TOPIC:

I've been experimenting with social media marketing to help drive interest in Toastmasters. I've had the most luck with Google Plus and FourSquare.

If you are unfamiliar with check-in services the activity is you post what you are doing and where you are doing it. These services share your postings primarily by connecting you geographically with others. You can choose to post publicly or just share with friends. In my case it is exceptionally rare I ever post anything private. This way its easy to keep track of settings and I don't care when these services change their privacy settings.

So here is what I do. At the beginning of each meeting a normally take a photo and post it along with a comment. I ensure my location is clearly marked so location-based social media indexes it correctly. Only people geographically near me would be interested in my post. This is one reason I do not bother with Facebook as their location indexing is a bit sloppy... at least right now.

My comments sometimes include the word 'Toastmasters' and other times are personal improvement oriented goals such as 'improving my verbal communication skills'. I mix it up so it is not too repetitious.

I often get several thumbs-up/like type votes. However, when someone takes the time to comment on my posting I make a point to write a quick note back. Typical response is to give them our club website and let them know our next meeting date. Then 2-3 days before that meeting I return to the original post and add a reminder comment. At all times I make a point not to be pushy whatsoever and keep it very light.

Here are some screenshots of my activity. By far I've had the most connections with Google Plus.

What has your experience been? Any comments/suggestions?

This is great. Hopefully, we will see support for Google+ and Foursquare (links and logos displayed for club and members) in a future FTH 2 update.

Obviously, we can add links on a custom web page, but the integrated social media hooks in FTH 2.0 are a nice addition.

Regards,

Steve James, VPE/Webmaster, Club 1966 Mindful Communicators

We focus on using Facebook because of the raw number of prospects. I have managed to get AddThis plugin to work on our site. The trick is to put the code in the using the Source editor and save before switching back to the visual editor. The Visual Editor will scrub out the code.

Can you please provide a little more information on the AddThis plugin?

Thanks!

AddThis is a little bit of java script code that puts social media links in your articles. You can use it with or without setting up a free account at www.addthis.com. If you have the account it will record statistics.

If you have seen sites where it prompts to to "share" or "like" a page using a small button, that's what this does. The trouble is that the 2.o Editor does not like the AddThis code and removes it in the visual editor. You have to use the Source editor to install it.

There are two ways to do it. The easy way is to copy the code from AddThis and put the it right into the page. This is fine if you are only going to have one set of buttons on a page. You have to use the "Source" Editor to do this.

If you plan on having more than one set of buttons on a page, then you should place the java script in thetag which can easily be done by adding the code to the end of the "Google Analytics Script Code" verification on the Site Administration panel of the Admin Console. Then you have another shorter code to place in your "Source" editor.

When using both of these methods you have to save and close while in the "Source" editor. The visual editor will automatically remove the code. So you have to re-do this every time you edit a page.

Wow, that works beautifully. Thanks for the heads up!
Anthony

Brad:
I've just started doing this with Foursquare as well. Is anyone commenting on your check-ins someone you don't know? I ask because Foursquare check-ins themselves are only seen by friends; photos are viewable by anyone but your check-in comment isn't associated. Have you tried leaving a tip at a venue?
:Penelope

On FourSquare, I am rather aggressive at friending most everyone. I always friend the mayor and everyone who leaves a tip at a venue I am checking in at. I also make a point to frequently leave a comment and/or a photo with each checkin. I am often surprised how often someone adds a comment.

Foursquare recently changed their interface. They are trying to open up the communication threads with others. I have not checked out all the details though.

For club membership interest I've had the most luck with Google plus when the post is geo tagged. Several online contacts and a few IRL club visits. I've been a bit inconsistent with it though.

Our club FB presence was setup by someone else. They have it locked down to not just members, but invited members only. I'm working on changing these settings. I know some clubs have had good results with FB.

I took about an hour to friend as many in my city with 50+ friends. Once those accepted i checked their profiles and did the same with their friends lists. I now how over 90 friends since 3 days ago so it's pretty easy to get your numbers up.

Then the night before and morning of our noon meeting I Liked as many check-in/tips, etc from near our location as I could find. I got one person locally that saved my comment. It's only one but it's a start. This should be used as part of an overall strategy anyway, not a single, lone approach.

Next week I'll have 2 other members do the same. That way when we check-in/update our status the chances of getting Liked/commented on are increased.

I'll let everyone know how that goes.
Anthony

Do you use your Foursquare account for check-ins other than Toastmasters meetings? I find it a little unsettling to think of people I don't know seeing everywhere I am. Just doesn't seem very safe. I'm interested in others' views though. And do you think there is another way to get the word out via Foursquare (aside from tweeting your check-in)?

Yes, I plan to use it for other check-ins

That's a legitimate concern. I asked everyone in the club to use the app only if they're comfortable with location based apps.

I made it clear that location based tells the world where you are. The two other members usingFoursquare are ok with that.

You could use the Google+ app if your club has a G+ setup. You can 'check-in' as your club local page vs a single person. Like Brad's example above.

Otherwise, Foursquare is all location based.

Anthony

You could create a FourSquare account under your Toastmasters Club name but not sure how much interest that would bring. Would people likely friend someone knowing they will routinely pitch a product/service?

You can create a page on FourSquare but need to link it to a Twitter account.
Here is info specific to non-profits
foursquare.com/business/brands/usecases/nonprofits

Brad:
For Facebook, are you talking about Groups or Pages?

We've currently got a members-only group, but we're exploring putting together a page for the public. I found with the group that members more readily engage if they know only other members can see what they're posting. That said, when we set up the FB page, we'll be taking links and resources shared in our group and posting them on the page as well.

A FB page seems to be a better fit for the marketing aspect, while the group fosters a great sense of community.

Any platform you use for marketing needs to be as public as possible.

Although Facebook sits behind a walled garden, content is public by default.
Google+ is private by default.

Changing these settings allows your content to get out... or not.

FourSquare recently changed their usage interface. This affects marketing techniques. When I search for how to market +"foursquare 3.0" some great content comes up to mull over.

Here is a terrific explanation on Facebook Groups vs Pages .

Using many tools may seem somewhat cumbersome to manage. However, if you set these up the content is most always the same thing so its copy/paste from one to the other. Should take about 15 minutes to cover several.

The first few times can be painful (what do I write?). But it is like speeches, it gets easier the more you do it. Most important thing to remember is although this is the all intimidating Social Media with its weird abbreviations and quirks... you are simply writing to people. A bit less scary now, huh?

I see there is a privacy concern mentioned in this discussion. This is a delightful article about introversion and privacy.

Would you randomly approach a stranger who checked into a venue on FourSquare?: ariherzog.com/foursquare-strangers/

The comments are a thoughtful discussion.