Facebook plans to launch it’s deals clone Tuesday in five major cities: San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas and Austin, Texas. What makes it a threat to Groupon and LivingSocial is its built in immense social reach.

Groupon and Living Social use email as their primary method of marketing and promoting deals. It works. However, the social aspect of either is minimal. It exists, but it’s not it’s major feature.

Facebook has billions of people using it daily. They’re already checking in with the feature that rivals Foursquare. They interact and are super users. Now, they’ll be able to get deals ala Groupon/Living Social from the app the already know and love. That’s a biggie!

Starting Tuesday, when Facebook users in the five test markets log into the site, they will see a deals insignia at the bottom of the page.

Clicking on it brings up a list of currently available offers. A user can buy one, click the “like” button to recommend it to others or share the offer with friends through Facebook’s private messaging system. When users purchase or “like” a deal, it shows up in their friends’ news feed.

That means “the discovery of the product can happen in lots of different places,” White says.

To get the program started, Facebook has enlisted 11 companies that already supply deals elsewhere. Restaurant reservation service OpenTable will broadcast offers for local eateries, while online ticket seller Viagogo will market events.

Will you be using Facebook deals with your friends? Will you be using it for your restaurant?

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and even email marketing can be very effective with the right steps taken. Too many companies today join facebook and update their followers with the information that most of them are already aware of because they do “like” you’re brand. If you really want to gain some ROI on your time invested in social media, it is best to ask your loyal consumers what they would like and build up a majority of input that can be realistically met. When you see through with the requests of your consumers it builds a strong loyalty to your brand making your consumers more inclined to spread the word about your brand and the new changes put forth. Just remember. Facebook isn’t going to help your company, but rather help you get in touch with the people that can.

By: Mark G. Valente | Online Marketing Director | @MarkwithMWL | Vigor Interactive Branding

Read the rest of the article at eMarketer.com

“But, what are the right medias for my restaurant?” You may be asking yourself. Here are the musts for EVERY restaurant in no particular order:

1. Facebook – Free

If you don’t know what Facebook is or how it can work for your restaurant you are living under a rock. Period. It’s free to setup a Page on Facebook that will allow fans/followers the ability to connect to your updates and messages. Messages including discounts, promotions and events. You post them. They get them. What’s more is, they actually WANT to get them from you instead of a mindless, intrusive direct mail campaign. Imagine 1500 actively listening and engaged potential customers at your fingertips. That’s Facebook for your restaurant. Use it now.

2. Email Marketing – Free – $100+ a month

Email marketing is nothing new. However with systems like MailChimp.com and Fishbowl it’s easier than ever to build an email subscriber list and blast out marketing messages in full color that guide recipients to “convert.” They could make a reservation, buy a gift card, or simple download your menu and call in an order. The systems fees vary but are extremely affordable. Get started building your list today by simply setting out an actual fishbowl for business cards. Use those business cards to add emails to your list, but make sure you post that on the promotion. Let them know they are subscribing by entering into the drawing. You want people who WANT to hear from you on your list. An unknowing subscriber can get pissed off rather quickly.

3. Foursquare – FREE

Foursquare is relatively new, but highly adopted by the masses whether you know it or not. The system is simple. As consumers we can check into the places we visit like restaurants, salons, home, work, whatever. We checkin by clicking the button on our cell phones. We collect friends who see our checkins. We can add tips or notes to a restaurant’s page and much more.

As a restaurant, you can add promotions/discounts to your FourSquare page that are delivered when people hit milestones like first checkin, a certain number of checkins or when they are the person that has checked in the most, also called a “Mayor.”

4. Blabberbug – $250 setup/$1.50 per blab

Delivering discounts is something mostly every restaurant does. However, you’re only getting one person with that discount. Instead of couponing to one person, make them send coupons to their friends to get a better offer. That’s what Blabberbug.com does for you. It boosts your word of mouth via viral coupons.The system charges a setup fee and then charges you every time someone sends a coupon to three friends. The entire instance, called a “blab,” costs $1.50 and goes up to whatever budget you set.

5. Google Local – FREE

It goes without saying that Google is a pretty big deal. One thing a lot of restaurants don’t do is setup their own Google Local account. It’s free and it lists vital information amongst other things. It’s also a quick and easy way to get number 1 placement in search results for your restaurant in your geography. Do it now.

There are, of course, many other online medias and social networks you should be involved in, however; it’s better to start with this 5 and move on from there. Remember, you want people who WANT you and that’s what the web is all about delivering. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the statistics you get with each of these medias. Stats are what makes internet marketing 100 x’s better than traditional.

Cheers.

1. “Brand yourself for the career you want, not the job you have.”
2. “By focusing entirely on your personal brand, you become unemployable.”
3. “Create your own career, instead of letting your company do it for you.”
4. “If you want to be known for everything, you’ll be known for nothing.”
5. “When you have passion, expertise and a support system, you can do anything!”
6. “Make your life one giant networking event.”
7. “You have to be as committed to your personal brand as you are to your husband or wife.”
8. “Just like content is king on the internet, your experience is king when it comes to getting a job.”
9. “In order to succeed in the new world of work you MUST become the commander of your career.”
10. “Be the real you because everyone else is taken and replicas don’t sell for as much.”
11. “As technology rapidly changes, your personal brand remains constant.”
12. “The best way to become successful is to make others successful first.”
13. “What makes you weird, makes you unique and therefore makes you stand out.”
14. “If you don’t know what you bring to the table, you don’t get a seat there.”
15. “Life is one big pitch, so you better start practicing.”
16. “Your blog is your space…completely yours to do with whatever you want.”
17. “To succeed, you must be the best at what you do for a specific audience.”
18. “The first opportunities are the hardest to obtain because everyone wants to view your past performance.”
19. “You are the chief marketing officer for the brand called you, but what others say about your brand is more impactful than what you say about yourself.”
20. “To secure your brand, spend more of your time networking outside of your company than within.”
21. “It’s what you do that makes you who you are and how you project that to others that makes you memorable.”
22. “When it comes to the web, you are judged solely on what is observable.”
23. “Proficiency in social media is a differentiator now, but will soon be a qualifier.”
24. “The goal of personal branding is to be recruited based on your brand, not applying for jobs.”
25. “You won’t succeed in marketing a poor personal brand.”
26. “When you brand yourself properly, the competition becomes irrelevant.”
27. “Visibility creates opportunities.”
28. “If a resume was the deciding factor in recruitment, there would never be a need for interviews.”
29. “The divide between interviewing for a position and actually working at a company will close thanks to employer branding.”
30. “Social media will expose people who have bad intentions and reward people who are trying to make a positive impact on the world.”
31. “It’s not the size of your network, but how you use it.”
32. “In order to be successful tomorrow, you must sacrifice today.”
33. “Lead with your brand and let the compensation follow.”
34. “Any new opportunity or experience can change your life.”
35. “As professional and personal lives converge, those who are authentic and transparent will triumph.”
36. “When you are passionate about your job, it becomes a hobby.”
37. “The most successful networkers give value before receiving.”
38. “The reciprocal nature of networking establishes a relationship instead of a one-night-stand.”
39. “Passion is personal branding fuel.”
40. “Your name and face carry your brand in both reality and virtual reality, such that wherever they are cited, your personal brand is at stake.”

“36% of small businesses look to step up with Twitter and Facebook

Small businesses are confident about their ability to weather the recession, with more than one-half saying they have either fully recovered or will do so by the end of 2010, and nearly three-quarters claiming they will drive recovery in the overall economy, according to the “Third Annual FedEx Office Signs of the Times Small Business Survey” from FedEx Office and Ketchum.

To that end, almost two in five small-business owners reported they would be growing their businesses with social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. That was up from less than one-quarter who planned to up their game with social in 2009 and made social media the only tactic to increase in importance since last year.”

Read the rest of the article »

Social media has been an increasingly effective part in the marketing strategies of many big and local businesses. The main question when Foursquare came around with their innovative geolocation sharing network was; How do we use this to benefit our brand or business? But the Foursquare team has added a few cool features with their network, bringing the game focus to the site, while continuing to build on their own marketing and professional relationships. Today we have some unique ways in which Foursquare has become an effective business marketing tool for more.

The tips function allows the user to view “tips” left by other users concerning specified businesses. For example: When you are checked-in to a place, you can shout out to friends something good or bad pertaining to that establishment. Once you shout , this is always shown to anyone under the Foursquare network within the range of the place you shouted about. So if you want to throw some good feedback out on the Foursquare network it is best to shout about your business from time to time, to tell consumers about different promotions. To view these “tips” the user will go to the Tip tab and view the “Nearby Tips” tab to see the shouts that have happened around the users present demographic.

Another great use for this tool is to use certain contests with the game aspect to promote different sales and discounts. This gets people to interact more with your brand and spread the news to others around them about your business. This week, for instance, Starbucks had announced to the public that it would begin to reward Foursquare users with a Mayor (Have the most check-ins to any specific place; can have numerous mayorships) status of any Starbucks’ store to receive a personal discount every time they visit that specific store.

We will continue to see an ongoing expansion of Foursquare for the next year or so, given the recent mainstream exposure they’ve been gaining. The Today Show announced their recent partnership with Foursquare. This is great to spread the Foursquare trend wider throughout the world, transitioning itself as a mainstream social media tool.

By: Mark G. Valente | Online Marketing Strategy | @MarkwithMWL | Vigor Interactive Branding

With Twitter trends users can search a specific topic to see which people are tweeting about what. Simply type a topic in the search bar on the right panel. You will then be directed to all the people who’ve mentioned that topic within a tweet, updated in real-time. Connect with these other users by responding to their tweets with worthwhile information from your area of expertise.

Twitter Location feature enables the user to search for tweets from a certain zip code within a specified mile radius. The key is to follow people of like-interest in your demographic. See what consumers in any given area are tweeting about and try to join in on conversations, as would be done using the twitter trends feature. The location feature is obviously a great tool for local businesses but it can also be used on a larger scale based on specific market demographic strategies.

These are just two of the many different ways of gaining twitter followers without constantly promoting your own products and following a bunch of users just to get noticed.  Twitter is for natural communication amongst other users, not over advertising your brand. Just be a person and you will gain the interest of other people online. This will be just the push you need to gain the following you want on the Twitter network.

So we all agree Facebook is as necessary as a website if you’re going to make any kind of traction with online marketing, right? Good. Now that we have that cleared up, let’s talk about some ways NOT to use Facebook for your business.

Facebook has given businesses a way to connect directly to consumers on the consumers’ terms. It’s the epitome of why online marketing works. Facebook’s tools give businesses a way to engage them, bring them in and let them experience their brands. However, they can be used negatively without the restaurant or brand even knowing. Obviously this is detrimental as abusing a consumer’s acceptance of you will result in ejection and a bad reputation to their friends. Not good. So, let’s stave off some common pratfalls by other brands….

1. Serial Messaging

Look, there is no reason to message me about every single thing going on, every day at your bar or restaurant. It’s annoying and makes me want to unlike or defriend you. Be a little discerning with how you promote your specials and events. Do you think they are really THAT important? If not, then keep it light. Leave it as a status message. Let me come to you.

2. Fan Page vs. Profile Page

Stop trying to promote your brand or restaurant with a “personal” profile page. It’s called personal because it is just that; a profile page for a human. Along with the obvious, the profile page also keeps you from maximizing your fan base with a limit of 5,000 friends. Fan pages allow you to have unlimited fans, suggest your page to your friends, promote with Facebook Adsense, contain information relevant to your brand (not include info such as birthdate, marital status, ect.), and track your page interactions through the Facebook Analytics.

3. Event Blaster

Alright so why is it that everytime I go on my page i have the same events being sent to me day in and day out. I know you have a special on thursday, you’ve sent it to me every week for the past 3 months. If people are interested in hearing of an event then they will come to your page or website to read about it. What if some of the fans you have are from out of town and had been there only once in awhile. They’re obviously not going to be interested in anything you’re doing unless they are in the area. So stop sending every single event post to every fan you have, it’s annoying and no one likes spam.

4. Me, me, me

People don’t care about what you have to say all the time. Listen to your consumers and the things they are talking about and join in on their conversations where you can add a unique opinion or your expertise. When using social media, it is best to make a worthwhile contribution with your content. Display posts that will interest your fans to interact with it and want to share with their friends (Viral Posting).