Some Tools and Tips to Try with Your Facebook Page

There are several third party application creators offering Facebook pages and makeovers and in trying to beautify and simplify one of my non-profits Facebook campaigns I've experimented with five.  The all have their hits and misses. 

First there is basic FBML. A simple way to center general information like dates, times, store hours. There are plenty of tips online for utilizing the fbml codes. If you know a little html - it isn't much different and pretty easy.

One big miss - is Tabsite, which was originally designed for when Facebook had Tabs. When they went to the "frame" option and eliminated the FBML, Tabsite became dysfunctional. I just tried it again and while I can easily add "pages" to my index on the left, I can't edit them. They basically keep sending me back to sign up again. I am sure it is either a "should be using FireFox" or "you need to do steps 8-9 on the missing disc" type of problem but it is annoying and there is no one to give you quick answers.

Easy but sometimes cheesy. Pagemodo. This one has a variety of options depending on your payment level. It comes with easy to work templates that help you crop your jpgs/gifs, and create text pages for your landing page. Cheesy because the text formatting options are limited and it looks a bit cheesy when you can't control leading, weight and size in the finished piece. It adjusts and "fits" the type, and there is no "bold" or "linking" to an individual word.

I liked Wildfire's Facebook applications, and all of the opportunities it offers. First there is the Free Fan Gate, a landing page that opens up to "offers" when customers "Like" your page. It's a nice welcome page. Limited but free. The other programs are for those agencies and or marketers who have good budgets. Most are contest driven such as a sweepstakes, public voting, trivia or photo contest, or simply coupon or group offers. This is where Wildfire's costs go up.  It is "Campaign" specific in that Wildfire will charge a base fee then a per day fee of maintaining the campaign. Most of my non-profits can't afford an open ended product like this.

Which leads me to the final one that I have had the most success with - North Social. Their platform works best and sometimes only with Firefox web browser. But, they offer everything from sweepstakes, to sign up forms (such as volunteer sign up forms) and they have easy to understand instructions. The best part of their program is you can create your own artwork. They give you very specific dimensions instead of the "Must be under 1 mg" type of templates most give you. Their website has video tutorials giving you step by step, as well as a q&a blog from other users for each application. But the best part about this company is their service. Right on. I get immediate answers to my questions and their pages are clean. Here's what you can do with them Deal Share, Fan Offers, Sweepstakes, Photo Showcase, Show and Sell Partner  Pages (IE sponsors) Donate pages, twitter feeds, "Map It" and North Contact.

North Contact is the application that works with their sweepstakes and other sign up pages. This program is free and provides you with a data base of your registrants. It also has an email program. This is extra and charges you per usage.

I'm currently using North Social and North Contact for a contest and interactive game I'm playing with fans of one my my accounts. The North Contact window has remained open during the promotion allowing me to see the number of registrants, which registrant has not answered the confirmation email, and provides an exportable CSV file with all the sign up information. You can ask as many questions as you want in the sign up process. (I recommend the fewer the better.)

If you are running a contest or sweepstakes, Facebook regulations require you to use a third party. There are also lots of restrictions to using the term Facebook so be sure to read Facebook Promotion Guidelines ON Facebook. And an odd little quirk that is fun to work around Facebook requirements call for Sweepstakes promotions. This is easy, a drawing of some sort with no purchase required. What isn't easy is that winners must be notified by email. You must get your client's email. But, if you are using an email program such as I Contact, when the program screens your copy, unless it is built into the "artwork" it most likely will suggest you remove the word "sweepstakes" from any copy before allowing you to send. This term is often screened as "spam" in email.


Whichever program you choose, sample it first. I'm trying to get one of my least favorites off my credit card, and while it worked great in March - it sucks right now.

My Wall is NOT Your Billboard!

Stop putting advertisements on my Facebook and Twitter please.

I understand, you read an article on the Social Media revolution, Egypt, and how brands are being born through Facebook and Twitter.

You hired a social media guru who told you you would have 500 fans and followers within a week, a month, whatever and they promised to make you a "voice" on social media.

Maybe you read "Twitter Power" or "Social Media Marketing for Dummies" and signed up with Hootsuite or Cotweet with a "Whoohoo I just saved my Company" revelry.

You may get one or two desperate individuals who are social media newbies/old school marketing buffs to respond: "Oh yes, that whole life insurance for at $34.99 a month is just right for me." But you will not win fans and followers in the long haul. And social media, my friend is a long tail of the cat. It is about building a relationship. Not selling product. What?

You missed the most important statement that Dierdre Breakenridge ("PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences") and Brian Solis ("Engage") have been preaching for the last three years. (I've been devouring their books, blogs and tweets for two.)

Marketing and P.R. have merged. This means within the social media world, content and proper manners are king. YOU the marketer are supposed to engage. This can be hard for old die-hard radio hype advertisers who believe Frequency and the offer leads to the pot of gold.   This is not broadcast or outdoor media where the most obnoxious catch the attention.

Lately my Facebook wall and Twitter page are being cluttered with discounts, blatant ads - no valuable info - nothing I want to read.

Is this unusual? No. And often, if you follow me at twitter.com/Melsprwrks or twitter.com/SocalWinecntry you will see this kind of garbage on my page or on my Melody.Brunsting Facebook page. I friend and follow many. Melsprwrks follows social media, pr and marketing people that I consider to be experts. SocalWineCntry follows wineries, event planners and wine experts as it covers events in California. For every one individual I may follow there are two to three I either block or stop following. Why?

There is also a new crop of marketers that failed to read either
Brian's or Dierdre's book. They did read about Hootsuite and Cotweet, then signed up a few 50-something clients to "build and maintain" their social media presence. SAVE ME!!

They are doing it wrong. If "they" are doing this for you: "Save 20% on case of Zinfandel if you attend our concert this Friday at... yadeeyadeeyadee for $50 buy tix at yadee yadee."

If you are sending out ADS you are doing it wrong. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and even your blog is not a FREE billboard. It is a SOCIAL network. Do you avoid the guy at the party who tells you why you need term, whole life and temporary disability insurance? Yes. Do you turn off the radio or television when an annoying ad blasts through your peace? Yes.

To the insurance agents that annoy me - tell me how to save money on business liability insurance, why I need automotive liability at $2 million or tell my friend if she should just add business liability to her home because she is home based? That's good information and I might just follow you for that.

And if you are a marketer -- I really hate seeing tweets with long lists of mentions and hashtags. What good does that do anyone on my Tweets or blogs? They can't tell what the heck you are trying to say or where you want us to go.

Here is what you will see on Brian Solis' Twitter:
"Reading@lou hoffman's book review of "Tell to Win" by @PeterGruber http://bit.lyh8fVkK.

"shelhotz 13 answers on Quora to "Should every business have a blog? Why or why not?" and mines on top! http://b.qr.ae/hStec7.

I am interested in both tweets and will follow the links.

Here is what I won't follow but was actually on my Twitter page:

"The BLEEP BLEEP Wine Guide Daily is out http://bit.lyleVbleep To stories via @bleep,@bleep@bleep."

"Dummy read/dummy does GET MORE FOLLOWERS MY BEST FRIENDS/ WILL FOLLOW YOU IF YOU FOLLOW ME. http..bleep.

Really? yes he did type all caps.  The BLEEP BLEEP guide actually put out a separate entry for every BLEEP BLEEP guide he/she writes and posted them all within the same 15 minutes.

I implore you - if you are serious about using the social media, take a public relations course, read at least two more books than Twitter Power and Social Media for Idiots - I mean dummies. And, please read the section on manners - not just the 1 hour a day task list. If you outsource - please in source with someone who reviews what your outsource is going to do. If it is nothing more than advertisements, don't waste your money or good name. Wait until you can do it right and put a person on the task that is engaging and engaged with your company story.

Next up - Do I need to Tweet to Sell a Seat? A primer for special event marketing.

For more information on marketing your event see my seminars at slideshare.net/Melsprworks

Social Media, Engaging and Egypt

For anyone who followed me during the “Grand Social Experiment” of 2010 where I conducted a contest using Facebook and Twitter to promote the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival,  the campaign was very successful. The original goal was to increase the number of fans on Facebook by 10% of the event attendance. We increased it 9.5% – close. The second goal of the campaign was to increase online activity and online ticket sales. We doubled ticked sales, and doubled online traffic over the previous year – not once, but twice. That means we doubled it on Tuesday, and then doubled it again.

Bottom line to the Grand Social Media Experiment – it  accomplished its mission. The campaign has won two awards – Best New Idea at Calfest against events like the Miramar Air Show. And it won a Gold Pinnacle award at the International Festivals and Events convention, competing internationally against events like the Kentucky Derby, Cherry Blossom Festival, and Rose Parade. Gold is top honors – this award was for Best New Promotion.

I knew I had to embrace Facebook and Twitter – my new world of PR – to keep any of the events I promote on top of their game. I knew it was a strong and “cheap” tool. Today I witnessed just how strong this new media can be when used as it is intended.

Egyptians showed the world what tenacity and networking can accomplish. World news media credits much of the revolution to social media. As I watch the celebrating I wonder what is ahead. The power of the people to unite through communication, the long, long tail of the cat that spread the word to Egyptians even with their Internet and texting shut down, persevered. The outcome will be analyzed by world leaders and the intelligence agencies behind them. 18 Days – that was all it took – 18 days to throw a president/dictator out of office. To the people of Egypt, their campaign has rewarded them with a new Egypt.  The world will watch, read and listen as their new country takes shape.

Clearly, transparency in this new regime will be essential. Mubarak’s biggest mistake was trying to shut down the communication of the people.  May the world leaders take note.

I titled my blog Marketing Revolution 2012 because that is what social media has done to my profession of marketing and public relations. It has caused a revolution of transparency – communication is now king – and there is nowhere to hide when there is a problem.

As Public Relations and Marketing professionals we need to keep this in mind as we engage on the social networks. Companies that answer to complaints and problems, politicians and dignitaries who make attempts – good or bad – to explain and communicate with their constituents are respected for their candor in this age of transparency. Those faced with controversy and scandal that attempt to shut down the public’s right to speak, avoid journalists or reply “no comment” may not cause a revolt as Mubarak’s regime did in Egypt. But, they will lose. Whether it is market share or voters’ approval – they will lose as a precedent was set today.

A cat was let out of the bag decades ago when the Internet was commercialized. As of 2009 an estimated quarter of the Earth’s population used services of the Internet. Affordable cell phones that connect to the Internet followed, allowing communication throughout the world.

This new world is both challenging for “old P.R. dogs” and those in the public eye, but is also very exciting.

Social Media Campaign Takes A Gold

Boise, Idaho- The International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) paid tribute to the 2010 Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival on September 15, 2010 during the IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards Ceremony held at the IFEA’s 55th Annual Convention & Expo in Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. – September 15-17, 2010, where they were presented with three awards in the prestigious IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards competition. Awards were won in the following categories: 

• Gold Pinnacle (top honors) - Best New Promotion Social Media/Facebook & Twitter Campaign
• Silver Pinnacle - Best Media Kit
• Bronze –Best Media Relations Campaign 

All three award-winning entries were produced by Melody’s Ad Works, Inc. of Wildomar, the Festival’s Public Relations firm. Melody’s Ad Works Inc. has been marketing and promoting the Festival for 14 years. The firm also produced the three 2009 IFEA Awards for Gold Pinnacle Award (top honors) for Most Creative/Effective News Stunt, and Best Media/Press Kit. The Bronze award was for the best printed piece and was awarded for the Festival’s rack card. Melody's Ad Works, Inc. The firm also produces and promotes six events for the City of Temecula, including the Temecula Bluegrass Festival.

 

Temecula Bluegrass Festival 2010

Sponsored by industry leader Haas & Wilkerson Insurance, the professional competition draws entries from among the world’s top festivals and events. Winning entries came from organizations as diverse as the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO; Borderfest Association, Festival of Lights, Hidalgo, TX; Shows Etc.-Idaho State Capital Building Rededication Celebration, Boise, ID; Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville, KY; Saint Louis Art Fair, Saint Louis, MO; and the International VSA Festival, Washington DC.

 

International contenders included such diverse event organizations as Baekje Cultural Festival, South Korea; Ludwig Van Beethoven Easter Festival, Krakow, Poland; Rotterdam Festivals, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Festival Lent, Slovenia and Sentosa Development Corporation, Sentosa, Singapore.

 

Awards were handed out in 69 different categories in total including Best TV Promotion;, Event Program; Commemorative Poster; Overall Sponsorship Program; Environmental Program; Educational Program, Children’s Programming; Media Relations Campaign; Overall Merchandising Program; Festival & Event Management Degree Programs to the highest award reflecting the best overall festival & event in the world – the Grand Pinnacle.

 

“We would like to congratulate all of our Pinnacle winners for their outstanding entries into this year’s competition,” said IFEA President & CEO, Steven Wood Schmader, CFEE.

 

“The IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards represents the hallmark of excellence in the festivals and events industry. Entries in every budget category, from every corner of the globe, allow us to recognize the best in our business while raising the standards and quality of media promotions and events across the board.”

 

Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) is The Premiere Association Supporting and Enabling Festival & Event Professionals Worldwide. In partnership with global affiliates under the umbrellas of IFEA Africa, IFEA Asia, IFEA Australia, IFEA Europe, IFEA Latin America, IFEA Middle East, and IFEA North America the organization's common vision is for "A Globally United Industry that Touches Lives in a Positive Way through Celebration," The Association offers the most complete source of ideas, resources, information, education and networking for festival and event professionals worldwide.

 

For a complete list of winners and more information on the IFEA, go to http://www.ifea.com/.

 

Temecla Valley Balloon & Wine Festival

The Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival is held the first weekend in June annually. The Festival has a 28-year history of celebrating Southern California Wine Country’s finest assets of clear skies dotted by hot air balloons, mild temperatures, and rolling vineyards. For Festival information visit http://www.tvbwf.com/ or call (951) 676-6713.

 

Classic Bluegrass From Smithsonian Folkways

Temecula Valley Wine Country
301 Ways to Use Social Media To Boost Your Marketing

How to Hire a Social Media Marketing & PR Expert

Are you looking for someone to implement your new Social Media marketing strategy?  Here are some tips. First, I am not a social media expert. I am an advertising and public relations expert who specializes in event marketing with small budgets (under $250,000 annually).  That's my niche, and as such, I often have to learn, study, and implement new methods and media for my clients without the big budgets of hiring out.

There are top professionals in the business whose knowledge and expertise help Fortune 500 companies. If you have a large budget - hire one of these thought leaders and their company: Brian Solis, Dierdre Breakenridge, Lee Odden, David Meerman Scott, Kary Delaria, and Jennifer Kane. Why? because these are the people I read, follow, and whose seminars I attend. They are miles ahead of any one in your hometown unless these folks work in your town. They are ahead of any learning curve, and creating the next trend before it is ever reported. (I am currently reading "Engaged")

Most likely you wouldn't read this blog if you could afford them, so here is her second best step. Hire someone they recommend or that follows these thought leaders. It's easy to find out if your candidate knows anything about social media and in particular, the best strategies. Ask what they think of the thought leaders I've mentioned. Research the "expertise" of your prospective hire. Ask for their Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin and Slideshare identity. Ask about their blogs, white papers, and online press rooms.

Clues that your expert is just trying to cash-in on the social media hype:

• Twitter: Followers to Following ratio. Less than 66% a social media virgin ( following 1,000, followers 6), check out frequency and type of tweets. If all advertising for that "expert's" site, expert is a hack. Check out the experts I listed. Their ratios are closer more like 1000/1 followers. They've been doing it awhile and are followed for their "information." not ads.
• Facebook: Number of "likes" or fans, number of pages attributed to expert, fans, friends, likes of those. Again, check out posts for "shouting ads." Do they engage the reader or just shout like a marquee of unending specials
• YouTube: Videos and types of videos. (I'm a hack at this I admit. Gary Vaynerchuk and Steve Garfield those are the experts. For a good laugh and inspiration watch Web 2.0 from 2008.
• Slideshare: Does your expert have anything on slide share. Has this expert taught anyone else? If not, how will your company learn to manage their social media strategy?
• Website: None? Forget them. Simple, clean, easy to search, linked to social media. There's hope.
• Blog: Do they blog or ghost blog? Find examples of their work. See how they label or tag their blogs. Find out if anyone follows or comments to their blogs.

Do you currently have a marketing firm or consultant? Are they Social Media Literate? Are they willing to learn - they better be. Can they help you with the strategy and implementation in house? 

My clients and I work together. We don't have the big budgets - one client has a $80,000 annual budget to market an event that has to advertise to 3 major Southern California markets. One of those being the L.A./O.C. DMA where media buys are three times that of the regional market, and 5 to 10 times the local budget. To get results and 40,000 guests we have to leverage buys against sponsorships and promotions.

Our social media campaign last year doubled our website traffic and increased  Facebook Fans from 0 to 3600 in 5 months, 900 to 3600 in six weeks. We worked on it together - their staff and mine. And, we learned while doing. Another client has events 20 weekends a year and an advertising budget under $40,000. Without social media, e-blasts, and buy extensions these events would fail.  Yet there is no money to hire an expert. We again, learn by doing and do on the cheap. See Twitter.com/SocalWineCntry.

If your PR/Marketing  firm can do this for you, keep 'em. If they continue to use tired traditional campaigns, consider social media implementation is nothing more than creating a Facebook page and a regular e-blast. Dump 'em. Proper engagement of Social Media is a marketing strategy. While appearance on social networks is free - maintaining and engaging with the audience is not.

A quick course on PR/Marketing 2.0: (The following books I have read, tagged, highlighted, and devoured along with a plethora of Vocus/PRWeb Webinars - which by the way are mostly free).
"Engage! The Complete Guide for Brands & Business to Build,Cultivate and Measure Success in the New Web" by Brian Solis

"PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences" by Dierdre Breakenridge

"The New Rules of Marketing & PR" by David Meerman Scott

"Social Media Marketing an Hour a Day" by Dave Evans

"Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time" by Joel Comm

"Barack 2.0 Lessons for BusinessBarack Obama's Social Media " by Brent Leary and David Bullock (like him or not - it's what got the man elected.)

"Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR" by Brian Solis and Dierdre Breakenridge

"Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business" by Steve Garfield and David Meerman Scott

Integrate Social Networks & Traditional Media for Maximum Event Promotion

1. DEFINE CORE MARKET: What demographic age/income/marital status/psychographics dominate your current customer base. Be specific on age, income, psychographics, geographic (zip codes of residence), habits, and media preferences. Know their frequency of attendance and how much they spend.

 

2. DEFINE SECONDARY MARKET: The fringe market – older and younger age group. The older is the age group that will produce the most attrition, the younger age group you should woo into your event through specific venues and programs. 

• a. DETERMINE THE CURRENT MOST EFFECTIVE MEDIA/PROMOTIONS/PUBLICITY venues to use in promoting your event:
• b. Radio – match demographics/age/psychographics of radio station to your entertainment and venue offers.
• c. Television – Cable is most cost effective with many having broadband bundled packages that extend outside your geographic market on super networks or cross/market networks. If you can afford major networks go for it.
• d. Print – Magazines, Newspapers, Travel Sections, Food/Wine or Family editors that match your event market profile.
• e. Direct Mail 
• f. Billboard/Outdoor

 

3. DETERMINE WHICH SOCIAL NETWORKS HAVE THE MOST OF YOUR DEMOGRAPHIC: You don’t have to use everything, just the most effective for your market.  

• a. In the 35-54 age brackets currently Facebook is kicking every social network’s booty with a 276% growth in that age bracket for 2009.
• b. 75% of all global consumers actually “check-in” to a social network weekly.
• c. And remember that fringe market – 25-34 year olds using Facebook are doubling every six months, and the 55+ is growing at a 194.3% rate.
• d. Best Day to “share” on Facebook – Saturday. And since social networks are fluid and change rapidly, now you know this fact, it will most likely change within six months.
• e. Twitter 2009 median age 31, 47% are 18-34 year olds, 311% 35-49 year-olds
• f. Best Days to Tweet and be retweeted – Friday and Monday – but now that you know that – this too will change.
• g. Myspace media age 27
• h. Linkedin Median age 40
• i. This year 42% people 50 and older are posting status updates, 47% of the people between 50-64 are using social networks.

 

4. ESTABLISH A STRATEGY: It isn’t good enough to just “communicate” via Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and blogs – you have to become involved, “engage” as Brian Solis says, and create a relationship. The day of mass broadcasting a repetitive message and seeing results are fading with declining audiences, ratings, and readership. Today’s audience is more informed, more capable of digging to the bottom of an claim, and more willing to go the extra mile to uncover the truth. I keep telling my clients DON’T SHOUT at your fans and followers. Involve, engage, enrapt, inform, and interact. Your entire marketing campaign will require this technique. And it is a talent, a technique, and an acquired skill belonging to someone who knows how to communicate without shouting. Here are some tips:

 

• a. Ask for feedback:
• “What bands would you like to see on stage at our next Festival 
• “Would you like workshops and what kind at the next event?
•  “Would you be willing to spend more money for catered drinks and reserved seats or less money for Festival seating?”
• b. Ask for volunteers:
•  To work the event, form an advisory committee; help with office or social media communications.
• c. Create a contest or Sweepstakes:
• Be sure to follow rules of the social media – Twitter and Facebook will disable you for violating their rules.
• d. Create albums for photo and video uploads
• e. Offer information only available through Social Media:
• Ticket discounts
• Ticket bundles
• Special Incentives at sponsors
•  Traffic and Event Info during event
• Latest concert information

5. Tie the Social Media Strategy to your Traditional Media campaign:

•  Insist on links with other media to your social media pages and websites
• Involve the media in your contest or incentives
• Offer incentives for interactivity with the media’s social networks – this can increase your fans, “likes” or followers.

6. Assign a Team to monitor, communicate and oversee your Social Networks. This is a 24-hour operation requiring more than one person with Social Networking skills.

7. Give yourself plenty of time to plan, launch and integrate. This is not a Shoot, Ready, Aim media campaign. Errors made in social networks can go viral. Failure to communicate, or communicate poorly and you’ve done more harm to your event image than missing the Social Media boat completely.

The Grand Social Media Experiment - Final Report on Facebook Contest

For full transparency, I must admit there will be an epilogue to this report. I and my client began the Social Media Campaign in November. We did not know what it would do for ticket sales of the event. Our purpose was just to get the event word out, to connect with our volunteers and guests, and to help the public understand why a hot air balloon can't fly in hot windy air.

My company promotes the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival. (http://www.tvbwf.com/)  In its 27th year, this event is truly, if you know how to count people, cars and tickets, the biggest event in the Valley. 38,000 to 40,000 annually attend the event.

November 2009 I and the staff met to discuss the Social Media campaign and what we hoped to accomplish. First we wanted a nice Facebook Fan Page that we managed. There were several different fan pages out there, done by friends, volunteers and even bands that played at the Festival  previously.

So we deactivated them and began the Social Media Experiment with the sole goal of having all social media up and running by March 1, 2010. March 29 we would start a Facebook contest, teased by Twitter and our radio media partners. We started with zero fans and followers. By March 25 by working it part time on my part and the office staff we had 950 total fans, 270 visits in a week, and 3 wall posts in a week.

The contest ended May 9th and here are the results of the six week campaign:
We added an average of 200 fans a week, one weekend 650 fans.
We ended with 2,471 total fans. (net of 1521)
Wall posts ended at 301 for the final week of the contest (compared to 3)
Visits to the page were 1,649 for the final week, 1,090 the previous week. (six times more visits than when the contest started)

The Festival's fan page is still adding fans at the rate of 150 a week. Total fans 2,732.
There were 995 visits last week to the fan page so we are maintaining the momentum as we lead to the Festival next weekend.

We have also added Twitter followers at a steady rate (from 0 to 173) Twitter was not a priority. Within our community and demographics of the Festival Twitter is a misused and understood microblog. What the campaign did include, however, was following all of the wineries and performers at the 2010 event. This provided us additional audience of the Festival message that we may not have reached otherwise. Frequent Tweet backs to those we followed helped us find new friends.

Our Social Mention (http://www.socialmention.com/) quotient at this point (there is debate on its accuracy as it does pull up irrelevant sites) has a strength of 2, sentiment of 22 and passion of 27. While I understand what it all means, in the manner of social media, I don't know how it will translate to ticket sales. After all, that is what a marketing campaign, be it traditional, social or mixed, is all about. Sell the product. Cute and clever doesn't always sell. Just ask Joe Izusu and the Lizards of Bud. Then again, there is the Aflac Duck.

For the Festival, our goal was to have 10% of our normal audience as Fans on Facebook. Oh wait - Facebook changed that to "Like." (Gees - sometimes you geeks need to get a life.) It was also to reach more people with the complete Festival message. Remember when I mentioned Hot Air Balloons. Well, it never fails, in the 15 years of doing this event, and no matter what we write in a press release, put in the news, say on television, there will always be a handful of guests who walk into the Festival at 1 p.m. and complain that there are no hot air balloons.

Science 101 - HOT AIR RISES guys ... that is what we have been able to say to all of our Fans and followers, who have actually answered the critics on blogs other social media. They have reminded our guests that a Hot Air Balloon must have cool air to fly. And, if that is ALL we accomplish, it will be something that couldn't be done in 27 years of the event.

As for attendance and ticket sales, we will know on June 6th about 1 p.m. when the trickle into the Festival slows. I can say this much, on May 15 & 16, I was promoting another event in town, Western Days & Chili Cookoff. The budget for these Old Town events continues to shrink. It has been hacked and hacked again. Every time it gets hacked in down economies - it doesn't get blessed in good. While costs of promoting go up, the budget doesn't. I say this so you understand the limits of growing an event without money to promote it.  The attendances is always between 2,500 to 4,000 a day depending on the weather. 

Not this year. Whether it was the extremely clever radio commercial we produced on KFrog, the Westways article or the intense web promotion, with email blasts and social media, I truly can't say. But the event clearly doubled in size. Chili was sold out in an hour. The high noon gunfight crowd looked a bit like the Rod Run crowd. (http://www.temeculacalifornia.com/)

As the marketer and promoter, I'll say it was all of the above. If, however, we see an increase in attendance at the Festival where we can actually count tickets and attendance, I'll know social media marketing had a major impact.  Expect an epilogue.

PR 2.0 Is Here: Combine Traditional PR with Social Media for Heightened Results

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