What does the future hold for social media in 2010?

2009 has been the year of Twitter. Over the last twelve months twitter went from a niche crowd to a must-have marketing tool for small businesses. So what’s in store for social media in 2010? Is there anything on the horizon that will make as big an impact as twitter? Here are my top three predictions.

1. QR Tags.
QR tags, a type of barcode, have been around since the early 90’s, but it is only now that their full potential is being realized. QR codes can now be scanned by most smart phones, and when scanned, can trigger an action such as opening a web page, playing a video, showing a GPS location, or opening an email (try the one above to send me an email.)

QR codes have many potential uses, one of which is being explored with Google’s favorite places campaign. Around 10,000 of America’s most searched businesses have been sent a QR code window sticker by Google – which when scanned, connects smart phone users to a web site where they read or write reviews, find coupons, or bookmark the business in their phone.

2. Google Wave
Last year Google locked a team of developers in a room and told them to reinvent email. The result is Google Wave, and once they’ve got the bugs worked out, it has the potential to become another must-have business tool. Google Wave is email, video conferencing, wiki and social networking all rolled into one application.

Instead of emailing files back and forth, Wave allows users to easily share files and work on documents together in real time, and just like a smart phone, programmers can develop Wave applications, which opens up the potential of thousands of uses for Wave. Wave’s main disadvantage at the moment is that it is a little tricky to learn, but by the end of 2010, businesses may be waving just as much as they email.

3. Twitter
Just because 2009 was the year of twitter, it doesn’t mean 2010 won’t be another big year for tweeters. In 2010, twitter for business is going to expand even further. Twitter is currently testing a 'contributor' feature for businesses, which will allow multiple tweeters to post under one twitter account. A salon, for instance, could have several stylists tweeting under the salon business name, all with their individual twitter name tagged on the end of their message.

Twitter and geo-tagging is also likely to expand dramatically in 2010. Tweeting ‘special offer’, becomes much more useful when your business location is tagged with the tweet. Add in the potential integration with GPS systems, and smart phones could alert their users to your special offer tweet as they pass by your business.

Winter marketing on a shoestring

Successful marketing on a shoestring budget often comes down to a lively imagination and making use of resources you’ve already got, and when it comes to the Chicago winter, one resource we have plenty of, is snow.

During a rare snow fall in London last year, UK advertising agency Curb, turned the weather to their advantage by using a technique they dubbed snow tagging – simply stamping their clients logo into the snow using a pre-cut template.

The logos, of course, only lasted a few hours until the snow melted, but their unique use of snow helped Curb gain plenty of additional media coverage, and a few green advertising awards too.

As a new advertising tactic, snow tagging could prove controversial in some cities, as it is unregulated and uses unpaid advertising space – and could therefore be easily abused. But, for an eco-friendly, cheap way to spread your brand, snow tagging could be extremely effective.

Naperville Moms Network hits the press

Design doesn’t just involve graphics. Design a strong public relations plan for instance, and your chances of press coverage increase dramatically.

Today the Naperville Moms Network scored their first quality media coverage in the Naperville Sun, and just hours after the article was published, the network has already seen a boost in member numbers - all part of the design of course!

So how does design result in quality coverage? Like all creative pieces, a PR campaign needs to be created with clear objectives and a knowledge of your audience. In the case of the NMN campaign, Ian (my husband and communications professional) switched from the traditional press release format, to the newer social media release (SMR) style, to target Naperville’s social media savvy journalists. His press release was also designed to appeal to feature writers, rather than just news columnists, with the result being a more gratifying article than just a couple of sentences buried in the back pages.

So whether it’s a poster, website or a PR campaign, strong design is vital to achieving strong results.

Avoiding telemarketing scams

There’s no doubt that yellow pages and directory listings can provide a big business boost – and it’s for that very reason that fake business directory scams work so well - according to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers lose more than $40b every year to telemarketing scams.

Recently, one of my clients was target of such a scam, and to help you protect your business from similar scams, here’s the breakdown of how they operate from the FTC website:

The Call.
First, con artists make cold calls to offices. They ask the person answering the phone to “confirm” the address, telephone number, and other information, claiming it’s for a listing the company has in the yellow pages or a similar business directory. The scammers then fire off a rapid series of questions they may tape-record, sometimes sliding in a confusing reference to the cost. The scam works because fraudsters convince the person who picks up the phone that they’re just “verifying” an arrangement the company already has with the directory.

The Bill.
The con artist then sends urgent “invoices” for $500 or more — sometimes including a copy of the “directory.” They’re usually worthless and are never distributed or promoted as promised. Often, they’re just websites with listings of various businesses. In many cases, the person paying the bills will simply cut a check, not realizing that the company never agreed to pay the hefty fee for the directory. But if businesses resist, the scammers turn up the heat, threatening collection or legal action to get payment. They may use the name of the person who answered the phone or play a “verification tape” as “proof” that the company owes them money. Often these tapes have been doctored or the nature of the transaction was rattled off in a way no one could have understood. If companies stand firm in their refusal to pay for services they didn’t authorize, the scammer may try to smooth things over by offering a phony discount or threaten legal action. At this stage, many companies pay up just to stop the hounding. What they don’t know is that they’ll likely end up on a 'sucker list' and get more bogus invoices — either from the same scam artist or from others who have bought their contact information for a new scheme.

The FTC has filed lawsuits against several of these companies, who typically use misleading names such as Yellow Pages Inc, or Google Y pages, even though they have no affiliation with the real directory companies. The scammers also use fake addresses to hide their real location.

If you do receive a call you think is a scam, check your invoices carefully, and never send them any money, no matter how threatening they get. Also, tell callers if you don't want to hear from them again. If they call back, they're breaking the law. You can feel comfortable hanging up.

The FTC website www.ftc.gov also has some great information on other scams that target small businesses.

An Incredible Year to be Thankful For

I am very thankful for this past year in which I have taken charge of my life and career by making some serious changes, taking some big risks and have been all the happier and fulfilled for it.

Like most people, this tough economic year has held many doubts and fears, but when I look back, those anxieties dim completely next to all the illuminating people that I've had the joy to encounter: new clients, brilliant friends, new connections at every corner, and some amazing businesses and organizations who I am proud to work with.

I am so very thankful for everyone who I have had the pleasure of working with, and for all of those who have helped me along the way. Thank you so much to everyone for your support, all of your advice and tips along the way, and for allowing me to support you and your business by doing what I love to do.

I'm also thankful to be blessed with an amazing husband of 2 years who not only supports, but encourages and nurtures every aspect of our life. His unwavering faith in our abilities has propelled our success, while his brilliance, creativity and determination are always ready to fill in the lack wherever needed. He truly makes everything I do complete, and his unyielding belief in me has made this year a lot easier than it should have been. He is the best business partner anyone could ask for, and I'm so glad I get to have him as a husband, too.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, and has safe travels no matter where you're going for the long weekend!

Thanks to everyone who I've been able to work with:

IQ Print Media

Advanced Health of Naperville

18 Stories

Foiled Cupcakes

Pup Prep Dog Training

House of Brides

Naperville Moms Network

Rockstar Salon

Chicago Tafia Welsh Society

The art of multi-tasking

Developing skills in multiple areas is vital when running a successful small business. So I'm proud to see that Ollie, my Yorkshire Terrier office buddie, is finally developing some modeling skills. Check him out in the latest program guide for the Carol Stream Park District, modeling for the ‘people training for dogs’ class!

Naperville Moms Network to launch Dec 1

Over the past year it seems everyone knows someone who lost their job, and as anyone who has trawled the job markets knows, the pickings are slim. So what’s the solution? For one of my newest clients, the Naperville Moms Network, the answer is being pro-active, and launching a new business venture, designed to provide better services and events than their competitors – and perhaps most importantly, with a focus on giving back to the community.

The new group of 'moms empowering moms' is centered around an online community, www.napervillemomsnetwork.com – a website using the Ning platform, where moms can share photos, videos, ask other moms for advice, read articles on parenting, provide support for other local moms and much more.

In addition to the online community, the group will also be holding regular offline meet-ups, often with guest speakers, at local establishments during their slower times, therefore helping to bring customers in when those businesses need it the most.