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Crazy Summer

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Technology Up to Date News
on August 31st, 2011 by - No Comments

Wow. It’s the end of the summer and I didn’t get a chance to complete the theme update, add new content to the site, or expand the client base. Why? Because I have been busy helping business and new social media users get their feet into the fire!

Campbell River has become ALIVE with social media, from personal to business. At one point we were seeing a business a day joining Twitter! One sector that has really taken to social media is the Campbell River based Whale Watching businesses. ALL of them have Twitter and FB accounts and they update them daily. As a big “re-Tweeter” in the community, I was invited out by one of them, in thanks for the SM support. I spent the day with Eagle Eye Adventures (@EagleEyeAdv) and had a fantastic 8-hour trip out with them. Nick, one of the Eagle Eye Zodiak drivers, is also responsible for the company Social Media and has now become a self-professed “Tweetaholic”. I took a ton of pics and video (whales, bears, eagles and AMAZING scenery) and made sure I linked it all to their various social media connections. Talk about getting it right!

I also helped another local company, Discovery Trekking Outfiiters (@_DTO), and one of their employees become more active and proficient with Twitter. The results were almost immediate! Their reach improved and more people are starting to discover their fantastic products. We were even able to convince the CEO to get her own Twitter account and get herself out there as a successful, professional, woman. She is loving the tool! The employee, who was on summer vacation back home, is a business student at Marquette University and is taking a whole new look at Social Media with him to his senior year at University.

Finally there was a TON of work preparing my social media presence for my Campbell River City Council campaign. After announcing at the beginning of June, I have spent the past few months building up my Twitter, FB and Blog accounts, to the point where I am now showing up nicely on Google searches.

There is one more Social Media success looming on the horizon, but will have to wait until the 8th of September to see if it really is successful!

Stay tuned!

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Social Media Camp 2011

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Technology Up to Date News
on June 5th, 2011 by - 1 Comment

Back from SMCV11 and what a blast THAT was. Meeting up with old Tweeps and finally meeting others that I have been chatting with for months! Met Social Media Super Star Jay Baer, co-author of the book “The NOW Revolution” and to part in some outstanding session on topics ranging from Politics and Social Media to How to Tweet All Day and Make Money Doing It! Up to Date Communications even played a role, hosting the Genius Bar on Community Connection and Promotion! Highlights were Jay’s keynote address, Kim and Bob of GarlickandPlumJam.com and being interviewed in their Podcast Tent (no lie, it was a real tent!), Yelp! and their scrabble wall and FlashYourGadgets.com photo booth (where EVERYONE got a little silly! Check it out here!). Of course, all of his was topped off with a Canucks win on Saturday night!

If you want to meet the Twitteratti of Social Media and you want to learn a TON of stuff about the medium, don’t miss Social Media Camp 2012! It will be THE Social Media event of the year!

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Up to Date is getting Up Dated!

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Technology Up to Date News
on May 30th, 2011 by - No Comments

It’s been an incredibly busy first year for Up to Date Communications. So much so that we have barely been able to keep up our own site. So, rather than simply updating content, we have decided to do that AND update the entire look of the site. Look for a great new theme, coming in late June 2011!

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Is there a Social Media tech bubble?

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Technology
on May 30th, 2011 by - No Comments

Interesting story on Mashable. For those of use who were in the tech industry before the bubble burst in 2000, we are all too familiar with the vast amounts of money used and generated by a young and emerging industry. The difference this time around is that social media is accessible to everyone and advertisers in every every field and industry can gain access to thos people and new markets. Social Media may grow and change, but it isn’t going to dive anytime soon.

Click Here for the story

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UTDC is at the Genius Bar

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Up to Date News
on May 29th, 2011 by - No Comments

Up to Date Communications is manning the bar….the Genius Bar, that is.

On Saturday, June 4th, Sean Smith of Up to Date Communications will be working the Genius Bar at Social Media Camp 2011 in Victoria, BC. Focusing on Community Connections and Promotions, Sean will be there to answer questions and show the tools he uses to connect local Twitter users to the broader social media world and how he promotes and connects events in and around his region. Be sure to check out all the Social Media Geniuses at SMCV11.

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Tattoo parlour designs clever campaign

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Technology
on November 4th, 2010 by - No Comments

The number of people on sites such as Facebook and Twitter is getting bigger every day, and because the basic strategy of most public-relations campaigns is to be where the people are, our target audiences have now become much more accessible.

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Using The Right Tools To Engage Your Clients

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Software Technology Up to Date News
on October 14th, 2010 by - No Comments

After a trip to the first edition of the Social Media Camp in Victoria, I got a totally new look on how to approach Social Media and help my clients. I found new tools and better ways to use the tools I already used. I changed my personal communications platform from Facebook and Blogs to Twitter. What a difference a day makes.

I had been a user of Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com) for a while, but never really used it to its full potential. Then I had signed up for the beta test of Sprout Social (www.sproutsocial.com), but hadn’t really explored it. I was spending my time in the world of Facebook and blog writing, which didn’t really help me do what I wanted to do. Get out there, meet more people, share more ideas and build my business. After chatting with other Hootsuite users, talking with the CEO of Sprout Social and listening to the most amazing keynote address I had ever heard, from Social Media guru Scott Stratten (www.un-marketing.com), I changed my platform of choice to Twitter and watched things soar!

Suddenly I was doing something that most businesses have forgotten how to do. Engaging with people. I go to functions to engage with people and potential clients. I go to networking events to share ideas and build business relationships. Yet I never thought of how much my own business could build by REALLY practicing what I preach. Using what I had learned I not only got new clients, but I met people in town that I had never met before, shared ideas on everything from Social Media in business to Social Media and the church, to follow every piece of news from everywhere, as it happened. I am consumed

In a little experiment with a potential new client, I began to Tweet out their live radio promo, prize-giveaway and new specials. Slowly, at first, my Tweets got comments and were forwarded on to others. Within a couple of hours, people were re-tweeting my posts, asking questions and gathering friends to get down to the location. Linking the live stream from the radio station enhanced the tweets to the point where even the radio DJ thought it was “cool”. It was a successful demonstration of the power of social media and I have a new client.

In less than a month, I have engaged with more than 400 people. I am now connected with better than 700 in various places around the world, with more connections happening every day. I can now show my clients what I can do for them, by showing what I did for myself. I can also show how much fun it can be. To quote Scott from his keynote; “It’s AWESOME!”

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How Businesses Are Unleashing Their Employees’ Social Media Potential

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Technology
on September 21st, 2010 by - No Comments

We know it’s a brave new world for consumers and brands. If United breaks your guitar, or your Maytag doesn’t work properly, you can take on the company that messed with you via social media — and you may well win.

But technology empowerment works both ways. Consumers can take a stand against poor business practices, and brands can empower their customers like never before.

Mobile is a hotbed of innovation in this department. Point your phone at a restaurant and see if it’s worth an evening out. With the addition of cloud services, you get stuff like the iPhone app from UK car dealer Auto Trader, which can tell you the make, model and the price of used cars just from snapping a license plate photo.

To take it one step further, companies that invest in technology and innovation can not only sell more products with digital tools, but empower their own employees. Below, we’ve highlighted some examples of businesses that are using technology creatively to solve customer issues and spur innovation.

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HOW TO: Respond when Social Media Attacks Your Brand

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites
on August 30th, 2010 by - No Comments

by Stephanie Marcus

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

For all the praise that brand advertisers have for social media, they must be aware that it’s very much a double-edged sword. And for all the free marketing, advertising and brand promotion via Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and other platforms used to help build an identity and relationship with your customers, it can just as quickly turn on you and your brand.

Social media disasters occur for a number of reasons, the first being that your company probably messed up. It may not have been intentional, but something, somewhere down the line, went wrong enough for someone to complain and it was enough for others to vocalize that complaint en masse. One mistake is all it takes for social media to turn against your brand.

No one is perfect and you can’t expect to please everyone all the time, so the best trick is to be prepared for how to handle things if your company finds itself under attack in the social realm. Here are three examples of companies who were attacked by social media and how they handled, or should have handled the situation. Learn from their mistakes or successes so you can stay on social media’s good side.

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Older Adults Nearly Double Social Media Presence

Blogs Social Networking Social Sites Technology
on August 30th, 2010 by - No Comments

A new study from Pew Internet found that between April 2009 and May 2010, social networking site usage grew 88% among Internet users aged 55-64, and the 65 and older group’s social networking presence grew 100% in the same time frame.

Young people still dominate social networks like Facebook (Facebook), but their usage only grew 13% during the year covered by Pew’s report. Older adults are catching up at an incredibly quick pace, though it remains to be seen whether they will pass the youth or hit a ceiling at or below the usage levels reported by young adults and teens.

Older adults who use services like Twitter (Twitter) or Facebook are still in the minority amidst their peers. Pew reported about 10 months ago that 19% of all Internet (Internet) users use status updates, but only one in ten Internet users aged 50 and older used status updates or read ones written by others. That’s a lot more than there used to be, but it’s still a small group — especially when you consider the fact that Pew’s numbers only cover people who are on the Internet at all. Many people in that age group aren’t going online to begin with.

According to report author Mary Madden, e-mail still dominates interpersonal communication for the 50 and older set.

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