Social Media and Engagement Marketing

Entering a new world of social media

Erin McBride — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:15:31 +0000

Recently I was asked to do two very different freelance social media marketing jobs. Both are so unique and different from anything I have ever tried before that I couldn’t say no. Both of my new “clients” are aware of the fact that they are asking me to do something unusual and new, and that I’m not necessarily previously experienced at it- which actually makes the request to do it for them somewhat flattering that they trust me to figure it out anyway.

In one case I will be helping another person learn how to use social media as a tool in teaching. In the other, I will make the jump from looking for a job in social media to advertising jobs and finding good candidates using only social media as my advertising tool.

These unusual opportunities have yet again taught me that we do not yet know all of the capabilities of social media. As users continue to have a need to communicate, the potential of the tools will grow. When Facebook first came out it was used as a way for college students to talk and find each other. Then games were added, and groups. Now it is the primary form of email for many people, and one of the easiest ways to share photos online. The root of the word “blogging” is “web log.” Blogs started out as online journals, now they are used by businesses as customer service tools. And YouTube was a place to find music videos, now it is one of the most popular and thorough search engines available.

I’m excited for my new opportunities to stretch the limits of social media again. I’ll keep you updated as I go!

Social Media for the Anti-Social

Erin McBride — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:04:00 +0000

Not the type to go out much? Prefer your couch to a night on the town? But you still enjoy location based apps? There are now “social” apps just for you! Check out this CNN article on “anti-social social apps.”

Social Media Genius??

Erin McBride — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:18:43 +0000

I found this article today on CNN- John McCain is a social media genius!

Turns out the elder statesman from Arizona is using YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and more to reach out to the public. Who knew? Well, apparently several thousand people knew! It turns out Senator McCain uses more social media than any other Congressional member. The non-partisan think tank L2 released the findings, “Digital IQ Index: US Senate.”

New York University professor Scott Galloway and George Washington University School of Business dean Doug Guthrie ranked all 100 U.S. senators based on what they call the lawmakers’ “digital IQ.” The score is derived from a combination of metrics culled from each senator’s activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, political blogs and their own congressional website.

When everything was added up, Senator McCain came out on top! From what I have gathered though, the metrics did not gather information on how effectively or efficiently the senators used social media.

Is Senator McCain effective? Check it out and decide for yourself -

John McCain on YouTube

Team McCain on Twitter

John McCain Fan Page

ROI of Social Media Marketing- is it worth it?

Erin McBride — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:37:36 +0000

Forester Blog: The ROI of Social Media Marketing

Wondering if social media marketing pays off? Does it work? According to this article it has worked for Dell. I highly recommend this article!

Old Spice Hits Viral Gold

Erin McBride — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:05:15 +0000

Everyone has been loving the Old Spice commercials ever since the first campy crazy commercial came out during the Super Bowl. But this week Old Spice is going for the viral marketing gold medal. They have started a YouTube channel with personalized videos to fans, and started an Old Spice Twitter feed.

The new videos are just as silly and zany as before, so I’m watching them. But will they sell body wash? I have no idea. But I do know this- I no longer think of Old Spice as something cheap old people wear. They have successfully rebranded themselves and attracted a whole new audience in under 6 months. Not too shabby!

And now if you’ll excuse me, my new goal in life is to get the Old Spice twitter feed, or better yet You Tube channel, to respond to me directly. I have work to do. Ciao!

What Businesses Should Do on Twitter

Erin McBride — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:51:55 +0000

The question I get the most is “Why should I be on Twitter? What’s the point?’

If it doesn’t make sense to you as a person why you (as a person) should be on Twitter, I can’t help you.

But if we are talking about your company, I have a few answers.

Businesses should be on Twitter to Empower, Engage, Educate, and Embrace their audience.

Empower

Organizations should be giving their audience the tools they need to use the organization’s offerings. For instance, coupons, deals, directions, information, prices, contact information, customer service, feedback, and more. Give your audience the ability to better use you.

Engage

Respond to your audience. Talk to them, and with them. Read what they are saying about you and reply to them. Use the search tool and find out who is talking about you and talk with them (not AT them)! Engage with them! Talk to sister organizations, reply to them, retweet them, support them, and they will support you back.

Educate

Educating and empowering are similar but different ideas. Educate your consumer with information about your product and offerings. Share news stories with them, help them be a better consumer. Teach them what they need to know about your industry.

Embrace

If you are doing all three things above, and you LISTEN to what your audience says back (and if you do it right, they will talk back), and use their feedback to better your organization, you will embrace your audience.

Social Media and Engagement Marketing should NOT be about finding another form of communication to shove your sales pitch at people. It should be about talking and listening. Empower your audience, help them shop. Engage with them, let them know you are listening to what they need from you. Educate them to help them understand the industry better. And embrace them by doing all of the above!

A Little More Me

Erin McBride — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 04:03:47 +0000

I’ve been busy writing in other places lately! I’ll always be happy to come back here and write as well. But if you are interested, please feel free to find me at-

Meridian Magazine- A Single Thought

Examiner.com- writing about issues of interest to and about Mormons

Candid Marketer- Annotation

Erin McBride — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 03:56:27 +0000

A big shout-out to my good friend, Sara Nichols, and her blog Annotation, also about social media and engagement marketing. No one person knows everything about SMEM, and no one person ever will. I am always happy to share good content when I find it! Check Sara out! She’s full of great insights!

Foursquare for Small Business

Erin McBride — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:23:33 +0000

Foursquare is the latest and greatest social media craze. Part game, part networking, it has a little of everything for the online and wired in.

Trying to figure out what a grade school playground game has to do with anything? I still am too. Forget the name, it has nothing to do with the childhood game. (Truth is, I can’t even remember how we played that game either!)

This all-new “game” is played on phones- and played better on Blackberries, Androids, or iPhones. It is a web and mobile application that allows users to connect with friends and update their location. The phone logs in with your GPS coordinates, and detects the nearby landmarks. The user selects the location from a list of possibilities, for instance a Starbucks, the library, your brick and mortar business front, the bank, etc. Every time a user checks in, a point is awarded. After so many points are earned, a “badge” is awarded.

You don’t see how this is a social networking tool? Or a game? Or even fun? That all comes in as the natural fun of competition comes in between friends. Connect with friends on the game, and see where they have checked in. Once a user has checked in enough at certain locations, s/he earns the “mayorship” of that location. Friends, and even complete strangers, can become very competitive over earning mayorship titles!

How can Foursquare help your business? Register with Foursquare and monitor who the mayors are of your location. Consider offering a special deal or award to the mayor. (By registering with the site you will be notified when a new mayor is crowned.) Or putting a sticker in your window informing people you also play foursquare. (Check out how Whole Foods is using Foursquare stickers now!)

With over 1 million users already engaging on Foursquare, and other location based services, small businesses will not be able to ignore these games/services for long. Want to know if a restaurant has good service or good food? Check in on Foursquare and see if a friend has left a tip about it yet. Want to warn everyone about bugs or bad food in a motel? Leave a tip on Foursquare! Want people to know you are having a one day sale? Broadcast it on Foursquare!

At the very least, come connect with me on Foursquare! http://foursquare.com/user/erinannie

Great Social Media and Engagement Marketing Resources

Erin McBride — Fri, 07 May 2010 22:09:31 +0000

When looking for the latest and greatest information on what is going on in the social media and engagement marketing world, the thought leaders include-

Mashable - the absolute biggest and best experts in all things digital

Social Media Club (even better – join your local chapter, or at the very least, read attend their leadership events and read their blogs)

Social Media Explorer is full of great tips and explanations.

Pete Codella’s Digital Public Relations blog has never steered me wrong.

Ignite Social Media (who claims to be the original SMM agency) does a great job too!