How Smashyn Uses Twitter & My First Tweetup

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How SMASHYN uses Twitter
At Smashyn we use Twitter to market for our beauty and skincare clients. Through Twitter we can easily access the (beauty and skincare) community and follow them, and have them follow us.

Tip: Go and follow not only those interested in your niche, but also follow your competition..this is a good way to keep an eye on them. No need to send your secret spies.

We also use Twitter to drive our followers to blog posts, contests, information that is relevant and what the company is doing. We provide content that people want to read (even if you only have 140 characters to write with) and allows them to interact with.

When using Twitter Smashyn Never:

• Uses Auto Tweet.. In order to brand our clients correctly, it is worth the time to go in to all our different accounts and tweet live. If you aren't actually on Twitter, you shouldn't be tweeting out messages.
• Auto Direct Messages..This function was made to contact people privately. Now users create automatic direct messages for when you follow them.

I don't know about you but this is probably my biggest frustration with Twitter. Why do I want to be notified that someone is basically sending me a spam Hey! Check me out, it is all about me Blah Blah Blah! Come on! Be ORIGINAL and put the effort into to it.

Smashyn Personally Uses Twitter:
To establish our presence in the world of social media, stay up to date and inform others what is going on in Social Media, and to connect with others in the Social Media. Like last night when we went to the Tweetup & tonight to the SFIMA event. Check back this weekend for a recap on the event.
My First Tweetup
I didn't really know what to expect..I mean I am just trying to get a hold of this Twitter thing, and now I am actually meeting up with people from Twitter. Weird? Kind of, but you get to meet a lot of great people, and really put a name to the face.

Unless you do hours of research on the people who are attending prior to the event, you can't necessarily tell who is who off the bat. This is a great blind way of meeting people, and really getting the chance to tell them what exactly it is that you do. You get the chance to actually have a conversation with someone who has similar interests (SOCIAL MEDIA DUH) and get to know the "man behind the internet".

 At the Tweetup I met some cool people like @mmwine, @mdl914, @witt_on_twit, and @ScholarAndAGent at @WildOlivesCafe..looking forward to my next Tweetup.:)

Twitter?--Tweedle? Twit? Oh Right: "Tweet"

First there was Myspace—TOM --gotta love Tom! Then Facebook surfaced. After first using Myspace I was VERY hesitant to start using Facebook. I mean why did I need ANOTHER site to talk to my friends on.

But I was going to college soon, and my friends convinced me it was necessary. Ended up being a great way to talk to people going to the same university. (Plus Myspace was getting way too spammy!)

Alright so I was with Facebook, loving it and THEN I heard about Twitter (from my DAD of all people). He started telling me: people were using this site to represent their companies. I didn't get it so I checked it out, got my own account and began my "attempt" to use it.

I think I tweeted about 4 times and I was done. What was the point of this “tweeting” I didn't know anyone that was using Twitter. Seemed just like updating status's on Facebook but without the rest of the good/fun stuff. So I stopped, and stuck to what I knew and liked: Facebook.

So when I got this internship, Twitter was/is my biggest hurdle. I needed to start using Twitter and understand it completely. After using it daily for the past couple of weeks, I am now  beginning to understand why it is useful.

While (to me) Facebook is more of a personal networking site, I find Twitter very useful to communicate with other people interested in specifically what I am interested in: Social Media!

I am still getting the hang of “tweeting” and “retweeting”, hashtags #, and mentions @smediaintern...but soon enough it will be just as familiar as Facebook (I'm hoping).

Why your company should use Twitter

• Twitter has the capability to reach an infinite amount of new consumers daily. So question is why wouldn't you do it?? Your consumers would be able to follow your business daily and have a personal connection with the company.
• Twitter is a great way to get your company name out there. You can do product giveaways, coupon codes, ask and answer questions. Really get your consumers involved with your company!
• Many large companies are using social media platforms such as Twitter to increase their following through Social Media. I know comparing small businesses to companies like Pepsi and Starbucks isn't fair or doesn't seem realistic. I mean Hey! they have all the resources to back them up. However they DO have to put a lot of time and effort into it as well. The only difference would be: Giving up.
• Don't give up too easily! You won't get 1,000 followers overnight or probably even in a week. Be willing to work at it, its worth it! Social Media is the new media and is constantly growing. Be Patient! Get in on it now before you are too far behind.

How Smashyn uses Twitter:

We're attending a Tweetup Tonight to network with others in South Florida.

I have never been to a Tweetup before...very excited to see what goes on. Check back to see how it goes how else Smashyn uses Twitter.

How are you or your company using Twitter? Leave a comment and let everyone know!

Social Media: My First Week

At first, I, like many others assumed social media was a piece of cake. I mean how hard could updating status's and tweeting be?

Man, was I wrong. I have so much to learn about social media. For starters, always remember these social media platforms are representing your company,they are your voice.

These are platforms such as: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blog, FourSquare, etc..When using these platforms be sure to know the focus and goal of what your company wants social media to do for them.

Some tips about social media that I've learned so far:

Tip #1-Don't be generic

-Make sure you are keeping your audience entertained. Reusing the same status's and tweets shows you don't have anything unique to offer, and your audience becomes uninterested.

Tip #2-Get your audience to interact

-Ask for consumer's feedback. People love to share their thoughts, especially what they DON'T like.
-Ask questions and provide answers--Followers will continue to come back if they enjoy your page the first time around. So make it count.

Tip #3-Don't Be Afraid of Negative Feedback or "Constructive Criticism"

-This shows that you are honest, "human", and willing to listen to what consumers like and want.

Tip #4-Don't overtake your social media platforms  

-While you want to be active in your communities being too spammy or unoriginal can cause a negative reaction to your company.


----This week At Smashyn...

Smashyn has been building a client's Facebook Page. This included launching campaigns, which included giveaways, discounts, contests, questions, videos etc..The intention: Grab people's attention. However, the result of all the back-to-back promotions, the Page interaction decreased. So we learn...and we move forward.
Smashyn regrouped and remembered the focus. Decrease promotional giveaways and went back to basics. Ask questions, give answers and provide content people want.

Check back later this week to learn as I learn...more about social media! Remember to follow me @smediaintern or friend me on Facebook.

                                 

Becoming a Social Media Intern

Finding a job in the world of marketing, is no easy task especially when you are still in school. I have been diligently looking for the right job out there for me, or any job at that point.I stumbled across a job posting for a social media intern online.

The job posting was as follows:

-Work with the social media director
-Promote and interact with customers in several social media facets.
-Be active in Facebook/Twitter/blogging
-Manage Twitter/Facebook/blogging and other social media platforms for multiple accounts

So wait... This job basically entails me sitting at the computer, on websites that I am already using all day to market for beauty and skin care lines?? This is AMAZING!

For someone who has been very indecisive in school, starting as a pre-Business major—thinking this is not for me, I need to be more creative, and I want to write. So I then switched to Journalism which after one semester and many people in the profession giving one piece of advice--- RUN, GET OUT NOW!, I decided to change my major once again.

Okay. So if I am going to pay all this money to get a degree, but I still have NO IDEA what I want to do, what is going to be the most beneficial major? So it was back to Business, but with a twist lets go to the creative side of business, which is how I ended up majoring in Marketing and Advertising

So now that I have found this social media intern job, I now have a direction in which to use my degree which feels great! I get to take my marketing and advertising business degree, and market through the new world of social media, and bonus---I get to write (blog) too!

Check back later for more postings as I take you through learning the world of social media marketing. You can also check me out on Twitter @smediaintern or on Facebook.