Tag

how to use social media for business

Apr 10
Love0

Charlottesville Restaurants Doing Well with Social Media (Part 2)

By Communications, Social Media

In December of 2010, I wrote about the casual restaurants in Charlottesville that I thought were doing a pretty good job using social media  A plethora of others have opened and joined the social web since then, and those I wrote about at that time are still going pretty strong.

I was willing to go to the web to see what other favorites were out there.

 

 

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/DanaMarieAdams/status/188286924383989760″]

 

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/gingergermani/status/188292965612011520″]

 

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/saw2w/status/188289299303768064″]

What do you think people like to see restaurants post?

Nothing frustrates me (or the common social media user) more than when they face a lack of responsiveness. A while ago I asked a grocery chain for the location of their food truck. I asked via Facebook. I asked via Twitter. I wanted to know THAT DAY. (I was hungry).

A week passed and I finally got a response.

Not good enough.

If you’re going to have a presence online in a local market as a restaurant serving the people in that market and the many people just passing through, you must have someone dedicated to being present online in that space.

Every. Single. Day.

I know, it’s hard. But gee, you have people eating in your restaurant every day. You have people cooking and washing dishes and serving in your restaurant every day. So get on it. Be present, and watch your business grow.

Now, who wants some delicious pork belly?

Apr 09
Love0

It’s OK if You Don’t Get It

By Corporate Strategy, Social Media

Hi, it’s Erika again.

I’ll be chiming in once a week to talk about what’s happening over at my side of the office. This past week I had the opportunity to meet with two companies who are each considering a social media strategy. One is planning to expand and would like to use the social networks to create interest in the new communities. The other is a new company at that initial stage of defining their brand. In both meetings, I heard basically this:

I know people are out there on Twitter, but I’m not. I don’t get it. What are they talking about?

I’m going to say something controversial here. Wait for it . . . . .

Not EVERYONE is on Twitter. Ahhh, that felt good. Oh, and not everyone is on Facebook either. Yep, I said it and it’s true. I mean, a lot of people are. The thing is that these business owners know that their customers are using these platforms. That’s why they’re talking to us. But just because they know they’re out there doesn’t mean that they “get it”. And that’s totally ok.

A big part of what we do is educate businesses on the value of social media, what tone/content is appropriate for which platform, the most effective ways of listening and monitoring, then creating a plan (with calendar!) for publishing content.  We also help you write your social media policy because ultimately, one of your next questions will be:

If we let an employee represent the company, how do we control what they say?

That may be another post for another day, but in a nutshell, you don’t want to completely control what they say because then it wouldn’t feel authentic. The purpose of having a policy is to set parameters, but the voice should be, and sound like a real person. They should be out there on the social networks following businesses and individuals who they can tweet back and forth with. This person could be an entry level associate. If they are passionate about your company, people will hear that in their tone.

So I’m excited about both of these companies. As we move forward, I’ll share some stories about the process (with their approval, of course). Was there a paradigm shift? Do they see the benefits of social media rather than the amazing time wasting capabilities? Or did they become social media addicts? I sort of doubt it, but I am looking forward to the new start. I’ll keep you posted.

Apr 05
Love0

Remaining Calm Regarding SEO

By Communications, Corporate Strategy, Media, Social Media

We just got a call from a potential new client that runs a web site. Her site is currently the market leader in our area for her specific area of expertise, but a new competitor has just launched and she was a little worried about how that would impact her. She already has an excellent publishing platform, writes, contributes and shares regularly on the topics her customers care about, and has built all the necessary relationships behind the scenes to support her customers. She has a presence on all the appropriate social networks, but she still felt the need to get in touch with another local “SEO expert” to make sure she was on track.

Whenever I hear that, my neck tightens up.

The bottom line with SEO, just as it was way back in 2007 when this seminal post by Scott Karp was originally created, is that good content and user experience drive links and readers, and links and readers drive good search engine rankings. That hasn’t changed. In fact, Google already hinted at SXSW this spring that if you try too hard to optimize for SEO you could actually LOSE rankings. One thing that HAS changed is that your supporting social media presence is now a big part of how well ranked your site and content remain. Social is tied directly to search results. So what does this really mean and what should you do?

  • Google+ is going to have a huge impact on search results. One way Google can drive adoption of Google+ is to reward participation. What a concept! They have over 90MM users already and they all see personalized search results (SERPs). High participation and large, well-connected circle counts matter in Google’s search rankings. So get on there and start sharing!
  • Conversations and traffic are being emphasized almost more than keywords (which are still really important). The more visibility and connections a piece of content can generate, the better it does for SEO. Social networks are now the primary drivers of those connections.
  • Content remains king. The king is dead. Long live the king! Content has to be fresh, regularly updated, and well-distributed over the social web. So a good content publishing strategy with social distribution is a core competency for your business to develop.
  • Tweets and retweets matter. Google says they don’t directly count tweets in rankings, but a popular tweet containing a link earns a lot of re-publishing across the web that Google does crawl, index and count.
  • Facebook really helps Bing results. Through Bing’s partnership/integration with Facebook, results are massively personalized for any logged in Facebook user. So building a presence and sharing content there is no longer optional.
  • Social content distribution drives awareness and branding, which also drives searches. People just knowing about you and what you think will make them search for you more, yes? It also can lead to more love from the press, who are looking for easy ways to generate stories via social networks and connections.

In the end, it all comes down to content. As usual. If you regularly publish things that are worth reading and sharing and you hook up the necessary social platforms to actually DO that sharing (and enable your readers to help you), you will earn a social search rankings boost, gain natural followers and links, amplify your reach and influence, and bias consumers towards your stuff. And towards your business. All will be well. Deep breaths…

 

Apr 03
Love0

What Has LinkedIn Done for You Lately?

By Social Media

Individuals and companies struggling with the plunge into the social media pool can consider this: try LinkedIn first. LinkedIn is a business network, first, foremost and always, and for the uninitiated, the perfect place to establish a social network for business growth that is easy to understand and not overwhelming.

LinkedIn is a constant resource for my business. Here are just a few ways I’ve used it in the last week:

  1. I connected with client contacts so they can have access to my network as second degree contacts
  2. I’ve reviewed who is interested in my profile, to see if there are any likely warm leads to whom I should be conducting outreach
  3. I researched client prospects and their businesses and sent messages to individuals I want to meet
  4. I posted news from my own company, as a way of sharing our growth and capabilities

LinkedIn is a very useful business tool — for companies that are not otherwise engaged in social networking tools at all, it is absolutely necessary to take advantage of what LinkedIn has to offer.

If we have a working relationship and we’re not already connected on LinkedIn, feel free to reach out: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marijeanjaggers 

Mar 28
Love0

Amy Eastlack joins the Jaggers Communications Team

By Communications, Jaggers Communications News

I am beyond thrilled to announce an addition to the Jaggers Communications family. You might know her from SuzySaid in Charlottesville or as a television star on C’ville Plugged

Amy Eastlack

Amy Eastlack

In, a segment that aired for more than a year on CBS-19, WCAV.

She’s Amy Eastlack, my good friend, a fantastic writer, a social media engagement specialist and the newest member of our team!

Amy has devoted her time to developing business and personal relationships in our community. Her background spans environmental health, health care, retail marketing and nonprofit work, making her experience a perfect fit for our business growth model. Her involvement locally has given her a broad network of contacts and numerous followers in the social space. Having her join the team just makes good sense! (Plus, it occurs to me just now that she’s the fourth team member with roots in the Midwest. We’re good old common sense, down to earth people at Jaggers Communications from a land where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average,” as Garrison Keillor would say).

Amy will be providing support in client web monitoring, content development and plan management.

Please join me in welcoming Amy on board and say hello when you see her around Charlottesville!