Archive for the ‘Best Practices’ Category

ABWA Jessamine chapter has many talented professional women members.

In coming weeks, two of our members will be holding professional development workshops that may be of interest to you.

Academic Transition Coach Hillary Hutchinson offers a free monthly workshop this month: 5 Tips to jump start your writing project.

Business Success Dynamics owner Shirlie Taylor is hosting a free roundtable discussion on the Dynamics of Listening.

Both will be great ways to sharpen essential professional skills.

This is part one of a four-part write up of a presentation prepared for the women of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) – Jessamine Chapter. The businesses and social media examples featured are those that I felt are most relatable and approachable.

By Ashley Thiesen Caldwell
www.TheModernConnection.com

Social Media is a buzzword we’ve been hearing a lot about. Facebook this… Twitter that. As a business owner or decision maker, the implementation of social media can be overwhelming. I’ve compiled four case studies of my favorite social media campaigns – one national, one international and two South Carolina local. My hope is that seeing other businesses’ use of social media campaigns will inspire you to create your own social media magic.

The first example is of Threadless Tees, which is a T-shirt company based out of Chicago, IL. Threadless is very popular among the teen and young adult crowd. Their slogan is “Nude No More,” which gives you an idea of the company’s sense of humor.

Threadless is a great example of how to do social media because they really have a grasp of their customer base. They know who to target, where their target is online and how to get into the minds and hearts of them.

One their most popular campaigns is the “Design a T-Shirt Competition.” Threadless runs design competitions on their social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Members of their networks are able to submit their ideas for T-shirts and then vote on which ones they like the best. They get hundreds of applicants per week.

Thousands upon thousands of people use their Web site as a community portal – a place to hang out online, chat with others, vote, design and socialize. Of course, as they’re spending more and more time online, they’re more inclined to buy that $15 T-shirt.

Threadless has developed an entire community of brand evangelists, or people who LOVE their company and sing their praises. These people are not only active on their social media channels, but they’re loyal.

On Sept. 9, 2009 (09/09/09), Threadless ran a $9 T-shirt special to celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime calendar date. This sale was so popular that the web traffic crashed their servers. Frustrated fans started venting through their social media channels, and Threadless was there listening and responding. As soon as the servers were back up, the company sent out an apology email and extended the sale a few days longer. Needless to say, those disgruntled customers were thrilled their voices were heard.

What we can learn from Threadless:

1. Everyone has their say and is important – Threadless opens up the channels of communication to their customers. They let them decide what products they want and actually listen. Because of this, their products sell out every single time.

2. Be fun and entertaining – They know how to reach their customers. By posting regular updates, integrating humor and really highlighting their brand’s personality, people WANT to be in their network.

3. Cultivate the community the “right” way – Even with a great reputation, international clientele and impressive sales, Threadless has a relatively small community. On Facebook, they have just over 112,000 fans. Their community is 100% organic, meaning they haven’t used an agency’s help in “gathering” fans.

“The secret isn’t growing a huge fan base. We have 100,000 Facebook fans, but those fans have all come to us organically. We believe the more organic the growth, the more loyal the fans, the more likely they will be repeat customers,” says Cam Balzer, VP of Threadless.

4. Listen, observe and take action – Threadless constantly has a pulse in their community’s conversation. They know what people are saying and doing online, but instead of trying to control the message, they let the fans take control.

About the author: Ashley Thiesen Caldwell is the founder and owner of The Modern Connection, LLC, which is an Internet marketing business with a social media focus based out of Charleston, SC.

This is part four of a four-part write up of a presentation prepared for the women of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) – Jessamine Chapter. The businesses and social media examples featured are those that I felt are most relatable and approachable.

By Ashley Thiesen Caldwell
www.TheModernConnection.com

The Clipper Club is a unique barberspa on James Island, SC that caters to men only. It is a small, one-woman shop owned by Lori Bush.

Under the direction of The Modern Connection, The Clipper Club started using social media in October of 2009, just shy of its fourth year in operation. Business had slowed down due to the economy, and traditional advertising methods were no longer working.

We took Lori’s best assets and showcased them online. We created a Facebook fan page and a Twitter page that really allowed Lori’s magnetic personality to show. Lori’s focus is on building relationships with potential clients, which, along with superb services, is a main attractant for customers. People do business with those that they like, and, in Lori’s case, being likable is one of her best qualities.

Along with relationship building, Lori wanted to overcome the negative stereotype that barberspas are too feminine. In an effort to show that regular, “manly” men often pamper themselves with her luxury services, she started posting photos of her happy clients.

Lori also offers a monthly giveaway to a “service” type man (like a firefighter, veteran, active duty military, etc.), which is promoted through her social media sites. This doubles as a way to get a new person into her shop and also allows her to give back to the community, which is something she really cares about.

Lori saw immediate results with her social media activity and is continuously gaining new clients and recognition online. To date, she has 20 new clients who found out about her through Twitter. Her online reviews are happening more frequently, and some of her clients have even featured her shop in their blogs or personal Web sites. Lori credits the use of social media as the reason why her business is once again booming.

What We Can Learn From The Clipper Club

1. Be genuine and care about your community of people – Lori sincerely cares about her clients, and it shows. She builds relationships with people, which is why her clients choose her over another barber.

2. Highlight your best features and assets – Know yourself, your business and your brand well enough to be able to pick and choose what works for you.

3. People like freebies – I hate to repeat myself, but featuring some sort of giveaway or special will get people talking.

4. Consistency is key – It’s not good enough to just join social networking sites. If you’re going to do it, do it well … and do it often. Maintaining regularity helps with building trust, relationships and your online network.

About the author: Ashley Thiesen Caldwell is the founder and owner of The Modern Connection, LLC, which is an Internet marketing business with a social media focus based out of Charleston, SC.

This is part three of a four-part write up of a presentation prepared for the women of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) – Jessamine Chapter. The businesses and social media examples featured are those that I felt are most relatable and approachable.

By Ashley Thiesen Caldwell
www.TheModernConnection.com

Spirit Telecom, a telecommunications company, is a noteworthy social media case study. Spirit’s headquarters are in Columbia, SC with many other branches all over the state.

Led by Step Ahead Web Strategies, Spirit launched a “Magic Phone” Kindle giveaway in February of 2010. Using Twitter, they asked people to tweet about whom they would call if they had a magic phone. This could be anyone, dead or alive, which solicited some very interesting replies.

The tweet also included a #hashtag (or a way to categorize tweets), a way to invite your other Twitter friends to “use” the magic phone and a link to the Sprit Web site, which featured details about the giveaway.

I like this promotion because not only was it brand consistent (a telecom company playing a phone game), but it was fun. People liked participating in the #magicphone contest because they got to play the “what if” game. I think the chance of winning a Kindle was a perk.

Since the contest, Spirit has continued to maintain their company Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and blog, which focuses on education and communication.

What We Can Learn From Spirit Telcom

1. Be consistent with your brand – Using a phone game for a telecom company makes sense. When selecting your own social media tactics, strive for brand consistency.

2. Use what’s popular and what works – The Charleston Twitter community is very active and close-knit. Spirit used this to their advantage by creating a community through a popular platform.

3. People like freebies – Again, finding an incentive for people to take action is sometimes all it takes. According to the Step Ahead blog, the competition drove 4,500 hits to the Spirit Web site. Could this have been done without the allure of a freebie? Perhaps, but it’s nice to reward those loyal participants and brand evangelists.

4. Maintain regularity after a promotion – Post-contest, Spirit has maintained a significant online presence using social media platforms. This shows that they are serious about the relationships they’ve built and will continue to put the effort in to the online community, even after the promotion is complete.

About the author: Ashley Thiesen Caldwell is the founder and owner of The Modern Connection, LLC, which is an Internet marketing business with a social media focus based out of Charleston, SC.

This is part two of a four-part write up of a presentation prepared for the women of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) – Jessamine Chapter. The businesses and social media examples featured are those that I felt are most relatable and approachable.

By Ashley Thiesen Caldwell
www.TheModernConnection.com

IKEA Furniture, an inexpensive and modern furniture company based out of the Netherlands, is the international social media case study.

IKEA makes great use of multimedia features on their Web site. They feature live support chat, virtual planning and an integrative online catalog. They also have a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networking sites.

In the fall of 2009, IKEA hired Forsman and Bodenfors, a Swedish media agency, to come up with a social media campaign. Creating a low-budget campaign, they used Facebook’s already built-in feature – photo tagging. They posted 12 photos of IKEA showrooms and allowed friends to “tag” themselves as an item to WIN THE PRODUCT.

Word spread quickly and virally (as it so often does), and within two weeks, the photos were filled with friend tags. Of course, the tagging popped up peoples’ news feeds, home pages, profiles and links. While this campaign reached about 10,000 people, the aftermath is what is impressive.

Popular blogs like Mashable and CNet have picked up the success story, as have thousands of other bloggers and media. Months after it happened, we’re STILL talking about it, which is a great thing for IKEA.

If you’re brainstorming a way to recreate this for your own business, you can’t. Facebook has since changed their promotions guidelines, but this does go to show that great success can happen even on a small budget.

After their hug success, IKEA started a “non-official” interactive Web site: www.ikeafans.com, which allows brand evangelists to socialize, interact and share. The site is moderated but very open and non-controlling. It’s a great example of why to create a hub of community for such a powerful brand.

What we can learn from IKEA:

1. Sometimes simplicity is best – IKEA utilized already existing features and created a very successful campaign on a low budget.

2. Know your audience and customers – IKEA customers are very modern, tech savvy and social, which is why they have great success on their multimedia channels.

3. People like freebies – It’s a fact of life: give something away, and people will take notice. If you give entire showrooms of furniture away, people will DEFINITELY take notice.

4. Find those brand evangelists – Finding the people who love your business and brand is so important. Nielsen reports that 90% of people trust peer recommendations. Reward those who love your brand, and they’ll be more likely to spread the love.

About the author: Ashley Thiesen Caldwell is the founder and owner of The Modern Connection, LLC, which is an Internet marketing business with a social media focus based out of Charleston, SC.