SplashCast

Small business owners who have taken the social media marketing plunge may run into challenges or questions every now and then, and they may wonder, “Gee, if there were only a rulebook for a situation like this.”

Now there is: “Social Rules! For Entrepreneurs and Small Business – A Common Sense Guide To Social Media Marketing” is the first book published by Paul Slack, Splash Media co-founder, chief learning officer and president of Splash Media U. “Social Rules!” is now available to order online at Amazon.com and at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

In this SplashCast, Slack tells host Renay San Miguel about the book’s foundation: his experience as a web marketing veteran combined with the 65,000-plus hours of real-world social media marketing strategies used by Splash Media’s specialists.

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The Denver-based mobile marketing company SpyderLynk has spun quite a web of activity since Splash Media interviewed CEO Nicole Skogg in August 2011.

The company’s chief products – SnapTags and Social SnapTags – are QR codes on steroids: they allow marketers to embed barcodes into logos and social media icons, thereby taking interactive marketing to another level. That technology has proved attractive in terms of new projects and partnerships for SpyderLynk, according to an update email Skogg sent Splash Media:

• In perhaps the most important development for SpyderLynk, the U.S. Patent Office has approved a patent for SpyderLynk’s SnapTag technology. “Our solution is now officially recognized for its unique value and as a key differentiator in the marketplace,” Skogg told Splash Media. “We’re delighted to reach this next step in our business evolution.”
• SpyderLynk’s new Snap-To-Buy technology – shoot a SnapTag to instantly buy a product – is such an attractive option for mobile e-commerce that Glamour Magazine partnered with Skogg’s company for a couple of special projects. Glamour has also used Social SnapTags.
• Bestselling author Jeffrey Hazlett used SnapTags at the beginning of each chapter of his new book “Running The Gauntlet” as a way to expand content offerings for readers.
• Just a sampling of SnapTags’ major brand partnerships: Wrigley, Office Depot, Casa Noble Tequila, Bud Light, Coke Zero, Toyota.
• Skogg and SpyderLynk continue to rack up major speaking engagements and awards. Skogg will be presenting at the Mobile Marketing Association Forum NYC event in June and just spoke at the Ad: Tech conference in San Francisco in April. She was also named to the Producers Guild of America’s 2011 “Digital 25″ list, joining the like of Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys.

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BranchOut App Makes Changes

If you’re a Facebook user and you are also on the BranchOut App – which targets professionals and sits inside your Facebook account – you may have seen that you’re now getting email notifications from FB friends who have joined your BranchOut network.

The notifications are evidence that the BranchOut App continues to scale in ways that are surprising to social media observers. Last week Forbes.com, in a story headlined “BranchOut Looks To Dethrone LinkedIn,” reported that the San Francisco-based company recently landed another round of venture capital financing and has now hit the 25 million-user mark.

When Renay San Miguel interviewed BranchOut CEO Rick Marini in this SplashCast from August 2011, the speculation was that his company had less than 10 million users, which should give you some idea of the rapid growth achieved by the app. At the time of the interview, Facebook was reporting 750 million users; it recently updated that figured to 900 million, so BranchOut seems to have chosen the right partner for its future.

In this SplashCast, Marini talks about how the company differentiates itself from LinkedIn and details his long-term goals for BranchOut.

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Why aren’t more businesses using Google+ Hangouts in their social media marketing strategy? The live multi-user video chat feature of Google’s social network offers a lot of opportunities for companies of all sizes to get closer to their customers. So what’s keeping businesses from taking advantage of it?

Maybe the recent redesign of Google+ will change that situation. That’s the focus of this SplashCast, featuring Splash Media social media manager Duncan Gilman, co-host of the daily live SMTV online broadcast. Gilman goes over the Google+ changes – which put Hangouts in the spotlight – with SplashCast host Renay San Miguel.

Splash Media presents another social media marketing SplashCast From The Past; this edition was originally published in November 2010 and features Christi McNeill with Southwest Airlines in an interview with SplashCast host Renay San Miguel.

McNeill talks about the beginnings of Southwest’s social media strategy, which platforms the airline relies upon for different aspects of customer engagement/customer service, and how her company uses its social networks to handle everything from day-to-day notifications to public relations issues like the Kevin Smith “too fat to fly” situation.

UPDATE: McNeill tells Splash Media that since the SplashCast was published, Southwest Airlines’ social media team has grown to 10 members, including representatives from the company’s communications, marketing and customer relations divisions. “Our customer relations team is managing customer inquiries and issues online, and our communications and marketing teams are collaborating on the next evolution of social business at Southwest,” McNeill said. “We’ve added a few new platforms for engagement including Instagram, Pinterest and Viddy.”

The Dallas Market Center bills itself as the most complete wholesale merchandise resource in the world. For more than 50 years, the campus of large, distinctive buildings off of Stemmons Freeway near downtown Dallas has served as a meeting place for retail buyers and exhibitors in the fashion, home furnishings, textile, gift, gourmet and gardening industries.

The DMC already hosts 50-plus markets for more than 200,000 global buyers. But now social media is helping it spread the word even further, thanks to aggressive use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and the introduction of a new DMC blog.

Host Renay San Miguel interviews DMC social media strategists Meredith Hite and Michaela Webb for this edition of SplashCast.

There’s a right way for businesses to build out their social media communities: by giving them great content that they want to comment on and share with others.

The wrong way involves spending hard-earned money on buying Facebook fans and Twitter followers. The Beatles were right, folks: you can’t buy yourself love. You’ll only purchase a ton of grief from your customers.

Melissa Ruggles, social media manager at Splash Media, talks to SplashCast host Renay San Miguel about the dangers of buying fans and followers, and the best way to create engaged, active social media communities that lend credibility to your business.

For more information on Splash Media, visit our website.

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There’s nothing more social than going out to eat, and many in the restaurant industry have adapted well to the rise of social media. Chain eateries are putting their own delicious spin on their use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs to enhance customer service, build their communities and raise brand awareness.

Which Wich, the Dallas-based sandwich chain, recently placed 13th on the National Restaurant News’ Social Media Index, ranking higher than sandwich competitors like Jimmy John’s, PotBelly and Firehouse Subs. The chain uses a fun, quirky social media “voice” to solicit comments and interactivity from customers and potential franchisees.

SplashCast host Renay San Miguel interviewed Which Wich’s vice president of marketing Tim Schroder at the company’s downtown Dallas headquarters.

Stay up-to-date on the latest in social media marketing; subscribe to our award-winning blog!

Information technology security has become the indispensable industry in the 21st century as the world moves deeper into cloud computing, mobile technologies and e-commerce, and users put more trust in their computer systems.

Dallas-based Entrust, a major enterprise security company, provides security solutions for large companies, governments and financial institutions. It realizes the value in using social media and blogs to educate its customers about IT security at work and in homes.

Entrust social media director Dax Davis tells SplashCast host Renay San Miguel how his company uses the major social media platforms to pass along company news and react to industry developments.

Another week, another change in social media. This time it’s Facebook with its new marketing initiatives, including a redesign of brand Pages that includes Facebook Timeline for businesses.

But as Facebook giveth, Facebook also taketh away. Tab landing pages are going away; good or bad news for social media marketing? And how can small businesses leverage the various aspects of Timeline to help tell their stories?

Splash Media social media manager Melissa Ruggles talks to SplashCast host Renay San Miguel about the new marketing initiatives.

To view the SMTV episode where Melissa and co-host Duncan Gilman step you through Facebook Timeline for Business in greater detail, click play below: