Courtesy of minnesota.publicradio.org

#1: Starbucks Rules

An excellent social media user across a variety of sites, the thing that makes Starbucks such a great ‘role model’ is that all of their sites are highly interactive. They know how to communicate!

#2: The Burger King Campaign

Burger King needed to promote their new TenderCrisp Sandwich – so they created the ‘subservient chicken’ social ad campaign. Fans could go to the website and type in various commands (like ‘moonwalk’) – and the chicken would do it. Fifteen million hits later!

#3: The Cadbury Gorilla Campaign

One of my personal favorites, was the Cadbury Gorilla campaign. The video included a life-like gorilla, drumming along to music by Phil Collins, and driving people to the Cadbury’s website. Along with massive traffic increases, Cadbury’s enjoyed a 7% sales increase.

#4: Whole Foods Market

Good old Whole Foods Market is making a splash on Pinterest with their delicious food pics and interesting pin boards. With boards like ‘Super HOT Kitchens,’ and ‘Cheese is the Bee’s Knees’ – this is one brand on Pinterest to learn from.

#5: The ‘Will It Blend’ Campaign

Considered one of the greatest viral campaigns in social media today, the ‘will it blend’ campaign improved blender sales by 700%. The campaign focused on blending unusual items, to prove the superior strength of the blades and motor.

#6: The Bing – Farmville Alliance

A great example of two brands working together – was when Bing took out ad space on Farmville, offering free Farmville cash to players if they ‘liked’ Bing’s Facebook page. Using this popular game ad space, Bing added a neat 425,000 fans to their page.

#7: Evian and The Baby Campaign

The most viewed video on Youtube ever, is the reigning Evian roller baby ad campaign. It’s been seen by over 60 million people, and attracted over 50,000 comments. You can learn a lot from this incredibly viral video.

#8: The Old Spice Campaign

Old Spice zeroed in on their target demographic by ‘bringing their advert to life’ – or getting the star of their ‘smell like a man, man’ campaign to appear in over 180 web videos, where he would answer fan questions. A huge touch-down for brand interaction!

#9: The Heineken Social Campaign

Heineken is known for progressive Facebook advertising, with interactive apps, features and incentives. When they reached 1 million fans, they launched a secondary campaign – sending Heineken employees into the streets to hug people to say thank you. They called it the 1 million hugs campaign, and it was just as successful as their first campaign!

#10: Ikea Social Campaign

When Ikea needed to promote a new store, they uploaded images of the showrooms and allowed people to tag their names on items that they liked. The first people to do this, would get these items for free. A highly successful social campaign that won awards!

If you take a close look at these social strategies, they all involve bringing something unique, new and innovative to the mix. Apply these lessons in your business, for huge social success.

Heard of any other great social media campaigns? Tell us about them here!

Courtesy of optify.net

#1: A Small Social Campaign is Pointless

Some of the most successful social campaigns have started off ridiculously small, with nearly no budget. The fact is, there are businesses that have managed to take an existing community on Facebook and convert them into customers that buy more often – simply from engagement. Any increase in sales is a step to something bigger.

#2: Social Presence is a Social Strategy

Unfortunately we’re living in a social boom, and just being on Facebook or Twitter is not enough anymore. New social sites are launching, mobile technology is fiercely on the rise and with every day that passes, your business is being left in the dust. Social strategy means so much more than just being there. Find out what it is!

#3: Social Media Doesn’t Cost Anything But Time

Surprise! Like any other form of marketing with real returns, a great social media strategy that converts – is going to cost you money. The great thing is, that you get to control how well you do, based on the amount of money you invest. The more time and money you spend on social media, the larger your company will grow. That’s fact.

#4: Anyone Can Handle a High Converting Social Media Plan

Wrong! Yes, social media was designed for the masses to use, and use it they do. But sales, PR and promotion on these platforms? This is still the domain of the online sellers, the marketers, the entrepreneurs. Social media marketing is a subject you’ll eventually get to study in university. It takes long years and experience to master.

#5: Social Media Doesn’t Effect People in Real Life

Hold on to your hat if you believe this one, because social media is going to change the way we do everything – sooner than you think. It will revolutionize the way we buy and sell things, where we go, what we do, who we are meeting and when we are meeting them. Social media is your future, so prepare for the real life intrusion.

#6: Social Media Will Magically Fix My Business

Social media does have the potential to turn a business around, but chances are – if your business is in trouble there are other core problems you need to change first. Don’t think setting up and running social media sites will solve your customer problem – it’s a process and it takes time, money and passion to get right.

#7: Social Media Has Replaced The Website

It’s tempting to see how a small business would find this one convenient to believe. Facebook and Twitter are free, and a website costs money. The problem is, we’re not there yet. Yes, your social profiles are where your fans will chat and interact – but your business website is where they’ll go to when they want to make sure you’re not a scam. Wait and see if the eclipse happens, but right now a website is still important.

Any more social media misconceptions you’d like to add to the list? Jot them down right here!

Courtesy of blog.brand-yourself.com

The old school method of selling through one-way advertising is becoming extinct. If you don’t learn how to network now, you’ll find the more prominent social media becomes, the less your business is able to keep up with tech-savvy competitors. Here are some reasons to push on with your social media campaign.

#1: Rapid Growth Through Brand Loyalty

Before social media rose to power, only businesses with real capital would have any chance of developing and growing a popular brand. Social media has made it possible for any enterprising small business, to make an impact in their market. With the right balance of promotion and interaction – a small brand can become a huge name in an unimaginably short amount of time.

Social media makes building brand loyalty easier, faster and more affordable. Small businesses are no longer required to spend thousands of dollars on television, radio and print advertising. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, give your business the power to grow right now. You get to reach the right people, at the right time with a tailor made marketing message.

#2: A Larger Customer Base Than Ever Before

Social media is all about sharing across borders, without boundaries or physical limitations. You can now expand your customer base far beyond anything previously possible. For example – a small, local restaurant is able to attract tourists, and people all over their State – instead of just their local clientele.

The are a hundred different ways to reach out to your global fanbase – using content, images, advertising, video, podcasts, apps and many other forms of new social technology. Because of your streamlined marketing messages, you’ll only attract people that are genuinely interested in your business. Convert these people into loyal customers and watch your business take off.

#3: Intelligent DIY Networking and Promotion

Social media encourages the sharing of information, which has led to a boom in quality content online. If you don’t know something, you can learn it from other businesses, or business people. Savvy businesses use social media to connect with industry leaders, to learn and grow their companies in new directions.

There is no such thing as being a lone business person anymore. You have a world full of knowledge at your fingertips, with a limitless number of ways that you can develop, expand or enrich your business – and your skills as a business owner. Connect and share with like-minded people to make the most of your opportunities online. There’s always someone willing to help!

#4: Social Media is Evolution

Social media is the next step in marketing for businesses. Do you remember when the television first came out? It changed the business world forever. Social media has done the same. To ignore it, would mean that you are ignoring your chance to capitalize on something that’s going to eventually become the dominant method of promoting and advertising your business anyway. Don’t ignore it!

These 4 reasons are why you should continue with your social media campaign. It’s the most important thing you’ll ever learn to do.

Why do you think social media is important for businesses? Tell us below!

Courtesy of careerviewmirror.wordpress.com

And, because many of us are blissfully unaware of the implications of this – it hasn’t bothered us much until now. Then – horror stories of people being fired because they said something on Twitter about their boss.

Businesses ruined because employees ran rampant in a public Facebook group – what’s happening? Well, thanks to search engines and social networks nothing is private anymore. Not if your name is attached to it.

Indexing What You Say in Real Time

Email is a fairly private form of social media, and one we have become accustomed to over the years. Unfortunately, it has managed to ruin our ideas on what privacy should be on social media sites. Don’t think for one second that what you say on MySpace, FourSquare or Twitter is private.

Each word you create and publish is carefully indexed by these sites and stored under your name (or alias). Real time searches and search engines will produce your latest comments on Facebook or any other network they like just as soon as someone types in your name or nickname. Every detail can be traced back to you. Anyone can access this information, even if they aren’t your follower or friend.

Private Is Not So Private On Social Media

If you think your comments or posts are safe in private groups, think again. Social media thrives on information. If you publish a particularly entertaining rant, in a ‘private’ group, it may end up on a client rant site – via someone else who has republished what you’ve said.

Next thing you know, there’s your name, or your business name, with a very inappropriate comment shining out for all the world to see. A lot of social media is recycled, or republished – especially the things you shouldn’t say because they are the most interesting to read. There are some things you should never utter online – ever.

Don’t Freak Out, Remember it’s All about Business

Remember when your parents used to say “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all?” Well, like always – that rule should be followed. Think of social media as a direct line to your clients, bosses, competitors and employees. Assume that they can and do see everything you publish online.

That way, you’ll never stumble into a bad situation by mistake. The internet is no longer a platform for little groups of people. It’s everyone’s arena now. As long as you stay honest, pleasant and aware – you’ll be just fine. Don’t be afraid of your opinions, just remember that posting them on Twitter is the same as sending a private email to the people you are talking about! Most of all learn with every experience to improve the way you communicate online.

Finally, stay positive. No one in business wants to read about how sad or angry you are anyway, it never helps your image. Good luck!

Have you ever landed up in hot water over a comment you’ve posted? Tell us about it!

Courtesy of highpointseo.com

Each of these corporate giants hired brand identity experts to make their brand easily recognizable, memorable and better than their competitors. These fundamentals still ring true with moving your brand promotion to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

But how do you take your brand ‘identity’ and transform it into a social media hit? The competition is twice as fierce as television. What is going to make your brand stand out? Here’s what to do.

1. Ask Yourself The Tough Questions

You already have a business name, and an identity – but is it good enough to try and compete on social media platforms? Your social media graphics have got to be eye catching, and they have to be synonymous with your business. Everything from the colors, the logo and the slogan should be uniform and easy to turn into a dynamite package for social media promotion.

When choosing your graphics, ask the tough questions. Is your brand identity memorable? Is it easy to turn your logo into a tiny icon? What do the colors say about your brand? If you simply ignore this first stage, you’ll end up with old branding that doesn’t work, and your social media strategy will not be as effective as it could have been.

2. Don’t Skimp on New Graphics to Save Money

If your logo is impossible to convert into a really nice icon for Twitter, then get one designed. You’re going to have to look at having a lot of new design work done for your social media pages anyway.

The most savvy social media brand promoters make sure that all of their social media flows – in other words, you can tell that one company is behind the branding on each of their pages. This is because a designer has gone in there and created some brand uniformity. That’s what you want.

3. Use Photos of Yourself and Your Brand

This is social media – people want to see that you’re a real person, not some mindless group of nameless, faceless auto-programs trying to make sales. Choose a professional photo of yourself to use on some of your social media pages. Don’t under any circumstances, use old, outdated or informal photos of yourself. People want to see you – but they will associate your photo with your brand.

4. Create a Graphics Policy

If you have a social media manager that is always choosing graphics for your pages, then you’ll want to draft a graphics policy. All this is, is a statement saying what your brand is all about, and what is acceptable in terms of imagery.

A law firm for example might ban humorous or inappropriate graphics on their blog, while a web design agency would include these images to seem young and witty.

At the end of the day it all comes down to professionalism, and the core principles of promoting a brand. Keep them in mind when choosing your graphics, and you won’t go wrong when creating your social media reputation.

Have you ever received negative feedback from graphics you’ve used on your Facebook or Twitter pages? We want to know!

Courtesy of blog.gannettlocal.com

There are several advantages of this of course – the main one being that you’ll know what they’re up to in real time. Social media has a way of letting competitors ‘inside’ the community circle, which is not always a good thing.

So what do you do when you begin to notice that a few of your main competitors have gone out of their way to ‘like’ or ‘follow’ you. What if you notice their work email on your blog subscriber list? They’re monitoring you! Here’s how you should handle it.

We all like to see our direct competition as threats to our business, but the truth is – if you’re working with your social media on a daily basis, and keeping your reputation clean, they can’t hurt you. In fact follow them in return.

Social media is about sharing with each other, even if the person you’re sharing with is trying to steal your clients. The beauty of social media is that no one can copy your personality or unique value proposition.

In a recent post we discussed how important creating great content is for your social media pages. If you continue to stick to these rules, then you shouldn’t have any problem with competitors listening in on your community pages.

Make sure that everything you publish is open to the public, and never say anything that might give your competitors a little bit of ammo to use against you. Hay, we can’t all be ethically sound!

Don’t start announcing that you’re working on this revolutionary product on your Twitter page, or your competitor will investigate it.

Before you know it, they’ve released the first version before you, and your entire product launch is ruined. If you’re going to announce something, make sure it’s within a week or two of the release date, so that they don’t have time to capitalize on your great ideas.

A foolproof way to keep tabs on your competitors is to follow them back. That way you’ll be kept in the loop about what they’re doing. On Twitter especially, use their own hashtag feeds to stay involved.

Never – under any circumstances – say bad things about your competitor’s business on their social media pages, or you could spark a war. It’s very easy for two rival companies to ruin each others social media campaigns.

Stay calm, and inform your social media manager to be wary of what they say in the public domain. If your competitors try to copy you – then you’re obviously doing the right thing! Instead of concentrating on bringing down your competitors, you should ‘friend’ them. Who knows – you could end up doing business together one day.

Has a competitor ever tried to make you look bad on your social media pages?
If so, what did they say? We want to know!

Courtesy of wynnsolutions.com

By doing this, and by stimulating positive feedback, your likeability as a business increases. This means that you begin to have a presence in social media, and your reputation evolves as a result of that.

But whether it evolves into something positive, or into something negative – comes down to a few fundamental features in the end. To truly create a likable presence on your social media pages, you need to concentrate on a few of these key points.

A Recognizable Brand Means Brand Consistency

For people to quickly understand that your social media pages are affiliated with your business page or blog – they need to all share a common brand identity.

This doesn’t mean that they all have to be the same, it just means that when you get a designer to mock up your Facebook, Twitter or Youtube pages, people should be able to recognize that your brands are one in the same. And yes, you should get a designer to design each of your pages as part of your social media identity.

Whatever You Do, Do It Properly and Completely

There’s nothing more irritating than arriving on a Facebook business page, and it’s only half complete. Sometimes this means that you’ve decided to list your business with 8 million social media sites (a common mistake) or, even worse – you’ve started and just haven’t found the time to finish your profile.

Social media makes your business highly visible on the internet, which means that every rushed profile, quick thoughtless post or funny (though wildly inappropriate) image is viewed by potential customers. Oops! Every single little thing you add to your business social media pages makes an impression. Make sure it’s always a positive one!

Use Appropriate Images of Yourself

People that begin to use social media for business, sometimes don’t realize that their peers in business will see the photos that they post of themselves. Don’t grab any old holiday pic of yourself and slap it down as your Twitter image. Think of the image you would like to project for yourself and for your business.

An accountant for example, would not get more work from an image of himself tipsy and sitting at a pub with his friends. Choose a professional image of yourself, and try to keep it the same throughout all of your pages so that people can identify you.

When you begin the social media journey – it’s up to you to ensure that each action has a purpose, and that purpose is to expand your community and make money. If it doesn’t contribute to either of these goals, then it doesn’t belong on your social media pages. Keep it professional, light-hearted and most of all – clean. Let your unique social media personality develop, as long as it’s in line with your business goals!

What three key points did you work around when creating your unique social media image? Trustworthy, kind, kick-ass? Give us your ideal traits below!

Courtesy of wynnsolutions.com

By doing this, and by stimulating positive feedback, your likeability as a business increases. This means that you begin to have a presence in social media, and your reputation evolves as a result of that.

But whether it evolves into something positive, or into something negative – comes down to a few fundamental features in the end. To truly create a likable presence on your social media pages, you need to concentrate on a few of these key points.

A Recognizable Brand Means Brand Consistency

For people to quickly understand that your social media pages are affiliated with your business page or blog – they need to all share a common brand identity.

This doesn’t mean that they all have to be the same, it just means that when you get a designer to mock up your Facebook, Twitter or Youtube pages, people should be able to recognize that your brands are one in the same. And yes, you should get a designer to design each of your pages as part of your social media identity.

Whatever You Do, Do It Properly and Completely

There’s nothing more irritating than arriving on a Facebook business page, and it’s only half complete. Sometimes this means that you’ve decided to list your business with 8 million social media sites (a common mistake) or, even worse – you’ve started and just haven’t found the time to finish your profile.

Social media makes your business highly visible on the internet, which means that every rushed profile, quick thoughtless post or funny (though wildly inappropriate) image is viewed by potential customers. Oops! Every single little thing you add to your business social media pages makes an impression. Make sure it’s always a positive one!

Use Appropriate Images of Yourself

People that begin to use social media for business, sometimes don’t realize that their peers in business will see the photos that they post of themselves. Don’t grab any old holiday pic of yourself and slap it down as your Twitter image. Think of the image you would like to project for yourself and for your business.

An accountant for example, would not get more work from an image of himself tipsy and sitting at a pub with his friends. Choose a professional image of yourself, and try to keep it the same throughout all of your pages so that people can identify you.

When you begin the social media journey – it’s up to you to ensure that each action has a purpose, and that purpose is to expand your community and make money. If it doesn’t contribute to either of these goals, then it doesn’t belong on your social media pages. Keep it professional, light-hearted and most of all – clean. Let your unique social media personality develop, as long as it’s in line with your business goals!

What three key points did you work around when creating your unique social media image? Trustworthy, kind, kick-ass? Give us your ideal traits below!

Courtesy of actasifblog.com

It’s amazing though, how some social media managers manage to drag their businesses name through the mud when this happens. That positive opportunity quickly becomes bad publicity, and all because they handled the situation incorrectly. So how do you know that what you’re doing is having a positive effect on your businesses reputation? Let’s take a look at some best practices that you can use as a checklist.

Address Concerns in Easy To Consume Detail

When someone brings to light an issue with your business, you need to address it immediately to curb any negative press that has begun circulating. Not only should you explain your side in detail, but you should do it in a short, concise manner – that drips with professionalism and poise. If someone rants about the service they received from your business, detail your experience with the client in a non-inflammatory manner.

Remain Professional and Don’t Stoop To Their Level

This is social media, which means people sometimes think they have the right to say whatever the heck they want about your business – lies or not. They often don’t consider the real damage that could result from it.

If someone decides to go out of their way to ‘get back at your business’ by publishing reviews, posts and terrible comments about you everywhere they can – find each source, address it, and resolve the situation. That way other readers will see that you’re on top of the bad things being said about you – always a good sign that the business in question cares.

Fend off Personal Attacks with Polite Logic

Because social media invites personal conversion, it also invites personal attack – which, let’s be honest, is a lot harder to swallow.

When people are plastering nasty things about you on the internet, it’s very easy to lose your cool and say nasty things back. But this doesn’t solve a thing. If you deal with it in a professional manner, and logically explain your position – you’ll make the ‘troll client’ look like a spiteful person.

Thank People for Constructive Criticism

Not all negative feedback is that negative, and often you’ll find yourself confronted with constructive criticism. Misinterpreted, this can lead to all out battles on Twitter, Facebook or on your blog. When someone is offering advice based on their experience of your products or services, accept it with a pinch of salt. And thank them for it.

Don’t Respond At All to Threats or Abusive Language

Last but not least is the negative feedback that threatens to dismantle all of your hard work over the last few years. Someone, for no real reason, leaves outrageous comments about your business on your social media pages.

There is swearing, threats and things are blown out of proportion so badly, you feel like deleting your profile. In this instance it’s sometimes best to ignore it. You might even delete it, if you can. Delete and ignore. That’s how to deal with vicious, unfounded feedback.

Have you ever received a particularly bad comment about your business?
What did you do about it? Let us know!

Courtesy of actasifblog.com

It’s amazing though, how some social media managers manage to drag their businesses name through the mud when this happens. That positive opportunity quickly becomes bad publicity, and all because they handled the situation incorrectly. So how do you know that what you’re doing is having a positive effect on your businesses reputation? Let’s take a look at some best practices that you can use as a checklist.

Address Concerns in Easy To Consume Detail

When someone brings to light an issue with your business, you need to address it immediately to curb any negative press that has begun circulating. Not only should you explain your side in detail, but you should do it in a short, concise manner – that drips with professionalism and poise. If someone rants about the service they received from your business, detail your experience with the client in a non-inflammatory manner.

Remain Professional and Don’t Stoop To Their Level

This is social media, which means people sometimes think they have the right to say whatever the heck they want about your business – lies or not. They often don’t consider the real damage that could result from it.

If someone decides to go out of their way to ‘get back at your business’ by publishing reviews, posts and terrible comments about you everywhere they can – find each source, address it, and resolve the situation. That way other readers will see that you’re on top of the bad things being said about you – always a good sign that the business in question cares.

Fend off Personal Attacks with Polite Logic

Because social media invites personal conversion, it also invites personal attack – which, let’s be honest, is a lot harder to swallow.

When people are plastering nasty things about you on the internet, it’s very easy to lose your cool and say nasty things back. But this doesn’t solve a thing. If you deal with it in a professional manner, and logically explain your position – you’ll make the ‘troll client’ look like a spiteful person.

Thank People for Constructive Criticism

Not all negative feedback is that negative, and often you’ll find yourself confronted with constructive criticism. Misinterpreted, this can lead to all out battles on Twitter, Facebook or on your blog. When someone is offering advice based on their experience of your products or services, accept it with a pinch of salt. And thank them for it.

Don’t Respond At All to Threats or Abusive Language

Last but not least is the negative feedback that threatens to dismantle all of your hard work over the last few years. Someone, for no real reason, leaves outrageous comments about your business on your social media pages.

There is swearing, threats and things are blown out of proportion so badly, you feel like deleting your profile. In this instance it’s sometimes best to ignore it. You might even delete it, if you can. Delete and ignore. That’s how to deal with vicious, unfounded feedback.

Have you ever received a particularly bad comment about your business?
What did you do about it? Let us know!