SCVNGR, A Google Venture funded gaming company in Cambridge is hosting educational workshops for small and local business owners. Dan Green, President of The Green Internet Group, will be facilitating two “hands on” workshops for businesspeople and marketing professionals.

Social Media 201 is geared towards those who have been actively engaging in social media and are looking to improve  efficiency and performance.

Social Media 302 is geared toward experienced social media marketers, including businesspeople, marketing managers and marketing professionals looking to gain a better understanding of return on investment from social media.

Social Media 201 – Intermediate

When: July 26, 2011 8:00 AM

Where: SCVNGR HQ, 175 Second Street, Cambridge, MA 02142

Optimizing your Social Media Marketing to Increase Efficiency and Performance

• Focus and goals: Strategic use of social media to produce measurable business value;
• Define success: How to choose attainable objectives and know if you are winning;
• Tools and applications: Get better results in less time;
• Engagement: Increasing the value of your existing social network;
• Negative comments: When to engage, when to step back;
• Integration: How to integrate social media with online and offline;

REGISTRATION: VIA EVENTBRITE

Social Media 301 – Advanced

When: August 23, 2011 8:00 AM

Where: SCVNGR HQ, 175 Second Street, Cambridge, MA 02142

Show Me the Money: Advance Look at Social Media Datasets and Campaigns
We will examine recent client case studies to reveal the real costs and real returns from actual client campaigns.
Learn:

• How to measure return on investment from social media;
• How to assign monetary value to different types of engagement and behaviors;
• How to choose the right tools and applications for your objectives;
• How to use data to increase your return on investment;

REGISTRATION: VIA EVENTBRITE

Running a contest can be a powerful way to build word of mouth and long-term customer relationships. However contest promotion takes a lot more than a cool prize. It takes planning, clear objectives, timing integrating different marketing channels—and legwork.

Define your goals-why are you running this contest? Are you trying to get more brand awareness? Introduce new products or services? Gain consumer insight? Build an email or mobiles subscriber base? Increase your level social media engagement How will you measure success?

A contest is a terrific way to start a conversation. It is up to you to keep the buzz going. Don’t sit back and expect customers to do the work for you. Monitor the conversations, whether on Facebook, Twitter, bogs or other social sites. Every conversation is an opportunity to engage with your customers, and for them to engage with your brand.

Be relevant Make sure the contests prize is of interest to your customers. Just because you think a 52 inch flat screen TV is worth the effort you’re asking your customers to make, don’t assume they do. Match the prize to your customer profile.

Choose the right mediums and integrate them

Engage your team

Don’t underestimate the importance of internal communications. For many bricks and mortar business, the success of your contest lies in the hands of your front line people. If they are engaged and enthusiastic, they will transfer this to your customers. If not, chances are your contest will fizzle out , results will be disappointing and you could give up on a productive marketing channel.

Timing is everything

Know when to start and when to stop. Pick a time that allows you to focus the appropriate energy on your contests. Consider seasonality, other overlapping promotions, holidays and other events that may draw attention and energy away from your contest. Don’t limit participation by choosing too tight a window between launch and your contest cutoff date. Contests often pick up steam after the first week or so. It takes time for customers to begin talking about your contest and spreading the word. After all, that’s one of the main objectives. Conversely, don’t let the contest linger on too long in the hope you’ll get every possible participant. Maintaining the excitement will be next to impossible.

Having a contest on Facebook won’t be very productive if the majority of your customers are not on Facebook. Text messaging, email, contest entry websites and print, working together can provide amazing results while building or reinforcing your brand identity.

Integrate your existing marketing channels and consider additional opportunities. Provide alternative means of entries. Some states have laws requiring this. For example during this contest we combined the following marketing channels to create a synergy and promote a new brand:

• A contest website
• Facebook application
• Monile with text to enter
• Point of sale posters, flyers and handouts
• Email marketing
• Website updates
• Social media
• Google Analytics

Obey The Law

Last but not least make sure you are in compliance with your state contest or sweepstakes laws. You know the difference between a contest and a sweepstakes right?

• A “sweepstakes” is a game of chance one plays voluntarily and for which one is not required to pay anything to enter in order to win a prize.
• A “skill contest” is a puzzle, game, competition, or other contest in which: A prize is awarded or offered; The outcome depends on the contestant’s skill, and A purchase, payment or donation is, or seems to be, required, to enter the contest.

Most of all, be memorable.

Engage customers during the contest. Don’t use the conversation solely to promote. Ask questions, find out more about your participants interests, pay attention to the little things and be transparent. You’ll discover that the buzz is still going long after the contest ends. After all that’s why you started this process in the first place.

Sponsored by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
Registration details coming soon

You’ve invested time and money building up hundreds of Facebook fans and Twitter followers. You have videos on YouTube, write about your restaurant, food and cooking  blog, you’re connected on LinkedIn and treat your Four Square mayors like royalty.

Can you answer these questions?

• How much has all this activity contributed to your bottom line?
• Which social media channel is the most profitable?
• How do you measure the value ?

Social media marketing can generate value in many ways, from sales to brand awareness. But at what cost?

Find out how to measure return on social media, discover results you probably didn’t realize you were getting, and how to tell what efforts return real business value.

2011 Winter Dinner & Program Meeting

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 Hilton, Dedham, MA 5:30 – 9:00 p.m.

How can social media be used by those in the car wash industry to expand their customer base and build customer loyalty? If you have been thinking about entering the world of social media marketing or have begun but have hit a snag, this program will help you take the next step.

In non-technological terms, you will learn:

• Various options and what might be right for different purposes and businesses
• Day- to-day management requirements
• How to measure the results of your program.
• Examples of successful initiatives that can be applied cost effectively.
• Valuable information on whether these options are appropriate for you
• The steps for the initial development of a social media marketing program

Speaker: Dan Green, The Green Internet Group

Member Registration

“Organizations that acquire an exquisite fit with their current surroundings may be unable to adapt when those surroundings change. Organizations that hedge against an exquisite fit may also dissolve when placed in competition with those that do have a better momentary fit.”

Those words were written by Karl Weick in 1979 in his book The Social Psychology of Organizing. When I read this, I couldn’t help but think of businesses needing to adapt to the rapid change in use of the Internet and social media. Companies that fail to adapt to this change in the environment will, as Weick put it, “dissolve.” It’s interesting that Weick wrote his book over thirty years ago, but the principle still hold true for running organizations.

In today’s technological world, more time is spent online than off, so it makes sense that businesses have joined the social network world. Prominent networks at this moment include Facebook and Twitter but these venues are mutable, and trends come and then fade out. However, despite the top site being in flux, these social networks allow companies to inexpensively reach a target market and create conversation with their customers. Harnessing the power of the Internet is beneficial for organizations of all sizes, and the financial costs are negligible. However time is a cost that many small businesses overlook when entering into a social media campaign.

There is a “set it and forget it” misconception about social media that can lead to unsatisfied business owners who do not understand why their Facebook or Twitter campaigns have failed. Social media can be a beneficial tool, but only when organizations put adequate effort into it. Creating that “momentary fit” that Weick so eloquently put requires energy, but it will pay off in the end.

As a marketing and public relations specialist, some would say I am a total hypocrite. I was the first person to complain when businesses joined Facebook; however, I didn’t think twice to start advertising there. But what I have gained from my own dichotomy is a new perspective to the issue at hand—advertising without being obvious.

Having a presence online is important, especially through social media. For most companies that presence is to develop a relationship with clientele. Customers want to feel important—that they have an in with the company. Social media allows for that “in”, while building rapport with customers and increasing customer satisfaction.

However, social media site like Facebook and Twitter are not where you bombard your fans with daily updates of meaningless information. Content should be meaningful, genuine and of interest to whom the message is intended for. The point is to have a presence but not to dominate the conversation.

Good use of social media will spark conversation on your behalf from fans and consumers. The third party discussion is the most credible information about your company on the Internet. Why? Because customers believe other customers. They don’t share information about your company to make money like you do. They are not trying to attract other customers; it is completely genuine. At that point you are marketing, you are promoting your businesses, and creating a name for your company without being obvious.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Seaport Hotel, Boston (directions)

Moderator: Dan Green, President, The Green Internet Group

Panelists: Durand Duin, AdWords Manager, Google; Leighann Farrelly, Community Manager, Yelp; William McAdoo, Publisher, Bostonfoodie.com

Keeping the focus on marketing and branding, the 2010 Industry Summit will take a closer look at social media, mobile marketing and other emerging technology. Moderator Dan Green, President of The Green Internet Group, will pick the minds of an expert panel to answer the questions: what is social media, and what does it mean to your business?  Green and his panel of experts will help you learn how to increase your web presence. Green will also explain how to evaluate, manage and improve your online reputation and measure return on investment from social media and new media campaigns. Full of actionable information, attendees will learn how to create an effective social media plan for their businesses.

The panel discussion is part of a full day program presented by The Massachusetts Restaurant Association. Registration information

Okay, so that was a gross exaggeration, but perhaps not a great one. A decade ago if you launched a website, you were marketing online. Just a few years later, you created a presence on MySpace. Then YouTube. Last year you jumped on Facebook and Twitter. You were on the leading edge. Not so fast!

Mobile marketing, 2-D barcodes and location based apps are where it’s at today. You might not hear this too often, but phone companies are smart. For years pricing plans have subsidized development of new technology. Changes in pricing plans have enabled consumers to upgrade to the latest and greatest mobile devices, about every 12 months on average, thus accelerating the widespread adoption of smartphones. Even the term phone is no longer accurate. The smart phone is the Swiss Army Knife of communications.

Consumers not only make calls with these devices, they post comments to social networks, play games, do their banking, watch movies and listen to music, not to mention surf the web (surf the web has our vote as a phrase overdo for retirement).

Geolocation is all the rage right now. Using GPS technology, WiFi triangulation or custom technology, companies like Foursquare, Gowalla, Peekaboo Mobile, Shopkick and others are able to connect you to customers based on where they are at any given time. Using their mobile devices, customers “check in” to businesses and leave comments about them, along with leaving a virtual breadcrumb trail so their friends know they were there. Businesses are running promotions for those checking.

“It’s social media meets gaming and the playing field is the smartphone. The marketing opportunities are endless.”

Imagine this scenario. You own a local restaurant. You draw significant business from fans of your local sports teams. The weather is particularly uncooperative and you find you’re overstaffed for the small number of customers coming in that day. The big game just ended. You log in to a web-based application and post a special offer for those willing to brave the weather that is delivered to those within a 5 mile radius of the stadium and your restaurant. The offer is received within 15 seconds. The whole promotion took a whopping 10 minutes to implement.

Sounds exciting, right? Potential always is.

Should you embrace these technologies now? Yes. Should you invest marketing dollars in them? Maybe. New technology doesn’t mean you abandon sound business and marketing principles or ignore your brand strategy. However, you do need to look ahead, and you might want to pick up the pace a bit. It’s a matter of when, not if, you will need to include mobile in your marketing mix.

A few questions we hear almost every day . . .

• Do we reallocate our marketing budget, or increase it to include these new mobile trends?
• If we do, is there a reasonable return on investment?
• If we do this will our customers care?
• How will we know? Can we measure this activity?
• Do we manage this in-house or outsource?

Now is the time to answer these and other questions.

In some cases, the answer is yes-let’s go big and go now. With other clients, the time to pull the trigger is six months or a year down the road, but planning, budgeting and training starts now. In other cases the answer is “Very cool stuff but you’re better off with direct sales. You don’t need our help.”

Think about your past experience with new technologies. Did you profit or are you one of the millions of casualties who jumped in without an integrated marketing plan, some clear objectives and a way to measure results? Or did you get involved because everyone seemed to be jumping on board?

If you are ready to have this conversation, call us to schedule a consultation or submit a request online.

What is social media, and what does it mean to your business?

With all the different social media channels, scores of mobile apps, and emerging technologies like GPS locating technologies, how do you decide where to focus your energy to get the greatest return?

Learn how to increase your online visibility, measure the effectiveness of this new media marketing, and take it to the next level. Social media experts will share tips to help you monitor what people are saying about your brand, how to manage your reputation, how to engage customers through social media campaigns that produce results, utilize mobile applications to get new customers and keep them coming back more often, and build a 30-day social media plan for success.

Presented by Moderator Dan Green, President, The Green Internet Group; Panelists: Leighann Farrelly, Boston Editor, Yelp; Durand Duin, Boston Manger, Google and Bill Macadoo, Bostonfoodie.com

Contact Dan Green for details. 866.506.1923

Sponsored by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
May 17, 2010 | Emerging Enterprise Center at Foley Hoag LLP 1000 Winter Street, Suite 4000 Waltham, MA 02451

Learn how to make social media work for your business. Restaurant operators will learn how social media can be integrated with new technology and other marketing channels including websites, mobile marketing, email marketing and print advertising.

Learn how advanced 2D barcode technology can make loyalty programs, gift cards and limited time promotions simpler, more effective and completely measurable.

Cost:
MRA Members: $55 Non-MRA Members: $75

Presenters:
Stephen Capano, President, Tectrix Technology Dan Green, President, The Green Internet Group Tony Padam, Vice President of Business Development, Capture Code