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records of an early adopter

Filed under: social media

Attention Chicago - Chicago Cause is donating $24,000 in web, social media and PR services

Chicago Cause logo, Lightspan Digital, Orbit Media, Flanigan CommunicationsThe grand prize:

Recipient will receive:

  • New Website designed and built by Orbit Media, valued at $14,000
  • Marketing Video – also produced by the Orbit team, valued at $4000
  • Social Media – training, planning and strategy by Lightspan Digital valued at $2000
  • PR Consulting – a 4 month campaign managed by Flanigan Communications valued at $4000

How to enter:

The contest is very simple. It’s a bit of a non-social-media contest. It won’t require following us, friending us, sharing or retweeting anything. All you have to do is fill in the Chicago Cause entry form.

Any other prizes and perks?

You bet! The ten finalists will get a networking party and 30-second web video on Sept 16! The finalists, friends, fans, supporters, and all those interested will get the chance to network, and  meet other do-gooders in the community.  At this event, Orbit will produce a 30-second web video for each of the finalists.

Be part of the BUZZ!

If you want to share the news, ask questions or share comments you can do all of that on the Chicago Cause Facebook page at facebook.com/ChicagoCause.

Or find us on Twitter @manamica, the Orbit team @orbittracker and Flanigan Communications @DyanaKF

 

via lightspandigital.com

 

Announcing, Online Relationships and Real Life Benefits, a Chicago Social Media Seminar

Jul.08.10 | Blog, New Media, News, Social Media Marketing

We’re very excited to announce that in collaboration with Matt Cheuvront of mattchevy.com we are hosting a social media marketing seminar, July 17.

You will learn practical social media strategies and tactics to:

  • Find new customers, friends and fans online
  • Turn these new relationships into business connections
  • Convert the online connections into in-person relationships and vice-versa.

Who should attend?

  • Small business owners looking to make better use of Social Media tools
  • Startup/Entrepreneurs pursuing cost-effective marketing strategies
  • Anyone wanting to learn more about how Social Media can positively impact your business strategy.

Sign up today! Only 25 spaces available! 

Let's make this social >Share with your friends!

The seminar will take place July 17 at 10 AM, at Orbit Media Studios in Chicago.

 

via lightspandigital.com

 

There's No Social Media Marketing without Social Commitment | from Lightspan Digital

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via lightspandigital.com

"One of the keys to creating an online community is the commitment of the key decision-makers to maintaining an online presence and open conversation. Once you decide to jump in the only way to see results is to press on through ongoing and recurring conversation. You MUST:

* Consistently post/write
* Always reply to reasonable questions
* Reply to comments at least once or as much as possible
* Monitor brand on an ongoing basis
* Respond to shifts in brand perception in a timely manner"

Read on...

Five Great Articles about Using Social Media as a Marketing Tool

via lightspandigital.com

 

be brave, be flexible, get it done – my #sobcon Twitter summary

Apr 30 2010, 14:16 UTC set aside fear, because those are the kinds of leaders we need now @lizstrauss. very inspiring opening remarks #sobcon
Apr 30 2010, 15:45 UTC RT @wiredprworks: you don’t need permission from others to follow your dream #sobcon where do you find confidence? find like-minded people
Apr 30 2010, 15:46 UTC RT @knealemann: RT @lizstrauss: Missing #SOBCon ?  Watch the live stream here, thanks to @jenchicago: http://bit.ly/9LX6cV
Apr 30 2010, 16:00 UTC RT @sdoesimkins: So excited to rep my org! RT @JJsList: looking fwd to learning and meeting all at #SOBcon! Let’s do some good! #dogood
Apr 30 2010, 16:03 UTC great chat with Scott @unmarketing >let’s get the unreligion of unmarketing movement started! ;P #sobcon
Apr 30 2010, 20:15 UTC Q: where do I need to be online, A: listening is going to tell you where to be @AmberCadabra #sobcon
Apr 30 2010, 20:16 UTC tactically speaking you’ll need to spend anywhere between 2 to 5 hours a week listening @AmberCadabra #sobcon
Apr 30 2010, 20:17 UTC RT @wiredprworks: listening tools: socialmention.com. search.twitter.com, addictomactic.com, google alerts use iGoogle or netvibes #sobcon
Apr 30 2010, 20:22 UTC I’m loving the tough love chick :) RT @cloudspark: RT @AmberCadabra is the tough love chic #sobcon: quit planning to make the plan
Apr 30 2010, 20:25 UTC RT @annmichael: Tool Amber is talking about http://bit.ly/992scO :) #sobcon
Apr 30 2010, 20:29 UTC great point @RedheadWriting >you can’t control where your customers choose to have a conversation so be flexible #sobcon
Apr 30 2010, 20:30 UTC if you have problems with people tweeting you have a hiring problem not a social media problem @ambercadabra #sobcon
Apr 30 2010, 20:41 UTC insanely good RT @DanielleSmithTV: Yes! RT @jeremywright: @ambercadabra killing it on stage at #sobcon. She’s one of the smartest
Apr 30 2010, 21:09 UTC tip #sobcon peeps – check out this book “why business people speak like idiots – a bullfighter’s guide,” great book &good laughs
May 1 2010, 0:27 UTC Headed to #sobcon party mystery location, which if it is what I think it is will be a rocking time
May 1 2010, 14:09 UTC @nicoleyeary wish u were here #sobcon2010 so I bought you a @twitgift! Claim your @twitgift at http://twitgift.me/claim/
May 1 2010, 14:18 UTC thanks for the tunes  @starbucker :) http://bit.ly/cqq89E #sobcon
May 1 2010, 14:34 UTC likewise! wendycholbi: Jazzed to be sharing a Day 2 #sobcon table with @TechCoach, @manamica @EarnestOne. 2day’s gonna rock!
May 1 2010, 15:07 UTC great talk form @scottporad on building a business by caring, not just for show, but truly caring. #sobcon
May 1 2010, 15:25 UTC @wendycholbi @TechCoach @EarnestOne @ShePosts thanks for the wonderful convo on building teams, packages, prices :) #sobcon
May 1 2010, 15:32 UTC yey @scottporad for the message on sustainability! let’s give a hand to conference centers that recycle &compost #sobcon
May 1 2010, 15:34 UTC RT @missdestructo: RT @hardlynormal: #sobcon live http://bit.ly/9LX6cV
May 1 2010, 15:39 UTC RT @windycitysocial: everything that’s happened me to be is bec. of the web and the relationships I’ve built @julian #sobcon
May 1 2010, 15:46 UTC &janitors ;P RT @networlding: @lucretiapruitt  @Julien @lorelleonwp – v. “unique” panel on key relationships, build, buy and partner #sobcon
May 1 2010, 15:58 UTC tough love but it’s the truth >getting into a partnership is like signing a prenup @unmarketing #sobcon
May 1 2010, 18:28 UTC RT @marciahansen: RT @wiredprworks: employees now 3xs more trustworthy than executives, empowering employees is important #sobcon
May 1 2010, 19:20 UTC RT @ShellyKramer: Weird concept: Actually doing what’s best for the client #sobcon :)
May 1 2010, 19:27 UTC GJ my table neighbor @ericaogrady. You rocked that panel! “credit is infinitely divisible” #sobcon
May 1 2010, 21:02 UTC I couldn’t have said it better >RT @charityestrella: people are just awesome RT @charityestrella: The best part about #SOBCon is the people.
May 1 2010, 21:07 UTC your blog is not making you money it’s the things around your blog that do #sobcon
May 1 2010, 21:16 UTC RT @techcoach: @barrymoltz  full list of #sobcon twitter ids. http://bit.ly/9Th6uq
May 1 2010, 21:22 UTC you should never be affraid of screwing up – JayJay French #sobcon
May 1 2010, 21:23 UTC that was great! >RT @philgerb: #sobcon The fax machine is broken! Hurry get a website! http://bit.ly/cHTBhk the story from @shashib
May 1 2010, 21:37 UTC .@techcoach wins Starbucks gift cards for our table yey! http://bit.ly/aIPSQe #sobcon
May 1 2010, 21:51 UTC standing ovation @lizstrauss for an amazing weekend at #sobcon

via lightspandigital.com

do you use #s & @s outside of Twitter?

Imagine this dialogue:

He texts, "What are you up to tonight?"
She answers, "w/ @jane #Fringe & #30Rock"

Here's another scenario:

He texts, "What are you up to tonight?"
Her mobile app (set to to recognize time-based inquiries) auto-responds with a text back based on her public calendar entries, "w/ @jane #Fringe & #30Rock"

Is our conversation style becoming so meta-tagged that it may be hard to distinguish our responses from those of a bot?

Super cool site that graphs twitter usage by day of week and time of day via @xefer. Check it out!

This is one of the easiest twitter graph tools I've seen. 
2. Enter your Twitter Id and hit Get Data
3. Wait for the site to collect the data and generate the graph (and the reply explorer which I didn't capture in the screenshot below).

If you want info on how the data is collected you can check the xefer blog post and discussion. 

The cool thing is that you can see the stats for any public twitter account. So if you are wondering what the tweeting habits of those "social media experts" are, you can plug in their Twitter Id and take a peek. 

Voilà!

Screen_shot_2010-01-14_at_8

to hash tag or not to hash tag, and where and how

The twitter hash tag is a widely used and controversial practice. Some disprove of it, some overuse it, and some may be committing hash-spam.

So what's the real deal with hash tags?

The what and why of hash tags

The twitter hash tag  (# sign used before a word or before an acronym) is a labeling convention used to draw attention to a set of tweets around specific topics, as indicated by the hash tag.

Just as tags can be added to a blog post or a Facebook picture, tags can be added to a tweet by using # in front of a keyword. But in the Twitter case this metadata is visible.

Screen_shot_2010-01-07_at_5

This visual disruption introduced by the hash tag led to criticism of the practice by some.

My opinion is that when used in a reasonable way, as opposed to a way that is reminiscent of spam, the hash tag can be very useful:

  • The hash tag can be used to create a chat room. There are sites such as TweetChat where you can enter a hash tag and follow and participate in a conversation related to that topic as if in a chat room. Great examples of weekly chats are #agchat, #journchat and #craftbeerchat.
  • I love the use of the hash tag to create a conversation between participants at an event or conference. Check out the #ces discussion going on right now on Twitter. 
  • Let's not forget the use of the hash tag to connect people with similar interests, and spread the word, similar to an RSS newsfeed - #cubs is all Cubs news and opinion. Another that I've used quite a bit recently as part of my JJsList co-tweeting has been #disability. 

The where and how

Is it better to embed the hash tag in the body of a tweet or at the end?

This is a balancing act. Tweets that are easy to read are more likely to get attention. But if the tweet is long there may not be room to add hash tags at the end.

My preferred option is to add the hash tag at the end of the tweet when the tweet can still be under 120 characters. Like this:

Who loves the Chicago Cubs? #Chi #cubs

If adding hash tags lengthens the tweet over 120 characters I prefer rewriting a tweet. Here is such a tweet:

Philanthropy News: Steven Seleznow to head Arizona Community Foundation - Phoenix Business Journal http://ow.ly/16iuIl

In this case adding #philanthropy and #phoenix at the end of the tweet would stretch the tweet too far so the ideal way to tweet would be:

#Philanthropy News: Steven Seleznow to head Arizona Community Foundation - #Phoenix Business Journal http://ow.ly/16iuIl

Do you agree, disagree? Please leave your comments :).

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