Kevin Beatty

5 Reasons why real-time social networks are changing business for you and me

Real time social networks like FourSquare, Yelp, Twitter, and Facebook are certainly changing things professionally for me on a daily basis.  One thing that I've noticed though is that smaller businesses are learning to adapt and exploit the incredible benefits of real time social networks.  Almost daily I'm reminded of the incredible power of this interconnected world.  I do consider myself a techie; love my Apple products, and always interested in the latest and greatest of gadgets.  Recently I'm starting to see the conscious mind shift of those thought to be at one time digitally-illiterate though.  These are my reasons why real time social networks are changing business for you as a consumer or business entrepreneur. 

1.  Instant gratification - Kogi style

If you haven't heard of the success story yet of Kogi BBQ (http://kogibbq.com/), then you're missing out on an incredible story.  Kogi BBQ is simply a mobile Korean BBQ truck that travels around Los Angeles and surrounding areas selling tacos.  They've been able to attract nearly 57,000 twitter followers by simply tweeting what corner they'll be parked, selling their tacos.  Of course it helps when you have great food, which they do according to their four star rating on Yelp from over 1,200 reviews.  When was even the last time you purchased food from a mobile truck?  Maybe in Manhattan at 3am?  Kogi's loyal following has people actually driving to and wait several hours, sometimes as many as 400 people on one location.  How can your business or service begin to utilize the power of social networks to provide instant gratification to your consumer base?

2.   LIVE Data Streaming - Good or Bad?

News travels so fast these days it's as if your friend is standing right there whispering in your ear.  We also receive our news updates in the same manner.  I probably can attribute 75% of all of the news I read or find out about to real time social networks such as Facebook or Twitter.  Instead of receiving that text message or the phone call from a friend announcing his or her engagement, I see the status update on Facebook.  This aspect of real time networks is incredible, however there can be a dark side to it.  Imagine a world where everything is connected, every thought shared, and every action documented.  You may or may not have heard about the website called Please Rob Me, but I encourage you to check it out.  With the emergence of sites like FourSquare and Twitter people are posting where they're at any given moment.  I'm at this restaurant, club, bar, museum, etc.  Obviously from a business standpoint there are many applications that can come from this, but if you think about the potential hazards this has you'll look at those posts in a different light.  Please Rob Me has aggregated real time sites to post where people are at any given moment, answering the simple question "I wonder if the person who lives here is home?"  Their intention is NOT to encourage people to break into homes, but to create awareness for the positive and negative elements of real time data streaming and sharing.  So the next time you want to 'Check-In' on your mobile phone at that favorite restaurant you're about to enjoy...think about who 'could' potentially use that message in a compromising way. 

3. Mobile Coupons and Tickets - A green alternative

This feature is for the 17% of adult U.S. subscribers owning a smartphone device.  Cutting out coupons from the Sunday newspaper will become a thing of past.  Mobile tickets will replace the paper boarding passes at the airport or the tickets for that upcoming concert event.  Eight months ago Ticketmaster started large-scale mobile ticketing in the U.S. and Bollywood fans don’t need tickets torn at Indian cinemas.  I suspect that in 2010 a trend will begin to occur where you'll be able to make fast and easy transactions online with just a few clicks of your mobile device.  Applications on the iPhone, Droid, and BlackBerry are already there, and more will be developed as each day progresses. 

4.  Credit Card processing

The announcement of Square's official launch has many techies and business owners excited for the possibilities for a credit card processor connected to your mobile device.  Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder, is heading up Square which has already launched in Beta versions.  Here's a demo video by Digg founder Kevin Rose:

 

5.  What's next?

Bernhard Schroeder, Director of San Diego State University's Entrepreneurial Management Center and also oversees all of the undergraduate and graduate internship programs, proposed the idea that I'd love to see.   At the "Social Media for Business" interactive seminar/workshop he suggested capacity type businesses like movie theatres, sport events, or musical concerts to leverage the power of real time technology.  The ability for a business to blast out to their network that a particular amount of tickets are left as a last minute ditch effort to sell their inventory is an incredible advantage for them.  I predict that real time video sharing will become popular as the advancements in cell phones continue.  How about a HD Flip Video Camera with Wi-Fi connectivity?  The introduction of the iPad into the consumer market will spurt additional programs, games, and applications that take real time to the next level as well. 

Whether you embrace technology or not, it's hard not to admit the incredible changes it's making in everyone's life.  While I encourage everyone to be aware of the possibilities out there, begin to think about how this could add value to your business or customer base.  It's a brave new world out there and social networks are really just the start to this interconnected world. 

Pimp your blog or website with REAL TIME features!

I'm sure you're like me and beginning to get a little overwhelmed by every Tom, Dick, or Harry creating little social media widgets found on websites and blogs.  It seems like most of the websites and blogs I read on a regular basis are cluttered with random gimmicky social media jargon and claimed next generation twitter applications.  I saw something today however, that in my mind, sets itself apart from the competition.  

I saw this cool website addition on Active.com/triathlon, the largest online community for people who want to discover, learn about, share, register for and ultimately participate in activities about which they are passionate. On the VERY BOTTOM of the page is a small blue colored tool bar.  I almost didn't see it, but after clicking around I was quite impressed with this cool way to give a blog or website a boost of cutting edge social sharing. 

The product I'm talking about is Wibiya, created by Modular Patterns Ltd., founded in 2008.  Wibiya hooks up a blog or website with a slew of widgets and web-based tools that promotes interaction with viewers. 

Facebook/Twitter Integration

Without leaving the website you can check out the Facebook fan page of the website you're on alongside with comments made on that page.  You can also interact on the Facebook page.

  

They also link up an interactive Twitter widget directly from the page.  It will search all Twitter activity talking about the specific site you're on. 

If you have a blog or website, i highly suggest requesting to use this product.  As of right now they're in private beta, but it's only a matter of time before they launch it completely.  Try it out and let me know what you think. 

Why your Blog is like Geico for career development

In today’s economic state of uncertainty and unpredictable job stability, it’s absolutely critical that everyone has their own form of Career Insurance.  I’m not talking about having your resume posted on Monster or any Job Postings for that matter.  For one, putting your resume on a job board when you're currently employed is career suicide not to mention it really doesn’t do much to help your current state of affairs.  What I’m going to share with each of you is in my  opinion one of the best ways to advance your current life situation while laying down the groundwork for an iron clad career insurance plan. 

One of the greatest examples of someone who has taken this ‘simple’ career tool to a whole new level is Heather Armstrong, also known as Dooce.  Heather began writing a journal back in 2001 as a way to express her struggles with depression, her pregnancies, parenthood, skin cancer, as well as other important topics in her life.  Her journals were noticed by thousands upon thousands of people who were drawn to her humorous and controversial writing style.  In 2004, Dooce began accepting advertisements on her website, and would soon be her family’s principal source of income.  Fast forward a few years later, she has published two books, her latest reaching #16 on the New York Times Bestseller List and she was also featured on Forbes magazine among 30 honorees on its list of “The Most Influential Women in Media” in 2009.”  She’s been on Oprah several times and has a Twitter following of 1.3 million people.  Her website gets over 250,000 unique visitors each month that brings in an estimated $40,0000 per month in advertising revenue......how you ask?....SIMPLE....she began to write an online journal entry, more commonly called a BLOG. 



There’s an overwhelming amount of information out there on BLOGS, but I’d like each of you to focus on just 3 reasons why each of you should have your own personal blog and how it will act as your career insurance plan.  Before we dive into each point, I’d like each of you to think about these questions:  

“Are you satisfied with the quality of your network of business associates?”

“Could you benefit from several hundred people reading your blog each week?”

“What would you do if your current position and major source of income was eliminated tomorrow, what’s your backup plan?” 

These are the questions that I asked myself several months back before starting my own personal blog. 

1.  The first reason why BLOGS should be a normal routine for you is: To Become An Expert.  Blogs allow you to identify yourself as an expert in any particular field or industry.  Each of us have passions and hobbies that we all enjoy.  Begin to think about how you could transpire your passions in life into an online journal entry.  I also encourage you to search existing blogs on these topics, it’s like college in hyper-speed.  Information can be rushed to you like water from an exploding fire hose.  Blogs have given each of us the power to become a author, critic, evangelist, or an expert.  For example;  lets say you enjoy event promotion and marketing; you’re always the party planner in your group or the organizer of happy hours between friends.  You could create a blog that shares pointers for organizing an event, proper preparation, or the planning needed towards having a successful turnout.  In some cases having a blog is better than a resume because this allows employers a unique look at your personality.  Plus if you have no professional experience - having a good blog says your tech-savvy and motivated - two extremely important qualities to have. 

Jeff Jarvis, author of “What Would Google Do?” says a personal blog can function as a promotional platform for people in any profession.

2.  The second reason why Blogs are important to your career development is they’re indexed in search engines.  Blogs will help you become visible in a endless sea of web information.  If you run a Google search for your name and nothing comes up - that’s NOT a good thing.  Try it out now...

Wouldn’t you like to leave an impression on the world surrounding you?  If you’re not important enough to be found on the first page of a search engine I’m afraid your chances of having a solid career insurance plan are minimal.  Think of website searches as real estate.  Your goal should be to have the prime real estate, that first page, highest to the top.  For example, let’s say someone is looking for a party planner in the San Diego area, they may come across your blog by simply doing a Google search.  Because you’ll soon attract an influx of visitors it’s imperative that your site looks professional, clean, and clearly conveys your mission and goal for having a blog - not to mention your contact information. 


3.  The third and final reason why each of you should have your own personal blogs is that the majority are free or very low cost to maintain.  WordPress and TypePad are two companies that provide blogs for free.  They have customization templates so you can personalize the look and feel of your blog to your liking.  To think that there’s a free way to keep every thought you have, and to archive that forever is nothing short of amazing.  This archive could be priceless to you if you decide to write a book, want to share an experience from several years ago with friends or co-workers, or to prove your experience with a particular topic. 

No one can disagree on the importance of your goals and career aspirations.  By leveraging the powerful tools made available within a Blog you can reach new heights, meet incredible industry experts, obtain that dream job, or simply have a release for expressing yourself.  Don’t wait until it’s too late, your career could depend upon having a blog.  Spending 15 minutes on a blog could get you that next promotion or career advancement opportunity, and that’s why BLOGS are your insurance for career development.

Social Media + $60 = Own a football club and choose who plays!!

This post is the 2nd of many to come that feature key elements and talking points found in the book 'Groundswell' by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.  I was astounded by the incredible material found in this book and thought to write down my thoughts on what I belief are important to know benefits of social marketing utilization. 

In the book, they discuss how the Forrester Research group has seen in numerous cases that the engaging nature of using social marketing sends corporations through a mental shift.  I've seen this first hand with the many clients I've worked with on social marketing consulting. 

Essentially you begin to focus more on your customers needs and wants vs the corporations needs and wants.  This comes as a direct result of becoming engulfed with the groundswell of customer engagement.  What does that mean?  Well, we all know that putting your customer's needs in front of your corporations needs and wants will lead to a more successful company.  You can't create a product or service and then manipulate your customers needs and wants until they line up with your product offering. Social marketing allows companies to tap into areas of the customer consciousness that was never possible in the past or came at a high cost. 

Although the Case Study below is NOT in the book 'Groundswell' I feel it's one of the best examples I've heard of in a while in regards to how social marketing technologies have changed the status quo in life. 

Case Study: Ebbsfleet United Football Club

 They are a football club (soccer for the American's) from England called Ebbsfleet United. 

The Future of Marketing...as I see it

A great friend and colleague of mine Jimmy Hendricks passed  a great blog over to me earlier today and I felt compelled to write my thoughts and comments in the  form of my own post.  The post I read was by Edward Boches, Chief Creative Officer and Chief Social Media Officer of Mullen called 'Social media changes everything, except the need for creativity.'  

Edward points out that three events have created the surge of social media marketing throughout the world. 

1. The Recession

2. Barack Obama

3. A media circus

I agree that even 9 months ago I could probably count on one hand how many clients of mine were bought into the idea of social networking and community websites as a doorway out of the recession outhouse.  Now many clients are going back to the drawing board to see how they can gain more fans, friends, and followers...all leading to membership and/or tickets sales, product sales, and ultimately profitability.  This has obviously made my job a lot easier as a business and marketing strategist in the industry - yet we still have our work cut out for us.

The First 10 Steps to a Sports Organization's Twitter Success

If you're a sports organization, tournament director, facility owner, or any sports organization admin you've probably heard by now all the buzz about Twitter.  This blog post is a very comprehensive tutorial on how to use Twitter successfully.  I've personally worked with dozens of sports clients teaching them the same simple steps that I've outlined below. Follow each step and you will be satisfied with your results. Let's start by defining what Twitter Success really is.  Twitter Success=

• You update Twitter on a regular and consistent basis
• You have a desirable following (different for each person)
• Your followers RT (re-tweet) your posts to their following
• You have direct message interaction with your followers Revenue, Membership, Registrations, and/or Website Page Traffic increases as a result of Twitter

some of these terms may not make sense now, but they will by the end of you reading this post

Entice, Empower, Engage, and Entertain...all via a design competition! by Kevin Beatty

One of my favorite websites to visit is technology news blog Mashable.   If you're not familiar with this site, you have no clue what you're missing.  Bookmark it and visit time and time again...you'll love the content, I promise! I'm assuming though  that most people reading this are probably familiar with Mashable.  As I read Artistic Hub: A White Label Design Competition for Brands by Jennifer Van Grove, I felt compelled to write about how I feel this interactive company could make a difference in this technology driven world.

Specifically, the article focuses on a recent project for Sports Illustrated for Kids, where Artistic Hub supplies a platform allowing SI Kids users to upload t-shirt ideas, vote for their favorites, and then make a purchase (of course with their parents permission).  Despite the fact that the majority of visitors of SI Kids probably aren't even old enough to purchase their own computer, it has been incredibly viral in its use according to San Diego Business Journal.  In less than its first month of running the design competition, they generated over 315,000 votes on 102 approved designs.  If SI Kids can create enough engagement with their audience, what about an industry full of more tech savvy and artistic minded fans...such as the music industry.