Sunstar Creative

The power of the Re-Tweet (RT)

Mar 10, 2010 Online Marketing TIPS for your Business, Social Media Marketing Victoria

One of the best things you can do when you first join the Twittersphere (and something you’ll continue to do regularly if you know the power it holds) is to re-tweet (RT) the tweets of others. (Read to the end of this article to see what a re-tweet looks like and how to do it yourself)

Reasons to Re-Tweet:

1) It shows you actually read the tweets of others instead of just logging in to do your own tweeting. This behaviour of logging in to post your obligatory tweet for the day is especially common for businesses. They see their twitter stream as a place that should be filled only with news about their business, promotions and so forth. The problem with this is these businesses are are using a “social” network yet they are treating it like a space to broadcast the corporate monologue (think one-way communication like commercials on TV). Re-tweeting can really be your friend here because it breaks up the monotony of the corporate monologue. This brings me onto my next point…

2) Re-tweeting is a way to give back. If you take the time to read someone’s tweet, follow the link to whatever they are referring to (if there is one), and decide to re-tweet it out to your followers – the person who wrote it will be delighted. Think about it – you’re basically telling them “I am helping you to get the word out because I think what you tweet about deserves to be passed on!” – what a compliment! For example, just a week ago Origin Gluten-Free Bakery opened a retail location in Victoria so I re-tweeted one of their messages that jumped out at me:

3) It’s also a great way to subtly get on to someone’s radar. Perhaps it is someone who you want to “get in good with” because they are a mover and shaker in the twitter community, a prospective customer, or potential referrer. Perhaps it is someone who you are following but who hasn’t yet followed you back. You can also re-tweet someone’s tweet even if you don’t follow them yet – so it’s a great way to try and build your following without having to “follow to be followed”.

4) Retweeting is a way to acknowledge a new tweep and help them to build their following. If you notice that someone is brand new to Twitter, you can either mention that to your followers such as “Welcome to Twitter @________” or you can re-tweet one of their recent posts.

Why do you re-tweet? Let us know in the comments below.

How to Re-Tweet

1) Twitter has introduced a “re-tweet” button which makes it super easy to do, and then you can find your re-tweets in the sidebar.

If you use the button, though, you have no opportunity to post your own comments or edit the post in any way. Here is a re-tweet using Twitter’s “Re-tweet button”:

Here is the old-school way of re-tweeting where you copy and past the tweet, add the RT and the @ symbol before the tweep’s username, edit the tweet down if it’s too long, and add any comments you want at the end:

Programs like hootsuite make it easy to RT and add comments without you having to copy and paste. You will also see that some people use “via” instead of “RT” – it means the same thing.

Have fun re-tweeting!

Don’t sell – build relationships! (great video)

Jan 31, 2010 Online Marketing TIPS for your Business, Social Media Marketing Victoria, Social Networking Online

This is a great video about how consumers have changed in what they want from advertisers. We want authenticity, conversations, relationships – not a sales pitch. Take a look:

“Followers” decline as Twitter list popularity rises

Jan 17, 2010 Online Marketing TIPS for your Business, Social Media Marketing Victoria, Social Networking Online

Twitter is innovating – which is a good thing. Recently they have introduced “lists” to their platform and have partnered with Google to bring us live search and with LinkedIn to make it easier to integrate tweets within LinkedIn status updates. One thing we are going to notice, however, (that could be a bit confusing) is that the term “follower” won’t be as clear-cut anymore.

If you want to receive a person’s updates without having them clutter your main Twitter feed, simply add them to one of your lists without following them. They won’t show up as someone you are “following” this way, but the person will be able to see that you have “listed” them (unless you add them to a private list) and you’ll have to click on that list when you want to see what they’re posting. On the side of private lists, they are truly private, so some people will create a list of “competitors”, for example, that they can monitor without anyone knowing about it. There’s nothing sneaky about that either because everyone knows that when you tweet it’s available for the world to view.

I like this new list functionality because it allows me to organize the masses of tweets that come in every day and helps to ensure I won’t miss updates from those I see as valuable content aggregators and producers. I also like that I can visit the pages of those I respect on Twitter and see how they have organized people into lists. If someone has a great list called “ComediansOnTwitter” for example, I can add that list to my account. Right now I am in the middle of conglomerating a list of Eateries in Victoria so that every time I am hungry and want to grab a bite at a local restaurant/cafe/pub, I can see what the specials are at all the local food joints that tweet. Feel free to follow the list if you like.

One issue I have is that in programs like Tweetdeck where I started organizing people into lists long before Twitter came up with their own version, I now have a whole bunch of lists with duplicates that desperately need cleaning up….in my spare time! Yikes.

However – remember that if you don’t follow the person they can’t DM (direct message) you anymore and that might be a barrier to a prospective customer.

What do you think of Twitter lists?

Social Media Marketing Seminars, Victoria 2010

Dec 14, 2009 Social Media Marketing Victoria

***Sold Out***

What better way to start 2010 than to attend a series of social media seminars geared to help your business thrive? We’ve had a lot of requests for an educational series that goes beyond scratching the surface of Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for business. We’ll take the time to explore local case studies, but also to go through an in-depth “how-to” so that you leave with an understanding of how social media can benefit your business, and how to tweet and network online effectively.

Where: The Union Club 805 Gordon Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1Z6

When: January 9, 16, 23, 30.

Schedule of Events:

Saturday, January 9, 2010 8:30am – 1pm. Special Guest, Brent Hammond

• Welcome to Marketing 3.0 – First Annual Seminar Series
• A New Approach to Goal Setting with Trailblazer’s Brent Hammond.
• Social Media is Here to Stay – Now What? with Terri Davies, Sunstar Creative

Saturday, January 16, 2010 8:30am – 1pm. Terri Davies

• Inbound Marketing: Your clients are surfing the internet – are they finding you?
• Twitter: Why and ‘How-To’ use it for your business.

Saturday, January 23, 2010 8:30am – 1pm. Terri Davies

• Facebook for business:  How to get results with fan pages & advertising
• LinkedIn: Maximize the potential of online connections

Saturday, January 30, 2010 8:30am – 1pm. Terri Davies

• Blogging: One of the best marketing tools of 2010
• Completing the marketing mix – networking, advertising and print material
• How to Make 2010 the best year ever – mastermind sessions

Seating is very limited. REGISTER NOW

Facebook Contest

Nov 19, 2009 Main Sunstar Creative Website, Social Media Marketing Victoria

YOU could WIN!

Hello Blog Visitor/Subscriber!

I thought I should let you know that Sunstar is having a contest right now where you can win some Starbucks VIA coffee if you become a fan of our new Facebook page. We’re doing a draw for the first 100 people to become a fans.

Online Marketing & CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Nov 9, 2009 CRM Marketing, Online Marketing TIPS for your Business, Social Media Marketing Victoria

Let’s demystify this a little – CRM – defined as ‘Customer Relationship Management’ is a marketing strategy for staying in touch with your clients and prospects. This creates TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness) so that when clients/prospects need your services or hear of someone who does, you come to mind as the obvious business to contact.

Here’s an example: Lora is one of our clients who owns Creating Occasions,  a baking school and baking supplies store in Victoria, BC. She tells the customers that come into her store that if they want to receive special offers, discounts and free recipes, they can sign up to receive an eNewsletter twice a month. People who she has never met can also sign up for this email newsletter on her website. When Lora sends out the eNewsletter it has a coupon at the bottom, so when people come in to redeem it she can track the effectiveness of her CRM marketing. Another benefit of giving these exclusive offers is that people look forward to reading her eNewsletter and also find out about new classes she is offering and other exciting ongoings at the store when they do so.

So many of us forget the potential our current clients have as repeat customers and brand ambassadors. CRM helps us by creating a system for following up with people en masse so that it is both efficient and effective.

There are other ways to accomplish CRM in addition to eNewsletters, and that is using social media. With the popularity of Facebook for both personal use and business, this is an ideal way to interact with many of your clients and stay connected. Each time you update your status on your business fan page your “fans” will see it in their personal news feeds – keeping them up-to-speed on what’s new and exciting with your company.

On the Creating Occasions Facebook Page Lora even has an eNewsletter sign up box and links to other social media she uses giving clients a variety of ways to stay updated.

For more information on CRM and how Sunstar Creative can help you with that aspect of your business, click here.

Tags: CRM, Customer Relationship Management, Social Media Marketing

Yes, it’s truly a ‘Social Media Revolution’

Aug 21, 2009 Social Media Marketing Victoria, Social Networking Online

It must be the week for great videos….sorry to overwhelm ya, but it had to be done. :0)
This is a fantastic video, and when I posted a link to it on Twitter it really went viral. I thought I had better post it on our blog as well so that clients and friends of Sunstar can benefit from the information. It shows you that the technological advances we are seeing today are truly exponential. Enjoy!

The Internet: Where Your Customers Are

Aug 21, 2009 Social Media Marketing Victoria, Social Networking Online

Are you still skeptical about the social media revolution? It’s a lot to take in, I know, but we can’t ignore it – the world is evolving and social technology is playing a huge role in that. This video illustrates why you might just want to put some resources into getting onto the social media (and internet marketing) bandwagon ASAP. Just maybe…

A poke in the eye: Social Media for Marketers (a.k.a – don’t make your followers mad)

Aug 3, 2009 Social Media Marketing Victoria, Social Networking Online

Social Media Marketing Luncheon (Victoria, BC) Recap

Jul 1, 2009 Social Media Marketing Victoria, Social Networking Online

Well, the event yesterday was a great success, and we had a huge turnout of nearly 60 people

Steve Walker-Duncan of Ambrosia was our wonderful host – we had the ballroom and a great spread of food (he even accommodated the vegans in the group!)

We’ve received some excellent feedback, and I’ve noticed quite a few new followers to www.twitter.com/sunstar_media since the event. So you’re all learning to tweet and loving it, right?

10 Reasons to Use Social Media Marketing for your business

1. Reputation Management
From Radically Transparent (book) “In 2007, Dell faced a potential media crisis when news reports revealed its laptops were bursting into flames. Instead of waiting to respond to any resulting media attack, Dell’s Lionel Menchaca took the bold step of posting video of a Dell machine in flames on the Direct2Dell blog. While he took a lot of initial heat from Dell’s own legal counsel, Menchaca understood that this type of incident would quickly spread through the blogosphere, so Dell would be wise to play host to any comments or questions about the incident”.
2. Listen to what others are saying about you – You can set up Google Alerts
3. Great information – Get useful industry info to keep you competitive in your field.
4. Recruitment of new talent (impress and attract new talent).
5. Networking – Networks that were previously hidden from view – like perhaps someone you know happens to be friends with a CEO you want to meet – are now available.  On LinkedIn you can request an introduction to the person you want to meet.
6. Ask Questions – I used Twitter for preparing the talk. Great tool for market research too. (and don’t forget to use the Twitter Question Hashtag – #question at the end of the sentence so all of Twitter can help you out)
7. Increase Traffic – Get more people reading your blog and visiting your website
8. Be seen as an expert in your field – We give information we could probably charge for away for free because it places us in a position of an expert.
9. Build a buzz about what is new with your business, what you’re doing in community
10. SEO – Inbound links – when you write on someone’s blog or create an account with Linked In – that benefits your website ranking.

Other Useful Items from the Talk on June 30th

Michael Geoghegan (@BCLobbyist on Twitter) spoke about his experience using Twitter for business. He mentioned that he often finds out about breaking news from Twitter long before it hits the TV news stations. In fact – he has been interviewed by the media several times on topics that he “tweeted” about. Michael also found one of his newest associates on Twitter. (Thanks again for coming out to the event Michael, your Twitter testimonial was a highlight of the lecture.)

Tweetdeck – an easy way to organize Twitter on your desktop

Naked Pizza – reports that 15% of business comes from Twitter everyday