Google+

I could fill a few blog posts listing other articles about Google+. The multitude of social media discussions on whether or not Google+ will defeat Facebook and Twitter seem to be endless. I don’t think anyone knows, yet, how the platform will ultimately perform, but you might want to brush-up on it, just in case.

• Six Tips for Using Google+ Now, on Spin Sucks,  by Gini Dietrich outlines the basics for getting started on the platform. Of course, you will need to join, either via a friend’s invite or directly on Google+, during the network’s open registration period, first! 
• Claire Celsi, The Public Relations Princess, posted, Google+ What’s in it for Me?, a post listing some of the unique features to check-out.

No time to read?

• Listen to Eric Schwartzman’s interview with Jay Baer, in which they ask, “Why Use Google+?” You can find it at his website, On the Record Podcast.
• Google+ is still in beta, so Launch Media Services gives us The Google+ Punch List (21 items Google Must Add to Plus).

Social Media and the Web

• Does AP Style Matter in 140 Characters? This was the question posed by Whitney Jones, a guest blogger on Communications Conversations. PR folks are trained to use AP style, but is it always correct for all mediums?
• Updating some new information on Foursquare, Mihaela Lica Butler on Everything PR, gives us a lesson on Foursquare Business Pages – A Powerful Marketing Tool.
• I feel we all should know the 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media. Stephanie Parker helps us use the new medium correctly on Social Media Today.
• Give them Something to Talk About by Geoff Livingston on his blog suggests ways to get the community to talk and engage.

Do you have any PR summer reads to share with the Fresh Ideas readers?

So you shared, now what? You might find a friend gave a tip or is also in the store. But, perhaps, you expect or want more. I recently found a couple organizations taking advantage of online sharing by working to engage their customers. 

If you are a home owner, you know the nightmare that involves going to a hardware store. Even if you know what you need, you can’t always be sure you’ll find it. Nor can you always find someone to help you. I recently went to my local Home Depot (Home Depot is a BurrellesLuce client) with my brother, who was willing to be my handyman for the day. We had not one, but four people ask if they could help us. We were both really impressed, so I checked-in on Foursquare, and posted to Twitter about the experience.  A Twitter friend commented on how Home Depot has recently been working to upgrade its service.  Ryan at Home Depot replied to both of us and commented on how they (Home Depot) were glad to hear we noticed the service. Wow! They noticed.

I had a similar experience when I was in downtown Minneapolis recently, and I stopped into the Macy’s store to see what was new. I learned the Macy’s Flower Show was going on in the auditorium, so I commented on Twitter I was hoping to come back and check-out the show. Macy’s replied and asked me to send them a picture if I made it to the show. I did, and they asked to confirm my location. When I did, they asked me to stop by their executive offices for something special, which turned-out to be a $10 gift card, which I promptly used.

A recent Mashable post outlines how all organizations can learn 9 Digital Marketing Lessons from Top Social Brands. My favorite is #3- Listen and Respond – which is exactly what Home Depot and Macy’s did. I was impressed that both organizations were monitoring social media and saw my tweets on a weekend and encouraged me to engage in more conversation and then asked me to take additional action. They were simple gestures, but they made me feel special, so I shared the stories with several friends. How easy was that for a lesson in customer service and word of mouth?

I believe we can all do a better job of using social media tools to connect with clients, prospects, or even friends. How is your organization using Twitter to engage clients? Do you have any tips or examples  for the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers?

To businesses looking to attract consumers: I’ll give you my email address, if you promise to send me coupons. I’ll fill out your online survey, if you give me a free appetizer at my next visit. I will fan your Facebook page, if you send me exclusive offers. I would even check in to your business, if I used a service like FourSquare or Gowalla. But, I will only do what you ask, if you give me something in return…

Facebook introduced “Places” in August, an application that allows users to check in to local businesses and places ala FourSquare. However, according to PC World, a study by Pew Internet and American Life Project released statistics showing that “only four percent of online adult Americans use location-based services.” Merely one percent of participants in the Pew survey actually use check-in applications, such as FourSquare.

So why would Facebook broach the location-based application market when only a very small percentage of Americans actually use it? Leave it to Mark Zuckerberg to have another trick up his sleeve. Zuckerberg, with the launch of Facebook Deals, realized that the popularity of Facebook , the release of The Social Network and, let’s be honest, an already Facebookcentric world – can and probably will turn the one percent of location-based app users into way more!

According to the PC World article mentioned earlier, Facebook Deals “will allow people to find deals nearby when checking into a location on Facebook.” Even better, you can find deals ahead of time and then choose to venture to that business and check-in to receive a coupon on your mobile phone. What better incentive to check-in to a location than the promise of a discount? Furthermore, aren’t users more likely to visit a business that is offering a discount than a business that is not?

Taking a nod to the marketing gurus of the world, consumers love discounts. Especially in this economy, coupon offers can be the deciding factor when debating where to get lunch or where to get that new pair of jeans.

Facebook has not only paved the way for social networking and changed the way users interact online, but now has allowed businesses to have a greater reach with their current consumers and easily find new ones!

Are you in the one percent of location based application users using applications such as FourSquare and Gowalla? If not, will you be more or less likely to use this type of product if you were guaranteed a discount? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

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*Bio: Soon after graduating from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a B.S. in business/marketing, I joined the BurrellesLuce client services team. In 2008, I completed my master’s degree in corporate and organizational communications and now serve as Director of Client Services. I am passionate about researching and understanding the role of email in shaping relationships from a client relation/service standpoint as well as how miscommunication occurs within email, which was the topic of my thesis. Through my posts on Fresh Ideas, I hope to educate and stimulate thoughtful discussions about corporate communications and client relations, further my own knowledge on this subject area, as well as continue to hone my skills as a communicator. Twitter: @_LaurenShapiro_ LinkedIn: laurenrshapiro Facebook: BurrellesLuce

I’m always up for checking out new things in cyberspace so when I came across Crowdtap I figured I’d give it a try. Still in beta, Crowdtap is a way for consumers to “tap in and ideate, engage and promote with leading brands, entertainment properties, non-profits and startups,” according to its website. The basic idea is to participate in what you want to and you will be given status and rewards for your time.

Let’s take a look at my profile, for example. I sign in using my Facebook account and immediately see my avatar, status level, total cash earned and total points at the top of the page. Any actions available for my participation are located below my status bar. “Quick Hits” are generally poll questions (multiple choice or short answers). “New Actions” are opportunities posted since I last signed in, and “My Actions” are discussions I am already taking part in. I can comment and engage my peers as we actively participate.

By clicking on the “Stats” tab at the top of the page I can look at all my data for my actions, cash, and points. Your “Quality Score” is on this page, as well, and is important because the site asserts that participants need to maintain a good reputation in order to receive new actions. Participation, solid answers with details and photos, and sharing content are ways to keep your Quality Score up.

Similar to other social media platforms (Foursquare comes to mind) Crowdtap rewards participants with badges for their participation. You have the opportunity to earn “brand badges” or “action badges.” For example, I performed three actions for Mr Youth, an agency in New York City, and received the “Mr Youth” brand badge. I also responded to three moderated discussions and received the “Ideator” badge.   

In addition to badges, I’ve also been earning points, which have promoted me to higher levels of status. I’ve gone from “cardboard” to “plastic” to “oak” and now I’m “bronze.” Each new level gives the participant more opportunities, such as sampling products when you reach level three and receiving advanced notification when you reach level four. The advanced notification part is key for opportunities that give cash rewards. When you earn over $10.00 you can redeem all of it to charity, or you can redeem 5 percent and take the rest on an Amazon gift card.

I signed in as a participant, but you can also sign in on the Crowdtap Client Site, where you can be the one asking all the questions. There are options for polls, feedback questions, discussion boards, sampling opportunities, sharing  (such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube), or even hosting a party.

Will you check out Crowdtap as a consumer or a client? Do you think this is an innovative social media site? Do you feel Crowdtap will “empower influential crowds to drive measurable peer-to-peer marketing results” like the website claims? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas. 

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*Bio: Prior to joining the BurrellesLuce Client Service team in 2008, Denise worked in the marketing industry for three years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Connecticut, where she gained experience interning in PR and working for student organizations. By engaging readers on the Fresh Ideas blog Denise hopes to further her understanding of client needs. In her spare time, she is passionate about Team in Training (The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s charity sports training program) and baking cupcakes. Her claim to fame: red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. LinkedIn: dgiacin Twitter: @denise10283 Facebook: BurrellesLuce

Flickr Image: lumaxart

Social media and traditional media coverage can work together to give you great media coverage and business results. At the Powering Progress: 2010 PRSA International Conference in Washington, DC last week, Michael McDougall, Bausch & Lomb, Catherine Dunkin, The Standing Partnership and Nicole Ravlin, PMG Relations, presented case studies and personal experiences backing this statement.

Example 1: The lively interactive hour included several examples and ideas for gaining coverage for clients. A recent well-known example is the Old Spice campaign, where Isaiah Mustafa, Old Spice pitchman, answers Twitter and Facebook questions via videos. The videos were timely and funny, and lead to huge amounts of mainstream media coverage.

Example 2: Many people were shocked last year, when Pepsi announced they would not advertise during the Super Bowl. Instead, they agreed to donate the money to charities, and the public could nominate and vote on where the money should go.  The Pepsi Refresh Project garnered Pepsi massive coverage via social media buzz, which lead to mainstream media coverage.

Example 3: Vermont maple syrup and bacon seller Dakin Farm has been able to trace the ROI to their social media posts. They started with a blog and then moved to video. Recorded with a Flip camera, the videos on their YouTube channel and their blog have significantly increased bacon sales. Ravlin suggested using these kinds of videos to show the broadcast media producers the camera-readiness of your spokesperson.

Example 4: As I’ve discussed previously on the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog, incorporating geo-location social media into a campaign is new and a struggle for some organizations. But Boloco, a regional burrito restaurant chain, successfully used Foursquare to drive business and gain print and broadcast coverage. Each location’s “mayor” was given a VIP card good for prizes. If a new mayorship is awarded, Boloco invited both the incoming and outgoing mayors to lunch for handing over the VIP card. The promotion drew the attention of local newspapers and TV stations, which lead to increased traffic and sales.

Boloco’s CEO John Pepper blogs tweets for the company and responds personally to customers on Twitter. PMG Relations often refers reporters to his blog to get an idea of his personality and philosophy. The panelists commented on the importance of getting executive buy-in for any successful social media campaign.

How are you using social media to help you drive coverage in mainstream media? Do you have any suggestions or tips?

The evolution of social media’s impact on the way we communicate is so vast and is changing so rapidly that experts can’t write their text books fast enough. New developments in social media technologies seem to be positioning themselves in a manner that allows users to find each other online through friends, interests, location, and connecting them offline with tools such as Facebook’s location application, FourSquare and, the communication professional’s favorite, the TweetUp. Thankfully, the world of technology has realized that users seek interaction beyond the computer screen and are finding new niches in the marketplace to make that happen.

According to this TechCrunch article, UnSocial, the newest app for iPhone and Droid, is “geared towards professionals who want to connect with other professionals in similar or related fields, who happen to be nearby.” But don’t let the name fool you, the whole point of UnSocial is to help users bloom into social butterflies within their industry. Using your LinkedIn login/password, the application will ask you to input words that describe your professional background, as well as characteristics of people you are looking to connect with. The app searches for people who match your criteria within close proximity of your location. If you find someone you want to connect with, you can then message, email, or even call that person.

The application is geared toward professionals, but even more specifically toward users attending conferences. The program will help users to more easily indentify the people they most want to network with. I wonder if we will see this app at next year’s PRSA?

How do you see this or similar technology helping media relations and public relations professionals build their offline networks? Do you think that the communications industry will be quick to adopt this type of application at industry events? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

*Bio: Soon after graduating from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a B.S. in business/marketing, I joined the BurrellesLuce client services team. In 2008, I completed my master’s degree in corporate and organizational communications and now serve as Director of Client Services. I am passionate about researching and understanding the role of email in shaping relationships from a client relation/service standpoint as well as how miscommunication occurs within email, which was the topic of my thesis. Through my posts on Fresh Ideas, I hope to educate and stimulate thoughtful discussions about corporate communications and client relations, further my own knowledge on this subject area, as well as continue to hone my skills as a communicator. Twitter: @_LaurenShapiro_ LinkedIn: laurenrshapiro Facebook: BurrellesLuce

To summarize the panel: location apps (e.g., Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt) serve as another way to enhance a consumer or stakeholder’s experience and interaction with your company, brand, or client. 

Tara Dunion, Consumer Electronics Association, looks to enhance the attendee experience at the International Consumer Electronics Show each January by creating an official location page on Foursquare and aggregating all the social media coverage on the website. (And they even plan to add additional locations for 2011). She commented that many exhibitors have multiple locations available for check-in, which also buys-into the game aspect of Foursquare.

Danielle Brigida says, The National Wildlife Federation wants to get you outside enjoying nature, so they employ Whrrl and Foursquare to help people share their experiences with others.  Whrrl works well for their needs because it allows the user to upload a picture to help tell their story.

A recent story on Mashable by Dan Klamm highlighted how universities and colleges can use location-based tools to promote the school, foster school spirit, drive revenue and promote the community. One idea included offering special badges for exploring places on campus.

However, not all location-based tools are gaining momentum. When Facebook Places premiered, Foursquare had a record number of new sign-ins because it connects with the new Facebook app. A few weeks later, few people are using Facebook Places. Dan Frommer explored the possible reasons on Business Insider, commenting, “Only 2% of My Friends Are Using Facebook Places…”

After the panel ended, I enjoyed brainstorming with others on how they might use these tools to help their organizations. How could you add geo-location social media into your PR toolbox? What questions do you have about the tools? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

As if we aren’t already super connected with social media, smart phones and web cams – Facebook now wants to know, “Where are you right now?” And if you want everyone to know, then visit Facebook’s Places application and share. According to Facebook, “Places is a Facebook feature that allows you to see where your friends are and share your location in the real world. When you use places, you’ll be able to see if any of your friends are currently checked in nearby and connect with them easily.”  With this new feature, you can find out which of your friends are in or around your location – creating opportunities for impromptu meetings with friends.

The “Places” application is creating a bridge between online and face to face communication (F2F). This is refreshing when F2F interpersonal communication seems to be lacking with the surging reliance on computer mediated communication. The new application encourages users to find each other and participate in dialogue outside of the Facebook community. Perhaps there is life outside of Facebook after all!

While Dennis Crowley, creator of location-based social media site Foursquare, has called Facebook Places “boring” and “unexciting,” the real issue surrounding the newest Facebook application is one of privacy (a concern Facebook is likely used to debating by now). All users must configure their own privacy settings for this application. According to Reuters, “Facebook says all Places check-ins are visible only to friends by default unless your master privacy control is set to ‘Everyone.’” However, it is important to note that there is no way to completely opt out of the Places app. Reuters notes, “If you use Places to check yourself in, then third-party check –ins [ability for your friends to check in your location] are turned on automatically unless you adjust your privacy settings.”

But the other key issue goes back to the days when Mom would leave you home alone and say, “If anyone comes to the door, don’t tell them that I’m not at home.” With Places users are parading the fact that, not only are they not at home, but they are having a nice dinner, in this city, on this street and probably won’t be home for awhile… giving someone ample opportunity to find them or their home.

The debate will continue as users begin to delve further into Places. Do you think Places is a privacy risk or another way to connect with contacts? How do you plan to incorporate Places into your public relations or marketing mix? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

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*Bio: Soon after graduating from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a B.S. in business/marketing, I joined the BurrellesLuce client services team. In 2008, I completed my master’s degree in corporate and organizational communications and now serve as Director of Client Services. I am passionate about researching and understanding the role of email in shaping relationships from a client relation/service standpoint as well as how miscommunication occurs within email, which was the topic of my thesis. Through my posts on Fresh Ideas, I hope to educate and stimulate thoughtful discussions about corporate communications and client relations, further my own knowledge on this subject area, as well as continue to hone my skills as a communicator. Twitter: @_LaurenShapiro_ LinkedIn: laurenrshapiro Facebook: BurrellesLuce

I recently joined the Droid world. I LOVE my Droid Incredible. The coverage is amazing, the clear picture and fast processor allow me to view websites and videos on the go, access Adobe files with crisp clarity and truly work “in the cloud.” And of course the tool that every public relations professional needs at all times – a camera. The Droid comes with a 8 mega pixel camera for all your photo needs. But my real Droid joy comes from the many apps I now have at my fingertips.

I don’t know how many apps are too many or too few. After reviewing the app marketplace I downloaded, tested, and kept the following free apps to help organize and maximize my mobile experience:

AndroNews: Provides fast links to major news sources: CNN, USA Today, WSJ.com and BBC to name a few.

Evernote: My most-used, must-have app for organizing notes on all of my devices. The “cloud” at its finest.

Facebook: Full-featured Facebook interface.

FourSquare: Not totally sure why, but I continue to “check-in” from time to time.

Google Goggles: Snap a picture and launch an automatic Google search of whatever you’ve scanned. *CAUTION people searches yield XXX results

Magic8Ball: To help with my really tough day-to-day decisions.

Scanlife: Allows me to engage and maximize the QR Code experience.

TMZ: Celebrity gossip. A supplement to my subscription to People!

Touiteur: My Twitter app of choice. I tried several apps, including the Twitter app and found Touiteur to be the best, most feature-rich.

UrbanSpoon: Scouting new restaurants either at home or on the road.

Where: Provides easy-access reviews and allows local vendors to send me coupons when I’m in proximity of their location.

All of the apps I share here are free. I don’t mind paying for an app if it’s good, but there are so many great free apps you don’t necessarily have to invest to maximize your mobile experience. Though I caution you before settling on any apps; thoroughly read the reviews. Don’t be fooled by the overall rating. Upon digging deeper into the reviews I realized many of the reviewers who provided detailed feedback actually ranked the app lower than the overall rating. Those higher ratings were primarily just the rating with a very brief “It’s excellent” or some mundane response.

I know we have a lot of Blackberry, iPhone and Droid users who follow the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog so I ask you to please share: What are your go-to apps? How do you use them to stay organized and be more efficient? If you are in PR or media relations have you helped create an app for your brand or client’s initiative? Can you give examples of successful app marketing campaigns?

Transcript -

JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference in Beautiful Aspen, Colorado.  I’m here with Angela.

Angela, will you please introduce yourself?

ANGELA BERARDINO:  Hi, I’m Angela Berardino.  I’m the senior director for travel and emerging media at Turner Public Relations.

BURKE:  And what are some of the trends that you’re seeing specifically as they relate to travel and tourism in the industry right now?

BERARDINO:  I think one of the larger trends is the continuing evolution of geolocation technology, so the idea that content someone creates can have a GPS tag on it and can be sorted based on where it was created.  We’re seeing that with services like Goala and Foursquare, that, you know, let users check in to a social network. But also in how photography and video and even just website content, it can actually be filtered based on where the user’s at, especially if they’re using their phone. So I think how travel industry creates content and how it’s sorted is going to continue to evolve.  It’s no longer just about the words that are used, it’s–can also be about the physical location that it was taken in.

BURKE:  Great.  And, Angela, where can people find you in the web and in social media?

BERARDINO:  Sure.  I tweet under @CoTravelGirl.  And I also blog at digitaljuju.com.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

BERARDINO:  Yes. 

This CNN article suggests it is “anxiety” that keeps most of us from unplugging completely on vacation. I’ll admit I, just like “tech-loving kids and parents,” could not do it. I knew there would be emails sent only to me which I would then need to forward to others. I’m also a news junkie, and Twitter is one of my best news feeds.

But, I did try to limit my time on the “crackberry” and computer to a few minutes a day. Peter Bregman’s post The Mostly Unplugged Vacation for the Harvard Business Review shares many of my same feelings and strategies. His suggestion for those who can’t unplug completely: “Choose a specified time — and timeframe — each evening… Scheduling time sets clear expectations — for you, for the other people on your vacation, and for the people reaching you.”

Social media doesn’t have to be for work, so I decided to use Foursquare and Facebook to share my vacation with my friends. Since I was headed to see family and friends in North Dakota, I knew the locations would be quite different from the usual tourist spots others would be visiting. I really enjoyed the comments I received, especially after visiting the world’s largest Holstein Cow in New Salem, ND. (However, I was surprised no one responded, when I became the “mayor” of Wood Lake, ND.)  And, many people shared my pain as I was delayed, re-routed, and delayed again in my attempt to fly home.

The key to enjoying your vacation seems to be setting limits on your online interaction. Here are a few good posts on ways to manage your time:

• Five Reasons to Unplug Your Vacation by Annie Scott
• How to Manage Social Media (And Still Have a Life) by Caitie Hawley
• Tips for Unplugging While on Vacation by Michael Giuffrida

Are you unplugging on your vacation? What tips do you have for the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers?

LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook…Oh My! Don’t forget about MySpace (still alive and kickin’) and newer sites like Plaxo, Squiddo and MeetUp who are yet to make social media history – there are just too many sites to keep up with, too many people to network with, and too much time spent working on each site rather than letting the site work for you. 

Even sites like hootsuite.com have emerged as a one-stop-shop for social media tycoons, providing one URL to access “the big three” (i.e., LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook) along with Ping, WordPress, and Foursquare, among others. Convenient, yes… but what are these sites? Do we even care? More importantly, should we care and how do we manage it all without becoming overloaded?

Social media is evolving at warp speed, faster than we humans can comprehend. According to Nielsen, time spent on social networking sites is up 82 percent from last year. And five and a half hours a month are spent on these social networks. Tracy Turner notes in a Dispatch article, “The average Facebook user spends 55 minutes per day on the site.”

The key is to stay away from the fads and invest long term on sites that are going to yield the greatest number of participants, which have staying power and will give your brand and your message the greatest reach. At the same time, keep in mind that niche sites can also provide forums to target your efforts to individuals who share similar interests.

Spreading yourself too thin across many sites is less effective than choosing two or three sites and being an active participant while building credibility. According to an MSNBC article by Eve Tahmincioglu, “It’s not going to help your career if you have a bunch of profiles, or pages on a bunch of sites, and no time to check all the connections and news happening every day. It’s better to focus your efforts and build a solid network on one site.”

Getting involved in social media is necessary to compete and thrive in today’s business world. Almost every organization is using social media to interact with constituents whether to market new products or look for potential new hires. Interview a few sites, but limit the number you  immerse yourself in so as not to become overwhelmed. 

Here are a few choices provided by MSNBC.

Image Courtesy of MSNBC

What social media sites have you found to be the most helpful in your PR and marketing efforts? How many sites do you actively participate in professionally and/or personally? How have they helped you expand your scope or are they just adding to the feeling of being overloaded?Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

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*Bio: Soon after graduating from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a B.S. in business/marketing, I joined the BurrellesLuce client services team. In 2008, I completed my master’s degree in corporate and organizational communications and now work as the supervisor of BurrellesLuce Express client services. I am passionate about researching and understanding the role of email in shaping relationships from a client relation/service standpoint as well as how miscommunication occurs within email, which was the topic of my thesis. Through my posts on Fresh Ideas, I hope to educate and stimulate thoughtful discussions about corporate communications and client relations, further my own knowledge on this subject area, as well as continue to hone my skills as a communicator. Twitter: @_LaurenShapiro_ LinkedIn: laurenrshapiro Facebook: BurrellesLuce

Are you getting these questions, too? As PR professionals, we are looked to as experts by our clients, but, who has time to keep up with all the changes in social media these days?

At a recent professional organization meeting, I suggested we do a program on location-based social media sites, like Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp, Loopt, and GoogleBuzz, and was met with dead stares. I quickly educated the committee, but still they were not sure if we should present on this developing trend just yet. They, however, agreed we should help educate members on emerging PR social media tools. A good place to start is Peter Wylie’s post on the Social Media Examiner, 5 Emerging Social Media Sites to Watch in 2010. This list of the most useful social media and PR blog posts – so far this year – is another good resource.

But what about location-based social media? How can PR and marketing professionals benefit from this type of social network? Luckily, I had the opportunity to also give a presentation to several members of Cultural Tourism D.C. Because the attendees’ organizations rely on tourism, we were able to dissect some of the location-based social media now available.

As previously mentioned on Fresh Ideas, GPS enabled mobile phones have enabled more players to enter this new era of social media technology. Even both Facebook and Twitter have announced the ability to add location to your updates.

A new program, Checkin Mania, reviewed recently by Mashable, could have helped me compare check-ins on various sites for a particular location. But for my presentation, my personal research found that the majority of the Washington, D.C. updates were on Yelp and Foursquare.

• Yelp makes it easy for businesses to set-up their own account. You should know, in a recent Washington Post article, Michael S. Rosenwald revealed that several companies felt pressured by Yelp to advertise in order to have positive reviews at the top of the businesses’ listings. Yelp denies this claim. The article discusses other social media tools for PR, as well.
• Foursquare recently announced they will soon have analysis tools for businesses. It will allow business to gain additional information on their customers and provide instant promotions.

However, there are also real privacy concerns whenever you announce your location in social media. A recent Chicago Tribune article spawned numerous blog postings on the issue. But, are these concerns enough to stop people from publicizing which Starbucks they love best? Doubtful. Still there are some precautions that PR and marketing professionals, and location-based social media users should consider. As conveyed in the March BurrellesLuce Newsletter: “Be aware of your privacy options” and “Be smart about your postings.”

What new tools are using to help your clients? Are you using location-based social media sites to help drive traffic to your client’s business?

Finding Advocates
Social media lesson one – listen to the conversation and embrace your advocates. By encouraging people to check-in often, you can identify

Flickr Image: thinkpanama

your top customers or visitors. Many businesses are offering rewards for becoming the “mayor” of their location. I’m guessing your client would like to find an advocate like Jared Fogle, the Subway spokesperson?

Jon Newman of The Hodges Partnership (a BurrellesLuce client) shared ideas on his blog, Jon’s PR 1.5 for encouraging customers to utilize Foursquare when they visit a business. Encouraging positive buzz about a business helps to bring in customers.

Smart Moves
I recently checked-in at a movie theater, and allowed my status to be posted on Twitter. The theater, who was monitoring for mentions of their name, saw my tweet and re-tweeted it. My tweet validated messages they were trying to exhibit, and expanded the audience beyond my Foursquare friends. I’m wondering if there will be an extra reward when I become the mayor?

Christine Ngo recently interviewed Tristan Walker of Foursquare, on Ogilvy’s Fresh Influence blog. Walker shared how some businesses, like Intel, BART, and the Brooklyn Museum are enhancing users’ experiences with tips about locations and promotional tie-ins.

Partnering with Mainstream Media
Foursquare has recently partnered with several media outlets, like Lucky and Bravo. The magazine or cable TV network rewards users with badges or medals when checking-in at locations related to their content, like fashion week, a film or a TV show. Zagat’s new Meet the Mayor series will highlight Foursquare mayors of featured locations. Wouldn’t you want to read the article about you or your friend?

Granted, Foursquare isn’t for every business, but if you rely on people visiting your business, it might be a great way to encourage more foot traffic. Retail outlets, restaurants, hotels, CVBs and other tourist spots, should not ignore this tool.

Have you checked-out Foursquare or another location based social media? How have you incorporated it into your overall communication plan? We’d love to know if any of our BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers is a Foursquare dignitary (Mayor) so please let us know!