As a social media guru and enthusiast, I truly believe that no online relationship or connection can ever replace human contact, however, I do believe that social media and digital interactions can lead and encourage in a lot of cases, connections outside the digital sphere.

Through social media, I have connected with friends from all over the world, and been able to engage and interact with some of my favorite brands. A recent example of how wonderful the world of social media is, came the other day when I unexpectedly had to purchase 4 new tires. My mechanic recommended Michelin and I happily obliged. After my new tires were mounted and I was on my way, I could feel the difference in the way my car was driving. Once home, I jumped on my iPhone and tweeted about my new tires, mentioning @MichelinMan_USA, naturally. About 45 mins later, I received a notification on my phone. Michelin had not only retweeted my tweet, but had replied to me thanking me for my business.

I will forever be a Michelin customer. That one tweet got me. It was a small gesture that lead to big bucks in their pockets. Even though I do not deal with the CEO of Michelin, the company was able to make my experience with them personal, and I appreciated that. I felt like they were specifically thanking me for buying their tires.

That is what social media is all about. Bringing the personal back into the impersonal. Even though there was no face-to-face connection, a connection had been made, and an intimate one at that.

This is why social media is a MUST. Social media allows businesses to interact and connect with their customers in ways that they have never been able to before.

The average is about 3 hours, but some only last 15 minutes. So what is the determining factor for the lifetime of a post? One word: engagement. The life of a post, according to EdgeRank, is based on the engagement opportunity of the post. If more people are engaging with the post, the longer it will thrive in the never ending labyrinth that we call the News Feed.

What is engagement? Here is a little engagement 101. Engagement consists of comments, like, and shares. The more you can get, the more chance you have to survive. Facebook has turned into Darwin’s “survival of the fittest.” You must be the best, the most intriguing, the most enchanting of all the pages and posts out there.

So how does a brand page accomplish this? I, for one, have found that some of the most engaging posts happen to come from pictures. Just as I have mentioned in my previous blog post, Pinterest, a social network entirely based on photos, is taking off, and, I believe, the trend is trickling over.  Photos, even photos that are semi irrelevant to a company’s mission, can go viral in an instant. You never know what will spark it, but in this stage, it’s all about knowing who your followers are and acting accordingly.

Another surefire way to spark engagement is to simply ask for it. Demand a call to action. Ask questions, request “likes” or comments. You would be surprised how many people will actually acquiesce to your requests.

Essentially, Facebook is now forcing you to become what it has always been, a social network, and a place where people interact with each other. It is no longer enough to just push content out there. You must be creative, innovative and fresh. Think of it as a battle royale. What will make your post last longer than your competitors?

As previously stated, know your followers. Test them. See what they will interact most with. Once you have established that, you will find the perfect equation for success. Math may not be a matter of opinion, but what you post is. Figure out what your followers want, then determine what will constantly intrigue them.

Be creative. Engage. Interact. BE SOCIAL.

I won’t lie, I have a pinning addiction, and let me tell you why. Pinterest is basically an online compilation of lookbooks. The pinner sorts through countless images in every category and then pins their chosen images onto virtual boards that you create. It’s basically the modern day corkboard. The user can also upload images using the URL where the image can be found. Create as many boards as you like, and build an online scrapbook of everything you are obsessed with. I personally have about 8 different boards all in different categories ranging from food and recipes to animals and fitness inspiration.

So what’s the social aspect? It has a little bit of Facebook and a little bit of Twitter. People can follow yours boards like Twitter and can comment on your images like Facebook. Pinterest is different in the way that it is more about collecting content than creating it.

So why should you be interested in Pinterest? For one, it’s addicting, two, great for gathering and managing ideas and inspirations, and three, I think that it will prove to be a powerful social network for businesses. From event planners and florists to sports shops and hotels, Pinterest is going to be a great place to showcase what you are made of. Hotels, for example, may use Pinterest to show highlights or attractions in the city where they are located. Architects may showcase what inspires them.  Florists may showcase their work. The opportunities are endless.

Pinterest has yet to come out with business pages, but I have noticed that many businesses/consultants are on the site and are already gaining followers. Michael Kors is a great example of how a brand can use Pinterest.

All in all, Pinterest is a site to keep an eye on. It is not for everyone, but if your business can make use of visuals and photos then you’re in.

Happy Pinning!

Sneak peak of Casa De Luz. New kid on the block in North Park, San Diego.

The experience My Social Marketing Network had at Casa De Luz was educational along with inspirational.  Casa De Luz is healthy, fresh, thoughtfully planned plant-based food.  Our experience of the salad, self-served soup, vegan food with pure alkaline water definitely captures your attention to what you should be putting into your body.  The color combinations with the careful array of portions takes organic food to an artistic level.

Our many conversations with the owner, creator, and visionary of Casa De Luz, Eduardo Longoria ( “Wayo” ), have inspired a new way of thinking on a natural way to alternative medicine. This may be controversial to many people, but keeping an open mind on the educational aspect of non-processed, fully organic food can truly benefit society as a whole.  To appreciate the integrity of your body with his minimalist, feng shui mythology is something that can only benefit, much less harm.

Casa De Luz has a second floor attached inside the beautifully designed restaurant.  This is where Casa De Luz is going to take it to the next level by offering a variety of cooking classes.  On the wall, right of the class room, is a big chalk board with a quote by Chinese Philosopher Confucius which states “I hear I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”    The cooking classes will teach us how to bring this healthy way of life back home into our own personal kitchens.

Casa De Luz forever will be “The Food That Loves You Back.”

Some obvious changes to your Facebook profile are the following:

• Cover Photo: You now have the chance to pick a photo, any photo, to display along with your profile picture. This can be changed at any time, and is just another way to further customize your page, and make your Facebook profile, you. Check out some cool cover photos here.
• Two Column Layout: Instead of having one big wall, you now have two columns that display your pictures, status updates, wall posts, check-ins, etc. This function allows for greater visibility and, in my opinion, makes you page look much more appealing. I really like the fact that each post/ activity is in its own box. Great look and super functional.
• New Header Format: The new header format is super cool because it contains all pertinent profile information at the top of your profile, including your friends, photos, maps, Likes, and whatever other apps you have activated on your profile. Instead of having to search through various tabs like the old layout, everything is right there in a dashboard format. Again, very functional and appealing to the eye.
• The Timeline: If you notice on the right hand side of your profile, you see a timeline that you can scroll up and down on. It starts, well, when you were born, and takes you all the way to present. Click on “2009” and you can see all the posts and Facebook activity that went on in that particular time. This can be a good and bad thing. When I looked back at my timeline, I was shocked to learn how much I have changed and grown up. I was frankly embarrassed by some of those status updates I made back in the day. So, what’s the good part? Well the first cool thing is that, one, you can go back that far and really take a look at your life over the past few years since you joined Facebook. The second great part is that you can actually edit or remove posts that, if you are like me, wish were not there anymore!

So what does this new Facebook Timeline really mean, besides having to scour through your past and choose two profile pics instead of one? Well, for one, when Facebook makes a change to personal profiles, it typically means that there is something in the works for business pages as well. It would not be a surprise if business pages took on the same look as the new personal pages. This would be quite beneficial, because I can see the cover photo as well as the timeline layout being great for brand promotion.

All in all, I think the new Timeline is great, and once everyone stops resisting to change and just goes with the flow, they will too.

2012 is going to be another big year, and we want to tell you why:

• Checking in for the cash in. As tablets and smart phones continue to take over the world, checking in and geo-location targeting will become more popular. Retailers can now influence and encourage people to spend by providing discounts and incentives for checking in. Although the “Check-In” is social in theory, it can also be translated into monetary value. If you provide a gaming aspect, or even just savings for checking in, this not only promotes your business socially, but also increases your customer base and potential revenue stream.
• Apps made for tablets. As noted above, tablets are becoming more ubiquitous. Almost everywhere you look, another tablet seems to pop up. It is important to make sure that you are tailoring your emails, messages, etc to fit the tablet format. In 2011, Facebook launched its app for the iPad. Google+ has yet to make their app for the tablet, but we see this as the next step for them. Tablet apps are going to be all the rage this year, and I’m sure we will be seeing many more social networks release their apps for the tablets in the coming months.
• Increased personalization. I know we sound like a broken record when it comes to expressing how important the humanization of a brand is, but it is what makes social media social. Brands are going to move away from self-promotion and move toward personal touches and humanizing messages. Earlier in the decade we were moving away from the personal and everything became digital, but as this industry grew, it became more apparent than ever that it was those personal touches that matter most. People do not enjoy talking or engaging with a computer robot, they want person to person, even if it is through the use of technology.
• Blur between politics, the real world and the online world. Seeing as it is an election year, we think that 2012 is going to see the surge in online political campaigns. Each candidate will be fighting for your attention via social media networks. Debates will be readily available, as well as directly asking questions to the candidates using social channels such as Twitter. This will bring the candidates closer to the masses, allowing for increased engagement and participation. We think.

All in all we think that 2012 is going to be a good one for Social Media, and we are excited to see the innovation and creativity that will emerge. The online world is an ever-changing environment, and it has proved to be quite a rollercoaster. A rollercoaster that we never want to get off of…

Some call it the Facebookification of Twitter, I just call it a fresh new look that is going to be great for branding.

Here are a couple of cool features of the new layout and their benefits.

The Home Page.

• Your home page now features a banner picture that you can change whenever you like. The new layout allows you to customize your page with logos and timelines. This feature is great for businesses with special promotions.
• The two-column layout. One column consists of your tweets, while the left column consists of familiar information, such as followers, lists and Twitter recommendations. The one difference? There is a “Tweet to..” box that allows the user to directly tweet to the business.
• Photos and Videos now appear in the Twitter stream. Instead of pictures and videos being opened in a new window, or on the side, they are now visible in the tweet.
• Information about a tweet is readily available. Click on a specific tweet and the tweet will expand to include information on who was mentioned, who retweeted it, and the date and time it was originally tweeted. This makes it easier for a business to reach out to those who have mentioned them or retweeted their tweets.

The Top Toolbar

• Connect: This is where all your interactions will be. Any @replies and mentions will be found here. Although not really different from before, it makes it convenient to find your engagements.
• Discover: The Discover tool is a very cool upgraded search function. It is basically search on steroids. Not only can you see trending topics and hashtags, you will also find a stream featuring stories based on your connections, location, and language.

These are the main new features for the new Twitter. Stay tuned for more information on how to set up your profile, and the many ways you can use the new profile to promote and brand your business!

Follow these basic steps below to successfully set up and start using your brand new Google+ page!

1. Sign into your Google+ account. Scroll down to the bottom, and in the right hand column, you will see a link to “Create A Page.”
2. Once you have been directed to the “Create A Page” page, then choose which category your business fits under. Is it a local business, a product or brand, an organization? You can also choose “Other” if your business does not fall into one of the given categories. In order to choose “Local Business” you must have a physical address and phone number registered in Google Places. If you don’t already have a Google Place page, it will ask you to set up one from within Google+.
3. Once a category has been selected, fill in all the basic information it asks for. Most of this is quite basic, but make sure to fill it all in, as this will result in a more complete profile, which in turn gives you added SEO benefits. The information asked is relative on the category you chose.
4. Now it is time to make it your own, and customize the page. One cool aspect of Google+ is their tagline feature. Create a tagline for your business, and add in photos. Upload at least 6 photos, as these are the photos that will be shown at the top of your page.
5. When your Google+ page has been officially created and you have established a strong foundation for it, it’s time to take it to the next level. Add content, share content. Even if you don’t have any followers yet, sharing relevant content will hopefully entice people to start following your page.
6. Start adding Circles to your page, and start following others. Social media is social because there is a two-way dialogue. As you engage with others, your page should gain more traffic and your fan base should start to trickle in.
7. Add more photos and videos. People are very visual, and enjoy looking through albums and watching videos. This type of content is great for stimulating engagement.

Now that you have your Google+ business profile set up, the same rules apply. Get creative, engage, and share.

Google+ away my friends.

With the advent of the social networking site, Twitter has become a new news source, as has Facebook. One can now see an event happening overseas before it is being spoken about on the news. A student in the United States can see first hand accounts of history in the making in a country they barely knew existed.

Because of this virtual state, anyone online is coexisting with the next person. People are receiving information and sharing information faster than ever before. The digital world is growing everyday and becoming more powerful, and it is therefore necessary to be part of it, to stand as a citizen with a voice.

This global village is the perfect place to get on your soapbox and promote what you have to say, and to provide valuable information to those who wish to listen. The cool part about it all is that your audience is a lot larger than the one the philosophers had in ancient Greece. J

Even though such a vast audience exists, you must know how to reach the maximum amount of people as possible. My Social Marketing Network has proven methods and strategies that will help reach the audience that you want. Along with that, we offer valuable insight into the world of social media marketing. It is not easy exposing yourself to the digital world, but it could not be more crucial.

Also, check out our blog post A New Breed of Professional: The Social Media Expert, for more insight as to why it is important to have someone on your team that is knowledgeable about this digital world, and the infinite ways to manipulate it to work for you rather than against you.

Social Media is our present and definitely our future. Don’t let others jump ahead because you did not join the game. Jump in and see how your customer base and fan audience will grow.

I found a great read on the Huffington Post website about the future of social media and why it is important. It’s a very interesting article speaking about the global village and how we can all exist in it.

Happy reading!

Social media is called so, because it is social. It is a way to connect with people on a more personal level. Most people do participate in some form of holiday celebration or another, so why not connect with them on something that you know is relevant to their lives?

Read on for a list of social media tips to bring your business the holiday cheer it needs this season.

• Create a seasonal image: Brand your business, but keep it consistent. Design a holiday image that represents your company and the holiday season. Perhaps create a Facebook photo strip or a Twitter background that complements your holiday image.
• Talk about holiday traditions. People all over celebrate and each family has its own traditions. Engage your followers and fans by asking them about their favorite traditions and customs.
• Offer advice and tips on holiday challenges. People are often stressed and restricted on time during the holidays, so why not add value to their lives and provide them with ways to make their lives easier. Some tips might include, shopping on a budget, travelling, gift-giving, holiday recipes, etc.
• Encourage fans and followers to engage by sharing holiday stories. Ask them to submit pictures of kitchen disasters, or family gatherings. Promote the sharing of recipes, holiday arts and crafts or anything holiday related that will get your fans and followers sharing and conversing with each other.
• Create a funny Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving video and encourage your fans and followers to share it or to upload their own.
• Partner with a charity and become actively involved in giving back to the community. Inspire and incite others to do the same.  Ask your followers and fans to share what they are doing this holiday season to promote charity within the community.
• Set up a Facebook or Twitter contest that reflects the holiday season. Does your business have a holiday promotion happening?

Spreading holiday cheer is crucial when engaging in social media. As I said at the beginning of this post, social media works because it is a social conversation among people, and if your business wants to be a leader or even participate in the conversation then it is necessary to talk about the hot topics of the moment.

Happy Holiday Facebooking!