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Companies of all sizes are pushing to buckle down and implement effective social media plans. This is an encouraging trend. However, before a plan can be developed, organizations must determine how “social media” is defined and used in the business environment. The answers will vary among enterprises.

My good friend and fellow marketer Debbie Laskey and I recently discussed this issue. (Debbie calls it the ‘other’ social media policy.) She says, “companies can build the most carefully-planned social media strategy, but if employees don’t have specific ‘how to’ guidelines, confusion erupts and hands are slapped in the process.”

Is it acceptable to tweet while on a sales call? Who is responsible for uploading company photos to Facebook? Do employee LinkedIn contacts made during business hours belong to the company, or the employee? Is management harboring decisions on these important points, but failing to share them with employees?

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people   We are the leader in corporate, web, and online video production services in Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and NYC!

Social media can generate leads, engages prospects, fosters sales, and can be a vital cog in the company brand wheel. Therefore, it’s crucial that consistent social media policies are implemented to effectively grow your business and ensure the entire organization knows…and follows…the rules. Consistency is the name of the social media game – enhancing your reputation and showcasing industry expertise are too important to leave to chance.

Ready to tackle social media policy development? Consider these questions:

1.    Will employees be allowed to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. during business hours?

2.    How much time, or which specific time periods, will be allowed on these sites? Only during the lunch hour and breaks?

3.    Who is the designated spokesperson/people representing your company’s ‘voice’? Don’t designate “anyone” — choose wisely.

4.    What style will be used when posting? Conversational and friendly? Business casual? Professional and formal? Make sure the style accurately represents your company’s culture.

5.    Can employees access sites via company mobile devices? Will this pose a security risk?

6.    Who ‘owns’ contacts made for business purposes? This is an especially important question for companies with sales forces.

Once your policy is in place, your next step is communicating the guidelines to your employees. New employees in particular should receive a copy of the social media policy in the new employee information packet.

Learn more by reviewing 160 social media policies other companies have implemented.

Victoria Ipri is CEO of Modello Media, Inc., an e-marketing strategy firm based in suburban Philadelphia, PA. She welcomes your questions and comments on this forum, or contact her directly at: Victoria@ModelloMedia.com

Feel free to connect with members of Green Buzz Agency on Linkedin: Tod Plotkin, Sara Evans, Jennie Nowers. Or join the Green Buzz Agency Linkedin Group.

Fern Mallis, widely credited with creating New York “Fashion Week” and former VP of Marketing at IMG, discusses marketing in the fashion industry.

Fern Mallis was interviewed by Green Buzz Agency after a panel she led on Social Media and Marketing at Afingo’s “Behind the Seams.” Presented at Manhattan’s world-famous Fashion Institute of Technology, “Behind The Seams” saw 30 top designers, apparel manufacturing insiders, head buyers of top retail chains, editors, and celebrity tastemakers to offer wisdom, opinions, and tips to a diverse audience of fashion fans.

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people   We are the leader in corporate, web, and online video production services in Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and NYC!

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If you’ve built a profile on the Big Three social media sites, you may have been pleased about not having to defrost your credit card to do it. (Yes, a friend of mine once froze her credit cards in a bowl of water to ‘cold turkey’ her overspending.)

Sure, you can upgrade your LinkedIn membership and pay a variety of monthly fees to get more perks. But you don’t have to, and that makes millions of people very happy. Based on nothing but your creativity, ingenuity and inventiveness, you can promote your business for next to nothing.

How free is social media, really? About as free as starting your own business.

Meaning, it’s not. Hence the phrase…next to nothing.

Gauging the true cost of social media is crucial in today’s marketplace. Which areas might end up costing you? Here are several to reflect upon:

Implementation

As you know by now, there is more to social media marketing than building a profile and waiting for something to happen. A ton of content goes into the best social media campaigns.  Even if you’re a copywriter, it’s still going to cost you time (which, ultimately, means money).  Images cost too. Getting targeted help can cost if you hire an ‘expert’ to point the way, or buy books and other materials. As well, some social media platforms charge for functionality. You may not care now, but as you grow, you will. And when you get there, you may find you need help from a social media manager, either in-house or outsourced, to keep everything running efficiently.

Promotion

You’ve heard of Starbucks? They are the Facebook leader. And they didn’t get there by accident. You may never aspire to Starbucks fame, but even in your own tiny corner of the world, promoting your campaign requires a budget, as well as a skilled graphics designer and perhaps a web designer to create advertising.

Tracking

Google Alerts are great. TwitterDeck rocks. But some day, hopefully soon, you’ll need to upgrade to Radian6 or another paid tracking tool. The freebies just aren’t going to cut it.

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people   We are the leader in corporate, web, and online video production services in Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and NYC!

Engagement

As recently as a year ago, it was all about SEO. Today, it’s about CRO…Conversion Rate Optimization. What good is all that traffic if it doesn’t convert to real sales? Engagement requires focused landing pages, keywords, email, a website, split testing…a host of functions that require tools, and they’re not all free.

Analysis & Reputation Management

Analysis tells you where you’re heading, and when you will arrive. Along the way, analysis, combined with tracking, can assist with reputation management…an emerging industry which seeks to delete or contain negative brand conversations. If you’re not watching listening and responding, what’s it all for?

Personnel

Who’s doing all this work? In many cases, staff. Customer service, design, technology, administrative tasks…you’re only one person, and can only go so far all alone. Your time is an opportunity cost…not to mention the time/paycheck of a staff member…perhaps even additional staff to engage and communicate with perhaps thousands of connections.

Yes, social media can be free…but not for long.

How are you navigating your way through your own social media campaign?

Victoria Ipri is CEO of Modello Media, Inc., an e-marketing strategy firm based in suburban Philadelphia, PA. She welcomes your questions and comments on this forum, or contact her directly at: ModelloMedia@gmail.com

Feel free to connect with members of Green Buzz Agency on Linkedin: Tod Plotkin, Sara Evans, Jennie Nowers, and Jared Lee. Or join the Green Buzz Agency Linkedin Group.

Nearly every day, someone asks me, “What’s the best way to get started on LinkedIn?”

Most articles on this topic begin by spouting the ‘steps’ to connecting with others.

I’d like to begin even earlier in that process and talk about you.

Remember how Mom used to say, “Just be yourself and people will like you!” or “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”?

Mom was way ahead of her time.

The real question isn’t, “What’s the best way to get started on LinkedIn?”, but “What’s the best way to prepare myself to get started on LinkedIn?”

You’ve probably heard or read quite a bit about authenticity, transparency and integrity; three key elements to social media success. But can displaying these qualities actually make a difference?

Very simply…absolutely. For anyone looking to really connect on LinkedIn, here’s the starting point. LinkedIn (in fact, social media in general) is about people…helping, sharing and connecting. If your neighbor’s lawn mower breaks down and he or she asks to borrow yours, you’d likely say yes, because the two of you have a relationship. You also inherently recognize your neighbor will return the favor, or perhaps another type of favor, if you asked. If a total stranger were to knock on your door with the same question, you’d likely say no and immediately think, “The nerve!”

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people  We are a Washington DC based Agency specializing in corporate video production!

A genuine, authentic approach to connecting with others is vital. Wrap your brain around this ‘helping’ attitude before you begin. If potential LinkedIn connections smell ‘a pitch’, you’re done before you start. No pitch should be necessary when you’re connecting on a deeper level that says, “Let me help you, just because I can.”

How can you help? Be you; be real; don’t falsify who you are. Get involved in and create stimulating, informative valuable discussions others can debate generally, or post your comments and thoughts more privately within groups you have joined.

As people begin to know and trust you, lead generation will begin. This is a two-fold process:

1)    As you listen to the real needs of others, you help solve their challenges.

2)    When you give help, you get help in return.

I often joke that I keep my expectations low; therefore, I’m never disappointed, but often delighted. It’s not much of a joke, because it’s true. Relationship building takes time. That connection may blow you off with a polite comment today, but may be knocking on your door tomorrow, because you’ve taken the right steps to remain top of mind.

Social media is a marathon, not a sprint. Wishing for it to move faster isn’t going to make it so. You’ve got to do the legwork required. Over time, you’ll be glad you did, as your online reputation and credibility grow.

Interact at an authentic level with everyone you meet, and watch the real magic happen.

Victoria Ipri is CEO of Modello Media, Inc., an e-marketing strategy firm based in suburban Philadelphia, PA. She welcomes your questions and comments on this forum, or contact her directly at: ModelloMedia@gmail.com

Feel free to connect with the newest members of Green Buzz Agency Marketing department on Linkedin: Jennie Nowers, Brittney Grove, Jared Lee, and Jennie Ryon. Or join the Green Buzz Agency Linkedin Group.

Many clients in the health care industry have recently come to us with questions about social media. Many of them want to know why social media matters and where it should fit into their marketing plans. Others want to know where to get started and how to build and maintain a successful Facebook Page, Twitter Account, YouTube Channel or blog. But more and more, clients are simply looking for help understanding the social media landscape and how it impacts health care decisions.

While there is no easy answer to any of these questions, there are a few things you should know if you’re thinking about developing a social media strategy for your hospital or organization:

61% of American Adults Look Online for Health Information

The number of American adults who looked for health information online has doubled in under a decade. That’s according to a 2009 Pew Internet Research study, which found that 61 percent of adults look online for healthcare information, while only 25 percent of American adults looked online for this information in 2000.

Three-quarters of American adults aged 18 or older, have access to the Internet either at home or at work. Eighty-three percent of those users have looked online for information about health topics ranging from information about a specific disease, treatments, alternative medicine, health insurance, health care providers, medical facilities and ways to stay healthy.

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people  We are a Washington DC based Agency specializing in corporate video production!

24% of Patients Have Consulted Reviews of Medical Facilities Online

Just as more Americans turn to the Web to find recommendations on restaurants and local vendors, patients visit blogs and websites to find rankings and reviews of doctors, hospitals and medical facilities. According to Pew, health consumers looking for information, inspiration and support often turn to blogs or websites with user-generated rankings or reviews to find solutions:

• 41% of patients have read someone else’s commentary or experience about health or medical issues on an online news group, website or blog
• 24% of patients online have consulted rankings or reviews of doctors or providers
• 24% of patients online have consulted rankings or reviews of hospitals or medical facilities

More than 700 U.S. Hospitals Use Social Networking Tools

More and more patients look to connect directly with healthcare providers via social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In addition to using the Web for health information and disease support, patients want information and updates in real-time, just like they get from others in their online communities.

Hospitals have started to get the picture, using social networks to connect with consumers, making it easier for patients to better understand products and services, and allow health providers to demonstrate clinical expertise, build trust and deliver valued information to an engaged audience.

In June 2010, Found in Cache, an online resource for health care professionals, found that 744 U.S. hospitals were active on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube: 549 Twitter Accounts, 513 Facebook Pages, 337 YouTube Channels

60% of Patients Active Online Say Using the Web Affected a Medical Decision

Online health queries impact medical decisions. Among patients who researched health information online, the majority of respondents said the Internet had an impact on their own health or the way they care for someone else. Of the information found online:

• 60% said it affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition
• 56% said it changed their overall approach to maintaining their health or the health of someone they care for
• 53% said it led them to ask a doctor new questions, or to get a second opinion
• 49% said it changed the way they thought about their diet, exercise or stress management
• 38% said it affected their decision to see a doctor
• 38% said it changed the way they cope with a chronic condition or manage pain

Takeaway for Health Care Professionals: Social Media is Part of Our Culture

“It’s time to get rid of the term ‘social media’ and call it ‘media,’ because there really isn’t a difference,” according to Shel Holtz, principal of Holtz Communications and the media manager for the Mayo Clinic. Today, eight of the top 20 most visited websites in the U.S. are social media based:

Top Sites in the United States
1. Google  2. Facebook  3. Yahoo  4. YouTube 5. Amazon  6. Wikipedia 7. Craigslist 8. eBay  9. Twitter  10. WindowsLive 11. Blogger 12. MSN 13. Myspace 14. Go 15. AOL 16. Bing 17. CNN 18. Linkedin   19. ESPN 20. Wordpress

Updated June 29, 2010 from Alexa.com

As you can see, social media connects health care providers to patients, while helping to accomplish marketing goals. While the Internet is no substitute for health care professionals and the care they provide, it can help hospitals and healthcare providers reach patients who are deepening their engagement with the online world.

Can information about your hospital, clinical expertise or services be found in the places people are looking?

If not, now is the perfect time to get started!

Anna Heatherly is an Account Executive at Virilion in Washington, DC and an award-winning internet marketer with five years experience in digital strategy and public relations. Specializing in a variety of digital marketing tactics including advertising, email, search and social media, Anna has helped dozens of clients navigate the digital landscape to achieve their business goals. At Virilion, Anna helps clients reach online influencers, build and activate communities across the web, and utilize digital channels to drive awareness and advocacy. She can be reached at AHeatherly@Virilion.com . Follow @Virilion and @AnnaHeatherly on Twitter for more updates and information on social media and the web.

Today’s event marketing landscape has shifted and now interactive product launches for video games, technology platforms, and hand-held devices demand consumer touch and feel. They require the creation of a brand aura around the launch and unfettered hands-on trial. You supply the experience, and your users supply the PR. User-generated PR is far more powerful than anything your agency can create.

If you’re on the fence, think about this: Infinity Ward and their partners have mastered this multi-layered approach and landed over $300 million in sales during Modern Warfare 2’s first 24 hours on the market.

Today’s consumers expect to battle test your product, and read the reviews of others during the product launch. Confidence in your product is generated as consumers step behind the marketing veil to experience your product and tell others of their experience through the social media pipeline: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the blogosphere. You must influence this process.

We’ve learned that experience sells. Product experience, brand experience and execution experience are now required to sell. Product launches certainly must be accompanied by the air war of brand positioning and mass market ads. However, the actual creation of scalable (meaning repeatable across the social network) brand experiences now acts as the ground troops of product launches within the technical product domain. And I don’t think this approach just applies to technology products, they simply represent the tip of the spear. Technology focused products and their respective consumers rely on word of mouth and user-generated reviews rather than a high profile spokesperson or shotgun ad hitting a sedate market. Technology products merit – in fact require – transferable proof your product meets expected levels of experience, quality and satisfaction. And if you don’t provide such proof, expect to be ridiculed in the user-generated press.

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people  We are a Washington DC based Agency specializing in corporate video production!

Technology product launches differ from traditional first-time product trials as consumers tend to be more sensitive and invested in their technology. Unlike traditional sampling trial events (such as food or drink products) where the goal is to have consumers try a less-known product for the first time and convert them into buyers, the experience with technology is usually for an (often highly) anticipated product which consumers have built an expectation for. If expectations are not met both from a performance and an emotional standpoint it can result in lost sales. When I showcase a technology product for the first time, the environment and user experience is vital to make sure it meets or exceeds consumer expectations. Below are my five keys to achieve this:

1. Venue and event selection – the venue is an important part of the experience and event attendees must closely align with your target market.

2. Setting and atmosphere – does the environment fit the audience and product branding? Music, lighting, furniture, layout, food and beverage, staff, uniforms etc. all play a part in creating the right ambiance.

3. Demonstration and user interaction – the product must be used in the right context so consumers can better relate to the experience. Try and demonstrate the product in a way that not only boasts its attributes and benefits but also in a way which makes sense to your core consumer.

4. Supporting elements – green screen, premiums and giveaways, and special guests or performances can greatly enhance the user experience from an emotional standpoint.

5. Extending the experience – promotion through social media both before and after the launch with tools such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and more traditional PR to share user experience for those who could not attend the event, but want to share the excitement of a product launch.

Craig Goldstein is the Chief Operations Officer and Founder of UCG Marketing, which is an award-winning full service experiential marketing and promotions agency based in Boston. Email him at cgoldstein@ucgmarketing.com

If you find this video topic interesting, you may want to check out Gregory Ng discussing Effective Ways to Use Video in the Marketing Plan. Gregory also approaches his topic from a college athletics perspective.

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people   Learn more about Washington DC based GBA and our video production prowess!

In the video above Graham Nelson, Executive Director at Beam Interactive, discusses how to create social media content for college athletic teams and other organizations that are strapped for resources. This video was shot at SXSW Interactive 2010 by Green Buzz Agency.

You’ve heard about social media, you know you want to use social media, you have a budget for social media, but you need to know how to use social media marketing to help achieve your corporate marketing goals.

It’s an intimidating field because it’s so new and you know if a strategy is not clearly mapped out social media marketing initiatives can fail. But you can’t ignore it because you want to stay ahead of competitors, retain clients, manage your brand and monitor your space.

So where do you start? Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to building a successful social media marketing strategy…

Step 1: Define goals and objectives

Clearly map out your corporation’s goals and objectives.

Is your goal to:

• Generate more brand awareness?
• Interact with prospects?
• Monitor competition?
• Monitor and manage your brand reputation?
• Generate awareness of your company’s services or offerings?
• Attract new employees, investors, partners/vendors?

Step 2: Pinpoint where your audience and potential evangelists are sharing information

Listen to what’s going on in your space and identify the thought leaders and ambassadors. Look at who you are currently communicating with and how, as well as with whom you want to interact. This will help you form a basis for everything else you do with social media tools. Identifying your audience before simply choosing convenient tools will lead to a much more successful social media campaign.

To help identify where/how your customers are sharing and consuming information online. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is my target audience on social networking sites?
• Do they belong to specialized groups?
• Who are they interacting with?
• Which social media channels would be best to use for the type of content you have?

Step 3: Audit Resources

Once you have figured out what you would like to do with social media to achieve your corporate marketing goals, you have three options to execute your campaign: use current staff; hire employee(s); or outsource parts or all of your campaign to an outside vendor. You must consider the following when making your decision:

• Do I have existing content that I can re-purpose?
• Do my internal resources have existing knowledge on the platforms, and technologies needed to execute my campaign. How much is their “ramp up” going to cost my department in staff hours?
• What technology (portals, videos, platforms that enable user generated content, landing pages) do I need to develop? Which of these do I need to outsource?
• What monitoring tools do I have available?
• Who is going to fulfill the different social media marketing roles and responsibilities?

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people   If you have insight on Marketing to share with our audience, contact us about being a Guest GBA Blogger. Or learn more about Washington DC based GBA and our video production prowess!

Step 4: Establish a social media protocol

A corporate social media protocol should be developed and employed to help companies feel comfortable about social media participation. A well-constructed protocol can help companies organize and prioritize goals, designate the individuals that should assume ownership of the brand’s online communications, while simultaneously ensuring that these communications broadcast messages that are consistent across all social media engagements.

To begin establishing a protocol, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What information do we want to keep private?
2. What kinds of information would we benefit from making public?
3. What personal social media use is appropriate? Inappropriate?
4. How will we measure which rules are helpful and which are not?
5. Who are our quality followers? How can we continually engage them?
6. Should we have a set of rules for proactive social media use? Reactive social media use?
7. How do we respond to positive engagement versus negative engagement?

Step 5: Start using social media

Now that you determined who you want to communicate with, who is going to accomplish your social media marketing initiatives, and where you want to go with the relationships, you can execute your plan.

Step 6: Measure results

You need to measure and monitor all activity. Be sure that you create mechanisms for feedback and input throughout your process to provide opportunities for your community, staff, etc. to share ideas and LISTEN!

Ask yourself these questions as you evaluate your social media efforts:

• Have your networks grown or changed? How?
• Are there new social media roles to explore?

• What worked?
• What can we do differently?
• What should we eliminate?
• How much time is spent on each social media initiative?
• How is social media changing right now?
• Are we ahead of our competitors?

If you want to use social media marketing in your overall marketing plan, you need a sound strategy. If you don’t have a sound strategy, you risk losing control of your brand, reputation, client base and prospects. If you do have one, you will have a huge advantage over competitors, have the ability to enforce or build a loyal client base, position your thought leaders as experts, develop interactive relationships with prospects, avoid potential pitfalls and have an overall stronger marketing plan.

-AJ Gerritson is Founding Partner and Social Media Strategist at 451 Marketing, a Boston-based communications agency that specializes in social media marketing, public relations, and creative development. For more information, please visit AJ’s LinkedIn Page.

Foursquare is For … NOW!

There’s a new location-based trend in the here-to-stay world of online socializing sites. Sites like Gowalla and Foursquare lead the way about a year ago. Now Yelp (the foodie website) has added a “geo” element too. In the case of Foursquare, they’ve announced two affiliations in the last month that might be game-changers. They are now partnering with the Bravo network and with Zagat!

Stop.

What are you talking about?

Ok. Let’s start all over. In layman’s terms: Foursquare is a combination social network-gps locator-game that encourages one to “check-in” and leave “tips” when one is out and about. So let’s say, you’re going to the movies, or a bar, or a restaurant, or a museum – or anywhere, really – you open up the application and Foursquare will do a search for where you are. (Because it can locate you.) If your location doesn’t come up, you can type it in. Where it gets a bit fun and competitive is that one can become the mayor of a place or get points for checking in more times than anyone else in a given week or in a specific location. And yes, each check-in gets uploaded to your respective status update on Facebook or Twitter or both. If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve probably seen some updates.

Businesses get a free plug for doing, uh, nothing. But smart businesses – like Tasti D-Lite on the Upper East Side of NYC – have been offering discounts or free product to mayors or to others for just for checking in. This promotes guest visits and loyalty – and what restaurant doesn’t want that?

It’s a great site for cities because you can also see where your Foursquare friends have checked-in – and they may be around the corner. And now you can go join them.

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people  Contact us if you have marketing insight to share,  and we may feature you as a Guest GBA Blogger. GBA is headquartered in Washington D.C. and specializes in strategic video production! Let us know how we can help your company stand out from the pack!

Here’s an informative video that breaks it down better than I do: How Foursquare helps consumers and businesses: http://slidesha.re/6e1NB0

If I owned a restaurant or a bar, I’d make sure I let all Foursquare types know that any check-in will be honored with a complimentary glass of wine or a draft beer or a dessert. As long as they showed their check-in.

For the record, since Christmas, I’ve been “out” 18 times, checked into 34 places and have been crowned the “Mayor” of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and WordHampton Public Relations. (Um, these two mayoralties are pretty much a joke; I was experimenting with the site. Nonetheless, I AM the mayor of my church and my business. LOL!)

Here’s a brief description of Foursquare’s deal with Bravo taken from Gavin O’Malley at Media Post: “Foursquare offers entertainment brands an opportunity to interact with their customers on both a personal and local level,” said [Foursquare co-founder Dennis] Crowley. “By extending on-air, this partnership also allows us to reach beyond the tech-early-adopter crowd and introduce an entirely new audience to Foursquare.”

Bravo will create on-air spots that drive users to “check in” to Foursquare from various locations across the country that have been featured on Bravo series, as well as venues recommended by Bravo talent.

The network will offer a series of branded “badges” specifically designed around series that include “The Real Housewives,” “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” “Top Chef,” “Top Chef Masters” and “Shear Genius.”

But Foursquare didn’t stop at Bravo. Writing for Mashable.com, Jennifer Van Grove says,

“The New York Times is reporting that Foursquare has signed a deal with trusted restaurant review service Zagat. Zagat’s official Foursquare page is already live and includes official Zagat-rated tips and recommendations that users can add as to-dos to their Foursquare experience.

Zagat is calling the partnership “Foodie Love,” and there’s even a new accompanying foodie badge. Zagat.com is extending the partnership beyond Foursquare and starting a “Meet the Mayor” online interview series that will feature discussions with prominent Foursquare mayors.

Foursquare’s relationship with Zagat is clearly an answer to Yelp’s introduction of check-ins, especially given the trusted and prestigious nature of Zagat content.”

Oh. Foursquare is apparently this close to announcing partnerships with the History Channel, Warner Bros., HBO and Explore Chicago.

Guess it’s time we all started exploring Foursquare, eh?

Steve Haweeli is President at WordHampton Public Relations Inc. Contact Steve directly at steve@wordhampton.com or follow him on twitter @SteveHaweeli

As a life long reader of fashion magazines, I use to devour their glossy ads of luxury designers. Like many, I coveted the down time to read my stack of magazines on long plane trips, or on vacation.  Recently, while preparing for one of those trips, I noticed my stack seemed lighter than usual and my desire to lug those magazines less.  What was going on?

I realized my fashion fix was already being satisfied on a daily basis from a variety of Facebook fan pages and Twitter followings.   Many who don’t use social media assume that it is a waste of time.  For me and many others, it is an efficient way to follow the things I am passionate about.

On Twitter,  I follow magazines and the fashion designers themselves.   Of course, I read InStyle Magazine’s Twitter feed, but beyond that I follow a few fashion blogs.  One of my favorite blogs, The Glamazon Diaries has great articles on fashion trends, and tweets them to twitter followers. As an added bonus she knows what I like and often will tweet  me a link about an article I might personally enjoy on her blog.   InStyle or Vogue Magazine can’t engage a reader that way.

I have a handful of designers I shop at on a regular basis, and the fact that they are on Facebook and Twitter builds on my devotion to their brand.  One of my favorite designers, Diane von Furstenberg, will  on occasion personally tweet.   I know she had never been to a basketball game until she went to a Lakers game over the holidays. In real time she posted a twitpic of herself at the game. This tweet  had nothing to do with her latest design, or sale in one of her stores. But, I love her and the brand more after that tweet -  it is genuine and personal.

Unfortunately, late players to the social media game are luxury brands, which is really no surprise given their sluggish and reluctant entry into offering e-commerce on their branded sites.  However,  Burberry has taken a different path, and is the clear leader in luxury brands that are manipulating social media.  Last year they launched the site TheArtoftheTrench. The site is beautifully executed showing urban settings with all types of people wearing their signature trench coat.  The site links users to their Facebook fan page. There the  users can comment on the photos and even upload photos of themselves wearing  a trench coat.  It is their attempt to bring a younger audience to their brand by reaffirming that the trench coat is still a classic item, something a younger demographic is willing to pay more for.

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people   Contact us if you have marketing insight to share,  and we may feature you as a Guest GBA Blogger. GBA is headquartered in Washington D.C. and specializes in strategic video production! Let us know how we can help your company stand out from the pack!

Other ways fashion brands and retailers can use social marketing tools is to communicate during a crisis.  A few weeks ago the New York Times wrote a story about how an H&M store was destroying and throwing out clothes that were returned.   As in many breaking news scandals, Twitter  lit up with the disgust of this behavior.  H&M’s U.S. twitter feed was  able to respond quickly, and direct those concerned to a link that this was not their policy.  This certainly calmed the crisis down with an immediate response, shortened the news cycle on this story, and potentially reduced the risk of long term damage to their brand.

As a disciple of marketing and a devotee to fashion, I get giddy thinking about all the access to engage fans through social media that fashion and retail brands now have, which helps get the ‘golden goose’ all marketers strive for – brand loyalty.

Kelly Collis Fredrick is the publisher and founder of CityShopGirl, delivering daily discounts and promotions to D.C. area retailers, restaurants, spas, specialty stores as well as ecommerce sites.