“I’ve decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.”

And, that it did…

@LovelyButton (aka Sarah Killen) went from a pretty quiet Twitter existence to almost 30,000 followers literally overnight. And it gets even better. Soon after Sarah received a new iMac, a free wedding gown, gratis wedding rings, $2,600 in donations for her cancer walk, and the chance to meet Ludacris. Sarah has also invited Conan to be a guest at her wedding…

What’s the point?

The point is not that Sarah was lucky. Nor is the point that savvy businesses quickly realized the opportunity in giving Sarah a bunch of free stuff hoping to tag along in her extensive media coverage.

The point here is that Sarah’s fifteen minutes of fame came as a result of her being in the game.

And now, if Sarah is a hustler, she will cash in on her new found fame. Because it won’t last long.

Do you see where I’m going here?

Your business MUST have a social media presence. A Twitter and Facebook account are as essential as having a website, phone, business card and sign hanging on your storefront. It’s not an option.

And, as you can see from Sarah’s story, the payoff can be astronomical.

Here’s an example I had pre-Twitter days to drive the point home.

In 2006, I set up an e-commerce site for our retail store. Our store sells thousands of SKU’s and I was working on this project by myself which limited the number of products I could realistically track. My wife (aka @galapagosnews ) suggested a certain brand to start with that was selling well in our boutique. I worked every night after work from early November until mid January getting the site going.

Finally, our site was live. It was far from perfect, but now, I was in the game… even if it was only with one brand that we sold.

Exactly 18 days after I finished the site, Oprah mentioned this particular brand on her show and our site was bombarded with orders. This was our Conan moment…

In less than 30 days, we went from $0 to over $200,000 in online sales. It was insane!

Was I lucky?

No. I was in the right place at the right time. I was in the game.

So, let this be the day you get your business in the social media game. If you don’t have a Twitter or Facebook account, get one now. It will take you just a few minutes and cost you nothing.

But, if you don’t get on board with social media marketing for your business, it will cost you. And, it could potentially cost you a lot!

Don’t risk missing your Conan or Oprah moment.

Remember, you have to be in it to win it…

Those are all part of it. But, there’s much more to it when you look at it from a marketing point of view.

As retailers, we need to pay close attention and look deep into trends as they’re taking shape. We especially need to sit up and “listen” when consumers are doing things that can have a direct impact on our business.

So, what kind of opportunity does all this Twitter hold for your business?

Look for a second at the technology. New reports forecast that Apple will sell 50 million phones in 2011, and more than 80 million in 2012, as worldwide expansion and popularity of the iPhone continues to grow. Last April, the 50 millionth Blackberry phone was sold. And, now the new kid on the block, the Droid, is shaking up the smart phone world. What do all of these phones have in common? GPS technology… your location can be pin pointed to within a half mile radius.

And, as these smart phones become less and less expensive, the majority of consumers will be trading in their old cell phone for a flashy new smart phone as their contracts come up for renewal. Google has a huge interest in making sure that all the world has a smart phone as they move into mobile ads. Do you think it would be difficult for Google to give away their Nexus One droid phones? The answer, of course, is no. Not considering the enormous revenue potential of splashing ads on your phone.

Well, back to the games.

There are a few players that have big financial backing (which tells you a lot) including FourSquare, Gowalla and Yelp.

The concept is simple. You download the app onto your phone and check into places you frequent throughout the day. As you check in, you see who else has been there. You also usually find a trivial object that you can keep, leave or swap. It’s just a virtual prize… for now.

But what about you as a retailer? How valuable is that information?

Think about this scenario. Jane Smith is within a half mile of your dress shop. And, Jane Smith has just left Sally’s Salon and is now at Rachel’s Shoe Emporium. How powerful would it be for you to be able to send a coupon to Jane for 25% off any dress purchased today as she checks into Rachel’s on Gowalla!

This is location based marketing. And, the sooner you get in on it the better. And the way you can get in on it now is by participating and playing the location game.

Every single, retailer and marketing professional must have a smart phone. NOW!

Pay the damn upgrade fee, pay the early termination fee, and pay whatever you need to get a smart phone today if you don’t already have one. You can’t afford to be in the dark on the impact that social media and location based marketing will have on your business.

Then get these applications from Gowalla, FourSquare and Yelp and use them. Understand them and think about the marketing potential.

You’ll hear much more about location based marketing and location based media in the days to come. But, the only way to truly understand what it’s about is to get in on it.

Have fun, play the location game and cash in your virtual currency a little bit later.

As is the case with virtually all of the Twitter apps available for the iPhone, you need to weigh the pros and cons and decide for your own particular use what is most important. Or, as I do… you can use different Twitter apps for different purposes.

Here are some of the features that I found to be brilliant on the HootSuite iPhone Twitter client:

• Multiple account management. I have several different Twitter accounts, for various businesses I own… and a couple of personal accounts. Having the ability to manage all of these accounts from a single app is HUGE! While HootSuite is not the only iPhone app that allows you to do this, it does make it incredibly easy and intuitive. Sending a Tweet from a single, or multiple accounts is as easy as tapping the profile pictures at the top of the screen.

• Tracking Statistics on the go. In theory, this is great. HootSuite allows you to view the stats from your Tweets containing links that you have sent. In an esthetically pleasing line chart, you can view the click thru of all of your ow.ly links that you have Tweeted. The only drawback here is that the link must be sent via HootSuite using the ow.ly link shortener. I prefer to shorten links with my URL as the root, which makes this feature not as useful to me.

• Scheduling Tweets. I’m a BIG fan of using time wisely and scheduling Tweets when appropriate. I won’t go into the power of effectively scheduling Tweets right now… that will be in another post coming soon. But, I can tell you that spreading out Tweets over peak time periods will dramatically increase your social media marketing efforts. HootSuite allows you to easily schedule Tweets, and re-Tweets, to be posted to your Twitter account at a future time.

• Twitter lists. Lists are an integral part of my time management and social media strategy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to view my Twitter lists on HootSuite for the iPhone. But, I’m confident that this will be addressed and added to the standard features.

UPDATE: I found the list feature. It’s a little buried, but HootSuite does have the ability to keep track of the lists you make on Twitter.

• Attaching pictures and link shortening. The ability to attach images and automatically shrink links is pretty much expected in every iPhone Twitter client… nothing that stands out here above and beyond the competitors.

Bottom line…

HootSuite is an excellent overall Twitter client for the iPhone. I would recommend for business use as well as personal use for Twitter management.

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons…

Pros: Ability to managing multiple accounts, send Tweets from multiple accounts simultaneously and Tweet scheduling.

Cons: Stats are only useful when using ow.ly shortening, unable to use lists (see update above).

Price: $1.99

Twitter: @hootsuite

Well, it isn’t. And, that could be dangerous for the retailer spending valuable time (and resources) using social media in their marketing efforts. If there isn’t a clear idea of what’s trying to be accomplished, you stand the risk of actually losing business by using Twitter! The time you put into Tweeting, or paying someone to Tweet, could be spent elsewhere… with a higher ROI.

Take a second and read the following definitions to get a better understanding of the jargon that gets thrown around way too casually in the marketing world.

A simple definition of advertising is… “To announce or praise (a product, service, etc.) in some public medium of communication”.

That covers a lot. That can be Twitter, Facebook, print ads, radio, television, direct mail, or you standing in front of your business yelling at every passerby. Advertising is a verb, an action.

Branding, on the other hand, is defined as, “to impress indelibly, to mark or label”.

A good way to remember what branding means is to think of cowboys branding cattle. That’s right… the gaucho taking that red-hot iron and searing the hide of a steer. The origin of the word actually means to burn.

Finally, let’s look at what promoting is. The definition here is, “to encourage the sales, acceptance, etc., of (a product), esp. through advertising or other publicity.”

So, what are you doing with Twitter and your social marketing? Are you branding, advertising or promoting your business?

Let’s get technical for a minute here… the act of Tweeting is advertising. The message you Tweet could be branding or promoting depending on what you Tweet. Here’s where you really need to consider what the goal of your social media marketing is and craft your messages carefully.

BRANDING is great for large companies that are vying to capture market share. Think of businesses like Coke and Pepsi. Much of their advertising is geared at burning their logo, or a lifestyle image, in your mind; literally. It has less to do with getting you to physically pull the trigger and trade your hard earned money for their product.

Social media, in my opinion, is not the optimum platform for branding a product or company. But, it is a great method of promoting.

Using Twitter to PROMOTE business is where spending your time and resources will offer the best return on your investment.

Sending Tweets that “encourage an action” are a very powerful.

As the owner of two different retail businesses, sending Tweets that cause followers to take an action is always in the front of my mind… and the ultimate goal of my social media marketing. The majority of Tweets sent for social media marketing should be sent with an intention in mind of what the desired action is. Otherwise, it’s just chatting online.

Remember this when crafting the words that become your Tweets.

Think about what you want your follower to do once they’ve read your Tweet.

Do you want a link clicked? Do you want a follow? Do you want an action taken?

Are you advertising, branding or promoting your business on Twitter?

It’s a question a lot of businesses new to Twitter have…

Should I Tweet personal thoughts and comments as well as promotional and industry specific Tweets?

The short answer to that question is, YES!

There’s an old saying that goes, “All work and no play makes Jack (or Jill) a dull boy (or girl)”. And, this holds true on Twitter also. As with all things in life, moderation is the key. Knowing when, and how much of your personality to inject into your Tweets is the key to maintaining an interesting and enjoyable Twitter stream. Unfortunately, there’s no magic ratio that I can give you. But keep the following points in mind when posting your Twitter updates.

• Twitter is a social network. Twitter is not a news network. Voice your opinion and comment on other peoples Tweets.
• Always reply to people that mention you in their Tweets. An easy way to keep track of this is search for your Twitter name. For example, I search Twitter for @Tweetalize and reply to all mentions of me.
• Don’t include links on every Tweet you post on Twitter. I know I said I couldn’t give you any magic ratios, but try to make 25% of your posts link free.
• Post as you normally speak. Let your personality shine. If you have a trash mouth, then post that way. Be yourself. I love to say kick-ass… so, you’ll find that quite often in my posts.

My expertise, and the focus of my Twitter account, is how retail businesses can use Twitter to grow their business, generate buzz, create brand awareness and interact with customers. Pretty cool if you are in the retail business… like I am. But, not so interesting if that’s all I Tweeted about. If you just wanted to see facts and figures about Twitter as it relates to retail marketing, you could simply search Google news and find lots of information.

But, that is what differentiates Twitter and makes it an amazing social marketing opportunity.

Brands engage with customers. Twitter is not one-way or two-way… it is an infinite-way of communication. Millions of people are reading and posting Tweets every minute. For a company this is HUGE. No other form of marketing (ever) has allowed customers to directly interact with a brand on a personal (social) level.

That’s why it is imperative to INJECT personality into your Tweets and AVOID boring people with nothing but facts, figure and links.

Being yourself sets you apart, creates interest and forms bonds with other people using Twitter.

What is one of the richest men in the world doing?

Check this out.

This is @BillGates , yeah, one of the richest men in the world… that Bill Gates.  Bill just started using Twitter and amassed over 300,000 followers in about 24 hours. Insane, right? Why would so many people want to follow @BillGates on Twitter?

People follow Bill Gates on Twitter because they want to read his personal Tweets. They want to get a little glimpse into his personal life. They want to know what he’s thinking and what he’s doing. One of Bills’ Tweets reads, “Heading to Sundance for the 1st time to see Waiting for Superman, an important movie on education from Davis Guggenheim”. How cool is that? You and I know where Bill Gates was going on January 21, 2010 at 7:10pm.

No one is following Bill Gates to read about Microsoft Office. If you wanted to read about Office you’d go to the Microsoft web site. You, and I, want to know Bill Gates… personally.

And, people on Twitter want to know you personally.

Take advantage of this incredible opportunity and make your brand, your product and your company come to life on Twitter.

When something pisses you off… Tweet about it. When you’re excited about something… Tweet about it. When you’re not sure about something… Tweet about it.

Yes, keep your Tweets focused on the overall mission of your company. But, remember to make it real, make it you and make it kick-ass!

There are lots of Twitter clients out there for the iPhone. And, there are honestly lots of really good ones.

But, I recently downloaded Twittelator Pro and have been blown away by the features and sleek interface. Having a retail, marketing, merchandising and design background, I value packaging and aesthetics to be just as important as functionality. If an application is chock-full of features, but looks like crap… I wont use it.

But, Twittelator is truly a kick-ass Twitter client that has just about ever Twitter function you could want and presents them to the user in a gorgeous interface. Bravo to the designers and programmers at Stone Design.

The first feature that I found to be a God-send was the ability to have multiple accounts that can be quickly and easily switched back and forth. I run a few different retail businesses and monitor several Twitter accounts plus a personal account. You can also update your Twitter bio, name and location from the app. Twittelator makes keeping up to date with multiple accounts a breeze.

Viewing Twitter Replies In Twittelator

Reading replies and tweeting is a joy. I love the easy, uncluttered display that makes tweeting, replying and retweeting a snap. Every function is intuitive and doesn’t make you think (or try to guess) what’s going to happen when you tap the icon.

Another killer little feature that I like is the thumbnail that appears within Tweets. Let’s face it, there isn’t much real estate on the iPhone screen to display images. But, Twittelator manages to include a small thumbnail that is just big enough to tap so that you can enlarge it without a problem. Genius.

Manage and view any list on Twitter.

Lists are an essential tool for keeping your Twitter sanity once you amass a substantial following. Twittelator makes viewing (and switching between) lists a piece of cake. You can also create lists on the fly, subscribe to other peoples lists, and quickly retrieve the latest updates to any list. This functionality is a time-saver and life-saver that brings the joy back to Twitter.

Some other nifty feature are the ability to customize and trick out the Twittelator theme, and tons of integrated services such as:

• TweetShrink: reduces the number of characters in tweet
• TextExpander: insert predefined text with few strokes
• TwitLonger: create tweets of any lengtht get auto linked to a web page
• 5 URL shrinking services: bit.ly, piurl.com, href.in, is.gd, arro.ws
• FollowCost: see how ‘expensive’ it is to follow someone
• TweetBlocker: see if the person is a spammer
• Favstar: see popular tweets from a user
• Tweeteorites: see favorites of your friends
• What the Trend? find explanations for trending items
• Over 10 photo, video, audio posting sites
• ReadItLater and Instapaper link saving services
• tagdef.com to explain meaning of #hashtags

I haven’t even scratched the surface of the features packed into this amazing Twitter client. Twittelator has really thought out the needs of the Twitter user and done an amazing job of not just including these feature… but making them easy and intuitive to use. It’s a beautiful experience when you use a Twitter client that lets you concentrate on reading and Tweeting, and not having a steep learning curve to using the application.

Twittelator has a free version of the iPhone Twitter client that you can check out.

But, do yourself a favor and just go ahead and spend the $5 for the pro version. Believe me, as a person that has used ALL of the major Twitter clients, you will love Twittelator.

After trying out Twittelator, you should show your support for these guys by voting for them as the best Twitter app on the Shorty Awards site.

Tell me what you think about Twittelator, and how you feel it compares to others.

And, you can keep up to date on Twittelator by following them @twittelator on Twitter.

Happy Tweeting from your iPhone with Twittelator!

And, as marketing professionals, it’s important to keep up with technology and use it to benefit our business.

An experience I had this morning made me marvel at the incredible technology every single retailer and marketer have in their hands. And, we often forget about using it in creative, fun, engaging ways in our business.

Today I’m flying from Rhode Island to Los Angeles, California for L.A. Market week. This is a week that all of the clothing representatives and designers introduce their new spring and summer collections for the coming retail seasons.

We’ve just boarded the plan.

My wife and son are sitting in front of me on the plane. Right before takeoff, my wife (remember she’s sitting one seat in front of me) sends me a text and asks, “Who’s that guy sitting to your right? He’s a famous actor.” I text her back, and say, “I don’t know”.

Then, I overhear a passenger saying, “That’s the guy from Entourage!”

So, I Google, “Entourage actor” on my iPhone, and click on images. It’s Adrian Grenier. Damn, that’s who it is.

I text her back and she immediately sends a text to the girls at our boutique back in Rhode Island. They return her text and tell her that she has to get a picture. Apparently Adrian is quite a heart throb.

Adrian Grenier from HBO's Entourage sitting next to me on a flight to L.A.

So, my wife turns to Adrian and asks to take his picture (with her iPhone). He smiles and she snaps the shot.

Then she sends a text back to the girls in Rhode Island with Adrian’s’ picture attached.

Now I’m thinking, “This would be cool to post to my Twitter account”.

So, not wanting to seem like a giddy teenager, I discreetly text my wife (who’s sitting in front of me) and ask her to send me the picture she took of Adrian. A second later, my iPhone buzzes with the picture. I log into Tweetdeck on my iPhone and send a Tweet to my 4,835 followers that proclaims, “Sitting next to Entourages’ Adrian Grenier on the plane right now! Check out this pic.”

This entire episode actually took place in real time in about 3 minutes.

The take away:

Think about the amazing technology that enabled this event to take place. Imagine the countless opportunities that you have for your retail marketing using this type of technology.

How about social shopping?

Social shopping is in its infancy right now. But, it’s simply friends or groups collectively using this type of technology to make buying decision. It’s like shopping with friends… except your friends aren’t physically with you.

Think of ways to encourage creative promotions and events using social media marketing in your retail business. The technology is already available. For the most part, it’s free. And, this style of creative marketing will not only make your register ring, but will also create buzz about your business.

@galapagosnews and @applesandvcrs pose with Adrian Grenier after our flight into LAX.

In future posts I’ll offer some off-the-wall ideas on specific ways of using social media to create some kick-ass marketing campaigns for your business.

Of course, my wife Sandra aka @galapagosnews and my son David aka @applesandvcrs took a quick snapshot with Adrian once we landed. You can tell by the expressions on their faces that my wife was much more excited about the photo op than my son was.

Meanwhile, why not share some campaigns where you were the marketer or the marketed to.

Share your great examples of creative social media marketing campaigns?

According to WikiAnswers, the average emails a person receives each day is somewhere around 45. I personally average twice that amount on any given day. And, I know lots of people that receive hundreds of emails each day.

So, the question facing every email marketer is, “How can I make recipients open my emails and click thru to my site or promotion?”.

As you know, I’m in the retail clothing business. I have a great in-house, opt-in email list that I send to. So, that’s a BIG advantage. These people know who I am and they know that my email is not spam. But, without a good trigger word in the subject line, even my loyal customers aren’t going to open my email.

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of real-world, in-the-trenches, research analyzing my own personal data that I’m going to share with you now.

It may not be earth-shattering news to you. But, the emails that I consistently get a click thru rate between 60% to 67% contain the word VIDEO in the subject line.

Every email I’ve sent with the word VIDEO in the subject line has gotten the same high rate of click thrus. That’s HUGE! These click thrus are either linked to a video embedded on my site, or to a You Tube video promoting a product in my retail store.

Why?

Here are a few reasons that I believe (and feel free to disagree or add your ideas in the comments):

• People are lazy. Reading takes effort. Watching a video is a passive activity. I could be kind and say people are also busy and don’t have time to read and therefore prefer video. But, let’s face it. Laziness rules.
• It’s the next best thing to a real person. I always tell my son that we (as a society) are becoming so connected that we won’t have to have any real interactions with living people soon. The connected-ness is really separating us. But, watching a video of a person telling you something might be the closest you get to a person-to-person interaction.
• Video is visual and conveys personality. Obvious… right? Most people will remember what they see in a video, but not something they read about an evnet or person. So, it’s a much more effective way to digest  and retain information. Look @garyvee the wine guy for proof.

Constant Contact Dashboard

Here’s a screen shot from my Constant Contact dashboard. Email Marketing and Online Surveys by Constant Contact make it easy to connect with your customers. Try it FREE for 60-Days. Constant Contact is one of my favorite mail providers, and I’ve personally used their service for several retail sites that I have. Top notch organization and simple to use.

The two highlighted circles are both emails that I sent which contained the word video in the subject line. One was an email that promoted a video showing various ways to wear and tie scarves. And, the other email was a retail sale promotion that showed several different option for wearing a product I was selling.

Bottom line is that people love videos. Videos sell. And, videos are relatively easy to create and free to host on sites such as You Tube.

Try this for yourself in your next message or retail promotion you send through email, Twitter, Facebook. Put the word VIDEO in your subject line and have a track-able link in your message. Measure your results and let me know how you make out.

I’d love to hear why you believe video is such a magnetic word in email subject lines.

Pay attention to what causes you to open an email tomorrow.

Helping companies reach and engage customers using Twitter.

That’s the promise from CoTweet. Does it deliver?

Running a social media marketing campaign for a business is considerably different than using Twitter (or other social media) for, dare I say, personal… or actual social purposes.

As a marketing tool, Twitter can be very powerful when used to its’ full potential. But, businesses need to know how to use Twitter to maximize the return on time invested. This is where platforms, such as CoTweet, are extremely valuable.

The first thing you need to understand as a business using social media for marketing is never… I repeat never, use Twitter to use Twitter. What? Let me explain.

A view from inside CoTweet

Twitters’ own web site (you know www.Twitter.com) was made for personal use. Not for businesses. I feel that’s one of the reason many companies give up on social media marketing even before they begin. It’s cumbersome, clunky, has little control, and is just confusing to a Twitter newbie. It lacks the controls and features a business needs. My prediction in the future is that Twitter will eventually launch a paid platform targeting the business and marketing community. But, let’s not get side tracked, back to CoTweet.

I love CoTweet. Here are just a few of the features that CoTweet has that crush just about every other Twitter client…

• Multiple account and multiple users. This is killer. You may have a separate Twitter account for different purposes. For example, an account for retail promotions and an account for customer service. We have two accounts for our coffee bar. One account for general Tweets and another Twitter account where customers can Tweet orders to us. With CoTweet, your able to manage and track activity in several accounts in a single dashboard. A real time-saver.
• On Duty. Do you want to spend time checking Twitter if there are no new messages or mentions of your company? Of course not! With CoTweet, you can assign employees to be on duty via email alerts. Think about this… During the day, you’re on duty. There’s a mention (or message) about you, your brand or your company. When this happens, you get an email and you log into CoTweet to post an update or response. Easy and no time wasted.
• Tweet Scheduling. Plan your day… plan your Tweet. I use this for random promotions in our coffee bar. Every Sunday, I schedule Tweets for the week that offer customers various specials such as, “Come in between 1:00pm and 2:00pm and get a free Raspberry Mocha”. Then fifteen minute before the promotion ends I have another Tweet scheduled that states, “You still have 15min to get in for your free Raspberry Mocha”. Ten minutes after the promotion ends I schedule a Tweet, “If you missed todays’ promotion, pay attention tomorrow. We’ll have another sometime between 6:00am – 6:00pm”. Brilliant.

The list goes on and on.

Simply put, if you’re using Twitter to market your business, you should be using CoTweet.

CoTweet is still in beta stage, which just means that their tweaking features here-and-there until they get the platform just the way they want it.

Do yourself, your company and your sanity a favor. Sign up for a free CoTweet account and begin managing your social media marketing like a pro.

Got any good CoTweet stories?

Got any Twitter nightmare tales?

Cheese.

I guess I could stop here.

But, as I struggle for ideas, inspiration and comments to make when updating my own social media marketing channels, I look at Cabot Cheese. Check this out… Cabot Cheese on Twitter @CabotCoop .

What’s my point?

Well, I’m in the fashion retailing business and the food service business. I have lots and lots of products to talk about. I have trends to tell people about. Damn, I have boxes being delivered every single day filled with brand new, never before seen merchandise. It’s pretty exciting. And, there are times I have trouble thinking of what I should Tweet or update our Facebook page with.

Then, I come across the Cabot Cheese Twitter page.

At the time of this post, the folks over at Cabot have 6,470 updates to their Twitter account. Are you kidding! How the hell do you have so much to say about cheese? My hat goes off to the team of creative individuals running the Twitter account at Cabot.

And, it’s not some Twitterfeed “look-for-any-news-with-the-word-cheese-in-it” account.

Cabot Cheese will tell you that Cheddar Week will be coming up soon, they’ll tell you about the Blueberry Scones for breakfast and the Vermont Smoked Ham & Cabot Cheese Omelet, and they’ll give you predictions about cheese like, “I’m seeing some serious uses for this in the future. Bacon Jam (grilled cheese sammies for one!)”.

Amazing.

I love the people at Cabot Cheese. I’m now following them on Twitter because their kicking ass with their cheesy Tweets.

Never again will I complain, even for a split second, that I don’t know what to post about on our social media marketing updates.

And, neither should you.

Writers block? Don’t you dare.