As a designer, do you find yourself asking “what do they have, that I don’t?”  What makes a well-known, or celebrity designer, stand out from the crowd, receive accolades, book contracts, and the like?  You work your fingers to the bone, burn the candle at both ends to visualize and design thoughtful, beautiful, sophisticated spaces, just as they do.

The difference just might be their mastery of the social media whirl, their presence on the major Social Media platforms; Twitter, Facebook, Ava Living, LinkedIn, or their focus on up-to-this-very-minute trends showcased in twice-weekly blog posts.

Case in point, Tobi Fairley, known for her signature look of fresh simplicity that is both beautiful and functional, launched her blog in September 2008.  Today, it is read in 95 countries!  She is dedicated to timely updates of her business Facebook page, which has just about 3,200 fans, and at least 3-4 tweets per day.  All of which allow her to remain engaged and committed to her base, potential clients, and any publications looking for content.  She has been showcased in House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Better Homes & Gardens, along with other local and national shelter publications.  She is seen as a taste-maker and a trend-setter.

But all of this takes time, energy and the search for trends and topics that are interesting, and if that candle is burning while you are hard at work on a project, how do you do it all?  Gibson Design Management, and our sister company, OttoPilot Media, are experts in Social Media.  We know how to move the pieces around the gameboard to maximize your visibility and your fan base.  We would welcome the opportunity to answer any questions, and help you through the Social Media maze!  Please contact Martha for details.

I can already hear the rumblings of controversy based purely on this title.  Over the past few months, our social media division at Gibson Design Management and our subsidiary media company, OttoPilot Media, have been discussing objective ways to measure our social media efforts for our clients.  This has included discussion of customized metrics for each of our clients based on business and marketing goals.

I’m going to say it, so argue away: having more people “like” your Facebook business page is better.  This does not mean that you can just stop there.  You still need engaging content and someone consistently monitoring and responding so that it is a conversational platform.

When I first graduated from college and worked in sales and marketing for NVR, we were taught that a large part of sales is a numbers game.  If you don’t speak to anyone, and you don’t set any appointments, and then you don’t write any contracts, you’re not going to make any sales.  However, the (qualified) leads that you generated and the more appointments that you had meant that statistically you would be more likely to achieve your sales goals.

Don’t get me wrong- it did matter that these leads were qualified and that I was good at my job.  I wasn’t sitting down with 15 year olds who wanted to buy an $800,000 home.  However, these interactions were one-on-one.  It does not cost you any extra money on Facebook to reach 100 or 1,000 additional people via your page.

With Facebook, every time that you post, the number of people that post reaches is purely the number of people who “like” your page.  If that number is larger, you have a greater reach and reach is an important metric.  If your objective is brand awareness, having more people know about and like your brand is important.  If your objective is more sales, you are more likely to sell something with a greater audience.

Unless you’ve been stuck under a pile of F. Schumacher sample books for the last two years, you have probably heard of the social media phenomenon with the cute bird mascot.  Twitter is a micro-blogging site that allows you to post status updates that range from personal (“Why are there so many crumbs in my purse?”) to educational (“Pantone announces its new color for 2010 is turquoise”) to conversational (“@gibsondm That was a great article about 5 steps to start Twitter”). Your tweets are limited to 140 characters.

While this article is not about why to use Twitter, I must devote one quick paragraph to my soapbox. Twitter has helped grow our business. I’ve hired people that I first interacted with via Twitter, created business relationships, found clients, been interviewed for USA Today, been interviewed for a marketing book, and more. If you still don’t get how it can help your business, email me and we’ll discuss.

Getting your feet wet with Twitter is the right way to start.

Here are 5 easy steps:

1. Go to http://twitter.com. Click on the big button that says “Sign Up Now”.

2. Select a username. Your username will also be called your Twitter “handle”. You’ll want to choose something that is close to your name or close to your company name. Make it as simple as possible. If I could do it all over again, I would have chosen my name “alexandragibson”. Unfortunately, that name is no longer available and I’ve developed a following with my current handle—@gibsonmd.

3. Write a profile and upload a picture. Be sure to do this before following anyone. Your profile is limited to 160 characters; I suggest using a mixture of professional information and personality. My profile is:

CEO of Gibson Design Management; MP for Gibson Design Group; social butterfly; type A (personality not blood); competitive horseback rider; martini drinker

4. Enter your first tweet. We typically write things like “Just getting started on Twitter. Thanks @gibsondm for teaching me! ”

5. Start following people. This will both mean that their tweets will update in your newsfeed and that they will be alerted that you are also on Twitter. If I know that my friend Bob Willywog is on Twitter, I can find him by clicking “Find People” and entering his name. If I just want to start following people in my town, in my industry, or who have similar interests, I go to www.twellow.com and run a search. This will search profiles for your keyword.

If this all seems overwhelming, don’t despair. Contact us about our social media services. We can hold your hand through not only getting your business set up but also on how to use these tools to improve your marketing.

For a limited time, we are offering our Social Media Launch Pad at a discounted price. Don’t miss out!

Our Social Media Launch Pad sets up your firm’s presence on all appropriate social media platforms. This starting point allows your company to jump into social media and learn along the way.

The Launch Pad includes:
• Kick-off call to explain the different tools and briefly discuss strategy
• Setting up profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Ava Living
• Adding photos, information, and all other necessary details to the above platforms to create pages that will show that you not only have a presence, but have a robust presence and want to encourage engagement
• Creating a blog for your firm, using one of hundreds of wordpress.com templates that work aesthetically with your current web site
• 1 month of “co-piloting” to ensure that you have a resource for questions as you begin using the different tools
• 6 months of unlimited Flight School classes that teach you about how to use Facebook, Twitter, Ava Living, blogging, and LinkedIn for business

Special Discount from December 11-December 31, 2009!

Cost: $695 $595

To learn more about the Social Media Launch Pad, please contact Martha at martha@gibsondesignmanagement.com

As our social media and marketing division has grown over the last six months, we have been asked increasingly if we offer classes about how to use the different social media tools for business.  We didn’t…until now!

Our latest structuring of packages for our social media clients has taken on an aeronautical theme.  Coming soon will be the announcement of our Marketing Jetpack, Social Media LaunchPad, Online Community Co-Pilot, and more.  What better name for our new webinars than Flight School!

In the near future, we will offer Flight School classes on the following social media tools’ uses for business: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ava Living, and blogging.  Our first two Flight School classes will be offered on Facebook 101 for Business.

Agenda will include:

- Why your business needs a Facebook page

- How your personal profile and your business page are different

- The difference between Facebook groups and pages

(more…)

We recently launched the social media division of our company and since the launch have received tremendous interest and feedback.  As many of you readers know, I am very excited about utilizing social media tools as a part of a design firm’s greater marketing program.

It’s important to remember that social media and networking are tools.  Much like offline networking and media, you should not expect a magical result after setting up a Facebook page or tweeting for one day.  Would you expect to go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting one time and immediately have clients knocking down your door?  No.  Just like offline marketing, online networking follows a simple rule: You get out of it what you put into it.

Here are some key ways that you can get the most out of your time spent on social media utilization to drive return on investment:

-         Determine your goals. What do you hope to achieve with your greater marketing program, both online and off?  Do you wish for all of your marketing to drive people to your website where you have the call to action?  If so, make sure that you are also using your social networking tools to achieve the same goal.  Don’t just use Facebook or LinkedIn for the sake of using Facebook or LinkedIn.  This is a waste of your time.

-         Join the conversation. With a medium like Twitter, it’s important to not just tweet (post), but to also be an active conversationalist with your followers and those that you follow.  Answer questions, be a resource, and lend a hand.  Similarly, closely follow a few blogs in and out of your industry.  Post comments on those blogs to add value and to become an active participant in the blogging world.  When you join the conversation in these ways, you will have a more active surrounding community and, in the case of the blogs, you will get many more readers due to trackbacks and mentions on the blogs that you comment on.

-         Devote time. Social media tools—like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter—can easily become addictive.  Decide that, like your email, you will check them a couple of times a day and add to the conversation if you have anything valuable to share.

-         Use time-saving technologies. For Twitter, we recommend using TweetDeck to create groups, monitor replies, and manage conversation.  For a free blog interface, we recommend WordPress.  There are many other plug-ins that can save you time.  For example, you may use a plug-in that tweets and updates your Facebook page every time you post on your blog.

-         Be real and have a personality. If you are all business all the time, you will not realize the value of social networking.  People like to do business with people they like and the new market wants the companies that it does business with to have personalities.  While it is up to your discretion how transparent you are, you should not only post as if a robot in your company runs the social media show.  Big surprise that this does not endear people to your firm.  John Byrne, the editor of BusinessWeek, is on Twitter and while much of what he tweets are things that could be found in his magazine, he also adds a human element to it.  As a result, I am more likely to visit the BusinessWeek site and to buy BusinessWeek at the stands.

Utilizing social media can extend your dollar and you can see a significant return on the investment if you follow the key steps.  Do not, however, think that creating a presence on a number of social networking sites will have clients knocking down your door.  It is not pulling a rabbit out of a hat but instead is nurturing a rabbit and then letting it play with its other rabbit friends and help spread the word—and we all know how quickly rabbits multiply.

I just returned from Designing Profits‘ winter conference for interior designers in Palm Springs.  As part of the faculty, we presented information for designers on outsourcing, on systems and efficiencies, on client surveys, and on direct response marketing.

There was a big void–a void that was very obvious when we had optional small group sessions and the social networking and social media group was OVERFLOWING.

I am bananas about this new way of marketing…yes, bananas.  I love the transparency of it; I love that it is fun and I love that it’s an inexpensive way to get the word out-much less than brochures and business cards and much more effective.  Our team utilizes it every day.  I also love that there are really no rights or wrongs but there is a way to use these tools to expand your business and to grow with the times (or in spite of them).

Today I spoke to John Jantsch on the phone for 30 minutes.  John is the founder of the extremely successful Duct Tape Marketing. He interviewed me for his new marketing book about referrals.  If it weren’t for Twitter, I would not have had this opportunity.  It is humbling and spectacular at the same time.

Two designers at the conference in Palm Springs–Mark Cutler and Tom Williams–both mentioned that their blogs have opened numerous doors for them, including two book deals and a blogging opportunity for Elle Décor.

Without further ado,

Introducing our new Social Media and Networking Starter Package!

Here’s what this social media package entails:

• Call to outline business and marketing goals with us
  • You have to know where you want to go before you start driving!
• From there, we’ll determine social media tools that will best help you achieve your goals.  They may include, but not be limited to:
  • Blogging
    • Set up blog using one of 100s free templates
    • Give list of 8 blog ideas to get you started
    • Give list of 10 blogs to follow to help get you in the groove and keep you inspired
  • Twitter
    • Set you up with a user name and password
    • “Follow” 50 people in the industry for you to get you started (don’t worry, we’ll explain what following is!)
    • Provide explanation and guide for use, including setting up your interface to efficiently and effectively organize your Twitter use
  • Facebook
    • Set up your profile and help edit information
    • Create group or business page for your firm
    • Provide explanation and guide for use
  • LinkedIn
    • Set up your profile and help edit information
    • Provide explanation and guide for use
  • Ava Living
    • Set up profile and help edit information
    • Includes uploading photographs from your projects to make sure that you have a complete profile
    • Provide explanation and guide for use
  • Vlogging (video blogging)
    • We’ll suggest the technology to utilize to start your own short video blogs
• We will HOLD YOUR HAND for the first month and ensure that you’re utilizing your new social media tools
• We’ll continue to follow up with you to see if you need anything
• After we get you all set up, you’re ready to go-to tweet, to post, to friend, to become a fan of, etc.  If you need us again or want help with anything else, we’re here for you.

The social media and networking starter package is $695.00.  In honor of the little Twitter bird, we’re offering an early bird special of $550.00 if you sign up before June 1st. If you sell one sofa, your mark-up should pay for this so no excuses.  Don’t be a dinosaur.  You can’t afford to not be educated about the new way of marketing.

Email address:

Email me at alexandra@gibsondesignmanagement.com if you have any questions.

I was recently looking for a good, comprehensive list of social media books to add to my bookshelf (and to hopefully get around to reading!).  Lee Odden from TopRank Online Marketing sent me this list:

• Cluetrain Manifesto – Rick Levine, Chris Locke, Doc Searles, Dave Weinberger
• New Rules of Marketing and PR – David Meerman Scott (video interview)
• Do It Wrong Quickly – Mike Moran (Mike’s guest post)
• Join the Conversation – Joseph Jaffe (interview)
• Groundswell – Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff (interview with Charlene)
• Personality Not Included – Rohit Bhargava  (book review)
• Tribes – Seth Godin
• Here Comes Everybody – Clay Shirky
• Age of Conversation – Gavin Heaton, Drew McLellan (100+ contributors)
• Social Media Marketing An Hour A Day – Dave Evans
• Secrets of Social Media Marketing – Paul Gillin
• Naked Conversations – Shel Israel & Robert Scoble (Video interview with Robert)
• Freakonomics – Stephen Dubner & Steven Levitt
• Buzz Marketing – Mark Hughes
• Radically Transparent – Andy Beal & Judy Strauss (interview with Andy)
• Web 2.0: New Tools, New School - Gwen Solomon & Lynne Schrum
• The Long Tail – Chris Anderson
• The Wisdom of Crowds – James Surowieki
• Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business – Larry Weber
• Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking – Andy Sernovitz, Afterward by Guy Kawasaki (interview with Guy)
• Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing – Jim Tobin, Lisa Braziel (TopRank is quoted on back cover)
• Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide: Business thinking and strategies behind successful Web 2.0 implementations – Amy Shuen
• Now Is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs – Brian Solis, Geoff Livingston (video interview with Brian)

To read his full blog post, click here.  Thank you Lee for this great list!