New App for Check In Junkies! CheckIn King

If you check-in more than once a week, you need Checkin King.

With one app check-in to Facebook, Foursquare, Google, and Gowalla with Checkin King. Here is what the press is saying about Checkin King:

“Checkin King makes checking in to any or all of those services as easy as one click.” – Phandroid

“How to check in to multiple location services with one click” – CNET

“43 Best New Android Apps” – AndroidPolice.com

Another great way to encourage fans to check in at your establishment is to post a QR Code sticker on your business entrance.  You can order stickers for Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google Plus, Yelp and more by clicking here

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Thanks to the appearance of more and more smart phones, social media is becoming accessible to us at all hours of the day. Below are some social media stats about mobile social media.  The statistics may surprise you. This new way to access social media is growing rapidly.

1. On average mobile users are more active in social media than non-mobile users.

Minutes spent on social networking per day accessed by mobile device or desktop
Social Network	Mobile Internet	PC Internet
Facebook	45.2	32.4
Bebo (AOL)	39.6	22
MySpace	8.2	7.5
Twitter	19.6	7.2
Source: GSMA/ComScore, January 2010		via: mobiThinking

2. In the U.S. Facebook and Twitter are in the top ten most visited mobile destinations.

3. Ages 35-54 are the most likely to be using social media via mobile device.

4. The average mobile social media user is on 2.7 hours a day.

5.  In 2010 30% of smart phone users accessed social media via their phone browsers.

6.  That’s 22.5% up from the previous year.

7. Total social network access from mobile phones rose to 11.1%. This is a 6.5% rise from 2009

8. In the past year, twitter via mobile browser has increased 347%

9. Facebook has also seen a significant increase in traffic via mobile phones.  The total percent increase is 112%

10. This means that over 150 million Facebook users are using their phones to view their profile.

11. An average of 30% of tweets come from mobile devices

12.  Even by the end of 2009, 11% of the mobile social media users switched to smart phones.

13. Consumers download 2.4 billion mobile applications from app stores via their phones.

Looking Ahead…

1. This year companies plan to increase social media spending on mobile by  10%.

2. Touchscreens will be included in over 60 percent of mobile devices shipped in Western Europe and North America in 2011.

3. It is estimated that total spending on mobile advertising will reach $11-$20 billion. This is up from $6.5 billion in 2010.

4. In 2011, mobile photo sharing will become even more popular.

5. Facebook will dominate the mobile traffic in 2011.

6.  31% of US mobile phone owners have a smartphone as of December 2010, and you can expect smartphones to become the majority by the end of 2011.

7. US sales of smartphones to grow from 67 million in 2010 to 95 million in 2011

8. Mobile Phones will overtake PCs as the number one way to access social networks by 2013.

9.  It’s estimated that the combined installed base of smartphones and browser-equipped enhanced phones will surpass 1.82 billion units by 2013

10. What consumers and advertisers spend on mobile media will rise from just under $75 billion at the end of 2010 to just over $138.7 billion by 2015.

11. Mobile data traffic is expected to grow 40-fold over the next five years!

Source: bootcampdigital.com

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The Top Six Essentials for Your Social Media Strategy

If having a website establishes credibility and provides information to potential customers, integrating social media into your online mix is all about building strong relationships with your customers, other businesses, and building loyalty, brand awareness and establishing your online “voice” as an expert in your field.

Social Media Ingredients

Think carefully about how you’re going to use Social Media, what for and how you’re going to carve out time to dedicate to it before you dive in, because it’s not a “miracle”, it won’t drive traffic to your business unless you engage with your fans and followers in a way that is fun, informative, continual. Similar to having a website, you can’t set up and forget and expect people to beat a path to your door.

6 Essential Elements to begin your Social Media Strategy

1. Define your goal

Will you be offering customer services, information, hint and tips, focusing on customer acquisition, brand awareness or public relations, offering expert advice? It can’t be everything because it will produce unfocused results.

2. Listening

How are you going to measure the results? Monitoring can give you detailed information about what people are saying about your brand, who is saying it, details of the demographics of your social media following and even what people are saying about your competition. The right data allows you to capitalise on the conversation and focus your messages.

3. Choose your communication platforms

Each platform is focused on a different demographic. Will it be Facebook, Twitter, a blog, Linked in, a Google profile?  How will they inter-connect without spreading duplicate content across the internet?

Understand there is a connection between social media on a local level (on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), your local listings (Google Places), and SEO. Social results are now fully integrated within the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPS) on both Google and Bing, and Google is using this data as one of its many ranking factors. Encourage people to review and comment on your Google Places listing as well as the other platforms you end up using.

4. Define a voice

Will you be informative, humorous or serious? What language will your market respond to? Making the correct choice and implementing it well will draw in and engage your followers.

5. Your time

It takes much more of a commitment than setup and forget it. Customers come to expect timely responses to their posts and queries. Keeping the conversation going and fully engaging with your followers will be a significant opportunity to learn and respond to the views and preferences of your customers. Do you have the time to dedicate to updating and monitoring your pages constantly?

6. Make your information SHARABLE

Offer value each and every time you post. Reward loyalty with discounts and special offers, run competitions (read the rules on Facebook before you set anything up or risk Facebook removing your content), promote and share content which is likely to be of interest to your followers  (“Top 10 X’ or ‘How to Y’ are both good formats that work well). Use Question Polls and start conversations, offer expert advice instead of being seen as pushy selling or self-promotion.

The foremost mistake I see repeated everywhere is seeing the emphasis on self-promotion. Broadcasting how great you are instead of providing useful and fun content and engaging with your fans/followers is a no-no, they’ll ditch you!

You need to give your audience compelling (and fun) reasons to visit your website, blog or Facebook pages.

Source: bonzamobilecomputerrepairs.com

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Facebook Fan Page Strategy- Free Social Media Marketing Plan: The Top 3 Ways to Have a Facebook Fan Page that Will Actually Attract Fans!

If you have your own business, then you probably know by now that, even if your business is a physical bricks-and-mortar establishment such as a Real Estate business or a Flower shop, establishing a well-known and well-branded Online Presence is one of the most important things for you to do.

And setting up a Facebook FanPage to communicate with your customers, advertise upcoming sales or promotions and attract new business or clientele is one of the most fun and effective ways to do so!

So…what are some of the top and most important Social Media Strategies for setting up a truly effective Facebook FanPage for your business?

Here are the Top 3 Facebook Fan Page Strategies that You should be Using Now to Build Your Brand and Attract More Fans!

1-  Be “Like-able”: First of all you need to understand that when it comes to Social Media one of the top rules is to actually connect and be Likeable!!  And if your Facebook Fan page doesn’t reflect the kind of atmosphere that your target audience is looking for then they probably won’t stick around for long!

2-  Stay Current and Update Your Facebook Fan Page Frequently: Another important Facebook Fan page strategy is to be sure to keep your page fresh and current with relevant and helpful tips and advice or news about your particular business or store.  Do you have any giveaways that you’re hosting? Let your fans know!  Did you recently write an amazing and helpful article full of amazing tips that your fans would want to hear about??  Post it on your fan page!!  If you let your page get old and stagnant and don’t update it regularly, your fans will get bored and stop following you, so be sure to stick with it and keep it fresh and exciting!

3-  Keep Your Facebook Fan Page Social & Make it Interactive: Now this is one of the Facebook Fan Page strategies that seems to be the most tricky for people, but remember, the key to being interactive is to remember that Facebook is a SOCIAL Media!  It is all about connecting, being social and cultivating relationships.  Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter how flashy or impressive your fan page is if you aren’t using it to truly connect with your friends and fans!

Join the Conversations!! Now, taking it just a step further…. if you really want to take your Facebook Fan Page Strategy to the next level, then something you CANNOT afford to overlook is the importance of YOU actually participating in the conversations and comments going on on your Fan page!
Stay in Control! Don’t just set up your page and then leave it for your fans to take over and create a bulletin board full of spam and links that do nothing to support your business or the purpose of your fan page.  Monitor your Facebook FanPage daily to be sure there is no spam or links that you don’t want to be a part of your page.
Talk and Listen! Don’t just use your page as a means for advertising for your business.  Your Facebook Fan Page can also be an excellent way to listen to your audience and find out their needs and wants.   Social Media, and Facebook specifically, provides a unique opportunity for businesses to really engage your customers and potential customers and then improve their services and products by getting to know even better what they want!  So be sure to have true, 2-way conversations on your fan page.  When your fans make a comment or ask questions, be sure to respond.  The more you can add value and connect with your fans, the more effective your fan page will be!

True, it can take a little extra effort on your part to take the time to engage the fans and clients on your page but going that extra mile is the most important part of a successful Facebook Fan Page Strategy that will help to encourage your fans and customers to keep coming back!  And ultimately, that’s the whole goal of setting up an Online Presence with a Facebook Fan Page.  You want to promote an exceptional brand right?  Well, following these tips will ensure that you do just that.  Cultivate relationships, add value and connect with your fans!

Next,  continue learning more about developing an effective Facebook Fan Page Strategywith the Top Online Internet Marketing Techniques of a Free Social Media Marketing Plan.

Emily Stoik is an Online Marketing Coach, Mentor and Corporate Trainer for what is arguably the World’s Largest Internet Marketing School available today, The  Internet Marketing Mentoring and Coaching Center.  Emily and her husband are dynamic team leaders that train both Total Beginners and Seasoned Entrepreneurs around the world to achieve Financial Freedom through proven business tactics and On-Going Education to stay ahead of the trends and remain competitive in the marketplace today.

Source: Visit Make1KaDay.com for more information

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Facebook-Enabled Phone One Step Closer To U.S. Launch

Just days after the INQ Cloud Touch, once called the first official Facebook phone, launched in the U.K., the device passes its first United States debut hurdle: the FCC. Rumors are swirling of a United States launch as soon as late summer, 2011.

While no official carrier has been announced, the Android Community speculates AT&T will carry the phone with a purchase price of around $500 without a contract, and $30 with a contract. AT&T has neither confirmed nor denied the speculation, but considering testing included GSM 850 and 1900 bands, as well as WCDMA Bands II and V, AT&T seems the logical carrier.

U.K. customers are reporting specs for the phone, which include the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, with a  Qualcomm MSM7227 800MHz processor, 3.5” touch screen, 512MB of internal storage, GPS, WiFi, bluetooth,  5 MP camera and a sliding QWERTY keyboard.

While these are good specs for any smartphone, Facebook integration is at the heart of the phone’s marketing plan. As the pictures attest, the phone’s homepage is designed for easy Facebook tracking, and the QWERTY keyboard is ideal for quick status updates.

The phone is sure to be well received among American Facebook users, which is a broad market that encompasses a wide age range. But, the question remains: Will AT&T help or hurt the phone’s popularity?

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Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users

Facebook has announced that its two mobile sites — m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com — have been unified, bringing a simpler mobile experience to Facebook users. And there are a lot of those — a quarter billion, according to Facebook.

Smartphone users won’t be losing any functionality because of the consolidation. If your phone supported the enhacned features offered by touch.facebook.com, the new site will automatically flip the switch when you visit.

Rolling the sites together helps simplify things for Facebook’s developer team. Now changes can be pushed to a single site instead of two separate sites, which makes it easier to ensure that all mobile users receive a nearly identical experience regardless of the device they’re using.

The new Facebook mobile can also check to see if your phone supports geolocation. If it doesn’t, you won’t be seeing much of Facebook Places — which obviously relies heavily on geolocation. Images can also be optimized on the fly to keep page performance from suffering on less powerful devices. You can see the three different versions of the share button below, courtesy our friends at TechCrunch.

Source: downloadsquad.switched.com

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Social Media Lessons Businesses Can Learn from Jimmy Fallon

If you live in Richmond, Va., – or know someone from here – it’s evident that the place has been caught up this week in a haze of excitement about Virginia Commonwealth University’s improbable berth in the NCAA Final Four.

Tuesday night, as I was watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, he did a “Pros and Cons” bit about “playing basketball for VCU.” I immediately went to Facebook and posted a comment about the fact that Richmond has arrived because our team was mentioned on Late Night.

The clip also was posted on Late Night’s website, which has been passed around the Internet. That reminded me just how social media savvy Jimmy Fallon’s show is. Mashable proclaims Fallon as one of the first talk show hosts to take social media seriously.

Are there lessons that businesses can learn from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon? Consider the following.

Engage stakeholders in online conversations.

Fallon is a master at starting a bit on his show, then involving the show’s audience via social media. Probably the best example of this is his weekly use of Twitter hashtags. He gives a topic on Tuesday night then asks the viewing audience to Tweet responses the following day. He then reads the best ones on the air Wednesday night. In honor of April Fool’s Day, this week’s hashtag was #bestprankever. Regularly, Fallon’s Twitter topics trend worldwide.

For businesses, the application is simple – use social media for what it was created for – to engage people in dialogue and build relationships. Too often, businesses merely throw out factoids on Twitter with links to news releases instead of using Twitter to really get to know their followers and engage with them.

Don’t stick all your eggs in one social media basket.

Businesses shouldn’t be afraid to try multiple social media outlets in concert. Fallon has mastered the art of using just about every social media avenue at his disposal.

“From Late Night hashtags to viral video mashups, to LNJF, a mobile app featuring clips and joke-apps, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has staked its ground as a tech-friendly kind of show,” according to Mashable.

Another great regular bit is “Remix-the-Clips,” a segment where Late Night band leader, Questlove from The Roots, mashes together viral videos to form a song.

Using Social Media for Social Good.

Smart businesses know that social media has become an important competent of cause-related marketing and corporate social responsibility. Late Night gets that too. Also this week, fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert, Jimmy’s BFFSM (best friend for six months), donated $26,000 to the DonorsChoose charity and also pledged that Fallon would do the same – supposedly without Fallon’s knowledge. So Fallon – claiming not to have the money to pay – once again enlisted the help of his audience to go online and help raise funds. Fans raised more than $50,000 and tonight, Colbert has to perform Rebecca Black’s “Friday” on Late Night with The Roots. It’s all good fun for a good cause.

So, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon may be in the business of comedy, but they take their social media seriously. The business world can learn a thing or two from them.

Source: livingstonbuzz.com

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What’s the Next Big Trend in Social Media Marketing?

Posted by Tony B on 4/3/2011 If there is anything that can be observed about human behavior by examining social media, it’s that people are basically restless. They’re always looking for something new to read, watch, see and interact with. The seemingly impenetrable social media experiences of a few years ago; MySpace for example, is a prime example of how fickle our love affairs can diminish with all things social. So it’s only natural to wonder: When do we begin to tire of our current online social sites, where will we turn next? Obviously, the big kid on the social media block these days is Facebook. Its 600 million users collectively spent more than 49 billion minutes on the social networking site in 2010. Those numbers are up nearly 80 percent from the previous year, according to comScore’s “The 2010 Digital Year in Review” report.   Social media mavens expect a similar spike this year. What’s interesting is that although Facebook is currently the most popular social media site, it only captures about 12.5 percent of the total social network page views. That means thousands of other sites are also competing to grab your attention.  Twitter alone claims to have 200-million account holders who generate 65-million tweets a day. So what’s the next big trend in social media marketing?  Will another giant emerge to challenge Facebook?  In the short-term, Facebook seems to have the resources to keep the wolves at bay, but well-financed competing platforms are making waves in the marketplace. Just a few months ago, a business that had a growing number of Twitter followers, a snazzy Facebook page and an engaging blog might be ahead of the curve in brand building and revenue generation.  Not anymore. Among the potential candidates for next big thing are: Bebo; described by some as “Facebook marries Twitter.” Delicious; if you’re all about what’s new to see on the web, this is the site for you. Eons.com; Where baby boomers come to connect, share information and more. Foursquare; Real “next big thing” potential here, as people move away from their computers and onto their cell phones. Focus.com; Think “Twitter for Business.” That pretty much sums it up. Friendster: Where gamers go to geek out. From there, the list grows exponentially, including many industry or hobby-specific sites. For example, there’s Epernicus (for research scientists), Raptr (for video gamers) and LibraryThing (for book lovers). The next big thing may actually start with a “Q” Of all the potential “new big kids” in the running, Quora.com has the greatest potential.  It’s an online community where anyone can post an open question or contribute an answer about anything.  Created in 2010 by two former Facebook execs, Quora has some serious brainpower and dollars behind it. In fact, Business Insider reports that rumors are flying around Silicon Valley that Quora has already thumbed its nose at a $1-billion acquisition offer.  How a business can use Quora to its advantage remains to be seen. Some industry insiders believe that only techies love the new site, but Quora gets the thumbs up from Google’s head of design, Irene Au, who praises its visual interface and content: “There’s a lot of really rich high quality content there. It’s one of my favorite sites to visit on a daily basis now,” Au says. As an entrepreneur, where do you find yourself visiting every day? What social media sites are proving to be the best fit for your business? Do you have the insight to predict what the next social media heavyweights will be?   No one knows for sure; but that doesn’t mean you can let social media trends take care of themselves. If you think you can slap together a web site, add a couple of icons from Facebook and Twitter and expect a flood of new business to follow – you have another think coming. Bottom line: No business can afford to operate without a strategic social marketing plan. That plan needs to be durable enough to adapt to the ever-changing preferences of your audience. If you don’t have the time or know-how to create that plan and implement it yourself, hire someone to help you. About Tony BTony B. is a Business Development Specialist for TheSEOAgency.com. If you need full service search marketing services please do not hesitate to contact the SEO Agency. You can also follow us on Twitter @theseoagencycom. Lets Hook Up

Google adds button to back search results, ads

Posted by vindy.com on 4/3/2011 SAN FRANCISCO Google Inc. likes how Facebook gets people to share their recommendations so much that it’s adding its own option for endorsing search results and online ads. The “+1” button announced last week represents the Internet search leader’s latest attempt to make it easier for its users to share their insights with their online contacts. Someone who wants to endorse a particular search term or an ad simply hits the +1 button. When people in that person’s Internet circle uses the same search term or sees the same ad, they’ll see the person’s endorsement next to it. The +1 button initially will begin appearing next to search results and ads for a relatively small number of Google users. Anyone who wants the +1 feature sooner can sign up at http://www.google.com/experimental. IDC sees smartphone market growing SAN FRANCISCO With more and more consumers and business users clamoring for smartphones, the global market for these handsets is slated to grow nearly 50 percent this year, research firm IDC said. IDC expects the market to grow 49.2 percent in 2011, with smartphone makers shipping more than 450 million smartphones, up from 303.4 million shipped in 2010. Growth last year was “exceptional,” helped by many people buying smart phones that they’d held off on buying in 2009 due to the shaky economy, IDC senior research analyst Kevin Restivo said in a statement. This year, growth will still be notable, but will taper off somewhat from last year, he said. As for which smartphone operating system will reign, Framingham, Mass.-based IDC thinks Google Inc.’s Android software will wrestle the lead from Nokia Corp.’s Symbian software. For 2011, IDC expects Android smartphones to make up 39.5 percent of the market, while smartphones running Symbian will account for 20.9 percent. Apple Inc.’s iPhone is expected to make up 15.7 percent of the market and Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry software are expected to make up 14.9 percent. Officials target apps for checkpoints DOVER, Del. The attorneys general for Delaware and Maryland have joined the call for companies to stop providing smartphone applications that let users know where drunken-driving checkpoints are. Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden and Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler said Monday they have sent letters to Google Inc. and Apple Inc., asking them to ban applications that can be downloaded onto the iPhone and Android phones. The request is similar to one made by four U.S. senators in March. That letter prompted Research In Motion, maker of Blackberry phones, to pull a similar application from its online store. Source: vindy.com Lets Hook Up