In honor of Steve Jobs: 1955-2011

Facebook started this week off with even more changes but ones that I find super exciting. They have added three new metrics to their Insights analytics tool that allow administrators to see their brand page reach more effectively. If you’re an admin of any company page, the new Insights are up today and you can see some of the numbers right below your total number of friends on the left hand side of the page.

Facebook will also be rolling out the new Timeline sometime next week and the ability to translate posts from all around the world. And that’s not all! Facebook will roll out a new expandable ad option at an advertising conference next week that would make the ads you’re see appear more like recommendations from your friends than an actual ad!

Wednesday brought sadness to the entire world when Apple founder and former CEO, Steve Jobs, lost his battle with cancer. Social media sites went crazy with thoughts, prayers and memorials dedicated to a true visionary. Google, Facebook and Disney were just a few of the huge names that honored  Jobs Wednesday and Thursday. There are many ways for you to send your words of mourning and honor about Steve Jobs, but here are some great images courtesy of Mashable of notes in front of the Apple stores.

One final but very exciting social media update is that LinkedIn has finally made it possible for businesses to post updates in a similar format to Facebook. I’ve been waiting for this day to come for a while now and personally think this will do wonders for business pages on the social network. Thanks LinkedIn!

Step Ahead’s Lyn Mettler recently talked with two different media outlets about how the new Facebook changes — from Timeline and the ticker to Smart Lists and the Newsfeed — affect businesses and their Facebook marketing strategy.

On the WISH TV interview, she quickly hit the highlights of the updates to educate the viewers about what to expect and how to make changes to the settings.

On INside Indiana Business, her article addresses specifically how each of the updates impact businesses and how they should alter their Facebook strategy.

Struggling to get a handle on all the changes Facebook recently made? Not sure how it impacts your company’s business page? We’ll walk you through the changes and answer any questions you have about the updates at an informal brown bag lunch at the Step Ahead office’s at the downtown Flagship.  We’ll also share with you our thoughts on how the changes affect your Facebook strategy.

The nitty gritty details:

Get a Grasp on Facebook’s Changes Brown Bag
Oct. 12  11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Flagship, 475 E. Bay Street (Corner of Calhoun & East Bay)
Parking: Gaillard Auditorium garage or Aquarium garage
$15/per person payable at the door, cash or check
RSVP to hold your spot by emailing info@stepaheadinc.com  (limited to 25)
Bring your own lunch!

Last week was jam-packed with unveilings from social media giants. From Twitter to Facebook, many new tools and features were shared with users this week.

After much anticipation, Twitter finally revealed their analytics product on September 13. This feature allows publishers to track how many links and tweets are shared, information which was previously only available to advertisers. Also abuzz in the Twitter world is a new advertising feature, which allows brands to inject advertisements into the timelines of “non-followers”. This will be of great value to advertisers, especially since Twitter just announced that it has more than 100 million monthly active users around the world.

Over at Facebook, some changes are in order as well. This week, in an attempt to compete with Google +, Facebook revealed a new look for its “Friend List”. The new design allows users to have greater control over what they share and with whom they share it. Another feature that Facebook promoted this week was subscribing to profiles as opposed to “friending” people. By subscribing to a user’s profile, your newsfeed will show their public status updates and you can decide how much of these updates you would like to receive. This is yet another change in response to Google+.

Do you think changes made to Facebook will keep them more popular than Google+?

Last week was all about the crazy weather and with hurricane Irene still causing damage along the East Coast over the weekend it was still being talked about Monday. Twitter was all a buzz about the storm and someone even created a hurricane Irene Twitter account.

In my opinion the storm that caused the most disasters was this years MTV Video  Music Awards that aired Sunday night. The invitation to attend has to say “Attire: Customes Only” because the outfits were out of control. Lady Gaga came as a man, Beyonce announced her pregnancy and Niki Minaj wore a mask while carry stuffed animals on a chain all night!

It took me a few days to recover from the stupidity that the music industry has turned into and turn my attention to something way more important, football. Thursday was the start of the college football season and I’m patiently (ok not so patiently) waiting for my teams first game tomorrow! The NFL is making a techy move by replacing their playbooks with iPads. I’m sure this will move into college football sooner than later.

Football might be my big plans for the long Labor Day (end of summer) weekend but All Facebook can tell you what everyone else is doing this holiday! We want to hear what your big plans are!

I have read one too many articles lately that claim you just cannot measure success on social media, at least not yet, but rather it’s more about awareness, engaging loyal fans and customers, creating goodwill, etc.

While, yes, social media is about that, it’s also about RESULTS and yes you can measure that. I’ll tell you how in my weekly SocialMoms.com post. Read on!

How can a news anchor connect with his or her audience in a more personal way? Well, Brad Franko of WCBD-TV has shown that by using social media, you can connect with and update viewers in real time. Brad recognizes the importance of instant communication and that those connections formed on social media lead to more loyal viewers.

In just a few short years, the newsroom has changed from just monitoring a police scanner to monitoring local Facebook and Twitter feeds, searching for breaking news.

Read more from Brad to find out how he monitors multiple social media tools daily and keeps his viewers up-to-date in real time.

What is your job/company/profession/title?

News Anchor/WCBD-TV/News 2 Today

What was the first social media technology you used?

Facebook was the first tool I used…and I was resistant to it for a long time. It wasn’t until probably two years ago that I jumped on the wagon.

What is your favorite social media tool?

TweetDeck (Twitter in general) is my favorite right now. The ability to post news information on the various platforms through Twitter seems easier to me. Since I’m sending information to personal/TV station accounts I need to minimize the repetitive posts.

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

I use it daily to send out breaking news stories and updates to those throughout the day. I also use them to solicit information from followers/friends/fans. The best part is the instant communication you can have with viewers. I think making that connection on a semi-personal level leads to loyalty. It really helps us respond to breaking news faster than ever before. In the “old days” (three years ago) we would hear about a story over the scanner. Then you call a public information officer to confirm and then send a crew. Now, someone sees news, it hits Twitter or Facebook with a picture…and that’s confirmation enough to get a crew rolling to a scene. The interaction also galvanizes the trust you build over the years on the air with a more personal connection.

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

I am constantly engaged in social media…during the work day, Facebook and Twitter are open on my desk. I have a laptop with the dual-monitor setup so I can always see what’s happening. When I’m at home, I’m obviously not glued to my phone, but it’s not far away.

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

I find that leaving it open, almost like background music keeps me from drowning in updates.

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

I think hashtags are overused, but underutilized if that makes sense. I’m guilty of it too though. I run searches for #CHS, #CHSTRFC, #CHSWX…if someone has something important to say about either topic, and I don’t follow them…the hashtag search pops it into a feed window. If you’re like me, you run out of characters and the first thing to go is the hashtag.

Where can people find you online and via social media?

Brad Franko – News 2 (Facebook)

WCBD News 2 (Station Facebook, great resource for your readers!)

@BradFrankoNews2 (Twitter)

@WCBD (Station Twitter)

Let’s start with Foursquare rolling out tons of updates this week! The check-in giant launched Tip Lists, which allows users to compile tips into a category such as Dining, Entertainment and Bars. Your friends or brand followers can then subscribe to a list and make it their To Do list. We started our first Tip List for a client this week and we really like it.

This week, Foursquare also gave venues the option to create events for users to check-in to. This update is a long time coming and the gang here at Step Ahead has wanted this update for some time now, so we are happy campers! Both updates are awesome but their most talked about update this week is The White House joining the location-based service!

For any of you getting ready for a weekend date, you have to see this hilarious video from Mashable about social media ruining a relationship! If that video just scared you out of your date, don’t worry you can still watch “The Big Lebowski” with them via Facebook! If you do muster up the courage to meet your date face to face, take this advice: If your date leaves you waiting and you’re embarrassed sitting alone, just pretend to text or call someone! Every other young adult does it, so why shouldn’t you?! Have a great weekend!

Convinced your business needs to be on Facebook but not sure HOW to accomplish that? Or, do you have a business Facebook page but you’ve been stuck with only 20 “likers” since you started the page a year ago? Let us walk you through the start up and management, step by step. No convincing you WHY you should use Facebook, we just want to focus on the HOW.

After hosting a broad Charleston Social Media Step by Step seminar this spring, we got lots of requests to spend more time on specific tools, so we’re starting with the king: Facebook!

In two half-day sessions this month, Aug. & Aug. 23, you’ll learn everything from the basics of page set-up and posting etiquette to more advanced information like page customization, Facebook analytics and all about apps. You can attend one or both sessions based on your comfort level in the social media platform! We’re also offering several 30-minute one-on-one sessions after the seminar for those who would like more personal attention.

We love talking about social media and these seminars give us a chance to share some of our Step Ahead secrets to success when it comes to social media management. Seats are limited so make sure to sign up soon! Both sessions will be hosted at the Charleston Digital Corridor Flagship downtown Charleston at East Bay and Calhoun.

Click here to sign up and for complete details. Hope to see you there!

The hotel industry has changed dramatically over the past decade, first with the introduction of online booking sites such as Expedia.com, then with the increased popularity of review sites such as TripAdvisor.com and now with social media.

Step Ahead Inc. demonstrated the power of social media for hotels with a group of Myrtle Beach area hotels, for whom we managed all Facebook pages and a single Twitter account for the group. The results we saw over time were astounding including dramatically increased web traffic, revenue in excess of $14K per month directly trackable to social media and an ability to handle some 15-20 major customer service issues per month.

We were able to increase Facebook friends from just a few hundred in 2009 to over 47,000 for all pages together by early 2011. We turned their pages into a source of helpful information about theMyrtle Beacharea, literally turning each Facebook page into a virtual “front desk” for the hotels. People loved it.

The Power of a Review

Facebook, it turns out, is a place where people feel very comfortable sharing positive and negative reviews. We saw lots of positive reviews on theMyrtle Beachpages and the occasional negative review, as well.

Some argue they don’t want a Facebook page, so as to avoid negative reviews, but people will share them whether you want them to or not. If they’re on your own page, at least you can monitor and respond to them. If they get posted somewhere else in Cyberspace, if you don’t have an active online monitoring service in place, you’re likely to miss it and it could easily spiral out of control.

Positive reviews, on the other hand, are a great selling point for your hotel, and can help sway potential customers. We found that often when someone said something negative about the hotel, other people would come to the defense without us even asking. What a powerful testimonial!

Beyond 9-5

A big key to successfully managing social media for hotels is being present outside of office hours and that means more than scheduling posts outside those hours. You have to be on and engaging.

If someone posts a complaint or negative review, you need to respond within a couple of hours max. Twenty-four hours is a lifetime in the world that is social media.

Also, don’t forget that people are very active on Facebook over weekends and holidays, often more so than during the week. That’s the time when they tend to be planning trips, doing research and booking hotel rooms. If you’re not on, you’re missing a key chance to engage your prospects.

This constant monitoring may seem tedious, but when you make your Facebook friends feel special and important they become even more loyal brand ambassadors and return visitors.

Social Media as a Money Maker

Who says you can’t make money on social media? Hotels who offer online booking certainly can and we proved it!

In early 2011, Facebook was averaging $14,000 per month of bookings for this hotel group directly trackable to Facebook and Twitter. This more than covered their social media fees, making social media a very profitable endeavor for them indeed.

Keep in mind, this number only includes direct traffic to their website, not phone calls from Facebook or Twitter friends. They did not have a tracking system in place to track phone calls that may have been generated from a visit to their page and we can only imagine how many of those originated on Facebook.

Traffic, Traffic and More Traffic

On a monthly basis, the Myrtle Beach Facebook pages were sending more than 5,000 visits to the websites, making Facebook one of their top referring sites.

We also noticed that the quality of traffic sent to the sites was very high, with a lower than average bounce rate and people stayed on the sites longer than average.

An important thing to note here is that in order to get the traffic and get the booking, your Facebook page should be made up of friends who are the right target, not just anyone you can get to click “like”. We take a very targeted approach to building a friend base and we believe that’s critical to generating these dramatic, measurable results for our hotel clients.

Social media has become a must-do marketing strategy for hotels, enabling them to be more effective at customer service, generate more revenue by providing followers with information for booking online and a way to get more eyes on your hotels as people research where they want to stay. Take a dedicated, consistent, targeted approach to social media and see if you don’t see your results from social media take a sharp turn upward.