The Case for Social Media

I’m grateful to be included along with some of the best social media innovators in the Twin Cities in the July 2010 issue on Minnesota Business Magazine! This was a unique article as all of the interviewees were interviewed by Editor Drew Wood (@MnBizMag) via Twitter.  Here is a brief bit of the article and a link to read the rest of it on the Minnesota Business Magazine website. Enjoy!

Social media is a valuable, oft-misunderstood business tool that will demand your attention sooner or later. So whether you’re a novice looking to learn, an “expert” seeking more, or a bonafide skeptic, here’s a comprehensive look at the brand-changing medium and how it can redefine your company.

A Case Study in Colossal Failure and Moderate Redemption

According to Greenpeace, Nestle has been less than ethical lately. It turns out that the company known for its wholesome cookies has allegedly been using unsustainably harvested palm oil, which has been documented to lead to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and endangered species loss. Not a good thing to do, especially when Greenpeace is watching–and they always seem to be watching.

And in true Greenpeace form, they launched into a full-on, make-a-public-example-out-of-you assailment of Nestle in the most grassroots form possible: the Internet.

But before I go any further into the story, and the true failure and subsequent redemption of Nestle–no, I am not here to pass judgment on their supposed use of illicit palm oil–I should probably tell you how I know all of this. Because it’s not so much a first-hand, I’m following Nestle in the news sort of knowledge–I’m not–but the knowledge I’ve gleaned from looking at the repercussions via social media, specifically Twitter.

Now, although I did talk to a good amount of local social media thought leaders from all walks of business and communications for this story–whom you will hear from shortly–and have thus become somewhat elevated in the ways of social media by osmosis, I’m no social media expert. But that doesn’t mean I can’t tell you how Nestle’s story makes it to me, with nary a published piece to do with it.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Twitter Basics for Business – Practical Applications for Impractical Tools

By popular demand, we have been asked to conduct small group training sessions on Twitter for Business.  We’re glad to announce our first class will take place Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 here in Minneapolis. Read on for more details:

Have you checked out Twitter and just can’t figure it out?

Are you looking to use Twitter, one of the fastest growing online communications platforms in recent history, to engage with your audience for tasks like: Sales, Promotion, Customer Service, Market Research, Customer Loyalty, Online Reputation Management, and establishing thought leadership?

 Are you frustrated by Social Media Boot Camps that don’t actually show you how to get started?

 Then this class is for you.

 Join us in a small group setting to learn the basics of Twitter for business and getting started on Twitter.  You can bring your laptop and you will be taught the basics.

 We’ll cover:

1. Setting up an account
2. Building an optimized profile
3. Discuss background graphics and profile pictures
4. The initiation of building followers
5. Rules of interaction
6. Including links
7. Tracking and monitoring conversations
8. Additional tools and time saving tricks

 After covering the basics we’ll cover basic business strategies that Twitter can help to optimize in your business.

 The cost to attend this class is $100.00.  This class is on a first come, first serve basis, and more classes will be opened up after each one fills.  If you’d like to reserve an entire class for six for your company, the cost is reduced to $75.00 per person.

We’ll meet in the Training Center at the offices of The Bailey Consulting Group, 4800 Olson Memorial Hwy., Suite 225, Minneapolis, MN 55422

Please click or visit here: www.twitter4business.eventbrite.com to register as seat are very limited!

Please bring a laptop that is wifi capable.  If you don’t have a laptop, and would still like to attend, please let us know and we can supply (1) one laptop per class to someone that doesn’t have one.

We’ll be getting together over the lunch hour for some power training.  You can bring your laptop and implement these tactics immediately. We’ll supply a few munchies! 

 

About your Trainer:

Christopher Lower has over 17 years of marketing, PR, and strategic consulting. He has 10 years of focus on emerging web technologies and their use in marketing – Blogs, Podcasts, Viral Campaigns, Social Media (Linkedin, Twitter, etc.), Wikis, Webinars, RSS, and Mobile Technology Solutions.

Sterling Cross is behind the social media campaigns for such companies as moto-i, Augeo Insurance Benefits, Baja Sol Restaurants, The Minnesota Restaurant Association, THe MN Lodging Association, The MN Resort & Campground Association, The Bailey Group, & The Dominium Group. Their work on moto-i was included in the book “Twitter Means Business” by Julio Ojeda Zapata.

Chris is also a speaker and has frequently published articles on Social Media Topics.