Facebook Places Is Here!

What were you doing last Wednesday night? Well, if you’re a social media geek like the folks at Step Ahead Inc., you may have been watching the Facebook Places announcement on Facebook Live.

That’s right, the long awaited geo-location tool from Facebook is now live throughout the United States. Facebook will roll out Places to the rest of the world soon.

So, what is Places? It’s a geo-location tool that’s similar to Foursquare and Gowalla. Places allows Facebook users to update their status and tag friends via their smart phone while updating their location as well.

Facebook released an updated version of the Facebook iPhone app with the Places feature prominently placed in the center of the screen on Wednesday, as well. But if you don’t have an iPhone, don’t worry, you can just use the Facebook touch mobile site (http://touch.facebook.com/). Once you have the Places interface open, you can add places, check into places that already exist, and tag people who are with you.

Now the big question is privacy. Facebook doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to privacy, so during the live announcement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this feature isn’t about sharing your location with the world; it’s about finding places and sharing them with your friends.

Be aware that your check-ins will appear by default on your profile, in the news feed and in the activity stream for that place, and that your friends can check you in without your permission, unless you’ve updated your privacy settings.

Places offers a huge new geo-location audience to businesses. Businesses can claim their Places page, which will allow the owner to post updates to people who like the page and update business information. Claiming a Places page requires some work by business owner, including submitting the business name, URL, address of the business, Federal EIN (Employee Identification Number), and an upload of an official document (articles of certificate of incorporation, certificate of formation, local business license or Better Business Bureau accreditation).

So now that Facebook has introduced geo-location to its 500+ million users, is this the end of Foursquare, which is nearing just three million users? In our minds, no, but that’s a whole other blog post.

August Social Media Star: Ryan Johnson

Say goodbye to the days of wondering what your local government is up to and hello to a more social and Internet-savvy group of officials.

Ryan Johnson, the public information assistant to the mayor of North Charleston, Keith Summey, is using social media to not only provide information to residents, but to also quickly and easily receive and respond to questions or input from the citizens of North Charleston. Johnson credits social media with helping him to provide a more open and accessible government.

The City of North Charleston is a rare municipality that is truly up to date with social media, currently offering residents information through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, BlogSpot, Flickr and of course, their own website.

Here’s what Ryan had to say about social media:

What was the first social media technology you used?

My first experience with social media was with Facebook when it was exclusive to college students. I was completely unaware of the professional scope in which I would later be using social media. As many still believe, I thought it was an incredibly convenient path to information overloading on your pals’ lives.

What is your favorite social media tool?

If you take a peek at my internet browser (Chrome), you’ll always find Hootsuite in one of the tabs. The Hootsuite social media dashboard aggregates your various social media accounts into a single destination, no clicking or browsing necessary. The features I most utilize include the keyword filter (keywords of choice: North Charleston, N. Charleston, #nchs), allowing for brand monitoring, scheduled posts, integrated Twitter lists and, of course, the link shortener.

How have you used social media for your job and how has it benefited?

Social media has opened up a new realm of public information for the City of North Charleston, allowing instant access with no boundaries to anyone with an internet connection. The once standard forms of communication were pushing information out. Through social media, we are able to turn a former one-way street into a two-way street, providing information, yet receiving input from the citizens of North Charleston. Social media has provided a more open and accessible government.

The City’s Social Media efforts culminated with the launch of our redesigned website (http://www.northcharleston.org).  Most of our information placed on the web is pulled back to a central location, turning the City’s website into a destination instead of an occasional reference source.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?

Time spent varies from day to day, but typically I am engaged 30 minutes to an hour. However, I’ll monitor various feeds throughout the day for news, events and other information pertaining to North Charleston. If you call me on my office phone, I will probably be hitting CTRL+R with my other hand.

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?

Multitasking, keyword searches, lists and aggregators cannot be underestimated as time savers. Centralizing incoming and outgoing information is a necessity for me. I also schedule posts throughout the day so as not to inundate users or followers, inputting most information at once. While on the go, utilizing your smart phone is a great way to maximize your time.

Social media can bring your productivity to quick halt. You must learn to manage your time and filter your information.

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?

I feel that companies, entities and individuals place their website and their social media accounts in two separate realms. Websites remain static while updating social media accounts frequently. North Charleston has woven its social media into the City’s website and homepage. Our goal is to make NorthCharleston.org a launching pad and destination for all North Charleston information. Integrating all of your online efforts has powerful potentials.

Where can people find you online and via social media?

http://www.northcharleston.org

http://twitter.com/northcharleston

http://cityofnorthcharleston.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/northcharlestonsc

http://www.facebook.com/northcharleston

http://www.flickr.com/northcharleston

http://www.ustream.tv/northcharleston

July Social Media Star: Misty Lackie

These days, companies of all sizes are diving into the world of social media, and Misty Lackie, CEO of Go Smart Solutions, LLC, is making it easier and more affordable than ever for small businesses and individuals to create and customize their social media “brand”. Misty started Twitbacks.com, a tool that helps create free and affordable custom Twitter backgrounds. Twitbacks.com is a huge success and has been featured in BusinessWeek, CNET and PCWorld.

Misty has been involved with social media for years, and learned early on how valuable social media can be. Currently she sees how powerful and valuable Facebook is for businesses and has created FaceItPages, a do-it-yourself system that allows businesses to create a professional Facebook business page without the designer price.

Here’s what Misty had to say about social media:

What is your job/company/profession/title?

I am the CEO of Go Smart Solutions, LLC. We develop self-serve online marketing solutions for businesses.

What was the first social media technology you used?

Back in the day, I would use discussion forums. I lived and learned in forums. I know there are some who may not consider this as a type of social media, but my belief is that forums were – and still are – an aspect of social media. The technology has been around for a while; it just wasn’t always in the form we’re familiar with today. Forums, social bookmarking, Twitter, Facebook, etc. are all forms of social media technology, in my opinion.

What is your favorite social media tool?

I use a lot of them, and some more than others, but my favorite social media tool at this time is Facebook. I feel like with Facebook I can engage on a deeper level with not only our members, but my family and my friends as well.

How have you used social media for your business/company and how has it benefited?

We mainly use social media to connect with our customers. We actually end up doing a fair amount of support through social media. In fact, our customers will sometimes contact us directly through Twitter or Facebook rather than by email or phone. We see these platforms as another way to be able to provide quality support to our customers in a setting they are comfortable with. We also use many social media platforms to monitor our brands and what’s being said about them. We have received some new business through social media, but it has mostly benefited us by keeping us visible with our existing customer base.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?

I normally spend about an hour per day unless we are releasing something new or dropping a press release. In these cases, I will spend more time managing the messaging for the new release.

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?

Great question! It is easy to get caught up and spend hours in the different social media platforms, which can cause you to become less productive in other business operations. I have been guilty of this. I set my schedule to check the major platforms in the morning and in late afternoon. I also have alerts set up that I monitor at least once per day. I don’t allow myself to spend more than 1/2 hour in the morning and 1/2 hour in the afternoon on these platforms (collectively). I have also trained myself not to get distracted throughout the day while working on other things. This same type of discipline can also apply to things like email or phone calls. As a small business owner, it is important to manage your time; if you are spending all of it in the social media platforms, on the phone or answering emails, you may be loosing valuable time growing your business. I have set times throughout the day where I will answer emails, take or return calls, monitor social media, and do anything else that may need my attention.

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?

I think Facebook business pages are underutilized. Our company uses various Facebook business pages and each send a decent amount of traffic to our sites. I also think many companies are not using social media as a support channel. Being able to support our customers through these channels has been invaluable to us.

How did you come up with TwitBacks?

TwitBacks started out as an office conversation. We were discussing how there was a new business trend with Twitter backgrounds and how designers were charging hundreds of dollars for these. I mentioned that I could create an app that would allow people to create their own Twitter backgrounds using templates and have the output save as an image. It was statement that I wasn’t really even serious about but Candis, our marketing communications rep, thought it was a great idea and hounded me for weeks about it. So I registered the domain and decided to make it a weekend side project. The very first release was very minimal, but it went totally viral. CNET and some other big sources picked us up. From there we built onto it and have just been adding more features over time.

Do you have any new services coming out?

Our latest service is FaceItPages. It is a DIY system that allows businesses to create a professional Facebook business page with your branding, links, etc.  Following are a few pages that have been created through the service.

FaceItPages.com

Estudiar Hoteleria

Shoes Online

Lauren Mcmullen – Your Social Media Marketing

Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland

We are also working on a video advertising platform, VidShout, which will allow business to create video ads (commercials) with landing pages and have those video ads published online to video portals, shopping comparison sites, directories, etc.

Where can people find you online and via social media?

http://www.gosmart4u.com

http://twitter.com/gosmart4u

http://www.facebook.com/gosmart

http://www.linkedin.com/in/gosmartsolutions

Yet Another Reason to Update Your Facebook Page

Having a Facebook friend page is a great first step in marketing your business with social media, but it’s only a first step. In order to get the most benefit from your page, you need friends, and in order to attract friends, you need to update frequently with interesting content.

Facebook recently introduced a new feature that automatically suggests pages for new users to “Like.” This feature is placed second in the Facebook signup process, just behind the finding friends page. They’ve also added a section on the top right of your Home page where they sometimes recommend pages for you to “Like.” So how can you take advantage of these new features to help promote your page?

Facebook says the pages chosen to suggest will be based on the pages that people in the same demographic commonly “Like”, and how much the pages are updated and engage with friends.

So, if you’ve been waiting for yet another reason to frequently update your page with good content and reach out to your friends, here it is!

Before you start updating, here are few rules to keep in mind:

1. Update 1 to 3 times per day, even on weekends and holidays!

2. Update at different times of the day, and then monitor which times are most successful.

3. Ask friends to click “Like” when posting. It’s much easier to click “Like” than to actually comment.

4. Make updates conversational and casual.

5. Add in photos and videos when appropriate.

6. Respond quickly to questions and comments, within 24 hours if possible.

Now go start updating and build up your friend base! Have any more tips? Share with us here!

June Social Media Star: Amanda Bunting Comen

Women are and always have been communicators, and now they are taking those skills and succeeding in social networking. According to Briansolis.com, 57% of Facebook and Twitter users and 50% of Linkedin users are female. Amanda Bunting Comen, program coordinator for the Center for Women, understands the growing importance of social networks, and is using them to communicate her message to the women of the Lowcountry.

The Center for Women is a non-profit organization whose mission is to make personal and professional success an everyday event for women in the Lowcountry. Currently, Amanda uses Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a Lowcountry Women Blog as her social media tools, which allow to help the Center for Women to reach out to far more women than traditional advertising at a lower cost and have a larger reach, a big plus for any non-profit!

Here’s what Amanda had to say about social media:

What is your job/company/profession/title?

Program Coordinator/Webmistress, Center for Women

What was the first social media technology you used?

I hate to say it, but it was MySpace.

What is your favorite social media tool?

It’s a tie between Facebook and Twitter. They each have their own unique functions and uses for many different aspects of my life.

How have you used social media for your business/company and how has it benefited?

The Center for Women uses Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and has the Lowcountry Women Blog and it has all benefited us in so many ways. We’ve reached out to far more women via social media than traditional advertising – which for a small nonprofit the advertising budget is slim to none! Communicating with members, volunteers, speakers and reengaging with past board members are just some of the pluses.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?

A little bit here and there throughout the day probably adds up to a couple of hours.

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?

I love Tweetdeck and how it combines Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc – such a time saver!

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?

LinkedIn doesn’t get as much attention as the others do, but I constantly meet folks that say it is all they are allowed to access at work. That is huge. I’m also frustrated with the Facebook vs. Twitter hype – use both, don’t neglect it and ENGAGE with your followers!

Where can people find you online and via social media?
http://www.c4women.org
http://twitter.com/amandabc
http://www.facebook.com/amandabc
http://www.linkedin.com/in/amandabc

Anything else?

I want to learn more about Foursquare!

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!

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?

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

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

April Social Media Star: Megan Calhoun

Social media has opened up many new ways for people to communicate and interact daily, and TwitterMoms.com has become the place to be for social media mommies! TwitterMoms.com started off with only four members, but quickly grew to 1,500 in three short weeks, and has since been featured in TechCrunch, Forbes.com, RedBookMag.com, Yahoo and more.

Megan Calhoun, the founder of TwitterMoms.com and master of social media, has grown this online community to 25,000 active TwitterMoms (including several of our team members here at Step Ahead!). Megan saw the importance of social media early on, and once she found Twitter, nothing could hold her back. She now spends between eight and 12 hours a day using social media to run TwitterMoms.com and scour the web for cool, exclusive opportunities for members, so we can safely say that she is one very well connected TwitterMom!

Here’s what Megan had to say about social media:

What is your job/company/profession/title?
Founder and CEO of Megan Media LLC. I started a community for moms who love Twitter called TwitterMoms.com.

What was the first social media technology you used?
Facebook, but I later found Twitter and fell in love with it. It’s a different way to keep connected with people who share your passions.

What is your favorite social media tool?
Besides TwitterMoms.com, I’d have to say Twitter and my trusty iPhone.

How did you come up with the idea for TwitterMoms?
As a stay-at-home mom, you sometimes don’t get enough grown-up interaction during the day. My husband introduced me to Twitter, and I discovered some amazing moms who I could really relate to and connect with on the service. The trouble was, there wasn’t a great way for moms to find each other and make connections. On Sept. 2, I roughed out an idea to create a moms-only directory site using Ning.com, a free “build your own social network” service. I added the URL to my Twitter.com profile and the next morning four moms had joined the site and started making themselves at home. Three weeks later, we topped 1,500 members, found ourselves featured in TechCrunch, and have been focused on serving the needs of this unique community ever since. Today, there are about 25,000 active TwitterMoms.

How have you used social media to promote your business/company and how has it benefited?
Everything about our business is social — from the members of our community to the platform we use to host our service to the communications tools we use to keep our members engaged and active. We have no engineers, no technical team, no board of directors, no investors, no marketing budget. We couldn’t build a community like this without leveraging the sort of “Web 2.0″ tools and services on the market today. While lots of businesses look at social media from a promotional angle, we view it as our DNA. It keeps our costs down so we can focus on giving our members more of what they find value in: connections, media opportunities, sponsorships for their blogs, advice from peers, tools for building their personal brands and more. Social media has allowed us to grow and offer new things.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?
I’m like a junkie who hit the jackpot: I’ve taken my passion for moms and social media and turned it into a small business. It gives me the freedom to be connected eight to 12 hours a day, although I find myself spending more time administering TwitterMoms.com and working to find cool, exclusive opportunities we can offer to our members.

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?
Well, I don’t see social media as a time waster. To me, it’s a great way to network, meet amazing people, help others make great connections and discover who is really doing innovative things. Social media is a wonderful way to connect with people from all over the world you might otherwise never have met.

What’s your best tip for using social media for business?
Get to know people. Listen. Find out how you can help them. Even simply showing an interest in what people are doing is a great way to build relationships with customers. It’s a two-way street. Reciprocate. Think of social media like one big cocktail party. If you were just talking all about yourself and never showed any interest in what the other people were doing, you would be standing all alone. Same goes for social media – be social.

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?
There are any number of services we know, use, and love around TwitterMoms.com: Ning.com, tumblr and posterous to name a few.

Where can people find you online and via social media?
@TwitterMoms and www.twittermoms.com

Look for Step Ahead’s Lyn (the featured TwitterMoms blogger on social media), Holly and Leslie on TwitterMoms!

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