 Social Media is: not traditional media. Throw out the ideas of print, radio, TV, etc. as content mixed with advertisements. Social Media is a platform for interactions and relationships – not content and ads. If content, use it as discussion purposes. Not as “Come buy this now.”

 Facebook – A place to connect with people. Utilize this for discussion locally with “fans” and “friends” -- Free tool –  Twitter – An evolving platform for communication. People can do “real time” searches for your brand, receive feedback, encourage interaction and discussion, etc. making your intangible product (clothes/Zotcis brand) into a living, breathing discussion machine. Also great for promotions including yourself and other businesses.  Blog – Take the Facebook updates with just pictures/product lines/etc. one step forward. What’s going on here? How do you feel about what we are getting in? Who’s working behind the counter? Trends? An place to encourage extended interactions. A great example: The Sandbar in Lawrence, KS --

 Mobile Social Networks (i.e. Foursquare, GoWalla, Yelp, etc.): These are becoming HUGE for small businesses. What they do is allow people to search for businesses/products in the area. They also allow “check-ins” to show who has been there, how many people have been there, and when. People can then write reviews (Yelp) or “To-Dos” (Foursquare/GoWalla) so visitors that may not know what the business is can be “in the know.” For business tools, there is the ability to run “Foursquare or Gowalla” specials for visitors or the “Mayor” (person with the most check-ins at a place.” Great for generating out of town visiting traffic. Also gives real life reviews building your brand as customer service related. Also many users have this automatically update to Facebook/Twitter so it can double the views.

 Multimedia services (ie. Flickr, YouTube, etc.) : Maybe you have a fall fashion show (or impromptu dressing room show.) A group of friends coming in and modeling the clothes for a night out, etc. See if you can video or take pix to post to these. Show “real people” wearing the “real clothes” in the “real environment.” The pictures that are with the words (blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) make your brand human and make people want to come in.  Monitor YOUR presence compared to others (Tweetdeck, Seesmic, Google Alerts) : You can set up an with alerts to see what is posted about your company and others so that you are constantly in the know with how you are doing/what they are doing.

First off, I took a look at 4 local competitors social media presence. 3 are primarily local, and one is a regional competitor.  Envy  Maurices  Kieu’s  Rockstar and Roger’s

 Website: › Includes customer reviews – but only three posted  Facebook: Yes – 87 Fans › Updated ~ 1time a month  Twitter: No  Yelp: No reviews  Foursquare: No Mayor/No Tips/No Manager in-put

 Website :  Facebook : Yes – It is nationally targeted though – not just regional.  Twitter: Yes – No posts have been made since 6/13  Yelp : Yes – No comments  Foursquare : No

 Website : › Very simple. › No interactive features › Only shows Lawrence store’s information  Facebook : Yes – 653 fans in both Lawrence and Manhattan. Very little engagement.  Twitter : No  Yelp : No  Foursquare : Yes – No reviews and no mayor

 Website : No  Facebook : Yes – 107 fans with semi-frequent updates but little interaction  Twitter : No  Yelp : Yes but no reviews  Foursquare : No

 Website : Kind of  Facebook : Yes! With 1,055 friends. Sporadic updates with very little engagement.  Twitter : No  Yelp : Yes – No reviews  Foursquare : No

This is based on 500 random small businesses across the country. 45% of surveyed believe their expenditures will pay off in less than 12 months.

 Set up accounts : Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube and blogs for sure.  Register as business owners on all sites : this allows you the ability to control administrative rights/privileges, update contact and post special promotions.  Gather Reviews – we have 1,055 Facebook friends, many regular customers, etc. Have them sign up and post credible reviews, both positive and negative experiences. It’s important to have a balance of both.

 Engagement: Begin engaging customers online. Start discussion forums on Facebook, Twitter updates, set up pictures on Flickr/Youtube for new products on ACTUAL customers so people can see the clothes, since Zotcis is about real clothes for real people. Encourage and reward feedback, both positive and negative.  Promotion : organize promotions to drive traffic. Whether it be “Specials” or “Foursquare scavenger hunt.” Couple this with traditional advertising mediums of on campus flyer distribution/print ads.

 Collaboration : Work with other businesses that we have already established relationships with in driving traffic to each other’s social media.  Build a website : Building a website is very important because a website will build credibility for the business, it will also add additional search hits under certain keyword searches.