Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Why Businesses Need To Be Using Social Media NOW!

What would cause huge companies like Pepsi to pull their advertisements away from the Superbowl? In case you haven't noticed a remarkable paradigm shift has occurred in the marketplace. Companies, both large and small, are now doing it. What is it they are doing you ask? They are interacting directly with their consumers through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and more.

Exactly why this shift has occurred is a conversation discussed by marketing experts and casual social media users alike. The real question for any business is no longer whether this shift is occurring but rather how their company will be able capitalize on it. Businesses that understand and utilize this shift early on are likely to launch their company to the fore-front of the marketplace. Those that recognize this shift later will have some serious catching up to do. Timing is everything.

Building consumer loyalty is imperative in today's market. Social media platforms allow consumers the ability to interact directly with companies no matter what size. This new media provides consumers a platform to communicate with companies, sharing likes and dislikes.  Companies who listen and respond to consumers will find they have very satisfied customers. Happy customers are more likely to return and provide great word of mouth advertising.

Improving overall experiences for consumers should be every businesses first priority. Social media platforms provide new and exciting ways to do just that. How they decide to engage will be different for every business. Individual companies must learn not only which social platforms work for them but also how to use each most effectively.  For those who discover these answers the rewards are virtually limitless!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

AWOL?

So SMACES has been AWOL for a few weeks. It's been a bit busy and and social media training took a bit of a back seat. I am currently looking into the idea of doing social media work on the side. I think this will help bring in more income as well as launch my knowledge in the social media field as well. If anyone has anything to share with the squadron please let me know. I would love to have some guest posts! Step up soldiers...who are my leaders here?

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Feeling UnSocial Media Today



Ok so the push is on to become "social media aces". Boot camp has begun. Your fearless leader is doing the best he can but it often feels like his boots are stuck in the mud. This social media thing can feel pretty unsocial at times. Maybe that's the challenge we face on our journey, social media loneliness! 

Ok so today I created another blog and an additional Twitter account. It has nothing to do with social media but it is good practice to see if I can take these things and make them work. Can I get more followers? Can I get my message across? I know the content is worthy of my time but can I get others to think the same? These are the challenges I am facing right now but I welcome this as I believe this will help push me towards my ultimate goal of becoming a "Social Media Ace".

If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

iPads Top 3 Million Mark


 Can anyone deny the craze that is being caused by Apple and their new iPads? These things are more popular then Cabbage Patch dolls or Beenie Babies. Can we blame them though? The new iPads are pretty useful to the businessman wanting internet access without having to carry around a bulky laptop. It's also great for he casual user who can have internet access to play games, access their social media accounts and basically do everything online that one would want to do. Currently Apple says sales have topped more then 3 million of these babies. If you want to stay on top of the social media world this would definitely be a must have in the near future. For a social media ace it's like turning your small uncomfortable outdated cockpit into a luxurious first class experience!

What next...the iPhone 4? 

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Why Social Media is the New Source of Talent



As a fellow actor and a member of the SMACES squadron I found this article in Mashable very interesting. Apparently the new trend is that talent agencies, businesses and more are finding their talent on social media outlets.

Here is a paragraph from the Mashable article that caught my attention:
As reality TV continues to gain a larger share of the television and new media landscape, the Hollywood casting industry is seeing a substantially increased need for new types of talent. On-camera experts, “real people” contestants, and larger-than-life personalities are now in constant demand. Simultaneously, talent agencies are watching the demand for traditional talent like TV hosts and classically trained actors decline as shows like Ace of Cakes, WipeOut, Survivor, and Deadliest Catch, all featuring non-traditional talent, grow in popularity.

My first suggestion to my fellow actors is to keep working at our craft as it appears that classically trained actors are on the decline.  Also it is important to keep your eye on the changing trends. So if this trend is going more and more towards social media then it is something we need to be aware of and possibly participate in when the time is right to do so.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

World Cup and Social Media

So all the talk this week is about the World Cup. This is soccer's biggest event in the world. I read on Mashable that the soccer teams have banned their players from Tweeting or even allowing someone else to Tweet as them during the game.  Some have criticized this as being to extreme. Fans enjoy being able to communicate with their favorite stars during games. Others say this is a good thing. Players should focus on the game and the task at hand rather then thinking about promoting themselves through social media platforms during events such as this.  This debate rages on throughout all sports and I am sure it is one that will not soon disappear.

So what's your opinion? Is there a way to please both sides? Is there anything that can be done to improve a situation like this?

Maybe it should be banned forever. Maybe players should just be able to do what they want so long as they perform on the field. How bout this for a solution...each player can have one person on the sideline who can keep an eye on the game and Tweet for the player. This would allow the player to concentrate on the game and still allow the fans to feel more connected to their favorite players.

It will be interesting to see sports deals with this ever growing question of social media and it's role in sports!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

SMACES Fanpage


SMACES now has a Facebook fanpage. If you are on Facebook and want to add our page just look for "Social Media Aces".  We need to get 25 fans before we can get our own Facebook url.  These pages on Facebook can be great. If you have a business, non profit organization or something(say like even a blog) you can create a fan page for it. It's a great way to promote whatever it is you want to promote on Facebook without costing anything.

If anyone has any tips on how to improve the "Social Media Aces" Facebook fan page please feel free to let your captain know.

Troops...dismissed!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Quiet on the Homefront

Welcome to our new recruits! Everything is quiet on the home front today. The squad is growing which is exciting(ok so we are not as big as the picture shows but we are getting there). Do you have great recruiter skills? Feel free to bring your friends into the squad. Make sure to let them know about us.

We are also looking for some soldiers who would like to step up and do a guest post or at least leave a comment about something you would like to learn about. This requires you to show initiative and leadership skills. Do you have the guts? Becoming a "social media ace" will not be easy. It will not be quick. We will encounter great obstacles. It will take great courage. It will take everything you have...but to call yourself a "social media ace" it will all be worth it!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

New Recruits?


Tonight some members of the squadron attended a "tweetup". For some it was their first(@smediaintern) while others (@cancerlost and @smacesblog) were veterans of this terrain. A "tweetup" as they are called are parties or gatherings where those who are on Twitter (if you are not on Twitter please do so now)meet in person. This is where the virtual world meets reality. These events can be interesting indeed. It's like everyone there is looking to find new recruits to enter into their social media world. Social media recruiters looking to score some victories if you will. Not that this is a bad thing.

While I was hoping to find a few new recruits I was really looking to find some leaders if possible. Some of the people there were real veterans of the social media battlefield. We met some really nice people like @heatherostudio @scholarandagent @canistalkyou and @mmwine and no one ever knows what will become of these meetings. 

When you are at a "tweetup" you should really pay attention to what some of these people are doing and how they are achieving success in the social media battlefield. This can help you become a social media ace much faster. I guess if I think of it while I was a recruiter there I was also really a social media spy(shhhh don't blow my cover)!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Our First Ally


Ok so I have decided to sign up for Mashable. It's kind of like a daily online newspaper. It comes in the form of an email. It doesn't cost the squadron anything either. All you do is give them your email address. It has all the latest trends for social media and the tech savvy world. Hey if we are going to learn about this stuff this might be a good place to start. I suggest all members of the squadron sign up as soon as possible. You can also go to their website and check out the many various pages of info. A person can spend hours there.

You can also join the Mashable fan page on Facebook. To do so just click here.  I highly suggest if you are on Facebook(and we should all be on there) you should definitely join the page. Just  click the "like" button when you get to the page. If we are going to be social media aces we better get in tune with Mashable or we may never get off the ground!

Friday, June 4, 2010

OUR FIRST MISSION


So our first mission has begun. What is it you ask...RECRUITING!  How do we get others to find us here(not the enemy of course)?  Let me tell you it's not that easy. Apparently it's going to be tougher to fire up the engines then I first thought! So far we have 2 new recruits but we will need many more to help us complete our mission. With that in mind I decided to go to Bing and Google. These sites are known as search engines(fire em' up). They list just about anything. You can spend hours looking for whatever you need to know about on these sites. AMAZING!

I was brought to a site called Liquida.com where you can list your blog. I listed SMACES there. Now we will go through an evaluation process to see if we are the type of squadron they would like to include on their site. This site could connect us with other blogs and thus help us get some new volunteer recruits. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Social Media Aces













So it seems like this social media thing is getting out of control. There's Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, Youtube, MySpace(does anybody still use that) and more(how many I have no idea). How did it all start? Where is it all going? Why is it growing so big, so fast? Why are major corporations like Pepsi moving away from their traditional marketing(Superbowl ads) to invest millions into advertising through these online media realms? Does anyone else see a MAJOR shift going on here?

Who are these so called "Social Media Experts" and how did they become one? More importantly how do I become one? How long does it take to become one? Is there a school for that? Can I get a degree in it? The answer seems to be NO!


So I have decided to go on a "QUEST"! A quest to become a "Social Media Ace"! I don't like the idea of becoming an expert...there just seems to be to much pressure in that. In the military an ACE was a fighter pilot who managed to survive the many hazards of the battlefield. Along the way he managed to shoot down a number of enemy aircraft thus earning himself the respected title of an "ACE". Soooo since this new field of social media seems more like a battlefield then just some nice social event I have decided to take on some serious basic training and I am asking YOU to go with me. Together we will conquer this new battlefield. Our aircraft will be our computers. Our keyboards our cockpits. The battlefield will be this unknown world we call "The Internet"!


Since I do not know much about this new battlefield I will be looking for fellow fighter pilots to do guest posts and leave comments that will help the squadron reach our destination. Our destination of becoming "Social Media Aces"! To join the squadron all you have to do is follow this blog. To move up the ranks you will need to participate. You should leave a comment or do a guest post that teaches the squadron something new. To become an "ACE" you will need to have the ability to maneuver through the battlefield with ease.


SO...
"TEN HUT"(that means "attention soldiers") About face...and march!

Left, left, left, right, left!

Left, left, left, right, left!

CAUTION:

Anyone who seeks to mislead, distract or destroy our mission will be considered an "enemy combatant". There are no repercussions for that but that is what you will be considered...lol!