Join us in our process to revamp the marketing for Tropic Tours in St. Thomas, USVI.

Have you Not tried Flava Puff???

Flava Puff offers a variety of tasty snacks. Their story is one of a small start- up by two friends that started with packaging Cotton Candy to a company now offers, cotton candy, popcorn, cheese balls, oncion rings and more. They even offer a dog treat names “Buddy Luv” Treats. You may have see their  products can be find in some of the major convenience stores or sports venues.

They offer a few special programs that have proven to be very successufl. Their Private Label program provides companies the ability to sell their products under their own label. And their Fundraising program gives organizations or schools with a great way to raise funds.

The recently launched a shopping cart on their website that features variety of tasty snacks.

website: www.flavapuff.com

Phone:(888) 300-0024

Can Social Media Help Your Business???   That question continues to be debated in many business circles. To us, the answer is simple. YES.  Social Media can help your business. The reality is that the world has changed, and with that so has the way people communicate and make decisions.

The introduction of the World Wide Web provided users with the ability to educate themselves before making decisions.  Then came the birth of technology that allowed business to incorporate programs to sell products and  collect payments online on a secure platform.  This shift in business impacted the World in an incredible way that has still not yet reached its full potential.

Using the Travel Industry as an example, years ago you could find a travel agency on almost every block.  For most people nowadays  you have to search online plus be willing to drive a distance to find your nearest travel agency.  In order to survive, agencies had to embrace change or develop a strategy to continue to do business in a time where people are making reservations through online operators or suppliers directly.

Social Media now provides an additional resource in the decision process. Consumers are using these platforms to not only research products or services but, also to share information. Not sure what you think of a product? Post on Facebook and let others share their experience. So as a business, where do you fit in???

Our concept is simple, Social Media works for all industries and business big or small. If you do any kind of marketing, then Social Media can contribute to your efforts.  It’s just a matter of changing the way you approach marketing.

As far as social media being used for business, the reality is that people are doing business on social media very successfully. It’s a matter of creating a strategy that incorporates business with a social spin. Social media does not work for companies using the platforms just to sell products, however, building a network of people that are interested in that product is the key.  Social media helps develop brand loyalty and awareness as well as sales opportunities.

Here are some things to get your motors running:

Search Engine Optimization: Google, Bing and Yahoo have all seen the value for business on social media platforms.  This helps to explain why they have incorporated social into their search.  They would not incorporate these social signals if they did not see a value.  Having a strong social media presence accompanied by social engagement is now proving to be a big part of improving your organic Search.

Here’s a sample of what we call the Social Internet. Being in as many places as possible so that your business is integrated into multiple areas of search:

Word of Mouth: Whether your a B2B or B2C it is important for people to know that your product is available.  We believe that word of mouth has now gone social.  Why tell me about your greatest deal and hope that I verbally tell my friend? You can easily post it on my network where 1000′s of people can see it.  We can all agree that people do not communicate like they use to, but that is simply part of the technological era we live in and we can not change the movement. I use email, text, Facebook message, Google Plus message, etc… to engage with my friends and family. Why?  Because it’s easy and that’s the way they choose to communicate with me. I can either embrace the change or lose touch with them and the world. By the way, I speak to my parent on the phone every now and then, however, they enjoy being able to see real time pictures.

Pull vs. Push: Have you heard this term? Push Marketing is where companies are using tools like email, newspaper magazines and telemarketing to get their product in front of the consumer. Pull Marketing is when consumers decide when and how they want to get information on a specific product. Social Media is very much in the Pull marketing category. The delivery of your information goes to a network of people that have said yes, send me your information.  I use a vanity email for companies that ask for my email address an check that email about once a month.  Think I’m the only one?  I assure you this is the case with many databases being used.

Loyalty: Are you confident of your business or brand?  Followers and fans usually consist of people that have used or purchased your products or services.  Providing information and developing engagement gives your business a personality.  A good social media strategy can create a strong relationship and foundation that can be helpful when you need action.

Customer Service: The sharing aspect of social media has forced companies to be on their toes.  Consumers now have a voice where they can express their opinions in to thousands of people with a click of the mouse.  Avoiding social media will not stop consumers from sharing their thoughts about your business, there’s thousands of social media platforms where people are probably already talking about your business resulting in other people making buying decisions based on what people are saying about you. So why not be there to promote and protect your brand?

Our first social media client was very hesitant do to the fact that they were concerned about customers posting negative information about their products.  To their surprise, a quick search on Facebook found that there was a group created with over 100 followers praising their products.  These followers became the base of a very loyal network of people who appreciate the fact that now they are able to speak directly to the brand.

And it is very important to know that deleting negative comments is not always the right approach. If people are not happy with your product or services, then there’s obviously something wrong.  It’s important to acknowledge the problem and respond to the client to take the conversation off line.

In some cases, fans will do all the work for you. We have seen negative comments posted and within minutes, loyal fans came to the rescue and dismissed the comment.  Again, loyalty has it’s benefits.

As I mentioned earlier, every business can benefit from social media.  Here’s a great article on the topic “Should Every Business Invest in Social Media?”

We are always up to a challenge, are you stuck and can not figure out how to get started using Social Media? Let us know and we’ll get you started in the right direction….

After much anticipation, Facebook announced that they will be removing all tabs created with FBML coding. They have been talking about this for some time now. Although the exact date is not clear, it is going to happen and therefore important for businesses need to be prepared.

How will this affect you?

If your Facebook page was created using FBML, the original format used to develop Facebook pages, then they will no longer be visible to fans once Facebook implements the changes. In addition, any content and information stored on these pages will be lost.

I recently had the opportunity to do a presentation to a group of Travel Industry Professionals and I had one person stand up and firmly state: “I am not going to do business on Facebook. I refuse to participate in Social Media as I feel it’s changing how people communicate and that’s not how I want to run my business”. As I explained to the group, the participation in these social media programs is up to each business. It’s not mandatory, however, it is how people are communicating. If you choose not to participate, then you miss the opportunity to evolve and grow your business.

Why should my business have customized tabs?

Now that we have identified that this is where the “Fish are Biting”, we need to use some bait to keep them biting. It’s all about engagement. Whether visual or through conversation, the key is to get people’s attention and keep them interested. Having customized tabs provide you with the ability to visually engage fans. Whether it’s a hotel offering online booking on Facebook, fun online games, or simply cool videos and images for fans and visitors to browse. People will spend more time if there is something of interest. Think outside the box.

Facebook has introduced a new layout and effective March 30th, all pages will be changing to the new look. It’s important to understand the changes and prepare to take advantage of the new opportunities.

The format of Timeline for brands is quite similar to Timeline for personal profiles. It employs a cover photo at the top of the Page, and the Page is separated into two main columns by a dividing line, which represents the passage of time. This format provides brands with new options for self-expression: They can outline their corporate history with milestones (such as product launches, store openings, etc.) to construct a narrative for their audience.

The new format brings new opportunities to the development and customization of Facebook.

New Cover:

The new cover feature opens up an opportunity showcase your business with an 851px by 315px image. This is an ideal opportunity to further build your brand by bringing in key branding elements of your company.

Tab Visibility:

The new Timeline format does not have the left-side panel of links, which could include hundreds of different tabs. While applications still exist, they’ll display differently, in rectangular panels underneath the cover photo. The width of the Timeline and the space allocated for native apps like Photos means that only three tab panels are viewable at any given time. To see more, users must expand the tab panel by clicking a drop-down box.

• Brands will want to switch up which tabs are visible “above the fold,” according to current company objectives or project popularity.

Default Tab:

With the new Timeline Page format, you will no longer be able to set a default landing Page. This option was one of the primary ways to control the first (branded) impression a user encountered. Since there are no more tab Pages, there is no way to set one as a default. This will drastically change user impressions when they first visit a brand’s Timeline Page.

• You will need to apply new and careful attention to all the top messages in the Timeline, as they will be the first objects seen by visiting users.

Larger Canvas for Customizable Tabs:

The new Timeline layout displaces Facebook’s existing Page tab configuration (including a tab’s 520-pixel width), and replaces it with a new 810-pixel layout. As a result, existing Page tab content will look centered in the middle of the 810-pixel layout without any adjustments. All applications that remain on a brand’s Page will need new application icons (the new dimensions are 111×74).

• Updating the brands images and tab functionality of the above-fold two apps, will be essential. As these are the first tabs users will see, they will likely be the first to be interacted with, or entirely ignored if not optimized for the new experience.

New customizable tab page

Direct Messaging:

Brands will be able to send and receive private messages with users. This allows for much deeper consumer interaction, and will also enable Page managers to take extended customer inquiries off the Timeline and into a private message.

• Since the real estate allocated to each post depends on how engaging it is or how much interaction it has received, it can be easy to clutter your Timeline with customer inquiries. When these inquiries can be better serviced in a more one-on-one manner, reach out to the consumer with a private message and resolve her question. It’s a good opportunity to yield both a happy user and a clean Timeline.

Pinned Posts:

One major new feature is the ability to “pin” certain posts to the top of the Timeline. Similar to marking a blog post “sticky,” so that it remains at the top of a blog for a specified period of time, pinning a post to the top of Timeline allows it to precede any other content. A pinned post is distinguished by a small, orange flag. Brands can pin only one item at a time, and the pinned item then exists in two locations — as the top item on the Timeline itself, as well as within its chronological place. Once unpinned (which happens automatically when a new item gets pinned, or the item has been pinned for more than seven days), the post remains in the chronology of Timeline posts, but there is no visual history that it was pinned in the past.

• Since you can no longer create a default landing Page, pinning items to the top of the Timeline will become the go-to strategy for highlighting new and interesting content.

These changes provide new opportunities. Think outside the box and maximize the opportunity by creating a strong Facebook strategy. Create and rotate new apps for engagement, pin relevant and timely content, and update the feed with user-friendly dialogues to stay relevant in this new space.

Contact us today to prepare your pages for the upcoming layout.

Whether you are hosting a birthday, wedding or business event the goal is to create the wow factor. Make your guests remember the event and share the experience with others. How do you get feedback or share the experience with others that were not there?

The reality is that mot of the giveaways provided at events are usually thrown away or put away. The key questions are:

- Did everyone enjoy the event?

- Will guests remember the message?

- Will the branding continue past the event?

PhotoMingle answers these questions with an innovative program that creates real time engagement with viral capabilities. Guests will be entertained with a touch screen that allows them to interact like never before.

If you are looking to increase guest engagement, then PhotoMingle is what you are looking for. Together with a Social Media Marketing strategy this program will drive traffic to your Social Media Channels which will result in viral distribution. As we all know, people enjoy sharing pictures. And this product delivers in many ways.

Visit PhotoMingle’s site to learn more and let us know how we can help you maximize your efforts for a truly memorable event.

How it all has changed

This day in age hearing the term social networking is nothing new. We are all aware of the tremendous strides social networks such as Facebook, Youtube & Twitter have created for the world in itself. It has quintessentially changed the Internet for the better and created what we thought the world wide web was into what the world wide web is, a network of interlinking content at a centralized point of return. Essentially, it cause’s your social network to be the source of pertinent and relevant news on a daily basis. Whether that news be about a family member or the birth of a famous actresses baby, chances are if your on a social network such as Facebook or Twitter somebody, somewhere is talking about what’s happening in the world.

Your friends are my friends  

Facebook as of today has a little over 800 million active users. And of these users on Facebook chances are they come into your store or website on a regular basis and enjoy the products you sell. Facebook is a great retention tool, to keep customers up to date with what your doing with your company, such as renovations, promotions, specials, discounts or just to say hello. The beauty of Facebook for your company is you are creating a network of reachable customers who already like your product enough to want to be a part of your network. So like the very popular Verizon wireless commercials with hundreds of people behind the main actor, those are your people and your message is sent to them as soon as you choose to talk to them. Being social isn’t hard it’s just the messaging we choose to send out that can be difficult for some.

Do you want to constantly send out the same repeated message of “BUY HERE!! BUY NOW!!!” and expect a return from your social networks when you don’t engage well with your network?

Self Promotion is the Best Promotion

In marketing you have to maintain the belief that self promotion is the best promotion, A simple yet not so radical idea. YouTube is a world wide phenomenon that has changed the way we view media and entertainment for ages to come. They have created a simple and very unique concept we can all appreciate in their motto alone “Broadcast Yourself”. By having a social network as unique as YouTube under your company’s belt your opening the doors to video marketing and creating self made commercials for the world to see. Never before were there such open avenues to get your products seen or heard about using the Internet in this capacity. By thinking outside the box and utilizing your current resources, such as current employees you can essentially form a group of participants for a video you would want to put together to promote your company. You would find that most people enjoy being creative and sharing their creative insights, especially if they will be receiving recognition for their work. Make it fun and make it interesting and im more then positive you will receive great feedback and willing participants.

The people search engine

Twitter is unique social network yet its really micro-blogging in real time. It’s far from a Facebook and its no YouTube, It only allows you to post short, quick 140 character messages to your followers or anyone who is searching for what your talking about. It allows you to group specific words by adding hashtag’s (#) to find your tweets later on all in one place. But twitter isn’t just amazing because you can find all your relevant messages in one place, its amazing because its like a real time search engine for new and prospective customers.

Imagine a chiropractor doing a search on Twitter for someone talking about “Back Pains”…
If you look at the example below, you will see messages from a number of people with back pains in the Miami area.

Gold to a gold miner is in the mines that he digs, while gold to a business looking to expand into social media is in the quality of its clients and as far as it’s messages reach.Twitter can help in the acquisition of new customers while finding loyal ones who were there all along, waiting for your services and just a conversation at times. Having this ability to directly interact with potential or current customers gives you the advantage, like grabbing the social bull by the horns. Instead of waiting for you customers to find you and reach out to you, you reach out to them in their time of need or just at the perfect time of that interest.Twitter is also an amazing tool to use to help achieve visibility on a product, video or website. By using Twitter to push your website links, YouTube videos or Facebook page fan growth, your potential at using this people network will expand your online visibilityexponentially.The Social Flow

 

The Problem  & The Social Internet Marketing Solution  The problem most company’s have is finding a personality to fit their company’s online presence, and this can prove to be difficult for some but easy for others. Being social isn’t easy, especially when the voice you are defining is that of your company’s, But this, shouldn’t be a deterrent. Remember you are a unique content hub for your clients and current and future fan base, you provide the content flow that gets channeled through your feeds. If you chose to provide sports updates to your fans, that would be perfectly fine, even if your company didn’t sell those products. The reason this is a valuable concept is because your clients,customers and fans are interested in more then one thing, they enjoy many things!! And in order to promote engagement on your pages and have people talking about your product, its beneficial to filter engaging topics through your feed to have your page more active and recognizable.

Have you seen the new Facebook Timeline?

Facebook introduced a new layout that allows for friends to follow your activities based on a timeline. Users can adjust the timeline to include the information they want to include. The new timeline offers new features that can be very beneficial to your business if implemented with a strategy in mind.

FB Timeline sample

Now how can you use this to promote your business?

As with any online opportunity, being creative is key to maximize your marketing efforts. The new timeline offers a new cover photo that is 850×315. You can take advantage of the space by creating an image that includes your message and visuals.

it is important to understand that you should be using your profile page to promote your business. Many people get caught up in not using their profile page to market their business. We say, why not? As with any business, your friends and family are the first set of people you should go to as they will be more include to support your business and help spread the word.

Marketing Time Line

Although the Timeline Layout is not yet available for brand pages, it would seem to be a very good option for businesses looking to extend their branding. Visually appealing, it can be a game changer.

Are you or your business staying away from Social Media? 

I recently came across a business that said that they did not think it was a good strategy for their business to engage people using Social Media. Their main concern was with the potential of negative comments posted on their pages by customers of their product.

As we did a simple search, we found that there was a Group create on Facebook for their product with over 80 members. All the conversations on the page were positive and informative.

Here are some key points to take into consideration:

Millions of conversations take place every day on Social Media platforms like Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and YouTube. As the new source of engaging interactive media, consumers are realizing that these are great platforms to express their like and dislikes. People now have a real time voice that can affect a business or product.

Negative comments: It’s important to hear what your customers think about your product or services. Providing them with the ability to share their experiences can build a loyal relationship. Negative comments are a great opportunity to show fans that their opinions matter. Turn a negative into a positive by providing solutions for concerns or frustrations. Use these as opportunities to make changes that can increase sales and revenues for your business. If enough fans feel the same way about a product or services, it’s obvious that there needs to be a change.

In some cases, there are negative posts that do not warrant a response. Some people do use these platforms as an avenue to create harm. That is why it is important to take control and provide true fans with the official page for your business. In a case like this, you can remove any comment with a click of the mouse.

I have had some interesting situations happen with some clients where other fans came in defense in the company.

Positive Comments: Reward positive comments with a response. If someone compliments your product or services, respond with a comment to show appreciation or to engage in a conversation. This is very important to build costumer loyalty and personality for your brand. A simple thank you can go a long way.

Viral Distribution is described by Wikipedia as follows:

Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses or computer viruses. It can be delivered by word of mouth or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet.[1] Viral marketing may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or text messages.

In simple terms: Viral distribution is the sharing of content from user to user. As information is shared throughout the social media platforms, the more eyeballs there will be on that content. Creating conversations on these posts increase the visibility and increase the potential for additional people to join the conversation.

Companies like Samepoint offer users the ability to search throughout the major Social Media Platforms to see what users are talking about your business.

Samepoint Reputation Management Search Engine

Bottom line is that there is a good chance that there has been a mention of your business in a conversation using Social Media. Take control and use these platforms as tools to maximize your marketing.