Blog: Social Media

Should Your Small Business Use Twitter?

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

twitter marketing 150x150 Should Your Small Business Use Twitter?Twitter has grown to over 100 million users and recent Apple iOS integration has increased signups by over 25%. More than 5 years old now and still less than 10% of small businesses use Twitter as part of their marketing strategy. Twitter can have a tremendous upside when used to attract new customers and communicate with existing ones. Reduced marketing expenses is also a key reason to continue exploring social media as way to cut costs while driving new brand engagement and sales.

Take a look at this infographic from flowtown to help you determine is your business should use twitter.

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Finger Candy Media Friday: Are Your Social Media Followers Like Radio Listeners?

Friday, January 20th, 2012

finger pointing 150x150 Finger Candy Media Friday: Are Your Social Media Followers Like Radio Listeners?What’s the #1 preset on your car radio?

I was working in radio for a few weeks the first time I heard the term “P1”. I didn’t want to ask dumb questions so I pretended like I knew…”fake it til ya make it,” I always heard.
Fast forward many years later, and I forget that Broadcasting has it’s own language (half of it made up just to confuse people I think.)

A friend of mine was fascinated by this term “P1″ and the comparison to Social Media participation…got me thinking that it was well worth explaining.

At any radio station current listeners are broken into 2 segments: preference 1 (P1) listeners and preference 2 (P2) listeners.  “P1′s are the core listeners, those who respond with the name of your station when asked “what radio station did you listen to most over the past week”. P2’s are those who name your station as another station they also tuned into over the past week. Some marketers in the Automotive industry even check the presets on your car radio dial to determine what stations to but commercial air-time on.

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FingerCandyMedia.com Friday- @HashTracking #Twitter #Chat Analytics

Friday, January 13th, 2012

hashtracking FingerCandyMedia.com Friday  @HashTracking #Twitter #Chat AnalyticsI have had a few people ask, “How do you get the analytics for Twitter Chats or Hashtags.”  Well, I recently started using a service called HashTracking. They are very wonderful people, quick to respond and very easy to work with.  They even provide Snapshots of Tweets, Impressions & Reach, Top 20 List, Drill-down Content Analysis, Detailed Contributor List and Full Transcripts. (mind you this is not a paid endorsement or advertisement of any kind, I just REALLY love their service!)

Twitter hashtag analytic’s also give you a way to:

  • Track Campaigns
  • Measure Reach
  • Calculate Influence
  • Create Beautiful Presentations

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FingerCandyMedia.com Friday: Are You Talking To Me?

Friday, December 30th, 2011

When you tweet, post, blog, circle, email *send smoke signals* who are you trying to reach?

Are you trying to reach me? Well, not technically me, but the “me” in your audience. Do you talk to “me” in words “I” understand and follow things that are important to “me”?

There is this term in ad sales called “Spray and Pray”. It refers to throwing a bunch of things at people hoping one will stick.  It assumes that you are not listening to your client and just trying to push something on them or sell them something.  Granted not everyone is trying to sell online, many people just use Twitter or Facebook as a personal branding tool to express their individuality, and some might only hope that this will attract and lead people back to their primary business. For example, I am not selling a book, seminars or any product *yet* and my consulting specialty doesn’t really cater to the average person online. My business is niche media and to be honest, I don’t really get clients from Twitter or Facebook. My business has been 100% referral from past involvement in broadcasting as a Non Traditional Sales Manager (that’e what we called digital marketing back then) and speaking at a lot conferences; however I got there by proving myself and knowledge I have gained from using these platforms.

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FingerCandyMedia.com Friday: Do You Have An Eggs or Bacon Social Media Plan?

Friday, December 16th, 2011

bacon and eggs 150x150 FingerCandyMedia.com Friday: Do You Have An Eggs or Bacon Social Media Plan?The other day, over my bowl of cereal, the ole Bacon and Eggs adage came into my mind; you have heard that one right?
In a Bacon and Eggs breakfast, the Chicken is involved BUT the Pig is committed.

The act of committing yourself to something is defined as pledging and/or completely engaging yourself in the endeavor.  It can be very easy to mistake enthusiasm for a project, as dedication, often times we just ‘get involved’ in projects and fall short of seeing them through.

Over three years ago when I started Finger Candy Media, had no idea what I was getting myself into. I understood marketing, promotions and advertising just as much as anyone else who has been in the business over 15 years; but initially only courted the idea of a Mobile Marketing company. After doing the research and running the numbers it just didn’t add up to what I thought were my strengths.

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FingerCandyMedia.com Friday: Social Media and the Seven Diminutives

Friday, November 25th, 2011

social media 3 150x150 FingerCandyMedia.com Friday: Social Media and the Seven DiminutivesWhen I woke up this morning to my four and half pound, tail wagging, bundle of love, and constant source of inspiration, Sissy; I thought about how much it makes my morning to be greeted like she has not seem me in days…EVERY day. The smile on my face right now at recollection says it all.

It’s the little things that mean a lot to me, in real life, as much as online.

The post title was inspired by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, although it is my understanding that the word “dwarf” is no longer politically correct. In the story Snow White is lost in the forest and found by seven uh “woodsmen”: Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Happy, Bashful and Grumpy. They form an alliance to keep Snow White safe from her evil step mother and claim back her birthright. *True Story about the PC of  Dwarfs, I even heard that people were petitioning Disney to change the name*

Now back to this story about the  SMALL things aka diminutives.

We’ll start with pointing out the definition of the word Social Media. From the dictionary: Social means friendly gathering; Media, a form of communication. So there you have it: a *friendly* gathering to communicate.

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FingerCandyMedia.com Friday- RGF Factor?

Friday, August 12th, 2011

rgf factor e1312577642674 FingerCandyMedia.com Friday  RGF Factor?An old boss of mine used to joke about the “RGF Factor.” The term came in handy selling FOX TV programming, especially during the changing years ie BAI (before American Idol). It was easy to watch a pilot and think, this is going to do well, but it was always another issue when it came time to sell these new programs to advertising agencies.

You could sell spots and dots, projections and programming trends for similar shows.  But sometimes, you need some added value.

It was a joke that got bigger one day when I was on the phone with a Media Buyer from a very big national ad agency, I  said something like “and then you have to consider the RGF Factor,” she never asked what that was. I laughed so hard when I got off the phone, that just thinking about it right now makes me giggle. She never asked me what the RGF Factor was, but she bought me. Maybe she just trusted my confidence…

R.G.F. Factor = Really Good Feeling

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FingerCandyMedia.Com Friday- Tweet After Me: There’s No Place Like Social Media

Friday, August 5th, 2011

Once upon a time there was a girl, and her dog. They lived somewhere … under the sun *and lots of it* ~ Arizona! She was a friendly, ambitious, creative SocialMediologist … and the fairest maid in all the land (uhmm it’s my story).   She dreamed about one day helping people while working with Entertainers and hoped to make the world a better place …. one tweet at a time.

On a serious note, last week The Huffington Post reported that Walt Disney Studios began filming “Oz: The Great and Powerful,” a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz.”  It got me thinking about the original “The Wizard of Oz” so I watched the movie and THAT got me thinking about what I learned about myself and my journey in comparison to some of the major points made in the movie and how I apply to my life and use of Social Media.

wizard of oz DVDcover1 FingerCandyMedia.Com Friday  Tweet After Me: There’s No Place Like Social MediaIn the story, Dorothy is knocked unconscious during a tornado. She, her dog and the farmhouse are swept up in the storm and dropped into the magical Land of Oz, where she sets out on the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to ask the Wizard of Oz to return her to Kansas. During her journey, she meets a Scarecrow, a Tin Man and a Lion, who join her, hoping to receive what they lack themselves. They are pursued by the Wicked Witch of the West, who wants her dead sister’s magic ruby slippers, now worn by Dorothy.

So what can we learn from Dorothy’s adventure that we can  apply to Social Media and life in general?

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Losing Customers? Find Out Why

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Customer Retention 150x150 Losing Customers? Find Out WhyMarketing to your existing customer base is the easiest and most cost effective way to retain customers and increase profits. These customers have already spent money with your business and are most likely to do so again versus someone who has never set foot in your door. A study by Get Satisfaction shows that it can cost 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer then market to your existing customer base and 63% of all businesses feel that acquiring new customers should be their number one marketing goal.

While we agree with other business owners that acquiring new customers is necessary for steady growth and to replace the natural attrition of customers away from your business, but we also know that marketing to a list of happy customers and providing them with the service that brought them to your business in the first place saves money and increases profits.  Once you have a customer walk in your door the first time, what are you doing to keep them for life? In most small business markets, you do not have a monopoly on your product. The customer can probably find a comparable product within a relatively close proximity. Service is what sets your business apart in both how they are treated inside your business and how you treat the customer through your existing customer marketing methods.

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Foursquare Pages for Brands and Organizations

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

foursquare 150x150 Foursquare Pages for Brands and OrganizationsSmall brands, organizations and businesses can now create their own page in foursquare. Previously this was only available to very large brands and not on a self serve platform.  You will be able to create your own page, complete with custom banner and information.

A great feature is the ability to leave tips and check-ins on your page and push these to both your business Twitter and Facebook page. Those with multiple locations can have more than one manager so all can post tips and updates to your community.

View examples of other pages here: https://foursquare.com/pages and after yours is complete, it will be listed among the 3,000 plus that foursquare created for the largest and most influential brands in the world.