Questions about the LinkedIn-Twitter integration? check out our Learning Center page about it: http://bit.ly/2Es6Az

TWEET THIS!!

Those words, delivered “Goodfellas – Joe Pesci-like” as the body shop owner grasped himself below the belt, had everybody chuckling … pretty funny initially … this guy also does a pretty good Di Nero, but in retrospect, it was quite sad … let me explain.

Now I’m not going to reveal who said it, or even what State the body shop owner is from (It was on the East coast … ). I wouldn’t want to besmirch an entire State by contributing to an old stereotypical stigma that we in collision repair would like to overcome. But the fact is, as funny as the guy was trying to be … he really does think that tweeting, FaceBook, digg and any other social media applications are (in his words …) “a fad”.

It’s a fad alright … like television, cell phones and Al Gore’s invention … the Internet, were fads. Come on people (you know who you are … ) I can’t believe I still have to say this … but those of you out there that either want to wait and see, or don’t trust the technology, or thinks it just something kids do … Guess Again! E-Marketer.com just released a new digital intelligence study showing that more than half of social network users consider shared info when making a purchase decision. More than half! That would be over 150 million people on FaceBook alone! You can see the whole study, if you like looking at that stuff, at http://bit.ly/asI69 but trust me, I just gave you the most important factoid … 50% of social network users consider what others on their networks say before deciding to use … YOU.

And don’t just take my word for it. If like me you are a visual person … go to YouTube and watch this amazing video on where we are today with social media http://bit.ly/24qNSS.

I’ve said it before … we have almost 2,800 twitter followers at Evans Media Group and if I have a great experience at a restaurant (like yesterday at Pei Wei Asian restaurant) we can, and do tell 2,800 people instantly … by the same token when we are poorly serviced or feel taken advantage of, those same 2,800 people will know. Our followers have networks too of course, and word (good or bad), re-tweets (that’s RT’s for those in the know) and FaceBook wall posts spread at the speed of light today. And by the way, the thinking that social media is just for kids is so far off base it’s laughable. The fastest growing segment on FaceBook today is the 55-65 year old female!

My advice to body shops is simple. Get out in front of this thing … to some of you it may seem like herding cats or managing chaos … it’s not. It is the future of advertising, and it should be part of your marketing initiative now. Don’t just trust your social media effort to that guy in your shop who’s always texting his girlfriend either, there is plenty of qualified help out there and it is important enough to do it right!

To my friend on the East Coast who would rather make fun and be dismissive … Martin Scorsese called … he said “TWEET THAT!”

Of course, that’s just my opinion … I could be wrong!

Comments welcome, call if you like 203-512-0250

http://www.evansmediagroup.com

Online Reputation? What’s That?

It’s as important today as your customer service reputation, your professional and work reputation … If you aren’t aware of the recent increase of social media by all business segments – small to medium sized business, corporations, and individuals in addition to your customers … simply Google “social media” and you will be inundated with information related to this topic. Take a look at this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 and you’ll be a little more educated on the subject than you were before!

Are you using any tools to monitor current “mentions” of your company, your brand, and news in your industry? If you aren’t using the Twitter Search, Google Alerts, and Facebook’s real time search engine, you are missing a great opportunity to manage your brand with vital information, Twitter’s Searching functionality allows you see what’s happening RIGHT NOW. Check this out here: http://search.twitter.com/ Google Alerts, which have been around for years now are either email alerts or RSS feeds that you control the frequency of based on your needs. A Gmail account is required for this, but that is free for the asking. Set up your alerts here: http://www.google.com/alerts Facebook’s real time search engine was launched at about the same time that they acquired Friend Feed. http://friendfeed.com Facebook’s new search engine results are based on each keywords entered and returns results from People, Pages, Groups, Apps, Events, Web Results and even posts on Facebook. See what is being said about you on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/search/

Still lost?
Don’t try to be everything in your business. Focus on the areas of expertise and enlist help from outside sources in the segments of your business that you are less knowledgeable. In this case, seek out an expert in the field of social media and internet marketing and enlist their services. Feel free to request a rate card from Evans Media Group!

Sara Paxton
Social Media Maven & CTO, Evans Media Group
sara@evansmediagroup.com
203-400-0428
http://twitter.com/evansmediagroup

http://www.evansmediagroup.com