Do You Fully Understand Social Media?

According to Wikipedia Social Media is defined as:

Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media supports the human need for social interaction with technology, transforming broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers. Businesses also refer to social media as user-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated media (CGM).

Social media can be said to have 3 components;^{[citation needed]}

1. Concept (art, information, or meme).
2. Media (physical, electronic, or verbal).
3. Social interface (intimate direct, community engagement, social viral, electronic broadcast or syndication, or other physical media such as print).

Common forms of social media; • Concepts, slogans, and statements with a high memory retention quotient, that excite others to repeat. • Grass-Roots direct action information dissemination such as public speaking, installations, performance, and demonstrations. • Electronic media with 'sharing', syndication, or search algorithm technologies (includes internet and mobile devices). • Print media, designed to be re-distributed.

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Too many people Online today think that because they use Twitter and have a Facebook account and a MySpace profile that they are Social Media experts. The sad truth is that they are not.

Knowing HOW to use these sites is the first step to truly finding the full advantage in the world of social media.

Also, there are more sites than just these to create a positive presence on AND always remember that social media campaigns do not show immediate results. YOU as the client/business owner/supposed social media expert need to be committed to your campaign before starting one.

Are you committed?

If I can help you in any way, please contact me at Kim1980berly@gmail.com

Could You Use This?

Many small businesses just starting out focus only on their geographical location and forget about utilizing sites online to bring awareness to their new endeavors. My name is Kim Randall and I want to do just that. I want to help new businesses understand, take advantage of and profit from the use of Online marketing.
Many companies are doing this, but they don't see results. Most of that is because they aren't engaging properly or they are spamming (basically shoving the information down peoples throats). You want to know the people you are targeting because by forming a bond you are also building trust.

Currently I am working with Miss Go Getter (Owner and CEO Kim Carlisi) to help her make the most out of her Online presence and although she is not a web based service, her potential clients are Online.




Some interesting information:

*Roughly 73% of Americans use the Internet daily
*As of 2008, 60% of Americans on the Internet used social networking sites.
*About 50% update their Online presence and interact with other Internet users.



MY GOAL IS TO PROVIDE SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS FOR SERIOUS COMPANIES THAT ARE JUST STARTING OUT.


PLEASE CONTACT ME AT (Kim Randall) 1.813.516.4808 or email me at Kim1980berly@gmail.com FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

How To Brand Yourself As A DJ In Second Life

If you are trying to make it in Second Life as a DJ, I have some helpful hints and tips to get you going or keep you moving.


Hint #1: Make sure you have the proper equipment and have tested it all before you begin to consider branding yourself as a Second Life DJ
See Nexeus Fatale's post on what is needed to begin DJing in Second Life here

Hint #2: Yes you do need a logo and a textured ad if you want to be taken seriously
As I always stress, DO NOT COPY A LOGO OR IMAGES OFF OF THE WEB!

Hint #3: Do you have an in-world prim business card?
If not, consider doing this. Of course it is going to need to be bigger than a normal business card so that prospective club/venue owners can read the information written on the card. Simple take the same concept of a real world business card and work the magic of Second Life into it. You can stuff the card full of promotional goodies such as: T-shirt/tank tops with your DJ logo on it, maybe you can have someone create something truly unique like a set of headphones that when worn becomes a dance machine. There are so many possibilities out there, just be creative.
Also make sure on your business card you include your DJ logo/name, email address and then add a notecard that gives your rates and any dates that you may already be booked up.

Hint #4: Target event planners, wedding venues and club owners
Maybe you need to prove you are worth the chance by DJing for free here and there. remember you too need to build up a presence and name within Second Life.

Hint #5: Run a classified ad in your profile
Make sure you use these keywords (and any others you can think of)
club, music, DJ, DJing, party, hire, DJ for hire, venue, entertainment, dance, (your name) .........

Hint #6: Create a Google Calendar and share it with the world.
Don't just create it, use it!! Post where you will be on certain dates. This helps when people are trying to book you.

Hint #7: Do create a group in Second Life
This will be your fan base. Many venues want to hire DJs that can bring i good traffic and new faces.

Hint #8: Do you have a play list?
Create a blog and make a play list of all of the music you have and take suggestions from people as to what they would like you to have available. This will help potential clients know what music you are capable of playing.

Hint #9: See if you can get downloads of popular songs by Second Life musicians
There are so many of them out there, all you have to do is get out there and network it!

Hint #10: Make sure you talk less and play more!

Hint #11: Take advantage of the power of social networking. It's free and only takes time and dedication to make it work for you.

Hint #12: Advertise in Second Life magazines if you can afford to do so.

Hint #13: Team up with a club to host a premiere party every once in a while.

Hint #14: Even though you are a DJ you can still have contests and promotional events.
*Scavenger hunt
*photo contest
*Biggest fan contest
*Best venue
etc...


Lastly.... Have lots of fun doing it! If you enjoy what you do, people will notice and the vibe will be all the more positive!

I am Sadie Pippita in Second Life and no I am not a DJ, I just know a thing or two about the virtual world of Second Life.

Look me up if you have any questions!

Advertising Within Virtual Worlds

For almost two years I was a Brand Strategist within the Virtual World of Second Life. My main job was to stratagize the best possible way to integrate a companies brand within the game. I was lucky enough to work with real world companies as well as help striving Second Life companies turn a profit. Here is where I am going to share some secrets on how to make your brand stand out from the rest.

Hint #1: Do take advantage of creating a group. It costs 100L$ which is less than $1.00 US.
Groups are awesome for when you want to promote as event, sale, promotion or anything else to many many people at one time. You can attach a note card, object or a texture. When you are sending a notice or a message make sure it is worded so that it is catchy. You want people interested.

Hint #2: Traffic on your land or at your shop IS important, but not important enough to fake the traffic with bots.
Bots give false traffic and lag down an area.

Hint #3: If you can, have a monthly newsletter in the form of an in world magazine. Have guest writers, photographers, announce contests and winners. There is a lot that you can do with this. You just have to "Think outside the prim"

Hint #4: It is all about the quality!
If your product is below average, no one will buy.

Hint #5: Customer service is still a MUST!
You DO NOT know what is best for your customer, they do. Listen to them. Just like in the real world you will end up with people that only like to complain, but that's life unfortunately.

Hint #6: Have events!
Pump people up, have giveaways, scavenger hunts, contests. MAKE sure that you are unique doing this. Everyone is already having a best in black contest. Be creative. Let it flow!

Hint #7: You do need a classified ad, but you don't need to pay thousands of Linden dollars for it.
In your classified ad you will need a professional looking advertisement texture like you would see in a real life magazine or newspaper. Make sure you add keywords in as many languages as you can.
Example: You sell clothing both male and female so your keywords will be male, female, clothes, men, women, shirt, pants, skirt, blouse, dress, outfit, sweater, tank top..... and so on depending on what it is that you really sell. NEVER USE THE WORDS SECOND LIFE IN YOUR KEYWORDS AND DO NOT LIE ABOUT THEM!

Hint #8: You need a logo!
Do not rip one off of the Internet and do not rip one from another Second Life company. You can get in real life trouble if you decide to steal another companies logo and I know you don't want that.

Hint #9: Clean up your profile!
I should be able to open your profile and know exactly what you do and what your business is on the first tab.

Hint #10: Take advantage of real life sites for promotions!
Twitter, MySpace, Bebo, Multiply, FlickR, Hi5, Facebook etc... They all have one thing in common. Second Life residents use them! There are groups you can join on MySpace, Bebo, Multiply and FlickR that are Second Life related, go ahead and set up an entirely new account for your avatar. Twitter is an awesome way to meet fellow SLer's just search the key word Second Life, Tweet about what you are doing and make new connections.

Hint #11: Take advantage of Second Life catered Social Sites.
http://whoswhovirtual.ning.com
http://landmarkisland.ning.com
http://slscout.com
http://avatarsunited.com
http://mymetaverse.com
http://slprofiles.com
http://Koinup.com
There are many more sites that cater to Second Life. Just do a Google search for Second Life Networks.

Hint #12: Do send out Press Releases Online
Just like real life, you still need to send out a professional looking press release about a week in advance of any event you might be hosting.
Some sites to post them on:
Eventful.com (does cater to Second Life)
SLnewspaper.com
SLNN.com
SLenquirer.com
SL iReports on Cnn.com
and many more sites.
You can also place your press release in the blog section of your social networking profiles like MySpace.

Hint #13: Blog Blog Blog
You need a blog! If you don't like to blog find someone that does. It is very important that people can see what you are doing without logging into Second Life.

Hint #14: Do place your items on XStreetSL.com
Make sure you link back to your SLURL in Second Life and use proper keywords

On average, over 60,000 people are logged into Second Life at any given minute from all around the world. What better way to inexpensively advertise your products.
Anyone and any brand can effectively do it.
Is Second Life for you?
You can find me in Second Life by searching user profiles for my Second Life name, Sadie Pippita.

What Does Your Business Card REALLY say?

So this past week I had the task of coming up with some business card designs for the company. Some for the Sales Associates that will be working with us and some for the executives in the company. I got to thinking about just how much of a marketing and branding tool a business card really is. What does your business card say about you? Does it say that you are still sitting in the 90's when it comes to how you want to promote your business? Are you unique or are you still using the same plain business cards as everyone else? Take a look at the examples below and you decide for yourself which concept catches your eye.




I personally chose to step outside of the box. I mean, I deal with an online career site so I thought I should go with that theme and this is my final product.
This might not be your ideal business card, but for me it is unique, innovative and eye catching.
Remember to use your business card as a way to better brand yourself through your business.

Marketing Through Social Media

How often do you try to plug your job/company/service/product on networking sites? What techniques do you use to plug your company? Spam? Annoyance? Subtleness?

How often do you see other people plugging sales and products on sites like MySpace, Facebook and even Twitter? How often do you get frustrated by these tactics that other people are using?

I see it all the time and yes I myself even Tweet for the company I work with, but in all honesty where or what does all of this get us? How long does it take to build up a perfect balance of meaningful friendships and business relationships online? For me it has taken about 6 months to get nearly 2,000 followers on Twitter, a radio interview, a radio shout out and blogged about in a local Tampa Bay blog. Not too bad, huh? I admit that it could and should be better. I mean we have a solid service/product to offer everyone. Everyday we are moving forward so what's the holdup online?
Then I ask myself, "Why haven't I gotten my interview with Ellen or Oprah yet"? I'll tell you why. Because NO ONE knows who Kim Randall is. I am not a famous model, I have never been in a band, I am not a famous singer.

Who am I then? Well I am a 28 year old Marketing and Sales Exec that is trying to move a company forward in a dog eat dog digital world. I have sent emails to many well know sources with no response. I have tried to call agents to pitch what this company is doing. Not many answer. It isn't because I don't have a compelling story. It is more likely to be that in the signature there isn't McHammer's name and phone number.

So why are all of these famous people Twittering, blogging and Vlogging that marketing through social media is so easy? I'll tell you why. It's because THEY ARE ALREADY FAMOUS!. They already have a name for themselves. They could claim to reinvent gum and people would interview them all day and night. What about all of the quality people out there that have amazing products? Do they get their 5 minutes of fame on CNN.com? Not normally, but sometimes it does happen.

Why am I posting this? Am I really that bitter towards celebrities trying to talk and preach about social media marketing? Not at all, in fact I applaud them for their success. Most of them came into their fame well before MySpace was invented or Twitter was even thought of. Most of them were not born into the status that they have now. They did work hard to get where they are. The reason I am posting this is to talk about how challenging it really can be to market and pitch your company in todays digital world without the celeb status. I would love to say that if you Tweet, everyone will follow. It isn't all true. You should however stay true to yourself and your company.

Remember to:

☞Provide everyone with rich content.

☞Let us see and know YOU and your product. It is ok to plug your company, but be yourself too.

☞People want to connect with real people and not just a sales advertisement.

☞Also stop the spamming about where you are going to be this Saturday like many of the friends I have on MySpace too. Eventually people stop paying attention. In this case LESS IS MORE! If you post something once a week or hell even once a day people are more apt to pay attention. Quit the 20 times in 5 minutes of posting the same thing. I WILL NOT PAY ANY ATTENTION!

☞Make sure you acknowledge your online peeps. What do I mean by this?? Well FOLLOW PEOPLE BACK on Twitter, reply to emails and messages on other platforms. Maybe someone wants to tell you that they enjoyed a blog post you wrote. It takes less than a minute to say a simple THANK YOU.

☞If you want people to pay attention to you, pay attention to them. The only way to truly build a meaningful business relationship is to pay attention to what and who is interested in you and your company.

☞Be sneaky, creative and smart. Don't do everything that your competitors are doing. Do something different. Offer a better service. Market in a different way. Be unique!!!

☞Are you targeting the right people? Let's say you are marketing a website that allows children in the age range of 3 to 10 to connect, play games and learn about computers. Would you market this to college students? Probably not. Your key demographic would be parents. Stick to and with the people that need your product the most.

✩BRAND YOURSELF and YOUR COMPANY! Your name is your own personal brand. People are not looking for commercials and magazine advertisements anymore. It's your time to shine as a person which will in return bring awareness to your company✩

*In no way do I claim to be an expert in Social Media Marketing, Networking and Marketing. I am just like the rest of you trying to make a name for myself and my employers company.*

Never doubt your company or yourself. Stick with it and be consistent in everything you do. If you have passion for what you are trying to achieve, it will be noticed.