March Social Media Star: Ken Hawkins

Social media has impacted how we gather and view news worldwide, and media outlets continue to struggle with a way to combine social media with traditional journalism to find a model that works. We think our March Social Media Star, Ken Hawkins, has the solution: TheDigitel.

TheDigitel, founded by Ken in 2008, is currently based in Charleston, S.C., but headed to other cities soon. It’s a site that connects readers to news from local media outlets and also produces its own stories, while integrating social media tools like Facebook and Twitter in a helpful way. They’ve also created an innovative ad model integrating real time social media content from their advertisers.

TheDigitel, which recently secured funding for expansion, has its finger on the pulse of news in the 21st Century. We once heard Ken say that citizens will become the gatherers of news and the journalist’s new role will be to provide context. We think he’s right!

Ken wears many hats at TheDigitel.com, acting as Web master, information designer, owner and editor in chief. To keep the site up to date, he spends four or more hours a day on social media sites, monitoring news and events.

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

What is your job/company/profession/title?
Web master/info designer/owner/editor in chief/guru for Giant Hawk Media — that’s TheDigitel, an online Web-optimized newspaper. There I more or less do information design and journalism.

What was the first social media technology you used?
First. Hrm. Would probably be Friendster or Flickr. The first I really used was MySpace and Twitter (I think my Twitter account goes way back into ‘06.)

What is your favorite social media tool?
Most certainly Twitter.

How have you used social media for your business/company and how has it benefited?
While social media has been useful to us by offering more efficient communication channels with our readers and customers, it has been eminently useful to us in an information-gathering capacity. Twitter allows us the ability to gather real-time news reports and feedback from readers, while Facebook allows new ways for members and businesses of the community to pass along info about an upcoming band performance or restaurant opening.

Twitter has been doubly interesting, as advertisers that use our Dynamic Ads can both inform their followers and instantly update their advertisement message.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?
I’d say 1-2 hours actively corresponding, but perhaps 4+ hours monitoring news and events.

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?
What’s your best tip for using social media for business?
I’ll lump these two together. I maintain one set of accounts for business identities and one for personal. It’s something professionals have done for ages with phones and desks, but many don’t do it for social media.

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?
Too many people use Twitter to hammer out a message or go onto bizarre sidetracks with their business accounts — more than anything Twitter is a chance to grow business relationships. Be social, but stay on topic.

And outdated blogs/Web sites with inadequate information drive us nuts as a local media company.

Where can people find you online and via social media?
http://www.twitter.com/TheDigitel
http://www.twitter.com/khawkins98
http://thedigitel.com
http://allaboutken.com/work

Anything else?
Thanks for featuring me. And, fun factoid, TheDigitel.com receives almost as much traffic from Twitter+Facebook as Google.

Get FourSquare and Get Busy

Could FourSquare be the next social media darling for business? Could Twitter possibly be de-throned? We think so.

FourSquare is a location-based application that you run on your smart phone that allows users to “check-in” when they are out and about. Headed to Publix? Check-in. Out with the guys at the neighborhood pub? Check-in. It definitely appeals to the exploratory and competitive nature of people. It’s like a combination game + communication tool.

FourSquare not only sends out a message on Twitter every time someone checks into a new location, it rewards users by declaring the most frequent traveler to a particular location the “mayor” and awards fun “badges” for checking in often. Additionally, FourSquare allows users to see which of your friends have checked in recently near your current location.

Some smart business owners are beginning to see the benefits already, especially restaurants, retailers, attractions, etc., of driving traffic to their business. With a few simple techniques, you too can use FourSquare to your advantage. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

1. Reward the Mayor – Offer the current “mayor” of your business a perk of holding that position. Maybe it’s a free dessert with every entrée they purchase or half price on all haircuts. To retain their position they will have to come in often, spend money and hopefully bring friends. And maybe others will “check in” more often to try to become the new mayor.
2. Encourage New Clients – The first time a customer “checks in” to your location, offer them a deal or special as a thank you for stopping by.  Something like a free coffee refill the first time they try a new café would encourage new business.
3. Build Traffic – Need your booth to look busy at the next big trade show? Enter everyone who stops by and “checks in” into a drawing for a great prize.
4. Work Together – Gather a few local organizations and create a Scavenger Hunt for the FourSquare crowd. People enjoy using technology to have a good time, and bonus if there’s a prize at the end! You may even get a little local attention!
5. Work the Tips – Use the tips section of the FourSquare app to announce specials and promotions. Users feel like they are being let in on a special deal.

The best part is that FourSquare now supports these “check in” offers. They want you to use their service to build your business, so they’ve invited you to submit your special offers to them and they’ll show them to people who “check in” near you. Here’s a great example from a Coffee House in North Carolina who’s offering a special to anyone who checks in at their location.

If you have a business and still have questions visit FourSquare’s Business page or give us a call to help you make the most of FourSquare.

What creative way could you use FourSquare to promote your company?

February Social Media Star: Chad Norman

The software world is known for being fast paced with companies popping up and dropping out every year, but Blackbaud, a software company working exclusively with non-profits has been around for 27 years, practically forever in tech years.

Chad Norman, the interactive communications manager at Blackbaud, has been a pioneer who’s extremely innovative in his use of social media to help keep his company connected, improve customer support and drive traffic.

We picked Chad as February’s social media star, because he has developed a mature social media program at Blackbaud that’s been incredibly successful and he’s constantly on the look-out for new tools and new ways to improve their program. Here’s what Chad had to say about social media:

What is your job/company/profession/title?
Currently, I’m the interactive communications manager at Blackbaud, the leading provider of technology for nonprofits.

What was the first social media technology you used?
OK, since I’m old, I can remember the BBS days, not to mention Classmates.com (boy, did they blow it!). In the modern era, probably MySpace and YouTube.

What is your favorite social media tool?
Twitter is by far my favorite social media platform, both from a professional and personal standpoint. Though SlideShare.net is a close second and is great for sharing knowledge and SEO. FourSquare is a great one that is up and coming.

How have you used social media for your business/company and how has it benefited?
Over the last two years, we’ve been using social media at Blackbaud to increase engagement, support customers, promote initiatives and thought leaders, and drive traffic to our various Web properties. We’ve definitely seen increased engagement and support – social media has allowed us to communicate in ways we never could before. We’ve probably seen the most benefits by using social media to promote and drive traffic. Our metrics are telling us that a double digit percentage of our traffic is arriving via social media, and that is a lot of growth for a B2B company like us.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?
Around one hour, and that includes everything like updating/tweeting, collecting metrics, reporting, and planning. Keep in mind that we have a mature program, and that early on more time was used. I always remind people that most of the time investment is up front (learning how the community works, developing a strategy, training staff, etc). Once it is integrated into your overall communications plan, you’ll find less and less time is required.

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?
I do a couple things that help me save time on a daily basis. The first is to actually set aside time in the morning. 20 minutes on Monday to collect metrics, 10 minutes each day to write tweets, 30 minutes on Friday to recap the week, etc. Put those things on your actual calendar. Second, I try to use as many helpful tools as possible. Build a listening dashboard in iGoogle (rather than scouring the web manually), use Tweetdeck to manage your daily work flow (monitoring and responding), and roll out CoTweet to your staff (pre-write tweets, assign responses, etc).

What’s your best tip for using social media for business?
The best tip is to forget about the actual execution and focus on the bookends: Planning and Reporting. You must develop a strong strategic plan and stick to it. Your strategy will determine which tools to use, what to say and who should be saying it – not the other way around. On the back end, you need to collect metrics and actually analyze them. Don’t just count how many times you were retweeted – look at what was retweeted, and who passed it along. These collected metrics will also help you benchmark your efforts against other orgs and help you adjust your plan. Remember, you can’t just collect, you have to measure!

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?
Social media does wonders for search engine optimization, so I always tell clients to use anything that can help tell your story – because Google is listening. Do you give presentations? Load them on SlideShare.net. Do you take a lot of photos? Share them on Flickr. Does your audience hang on LinkedIn? Start a group to help them discuss things. All of those things will rank on page 1 for your business

Where can people find you online and via social media?
www.echohive.com/blog
www.gogreencharleston.org
www.twitter.com/chadnorman
www.facebook.com/chadnorman
www.slideshare.net/chadnorman

Is it Time for a New Approach?

When you want to promote your business, organization, event or cause, the old standbys just aren’t enough in this all-media, all-access, all-the-time world. Twenty years ago newspaper advertising was critical. And, if you could afford it, a spot on the radio or television certainly were next in line.

But, the times they are a changin’, and a business that settles on just one or two traditional modes of communication won’t be hitting the whole market of potential customers, clients, donors or volunteers.

I’m not advocating against these traditional advertising avenues. As someone who spent more than a decade as a full-time newspaper reporter, I’ve received many a paycheck thanks to newspaper advertising. And, yes, it still works. People still turn to their local paper as a source of reliable local information and that includes the ads. Magazine advertising goes another step in reaching a more targeted audience, such as women, food enthusiasts or jet-setting travelers.

You don’t have to fully eliminate print, radio or television from the marketing pie, but you may need to make the slices a little smaller to accommodate nontraditional outlets and social media. I recently heard about a large ad agency that offered up its plans to a business for a new ad campaign. The plan included newspaper, radio, TV and billboard advertising. All great, but not particularly forward thinking.

• Go where your audience is. For example, if you want to reach a national audience of moms, take a look at the vast community of Mommy Bloggers who wield a great deal of influence. Their blogs could be just the place for your message.
• Don’t be afraid to try a new way of promoting your business. If you typically devote 50 percent of your marketing budget to newspaper advertising, try taking 25 percent to hire a firm to manage a social media campaign for six months. You haven’t eliminated newspaper advertising completely, but you’re trying a new way to reach your audience and promote your message.
• Be consistent in what you say. You can’t have a newspaper ad that has one message, a radio spot with something different and a blog that focuses a third component. You can promote different aspects of your business, but with a consistent thread. You want consumers to recognize your message and the best way to do that is by being consistent in everything you say.
• Track and measure. Don’t just throw money at every option out there. Be targeted in your approach and see what works. If you try something for several months with little or no return, then move on. There are so many options today for promoting your business you may have to tap around before striking gold.