We’ve noticed that the use of Social Media has gone up considerably in the Philadelphia area, but some companies are still reluctant to jump on the bandwagon.

Here are a few reasons why you should get your company on Social Media:

1. Your customers are talking about you. Shouldn’t you be part of the conversation?
2. Your customers are interacting on these networks. Why not provide them with some intensives to “Like” your Facebook page or follow your Twitter account?
3. Your competitors are on Social Media. Your customers are seeing their message. Where’s yours?

As you can see there are many reasons to get on Social Media. One of the biggest objections, we’ve seen in the Philadelphia area, is the lack of time. If you can set aside three 15 minute chunks of time everyday to interact on Social Media in some way, you’re golden.

Finally, the next biggest fear we’re told by our clients is that they don’t know what to say. This is easy. Interact. Share your knowledge, be accessible, help solve people’s problems.

If you have a business that needs help tackling the world of Social Media. Give us a call today at 215-352-5216.

More companies are embracing sites such as Foursquare, Google Places, Facebook, Twitter, among others to get to reach out to current and potential clients.

Many of these companies are offering deals to those people who engage them on Social Media.

Whether is through a Facebook page or blog contest, a Foursquare check-in give-a-way or any number of different awards, people in Philadelphia, like in most other metropolitan areas are using Social Media to enhance their lives.

What Can My Company Do To Engage These People?

That answer is simpler than it looks — embrace Social Media. Use it to connect, communicate and interact with your client-base.

But I don’t have time to be playing on Twitter and other such services.

There is always time for marketing. It’s about balancing your time effectively.

But how?

This is where Goldstein Media can help. We work without clients to help them interact and connect more effectively with their clients. We show them how to fit Social Media into the day without having it take over your life and take away from something else important.

We use our philosophy of Cross-Pollination to help get our clients’ messages out and help make Social Media more doable.

Give us a call today (215) 352-5216 and we’ll show you how to get the most out of Social Media.

The all day conference (7:30am to 5:30pm) will focus on all aspects of Social Media and Social Networking.

“We’re really glad to support Chuck Hall and we think Doylestown is a great place to hold such a fantastic conference,” Seth Goldstein, Creative Director of Goldstein Media LLC said. “Bucks County is an up-in-coming Technology center and it’s great to see such great support from Philadelphia and the surrounding areas for this event. I think business owners have to be crazy to not attend. There is going to be so much information and networking to be had.”

More details can be found on the conference’s Website and tickets can also be purchased there as well.

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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about Social Media and the importance of having a home base which is fully in your control and all your own.

Sites like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Linkedin are all great and have amazing value. They shouldn’t be ignored, but they also shouldn’t be the only place where you cultivate content and audience.

Your Website and blog should be your main spot for posting content and growing a following, a readership and a reputation as a thought leader.

The idea of having a home base is rather simple. You have no control over Social Media sites. They can take your profile and content down when ever they want. They own the platform and have all the control. If you first post on your blog and link to it from your Social Media outposts you remain in control of that content.

Darren Rowse of Problogger has a great video explaining how he uses Social Media. It is very similar to how I use it as well.

So what do you think? Do you have a blog where your putting all of your original content before sending out to the outposts? If not, you might want to think about setting one up. If you would like to learn more about how Goldstein Media can help you with your Social Media plan, including setting up a home base for all your content, give us a call today at (215) 352-5216.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Post them below in the comments.

In this article, the author points out some very valuable information that I think is important to keep in mind.

The blurred line between social and mobile may be obvious in the case of mobile social networks like Foursquare and Gowalla, but the line applies to social networks with more reach as well.

Consider the following stats about mobile usage from networks that are likely part of your social budget, but may not have been accounted for in mobile:

• 50% of active users make mobile a regular part of their Twitter experience (Twitter CEO Dick Costolo)
• 200 million of Facebook’s 600 million subscribers access Facebook through their mobile device (Facebook CTO Bret Taylor)
• Mobile is Facebook’s top priority in 2011 (Bret Taylor)
• [Groupon has] seen significant growth in the last six months in terms of percentage of users who redeem from mobile. (Groupon VP/GM of Mobile, Mihir Shah)
• YouTube now exceeds 200 million views a day on mobile, a 3x increase in 2010. (YouTube)
• [Facebook mobile users] are more than twice as active as people who use Facebook just on a desktop computer (Bret Taylor)
• 30% of smartphone owners have accessed social networks via browser (comScore)
• Moms are active in mobile social: in terms of demographics, most mobile social network users are female, with the most active age group being 35-54 (Nielsen)

In other words, if you’re running a social media campaign in Facebook or Twitter, it’s very likely that your target is viewing it on a mobile device.

If your target is a Facebook user, it’s likely they’re engaging with your brand twice as much on a mobile device as they would be on a desktop computer.

If your business is doing a Groupon, it’s also likely that a growing number of your customers will never print out the Groupon, but redeem it at the local business with their smartphone.

If you consider yourself a video SEO or video marketer and are actively engaging your target audience in YouTube, your target audience is likely being engaged on their mobile device.

The author is totally correct. By concentrating on Social Media, you are indeed reaching a mobile market. Now this doesn’t mean that you can neglect getting your Website optimized for mobile, but it should help you decide where to put your money first.

Goldstein Media is a full service Web Design and Internet Marketing agency based in the suburbs of Philadelphia. If you have any questions about how we can help you develop both a mobile marketing strategy and a Social Media plan, please give us a call today at 215-352-5216.

I totally understand that having the time to engage on the many channels of Social Media is tough, but if done right Social Media works. Just like almost any other method of advertising, Social Media takes time and effort to succeed. It’s not something that you can just sit back and let it take hold.

Social Media takes time, I’m going to say that straight away. There is no way around it. You have to put in time to get out results.

If you run a store or a business do you ignore your customers? Yes, I just asked that. When a customer comes into your store or gives you a call do you ignore them?

I hope you’re said NO.

Now apply that to Social Media. Sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube and even your blog are great places where your clients and customers can connect with your brand. They can learn more about what your company does and what it produces. They have a real honest conversation with the people who create the products and services they love — YOU.

This interaction is PRICELESS and will reward you and your company many times over. But there is one downside… IT TAKES TIME.

As I said before, you take time to answer your phone and help customers in your store, which takes time. This is just another communication channel to allow interaction and foster a sense of worth among your clientele.

Here are some tips for you to get past the time issue in Social Media:

• Allot a specified amount of time a day or week to engage on Social Media.
• Make sure you respond to any messages, DMs, replies etc. that you get, as fast as you can.
• If you’re blogging, which you absolutely should be, blog in advance (if possible) and schedule out your posts to publish at specific times over the course of a month.
• Schedule, Schedule, Schedule. Don’t go into Social Media without a plan of how and when you’re going to use it.
• If all else fails, hire an intern or a recent graduate from college to help you with your Social Media. Please make sure you train them on your policies et al.
• Hire a firm, like Goldstein Media, to help formulate and guide you through your adventures in Social Media

I hope this post has helped you realize that Social Media is a MUST and is completely attainable if done right, even for the busiest executive.

I want to hear what you think. Post your thoughts in the comments below!

Now most people won’t argue that Zuckerberg has been extremely influential in the world of technology and the Internet, but I would argue he’s made much more of an impact this year to everyone.

Facebook, this year, has seen an influx of everyone and their Grandmother signing up on the service to connect with each other. The “Social Network”  has become no just a social networking site but an ecosystem for interaction and, dare I say it, trade.

Yes, trade. Facebook users, all 500+ million of them, have made the service an economic marketplace where advertisers and merchants alike advertising to the users in mass.

Facebook has an amazing pay-per-click system that allows a company to drill down their ads to appear to a specific demographic. This is unlike any other system, due mainly to the sheer number of users who share their vital statistics with Facebook.

When most people think advertisements they cringe. Ads are often the scourge of any area that they’re in. But honestly, I think the ads on Facebook aren’t bad at all. This is because of the advanced targeting that can be done of the 500+ million users on the service. The ads served are much more relevant to the user who is seeing them, making them more acceptable and even useful to the individual user.

If you’re a company that relies on a specific user base for revenue and growth, ignoring this giant is a fatal mistake. Facebook is a great place for not only B2C companies but B2B as well. It doesn’t need to be all that expensive. There are many strategies that can be employed to get the most out of Facebook, without breaking the bank.

If you see the writing on the wall, but are unsure of how to get your company started on Facebook, give us a call, (215) 352-5216, or fill out the form. We can help.

The answer is simple. Your business needs to consider Social Media as an extension of their brand. You need to be aware of what people are saying and be able to deal with the bad quick and easily.

Social Media is here to stay. People of all ages are using it. From tweens and teens to the middle aged and the golden oldies. They are all learning the connecting power of this new communication medium.

If any of them have a bad experience, you better believe they’re going to share that experience online with not only their friends but the world. If you are not listening you’re only making the situation worse. By addressing the issues as soon as you see or learn about them, you’re making it easier to turn an hater into a loyal customer.

HP, Dell, most recently GAP, and a number of other companies are using Social Media not only for brand awareness but also customer service and retention. The companies, especially Dell, have learned the hard way that Social Media and their customers’ negative  perception needs to be address in a timely manner or else the situation will spiral out of control and create even more damage.

So what’s the moral of the story? You need to pay attention and utilize Social Media for you business. If you don’t your business might and probably will suffer.

Going Viral to Entice the Unaffiliated Young – Jewish Exponent July 22 2010

This screencast is to show you how to use the new privacy settings.