Why MySpace is Still Important

“Use Facebook! Get LinkedIn! Are you tweeting yet?”

Does this sound familiar? All of the experts stress the importance of having profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Surf the web a little bit and you will likely see most websites sporting these logos — all except for MySpace. Actually, more websites are poking fun at MySpace rather than taking it seriously anymore.

However, even though MySpace has seen a decline in users, the site still has a firm and dedicated user base.

I still have several friends who refuse to leave MySpace for Facebook, saying that they can’t navigate Facebook as easily as they can navigate MySpace. If your business or nonprofit is not on MySpace, you could be missing out on valuable new customers.

The Facebook Vs MySpace battle has been argued all over the web for the last couple of years. What it comes down to, however, is getting your product or service available to as many people as possible.

You might be thinking something like: “But I already have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and a blog! How can I possibly manage one more thing?”

The answer is simple. You should be setting aside about sixty minutes a day to update all of your social media. When you update your other profiles, update your MySpace as well.

• Update MySpace and Facebook using the same status, then tweet it on Twitter.
• Repost your company blogs on Facebook notes and MySpace blogs.
• Use Twitter to draw attention to your regular blog when you update it.
• When you log in to each service, answer comments, @replies, messages, and DMs as quickly as possible. You may want to appoint someone else to do this for you.

MySpace Tip: MySpace profiles are fully customizable; you can modify the colors on your profile to match the colors on your company’s website — something you can’t do on LinkedIn or Facebook. Visitors coming to your MySpace will be just as comfortable with your brand’s familiar colors and logo as they are on your website.

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Elizabeth K. Barone is a web designer, multimedia expert, and loves playing Sims 2 on her PC.

We want to be your friend on MySpace. Visit OSC on MySpace and add us to your friends!

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TIME Tweets

…it’s just as easy to use Twitter to spread the word about a brilliant 10,000-word New Yorker article as it is to spread the word about your Lucky Charms habit. How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live — TIME

Twitter has become so natural to me, I can’t even remember how or why I started using it. If I’m wondering what the going rate for custom WordPress themes is, I tweet it. If I’m watching a new episode of Burn Notice and Bruce Campbell just said something really funny, I can tweet it. Heck, if I want to tweet about how much I love @DunkinDonuts and @Starbucks — or coffee in general — I can tweet that, too!

More and more companies such as Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are jumping on the proverbial Twitter bandwagon. They’re all discovering what thousands have people already know — Twitter can fulfill the varying communication needs of students, professionals, musicians, nonprofits and businesses. According to TIME magazine (who is on Twitter, by the way), Twitter is already changing and is going to further change the way we, as a society, live.

In less than 30 seconds, I can ask thousands of people what they would be willing to pay for a custom WordPress theme

The small site has quickly grown into an informational ecosystem. Businesses can find out what their customers think of their products — which is why Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are avid users. Newspapers and magazines, such as the Waterbury Republican-American (whose Twitter account I personally update and maintain), use Twitter to get information out to their readers, and potential readers, in a short and concise manner. (More and more people, I’m noticing, claim Twitter as their sole source of information, following newspapers and magazines in order to get their daily digest.)

What experts initially thought would turn out to be a passing fad is quickly growing. Companies are now often handing out their Twitter URLs instead of their websites, because those Twitter URLs are an open portal to their websites and their products and services. So what does this mean for you?

Even in its toddlerhood, Twitter is a more efficient supplier of the super-fresh Web than Google. How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live — TIME

If someone on Twitter uses your product or service, they can easily point to you in their tweets. All of their followers will see that tweet — and they’ll see your name. In turn, those interested may start following you, and could easily be converted into customers, volunteers, or donors. These new followers just might tweet about you, passing on your Twitter username and potentially drawing in more people who need your services — which is the essence of viral marketing. By logging into Twitter a few times each day and posting valuable tweets, you will be advertising your products and services for free.

If TIME tweets, so should you.

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Elizabeth K. Barone is a web designer, multimedia expert, and cookie dough ice cream junkie.

Already tweeting? Follow @outsourcecom!

How Companies Can Use Twitter For Business

Many businesses are learning the value of using social media as a tool to market their brand/service/products.  They set up company profiles on MySpace and Facebook, upload commercials or product videos to YouTube and author monthly blogs  to stay connected to their customers, improve their credibility and demonstrate their expertise.  The savviest of companies, however, are going beyond these mainstream tools by adding Twitter to their bag of inbound marketing techniques. 

Twitter 101:
Twitter is “…a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. In countries all around the world, people follow the sources most relevant to them and access information via Twitter as it happens—from breaking world news to updates from friends.  Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter’s success. People are eager to connect with other people and Twitter makes that simple.  Twitter asks one question, “What are you doing?” Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web.” (Source: http://www.twitter.com - About Twitter).

At first blush, many people see Twitter as ” a huge waste of time.” After all, who really wants to know about Joe Smith’s latest speeding ticket, missed  flight, or close encounter with Britney Spears in the local Starbucks?  And what does any of that have to do with marketing a business? In many respects, these naysayers are right.  If you use Twitter strictly in the afore-mentioned manner,  it probaly won’t help your business in the least, but throw in some tweets about your latest product line; ask for customer feedback on your newest television commercial; search the Twitter network for recent tweets about your business, product or related services; and/or just “listen” to the “conversation” taking place among the millions of Twitter users – you’ll soon see the incredible marketing value of this global phenomenon.  

But don’t  just take my word for it, “4 Ways Companies Use Twitter for Business – http://ow.ly/4ptc“ is a great article that explains in a nut shell how the world’s most successful  companies are using Twitter to help sell their brands and seeing a remarkable ROI for their efforts.  

By the way, did I mention that Twitter is a great resource to learn more about, well,  just about anything?  It’s where I found the above mentioned article!

Happy Tweeting!

Rocket your brand into the Twittersphere – iMediaConnection.com

Wondering how best to get on board the Twitter train? Watch as four brands explain how they are harnessing social networks to connect with consumers.

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OSC Welcomes Elizabeth Barone of EKB Designs to the OSC Team

OSC recently began partnering with Elizabeth (Liz) Barone of EKB Designs to expand our social media savy and help develop social media driven websites for our small business and nonprofit clients.  Many of you will recognize Elizabeth as the founder/developer of LettersofLovel.net and a regular presence on the MySpace, FaceBook, Tumblr, and Twitter bloggospheres.  We at OSC are extremely excited about working with Liz and are looking forward to introducing her to our friends and clients.

To Blog or Not To Blog

Okay, I confess – I have only just recently been “bitten” by the social media bug.  Up until now, I truthfully couldn’t see the point in blogging, “tweeting,” or spending even one second on-line creating an ode to myself on Tumblr, MySpace, Face Book or the countless other social media sites that seem to have captivated  our nation and redefined our culture.  I am a business woman (owner of a full-service website design & development company), a mother of an active two-year old, and an avid runner, so time for such heretofore deemed “foolish pursuits” is definitely scarce.  That was then – this is now….

Now, I have seen the light.  Social media can be an incredibly powerful marketing and communications tool.  Just ask President Obama!  When used correctly, social media can help raise awareness of, and funds for, nonprofit organizations and causes; sell products; reinforce branding; build customer bases; promote events; foster and create professional networks; and much, much more.  In fact, it seems the only thing that social media can’t do is clean my house (then again, I could use it to find a highly recommended cleaning service in my area). 

Having learned about the “super powers” of social media, I can now say that I am a true convert to the cause.  I am now offering “social media 101″ for all of my clients and incorporating social media applications into my standard website design packages.  Though the use of social media does demand a fair amount of time from those users who wish to maximize its benefits,   I believe it is time well spent and should be an integral part of any dynamic and comprehensive marketing campaign.   To blog or not to blog?….by all means – blog away!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Out-Source Communications (OSC) News & Events Page.  This page is currently under construction, but please check back again soon to view our cool  new site design.  In the meantime, visit us at the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce Small Business Expo, April 21st, 4pm to 8pm, at the Holiday Inn in Waterbury,  CT.  We’ll be at table #68 (right next to the bar)!  Hope to see you there!