Filed under: Tweetup
So, if you haven’t heard, we’re helping LoneRider Brewing Company host a tweetup at their brewery on April 13th. (Don’t have a ticket yet? Grab one quick — there are only two left!)
Contest details
To add to the fun, we’re having a contest leading up to the event. Here’s how you can enter:
- Decide which LoneRider outlaw you identify with most
- Make a 12seconds.tv video or post a TwitPic answering the question, “What LoneRider beer are you?”
- Tweet out your video or photo with the hashtag #imanoutlaw
- Come to the tweetup to see if you’ve won!
Not sure what to do for your video or photo? For an example, see mine here. You don’t have to do what I did — do whatever your muse (a few LoneRider beers, obviously) leads you to. You can share why the beer you chose is your favorite, tell why you identify with that outlaw, get into character or whatever you think up.
What you really want to know: Prizes!
At the tweetup, we’ll announce two contest winners: one for TwitPic and one for video. Each winner will receive a growler of their choice of LoneRider beer as well as an iPod. The video winner will get an iPod touch and the photo winner will receive an iPod shuffle.
So, what are you waiting for? Impress us with your outlaw persona and maybe win some beer and an iPod!
Filed under: Tweetup
It’s only a few weeks away, and if you’re anything like me, you’re already getting pumped for the LoneRider Tweetup. As mentioned on the event page, we’ll be drinking/tweeting up and chowing down on BBQ. Plus, our friends at F8 Photo Studios will be there with their photobooth so you can jump in and document your outlaw experience.
As we get ready for the event, here are a few ways you might want to prepare:
- Lock down your ticket. There are only 34 left, and they’re required for entry.
- Turn 21. Yes, LoneRider’s all about outlaws…but let’s keep it legal, folks. IDs will be checked at the door.
- Buy some LoneRider beer. You can pick up six-packs at the brewery, or stop by local Harris Teeters, Whole Foods or Taylor’s BP on Six Forks. This will help you choose which one’s your favorite, so you can:
- Enter the contest. Which LoneRider outlaw are you: Shotgun Betty, DeadEye Jack, Sweet Josie or Peacemaker? Tell us through a photo or 12seconds video and be entered to win prizes, including the LoneRider growler of your choice. More details here.
- Practice your DJ skillz. We’ll be crowdsourcing music at the event via Blip.fm and letting you choose what songs you want to hear.
- Designate a driver. If you plan to have more than a couple beers, consider carpooling with someone who’s sticking to one. Being an outlaw’s more fun when you don’t actually get pinched by the law.
I’ll be posting my outlaw video soon (as will the rest o’ the gang here at Click Optimize – right guys?). Excited to see which outlaws you choose!
Filed under: Social Media
Every community has them. The tried and true business owners who have weathered countless economic disasters, rattle their sabers to “Keep It Local” and eschew big brands with little personality, quirks or passion for the areas they inhabit. The David vs. Goliath of the 2.5 era can be fought with weapons that level the playing field and help local businesses exploit their largest advantages over mammoth competitors.
Living large but staying small.
Off the map and into the niche.
Create, innovate and dominate.
Authenticity comes naturally.
Love conquers all.
Living large but staying small. The thing I love about Internet marketing for small businesses is that it allows you to beam your message to multiple locations 24/7 at a minimal price. As a small local business you don’t have an army of sales people or a legion of marketing folks telling your story. Your Internet marketing can take on this challenge if you leverage it correctly. While having a quality website that is properly optimized is important, your social media channel can add another dimension. Social media is about adding personality and a sense of humanity to your brand. The customers you interact with might assign traits to your company like funny, smart or adventurous. Social media helps tell this story online by allowing you to share this experience through vehicles like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Another nice thing to note is that most of the best social media sites are completely free. You just need to roll up your sleeves and apply the elbow grease to see the results. Organic growth tends to tie in very neatly with most small businesses plans for expansion and that is the very essence of social media. Speak “small” and carry a big digital footprint. (My apologies to Theodore Roosevelt for turning his quote inside out.)
Off the map and into the niche. While major social media juggernauts like Facebook and Twitter are all the rage these days there are other really valuable communities you can address that will set you apart from the Big Box stores. Your local blogging community will likely turn up its nose at most corporate marketing but might be willing to partner with your company to promote a neat event. Get to know them and they can serve as brand evangelists helping to spread your message to a very targeted and attractive audience. There’s also an entire nether world of forums that you can delve into that are perfect for you to participate in. Become the local expert that folks suggest online. There’s even an opportunity for a very cost-effective ad spend on display advertising via forums. The cost per impression will likely be very low and if the forum is city/state/region specific the audience you’ll be reaching will fit your needs perfectly. Go off the map and into the places only locals tread online.
Create, innovate and dominate. Small businesses are more nimble than their hulking counterparts. You can institute a social media plan in a week whereas it might take cutting through a lot of red tape and hand wringing for a big corporation to do the same. You’ve got access to the decision-makers directly within your company or you can just make the call yourself. If you purchase a cheap camcorder device like a Flip you can shoot and upload videos about your business weekly or even daily. Why not highlight your favorite customers, your staff talking about their area of expertise or just something unique that only happens in your office/store. If you create things of value online your customers will love you for it.
Authenticity comes naturally. Large amounts of virtual ink has been utilized talking about why big brands should “keep it real” online. One thing small businesses tend to do well is to just be themselves. The lack of rigid hierarchy and TPS reports tends to favor local businesses when it comes to social media. It comes naturally because you’re intimately involved with the day-to-day operations of your business, your customers and all the minutiae that makes up your brand. In online social networks people like to know that they’re talking to a real person even when the person represents a company. Just being yourself can give you a leg up on your larger competitors.
Love conquers all. Now, I’m not suggesting we all hug each other and break out an acoustic guitar but your passion for your business is an advantage that can be conveyed vividly through social media. A short video on 12seconds.tv featuring a tip from you, a thoughtful blog entry about the future of your industry or an audio podcast of your staff hosting a round-table discussion on how to receive the best service possible can go a long ways with prospects and current customers. If you love your business and articulate that passion by developing an online conversation with your customers, you’ll stand out against the “Big Boys.”
Go local and keep those dollars in your community everyone! Tell the story of how your small/local brand used social media to compete against bigger rivals in the comments section.
Filed under: Web Video
12seconds is a great place to create video status updates online. You create videos through your webcam or your mobile phone’s video input. With 12 seconds to say your piece you’ve got to be quick and creative. Sounds limiting? That’s what they said about Twitter. Your brand can gain a lot by setting up an account.
1. 12seconds has wisely tied their service directly into Twitter. Your video updates can go directly to your Followers without creating an extra link. Services like TwitPic and 12seconds are the sort of difference-makers that can help add depth and personality to your account. Text-only is so 2008!
2. 12seconds integrates as smooth as silk with Tweetdeck. You can watch your friends’ videos directly inside this Adobe Air application, record new videos to share and even retweet your favorite video updates.
3. Celebrities often herald the masses when it comes to emerging technologies. Check out the bump that Ashton Kutcher just gave to Twitter. We’ve got Shaq in our corner. His first update has already received 12,000+ views in its first day on the site. Don’t be surprised if the site’s membership sees a huge increase in the next few months.
4. With a new social media platform there’s a chance to establish thought-leadership prior to the rest of the crowd showing up. With a little ingenuity and imagination you could be the Gary V of 12seconds and have the first case study of video status update success written about you.
5. Often in these embryonic stages there is less competition for viewer’s attention. On Facebook you’re competing with millions of other companies to the stimulate the rods and cones of the 400 million eyeballs (200 million users X2) on there. With 12seconds if you create something quirky or of value there’s a high probability that you’ll find your video in the Featured section or in the Popular section of the site.
6. Whoa! I forgot one of the best things that 12seconds just rolled out. They now offer the option to throw a link to something you want to promote like a product release, event or new service offering in with your video. Give your elevator pitch with a 12omercial!
7. There are some really useful features built in to help you interact with your customers and prospects in a meaningful way. You can react to other users creations with videos, props via the “bump” feature or just plain old text comments. If users like it when someone just sends them 140 characters imagine how they’d feel if a rep from your company sent them a fun little video? Higher Level Interaction = More Trust.
8. You can embed your best video to your site. This ability can spice up the social media savvy of your main corporate site. It’s all about buying into this channel and throwing up a flag that you’re committed to it. Users respect that and will show you love for it.
9. Everyone’s boss loves metrics. 12seconds feels your pain and gives you stats on your impressions, views, embeds, mobile views, downloads, RSS feeds and retweets/mentions. All that would look good on an ascending chart in a PowerPoint presentation, right?
10. It’s about the meta-data. 12seconds allows you to add both tags and your location to each video. One can anticipate further integration that would add a more in-depth location-based element to the service in the future similar to BrightKite. These extra details make your entries more search-friendly and create deeper connections with your audience. This location-based element would be particularly important if you’re a local business or a retail with brick & mortar locations.
11. Did you know that worldwide more people own cells than computers? Estimates have the figure at over 4 billion. Wow. Is your brand ready to go global? A service like 12seconds helps you to not only be everywhere but to have fans creating videos everywhere. The more mobile devices with video technology and better video support we have the more media that will be consumed and created on them. Why not corner that market now?
12. Seeing is believing. Check out our channel to see the last reason. http://12seconds.tv/channel/ClickOptimize
Posted on April 7th, 2010 by Hannah
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