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Hashtags were created by Twitter users to categorize their tweets. A hashtag is the # symbol. It is placed before a word to mark keywords or topics within a tweet. When the hashtag is searched in the search bar, the tweets about that topic are more easily found. If a certain word is hashtagged by many people it becomes popular. The most popular hashtags throughout the day are said to be trending.

Here is an example of a Tweet with a hashtag in it. “I had such a great day with my #BestFriend Ethan.”

Here the hashtag is #BestFriend. This is a very common hashtag and thus very popular on searches. Anyone who searches #BestFriend may find your tweet. It should be noted that the # symbol only refers to the one word that is placed after it. That is why BestFriend has no spaces. Websites have been created to analyze the popularity of hashtags throughout the day. Here you can see how popular a hashtag is and how many people your tweet may reach. This is important when businesses want to target their tweet to a mass audience.

Twitter has made it possible to now click on the hashtag within a tweet to instantly show you all current tweets about that category.

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LinkedIn is a professional networking platform geared toward gaining contacts and employment opportunities. The content on ones profile includes employment history and skills. This is a platform for one’s virtual resume. The ‘friending’ process is stricter than other social networks like Facebook in that LinkedIn asks you to provide information on how you know someone before connecting. LinkedIn also strongly recommends not connecting to strangers. Rather they offer introductions to people through degrees of separation. They also recommend contacts that you might know based on current contacts shared, work history, and education history. It’s a great way to keep all your contacts organized and stay up to date on what they are doing. LinkedIn encourages social interaction between professionals like no networking site has done before.

One of the most attractive functions of LinkedIn is the job search application. You can search job postings by different categories such as business, location, and even how closely the position matches your skills. LinkedIn will also recommend jobs for you. LinkedIn also has an Events application where one can create an event and share it with contacts.

There are many other functions that LinkedIn provides. Share your thoughts on LinkedIn below.

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Now: The tables have turned and customers now have a much more important role in the businesses or companies they buy from or support. Customers have the power of social media. They get behind their computer screens and post reviews, rants, or raves about products or services. The only way for companies to respond is to answer back. The companies that have adapted to this new interaction have the edge over competitors. Companies that effectively use social media can now adopt their strategies in real time. This is a benefit to both the consumer and the business. If there is a flaw in the product or service, people will make it known. Instead of waiting months to see the decline in sales, one can quickly adapt. You can also get cost effective feedback instead of spending large amounts of money on consulting firms. Lastly, your campaign can be directed to interested customers that opt into your outgoing information. The introduction of social media makes it easier to reach your target market. So get on board and connect with your customers!

How do you think marketing has changed from the introduction of social media? Post your thoughts below.

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Most common uses for Social Media

Uses for social media can better be explained in plain terms as goals for your social media campaign. The 3 main goals of any social media campaign are:

• Promote a Brand
• Manage a Reputation
• Become Authority

What is a Social Media Campaign?

As a rule of thumb, social media for yourself or business should be broken up into campaigns. A campaign can be daily, monthly or quarterly. A social media campaign is created by employing a series of operations over a specific period of time, to accomplish one of the goals above. When documented, this “Series of Operations” becomes the development of a “Social Media Strategy. A start and end date for a campaign allows for evaluating and tracking the success of your campaign.

Defining your social media strategy

In order to run a successful campaign, the strategy behind it must be well defined. Keep in mind that when developing any type of marketing strategy the most important factor is to clearly understand your business, brand or culture. Social Media is most effective when it is an extension of these basic company attributes. A social media strategy is created by:

1. Selecting which social media channel types to employ.
2. Defining how each social media channel will be utilized. Every social media channel can be put into one of 3 categories, networking, promoting or sharing. (See Below)
3. Establish a series of operations to regularly distribute interesting content.
4. Connecting these channels to establish easy access points and automation.

An effective campaign will utilize a network, promote and share content in an effort to accomplish your goal. Choosing these should be based on which tools best fit your brand, your business processes or culture.

What are the most common social media channel types?

Networking Channels

Social Networking Sites

• What is social networking? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking
• Examples of Social Networking Sites
  • Facebook ( www.facebook.com )
  • MySpace ( www.myspace.com )

• Events & Meet-ups
  • What are “Meet-ups”? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meetup
  • Examples of event & meet-up sites
    • Meetup ( www.meetup.com )
    • Yammer ( www.yammer.com )

• Virtual Worlds
  • What are Virtual Worlds? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_world
  • Examples of virtual world sites
    • The Sims Online ( www.thesimsonline.com )
    • Second Life ( www.secondlife.com )

Promotion Channels

• Blogs:
  • What is a Blog? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
  • Examples of Blog sites
    • Blogger ( www.blogger.com )
    • Mashable ( www.mashable.com )

• Discussion Boards & Forums
  • What are Discussion Boards & Forums? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum
  • What is the difference between a blog and a forum? Read Here ->
    • http://lisahwarren.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-the-difference-between-a-blog-and-a-forum
  • Examples of discussion board & forum sites
    • PHPbb ( www.phpbb.com )
    • Off Topic ( www.offtopic.com )

• Podcasting
  • What is Podcasting? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast
  • Examples of podcasting sites
    • Podomatic ( www.podomatic.com )
    • Podcasting News ( www.podcastingnews.com )

• Email Marketing
  • What is Email Marketing? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_marketing
  • An introduction to email marketing. Read Here -> http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/intro.htm
  • Examples of podcasting sites
    • Constant Contact ( www.constantcontact.com )
    • Mai Chimp ( www.mailchimp.com )

• Mobile Marketing
  • What is Mobil Marketing? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_marketing
  • Examples of mobile marketing sites
    • Foursquare ( www.foursquare.com )
    • Beetagg ( www.beetagg.com )

Sharing Channels

• Bookmarking & Sharing
  • What is Bookmarking? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking
  • Examples of podcasting sites
    • Digg ( www.digg.com )
    • Stumble Upon ( www.stumbleupon.com )

• Content Aggregation
  • What is Content Aggregation? Read Here ->
    • http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/content-aggregator
    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator
  • Examples of aggregator sites:
    • Squidoo ( www.squidoo.com )
    • Sociagg ( www.sociagg.com )

• Crowd Sourcing
  • What is Crowd Sourcing and Voting? Read Here ->
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing
  • http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-51052961/what-is-crowdsourcing/

• Photo Sharing
  • What is Photosharing? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_sharing
  • Examples of photo sharing sites:
    • Flikr ( www.flikr.com )
    • Smug Mug ( www.smugmug.com )

• Presentation Sharing
  • Examples of presentation sharing sites:
    • Slide Share ( www.slideshare.net )

• Ratings & Reviews
  • Examples of aggregator sites:
    • Yelp ( www.yelp.com )
    • Google Paces ( www.google.com/places )
    • Widgets
      • What are Widgets? Read Here -> http://webtrends.about.com/od/widgets/a/what_is_widget.htm
      • Examples of aggregator sites:

• Wikis
  • What is a Wiki? Read Here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
  • What is a Wiki, YouTube video. Watch Here -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

What are the basic content types?

(IN) Industry News

Posting content that is relevant to your industry, especially news articles posted by major publications or blogs can be a valuable resource to build your audience. By posting content relevant to your business, you establish your company as a news source and an authority in your industry. This level of expertise is a strong qualifier in the minds of your customers and also raises brand awareness. This ultimately results in growing your target audience, lead generation and referrals.

(CN) Company & Product News

By posting news about your dealership or its products, your target audience sees that you are maintaining an active role and presence in your industry. It also helps customers build an affinity for your brand and develop a pseudo “relationship” with your company over time. It is this relationship that strengthens the bond between dealership and customer, resulting in an increase of future purchases and referrals. Some types of content you can post include product reviews, dealer reviews, product releases, press releases, new employees and events.

(MI) Marketing Incentives

Marketing incentives such as giveaways, events, discounts and other offers are a staple for many companies. However, moderation is key to reducing the likelihood of offending your viewers in a social media environment. Consider your social media activity like a television show or movie. The viewer expects a commercial from time to time. Using a social platform solely as a “commercial” channel will surely turn off your viewers. Therefore, limit promotional postings to 1-2 per day on Twitter.

(GC) General Content

General content such as inspirational quotes, re-tweeting valuable content and replying to people publicly helps to show your audience that there is a real person behind a given social media account. People do not join and participate in social networks to be advertised to by a faceless social media account. There is a certain level of entertainment and conversation that must be taken into consideration. A company can successfully meet marketing objectives through social media by implementing a healthy mix of marketing, entertainment and value.

Content Frequency Guide

Post content at the following times for maximum visibility:

Content Classification & Frequencies

The type and frequency of content distributed for a particular client will always differ based on their classification.

General: 1(IN), 1(CN), 2(MI), 2(GC)

Authority: 3(IN), 1(CN), 1(MI), 1(GC)

Brand Growth: 0(IN), 2(CN), 2(MI), 2(GC)

Reputation Management: 1(IN), 1(CN), 1(MI), 3(GC)

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