Customer Service 2.0 – Local Business Raises the Bar Using Social Media.

You may remember a post we published a couple days ago entitled “Social Media Goes Local in 2010,” where we described the innovative way restaurant owner Joe Sorge is using Social Media to promote AJ Bombers and other restaurants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Well, the interesting conversation on our VAClassroom Fan Page generated by this post revealed that one of our VAClassroom members, Janet Janowiak, a resident of Waterford, Wisconsin, also featured Chris Brogan’s Kitchen Table Talks video in her post “Local Business Success Built by Twitter.”

Shortly after she published her post, Joe commented on her blog and emailed her an invitation to dinner.  “Joe’s comment came in moments after my post was published,” Janet explained. “This really proves how connected the social media world is. I don’t know what tool Joe uses to monitor his brand, but I was praising him and look how quickly he replied. Imagine if someone made a comment that was negative. I’m sure that Joe would do everything in his power to make the customer happy.”

What a gracious response and a perfect example of customer service reaching new heights through Social Media! Joe’s personal touch goes a long way to building positive brand recognition and exposure for his restaurants via social networking – an excellent case study to encourage local businesses to adopt a Social Media strategy ASAP!

Twestival – Go Offline for a Great Cause

I must admit that the proliferation of movements and crowd sourcing through Social Media never ceases to amaze me! A “Tribe” as Seth Godin calls it can be formed quickly with Social Network tools like Twitter! Take for example, Twestival. I am not sure if you have heard of this innovative new movement in which Twitter users are going “offline” to participate in local events to support great causes.

Let me give you a bit of history (well less than 12 months to be exact)…..

Twestival originally got it’s start in London, UK in September of 2008, when a group of London Twitter users hosted an event called Harvest Twestival. The purpose of the event was to connect local twitter users for a good cause and some fun and networking. They collected donations and canned food for a local non-profit organization that addresses the needs of the homeless in London. The event was put together (via Twitter) in less than 2 weeks. They initially expected about 30-40 people to attend, but ended up with over 250 and a waiting list!

After the great success of this event, the group planned the first Twestival Global, which was tweeted about in early January 2009. In just under a month, there were 202 cities around the world committed to hosting a local event to benefit an organization called “CharityWater“. Check out the stats for this first global event:

• 1000 volunteers (recruited via Twitter)
• 10,000 participants globally in 202 cities
• $250,000 raised in one day with 100% of proceeds going to support the creation of 55 wells in Uganda, Ethiopia and India..

Isn’t that cool?

So Twestival has become a hit and the next global event is taking place sometime between September 10-13th! Just go to the Twestival main site to see if a local event is happening in your city.

As an aside, not only is this a great opportunity to raise money for humantarian efforts, but also an opportunity to connect with others on Twitter and possibly some new clients in need of your services!

So, what do you think about this new phenomenon? Will you be attending? Please share your comments!

TwitWall: When 140 Characters isn’t Enough

For businesses who are utilizing Twitter’s staggering marketing potential as part of a Social Media Marketing campaign, Twitter provides a lot of room for creativity and innovative solutions for reaching target audiences.

Now that celebrities (such as Ashton Kutcher and CNN) , presidential campaigns and millions of users worldwide are accustomed to micro-blogging, Twitter is providing an enhancement to the micro-space of Tweeting.

For everyone already on Twitter, how many don’t realize they have a TwitWall? This easy to use feature is a blog companion for Twitter, allowing a space for Tweeters as an alternative, or addition to their micro-blog of maximum 140 characters. This page within Twitter allows users to embed their favorite videos and widgets, upload photos, mp3 music, podcasts, and source-images originating from existing http:// locations.

The little set-up time and effort involved is very appealing for those wanting more of a presence on Twitter, outside the context of the micro-blog. Additionally, TwitWall utilizes your existing Twitter followers that you’ve already established, with everything posted on your TwitWall updating your status on your Twitter timeline. It also carries over the personal branding design preferences of your Twitter page, such as background image, colours etc.

So why use TwitWall as a blog page rather than just your traditional blog post?

This question was posed to TwitWall founder Michael E. Carluen, who stated, “For users who currently have existing blogs, TwitWall can be a repository of content they would like to share with their Twitter network, but does not fit the general content of their main blog.”¹

As an additional blogging platform that’s unique to your followers, TwitWall provides a dynamic new communication tool, ready to be discovered!

50 Twitter ideas for your Business

Over the past week, I have had a number of interesting conversations on the “business value” of Twitter. Again, I was probably one of those “Twitter” naysayers initially as I truly thought it was quite trivial and a total time drag! I am now happy to say I am a Twitter convert and see the huge business and networking potential with this fast growing social media channel.

In dialoguing with my VAClassroom members and other colleagues, there are certainly a whole variety of opinions and thoughts on Twitter such as:

“Twitter is a waste of time – who wants to hear what someone else is having for lunch?”

“Twitter is a place for me to dialogue and share ideas with my VA peers”

“Do I really want to tell people “What I am doing”?”

“Twitter is a fabulous to tool for strategically building rapport and relationship with prospective clients”.

“Twitter and my incessant beeps via my Tweetdeck app are driving me crazy”

“Twitter is a place where I can be real with my peers and clients – it is authentic and casual”

“I find Twitter a great “seed planter” for my business as it quickly connects me with potential JV partners and clients..”

Those are just of the few of the comments I have received….

Now, Twitter like Facebook is one of those tools that can seriously hinder your productivity and focus if you allow it too! While some people prefer to just share random thoughts and dialogue back and forth with their twitter pals throughout the day, I personally find that it can become a distraction. If was a betting man, I would say that Social media apps like “Twitter and Facebook” have likely affected employee productivity:)

But in saying all that, I believe Twitter is a serious force to be reckon with when it comes to building authentic relationships with key business contacts and clients and is dynamite for networking yourself and your business!

I came across a very worthwhile list of Twitter Ideas for your business at Chris Brogan’s Blog titled:

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for your Business

Some of his ideas I really like such as:

“Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing”, answer the question “What has your attention” – that seems to lend himself to more business-oriented approach to Twitter.

“Ask Questions – Twitter is great for getting opinions” - I have already found this useful in doing quick surveys and gather pertinent data for projects I am working on.

“Twitter brings great minds together and gives you daily opportunities to learn” - great point.

Chris also says to “Talk about Non-Business topics as well” – While I agree with him, I think this (like Facebook Fun Walls) can be a slippery slope! It is easy to lose an hour quickly by chatting on Facebook or tweeting back and forth. You just need to weigh out the time cost that this might have towards your work priorities. Again, this is fine balance that is not always easy to strike!

Twitter – a Recruiting Ground for Mainstream Media?

While being a Twitter skeptic myself at the beginning, I have become increasingly fascinated with the different ways Twitter is intersecting with mainstream media. I read a great post from Small Business Trends today, “Grab Attention of Top Editors and Producers with Social Media“. The blogger, Jonathan Fields, mentioned how the senior writer and blogger for the popular Business Week Magazine, was writing a cover story on blogging and social media and was regularly asking Twitter followers for input. Jonathan sent him a tweet giving his 2 cents on Social Media only to find that the Senior Editor loved the quote and included it in the article months later. Wow, from a Tweet to a quote in a major US publication!

He also told of a top editor from Wiley Publishing (an avid Twitterer) who recently posted this tweet: “Pitch me a book idea in 140 characters or less. Go”. How’s that for an opportunity to get in the face of a senior editor of a major publishing company?? The net has certainly broken down conventional ways of getting things done!

Take a read of Jonathan’s full post as it clearly reinforces the dynamic relationship that is taking shape between mainstream media and Twitter.

Okay I am officially a Twitter Believer – there is definitely untapped potential to make new business contacts, build your client base and even ink a book deal:)

TweetBeep Your Way to New Client Prospects For Your Virtual Assistant Business!

Now, I am fairly certainly that many of you are becoming avid “Twitterers“, but are you also a “TweetBeeper”? Okay Craig, speak English!

I have started to use TweetBeep over the last little while and have been quite impressed with the potential for Virtual Assistants to connect with clients interested in hiring Virtual Staff – Your marketing strategies couldn’t possibly get more targeted:)!

TweetBeep functions similar to Google Alerts in the sense that you can receive daily or current alerts based on specific keywords listed in Twitter conversations.

So, check out a segment of a TweetBeep email alert from yesterday for the keyword, “Virtual Assistant”: (mind the less than stellar quality of the below image:)

As you scan this list, you will see the first two are ideal “twitterers” to follow and connect with as they are both serious about hiring VIrtual Assistants. The 4th post demonstrates a very smart way of doing “Twitter Marketing” – Sharing a blog post relevant to prospective VA clients. The second to last post (Hi Frances!) also has a heads-up Twitter post by attempting to engage those that are seeking a Virtual Assistant – nice!

There are no shortage of creative ways to connect with prospective clients in Twitter. We covered a number of these ideas in a recent teleseminar we did at VAClassroom, Marketing your VA Business in a Web 2.0 World.”

So, if you are not yet using this tool, it is time to start “Tweetbeeping” your way to a wave of new clients for your Virtual Assistant business.