How to: Integrate Social Media in Offline Operations

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November 24, 2010

“Is online / social media alone the way forward for your business?“

Being a huge believer of the importance of INTEGRATION instead of implementation, my answer to that is NO. Businesses today are too caught up with the ideology of social media but fail to realize the huge potential social media can bring when integrated into traditional marketing efforts.

It is important for businesses to realize that social media integration does not mean that by having social media presence everything will fall into place. If you take a look at same of these real life integrations of social media with Facebook and Twitter, you’ll find that these companies are successful online because they managed to integrate it into existing OFFLINE business operations.

Here are some integration ideas for you to maximize your marketing potential:

#1: EVENTS + SOCIAL MEDIA

Have an event coming up soon? Whether it is an exhibition, launch or a regular meetup / happening, explore how you can spice up your event with available social media tools. You can use Facebook to share photos leading towards the event to build hype and organize giveaways; use Twitter to share real time updates on what’s happening on the scene and behind the scenes, facilitate tweetchats or setup a Twitter wall at the event with a contest mechanism to build followers; rewarding visitors that check in to your venue on Foursquare or even a treasure hunt!

There is a timely article written on Mashable yesterday on this very topic with 5 ideas on how you can enhance your events with social media. Click on the thumbnail to check it out!

#2: ADVERTISING / PROMO + SOCIAL MEDIA

You have a new product or service and is wanting some follower / fan love? Facebook can be used to disseminate information regarding your product or to give out demo units; if you have an existing network, identify strong personas and request for them to review your product and service on blogs; use Twitter to it’s fullest potential by sharing exclusive deals or twouchers (vouchers) to start a string of retweets; perhaps the mayor on Foursquare entitled to a VIP-class treatment of your service?

#3: CUSTOMER SERVICE + SOCIAL MEDIA

I can’t stress the importance and the effectiveness of customer service using social media. The more active channels you make available for your customers and prospects to approach you, the better.

The 2 common mediums are Facebook and Twitter. If you can capitalize on these 2 you should be in the run of something good. Do not leave questions unattended for days, reply to every enquiry within 1-2 hours consistently and your customers will find GREAT value in your service.

One thing to note is that you should never, ever give out inconsistent / inaccurate information on social media as you could cook up a storm in a matter of minutes, especially if you have a huge network.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even use Twitter to take orders for your business like Coffee Groundz did!

#4: ON-SITE INTERACTIVITY + SOCIAL MEDIA

Who says social media are only limited to virtual interactions? Coca Cola brought the ‘like’ feature on Facebook to life! Check out the video below to see how it happened:

I agree that this setup can be a little too complicated for some to take on but it sure triggers some simpler ideas. A giant photo tagging wall or a mini wall in front of each exhibitor for visitors to ‘post’ on, the only limit is your imagination :)

Have you come across any interesting social media integrations into real life (offline) operations?

Do share them here!

How to: Integrate Social Media in Business Using Twitter (Part 2)

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November 10, 2010

| Jan Wong

So you’ve seen the benefits of Twitter and now wanting to be part of the Twitter community but have no idea how to? If you’re absolutely new to Twitter, check out this step-by-step video on how to create your very own Twitter profile for your business:

Congrats with your Twitter account! With that covered, we will now be looking at some real life implementations on how business have use Twitter to their advantage:

1. Levi’s

Levi’s knew what they wanted to do and achieve with Twitter. They wanted to target the young male demographic which eventually led towards hiring Gareth as the @levisguy to share behind-the-scenes stories at Levi’s events and updates on new products.

Why is that so significant? Levi’s knew what it takes to create a bond, a connection with their fans. By hiring someone in the same demographic, he will be able to speak the same language the fans speak, allowing him to spur conversations about topics that matter to them, such as the latest fashion trends – without being awkward.

2. Dell Outlet

Dell understood what they need – they need a tool to get the word out fast due to their nature of business. They went on Twitter and have not turned back ever since. On Twitter they realized that people are interested in talking to them, asking questions and sharing their experiences, both good and bad.

“Offering relevant information that people are interested in is key.” – Stephanie Nelson, Dell (Austin)

With that, Dell now concentrates on interacting with people while keeping deals to a minimum to avoid spamming. Those are not ordinary deals though, they are exclusive, Twitter-only deals which has received very positive response having booked more than $3 million in revenue attributable to its Twitter posts. They minimized promotions with their followers in mind but offered exclusive deals whenever a post is due – 2 birds in 1 stone.

3. CoffeeGroundz

This is perhaps my most favorite integration of Twitter in a business! Unlike other examples, CoffeeGroundz is an independent coffee shop in Houston that sells a variety of locally roasted coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches and the likes. Being new to Twitter, it took J.R. Cohen (General Manager) awhile to grow the number of followers on Twitter organically – and that changed everything.

Cohen took Twitter 1 step further by asking his followers from Houston to “come into the store and ask for J.R.” He will then take the opportunity to meet with each and every patron who asked for him by name! He created an opportunity to strengthen his bond with his followers, going beyond mere online interactions.

“This is what social media is meant to be.” – J.R. Cohen

What makes things even more interesting is that in 2008, one of CoffeeGroundz’s regular customers requested to place a ‘to-go’ order for a breakfast wrap. It is argued that Sean’s request for an order ‘to-go’ was the first of its kind on Twitter. And because Cohen is an avid user of Twitter, was able to reply quickly to Sean’s requests. With this reply, he implemented a whole new way to place and receive an order online, reserve tables and book the place – through Twitter’s DM service. How awesome is that?

4. DiGi Telecommunications

Sad to say that there are only a handful of great Twitter integrations in business back here in Malaysia. Businesses here seem more inclined towards Facebook but here is one that caught my attention – DiGi is seen using Twitter primarily to receive feedback, complains, questions and to provide support to their customers. In some cases, I was told that DiGi also offers special compensations and exclusive offers to dissatisfied customers on a case-by-case basis.

Apart from that, it also acts to humanize the brand by interacting with their followers by posting birthday wishes and replying to what others are saying about the brand which definitely adds a human touch to the brand.

Moving On!

Hopefully the above examples are able to give you some idea and insights on how you can get started on Twitter. Remember that it takes time to get it right so don’t be too worried if you’re doing it wrong or disappointed with the initial results.

If you’re sitting there thinking that Twitter is not suitable for your business

or your customers / prospects are not on Twitter and never going to be on Twitter, you should really take 4 minutes off your time to check out this video:

On the other hand, if you are having trouble thinking of running out of things to Tweet, I recommend reading this post here by @AskAaronLee, a social media addict with tons of experience and things to share about Twitter. I’m sure his post will help you just fine :)

Do you have an example that you would love to share? I would most definitely want to hear from you!

Why Create a Custom Twitter Background?

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November 5, 2010

| Jan Wong

While most Twitter simply choose their backgrounds just for it to look pretty, many individuals and businesses have taken advantage of the background to simply express, promote or introduce themselves beyond their 140 characters description on their profile.

Now you may have heard people saying that the #NewTwitter is a pain for many as there isn’t much space left to play with on the sides, or that 75% people access Twitter on 3rd Party Applications (e.g. TweetDeck, Hootsuite, etc) therefore cannot see your profile. Don’t get me wrong – those are facts.

It is true that most people access Twitter via apps to UPDATE their status (Tweet) but however, bear in mind that there are many that accesses the web version to check out your profile page if you’ve followed them on Twitter.. simply because Twitter drops an email notification with a link to your profile. Not to forget, you would be leaving your Twitter links on your blog, company website, Facebook profiles, LinkedIn or any other profiles for that matter – This alone is a good reason for a custom background.

If you haven’t already have a custom Twitter background, you should start having one for yourself as:

1. It Leaves a Lasting Impression

For both individuals and businesses, a well designed background shows a certain degree of professionalism and that you care for details – thus leaving a lasting impression on the viewer. This is exceptionally important when one is viewing your Twitter profile for the first time.

2. Branding and Promotional Opportunities

Your Twitter background can also act as an extension of yourself. Use it to your advantage by putting up more information about you, portray your brand identity, promote your products and services or even express yourself as a creative individual / company. In other words, is an free advertising space that you should make use of!

3. Stand Out

Capturing your audience’s attention is important on social media and unless your have a very captivating write-up about yourself in 140 words or valuable Tweets, chances are, it will be difficult for one to differentiate you with another unless he or she knows you personally. Your background can make a world of differences in positioning yourself different on Twitter. Remember, it’s either you stand out or lose out!

My advice? Use your custom Twitter background wisely :)

Want to Get Started but Don’t Know How?

Click Here to Get Started on Your Own Customized Twitter Background with a template I created!

How to: Integrate Social Media in Business Using Twitter (Part 1)

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November 3, 2010

| Jan Wong

A couple of weeks back we looked at how Facebook can be integrated into today’s businesses as an effective engagement platform. This time round, we’ll be looking at a famous micro-blogging tool called Twitter. Bear in mind that neither Facebook nor Twitter can cancel each other out – they each have their own unique advantages in which you may want to use to YOUR advantage.

Why Twitter?

Though Twitter only allows 140 characters per update (called a Tweet), Twitter is now second to Facebook in terms of it’s usage. People seem to get along with Twitter pretty well as it is simple and straight to the point, unlike Facebook where distractions are aplenty. If you haven’t heard, Twitter is said to have about 2.1 million new users per week – a huge pool of potential opportunities you would not want to miss (click for interesting stats).

If you’re still scratching your head at this point, check out this simple video explaining Twitter in plain English:

Now that you’ve grasp the concept of Twitter, let’s look at 3 areas on how Twitter can benefit you and your business:

1. Collaboration and Networking

Twitter is a great way of keeping in touch with contacts and obtaining new contacts. This is simply because you (and others) can easily look up fellow users that have the same interest / industry by searching keywords that relates to you and your business. Do it right and these networks can eventually lead to new ideas, collaborations and even partnerships that can be beneficial to both you and your business!

2. Personality and Connectivity

For some reason, Twitter is seen to be a more human approach as compared to blogs and Facebook pages. It adds a human touch to your brand and a face to your business. With Twitter, businesses can now engage in conversations directly with their followers and listen to their tweets – which is priceless to a business. You’ll now get to hear what your followers (if you follow back) are doing, what are they talking about, where they are heading to and etc, allowing you to get to know your followers better.

Remember on Facebook pages, you won’t know what’s happening to your followers if you don’t add them as a friend on your personal account (which you may not want to do so).

3. Research Tool

I must say that Twitter is an excellent research tool for your business and equally informative as Google. How so? Twitter is able to show results of conversations (Tweets) regarding your keyword from all over the world! You can also gain insights to trending topics globally to see what the world is Tweeting about.

Imagine looking up keywords that relates to your business – you may find interesting Tweets talking about their needs, their wishes, feedbacks, rants, competitor’s product and etc. Yes, you’ve gained access to voices from real people across the globe!

What’s Next?

We will once again be looking at some examples on how Twitter is implemented in businesses worldwide along with some real tips on how you can do it too!

3 Simple Steps to Create Your Custom #newtwitter Background

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October 30, 2010

| Jan Wong

I don’t know about you but I was one of those caught in the transition phase from the old to the new Twitter. I was in the midst of designing my own custom background days before the #newtwitter launched and my effort went to waste since the measurements are completely different from before. What’s sad was I did not have the #newtwitter until a couple of days back in which I could finally proceed with designing again.

After some trial and error, I managed to get the measurements right and to my dismay (and many others too), the #newtwitter has very little sides to play with. Nevertheless, the below are steps on how you can create your very own custom #newtwitter background – the easy way in only 3 simple steps!

1. Determine Screen Size /Resolution

I would strongly recommend 1280px x 1050px as most people have this to date but this is entirely up to you. Anything lower is a no-no.

Note that I’ve purposely enlarged the resolution to 1050px instead of 800px as you may want the background to be fully covered even on non-widescreen monitors. 1680px x 1050px is the next most popular resolution.

2. Start Designing

This is perhaps the most time consuming part of the entire process as you will need to get your designs filling the space around the Twitter timeline. The good news is that if you’re using Photoshop, you are able to use this template that I’ve created (and used) at no cost! Simply download it and change the background accordingly and you’re all set to go!

3. Save, Upload and Test it out

Simply save your masterpiece as a JPEG / PNG file, upload it to Twitter under “Settings > Design” and you’re done! If you are wondering how would your background look like on different monitor resolutions, I used this really convenient Chrome Extension to do the job for me without having to change the monitor resolutions manually on Windows. It simply allows you to switch between different sizes on the browser window itself!

Note: if you’re using the template, remember to remove the Twitter timeline before saving it into jpg / png

You’re Done!

That wasn’t too difficult, was it? Check out my Twitter page to see what I did. I would also love to see what you came out with!

Do leave your links and I’ll definitely drop by. Have fun designing! :)

Twitter, Bugged? [Updated: 22/09/2010 11.00PM UTC +8:00]

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September 21, 2010

| Jan Wong

Many became very excited when they first experienced some delays and abnormality on Twitter.com (e.g. consistent fail whales, exceptionally long loads, messed up home page and etc) as they thought their chance of witnessing the #NewTwitter is on it’s way to them and… the excitement did not last for long –

Little did they know that what seemed like an upgrade to Twitter.com recently turned sour for many just within the past 5 – 10 minutes where Twitter is reported to have been hacked / bugged / exploited by @masta. Those ‘contracted’ this disease automatically re-tweets the below:

http://a.no/@”onmouseover=”;$(‘textarea:first’).val(this.innerHTML);$(‘.status-update-form’).submit();”class=”modal-overlay”/

It appears to be a string of a dysfunctional Javascript but it would seem that the link is actually masked and diverts curious cats to external sites (update #2: mostly porn sites).

I call it… the Twithack!

“How does it happen?”

It all starts with a simple rollover over links on Twitter.com as it would seem that @masta is using Javascript to do it’s client-side magic exploit with AJAX. This also means that you may want to steer away from the web service and rely on 3rd party apps such as Tweetdeck, Seesmic or any other tools that is to your liking.

“Oh no, I think I caught the bug! What do I do now?”

No lethal damage has been reported thus far so the main reason behind this exploit still remains unknown. Self publicity, perhaps? @masta got the world talking about him so he definitely succeed in that one.

[Update #1: this just in @ 10:12pm – 21st Sept 2010]

“Who or what is this @masta?”

Masta is the name of a viral Twitter XSS worm spread by@masta but is also said that it is not created by him. It is a rollover security flaw by Twitter, exploited by @masta to create this mass dissatisfaction among Twitter users worldwide – it is even trending right now!

A more descriptive definition from Mashable: The flaw uses a JavaScript function called onMouseOver which creates an event when the mouse is passed over a chunk of text. We’ve seen the flaw being abused to launch simple pop-up windows, redirect users elsewhere (including porn sites), and we’ve also seen it used in combination with blocks of color, covering the true “intention” of the tweet.

“Great, I’m re-tweeting the tweet too! Is my account hacked?”

As much as people think so, it is once again reported that your accounts are not “hacked” by any means (update #3: confirmed by Twitter). However, do not click on the re-tweeted links just in case!

“It there something or anything that I can do?”

Looks like that popular thing to do now is to block @masta on Twitter and delete the tweet. Also, watch what you rollover on Twitter.com!

[Update #2: this just in @ 12:30am – 22nd Sept 2010]

The news of the Twithack / exploit seem to be crossing borders by the second with many venting their frustration towards Twitter and @masta. Some even came up with their own reasoning for the hack just for laughs as below:

RT @Followcat: Twitter got hacked by a #Mouseover bug. “Mouse Over” is last thing I hear mice say on their walkie-talkies before I eat them.

RT @Lord_Voldemort7: Twitter got hacked. The birds got tired of taking shit from the whale & went rogue. The fail whale will now be replaced with the dark mark.

RT @BestWorstAdvice: Want to tell your ex how you really feel about them? Send them angry tweets and tell them “Sorry, my Twitter got hacked.”

RT @gthree_ca: Twitter got hacked?! Funny… everything else seems normal. I guess it wasn’t a sign of the apocalypse after all.

RT @official_shaw: Twitter got hacked today. Millions of twitterers were forced to talk to each other the old fashioned way. Through Facebook.

There are also a whole lot of them that are disappointed to have missed out the whole ‘epidemic’! To the rest, it may have been a fun experience.

Interestingly enough, it is reported that even Sarah Brown, wife of former British Prime Minister was also the victim of this new twitter attack. Sarah Brown’s Twitter page has been messed with in an attempt to redirect visitors to a hardc0re p0rn site based in Japan. That’s obviously bad news for her over one million of followers. As the links being re-tweeted were mostly directed to Japanese sites, it is suspected that it originated from Japan.

“What are the recommended things to do if I’m affected?”

Trending now:
1. Use Twitter only through 3rd party tools
2. Block @masta on Twitter
3. Remove tweets from your profile that has the Javascript links / codes
4. ~~Change the password of your Twitter account (just in case)~~ (update #3: exploit does not compromise account details)
5. Spread the news to inform those that are unaware!

[Update #3: this just in @ 2:30am – 22nd Sept 2010]

Case closed! Twitter finally responded indicating that they have things under control, followed by a message from the Twitter status blog saying “We’ve identified and are patching a XSS attack; as always, please message @safety if you have info regarding such an exploit”. It is mentioned that the mouseover security vulnerability was discovered a month back and was fixed but the recent update set the bug free again (and apparently it has nothing to do with the #NewTwitter)!

Twitter also indicated that “we are not aware of any issues related to it that would cause harm to computers or their accounts. And, there is no need to change passwords because user account information was not compromised through this exploit”, Which also means that whatever happened earlier was a surface job that does not affect the user records within Twitter’s database. Still no mention about the source or the intention, though..

Good to know that the problem was quickly resolved! Read up the full story from Twitter!

If you are still in the dark of what has been happening or was too afraid to do anything when the bug attacked, Sophos made a video to demonstrate the various errors that happened during that memorable duration:

[Update #4: this just in @ 11:00pm – 22nd Sept 2010]

A 17 year old boy from Australia claimed that he may be the cause of Twitter users being exposed to the epidemic yesterday. It was mentioned that he merely wanted to test if Javascript works on tweets which eventually led to the ‘announcement’ of it being possible.

However, the person who is likely THE person who actually created the havoc is suspected to be Masato Kinugawa, a Japanese developer as he was the one that initially reported this security flaw to Twitter on the 14th August which was patched.. until the recent upgrade where he may have found that it is now exploitable again.

“So all in all I would think that the entire sequence revolves around 2 geniuses that is wanting to test their skills using Twitter as a platform when they found a exploitable point. Let’s just hope that they are not up to something else!“

“What’s next?”

We’ll be moving on in life, I’ll be off to visit Twitter.com and the birds will be tweeting their way through the new day on the web, yet again! :)

There’s A New Bird in Town! #NewTwitter

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September 15, 2010

| Jan Wong

Just hours ago, Twitter introduced a new design for Twitter.com to provide a better user experience. I think most of us can testify that the older version lacked luster, causing many to use 3rd party apps / sites to make tweeting a simpler thing to do.

This new version now runs on a dynamic two-paned format and to me, it feels like browsing on an iPad.. with a mouse, that is. The first pane contains the Twitter timeline, basically what you’re already seeing today. The second pane is what makes things different as users will now be able to see additional details related to the author or the tweet, the user profile, @replies and you’ll also be able to view images, maps and videos directly from Twitter itself without leaving the page, giving less reason for users to leave the site, going into YouTube, TwitPic and the likes!

To me, this is definitely a smart yet long delayed implementation since almost everyone shares media over Twitter although 1 of my favourite function still hasn’t been implemented yet – ‘conversations’ i.e. grouping @replies together under 1 conversation for easier reading, just like how Gmail does it. Nevertheless, it is interesting though, to see how mere 140 characters can evolve to how it is today.

And oh, the promotional video for the #NewTwitter is also pretty cool! I like how they did it – illustrating the concept of sharing through Twitter AND the new design of Twtter.com. Very well done!

So here it is, the #NewTwitter! Simply head over to Twitter.com and log in to see the newly updated changes! If you do not see it, don’t worry as it will eventually come as they’ll be doing a progressive update worldwide. If you’re wondering what the changes actually are, you can also check out the new specs over here!

Since you’ll be heading there anyway,

What is Online Social Media?

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September 14, 2010

| Jan Wong

As you may already know, the Online Social Media or the infamous Web 2.0 / 3.0 is the marketing trend of today’s business environment. Marketeers are using it to their advantage world wide and social media does not seem to be putting on brakes anytime soon as in continues to evolve.. rapidly!

Malaysia is definitely not out of the picture. This Online Social Media ‘concept’ is also seen to be the IN thing for businesses and many have been (or at least, trying to) implementing this concept in their corporate strategies. As per every business execution, some made it and some didn’t.

Why, you ask? Let’s first explore the mindset of the business owners and entrepreneurs towards social media – I recently came across many business owners and entrepreneurs lately that seem to have their own interpretation of this ‘concept’ that has been reaping great results globally.

Here’s a summary of responses I manage to gather from the conversations I had with them regarding Online Social Media:

Although none of the above is entirely wrong, but as expected, terms such as ‘Facebook’, ‘Blog’ and ‘Bloggers’ came out most often and is found to be their very first reply e.g. “usage of Facebook and blogs…”. It would also seem that to some of them, social media means inviting bloggers to write about a certain happening / product / advertorial. Some says it is an additional avenue for promotion and sales, a tool to target the younger generation and the list goes on..

It is sad to see that many business owners today still have their own interpretation and mindsets, and has yet to come to realize and see the importance of Online Social Media in Malaysia, seeing it as merely a tool or an extension of their business instead of integrating social media as PART of their business. Hence, they see it as a only a ‘concept’, a ‘good to have’ but not a ‘must have’, a ‘trend’ but not ‘real business’.

How about you? What is your interpretation of the Online Social Media?

p.s. next post: “why social media?“