Being in the Social Media and Information business we tend to look for things in this space that our audience may find of interest. In this case, courtesy of ESRI, http://www.esri.com/services/disaster-response/gulf-oil-spill-2010/index.html a manufacturer of GIS, Geographic Information Systems software, we’ve found an interactive monitoring tool that is keeping tabs on an ongoing catastrophe that impacts us all – The BP Oil Spill.

ESRI’s software allows you to view location based feeds in real time including recent news, threatened  wildlife sites, Tweets , Twitter photos, and YouTube videos. You can also add your own content and updates which allows for input from real people - unbiased by any of the media, corporate and PR outlets. In our humble opinion, this is Social Media at its best.

Blackball Online Marketing specializes in Pittsburgh Twitter Marketing and Social Media solutions for small business.

Pittsburgh Social Media Marketing Campaign Strategies

We hope you have already read the Planning Your for Social Media Marketing Campaign and the Analyzing Your Social Media Marketing Campaign posts. If not take a minute or two to catch up. That was quick. Having gone through the steps in the previous posts all that’s left to do is have some fun. Research for us is fun.

Now that you know your company’s strengths and weaknesses as identified previously it’s time to research the Social Media channels that are right for you. We mentioned previously about asking your present clients “What if any social networking sites do you use?”. This information can now be put to use in a real way. Explore a little and draw your own conclusions.

The absolute first thing we did was to build a blog. While this may not be a strategy you wish to employ right now keep it in mind. There are many blogging platforms out there. Blogger, WordPress.com, WordPress.org, and Drupal are the top blogging sites according to the Alexa rankings as of this writing but there are also other alternatives.

Social Media Blogging Platforms

Blogging on your own site has a number of distinct advantages. The traffic you generate will be all yours. As you become more proficient with your blogging tools and your writing, you will generate a clear channel to your audience with no static. A one to many relationship between you and your customers / readers. Why not have the traffic you generate with your words and your thoughts benefit you? Sounds fair – right? This is not the case when you choose a platform hosted elsewhere. Yes, you can link back to your main site but it doesn’t carry the same weight. One the flipside, more technical skill is required and someone must administer the blog thus using company resources. Blackball Online Marketing designs custom blogs for small business and can help you implement your small business social media campaigns.

One last thought on blogging. This requires commitment as well as any other business initiative. Social Media, and business for that matter, is really all about commitment. Cultivate your audience and your business relationships will grow and prosper.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING MIX – IMPLEMENTATION

Into Action - Whether you chose to implement a blog or already have one it’s time to take your research and put it to use. Use Alexa to find the sites with the most popularity and the most reach. Are any of these on your lists of sites already mined from your customers? Have a look at the Social Media sites on this list and do your homework.

A short list of must have sites in our opinion.

• Twitter – This site is easy to understand and implement and it lets you get your feet wet with minimal effort. Please read all their valuable info on the site to get you started.
• YouTube – This is the second largest search engine on the Internet – don’t let it pass you by. Get creative and make some videos for publication.
• LinkedIn – A very business oriented site that let’s you develop a business profile and sharing level without the non business noise that comes with most of the other sites.
• Facebook – Yes we said Facebook. Although there are still some privacy concerns as far as simplicity, this is still the big dog of social media marketing and should not be overlooked.

So if you’ve been following along and developed a list of sites to submit to, here is where your blog or website represents you to the rest of the blogosphere and the rest of the net. Share and promote your blog/site everywhere you can. It’s the world’s view of you. So keep this in mind when blogging and commenting on other posts or pages.

As you grow your social media following you’ll likely have many logins. Write these down as you submit to them. It will save you a lot of grief later. Hope to see you on a social media site out there or get started now and join our blog and comment right away. We’d appreciate it.

Pittsburgh Social Media Marketing by Blackball Online Marketing

Twitter Monetizes - Finally

…or the Big Dog needs to eat if you want him to hunt.

…or feed the Big Dog if you want him to hunt.

Unless I just missed the memo why didn’t Twitter simply Tweet their intent to monetize and leverage the invaluable feedback they'd get from the very people who have incorporated a steady diet of  Tweeting in their daily professional and personal lives. Twitter could approach this in a number of ways while having a lot of fun with it. Twitter could Tweet surveys, ask for ideas, maybe even a contest for the best Twitter monetization idea, and simply asking what do you think - we’d love to hear from you. 

Twitter would be asking input for one of their most important business decisions from the very people that make Twitter soar. The effect could prove to be very positive. Imagine the creativity from all that input.  There may not be enough bandwidth to hold the explosion of involvement. You could say this has the air of opportunity. If you want to engage and rally a community, here it is. And with such a radical and different approach to a corporate business move it just may create “pause” with those “other guys” and/or possibly raise the bar - if not change the bar’s direction.

I’m saying this because I’ve read some excerpts here and there that Twitter was fretting over their decision to monetize, to what degree only Twitter knows, but this is where Twitter turns the fretting into freedom by way of a dialog that simply says “we’re in business, we want to stay in business, and we’re pretty sure all you Tweeters want us to stay in business, so what do you think, how do you feel about this, and what are your ideas.” Twitter is a fantastic, intelligent and innovative product and with us in the SEO, Social Media and information business we’re finding new ways everyday to use Twitter to help our clients do business better which makes the deal this - what took Twitter so long?

Twitter is a business, and this is America, so why would Twitter fret over this decision? First a little peek into their history tells us something. And what it tells us is this; Twitter began to help, to solve a problem, not so much to make money, and before you know it Twitter is a business, better yet, an “accidental empire.” With this in mind, maybe human nature is the reason for Twitter’s monetizing angst, based on the “fear of offending” which we all struggle with at times. But hell, what do I know, I’m just speculating. Only Twitter knows for sure.

I don’t think Twitter has a thing to fret about.

Social Media Icons Explored – A Guide To Social Networking Sites and Tools

Social Media is all the rage – but what do all these icons represent? As in any other business an icon or logo is used to represent the product or company without having to see the verbiage written out. Most people relate visually and these symbols have become commonplace. We thought we'd share a rundown of some of the most popular with you to help get you up to speed in the terms and symbols of this ever-increasing medium called Social Media.

RSS Icon

This is the standard RSS feed symbol. Short for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, RSS has not been adopted by the masses as was thought when it originally came out in 1999. It does however have many uses such as data aggregation and news reader updates that go on behind the scenes. When a website offers an RSS feed this icon will appear in the address bar to the right.

Facebook Icon

Facebook is, as of the time of this post, the number 1 website for traffic in the world having passed even the almighty Google. Facebook is a community based social networking platform that allows users to become fans, add friends, and create groups. The website currently has more than 400 million active users worldwide and growing.

Twitter Icon

Twitter is the 140 character at a time posting and microblogging wonder that allows users to follow other users and send and view their text messages. Users can add other Tweeple to lists and follow lists as well. This is an open API platform social networking site which has increased it's exposure rapidly due to the rapid exchange of information and openness of it's ability to share information.

Digg Icon

Digg is a social news website made for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the Internet, by submitting links and stories, and voting and commenting on submitted links and stories. If you enjoy a story you vote it up, or digg it. If you're not so favorable to a story or photo, you vote it down.

LinkedIn Icon

LinkedIn is the premier business social networking tool in our opinion. Gathering a following is harder and more lucrative as well. The quality of business class connections is stronger in our opinion. The site is all about business and that's why it made our list – professional networking at its finest. LinkedIn has more than 60 million users worldwide, of which about half are in the United States.

YouTube Icon

YouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos about just about anything. Originally founded in 2005 and bought by Google, YouTube changed the Social Media landscape forever by introducing streaming video and video sharing capabilities that have evolved with the technologies and data capabilities we take for granted now.

These are but a few of the vast number of social media sites out there now. Many are sure to disappear and many more are sure to appear. Do you have a favorite we have not mentioned? Leave a comment and we'll try to include it in a second version of Social Media Icons Explored.

Blackball Online Marketing provides Pittsburgh Online Marketing Services to small business and home based business. We wish to acknowledge Wikipedia, Top Ten Reviews, and Find Icons for their outstanding sites and great information.

Pittsburgh SMO -  What Is It and Why Does My Business Need It?

Pittsburgh, PA - SMO or Social Media Optimization should be part of your overall Search Engine Marketing plan. Building your business reputation for the digital audience becomes more important every day as print media becomes too slow to react to trends and take advantage of time sensitive opportunities. We have spoken in many of our posts about this and we encourage you to read from our library of small business advice.

SMO leverages your ability to use the social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to increase your exposure and reach out to your customers in ways that were not available even ten years ago. It also offers your business publicity in subtle and more personal ways. We all spend so much time working that we become our businesses. Why not transfer that passion to online promotion with a personal touch?

Social Media Optimization is a way to reinforce your advertising by providing solid feedback to your customers. This builds and enhances the relationship and solidifies your bond. Make no mistake, business has become personal. No two businesses are alike. Distinguish yours by providing sound advice to your customers using this free avenue.

SMO can also take your customer service to a whole new level. The ability to respond quickly is what makes all digital business ventures so powerful. Promotions can be rolled out in a fraction of the time they used to take. Issues can be addressed in a timely manner that all customers appreciate. The speed of business increases every day. SMO provides the means to keep up.

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter all have their special niches in the SMO plan. Twitter is very useful for quick promotion of your Blog, your website, and quick turnaround for simple customer service issues. Facebook offers a more robust advertising solution and the ability to market to closer contacts. LinkedIn is a professional profile with legs. The use of LinkedIn can benefit your promotion by providing your credentials to support your marketing strategy and give weight to your argument why your customer should pick you over your competition.

Blackball Online provides cost effective Pittsburgh SMO Consulting solutions to small business. Let us help you help your business by taking advantage of the one thing no other business has, YOU. Visit our website by clicking the link above or call us at (412)377-7280.