A T Social Marketing and Consulting

This last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing much of my extended family. My Grandfather, who owns his own upholstery shop and never went to a single "business" class, and I were speaking about what it is I do. When I mentioned how much Social Media is like advertising, he gave me a quote that I loved. "Being in business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but nobody else can see it."  While it is a funny quote, there is a lot of truth to it. Without promoting your organization no one will know that you are there.

This is the same for any business, for profit or not. If you are not promoting yourself, how are people going to know what you stand for? Growth will only take place once you get that through your head. Luckily there are many options that are low to no cost, i.e. Social Media (You knew I was going to go there).

My favorite quote comes from Jay Baer. He said, "Social Media isn't expensive, it's different expensive." Social media really does not need to cost you anything, anything that is but your time. It can be very time consuming to get going but well worth it in the end. It is a way to connect with so many people on so many different levels. The tools you can use are almost endless and all depend on what it is you need. Try Tweetgrid or Twitter Search for finding people to follow. Use Tweetdeck, Hootsuite or CoTweet to post to your many different networks. WeFollow is a great directory full of useful information on who to follow that may be in your geographical area and industry, as well as a spot to add yourself or your organization. Use Google Alerts to find blogs and news articles pertaining to your industry.

There are many tools you can use to help you on your way to conquering the Social Media kingdom. Did I miss any that you prefer? Tell me in the comments! Follow us on Twitter and we can continue the conversation there as well.

We will have a Facebook page soon!

So it has been a while since we last posted a blog update. Just know that we have not forgotten about the nonprofit sector but are truly trying to get this little company up and running to be able to help out with your social media needs.

Now you may be saying, "why does a nonprofit really need to use social media?" This is a valid question. Social media is something that many people do not understand or are actually a little afraid of implementing in the marketing mix because it is something you cannot control. Well hopefully this post will dispel a few of those fears for you.

Well first off, why do you need to use social media? My answer would be because it is a cheap and effective way to reach out to those who would actually help. Think about it, many people already use the RSS features of many news sites to keep up with what is going on in the world. Even if you just use Twitter like the RSS feeds, you are getting those who donate their time and goods to your cause. You can Tweet different needs your organization may have or even different events you may be having. Only those who know you and have had some contact with you will follow you. Same thing with Facebook. Set up a Flickr account to show the activities and service opportunities. There are many ways you can use social media to your advantage.

Next up, control. While yes it is technically true that you cannot control what is said about your brand on the various social media outlets, (and this is great for transparency) you still have a little control. First off you need to make sure what you are doing is ethical and the way your treat your volunteers is in line with how they should be treated. Of course you will still have some naysayers as that is just business but it is how you handle those negative remarks (and you MUST handle them) that will show your true worth as an organizational leader.

If you need any help, feel free to contact us at atsocialmarketing@gmail.com. More to come later.