable look at social media’s power as the new influence enabler.

Authors Duncan Brown and Nick Hays cover how the analyst influence is diminishing and compare journalists’ and analysts’ decline in influence to the rise of blogs’ influence.

They report blogs are the most prevalent, fastest growing type of social media. According to Technorati, there were over 70 million blogs in May 2007, with 125,000 new blogs created every day — that’s three new blogs every two seconds!

Of course, marketing has always involved tactics to get to early adopters via social influencers. But the process of issuing marketing messages from brands talking at you is rapidly changing. Brands must now listen, not talk. Online, the customer has a lot to say.

So monitoring online buzz (or the lack of it) is vitally important to brand and reputation management. And just as the best way to find influential bloggers is via search, the best way to find out who’s talking about you is also via search.

The final section of the book takes an intriguing look at the marketing’s future. It takes a rather bleak view of journalists’ and PR professionals’ future. It suggests the number of journalists will decline, and thought pieces will increasingly be written by influential bloggers.

It’s a very interesting book and makes some fairly big statements, such as “We’re in an era of marketing conservatism caused by the lack of awareness of new thinking in marketing.”

Obviously, they’re not regular readers of this column!

With search and PR so intrinsically linked, what are we likely to see happening in the immediate future? Will SEO shops retrain or bring in marketers to take on a more PR and marketing role? Or will PR companies get the message first (like Lyn Mettler) and get onto the search marketing bandwagon

Geek 5

Lyn Mettler, a consultant and blogger from Mount Pleasant (http://newworldpr.blogspot.com/), sent these practical ideas for using technology to improve the holidays.

‘Forget the holiday letter — blog instead! Set up a free blog at Blogger.com and keep your friends and family up to date this holiday season.’ Word of warning: blogging can be addictive.

‘Use social bookmarking sites, such as Del.icio.us and Digg, to share your gift list with friends and family — and the world!’ Del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us) works well for this, but here’s a hint: It works better if you add the ‘Post To My Del.icio.us’ button to your Firefox Bookmarks Toolbar.

‘Post and instantly share photos from holiday events, get-togethers and parties on social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Flickr.’ Each has its strengths, but Flickr (www.flickr.com) is easy to use.

‘Create your family’s holiday ‘story’ complete with photos, video, music, audio and text on Panraven.com. It creates a multimedia experience for remembering the good times.’ Some features are free, but the book option costs $30 for 20 pages. Just sayin’.

‘Lots of popular online retailers … are now offering discounts up to 20 percent if you purchase items through PayPal.’ It’s been five years since eBay acquired PayPal (www.paypal.com), and its security appears to be vastly improved.

Web PR Success: Innovative Ways to Use Web Technologies

Web PR Success: Innovative Ways to Use Web Technologies (PDF)

New Company Offers Strategy for Implementing Web 2.0 Tools

For organizations who don’t know a blog from a podcast, but realize they should, a new company formed by public relations and Internet marketing professionals could have the answer. Step Ahead Web Strategies (www.stepaheadinc.com), which recently opened for business, will provide companies with comprehensive online strategies, beyond their website, from a public relations and marketing perspective.

The new company, founded by Lyn Mettler, owner of Mettler Public Relations, and Bud Di Maggio and Simon Ashton, co-owners of Internet marketing firm the SIMS Agency, will work with clients to develop creative ways they can implement Web 2.0 tools, such as social networking, blogs, podcasts, online video, social bookmarking, virtual communities (SecondLife), Wikipedia and more, to expand awareness, manage their reputation and reach their target audiences with an appropriate message online.

“While we realize plenty of people already know they need to have a Web site and may even be doing some search engine optimization and pay per click campaigns to drive traffic there, we saw a need to help businesses figure out how they can engage some of the social Web technologies, like online video, social networking, podcasting, blogging and more in ways that strategically fit within their marketing plan,” says Mettler, president of the new company.

Step Ahead Web Strategies also implements recommended projects, such as creating blogs, producing podcasts or videos and setting up social networking profiles, as well as manages them for clients on a day-to-day basis. “Because many of these tools can be time-consuming, we are able to help clients manage them to ensure they remain relevant, timely and credible,” says Ashton, vice president of technology for the company.

For more information, go to www.stepaheadinc.com.

New Company Offers Strategy for Implementing Web 2.0 Tools

CHARLESTON, SC – For organizations who don’t know a blog from a Podcast, but realize they should, a new company formed by public relations and Internet marketing professionals has the answer. Step Ahead Web Strategies, which recently opened for business, will provide companies with comprehensive online strategies, beyond their Web site, from a public relations and marketing perspective.

The new company, founded by Lyn Mettler, owner of Mettler Public Relations, and Bud Di Maggio and Simon Ashton, co-owners of Internet marketing firm the SIMS Agency, will work with clients to develop creative ways they can implement Web 2.0 tools, such as social networking (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), blogs, Podcasts, online video, social bookmarking, virtual communities (SecondLife), Wikipedia and more, to expand awareness, manage their reputation, and reach their target audiences with an appropriate message online.

“While we realize plenty of people already know they need to have a Web site and may even be doing some search engine optimization and pay per click campaigns to drive traffic there, we saw a need to help businesses figure out how they can engage some of the social Web technologies, like online video, social networking, podcasting, blogging and more in ways that strategically fit within their marketing plan,” says Lyn Mettler, president of the new company.

Step Ahead Web Strategies also implements recommended projects, such as creating blogs, producing Podcasts or videos, and setting up social networking profiles, as well as manages them for clients on a day-to-day basis. “Because many of these tools can be time-consuming, we are able to help clients manage them to ensure they remain relevant, timely and credible,” says Ashton, vice president of technology for the company.

Step Ahead Web Strategies offers clients a comprehensive online strategy from a public relations and marketing perspective. The company helps businesses and organizations expand their Web presence beyond their Web site, engaging the latest and most innovative technologies, including online video, social networking, search engine optimization, blogs, Podcasting and more, to reach their target audiences with the right message. To date, the company has worked with European tour company Breakaway Adventures, the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Charming Inns of Charleston, and Decorum, LLC. Visit www.stepaheadwebstrategies.com or call (843) 388-8376 for more information.

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