You have to be in it to win it…

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At 12:55 p.m. on March 5, Conan O’Brien posted this message on Twitter:

“I’ve decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.”

And, that it did…

@LovelyButton (aka Sarah Killen) went from a pretty quiet Twitter existence to almost 30,000 followers literally overnight. And it gets even better. Soon after Sarah received a new iMac, a free wedding gown, gratis wedding rings, $2,600 in donations for her cancer walk, and the chance to meet Ludacris. Sarah has also invited Conan to be a guest at her wedding…

What’s the point?

The point is not that Sarah was lucky. Nor is the point that savvy businesses quickly realized the opportunity in giving Sarah a bunch of free stuff hoping to tag along in her extensive media coverage.

The point here is that Sarah’s fifteen minutes of fame came as a result of her being in the game.

And now, if Sarah is a hustler, she will cash in on her new found fame. Because it won’t last long.

Do you see where I’m going here?

Your business MUST have a social media presence. A Twitter and Facebook account are as essential as having a website, phone, business card and sign hanging on your storefront. It’s not an option.

And, as you can see from Sarah’s story, the payoff can be astronomical.

Here’s an example I had pre-Twitter days to drive the point home.

In 2006, I set up an e-commerce site for our retail store. Our store sells thousands of SKU’s and I was working on this project by myself which limited the number of products I could realistically track. My wife (aka @galapagosnews ) suggested a certain brand to start with that was selling well in our boutique. I worked every night after work from early November until mid January getting the site going.

Finally, our site was live. It was far from perfect, but now, I was in the game… even if it was only with one brand that we sold.

Exactly 18 days after I finished the site, Oprah mentioned this particular brand on her show and our site was bombarded with orders. This was our Conan moment…

In less than 30 days, we went from $0 to over $200,000 in online sales. It was insane!

Was I lucky?

No. I was in the right place at the right time. I was in the game.

So, let this be the day you get your business in the social media game. If you don’t have a Twitter or Facebook account, get one now. It will take you just a few minutes and cost you nothing.

But, if you don’t get on board with social media marketing for your business, it will cost you. And, it could potentially cost you a lot!

Don’t risk missing your Conan or Oprah moment.

Remember, you have to be in it to win it…

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How Location Based Marketing Works

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I’m sure you’ve noticed the growing popularity, and buzz, surrounding smart phone applications that have people checking in at various locations. From the gas station… to Gate 31A at LAX… to Applebee’s, people are Tweeting their whereabouts. Why? Is it just a way to pass the time? Are they looking for other people? Are they simply playing a game?

Those are all part of it. But, there’s much more to it when you look at it from a marketing point of view.

As retailers, we need to pay close attention and look deep into trends as they’re taking shape. We especially need to sit up and “listen” when consumers are doing things that can have a direct impact on our business.

So, what kind of opportunity does all this Twitter hold for your business?

Look for a second at the technology. New reports forecast that Apple will sell 50 million phones in 2011, and more than 80 million in 2012, as worldwide expansion and popularity of the iPhone continues to grow. Last April, the 50 millionth Blackberry phone was sold. And, now the new kid on the block, the Droid, is shaking up the smart phone world. What do all of these phones have in common? GPS technology… your location can be pin pointed to within a half mile radius.

And, as these smart phones become less and less expensive, the majority of consumers will be trading in their old cell phone for a flashy new smart phone as their contracts come up for renewal. Google has a huge interest in making sure that all the world has a smart phone as they move into mobile ads. Do you think it would be difficult for Google to give away their Nexus One droid phones? The answer, of course, is no. Not considering the enormous revenue potential of splashing ads on your phone.

Well, back to the games.

There are a few players that have big financial backing (which tells you a lot) including FourSquare, Gowalla and Yelp.

The concept is simple. You download the app onto your phone and check into places you frequent throughout the day. As you check in, you see who else has been there. You also usually find a trivial object that you can keep, leave or swap. It’s just a virtual prize… for now.

But what about you as a retailer? How valuable is that information?

Think about this scenario. Jane Smith is within a half mile of your dress shop. And, Jane Smith has just left Sally’s Salon and is now at Rachel’s Shoe Emporium. How powerful would it be for you to be able to send a coupon to Jane for 25% off any dress purchased today as she checks into Rachel’s on Gowalla!

This is location based marketing. And, the sooner you get in on it the better. And the way you can get in on it now is by participating and playing the location game.

Every single, retailer and marketing professional must have a smart phone. NOW!

Pay the damn upgrade fee, pay the early termination fee, and pay whatever you need to get a smart phone today if you don’t already have one. You can’t afford to be in the dark on the impact that social media and location based marketing will have on your business.

Then get these applications from Gowalla, FourSquare and Yelp and use them. Understand them and think about the marketing potential.

You’ll hear much more about location based marketing and location based media in the days to come. But, the only way to truly understand what it’s about is to get in on it.

Have fun, play the location game and cash in your virtual currency a little bit later.

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HootSuite For iPhone Review

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For the past two weeks, I’ve been experimenting with the new Twitter client for the iPhone from HootSuite.

As is the case with virtually all of the Twitter apps available for the iPhone, you need to weigh the pros and cons and decide for your own particular use what is most important. Or, as I do… you can use different Twitter apps for different purposes.

Here are some of the features that I found to be brilliant on the HootSuite iPhone Twitter client:

• Multiple account management. I have several different Twitter accounts, for various businesses I own… and a couple of personal accounts. Having the ability to manage all of these accounts from a single app is HUGE! While HootSuite is not the only iPhone app that allows you to do this, it does make it incredibly easy and intuitive. Sending a Tweet from a single, or multiple accounts is as easy as tapping the profile pictures at the top of the screen.

• Tracking Statistics on the go. In theory, this is great. HootSuite allows you to view the stats from your Tweets containing links that you have sent. In an esthetically pleasing line chart, you can view the click thru of all of your ow.ly links that you have Tweeted. The only drawback here is that the link must be sent via HootSuite using the ow.ly link shortener. I prefer to shorten links with my URL as the root, which makes this feature not as useful to me.

• Scheduling Tweets. I’m a BIG fan of using time wisely and scheduling Tweets when appropriate. I won’t go into the power of effectively scheduling Tweets right now… that will be in another post coming soon. But, I can tell you that spreading out Tweets over peak time periods will dramatically increase your social media marketing efforts. HootSuite allows you to easily schedule Tweets, and re-Tweets, to be posted to your Twitter account at a future time.

• Twitter lists. Lists are an integral part of my time management and social media strategy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to view my Twitter lists on HootSuite for the iPhone. But, I’m confident that this will be addressed and added to the standard features.

UPDATE: I found the list feature. It’s a little buried, but HootSuite does have the ability to keep track of the lists you make on Twitter.

• Attaching pictures and link shortening. The ability to attach images and automatically shrink links is pretty much expected in every iPhone Twitter client… nothing that stands out here above and beyond the competitors.

Bottom line…

HootSuite is an excellent overall Twitter client for the iPhone. I would recommend for business use as well as personal use for Twitter management.

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons…

Pros: Ability to managing multiple accounts, send Tweets from multiple accounts simultaneously and Tweet scheduling.

Cons: Stats are only useful when using ow.ly shortening, unable to use lists (see update above).

Price: $1.99

Twitter: @hootsuite

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