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Friday, March 30, 2012

Social Media News For The Week Of 3/30/12

CREShow: LinkedIn A Powerful Social Media Site For Businesses
The popularity of the social media network LinkedIn is on the rise according to a group of real estate professionals that were guests on the weekly radio program "Commercial Real Estate Show". LinkedIn is gaining new membership at the rate of over two per minute. Members of LinkedIn include executives of all the Fortune 500 companies among a total of over 150 million members around the globe. Full Story Here:

Social Capital: The Creative Group Survey: Many Companies Plan To Spend More On Social Media This Year; Facebook Tops The List For Marketing Investment
The Creative Group has conducted a new survey which has found 53 percent of marketing and advertising executives plan to increase their Facebook investment in this year. These same survey participants expect to spend more of their marketing budgets on other social sites, such as Twitter, Google , LinkedIn and Youtube in addition. Full Story Here:

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Social Media Tips - Link All Your Platforms

A crucial early step in the process of implementing a social media campaign for your company is to connect all your marketing platforms with links. It is vitally important for every person that hears your company's message, on any one platform, to know they can connect with you on all of your platforms. This will broaden the exposure of all your marketing efforts.

If your company already has a website and/or a blog, that is a ready source of followers for your social media networks. The blog and website must have links for the people who are already fans of your company to easily become followers on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media site with your brand presence. The reverse is true as well. Provide links from the social media networks back to your blog and website. Any print or broadcast marketing campaigns in place should contain information about how to connect with the company on all your other platforms.

Connecting all of your company's marketing platforms will create a cross over effect that will drive customers and prospects to your business, no matter the source.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit our website today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

April 12th Social Media Seminar in Naples Florida

OnFast is hosting a free social media marketing seminar for hoteliers in the Naples area on April 12! Call or email to register.

Social Media Marketing for Hoteliers / Hotels


Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

3 Things to keep in mind if You are going to play the social media game.


Have a clear goal

Just why are you blogging and how are you using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn?

When you take away the chaff, there are just three reasons to devote time to social media:
  •     Increase brand awareness by expanding your social reach
  •     Build customer loyalty by posting valuable information
  •     Increase sales by subtly convincing people to purchase your products and services

Having a clear and concise goal will give you the appearance of a seasoned professional. You are only wasting your reader's time and your own precious resources if you have no clear objective.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Importance Of Mobile Apps - Introduction

Mobile devices such as smartphones have become part of the fabric of our society, not only here in the U.S. but around the world. Mobile optimization of websites or mobile apps as they are called, is becoming a crucially important step for businesses to take in moving themselves forward. To a large extent it's already as important as having a company website. In the next few blogs we will be taking a look at why this has become reality.

Mobile Devices Are Everywhere -

Smartphones are ubiquitous. We are not far from the point where everyone will have the capability to access mobile apps. Mobile app development has exploded over the course of recent years and the development of apps will only increase. It is estimated that over 300,000 apps have been developed over the last three years alone. Price reductions of smartphones will really drive these devices to become even more pervasive.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Developing A Social Media Strategy - Identifying Company Niche And How Social Media Fits In

The time when a company is about to begin planning their strategy to utilize social media to further their marketing efforts is an opportune time for some reflection. Unless the company is a startup, the business already has marketing operations in place and ongoing. Social media must be implemented as a component of the company's overall marketing campaigns. Before getting started, ask and seek the answers to a few essential questions.

First of all just what is the company's niche? Maybe this question has not been asked in awhile. What products and/or services does your company offer and to whom? What is your current strategy for business? Who is the company trying to reach and market to currently? Getting a handle on where your business is now is crucial in determining where you would like the company to go with social media.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Social Media News For The Week Of 3/23/12

Google Analytics Launches Social Reports Tool

Google is now offering the owners of websites a new tool to help them more accurately measure the value of their social network channels. This tool from Google Analytics with such features as an "Overview Report" will give users the ability to clearly see how their social sites affect their conversion rate and ultimately ROI. See Full Story Here: 

Adobe Study Shows Social Media Impact Undervalued By Nearly 100 Percent

A recent survey by Adobe Systems Incorporated has found that the impact of social media is undervalued by nearly 100 percent. This is the second time the company conducted its Adobe Digital Index Report. The report analyzed over 1.7 billion visits across 225 different U.S. company websites and found that marketers grossly underestimate the value of social traffic. See Full Story Here:

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Legal Concerns for Bloggers

Intellectual property

First and foremost be aware the material you are using may belong to someone else and is either trademarked or copyrighted.

There is an abundance of available intellectual property on line online in the form of videos, images, articles, and text, which more often then than not is protected by copyrights. Never publish anything that you don't have full legal rights to. If you decide to use something that does not belong to you, clearly provide the appropriate links and the accurate attribution to the legal author.

It may be wise to ask the author for permission to use proprietary material with proper accreditation. Most authors will welcome the proliferation of their material with proper recognition.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A recent interview with Heather Patton, Director of External Affairs for the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples.

OnFast staff recently interviewed Heather Patton, Director of External Affairs for the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples about the museum's social media usage.  Here are some of the highlights:



About Golisano Children's Museum of Naples

The Golisano Children's Museum of Naples is Collier County's first learning environment devoted exclusively to child's play and the serious business of discovery that helps children attain hallmark milestones on the journey into adulthood. C'mon is a 30,000-square-foot museum for families located in the North Collier Regional Park. Opened in February 2012, the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples is envisioned to be one of the finest children's museums in the United States and will be fully accessible to all children regardless of their physical or learning abilities. To learn more about C'mon, visit www.cmon.org.


Has Social Media posting proved to be beneficial in getting your message out?

"Very much so. As we led up to our grand opening we were able to keep the community aware of our progress. We generated so much interest we filled to capacity the day we opened. We have over 3,800 likes on our Facebook page."

Has Social Media helped you save budget resources over other forms of advertising?

"Yes, but let me say we use all the media channels available to us where appropriate. Social media compliments our efforts and certainly is cost effective. Social media is not totally free when you consider staff time. The big advantage besides low cost is that social media is real time. We can get our message out immediately with little preparation or interaction with other organizations."

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Customer Engagement On LinkedIn

LinkedIn is unique among social media networks in that it targets professionals in the business community helping participating colleagues to stay connected.

LinkedIn is not meant for directly selling or promoting your company's products or services.

In recent months, LinkedIn has added features enabling businesses to more effectively engage their followers. This improvement has resulted in enhanced marketing possibilities.

Company Status Updates -

Status updates that are relevant professionally to a company's followers can now be posted regularly through the company profile. Job postings, product and company news, and industry related articles that may be useful to the followers can now be posted on the company profile.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Importance Of Developing A Social Media Strategy

The topic of whether a business should be using social media to further their marketing efforts is no longer in doubt. Clearly, social media is a necessary and vital component of any comprehensive marketing plan. But, what is the right way to go about it. The shortsighted strategy many businesses follow is to set up accounts and company pages on popular networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. While it is commendable that those companies have adopted and integrated social media into their marketing campaigns, their efforts will be much more effective if a formal plan is created and implemented.

This blog is the first of a series covering the development of strategies for launching a marketing campaign that utilizes social media in coordination with the company's overall plan to accomplish its goals. Future posts will be released on Mondays and will include these topics:

1 - Who Are You? - Clearly identify what your company's niche is and how social media fits into the big picture for your business.

2 - Who Your Audience Is - Determine whom you are trying to reach with social media.

3 - What You Hope To Accomplish Using Social Media - What are your goals and objectives for your company's social media marketing efforts?

Friday, March 16, 2012

Social Media News For The Week Of 3/16/12

Five Things To Take Away From This Year's SXSW

The annual South by Southwest Interactive was held in Austin, TX this past week. The conference was attended by social media and tech insiders, and featured a collection of small startup companies alongside big brands. Highlights this year included passive-location apps like Glancee. This was the 20th anniversary of SXSW. Full Story Here:

Does Social Media Affect How You Spend Money? You Betcha

People are becoming increasingly indifferent to traditional marketing methods and advertising. Individuals' social media circles are having a markedly greater influence on their purchasing decisions, particularly among younger people. Consumers are more likely to trust the opinion of their friends on social media networks than a commercial. Full Story Here:

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Attributes of a Successful Blogger

With the competition closely on their heels, more and more business people feel the obligation to hype their business virtues using the new social media medium.  Once the decision to join the Blogosphere is made, most new comers immediately encounter the stress and angst to produce quality content quickly. Please read on.

It's not uncommon for competent business professionals to freeze at the keyboard. Frankly, writing an effective blog takes skill, practice, and a love for writing.  All of these skills can be learned and mastered. 

Although the resistance to writing can seem almost insurmountable at times, writing passionately about the business you know is not difficult. Your desire to compete and succeed should give you cause and motivation to overcome the reluctance to master the task at hand. If you are still unsure about your writing skills visit Dailywritingtips.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

If You Plan to Blog About Someone Read This.

When writing a Blog post about someone or a business your intent should be altruistic. Using referrals and testimonials effectively wins friends and customers. People like to give their opinion and usually they are willing to help your cause.

Here are a few basics to follow to keep your efforts on the right track:

Never reveal private or confidential information about a person or business. Always get consent from all businesses or individuals you plan to cover in your blog. It's a good practice to review your material with your subject before you release your post for the whole world to see. If your material is sensitive or objectionable, change it so as not to offend your subject.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Providing Exceptional Customer Service

Providing "good" customer service is not enough these days. You must provide EXCEPTIONAL customer service and go beyond customer expectations.  With that in mind, here are some helpful tips for providing exceptional customer service.

1. Listen to your customer's ideas, needs, or concerns. By doing so, you are getting an outsiders point of view regarding your services and products and letting them know that you care about what they think.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Customer Engagement On Twitter

It may appear to the casual observer that Twitter, with its limitation of 140 characters per message, would be a difficult platform for a business to market itself.

Recently, in a conversation, with a local area businessman the question of just how do you get a message across in such a limited space came up. This is a rather typical concern and it's not the first time we have encountered this issue.

Even with the 140-character barrier, Twitter with 500 million users presents a huge opportunity for a company to broadcast their marketing message to an ever-growing targeted segment of users. The vastness of this audience can't be ignored any longer by businesses wishing to grow.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Social Media News For The Week Of 3/9/12

American Express Incentives To Push Deals On Twitter

Credit card issuer American Express announced a new rewards program for customers to link their credit card to their Twitter account. In return for linking their accounts, customers will receive credits applied to their monthly statements when they Tweet participating retailers offers. Customers need to use special Twitter hashtags that are from each retailer's specific offer. Full Story Here:

Red Cross Unveils Social Media Monitoring Operation

The Red Cross unveiled its new Digital Operations Center designed to monitor and analyze data from social networking sites and blogs to pinpoint where relief is most needed during and after disasters. This will enhance the organization's ability to know what is happening in real time and anticipate trends. Individuals that are affected will be connected with needed resources more efficiently as well. Full Story Here:

Thursday, March 8, 2012

An Overview of Social Media Coupons

The Typical Coupon Deal

Basically, anyone can sign up to participate in the coupon email distribution service.  On a daily basis, discounted deals based on preferences are e-mailed to users within a local area. Users can choose to "click-to-buy" and print their coupon. Once the deal is purchased, the confirmed coupon can be used at the participating merchant for a variety of products and services. Coupons for restaurants are the most popular.

Turning Twitter Followers Into Customers

The social network Twitter can become a very unique and effective platform for a business to promote themselves and increase their brand awareness. However, several things that are peculiar to Twitter must be kept in mind when using this network for marketing your business.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Turning LinkedIn Connections Into Customers

LinkedIn can be an effective tool in growing your business, but the methodology of accomplishing this goal is much more subtle than on some other social networks. Since the purpose of LinkedIn is to serve as a professional network and not as a format for the hard sell, the approach to marketing your company on LinkedIn needs to be more indirect.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Getting Likes On Facebook To Drive Your Business

Now that your company has created a Facebook page, you may be wondering what you can do to get more people to "Like" your page. Facebook can be a growth generator for your company, but your page must be carefully managed. Here are a few steps you can take to expand your company's presence and reach on Facebook.

Manage - Stay On Top Of Your Company Page

The single most important thing you can do to make your company's Facebook page drive customers to you is to manage the page and not neglect it. Provide updates and fresh content as often as possible. Engage with the people who go to your page. Offer information, ask questions, conduct surveys, post photos or attach links to videos. Keep it interesting and give plenty of opportunity for feedback.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Twitter And What It Can Do For Your Business

Twitter is a social network for the sharing of information that is used by millions of people, businesses and organizations. Twitter users subscribe to the messages of other users that are relevant to them or they are interested in. Subscribing makes them followers of those messages. Using messages limited to 140 characters, Twitter users can write, share and read messages of everyone in their network of followers, along with those they follow.


Friday, March 2, 2012

Social Media News For The Week Of 3/2/12

Useful Social Media: American Express, Whole Foods Market, Dell, Gap And Boeing Among 25 More Corporate Industry Leaders Meeting To Debate Social Media Marketing's Worth

It was announced this week by the business intelligence company, Useful Social Media, that over 25 leading national corporate brands will be gathering for two days in June to discuss social media and its impact on corporate business. Useful Social Media reports that in a recent survey they conducted 64% of companies plan on increasing their social media budgets during 2012. Full Story Here 

LinkedIn Rolls Out "Follow Company" Button

LinkedIn launched its new "Follow Company" button option for companies to add on their own websites. This button gives businesses an easy way to have their customers, prospective employees or clients follow them on LinkedIn. Full Story Here

Thursday, March 1, 2012

LinkedIn And What It Can Do For Your Business

Of the major social network sites, the most overlooked is LinkedIn. Many companies that could benefit from taking a more active role on LinkedIn, believe it is only for salespeople. That's a shame because LinkedIn offers businesses many avenues for potential growth, besides just looking up contacts. Here are a few possibilities to explore on LinkedIn for your company: