If you’ve enjoyed our posts on this blog, you may want to follow us at the Creative Concepts blog — home to the organizers of the Business Smart Tools Conference.  We’ll still update this blog with new information on social media for business, but our new “home base” allows us to talk about larger issues facing the social media industry today — including content creation, legality, licensing and distribution.

As always, you can follow us on Twitter too — both Business Smart Tools and Creative Concepts!

It’s barely been a day since the 2009 Business Smart Tools conference wrapped, but the event was a tremendous success!  Thanks to everyone who attended, as well as all of our speakers AND the tireless team at Creative Concepts, who organized and managed the entire event.  We covered a lot of ground at this year’s event — from “when your company is READY for social media” to “how you adapt to negative feedback,” and everything in-between.

Some key points from our speakers:

*  John C. Havens highlighted the ways some companies have benefited from social media engagement — as well as the ways people who have negative experiences with your brand can potentially damage your company’s reputation.  But instead of fearing that possibility, companies should embrace it as an opportunity to address concerns and improve flaws.

*  Cindi Bigelow discussed the ups and downs associated with her handling of the Don Imus issue a few years ago, and how her interaction with supporters and detractors on all sides of the issue — including CNN — helped shape her appreciation of transparency in social media.

*  Tom Guarriello, David Vinjamuri and Albert Maruggi suggested that the real issue companies should be addressing isn’t whether social media is right for their company — it’s whether or not the company’s mindset is ready for social media.

* Greg Kirk of Pitney Bowes explained that social media can change the public’s perception of a company, even without that company’s name or logo being front and center. (As Gregg says, “that’s kind of the point.”)

*  Both Pepsi and Ford now consider themselves “media companies.”  (Which, in other words, means EVERYONE is a media company — so think like one.)

*  Ford’s Scott Monty debunked the corporate fear that a company’s own employees might “misuse” social media to damage their brand: “If you don’t trust your employees, why did you hire them in the first place?”

We videotaped most of the day’s sessions, and we’ll be uploading excerpts from those talks throughout the coming weeks.  Plus, we’ll still be addressing any ongoing questions, concerns and opportunities surrounding social media + business.  This year’s conference may be over, but the conversation is just beginning!

(If you missed the event, search our Twitter hashtag — #busconf — or see all the fabulous photos on Flickr!  And if you’re not already following us on Twitter, join in!)

John C Havens of BlogTalkRadio and Speaker at the Business Smart Tools Conference interviews Valorie Luther about the Business Smart Tools conference and social media at large!

For years now, companies from Dell to Comcast to Tide have weathered negative PR that stems from negative customer experiences. But when those customers use social media tools like blogs, Facebook and Twitter to spread their frustration, the resultant backlash can even stun a stable brand like Motrin or, most recently, Dominos. Even web-centric companies like Amazon or GoDaddy can get tripped up by the speed of web gossip.

By the time most of these brands recognize the problem and mount a solution, the damage has already eroded their credibility, and they have to spend precious time rebuilding a level of consumer trust that they’d previously taken for granted. But having a social media presence and engaging your audience on a regular basis can help limit (or at least contain) the effects of a negative PR event because your company will already be in the water, where the accident happened, rather than having to swim out from shore.

As for the overarching effects of these PR disasters, two truths should now be obvious:

* Life on the internet moves fast, and
* Trust is never something you can take for granted

To learn more about using social media in your business, check out our Business Smart Tools Conference on May 5th!

Image by pixelcore.

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Albert and Valorie take some time out for the Marketing Edge Podcast.  Learn more about the Business Smart Tools Conference and join in the conversation that has begun here and will continue on May 5^th. To register, go here.

This past weekend, Chris Brogan started a great discussion on his blog about the latest video for Bigelow Tea (which was produced by Business Smart Tools’ parent company, Creative Concepts). The video features Cindi Bigelow talking tea with complete strangers in New York City — some of whom have never even heard of Bigelow before, despite it being one of the top-selling teas in the city.

The comments on Chris’s blog reinforced a lot of the reasons that Bigelow thought the video was a good idea in the first place:

* It provides the company with a public face and personality
* It lets Cindi share the history of her family-owned company
* It presents the “good” and “bad” of being recognized (or not)

But despite all the positives, some potential drawbacks were mentioned as well — particularly by fellow blogger Nalts, who points out the difficulties of:

* interesting casual viewers in a business-branded video
* promoting something without a YouTube “star” attached
* navigating the attention spans and entertainment needs of a casual audience

And guess what? All of these comments are what made producing the video worthwhile, because:

* Cindi was able to connect directly with people on the streets of New York
* The Bigelow brand developed newly-interested followers online
* The company received creative suggestions on what did (or didn’t) work for various viewers

But, most importantly, the video got people talking about tea (and Bigelow Tea in particular). And that’s the primary goal of any social media marketing: to generate new discussion about a brand. Because people can’t buy your product if they don’t know it exists.

You can hear more about Bigelow’s approach to social media when Cindi Bigelow speaks at the Business Smart Tools conference on May 5!

Does your start-up, web or tech company have a product or service that’s geared for business? If so, you may be able to demo at the Business Smart Tools Conference on May 5!

Demonstrating companies will be invited to join the conference at no additional fee, but you must submit the following information for our consideration:

* Company name, URL and contact info
* A brief summary of your product / service
* An abbreviated business plan

Demos will benefit from both online and offline press, plus the opportunity to network with our social media-focused attendees and speakers. Whether you want feedback, business leads or increased visibility, drop us a line and see if your product or service is a match for the BST Conference!

Photo by Amit Gupta.

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Business Smart Tools founder Valorie Luther sat down last summer with MediaPost’s Cathy Taylor to discuss social media — namely, who’s using it, how and why. Having reported on the media for over a decade, Cathy brings a unique perspective to her assessment of the social media landscape.

Among her observations:

* Twitter has become a “virtual water cooler” for telecommuters who crave social interaction but work from home.

* Companies are still slow to embrace social media, except as a means of damage control during a PR crisis.

* Before a company dives into social media, they’d benefit by first LISTENING to what their customers are already saying about them online.

If you’d like to hear more from Cathy, be sure to check out her blog (Adverganza) or follow her on Twitter — and while you’re at it, follow us on Twitter, too!

The more involved you are in social media, the easier it can be to lose sight of your end goals. That’s because this emerging medium can be endlessly interesting — after all, there’s always someone new to meet, or a differing opinion to consider, or a new tool to dabble in… but there’s also only so much time in the day, and you need to know that you’re actually accomplishing what you set out to do.

(You did set out to do something, didn’t you?)

Whether you’ve been involved in social media for years or you’re just starting out now, you might feel overwhelmed by the possibilities. If so, stop and ask yourself one simple question:

Why, exactly, am I doing this?

(Or, if you’re part of a team effort, why are we — our company, our charity, our university, etc. — doing this?)

Odds are, your goals may have changed since you started out. That’s partly because the tools we use change all the time, but also because the very act of participating in social media means that you’re listening to what others are telling you — and if you’re listening, you’re probably acting on that information, too. (Otherwise, why else would you be asking for it?)

All of this is perfectly natural. What isn’t natural is refusing to adjust your strategy based upon this new information. And sticking with an outdated strategy will rob you of both the opportunity to maximize the input from your customers AND your ability to interact with them in meaningful ways — which is the whole point of social media in the first place.

So, if you’re using social media to…

Interact with your audience…

… then make sure you’re ACTUALLY listening. Let your audience know that their feedback is the reason you’re here. Thank them for taking the time to engage you, and be public about the ways in which their information is impacting your decisions. Letting people know that their opinions matter to you is the difference between public relations and personal interaction.

Increase your brand awareness…

… then make sure your brand is available everywhere that your target audience is active. The tools change rapidly, and you never know where the next hotspot will be — so you have to be everywhere, within reason. But while you’re there, make sure you’re actually adding value to each community. Otherwise, people will definitely become aware of your brand, but not in the way you’d hoped.

Sell…

… then make sure you’re giving your audience what they want — and now that you can actually listen to what that is, you have no reason to NOT provide it. (If they’re asking for oranges and you’re still trying to convince them that they need kumquats, your strategy definitely needs an overhaul.)

So, before you get overwhelmed by all the possibilities… why are YOU using social media?

Image by Outside the Camp.

A new year is right around the corner, which means we all get a chance to start anew — in business, life, love, or whatever your current rut might be.

So what are YOUR new year’s resolutions for social media? Do you want to streamline your web experience, or maybe try a few new tools? If you haven’t made any resolutions yet for 2009, here are a few suggestions:

• * Start blogging
• * Blog on a daily basis
• * Blog on a weekly basis
• * Try Twitter
• * Make a private Twitter account and a business Twitter account
• * Update your LinkedIn profile — and your resume!
• * Clean up your Facebook profile — do you really need all that flair?
• * Make a video — even a webcam monologue — so you know how it’s done
• * Consolidate your online experience — cancel those unused accounts, etc.
• * Organize your Flickr photos — add titles, descriptions, tags, etc.

Are you doing something different? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Image by Timothy K. Hamilton.