When I first saw it, it had close to 500,000 views within 24 hours of making it public on YouTube. The views are now close to 2.2 mil. It’s absolutely amazing. Great job Equinox Yoga!

What makes a good video: 

1. Captivating content.
2. Movement.
3. A story that draws you in.
4. Good Audio.
5. Elements of funny, amazing, entertaining, inspiring, informational or controversial help a video go viral.
6. Time – keep it to about 2 min.
7. A good looking girl in bikini helps

Click here to view the embedded video.

Have you seen any great videos lately?

I like it when I see a local Lake Tahoe business doing a good job with their social media marketing efforts. In addition to our Once a Month Who’s Doing it Best in Lake Tahoe in Social Media and Digital Marketing Series, I’m going to feature a local Lake Tahoe business in our Tahoe Thursday series. If you can think of any, let me know in the comments section or send me an email milena@outandaboutmarketing.com.

Today’s spotlight goes to Tahoe StandUp Paddleboards.

I’m not going to review their website today. I like what they have done with it. I’d like to concentrate on their social networks instead. Some of them are well linked from their website. (Good start) and some I had to look for. (Constructive criticism here – I had a hard time finding their youtube channel).

Let’s look at each one:

Facebook

Active and engaged feed with good interaction with other companies.

Great custom profile photo.

Excellent use of the custom tabs. I particularly liked the Team Tahoe SUP custom tab with my friend Whitney Wall featured at the top. Great way to bring personality into your brand.

Other tabs worth mentioning are the 2012 boards, telling us what to expect, the welcome tab and the Explore Project.

Overall, a visually beatiful Facebook page. Great job! Can they get even more engagement and likes and perhaps introduce Facebook commerce?  Do they have a well put social media strategy in place? If you want to check your Facebook EdgeRank score for free and establish a benchmark for the company, Facebook Edgerank Checker is a good free tool to use for that. For more detailed Facebook Analytics and intelligence, hit me up.

Twitter

Twitter is one of my favorite networks. The Twitter account for Tahoe SUP didn’t disappoint visually. Great custom background image carrying our the brand with urls to other social networks and website assets.

A quick check on Klout shows Tahoe SUP at 21 with topics of influence of construction, plastic and surfing. What is Klout? Klout has positioned themselves as the standard of influence on the web, a very interesting and controversial topic of conversation. They give you a score of 1 to 100 and the higher your score is the most influence you have on the web. They also analyze your conversations and tweets and assign topics to you they believe you are influential in.

With a fun sport like paddle boarding I would imagine that Tahoe SUP can do a lot better on Twitter. To see the entire Twittalyzer dashboard for Tahoe SUP, head over to the this link. Sure, Tahoe SUP can do better with their twitter activity but at least they are not cross posting Facebook to Twitter as many bigger brands wrongly do. (More on this in another post).

YouTube

The Tahoe SUP YouTube account is also customized with their brand. With 8 videos and 31 subscribers, I’d venture to say they can definitely improve their video presence. Although, they are fairly active with 8,635 views to their channel.

I loved their video on paddle boarding with dogs in Lake Tahoe with the dog whisperer as featured on National Geographic. Nicely done. Who doesn’t like going out on the lake with the dog and enjoying the outdoors.

and finally the Tahoe SUP Blog

Prominently featured right on the home page, Tahoe SUP has an active blog. One thing I couldn’t figure out was how to leave a comment on a blog post but maybe I just missed it. If I didn’t, adding comments to the blog will be a good improvement.

I particularly like the integration of photos, videos and the team within the blog. It makes it easy to look around and get a feel for the sport before you jump both feet into it. And as a passionate paddle boarder, I highly recommend it.

Overall, Tahoe SUP is doing a good job with social media. I’m sure they have limited resources to spend online and if their products are flying off the shelves already, then I’m sure they are analyzing what makes the most sense for the company. I see a lot of opportunities and potential to grow their business and connect with paddle boarders around the world.

I hope spring comes soon and we can all go out and enjoy the sport. I know I can’t wait to grab my Tahoe SUP and go out.

Do we need any more social networks in our daily lives? We are stretched so thin trying to stay connected 24/7 on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs that adding one more social network to our lives seems like a crazy idea. But I really like this one. And I think it has a big potential for travel destinations and companies. Meet Pinterest.

What is Pinterest?

It’s an online pinboard where you can pin things of interest to you. You can have different boards based on your interests. For example, I have a board called Places I want to visit where I have pinned various destinations, cities and natural landmarks I want to visit one day. It’s a visual board with beautiful images. Do you see how travel destinations can benefit from this?

Who’s using Pinterest? 

Pinterest has been around for 2 years but only recently it gained a lot of traction to where it’s now ranking in the top 10 social networks. “Time magazine called Pinterest — a website where users post collections of images of their favorite food, clothes, places and everything else — one of the five best social media sites of 2011, along with Google-Plus and Klout. The company has raised $27 million in venture capital led by the firm Andreessen Horowitz, which several tech news outlets have reported as valuing Pinterest at $200 million” states this story in the USA Today on Pinterest standing out in a crowded social media space.

At this time, you still need to receive an invite to join Pinterest but if you submit a request, you will receive your invite within a day or so.

Retailers, like Real Simple, Land’s End, Nordstrom and Etsy are using Pinterest and for some of them Pinterest is driving more traffic than Facebook.

Demographics

80% of Pinterest’s users are women making it a very appealing place to showcase your destination, ski resort, city, hotel accommodation.  Below are the detailed demographics from HotelMarketing.com.

- Largely women (a 80% to 20% ratio). So there’s some truth to Matt Buchanan’s post on Gizmodo yesterday that proclaims Pinterest as “a Tumblr for ladies”.
- Aged mainly between 25 and 44 (accounting for 55% of the group, 30% are 25-34, 25% are 35 – 44)
- Just 25% of users have a bachelors degree or higher
- The majority live off a household income of $25-75k

An attractive demographics group if you are in the travel&tourism industry.

To take advantage of Pinterest start compiling good photography that shows your spa, your destination, your ski resort, your town. People can pin photos from your website as well so having good photography on your website as always helps travelers make a decision faster.

Do you use Pinterest personally or for business? Let me know in the comments below. If you need a beginner guide to start using Pinterest, Mashable put one together. It’s very easy to use. Go on and try it.

We’ve partnered with Mari Smith, Facebook social media expert to bring you a completely free webinar on Jan 31st at 11am PST.

Do you remember the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game that went viral a few years ago?

Apparently, Facebook is now credited with reducing the six degrees of separation to only FOUR!

That means, if there’s anyone on the entire planet you’d like to get to know, they’re only four people away from you now. So I can’t help wondering, does this change the game too?

Register for the webinar now

I don’t know for sure what Kevin Bacon thinks of this, but it sure does change the game if you’re using social networking to boost your business. That’s why I’m thrilled to hear about Mari Smith’s first big Facebook webinar of 2012, and you’re invited to be there — at zero cost!

You may know Mari as a true leader in the social media space. So having the chance to hear some of her best Facebook and relationship-marketing strategies is an offer that’s impossible to refuse. You can bet I’ll be there when it happens on Tuesday, January 31.

Even if you’ve been on a Facebook webinar in the past year, you know how quickly things change online… especially with everything going on at the world’s largest social network! Do yourself a favor and pick up Mari’s top 5 strategies for connecting and monetizing your business online in 2012. From what I hear, she’s got a whole lot more planned for the webinar, too!
Just so you know, the spots are filling up fast for this webinar, and it’s less than 2 days away. So if you want to join me on Mari’s call, it only takes a few seconds to click the link above and get yourself registered.

I hope to see you on the webinar!

P.S. Mari just let me know this is her biggest ever Facebook event – she’s going to be streaming live from a TV studio in San Diego along with her assistant Lori. Mari expects over 3,000 people to be on the live streaming webinar on January 31st. Be sure to save your spot now!

See you there!

What are some of the reviews this app is getting:

• Featured by Apple! Winner of the 2011 Communication Arts Interactive Annual!
• Experience what some are calling the #1 Free App of All Time.
• “One of the most spectacular virtual-tour user experiences I’ve seen” – Fast Company Design

What we like:

App: It comes with an app for iPhone or iPad so to fully utilize it, get the app.

Ease: Snap a panoramic or 360 degree photo with your iPhone and using the platform turn it into an amazing visual that will really make your property, resort, hotel or shop pop up on the Internet. Professional photography will look great on this tour. Imagine the possibilities for marketing your venue.

Augmented Reality: Using this app on your iPad is super cool. Check it out today for a glimpse of the future.

Example of a tour: Don’t try to click on the image. Unfortunately, TourWrist doesn’t allow to embed tours in WordPress sites. If you wan to see a tour in action, click here. It’s a cool photo from Sand Harbor that Jen Schmidt took last summer.

Marketing tools: You can share your tour on social media, embed it on your site (except for WordPress and Posterous sites) and even create a QR code for it.

Price: So far, it looks like it’s free so that’s AWESOME. Hope it stays this way.

We are planning on spending some more time with this tool and really putting it to work for marketing purposes with travel and tourism brands. If you have used it already, let us know your feedback or just check it out.

Special thanks goes to Mike Henderson who posted it on Facebook.

Proceed with caution. Some interns will make a great addition to your marketing staff and some may lead to a disaster on social media. Ultimately, it’s your company’s reputation that is at risk.

Below are some guidelines and considerations to follow.

1. Your social media intern will represent your travel brand online. Their personality will inter-vine with yours. They will become the voice for your tourism brand online. Make sure they understand your business, your market and your industry and can speak on your behalf.
2. Make sure they understand marketing. Yes, being authentic and real online is fantastic but the reason to be on social media is to extend your reach, creating new relationships while forging existing ones. It’s all Marketing 101. Does your intern get this? I’m not talking about blasting your community with the latest sale and promotion. I’m talking about how you provide value to your customers.
3. Make sure they have at least the basics of social media. The fact they have a personal Facebook page and watch YouTube videos doesn’t qualify them for being a social media guru (ninja, expert, fill in the blank here). Good communication skills and writing skills are essential for social media.  Do they have a basic understanding of running a Facebook business page? Do they know how to start creating an online community? And if they don’t, do they know where to go to find the answers.
4. Protect your brand by asking them to sign a social media policy. Mistakes happen but sometimes an intern or an employee can knowingly do something really damaging to your reputation. Make sure they sign your social media policy. If you don’t have one, at least go over some general rules and guidelines as to what’s acceptable on social media for your travel brand.
5. Create a plan for them to follow. Most interns need a lot of supervision and direction. Just spending time on Twitter and Facebook won’t be too beneficial to your company. What would be your social media strategy? It’s probably best if you spend the time to develop a plan and then go over it with your intern to make sure they understand it and can follow it. Develop a 6 months plan with KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Establish benchmarks. Create an editorial calendar. Come up with some contests. Look at your brand across different social networks and decide how to engage with your followers at each one. Then, once a month sit down with your intern and review where you stand. Learn from the experience online and improve your plan. Hold them accountable if your measurements allow.

Interns can be a great addition to your marketing team – from developing content like videos and blog posts to monitoring your brand reputation online and your social media presence daily. For brands in the travel&tourism space it may be easier to find social media interns that are passionate about the company. It also helps if you can pay them. Who wants to work for free these days? At the same time, who doesn’t want to ski powder all day long and take videos or stay at a nice hotel, go kitesurfing and write a blog post about the experience? Interns can be very enthusiastic about what they do and they can bring lots of energy to your marketing team.

Capitalize on the good and minimize the dangers by having a good plan before you go out seeking interns. For more information on what to look for, I found this post on Mashable.

What is your experience with interns? For the most part, I have to say mine was favorable under the right expectations. And yours? Leave a comment in the space below and let us know. Would you hire an intern? Why or why not? Interns, what do you look for in an internship? What companies would you like to work for?

I truly enjoyed the presentations I saw, starting with Troy Thompson from Travel2.0 setting the stage for the day, Mike Henderson from Arborglyph talking about destination marketing videos, Rob Gadtke from KPS3 n mapping media and technology to the buying process and Eric Bengston on Developing an Interactive Strategy.

Below you will find my presentation on how to engage with your fans on Facebook and create a culture and vibrant online community with lots of examples from local and national properties doing it right. I covered custom landing pages, affordable apps, best business practices and measurements. In addition to my presentation, feel free to use my handout on 10 Facebook tips to improve engagement. Some of these tips you can implement today in your Facebook marketing.

“Here’s to the crazy ones…The ones who see things differently… They have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward”.  Steve Jobs

So what about if we change things around. Instead of agencies and consultants telling you how much their services cost, what if you tell them how much you are willing to pay for their services. It’s all about perceived value anyway. If you believe in the power of word of mouth and you want to get more business how much are you willing to pay for it. Assuming that you have a great product or service to start with why not take it to the next level?

No marketing can help you if you have a bad product. You can’t put lipstick on a pig. It won’t work. But let’s say you have a great business and you want to tell more people about it. Now you can – just Name Your Own Price.

In honor of Steve Jobs and his Think Different motto, I’ve created for a very limited time a marketing offer which is unheard of in the industry.

I strongly believe in the Power of Social Media and the Power of Word of Mouth for any business. It’s hard to put a dollar amount on word of mouth and connecting with people. Yet a business needs a good plan with a well thought out strategy on how to utilize various social networks and tools available today to get the word out about their great product or service. I want you to Name Your Price based on the value you perceive you will get from a well thought out plan and strategy.

So, here’s the offer I’m putting on the table today.

The Offer – Name Your Own Price for your custom made Word of Mouth/Social Media Strategy

You can choose from:

1. Social Media Audit
2. Social Media Strategy
3. Brand Reputation Management
4. Personal Branding Strategy
5. Facebook Strategy
6. Twitter Strategy
7. Word of Mouth for your business

This offer is valid for 1 week only and expires on Friday, Oct 14th.

The only condition is that I can take or leave your offer (it needs to be realistic) but I promise I’ll talk to each one of you.

So, here it is: Think Different today and Name Your Own Price. Now, it’s your turn.

Photo credit: Flickr, charliecurve

It’s not too late to get your tickets for the workshop. Last day to register is tomorrow, Oct 5th. You can see the complete agenda of the day as well as the detailed presentations.

I can’t wait to see everyone there and discuss Facebook for Business. I better start working on it!!

A good friend, Troy Thompson from Travel 2.0 is going to be the keynote speaker and I will present on Facebook for business. Let me know what you want to learn.

Out&About Marketing is giving away a free admission to the event. Here’s how to you can win the free ticket valued at $99 before Aug 31 and $125 after.

2 ways to WIN:

1. Tweet with #WinSMGTahoe hashtag in your tweet. You can tweet up to 3 times a day. You will get an entry every time you tweet.We’ll randomly draw the winner.
2. Leave a comment on this blog post and tell us why you want to go.

Contest rules:

1. Contest ends Oct 3rd and the winner will be announced on this blog.
2. The winner will be selected at random and the decision is final.
3. If you have already purchased a ticket, no problem. We’ll give you a full refund on your ticket or you can just give away the ticket to someone who really wants to go.
4. No purchase is necessary to win.
5. You are responsible for your own travel expenses.

Good luck to everyone! See you on Oct 12th!