According to HubSpot’s “Top Twitter Cities” Chicago is number 3 in the world, behind London and Los Angeles.

Now, this Hubspot grade is not about the number of Twitter users, but based on the the number of “elite” Twitter users in an area.

What does this mean for your Chicago business? Connecting with those in the Chicago social media world is a great way to generate word of mouth about your business or product. Investing time in social networking is more and more important as social networking activity continues to grow. It has recently overtaken porn as the 1 activity for people on the web.

When you look at the top 50 Chicago Twitter users you see that they are not just marketers, PR people, or advertisers. They are the folks that are innovators,  journalists, publications, and brands that truly have a pulse on the City.

No longer is social media some new or experimental format, it is the media.

As business in Chicago, social media presents itself as a giant opportunity to expand your business. With an accurate plan and measurable objectives the time to act is now.

]]> http://www.theoceanagency.com/blog/20100125/in-chicago-social-media-is-now-the-media/feed/ 1 http://www.theoceanagency.com/blog/20100113/what-your-business-can-learn-about-interactive-marketing-from-the-latest-cisco-study/ http://www.theoceanagency.com/blog/20100113/what-your-business-can-learn-about-interactive-marketing-from-the-latest-cisco-study/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:00:40 +0000 Daniel Prager http://www.theoceanagency.com/blog/?p=767 We give interactive marketing advice to companies in Chicago and all over the country. Of course, the Ocean Agency is more than happy to help with interactive marketing strategy, social media guidelines, and with social business design. This is an example of where we get our inspiration from:

Today, Cisco has released findings from its latest study about how business use social media to colloberate and interact with customers.

What is so special about this study?

1) The process:

The study utilized qualitative and not just quantitative methods. By using in depth interviews by graduate students and professors from universities all over the world, the data is espcially robust and reliable.

2) The findings:

Companies need to integrate their new media efforts with internal IT professionals, and that internal social media use needs to be more effectively organized and regulated.

IT professionals? Regulation of social media efforts? What does this mean for your business?

1) You need to integrate social media into all aspects of your business.

No longer is social media merely a marketing, communications, or public relations tool it is an essential element in the structure and design of your business.

IT pepole, or at the very least, an employee who is comfortable with all the technological aspects of your business needs to put these social technologies in place.

Just as your IT person may have set up your wireless network, printer, or microsoft outlook, they need to install and regulate social media applications into your technological infrastructure.

2) You need social media guidelines and policies for you business:

Having a social strategy is more than having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or micro-blogging sites. It’s about having a vision and the infrastructure to encourage employee collaboration both internally and externally on social channels. Take time to craft a social business manifesto, that includes an overall strategy, but also includes social media guidelines for employees and management.

As a business owner, how do you control what employees post on social networks? Well, you can’t. However, you can have clear guidelines that dictate what is effective, what is acceptable, and what is unacceptable.

While the importance of these concepts have absolutely been written about before, the qualitative design, validity, and caliber of the Cisco study illustrates the importance of social business in a profound way.

Here is another great write up of the study.

It’s time. Social media is no longer an add on, it is an integral part of your future business design.

How have you integrated social into your business infrastructure?

Remember a couple years ago when the term “Social Media” was foreign to all of us. Now, everyone and their mother (literally – my mom friended me on Facebook last week) is on the bandwagon trying to get the hang of this Social Media thing.

It’s become much more than a tool to stay connected with your old high school buddies, or to update your friends on what you ate for dinner last night. Social Media has become a regular part of our daily lives, and for businesses, an integral part of their marketing and PR strategies.

So with everyone on board – how does a business stand out from the rest? At the end of the day – Social Media is about forging, nurturing, and promoting relationships. The one on one connection Social Media allows between businesses and their consumers are allowing small businesses to not only compete with larger corporations, but thrive and succeed where the competition falls short.

Here in Chicago – there are a lot of businesses who “get” Social Media –
Threadless
Foiled Cupcakes,
GroupOn and
Grubhub to name a few.

Our generation is wise to the corporate act – and very rarely do we buy into a straight up sales pitch. This is why, when it comes to online advertising, we’re seeing more affiliate geo-targeted campaigns rather than pure Google ads. Businesses that get it focus on building a relationship first, helping us realize that there is a need or want there, and then acting on it.

Mari Luangrath, founder of Chicago-based Foiled Cupcakes, connected with me as a friend. She followed me several months ago and since then, we’ve become good friends both on and offline. Not once did she sell me on her product – not once did she throw a sales pitch my way. She focused solely on building a genuine relationship and friendship with me. Now I’m days away from signing a contract to have Foiled Cupcakes cater my wedding.

So what can business learn from this? What’s the take away? Here are some basic takeaways to implement into your Social Media marketing strategy:

Be personable

This is above all the most important thing. As a representative of your business, yet also a “regular” person – there can be a delicate and sometimes difficult balance between your personal and professional self. The trick is to not let the balance beam sway to heavily in either direction – you must represent your business but also be yourself. Be someone people want to talk to – even if you’re selling running shoes, it’s OK to talk to your community about the Lady Gaga concert last weekend. When you become a “real” person instead of a corporate identity, people will forget you’re even trying to sell them something.

Know your audience

A critical piece to the puzzle is knowing your audience –and spending a lot of time LISTENING to their conversations. What are they talking about, what are they interested in? Take note of who’s talking to who and what they’re talking about, before jumping into the conversation yourself. Listening is key, but taking action at the right time by monitoring your communities behavior is even more important.

Invest in social media

Social Media isn’t something you can throw in as an afterthought. To be successful, you need to be present and engaged. Whether this means hiring an online “Community Manager” on your staff (a growing trend amongst businesses) or outsourcing your Social Media Management to an outside firm, you need someone who can and will be engaged in the community and actively involved in conversation. With Social Media, the old adage is true – you get what you give.

The point is simple – relationships are the foundation of any good business and Social Media allows us as individuals and businesses to establish those relationships easier than ever before. Connect first, sell second – a simple recipe small businesses are using to dominate the local market.

What businesses can you think of that are “doing it right” with Social Media?

While social media experts and consultants may tell you to “crush it” , become a “trust agent” or harness the power of the “groundswell” they generally underestimate  the time, investment, and strategy that goes into effective social media marketing, PR, and branding.

With an ample time investment, a targeted strategy, and fresh and relevant content, your chance at social media ROI is great.

However, If your company is not winning with social media, I want you to ask yourself one question: Has everyone in your company bought into the idea of being open, transparent, honest and– wait for it, social?

Unless you  are already a household name, the best way to get something out of social media is to invest in it. Put in the time, put in the effort, and, eventually, the return will come. So go ahead, be a social company. Your patience, time, and energy will pay off, I promise.

Here are examples for you skeptics.

I’ll break this post down into three sections: What I’ve learned about individual Twitter use, What I’ve learned about using Twitter for small business, and what I’ve learned about using Twitter for larger corporations and well known brands.

What I’ve learned About Individual Twitter Use :

I started using Twitter because I heard about it from countless blogs and press outlets. By no means was I the first person to use Twitter. Unlike many Twitter users I was only mildly interested in the celebrity stalking aspect. I’ll admit, my initial Twitter use was driven by selfish motives. I wanted to keep tabs on the online marketing industry, so I could have a chance at getting a job out of college in a terrible recession.

While this wish did come true (Thanks), the power of Twitter lay in the accessibility and transparency of industry “thought leaders” . Sitting on Twitter was like sitting in a room of intelligent conversations that I would have never been privy to otherwise. I was/am like a sponge, listening and reading all of the articles and blogs these thought leaders shared, until I felt confident enough in my own intellect to add the conversation.

From there, it’s been a story of constant learning, engagement, and even the forming of real life friendships and offline networking.

A couple of thought leaders who have really influenced me (among many):

Sarah Evans

Lauren Fernandez

Ian Schafer

David Armano

As an individual, Twitter gives you the power to identify the smartest and most influential people in the arenas you care about, engage with them, and then craft your own personal voice.

By no means is this an attack on anyone who uses Twitter to stay abreast of the latest celebrity scandal or sports score. Those are viable uses for Twitter as well.

Personally, I feel that your Twitter stream is a reflection of your personal goals, and perhaps more accurately, the value you place on the role of social media in the future.

What I’ve Learned About Using Twitter For Small Businesses:

Contests, giveaways and special promotions are the best ways to “generate buzz”. Twitter is also especially effective for customer service, and creating an accessible and transparent image. When it comes to brands on Twitter, 44% of people follow a brand for exclusive deals and promotions.

Listen to your customers (if they are talking about you on Twitter already), offer deals and promotions, and target publications, blogs, and individuals to get your deals, promotions, or special offers some traction.

Some small businesses who have done great things with Twitter:

Foiled Cupcakes, Green City Market, Free Spirit Yacht Cruises

What I’ve Learned About Using Twitter for Well Known Brands/ Individuals:

People are already talking about your product or activities on Twitter. If you’re feeling ambitious you can respond to every comment, but you may want to pick and choose your responses based on the Twitter influence. Tools like Klout and Listorous are great for identifying influence.

Thus, for very visible and talked about brands and individuals Twitter is really best utilized, first and foremost, as a PR and customer service tool.

While there are thousands of celebrities and huge brands on Twitter, here are some of my favorites:

Azziz Ansari, Southwest Air, Jim Gaffigan, ESPN , OchoCinco

This is a very basic run down about what I’ve learned about Twitter in the little over a year that I’ve been using it. I can’t wait to learn more in the coming year.

Have you learned some of the same lessons? Looking forward to hearing about it. Do you disagree with any of my generalizations?

1) Threadless — Threadless is a great T-Shirt company from Chicago that has built out an impressive fan page that really reflects its brand message. This recent Adage article claims that brand experiences are the new advertising– when you look at a facebook fan page like this you have to agree.

4) Addidas Originals — Fashion brands have always understood the importance of design and messaging. Addidas Originals have a really well designed and beautifully branded page. The experience you get in an Addidas Originals store really translates to the Facebook fan page. Also, with a focus on originality they have built out an innovative page where the focus is on “you”.

5) Red Bull– Red Bull, like Jimmy John’s has made Facebook their interactive hub. I really love how they integrate the Twitter profiles of the athletes the sponsor directly into the fan page. We all know that integration is key to SM, and the Red Bull fan page is a great example of how to do it.

6)Bud Light Golden Wheat — Miller Light has marketed itself as the domestic light beer with the most flavor. By introducing Bud Light Golden Wheat, Budweiser is fighting back, and has taken this message to its Facebook Fan Page. It has a neat interactive element where you can place gifts on your friends pages and participate in polls as well.

7) Carrot Creative — A social media marketing company from Brooklyn, Carrot has worked with some enormous brands and has really done a good job of connecting design and social media. My favorite part about the page? In order to learn more about them, you have to become a fan:

Screenshot 1:

And once you become a fan….

8 )  Buddy Media is an agency that has primarily focused on building facebook pages and applications for clients. Their page does a great job of incorporating their website directly to their Facebook page.

9) Snow Patrol , the alternative rock band with members hailing from Belfast, Glasgow and London, epitomized their love for music in this interactive Facebook “Pub Trivia” that pits fans against fans and friends against friends. The page both captures the bands passion for music and is aesthetically off the charts.

10) Southwest Airlines carries their “bags fly for free” message throughout its Facebook page, engaging its consumers by asking the question “What would you do for $100?” By asking its fans to submits video replies, Southwest fans are offered the chance to win a vacation AND help the airline create what’s bound to be interesting content.

11) Red bull sends fans on a scavenger hunt for the brand’s energy shots with the help of clues. This fan page does a great job of giving its fans a completely red bull experience. It’s all there: high energy clues, fast reaction time, intrigue, providing one winner to fan page fame and a trip to Red Bull BC One in New York.

12) Coors Light made its fan page the ultimate authority on the NFL, offering contests, fantasy football leagues and advice for fantasy football hopefuls. Coors Light also partners with ESPN’s Sportscenter to provide a rundown of the Cold Hard Facts. This page did a great job making itself the go-to.

13) Coca-Cola — Coke has done an amazing job of incorporating all of its social profiles into one place. It has created a beautifully designed page that really gets its messaging across. I can’t help but smile when I’m on the page, which I’m pretty sure means that it is a success.

14) Nike Sportswear –  I may be personally partial to this fan page because I love the Nike Sportswear line, but the integration of Ustream on the Fan Page, and ecommerce is really neat.

Their video page is also done very well:

So what can we learn from these fan pages? There is no excuse anymore for a stock fan page. Use these pages as inspiration!

But what about smaller companies? What about small and medium sized businesses that don’t have the brand awareness of a large corporation? Does it work for them?

I spend a lot of time convincing businesses that social media marketing is real and here to stay. But I’m pretty sure you all wouldn’t appreciate a sales pitch in a blog post, so instead I’m going to give 21 examples of small to medium sized Chicago businesses that are using social media effectively. In no particular order:

1) Half Acre Brewery : Beer and social media are a natural fit ( I worte about social media marketing for breweries a little earlier this year) . It is great to see a small craft brewery with an active Twitter account, Facebook fan page, and pretty high quality blog. It probably helps that the owner is a former ad man.

2) Chicago Architecture Foundation — Great at using social media to build a community around Chicago’s famed architecture tours and tourism industry.

3) Rockit Bar and Grill — Looking past the flash page of their website, they have successfully realized that people follow brands/ stores/ restaurants on Twitter for contests and specials. They offer a new one every Tuesday.

4) Imagination Publishing– A content marketing and custom publishing agency that really gets social media. Positioned at the confluence of online marketing and publishing.

5) Threadless — Threadless is a well known T-shirt company that makes some pretty hilarious shirts, and also knows how to leverage contest marketing. Want to see what a small business can do with a facebook page? Check out theirs, great mix of community building and marketing.

6) Douglas Allergy Relief — Full disclosure, they are a client, but it is a lot of fun to see a family owned store compete with some of the big boys in the allergy relief industry. We are helping them get started with social media, look out for them in the future.

7) Foiled cupcakes — Many of you may have read the extensive coverage of Sprinkles cupcakes in LA, and their social marketing efforts. Foiled rivals them in terms of their customer engagement and overall social presence. Everyone loves cupcakes!

8 ) Green City Market — Know your farmer. Know your food. Green City Market is your parent’s farmers market evolved. They network with local chefs (mostly through social media) and turn the farmers market into an event that is larger than a shopping trip and make it a destination for all Chicago foodies.

9) The Local Beet — Great advice and resources for those who are passionate about the local and slow food movements.

10) Berry Chill — They have capitalized on the trendiness of frozen yogurt and have really taken it to the next level with great branding and community building around their product. Part of the reason why people go to Berry Chill is to feel cool. This translates to their website and social presence very well.

11) Homemade Pizza Co. – Homemade Pizza Co. is using their Twitter to announce and promote new locations. That’s one great way for a small, local business to expand into a nationwide chain! They also serve their fans and employees better with Facebook groups for each.

12) “NUTS ON CLARK” – This Chicago icon and favorite airport terminal destination has taken itself online and is providing Chicagoans with interesting facts about our city and the seasons via Twitter. They offer useful and interesting information, making their social media presence more robust!

13) Total Attorneys – Total Attorneys helps lawyers become interactive online, primarily by being interactive themselves. They do everyone a favor by promoting their charitable endeavors through social media, too!

14) Tru – This “temple of haute cuisine” is using just about every review site online and leveraging the comments of its fans to attract new diners. What better way to promote a restaurant and its delicious menu? Check out the massive amounts of 5-stars on their Yelp page.

15)  Homescout Realty – This Chicago realty agency networks with the social media heavy hitters on Twitter, giving us a peek into Chicago news and events, their office life, their properties and charitable efforts.

16) Grub Hub – Grub Hub’s social presence features their vendors, benefiting their restaurant clientele and themselves! And with their successful multi-city expansion, we think they’re doing something right.

17) Cheeky Chicago – Proving that targeting a smaller demographic can be highly successful through social media, Cheeky provides deals, reviews and a community to “fun, fabulous and fierce…chic, intelligent and in-the-know” ladies in Chicago.

18) NCSA – The National Collegiate Scouting Association pledges to make college recruiting simple, and it’s connecting with young athletes in the way that is most familiar to them– social media. With over 1,000 Twitter followers, we’d say they’re simply creating a success.

19) IEG – IEG  is on the cutting edge of social media and is nearly flawless in their execution and integration. Right on the homepage of their website, they invite you to join the conversation with the extensive IEG social media presence, but they also have Twitter accounts to foster interaction around their marketing efforts and the conference the company hosts. Plus, they spotlight their individuals with IEG-branded Twitter profiles and provide employees with their own IEG blogs to sound off. We’d say they’ve got a strong handle on social media.

20) Featherproof Books – A Chicago indie press taking literature to the masses through highly-integrated social media, mobile apps, and online networking with other Chicago companies. You can connect with them on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter or “even Friendster, because somewhere in the universe, it’s still 2001.” A un-stuffy publishing company, with social media and a sense of humor? Going places.

21) Free Spirit Yacht Cruises – Free Spirit combines face-to-face networking with their excellent social media presence, connecting with various demographics. They’re also taking full advantage of the functionality of Facebook, blogging through the Notes feature and posting pictures and links.

These are a just a few examples of how small to medium sized businesses in Chicago are utilizing social media. We would love to hear your thoughts on the list. Are there any companies we left out?

Do you see opportunites for small businesses in industries not mentioned on this list to get involved with social media marketing?

Foursquare is a location based social networking tool, with a competitive edge. Foursquare has generally been billed as the next “hot” social media platform, and partly based on this widespread hype early adopters have flocked to the service.

Foursquare takes aspects of many popular social networks and ads a very powerful force: Competition. Users compete by “checking in” at different locations to become the mayor of certain locations. So, if you go to your favorite bar or restuarant 5 times a week, and check in every time, you unlock badges and can essentially rule a spot.

Businesses are beginning to do some extremely innovative things with Foursquare, most notably rewarding those who check in to their establishments quite frequently. Especially in New York City and San Francisco many businesses offer Foursquare specials or a leader board.

Here are a few examples of what some businesses are doing:

1) Tied House in Mountain View, CA offers a coupon for 15% off when you “check in”.

Via http://gaborcselle.posterous.com

2) Tastidlite has a page on its website that is solely dedicated to foursquare specials — with an instructional video on how you can use them (can’t embed the video but click the link to watch):

3) The Lite Choice in NYC uses a coupon based system as well:

via http://www.flickr.com/photos/kskobac/3977643745/

These are just 3 examples, and there are many others. Some businesses have a chalk board where they update constantly who has “mayor” status. Some offer first check-in specials, some have special events for Foursquare users. The possibilities are really endless.

Why Businesses Should Use Foursquare

1) Great location based advertising.

The fact that many Foursquare ads pop up when you are “nearby” is extremely powerful. With a market that is saturated with choice, Foursquare nearby advertising can push a business over the edge. Imagine walking around outside and a coupon popping up on your phone for a store two blocks away. Potent stuff. As mobile social networking is set to nearly double in 2010 (Emarketer November 2009), Foursquare is emerging as the best tool that encorporates both social networking and mobile location based advertising.

2) Builds brand loyalty.

Foursquare allows a business to reward its most loyal customers, as well as those who are checking out the business for the first time. In a saturated business market, retaining customers is key.

3) Spurs Word of Mouth

Marketers and advertisers love social media because it is such a powerful force for WOM. Customers are 75% more likely to convert if a product or business is recommended by a friend or acquantience. Foursquare automatically alerts your social network where you check in, and allows you to leave notes about the business. Essentially, you are alerting everyone you know what you think about a business. No wonder folks are so excited.

While this all sounds amazing to marketers and business owners, there are  a few things that are holding Foursqure back.

1) Foursquare Location updates feel impersonal

I don’t care that you are at the hottest club in NYC, and I also don’t care that you are at O’hare airport. Well, actually, I do care, but only if there is some kind of personal story or attachment behind the update. This is why Twitter trumps Foursquare in terms of location updates– Twitter location updates come with a story, while Foursquare location updates feel impersonal and robotic.

2) If businesses can’t handle Twitter, why would they join Foursquare?

Most businesses aren’t using Twitter or Facebook effectively. How can we expect them to come up with innovative Foursquare ideas? Foursquare needs to attract businesses that aren’t extremely comfortable with SM.

3) Decision making is a collective, rather than individual processes.

You may want to go to the place that offers a discount through Foursquare, but what about your friends? What do they get out of the deal? Foursquare does a lot of things right, but there is no real Groupon style incentive to involve your friends in your purchasing decisions.

Foursquare is really almost there. Personalizing the check-ins, finding a way to incorporate more group decision making, and a greater emphasis on user reviews could push the platform over the edge. What do you think makes Forusquare such a powerful tool for businesses? What will it take for it to reach the tipping point?

Further reading:

Mashable

The Next Web

You probably read some of these blogs already, and there may be some others that you haven’t heard of. They all get the Ocean Agency seal of approval however. We realize that there are thousands of great and worthy blogs out there to be on this list, these are just the ones that we pay special attention to. This is by no means a complete list, but we think it’s a pretty good one.

(one of our designers, Nick, reading away)

Social Media
Mashable
Social Media Today
Groundswell blog
Outspoken Media
Social Media Explorer
10e20
The Social Path

Online Marketing
Top Rank
Real Time Marketer
emarketer
adamsherk
marketing pilgrim
Church of the Customer
Influential Marketing
Seth Godin
Copyblogger

SEO
search engine land
SEOmoz
Seogroup

Advertising/branding
Advertsing Age–Digital Next
Springwise
NYT media and advertising
Make the logo bigger!

Design
Smashing Magazine
Web Designer Wall

Internet Industry News
Econsultancy
TechCrunch
Read Write Web

Digital PR/Personal Branding
PR Sarah Evans
PR breakfast club
Lauren Fernandez

Books
Cluetrain
Groundswell
Youtube for Business
Open Brand
Trust Agents

WRONG.

Every social media marketer has heard this:  Anyone can be a social media marketer, all you need is a blog, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn account.

WRONG AS WELL.

Interestingly, the keys to being a successful DJ and social media marketer are surprisingly similar:

1) Initial Research

Both marketers and DJs need to know their audience. Who’s coming to your party? What kind of music do they listen to? What special personal touches are you going to throw in to go with the theme of the party?

2) In Depth Research:

If you’re a DJ you gotta stay on top of what people are listening to. That means checking top 10 lists, taking notes of songs that kill at bars and parties etc.  You are a constant sponge, soaking up whatever music is successful and trying to understand why.

As a social media marketer you stay on top of the latest trends, you follow successful campaigns, you study metrics. You begin to understand what works and what does not. Much of the way that a DJ knows not to play Jay-Z at a Nascar themed party, you know that a brand who only uses Twitter to talk about the weather and promote its own blog will not gain much traction.

3) A Plan

Ultimately, a playlist is a marketing plan. You have picked out songs that you think will elicit a certain reaction out of people– dancing. In the same way, a marketing plan is meant to coerce a certain behavior out of people- whether it be to buy a product or visit a website.

The best playlists have music that is adaptable, prepared for any party situation. What if only 10 people show up, would you know what music to play? What about 400?

It is the same with a marketing plan. The plan needs to be carefully created while still remaining adaptable to a myriad of situations.

4) Monitoring/Listening

No one is perfect. Even the most carefully crafted playlist or marketing plan will have something that may not go over so well; You know, like that time you decided to play “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” expecting girls to start dancing, but all you got was blank stares. How about the Twitter contest you started for a client that did not gain a lot of traction?

Once you put the plan or playlist into effect you need to monitor the results and react in real time. What songs are making people dance? What’s the mood of the crowd like? Are people asking for requests, if so, do they differ from the type of music you are playing?

As a marketer you are also gauging reactions. Who is interacting with the campaigns? Are people reacting negatively, or failing to react altogether?

5) Adaptability

Once the plan is in place, and you have monitored reactions, you need to adapt. If no one is dancing, throw on a request, or play a song that you know always kills on the dance floor.

If your marketing campaign is failing to gain traction, switch it up! In today’s world of marketing adaptability and listening are paramount. Be engaged, be smart, and be genuine.

The best social media marketers and DJs both know how to research, plan, listen and adapt.

Do you agree? Is social media marketing like DJ-ing a party?