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

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!

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!

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.

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

January Social Media Star: Meghan Miller

The television news business is ever changing. The industry has gone from news on only three networks to 24-hour news channels to the reach and speed of the Internet and social media. Meghan Miller, the Web producer for WMBF News, the NBC affiliate in Myrtle Beach, saw the power and importance of social media in TV news early on, and has been using it ever since to keep a step ahead.

We picked Meghan as January’s social media star, because she’s on the front lines of journalism embracing all that social media can do for this industry. She “gets” it where so many media outlets continue to struggle.

Meghan started the WMBF Facebook page in August 2008 with only 10 fans, but has grown the page to over 10,000! Daily, she manages multiple social media accounts for WMBF, including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and, one you may not have heard about, Bubbletweet. Here is what Meghan had to say about social media:

What was the first social media technology you used?
Facebook. Over the years, it’s slowly become the No. 1 way I can keep a personal connection with my family and friends back in my hometown of York, Pa.

What is your favorite social media tool?
Definitely Twitter. Believe it or not, I was actually against getting a Twitter account, because I didn’t see the point in posting to the world what I was doing 24/7. Now it’s one of the first things I check on my Blackberry when I wake up – to see who’s doing what and what topics are making news in the Web world.

How have you used social media for your business/company and how has it benefited?
In all honesty, it’s one of the most important tools I use as both a journalist and as a Web producer. Social networking takes news to a whole new extreme – it allows us to see who’s doing what, what issues are important to our viewers, and really allows us to make those important connections with those who keep close tabs on our news product.

Our Facebook fan page has just exceeded 10,000 fans – many of which were gained in 2009. That’s an outlet where we can interact with our fans with a “Question of the Day” and post controversial news stories that we know will draw a response from the public. It also allows us to strengthen the push-pull from social networking sites to WMBFNews.com.

Twitter is another – I can’t tell you how many news stories we’ve broken because of Twitter and how many relationships we’ve built with legislators, community leaders, businesses and organizations because of the exchange of a few tweets. If we can’t pull any news stories off of Twitter, it at least helps us get our brains pumping to come up with new, fresh news content for our shows.
On the flip side, we can keep better track of our competition this way.

How have you seen TV news change since you started in the profession with regard to social media?
It has exploded! I can remember when we had 20 fans on our WMBF News Facebook Fan Page and 100 friends on our MySpace page. We’ve been nursing our social networking sites since we first launched in August 2008 and now depend on it for comments on controversial stories that really affect our viewers or our market drivers. Now, you’ll see a “Facebook Question of the Day” on each of our newscasts – and a big push to become a fan of WMBF News either on Twitter or Facebook.

What role do you see social media playing in TV news in the future?
I see it as a way to gather news stories, build the WMBF News brand, draw people into our product, interact with the community and share breaking news when it happens, as it happens.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?
Ha – it feels like 24 hours a day! It’s hard to gauge because my TweetDeck is always open, I’m always fiddling with UberTwitter on my phone when I’m away from my desk and always checking out Facebook. It’s a part of the job!

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?
It’s hard! I make sure that when I’m at work – that’s what I’m on Twitter or Facebook for – just work. When I go on dinner break, am heading out to do a story or am on my own time, that’s when I hop on my personal Facebook and Twitter accounts.

What’s your best tip for using social media for business?
Use it as just another tool to better your product and your overall image. Don’t ignore the fact that your viewers or clients are interacting with you on a “virtual” level – it’s the perfect time to draw people in! Engage, interact and don’t ignore!

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?
This is where I plug BubbleTweet, I do believe! I think BubbleTweet is an AWESOME alternative to Tweets if you have a webcam. It’s been a cool way to take people behind the scenes during a newscast, break news stories on a more personal and visual level and to show people that the news is more than just TV.

Where can people find you online and via social media?
www.twitter.com/wmbfmegmiller
http://www.facebook.com/meghanmillerwmbf

March Social Media Star: Leah England

If you own a dog, you’ll want to meet our March Social Media Star: Leah England, founder and publisher of Lowcountry Dog magazine. Leah has created a fabulous publication that serves as a great resource for anyone living in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as a dog owner.

We picked Leah, because she has recently taken the magazine’s print presence online, as well, and is quickly becoming known as the expert for all things doggies in and around Charleston. She’s on Facebook, Twittering about the latest pet events and news, blogging about the pet world and has become the go to resource. And all this is helping grow her audience both online and in print. So with that, meet Leah!

What was the first social media technology you used?
LinkedIn. Ironically, though, I use it the least now.

What is your favorite social media tool?
Twitter and Facebook are neck and neck. With MySpace in second place, and LinkedIn in third.

How have you used social media to spread the word about Lowcountry Dog (LCD) and how has it benefited?
It’s amazing how social media enables me to interact instantly with LCD readers. It’s like having a constant focus group right in my living room. I ask LCD readers for their content ideas, what issues matter most to them, what they love most about LCD and what I should do more or less of. And the best thing is, they talk to me – like a real person! Not some elusive publisher holding a charette, but someone with whom they can have an open and honest discussion.

This year I’m heavily promoting the annual LCD model contest, held at PetFest, through social media. Even though we’ve always had a good turnout, I’m really pumped to see how things go this year!

I also promote LCD advertisers when it is relevant and newsworthy. If a groomer is offering a discount, a kennel has new online reservations and Web cams, or a retail store is hosting a meet and greet for a rescue – it all gets posted! So social media is giving me another opportunity to help pet-related businesses connect with their demographic.

How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?
2-3 hours. Weekday only. You’ve got to set some limits.

How do you incorporate it into your day so it’s not a time waster?
I schedule my social media activity. Morning, mid-day and late afternoon. I think it’s good to space things out, not only for yourself so you can get other things done, but also so you have the chance to catch different people at different times.

What’s your best tip for using social media for business?
The conversation should flow both ways. Don’t just constantly shove yourself down your followers’ throats. Ask questions. Respond to your followers’ posts. Post truly beneficial, entertaining and useful information. Be gracious. Be authentic. If you use a lot of auto-responders and post one-sided information, people can smell it a mile away. Social media is one of those things where what you get out of it directly correlates with what you put in it.

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is underutilized that you would like people to know about?
I’ve only been using social media for about three months, so I’m not an expert. There’s a lot I feel I don’t use enough. I’m excited to begin using Flickr as a visual social networking tool and to start a Squidoo lens for Lowcountry Dogs!

Where can people find you online?
www.lowcountrydog.com
www.lowcountrydog.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/leahengland

February Social Media Star: Traci Bisson

February’s social media star is Traci Bisson of Bisson Barcelona, LLC, an image management, high-visibility public relations and social marketing firm, and The Mom Entrepreneur. I personally think Traci is brilliant in how she’s harnessed social media to build The Mom Entrepreneur support group, which is an online group of mom entrepreneurs who provide support, advice, etc. to one another.

Traci came up with the idea of the Mom Entrepreneur Co-op Shop, a site that offers discounts from businesses owned by moms in the group. She’s promoted it on the popular Help a Reporter Out email, via a Twitter party, traditional media relations and more, and it’s been successful for many moms in the group.

Here is our interview with Traci:

Tell us what you do:

I support mom entrepreneurs by offering tips, advice and resources for balancing motherhood and running a business. This is done through our suite of blogs, online support group, co-op shop and PR and marketing services.

How did you come up with the idea for the Mom Entrepreneur?

I searched for years to find a group that offered support for mom entrepreneurs. When I could not find anything, I eventually gave up. I started searching again in early 2008. I finally decided to create the support group and searched for mom entrepreneurs to join and network with me.
What was the first social media technology you used?

It was probably Blogger blogs. Then I tried the WordPress blogs. Very soon after that came LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace then Twitter.

What is your favorite social media tool?

My favorite is probably Twitter, but hellotxt.com is a close second. I also really like trackable links at BUDurl.com.
How has social media benefited your business?

Social media has allowed me to connect with mom entrepreneurs all around the world. This is a target market I understand very well thanks to the connections I have been able to make. As I learned more about the industry, my PR services became very attractive to companies looking to target this influential market.
How much time would you say you spend a day engaging social media?

Too much time…it is kind of scary how addictive social media can be. You have so much information at your finger tips and endless learning opportunities. I have spent many a late night connected to my computer.
How do you incorporate it into your day?

I usually engage in social media research after hours and after the kids are in bed. You can start down one avenue and then begin exploring several at the same time. I find that it needs my undivided attention.
What’s your best tip for using social media for business?

When you have a clear understanding of who your target market is and you connect through social media and networks that reach your market, the results can be very good. Use social media to build relationships and form strong connections. Only then will you be able to sell your product and/or services to a network of people who trust you and your advice.

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

Honestly, I think the concept of social media is underutilized. People are still nervous to venture into this world because it can be very overwhelming. Twitter I feel is an easy social outlet to begin with and probably underutilized. Google alerts also seems to be another great tool that should be used by all business professionals to keep tabs on themselves in the media.

Where can people find you online?

TheMomEntrepreneur.com and BissonBarcelona.com

Anything else you’d like to add?

When you decide to engage in social media, make sure you remain focused on your target market. It is easy to get excited about everything that is out there and create profiles in many different places. Do not spread yourself too thin. Pick a few social media sites that target your market, and manage and grow your network through these sites initially. Once you are more comfortable, then you can venture out to explore what else you should be connected to. Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tracibisson for other tips and suggestions.

Social Media Star: Stacey Crew

Meet our very first Step Ahead Social Media Star: Stacey Crew, organizing expert, author and speaker. Stacey, whom I met many years ago through a friend of mine and who is based in Charleston, S.C., helps moms-to-be, new moms and generally busy women organize their time and space. Her book, The Organized Mom, will hit bookstores nationally in 2009.

Stacey is very active on all the main tools, but has also networked herself well within niche social networks like Girlfriendology, The Integrated Mother, Posh Mama, Twitter Moms, and the Mom Bloggers Club where she has developed a following of moms who look for her seasoned advice on keeping our lives together! Here is what Stacey had to say about social media:

What was the first social media technology you used?
Facebook

What is your favorite social media tool?
Facebook, then Twitter

How has social media benefited your business?

Social media tools have helped me keep my followers informed of blog posts, Web site updates, and general information that I’d like to share—all in a very simple way! Anyone who has been following me, knows that getting a book published is a long process.

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

How do you incorporate it into your day?

Sometimes I schedule it. For example, if I’ve made specific blog entries, I’ll post that on my Facebook page and on Twitter. Or if I’ve made changes/updates to my web site, I’ll do the same. Essentially, while working, I’m always connected to Facebook and Twitter, but try and use the time wisely so it’s not all of a sudden the end of the day and I haven’t completed my To Do List.

What’s your best social media tip?

Be yourself. People don’t want to feel like you’re all business or all personal, so find a balance. In my market (moms, essentially), I mention my kids and post pictures. Keep it real, but maintain your position as an expert in your field. It’s like walking a tight rope sometimes.

Is there a social media tool/technique that you think is

underutilized that you would like people to know about.

Well, I suspect the iPhone technology. I’m waiting for my new iPhone to arrive and once it does, I think I will be saying, “How did I ever live without it.” I’ll be providing tech tips on my web site for the iPhone and other technology and social media tools. We’ve entered a time when we can truly be more effective and efficient with technology.

Where can people find you online?
www.staceycrew.com, staceycrew.blogspot.com, Facebook and @staceycrew on Twitter.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Everyone should analyze how technology can and does work for them, whether it’s personally and/or professionally. Facebook is a great tool for staying in touch with both family and friends, but it also serves a purpose as a business tool. Twitter, on the other hand, is a fabulous tool for networking outside your local venue. If one is attempting to reach a national audience (like myself), Twitter can get you connected to people far and wide. Just remember to follow Twitter etiquette!

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