Thursday, July 2, 2009

Carry over Your Socialization Skills to the Web

Salons and day spas have always been a great benefactor of word of mouth advertising. Spas become popular when we tell our BFFs about a particular spa. Word of mouth is an incredibly effective marketing tool within this industry.

Typically, hair dressers, nail technicians, and other salon workers are very social by nature. Most people in the business know how important socializing is to their success. Now, salons and day spas need to recognize the strength of socializing online. In a recent survey, 57% of 18 to 24 year olds and 48.5% of 25 to 34 year olds say social media influenced their choice of a hair salon/barber or day spa.

Find fun ways to get into the online discussion. Send clients 'friend requests' on Facebook. Keep in mind, however, that most social media is not for making promotional pitches. Your online friends will quickly begin to ignore you.

Come up with something interesting to talk about on Twitter and offer your clients to follow you. Make sure that your subject matter has legs and can last more than just a few tweets. Post photos of your salon on sites like Photobucket, videos of make-overs on YouTube. Keep clients up to date by uploading photos of different hairstyles that ladies can come in and try. Anything that can be personal to your salon or spa that will keep potential clients interested will help your business.

June Bisel
BBG&G Advertising & Public Relations
SmartStrategies@BBGGadv.com
(845) 695-1880

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Monday, May 4, 2009

Facebook Success Story

Up until recently, I hadn't even heard of "Toasted Heads". But, success stories in Social Media just fascinate me and I am eager to share them with you whenever possible.

Toasted Heads is a premium wine brand, which has recently become an unlikely success story in social media. They created a profile page on Facebook and increased their stated fan base from under 1,000 to 3,334 Facebook fans as of today.

More than tripling their their fan base on Facebook was not expected because of the exclusivity of the fan base. However, this serves as a lesson to everyone that effectiveness through online social networking media is not just for the Pepsi's, CNN's and Ashton Kutcher's of the world.

If you're considering establishing a presence online, look at what these brands have in common. For one, branded content is very important to your web presence. Toasted Heads uses brand related gigs like the "burning question of the week" and tips to "fire up your life." Ashton Kutcher became the first person with a million Twitter followers with a publicity stunt promising to punk CNN owner Ted Turner if he could reach a million followers before the cable news station.

Toasted Heads also reached out to its own informal friends list, which then created the opportunity for the fan base to spread through word of mouth. Then it was coupled with targeted marketing efforts to drive people to sign up as fans on its Facebook page. Follow the patterns that made these companies successful on social media platforms and use online resources like Facebook, Twitter and BusinessCardContacts.com to their fullest extent to make your web presence effective.

June Bisel
BBG&G Advertising and Public Relations
BusinessCardContacts.com
845-695-1880
smartstrategies@bbggadv.com

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posted by June Bisel at 12:23 PM 0 Comments

Monday, March 30, 2009

A Tip on Organic Advertising

I have had a profile on Facebook for some time now and one thing that I have noticed is that the ads are as organic and ever-changing as my profile itself. In fact, the ads are always changing, and offering me things that seem to coincide with my interests as outlined in my profile. This is no accident. Facebook places ads that are specifically targeted to me. This is part of Mark Zuckerberg's plan to make Facebook profitable.

So, how does Mark Zuckerberg's plan influence your business? I'm not telling you to go out and buy Facebook ad space, unless that is part of your marketing plan. It is still not certain how well this type of advertising in the social media space works.

A lesson that you can learn from the college-boy wonder is to get to know your consumers. Read industry research. Read this blog. Utilize customer surveys. Ask customers questions. Then create marketing programs that address what the consumer wants.

June Bisel
Partner, BBG&G Advertising and Public Relations
BusinessCardContacts.com

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posted by June Bisel at 11:53 AM 0 Comments

Monday, March 23, 2009

Professional Networking Opportunities Rise in Social Networking

According to the newest Nielsen Company online social media study, the fastest growing segment in social networking media in 2008 was in the 35-49 year old demographic. Facebook, the dominant player in the global social networking media world added twice as many 50-64 year old users as they did users under 18 in 2008. This is an indicator that the user makeup of social networking media is changing.

This means that more businesspeople will be on Facebook, Twitter, and on blogs. This trend can open up Facebook to professional networking opportunities, in addition to the social aspects that the social networking sites have already established. 

Think about adding clients as friends on Facebook, inviting them to your companies' Facebook groups, or following their tweets on Twitter. Professional interaction can become much easier and more personalized through these social networking media means if it is used properly.

Are you on Facebook? We are! Look for Businesscardcontacts.com on facebook today. 

June Bisel
Partner, BBG&G Advertising & PR
BusinessCardContacts.com

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posted by June Bisel at 1:26 PM 0 Comments

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The Internet's Social Networking Movement

We all know that the Internet is the newest incarnation of the wild western frontier and that marketers are desperately trying to figure out how to strike gold on it. One thing that you smart businessmen and women can do to see where the Internet is going, is to ask your kids how they spend their time online. When they tell you that most of their time online is spent on Facebook or Myspace or Twitter, it is an indicator that the Internet is quickly moving towards social networking media.

Consumers appreciate companies that use their websites as more than just an opportunity to talk about themselves. Creating dialogue between businesses, among consumers, or between the company and its consumers are important ways to make an impact through the web.

Skittles is creating a substantial buzz with their new web interface, turning their company website into a social networking portal, with its Facebook page as the homepage and links to its, YouTube and Flickr pages. Besides generating an incredible buzz on the web and among those in the industry, the benefits of this experimental move have yet to be determined. But we do know that word of mouth is one of the pillars of Marketing, and starting dialogues on the Internet is one of the most innovative ways to get people talking. Use BusinessCardContacts.com to start a conversation about your services, or to give advice to the BusinessCardContacts community, and explore the newest frontier of the Internet.

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posted by June Bisel at 10:52 AM 0 Comments