IBM Gets Social. Join In! #MySmarterCommerce

My readers may already be familiar with my personal and professional progression as it relates to golf and the internet; how my blog and Golf for Beginners brand has evolved over ten years through the use of social media and collaboration.

 

It is because of my social media presence that I have been asked by IBM to partner with them on their new Smarter Commerce Campaign, becoming one of the "faces" of this new technology platform and helping them to define what smarter commerce means to me and you.

 

 

 

 

This month I have been requested to share my consumer-centric story with you, my audience, through social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and through this blog using the hashtag #MYSMARTERCOMMERCE.

 

This means, if I tag a post, blog or picture with the hashtag #MySmarterCommerce, it is so that I can share how my life has been impacted by technology, society or maybe it's just something that I happened upon in my daily grind. I hope that, when you see me using this hashtag, you will consider continuing the conversation with me and let me know how something you saw or did during your day has changed the way you do business!

 

Throughout February, IBM will have a running feed highlighting all tweets with the hashtag #MySmarterCommerce and, at the end of the month, all content created will be compiled into one social story.

 

Here are a few of the social channels I'll be utilizing:

Twitter: Golf4Beginners

Facebook: Stacy Solomon

Pinterest: Ask to join the board I created and post freely - #MySmarterCommerce

 

How does technology play a role in our lives?

How do we network and grow both personally and as connected consumers?

Do we know what other businesses think about our brand?

To tell you the truth, even I don't know where this is going yet but...I'm sure to enjoy the ride!

 

I hope that, as I help IBM define what smarter commerce means to me, in turn, I'll learn more about your personal stories of brand building and how social media, digital and mobile technology has helped you grow both personally and on a professional level.

 

I will be sharing a 'day in my life' with you to create a "think-tank" of sorts and I invite you today to take this journey with me.

 

An Introduction to IBM Smarter Commerce:

 

 

#spon: I have been invited by IBM to share my honest thoughts and experiences around Smarter Commerce, and as part of this collaboration, IBM may provide me with product, access, content or other forms of remuneration. All opinions are expressly my own.

Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous

Five tactics to put oomph into your social media strategy

Large corporations have social media strategies with dedicated executives in place pumping out daily emails, tweets, Facebook status updates and the like in order to keep their company name in front of the public. With smaller businesses, owner/operators busily function in many roles during the day and although they may consider the need for an internet strategy, struggle with how to start and, once begun, how to continue their marketing and social media efforts.

In this digital age, every business should have an online presence. Although many companies say “hey, I have a website”, without a plan of action to increase visibility for that website, the chance of your site being seen by potential clients, let alone anyone on the internet, is like trying to be found in the middle of the desert.

With the approach of a new season at 1:14am EST tomorrow morning, now is a good time to spring into action. Where it is easy to get caught up in the throes of spring fever, delegating your responibilites for the day to enjoy a round of golf, it is also essential and equally easy to ramp up your social media efforts and increase engagement. Taking only a few minutes daily to set up and establish yourself and your business in the social sphere should yield solid returns. The key is to maintain DAILY engagement: no matter how little time you actually spend...like exercise, even a little bit on a frequent schedule yields results. Take "small steps" as mentioned in the movie "Contact".

As a social media and SEO consultant, I receive many phone calls, emails and daily tweets to help companies with their marketing efforts. I would like to share five ideas which will assist even the smallest firm to get more people talk about your brand and to communicate with you on a social level.

1.      If you do not have a blog, create one…now. Add fresh content at least once per week and don’t be afraid to quote sources that you find help relay your ideas. Show that you are an authority and have an opinion. This is the most important part of your strategy to increase engagement. This blog should also tie into your social networks; Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

2.      Speaking of social networks, make sure your company has a presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and even Google Plus. Not everyone wants to engage on Facebook so you have to make sure that, once your blog is posted, it is read on all the social networks.

3.      ENGAGE! Not necessarily like Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise but his term, Engage, means just that; get out onto those social networks and make sure that you communicate with others. Add yourself to Facebook groups that shre your business and even personal passions and share your thoughts about what you know. If you make golf equipment, talk about it and how it relates to the game.

4.      Ask for feedback. Ask QUESTIONS! Although this is all part of engagement, it serves a very different purpose. Asking questions gives people pause for thought and a way to interact with you. People also love to help you with your problems. A back-and-forth discussion of your market, your brand and even just questions that are interesting to the group attracts engagement.

5.     Use photos and videos to engage your audience. Did you ever notice on the bottom of your Facebook mobile app that pictures run long the bottom of the screen? Why? Because the old saying that a picture says a thousand words is true! Pinterest, one of the newest websites, is all about sharing pictures. If you have a golf product to sell and you happen to be on the golf course, show pictures of its usefulness, how it works and how great it looks. People also tend to share good photos and that increases the possibility of your picture or video going viral.

Businesses taking even the smallest steps will benefit from social media interaction and the increased visibility they will receive on the internet. Make sure to link back to your website and have your blog comments turned on for even more interaction within your site.

Voice your opinions on Twitter @Golf4Beginners, friend on Facebook and contact me directly for internet marketing consultation.

photo credit

Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous