At the end of April, ASDS offered a class called, “Introduction to Social Media.” (If you missed the class, we will be offering another soon.)

Towards the end of the class, one student asked the obvious question: “Why is it called ‘social’ media?” Truthfully, I answered, it is such a part of my day that I wasn’t really sure. So I went to find out.

Old School Media – 19th and 20th centuries

In the Old School media model, information was doled out to the population by powerful authority figures, who told you want they wanted you to hear. There wasn’t a way to easily respond (other than to buy the product), and it was next to impossible to find and connect with other like-minded people.

Information flowed one way. Advertising was crafted to reach the widest audience, and the lowest common denominator.

Social Media – 21st century

In the Social Media model, information now runs both ways between the authority source and the reader. This ability to communicate directly and immediately with the source of news is a major change in the way information gets handled. Because of its direct, one-to-many-and-back-again method, it’s called “social.”

But more than that, social media allows information to run around the authority source. And whole conversations about any topic can be discussed directly among all the constituents, regardless of their physical location.

The Cost of Social Media

In the Old School methods, we had to craft messages for the masses. You never knew who was going to see your message and it needed to be generic enough to make it worth the cost of producing and distributing it.

Now, Social Media is essentially free, and not only can we afford to pick a niche and fulfill it, we will be able to find the people who want this niche.

Building Tribes

In short, we will begin to build tribes. Fortunately, the concept of tribes is as old as humanity, so we aren’t completely re-inventing communications. We are implementing the next incarnation of tribes, facilitated by social media – Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and others.

Here’s a great TED Talk about how media has evolved from Old School to being social. We would love to hear your comments or experiences with social media.

This red carpet gala highlights the impressive achievements of Hawai’i’s leading companies, business professionals, non-profit organizations and outstanding K-12 educators.

This year AS Designs & Services was named as one of the Top Three Finalists for the Best Social Media Campaign for our work with Lava Lava Beach Club. We are very grateful to the Lava Lava Beach Club crew for helping make this a successful campaign.

Thank you to Pacific Edge Magazine for awarding us this high achievement.

http://www.pacificedgeawards.com

We’ll introduce you to

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Yelp and more
• How these outlets integrate and relate to “The Big Picture”

Where
AS Designs & Services offices
308 Kamehameha Ave., Suite 115  |  Map

When
April 30, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Who
Anyone who wants to learn the basics of social media for business and internet marketing.

Cost: Free

Your Instructors: Cymber Lily Quinn, Ian Hatch, Taryn Wong Fowler – AS Designs & Services

To register for this class, please go to our Workshop Registration Page >>

* NOTE:  We will be broadcasting this workshop LIVE to the web.  You can watch and/or participate from your computer if you are unable to come in person.
Please register for more instructions.
Workshop Registration >>

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I used to read “Love You Forever” to both of my girls when they were little. Even thinking about it today, I still get choked up. It’s really a heartfelt story.  What I remember the most about it is that it uses imagery to tell a very significant story (as with most children’s books). The story is about a mother’s unconditional love for her son; and then chronicles her son’s life growing to an adult and starting his own family. The sad conclusion shows how he reciprocates his love to his mother who has grown to be an elderly woman. There are just a few sentences on each page but the story and illustration is powerful and you can even follow along without even reading the text.

This is how you should start thinking about your content strategy. Visual storytelling is certainly top of mind for marketers today; and with the rise of Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and Facebook’s recent Timeline redesign, it’s even more important today. But telling your brand story is more than just adding an image to each Facebook post or taking advantage of the news cycle and creating real time content like Oreo. The ability to tell visual stories requires a significant amount of planning and collaboration with internal teams (creative, brand, content); which means you need to deploy a social business strategy that delivers this effectively..

I came across this Slideshare presentation by Stefanos Karagos and had to share it. It’s one of the better presentations I have seen lately and illustrates my point exactly. I read through each slide and knew exactly what Karagos was saying as if he were presenting it directly to me.

Author: Michael Brito

Michael Brito is a Guest Contributor to the HootSuite blog, vice president at Edelman Digital (HootSuite’s PR firm) and the author of Smart Business, Social Business: A Playbook for Social Media in Your Organization. For additional insight, follow his blogBritopian.com

This post was originally published here: http://blog.hootsuite.com/content-strategy-like-childrens-book/

Developed by “yours truly” The AS Designs & Services NEW Mobile Application Development Team, the new app allows renters to see what listings Day-Lum has available at any given time. These are the same listings that are available on Day-Lum’s rental web site.

“We love the new app,” says Nancy Cabral, owner of Day-Lum Rentals. “We are thrilled to be able to give the properties we manage much greater exposure and accessibility to all potential clients around the world via our new Day-Lum app!”

Map-Based Rental Listings
The easy-to-use intuitive interface works like most other iPhone and iPad apps. Users touch the screen to view the rental listings in various different ways. An interactive map of the area shows push-pins that allow the user to click and see more information about a particular unit.

The Day-Lum Rental app also shows listing by the newest addition. In just a few moments, users can check to see what’s new on the market.

Makes Searching Easier

“Like most renters, we juggled the newspaper, CraigsList and a map. It was time-consuming to coordinate all that info and go looking for a rental,” says early adopter and Hamakua resident, Bob Conn. “With the Day-Lum Rental app, we had all their rentals in our iPhone. It was easy to look at a lot more properties in one trip.”

Future Improvements
In this first version of the Day-Lum Rental app, users can look at the Newest Listings, All Listings, Listings by Town, and Listing on a map. In future versions, users will be able to search by numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms, rent price, pet acceptance, and other options.

About Day-Lum Rentals & Management, Inc.

Day-Lum Rentals is the largest property management company on Hawai’i Island, providing the best service in residential, commercial, and association management in East Hawaii, along the Hamakua Coast and throughout Hilo, Puna and Volcano.

Our residential real estate-for-rent includes apartments, as well as one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, oceanfront condominiums, and country ranches. Our commercial properties include office, retail, industrial, and
 medical office space. With 28 years in business, the helpful staff at Day-Lum Rentals in downtown Hilo will help you with all of your residential, association and commercial real estate needs.

www.Day-LumRentals.com

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Social media is not going away and for businesses it is not good strategy to simply ignore this communication tool. You wouldn’t ignore your telephone would you? Nope. So why would you ignore the most rapidly growing communication method – a method that allows your customers to not only connect with you, but to connect with others? Simply put, businesses who want to be around in 5-10 years must start engaging in social media and figuring out how to use it as an effective communication tool and marketing medium.

Many small and mid-sized businesses have set up a social presence. They have presences on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and possibly even YouTube. But it’s obvious that many of these businesses do not have the time or the knowledge to utilize these tools effectively in their marketing.

Does this scenario sound like you? If so, outsourcing may be the right choice.  Last week, we led you through how to make this decision.

If you decide outsourcing is right for you the next big step is hiring the right company to outsource to. Selecting someone to represent your brand is a big deal, and it should not be taken lightly. So how can you pick a social media/ digital marketing agency that is right for your company? Here are some pointers:

1. Experience - It is essential that when hiring someone to represent your brand you select someone who specializes in social media. This can be tricky as often many companies tack social media services onto their list of services. Oftentimes the same person doing SEO, content marketing, email marketing, and other tasks is also doing social media. Each of these areas is a specialty and to really know your stuff you need to be focused on one area. Look for experts who specialize in their own area – so your social media manager is not your SEO manager, and so on and so forth – they work together but each uses their own level of expertise to your advantage. Not to mention, this means more brainpower is devoted to their specific tasks!

2. Cost- You need daily activity on different social channels. But what does that mean? I am amazed at the number of companies that charge a very small fee to post daily – what does that mean? If they are posting only one thing and not talking to the community or interacting then your success is going to be minimal. Social media is more about interaction and constant community-building than the outright posts that push your message. It takes time to build lists, talk to people and keep a community going. Make sure you know exactly what is promised in that daily posting, and remember: You get what you pay for.

3. Strategy - Do you have one? You should. If a consultant or company is willing to take over your social media without some basic strategy and goals outlined I would question their approach. How will they know who to connect with, what to talk about and what to post and share? Your overall strategy for social media needs to be setup before you begin your outsourcing efforts. Or you should have the company doing your outsourcing setup a strategy that works for your budget, company etc. The level of strategy and cost can vary and will based on your business, budget, etc.

A beginning social media strategy can run from $1000-$3000 and usually incorporates a bit of integration into other marketing. Advanced strategy with research into competitors, audience evaluation, integration into business marketing plans etc. can run from $6000 upwards. It really depends on the business, their needs and budget.

4. Editorial Calendar – Your company should have a basic editorial/marketing calendar in place before hiring someone to outsource. This is something that guides all your efforts – but is especially important for social media and online marketing. If you do not have one in place and the company does not suggest creating one or indicate it as a valuable piece for your success, I would question their effectiveness as a social media management company. It’s a great thing to add to your checklist when talking to potential candidates.

5. Oversight of accounts - Look for a terrific team of community managers who are highly skilled and continuously trained. Be sure their work is monitored and tracked by both a social media manager and director which is how we assure quality work.

The original version of this article is posted at http://socialnicole.com/outsourcing-tips/.

A blog is a special web page that’s a regular way to share current news and events. You can think of it as an on-going magazine or newsletter. Your blog lists articles in order of publication date. Ideally, you should add content two to four times per month, but you can write more often than that if you have more news.

Business-to-Business Blogs

Blogs are great place to share industry news. If you run a B2B (business-to-business) company such as a consultancy, you can write about:

• important legislation affecting your industry
• new methodologies
• interesting conferences
• talks or classes you are giving
• educational articles (like this one)

Retail Blogs

If you own a retail business such as a restaurant or store, blogs are great places to announce things like:

• drink specials
• contests, giveaways
• new menu items
• special events
• art openings
• changes in hours
• holiday events
• music events

Personal Blogs

It’s always nice to have a personal note from the business and/or staff now and then. These blog posts can cover a wide variety of topics including:

• insights from trips and conferences
• major changes in policies affecting customers
• moving to a new location
• customer appreciation
• staff opinions on a specific topic

Got Writer’s Block? You’re not a Writer?

Give us a call at AS Designs & Services, and let’s brainstorm some ideas with you. Together we can create a list of monthly topics that will entice and inform your readers.

You don’t have to write the blog post yourself. In fact, if we write for you, we will create content that is attractive to the search engines as well as your readers.

Just give us a list of topics, any information you have about these topics, and photos and videos. We’re here to help you make the most of your blog.

Besides the personal aspect, Instagram is a great social media tool for businesses to share their products, food, store, employees, anything! Photos are easy, fun, and have the ability to entice potential customers into your establishments.

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In Part 1, ‘Secrets from an Instagram Power User: How @missyhelly got 51k Followers’ we interviewed HootSuite’s Mobile Designer, Helen Park on her best practices for Instagram users. “I’m amazed at the lack of engagement by brands for their customers in social,” says Helen. Over the last few years, Instagram has proven itself as a tool that allows celebrities, bloggers and youth-focused brands to effectively reach today’s audience. But are top brands “bringing it” to the same extent as these power users?

According to a Simply Measured study with Facebook, “26 of the top 100 brands have more than 10,000 followers, with 10 boasting more than 100,000.” But just under half of the top 100 global brands don’t actually have an Instagram account (Apple included). While brand’s presence is recently increasing, they are certainly dragging their feet. Don’t brands know that this social network has over 90 million active monthly users?

Today, we’re focusing on Instagram best practices for brands and why it’s important to tap into this mega social network.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Instagram for Brands

Before you start snapping away, what’s your brand’s goal for Instagram? Are you solely looking for an influx of followers or are you looking for engagement and retainment? Herein lies the fork in the road that every social business comes to: the churn rate (in this case is the rate at which followers or users unfollow your brand).

Let’s look at a recently trending brand Insta-success story: Oreo. During this year’s Super Bowl, Oreo came out with a clever commercial that had a 3 second call to action asking viewers to vote #cremethis or #cookiethis. Now that’s a growth hack… And where did they direct millions of attentive Super Bowl viewers? Instagram. Oreo exploded in followers, going from 2,200 to 86k in a matter of weeks.

So Oreo’s got followers. Now what? How do they keep them from falling off the churn rate cliff (Draw Something ring a bell)? As long as they continue their artistic battle between cookie or creme, they’ll have no problem… for now. But how do brands keep followers longer than their contest’s lifespan?

How to Retain Followers ~ The Brand Edition

First of all, who’s monitoring your brand’s social? This is a full time job. Yes, this includes Instagram. Find someone creative that understands your brand and the different ways to treat each social network, individually. Bring creative visuals and effective captions to the table, and perhaps you’ll gain a loyal follower (and eventual customer).

Let’s take a look at a quote from Simply Measured and Facebook’s study: “of those brands that use Instagram, 41 percent now post at least one photo per week, up from 34 percent last quarter.” Did you spot the issue? In Part 1, Helen said to post once or twice a day to gain and retain more followers. One word: presence.

Insta-Sale

Back to gaining loyal customers – Instagram can convert leads? To use myself as an example, as a social savvy young adult, I like online shopping. But how do I know when Topshop, asos or Free People have something I want to buy? I follow them on Instagram (and Pinterest, but that’s another story). To me, this social network (if done right) is a creative and interactive lifestyle zine for brands and people.

7 Top Tips for Brands using Instagram:

• Understand your brand’s audience, even in Instagram. Amex or Burberry followers will expect something different than Starbucks, Red Bull or MTV’s.
• Create a theme for your content and be consistent. Constant product placement is not a theme.
• Take lots of photographs and make them aesthetically pleasing and creative.
• Give your followers a reason to want to follow your brand in Instagram.
• Spread out posts like you would any other network. Post once or twice a day.
• Engage with your followers. Comment. Follow back. Like things. Be human.
• Tell an interesting brand story through your images and captions.

Lastly, throw a creative #hashtag contest or #project to get interaction going and amplify it across your already-established social networks. Point to your now-built-up Instagram account and get followers involved. And, if you must roll-out a product photo, give it a human touch by making it creative, funny or awesome. Treat Instagram like your brand’s lifestyle magazine.

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This article was originally published here: http://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-best-practices-brands/

Social media listening is a key element for managing communities, following trends that influence your business and community, monitoring brand perception, identifying engagement opportunities, and developing your network.

Sounds like gibberish? This simply means: listening and responding to your  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Yelp, your blog, followers, and planning your eMarekting strategies accordingly.

ASDS and Social Media Listening

1. Hootsuite Pro

Hootsuite Pro monitors social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Google plus, and LinkedIn.  This valuable tool has the ability to see mentions in real time and also specific streams on a detailed level, so that if your audience is talking to you it won’t be missed, and you can talk back.

2. Set up Google Alerts

Google Alerts are emails sent to you when Google finds new results, such as web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs that match your search term set up in your Google alert account.  This will help monitor what people are saying about you online as it happens in real time.

3. Monitoring/Answering Blog Post Comments

If people are reading your blog and like or don’t like what you have to say, they will leave you comments and expect a response.  It is always great to acknowledge or thank a reader for leaving a comment.  Don’t ignore blog post comments and don’t delete negative comments.  An explanation is always worth more than pretending it didn’t happen.  Other readers will read these comments and taking the high road will weigh heavily in how you handle good and bad comments.

4. Answering Back to Let Your Audience Know You Are Listening

A simple acknowledgment by liking a comment, sharing their photo on your wall, or thanking someone goes a long way.  This will encourage more positive social media activity.  Again, also acknowledging bad comments and trying to make it better is very important.

• ™ (for an unregistered trade mark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand goods)
• ℠ (for an unregistered service mark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand services)
• ® (for a registered trademark)

A trademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements.   There is also a range of non-conventional trademarks comprising marks which do not fall into these standard categories, such as those based on color, smell, or sound.
The owner of a registered trademark may commence legal proceedings for trademark infringement to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark. However, registration is not required. The owner of a common law trademark may also file suit, but an unregistered mark may be protectable only within the geographical area within which it has been used or in geographical areas into which it may be reasonably expected to expand.
The term trademark is also used informally to refer to any distinguishing attribute by which an individual is readily identified, such as the well known characteristics of celebrities. When a trademark is used in relation to services rather than products, it may sometimes be called a service mark, particularly in the United States