Business and Non-Profit Strategies #SMCCSC

Thursday May 17th 6:30pm
BUSINESS/NON-PROFIT STRATEGIES WITH SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS

Too many organizations don’t give proper business weight to social media possibilities, or they don’t realize what’s needed. This evening, we’ll talk about how to plan, how to build a measurable strategy, and how to explain the deep dark secrets of social media to your boss.

Join us and share your own strategies for using social media tools and online space. Disclaimer: don’t give us the good stuff that sets you apart, but share some of the old stuff, things you’ve tried over the past few years that can benefit everyone.

[Main Branch of the Richland County Public Library]

Legal Issues Online – April #SMCCSC

With businesses getting online and communicating with customers in a new way – and vice versa – we need to be on top of new legal challenges, policy needs, and workflow for responding to emergencies online.

Join us for an interactive conversation about the issues facing social media in 2012. We’ll be discussing ownership of content, copyright infringement, employee use of social media, and tips on developing a social media policy for your own.

Join us this month as we discuss these issues; share stories and case studies; and help each other with our own “next steps” and best practices.

REFERENCES:

(disclaimer: anything shared cannot be stated as legal advice nor as legally binding – but we will have fun and learn something at the same time)

#SMCCSC Tools Demo

We had a wonderful turnout for this past week’s SMCCSC Meeting, and we hit on a number of the tools useful for working the social channels for personal and business plans:

  • Hootsuite & Tweetdeck – these are probably two of the most handy tools in any SM/marketer’s toolbox for the flexibility of working with multiple channels in one place. Hootsuite is browser-based, while Tweet deck has a browser client and a desktop client available for download. Both work well with multiple twitter accounts, facebook pages, and other platforms. Hootsuite’s pro options allow for even more paid flexibility, and the teachings available at Hootsuite University might be worth the price of admission there as well. Both tools are also available on multiple platforms, adding to their flexibility and usefulness.
  • SocialBro.com – new platform for gathering demographic/connection information about your Twitter connections
  • Roost.com – plan out the week’s tweets (specials, events, discounts)
  • Bufferapp – when you’re ready to read blogposts and articles and then to pass them along to your readers online, you might want to spread them out so you don’t come across too strong or too hydrant-like. Use the Bufferapp site or chrome extension to schedule those tweets out, sharing the knowledge across larger swaths of the clock.
  • Pinterest – this site is the current darling of the media and the pundits, which means you might want to take it easy, let the dust shake off, and plan well for how to use the pinning/bookmarking/scrapboarding site for most business purposes. There’s lots of potential here for branding and design, but also a corresponding need to be intentional and cautious.
  • IFTTT.com - “if this, then that”, a tool that allows the user to check for certain actions that then trigger new actions to follow. For example, whenever our Twitter account uses the hashtag “#SMCCSC”, then post that tweet to the SMC Facebook page as well.

Any others? Let us know if we missed one from the evening’s discussion – and if there’s a tool you’d like to share further please do so in the comments below.

Upcoming at #SMCCSC

We’re looking forward to the next few months’ meetings with the Social Media Club Columbia.

Thursday 03/15 6:30pm – SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS DEMO (eventbrite registration link)
Bring your laptops, macbooks, smartphones and tablets and let’s all share best practices, useful tools, and cool apps for getting things done. We’ll focus on the major social media platforms and the tools we use, but there should be time to talk about anything you want – so be ready to share and to learn.
[Main Branch of the Richland County Public Library]

Thursday 04/19 6:30pm – LEGAL ISSUES ONLINE
With businesses getting online and communicating with customers in a new way – and vice versa – we need to be on top of new legal challenges, policy needs, and workflow for responding to emergencies online.
[Main Branch of the Richland County Public Library]

Thursday 05/17 6:30pm – BUSINESS/NON-PROFIT STRATEGIES
Too many organizations don’t give proper business weight to social media possibilities, or they don’t realize what’s needed. This evening, we’ll talk about how to plan, how to build a measurable strategy, and how to explain the deep dark secrets of social media to your boss.
[Main Branch of the Richland County Public Library]

Bookmark this page – will be updating with links to eventbrite registration info as time draws near.

State of the SMC Columbia – Feb 2012 Meeting

This month’s meeting will focus on YOU – or on US – or on EVERYONE. We want your feedback, your two cents, your best shot at what you think the Social Media Club Columbia needs to be about in 2012.

When: Thursday, February 23rd 6:30p
Where: Main Branch, Richland County Public Library
Details: Eventbrite (click/register here)

And before you join in next Thursday, please take a moment and fill out our survey.

THANKS! – and we look forward to sharing thoughts and ideas next week.

SMC January – Social Media for Local Business

Welcome to 2012 – we’re ready to crush it. How about you?

Seriously, we are excited to get some things moving and grooving here on the SMC Columbia blog and in our monthly gatherings. This month, we’re going to kick it with a bang.

TOPIC: Social Media for Local Business

We’re planning on hitting some highpoints and then opening the floor for discussion.

  • How can I use Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about my business?
  • How much should I post/tweet/share video?
  • What other platforms should I consider?
  • Can Foursquare or Google+ give me an edge?
  • What kind of social media policy is right for me?
  • Who should run my social media channels?
  • ___ [your question here] ___

Join us Thursday January 19th at the Richland County Public Library 6pm-8pm.

Winning with WordPress!

Where did the time go? This week we’ll be hosting our November SMC meeting at Immedion. It will start promptly at 6:00 p.m.

[Eventbrite RSVP - http://nov2011wordpress.eventbrite.com/]

We will have two special speakers this month: Steve Harvey and Wesley Donehue. Steve Harvey runs the Upstate WordPress Group:

My name is Stephen Harvey and I have been involved with business, the Internet and Web strategy since the late 1990′s when I began distribution channel sales of software and computer hardware equipment. From that position, I learned to identify customer pain points and deliver solutions that relieved customer stress issues. With this knowledge of customer satisfaction and technology, I pursued additional education in Computer Science.

With real world experience helping clients with technology issues and a Computer Science degree, I went on to develop a position that satisfied my need to be immersed in technology and use technology to provide solutions. As an assistant network administrator for a local technology sales firm, I saw daily how technology was used and utilized by different people and groups. This continued hands-on exposure and learning about technology and people gave me the additional skills needed to develop an entire technology initiative. That is what I accomplished for a Greenville land surveying company. I directed all aspects of technology for the business. Initiatives completed include building an Internet presence via a Web site, blog, and social media channels, and management of all aspects of hardware and software within the company.

I began this Meetup group to bring together WordPress users of varied skill levels to meet and discuss all things concerning WordPress. We meet monthly and cover a variety of topics. All WordPress people are invited to come learn, contribute and be a part of the WordPress community in Upstate South Carolina. For more information about the group and meetings, please refer to the Facebook Group Page. http://www.facebook.com/groups/WordPressGreenville/

Wesley Donehue is a local political consultant extraordinaire:

Wesley Donehue is known as one of the top political Internet consultants in the country. Named a Rising Star by Campaigns and Elections magazine in 2010, Wesley has been working in politics consistently since the age of 15 in South Carolina. He worked for Jim DeMint’s 2004 Senate campaign and then for Mike Bouchard’s 2006 US Senate campaign in Michigan. Wesley holds an impressive 25-3 record in state legislative races.

Recognizing a large hole in low-cost websites for down ballot candidates and thrifty philanthropic organizations, Donehue Direct launched Win With WordPress in partnership with Northbound Design in 2010. Fundraiser7, an event ticketing application, launched in 2011.

Wesley currently serves as lead political and communications strategist for the SC Senate Republican Caucus and his team leads marketing efforts for the SC Republican Party and campaign strategies for over 25 members of the SC general assembly. Wesley has recently joined the Presidential Campaign of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann as SC Senior Advisor and SC Communications Director.

We’ll have two parts to this month’s meeting. A hands on section where we’ll show you how to get up and running in minutes with a fresh wordpress install and then we’ll move beyond the basics and discuss how to pick a good thing, make sure your content has been SEO’d and much more.
We hope that you’ll come and join us Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. at Immedion (250 Park St, near Assembly & Whaley).

Social Crush notes

Click Here

#SocialCrush Coming to Columbia

The Social Media Club will be working the masses for the Monday BOOTCAMP, the Tuesday conference Labs, and throughout the entire event – so look us up and say HI while we’re milling around with everyone crushing and socializing.

Hope to see y’all there – register at SocialCrush.com (Eventbrite link).

July 21st SMC Meeting

It’s Not A Toy, It’s Money In Your Pocket! Facebook For Business

If your business isn’t on Facebook yet, you’re losing money and customers to your competition. While it started as a way for college students to keep in touch, Facebook users now share 300 billion pieces of content per day. It’s the first place many people go for recommendations on what to buy, where to get it, and how to use it. Your business needs to be a part of that.

This workshop will show you:

· How to create a basic page for your business, and the three big mistakes most rookies make
· What metrics matter to measure your success in the critical first six months
· Who on your team should be posting – and who should be “read only”
· Why some businesses thrive on Facebook, and why some just shrivel up and die

Our guest is Trey Pennington (www.TreyPennington.com), who has 110,118 followers on Twitter. He runs the Greenville, SC Social Media Club which has over 747 members. He consults with enterprises all over the world on how to make their social media efforts amazing, and was actually the first speaker at the inaugural meeting of Social Media Club Columbia, way back when. Welcome, back, Trey!

Thursday, July 21, 6PM
At www.Immedion.com
1000 Catawba Street, Suite 180
Columbia, SC 29201 // 803.726.9250
Eventbrite signup

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