Checking-In: Location-Based Social Networking

With 200 million users accessing Facebook through their mobile phones, the number of Facebook Check-Ins is also on the rise. These "check-ins" allow people to post where they are and what they are doing. This is known as Location-Based Social Networking. This can be free advertising for your company through your customers. All they do is "check-in" and everyone then can see your company on their post. The most popular places to check in are retail, restaurant and leisure locations. So if your company is one of these industries you have a lot to gain from location-based social networking. If your company is not one of these no worries, you still can gain as much if not more. 

Location-based social networking works well, because it is interactive for your customer. It allows them to be engaged in your company. One great location-based social network is Foursquare. Foursquare allows users who check-in at venues to earn points towards badges and allows the company that is on Foursquare to interact with these check-ins by providing special rewards for those who check-in. If someone holds the most check-ins at one venue they can be the "mayor" of the venue. These location-based social networks allow your company to be seen by hundreds if not thousands of users just by saying they are there. 

Here is our disclaimer and just like any use of online activities you should take precautions and be proactive and responsible when using social media. We want you to succeed, have fun, and be safe.

Twitter: The 140 Character Social Network

I hear people say that don't like to use Twitter since they already have a Facebook account and don't see a need for Twitter. Plus who really wants to tell people what they are doing every minute? Well Twitter is just as important as Facebook in the social media world as that it allows you to connect and "network" with like minded individuals and companies. I find that business use of Twitter allows me to share and learn from others in my industry so that I can provide my customers a better experience and a better product. Unless you are the innovator of your industry, sometimes you need to learn from someone else. 

Now Twitter is unique in that you can only post 140 characters at a time. So you have to sometimes shorten or abbreviate what you post. Twitter is also great for marketing your business. You can send short to the point "Tweets" to your followers, who may interact with your tweet by replying to your tweet which helps expose it to those who follow that person. They can "re-tweet" your tweet and again expose more people to your post. They can even direct message you about your post. 

When posting on Twitter you can use "Hashtags" which makes a topic become a searchable item by using the number symbol "#" as the first character of the tag (i.e. #Twitter, #PHX_Creative, #Socialmedia, #Success). With Twitter there are tons of tools that can allow you to sync your Twitter accounts with other social media accounts that you have created like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Foursquare, YouTube and Flickr. One such tool TweetDeck allows you to connect with most of your social media accounts and just one Tweet can be posted to all accounts instead of making one post for each account. 

Should your company have a Twitter? Yes it should since it is a third of the size of Facebook in terms of users at over 200 million. The more markets your company can enter into the more exposure you receive, and why shouldn't you it's all free marketing. 

Do I really need a Facebook page?

This is a question I hear from several of my older clients who are unsure of the need to be on Facebook. I explain to them yes it is extremely important. We are in a world where technology is moving fast, really fast. Today's clients and users no longer search for what they need, it finds them. This is a fundamental shift in the way we do business. There are over 600 million users on Facebook. That's almost twice the population of the United States! Users can search for what they are looking for on Facebook just as easily as they can on Google or Yahoo or Bing. If you aren't on Facebook how are your customers going to find you?

I hear my clients say that their clients are different, and that their product is more business-to-business. They believe that Facebook is not really for them. Oh, but it is. Facebook allows your clients to be engaged with what your company is doing. They can now take an active role in helping promote your business. In a  poll released by Nielsen, 90% of people trust their peer's recommendation. So if you have great business think about the word of mouth promotion that is generated for your company. The best part is that they can share that recommendation on Facebook with hundreds of people.

Operating a Facebook page is relatively simple, but getting people to be engaged takes a little talent. As a business on Facebook you need to be proactive with your clients. A good rule of thumb in being proactive is being able to engage your customers with something daily. You can update fans on your page of new business opportunities, community involvement, special events, and even recruit potential clients or employees.

I know that this can be overwhelming to some and that is why Phoenix Creative Services is in this business. We want you to succeed, and we can give you the tools to do so.

Does your company have a Social Media Plan?

Does your company have a Social Media Plan? If not check out this video from Socialnomics. You may want to wear a seat belt though.

Social Media is a pivotal shift in the way we connect with our customers. Its no longer the customer searching for us, it is us searching for them. Through the use of Social Media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we can engage our customers and allow them to have an active participation within our company. A company without a Social Media plan will never be able to out do a competitor who does.

Welcome

Welcome to the Phoenix Creative Services Blog. We hope that we can provide you with information on Social Media, Creative Design and Video Production to better assist you in making your business more competitive. Our company was founded in 2009 to help businesses create a marketing presence through Social Media and Creative Design. 

Phoenix Creative Services offers a wide range of support in Social Media, Creative Design and Video Production. Our goal is to help local companies create and maintain a presence in Social Media and Web 2.0 technologies.

Our Social Media Team can assist your company in creating and maintaining social media mediums like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, Vimeo, Foursquare, Wikipedia and Blogs.

Our Creative Design Team can assist your company in creating PowerPoints, PDF's, Presentation Documents and Website Content Management.

Our Video Production Team can assist your company in creating quality videos for your company. We can handle the filming, editing and production of all your video needs. All of our videos our produced in 1080HD resolution.

We look forward to serving you and your customers.

-Kevin Dawson,

President, Phoenix Creative Services