Three Tools Marketers Overlook
Marketers and PR types looking to use the social web to build business relationships receive more than enough advice on using blogs, wikis, podcasts, and social networks to connect. While you’re considering which software tools might work for your online marketing strategies, don’t forget these three sites, especially if you have location- or niche-based information, products, or services to promote.
Yelp - Yelp is a social site that allows users to vote and review local businesses. Most commonly used to review restaurants, Yelp also has categories for professional services, shopping, places, education, home services, real estate and more. I wouldn’t recommend “stuffing the box,” so to speak, or voting for your own product or service, but with a little creative campaigning, it’s not too difficult to get a few people to at least take a look at your product or service, and give their opinion. I’ve also found that Yelp seems to be the ONLY web presence some local businesses have. If you were looking to work with smaller businesses, you could find lots of new customers this way, too.
Upcoming.org - Upcoming is a local event guide for the web. There are a few ways to use this. For marketers, if you’re throwing events, always make sure Upcoming has a copy of your event in there. If you’re looking to meet more business prospects, tracking events in the areas where you’re going is a really great way to build some new potential business relationships. I find that when attending conferences, a quick scan of Upcoming.org for that city and those dates almost always finds me something cool to attend that no one else seems to know about.
Meetup.com- Ah, the best new tagline in the world: Use the Internet to Get Off the Internet. First, watch this nifty little video they created:
Meetup.com is often overlooked as a place to market. One way is to build a small meetup local to your organization that covers the same area your product or service is used in. For instance, if I made a software that helped small to midsized businesses collaborate better over the web, I might throw together a Small Business Meetup for the nearest decent city near the office, and then at least show up to the monthly face-to-face meetings. It’s an instant word of mouth opportunity, provided you approach the situation in a helpful way instead of just trying to foist your product on people.
There are several tools like this that you might not have considered creatively in your potential online efforts. These might have even sparked other ideas for other tools people use on the web in a slightly different way. If so, let’s talk about that in the comments, shall we?
Otherwise, what do you think? Does this make sense? Any other recommendations?
Twitter Hooks Me Into Louis Gray
Louis Gray tweeted that he was coming to Boston. I ask him why, because I’m nosy, and hey, this is my town. : ) From this, he learns what I do for a day job (VP of Strategy and Technology at CrossTech Media, and then he and I get together to talk geeky things for a bit. He also introduces me to a few really great guys who I might have some future business with now.
Oh, but did I mention he takes me and some other guys to a Celtics / Cavs game? In a box. With like…steak and salad and buffalo wings and um… cheesecake and cookies and beers and whatever.
Oh, and by the way, Louis is really cool, downplays his rockstarness (he’s Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins’ favorite blogger), and he made me join FriendFeed last night, swearing that it’s the coolest thing in the world.
Twitter = score!
Five Things to Do at a Social Networking Meetup
Meetups are the online manifestation of our social networking efforts. With Twitter and Upcoming.org and Facebook and all the other social networks, putting together a bunch of like-minded people is relatively simple. You find a venue that doesn’t mind a bunch of nerds, preferably with a place you can be loud (because social media types are often the loudest bunch in there, unless there’s a bachelorette party), and hopefully some delightful libations to ease social interaction. But what do you DO there, once you’ve walked in and identified that you’re in the right place. Here’s a recipe:
Say Hi to Your Known Friends
Often times, someone at the meetup is known to you. Make sure you say hi to them earlier in the night than later. I’m working on this one, because sometimes, what happens is that I’ll be somewhere with friends, and never get over to see them because time gets eaten up so fast. I’m going to make a point of saying hi to my longer-known friends first at meetups, so that they feel acknowledged.
Find the New People
Look for folks who might be new to your local scene, or that you haven’t met before, and introduce yourself. My favorite opening line is to ask them what they normally do when they’re not hanging out with a bunch of Twitter geeks. If that doesn’t work, I like to ask people about their passions.
Don’t Crowd Surf Too Much
There’s a tendency that’s easy to follow to just flit between crowds. It’s not a wedding. You don’t have to hit every table. If you find something interesting, don’t be afraid to dive deep into the conversation for a bit. Get into some deeper waters with people, because otherwise, time will wash over you like a wave and you’ll be out without much to show for it.
If You Need to Do Business
Try to think of these meetups as a first date. Don’t put your tongue down our throats. In other words, if you’re there fishing for new business, play it cool, and be part of the gang. Talk about what’s relative, and don’t swerve things instantly into your line of business and how you can help (sell) us. However, it’s okay to say that you’re hoping to build business relationships or the like. Just make that for a follow-up conversation.
Talk About Something New
Whenever possible, come with some really neat new idea to throw into the mix. Think of it as mental show and tell. Or hell, do real world show and tell if you’ve got a nifty new something to show people. But consider bringing something new to the meetup. It will enrich everything. (Don’t force it into the conversation, but have something new in mind.)
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What do YOU do at meetups to make them better, more interesting, a reflection of the value of real space versus online social networking? Tell us about your favorite meetups, or things that you’ve seen happen that you liked.
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The Social Media 100 is a project by Chris Brogan dedicated to writing 100 useful blog posts in a row about the tools, techniques, and strategies behind using social media for your business, your organization, or your own personal interests. Swing by [chrisbrogan.com] for more posts in the series, and if you have topic ideas, feel free to share them, as this is a group project, and your opinion matters.
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