Today, we at Single Throw Internet Marketing, along with millions of others worldwide, celebrate the revolution of media becoming social. A date that honors the technological and societal advancements that have permitted us to have a conversation, to unite and to engage not only with the makers of media, but perhaps more notably, with each other.

It’s an entire day to commemorate the changes in digital media that have given us the power to stay connected to real time information, the tools that have allowed us to keep in touch from worlds apart, and the platforms that have given a voice to the voiceless and sufferers of protest injustice. It’s a revolution worth celebrating.

Large cities and small towns across the globe realize the importance of social media in everyday life and are adopting June 30th as the official Social Media Day. Popular sites like Mashable are organizing meet-ups all over the place to help get the ball rolling. Business and social media connected people are planning parties within their social networks and even with total strangers. That is the beauty of social media that we are celebrating, giving everyone a voice, connecting people together. Hopefully it catches on and we can be celebrating it across the globe together for years to come!

Single Throw Social Icon Krispies

Single Throw Internet Marketing would like to wish you all a very happy Social Media Day! Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates on our SM Day festivities as well as our services and special offers. Also feel free to write on our wall, tweet at us, or leave us a comment telling us what you plan on doing on this awesome day! We look forward to hearing from you.

Being introduced to the world of social networking can be overwhelming at first. Questions may arise such as: How do I go about using this for my personal use or in my company? Many will wonder if internet marketing is as efficient as people say. You will not become rich overnight and you certainly will not have a positive impression of social media if you do not know how to properly utilize it. Below is a list of the 6 C’s of social networking that will help you understand the way that the social world works on the internet.

Source: The 6 C’s of Social Networking

1. Connecting

Connecting/friending/following etc is the starting point. A key thing to think about when you start out using social media is what you are trying to achieve and focus your networking activity on that. And remember that you would not go into a real life networking event, march up to someone you have not met before, give them your card and say that you want to connect – so don’t do that using sites like LinkedIn – take a moment to personalize your invitation!

2. Conversation

…which is where the development of a relationship happens. Just like it always has been. You can comment on a Facebook wall, or add an @ response on Twitter or send an email using LinkedIn. The additional benefit to doing this publicly is that others notice you too. It still holds that you should be cautious about butting in on somebody’s conversation in a social event or on the train but in the social media world it’s fine – as long as you have something interesting and relevant to say of course which brings us to…

3. Content

A few interesting posts/tweets/comments trumps a series of drivel any time. Talk about things that you think others might find interesting. Test out ideas, look at what others do and experiment until you find what works for you and your company. Always use your own “voice” because if you are aiming to eventually meet people in real life that you have built a relationship with online you want to continue on from what you have started.

4. Credibility

When people are getting to know you online they will look for social proof to back that up. Who do you mix/have conversations with? What kind of links do you share? Who do you follow/like? Statements about your strength/skills/knowledge in an area should be backed up by some evidence. This of course has always been the case but Google etc makes it much easier for potential buyers/clients to check what you say for themselves.

5. Collaboration

An early concern about using social networking for business was that your competitors can see what you are doing and who you are speaking to. Of course that is the case but on the flip side it can mean that they see an opportunity for working together that would be more appealing to a potential client. Collaborative working has huge possibilities!

6. Clients (and Customers)

Without this what is the point? Remember that all of the previous activity – how you approach it, how you commit to it and what you put into it – if done well will lead you to people who will pay for your product or service. This means of course that social media activity is WORK . It might feel like play – and indeed some employers consider that it only has that function – but to really do it well you should give it the same focus as any other part of your job.

For the full article click here.

Social media has become so important in our daily lives that we have given ourselves an entire day to celebrate it, and rightfully so. Social media is a crucial part of everything we do from connecting with family, making new friends, marketing businesses online and beyond. It gives us so many things everyday, it is only fair for us to dedicate one of our days specifically to it.

Source: Mashable

Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, was the first to proclaim June 30 as Social Media Day last year. Vancouver, B.C., followed suit shortly after with an official proclamation. Both the state of Arizona and the city of San Carlos, California, have officially designated June 30 as Social Media Day.

How Are You Celebrating?

Social Media Day is a day to celebrate the revolution of media becoming a social dialouge. There are currently 1,342 registered Social Media Day Meetups throughout the world with thousands of participants. You don’t need to register a Social Media meetup, your friends or co-workers could just arrange some sort of gathering strictly through social networking platforms. There are plenty of tools available for creating such an event. Facebook allows you to create private and public events and invite your friends. Twitter has tools like Tweetvite to tweet invitations at your friends and followers. Or tag your event with a unique hashtag, the official hashtag of the day is #SMday.

Arizona has a buzzing social media and technology scene with companies like Go Daddy and Limelight Networks based in the Phoenix area. As a National Technology Award winner with a socially-engaged local government, San Carlos is one of the Bay Area’s leaders in innovation. We’re excited both these places have officially recognized June 30 as a celebration of the tools that empower their citizens to communicate, connect and engage. Large technologically savvy cities all over the country and world like San Francisco, Seattle, New York, London have all planned events to celebrate Social Media Day. Smaller cities and towns have also arranged meet ups too. It should be an exciting day throughout the social media universe. How do you plan to celebrate it?

About Social Media Day

Social Media Day is a global celebration of the technological advancements that enable everyone to connect with real-time information, communicate from miles apart and have their voices be heard. We invite you to connect with fellow web enthusiasts by hosting a Social Media Day Meetup in your area. There’s no better way to celebrate the revolution of media becoming a social dialogue than by socializing with your online community offline.

Ways You Can Participate

• Sign up to attend or organize your own event on the Mashable Meetup Everywhere page.
• Share what you’re doing for your Meetup or leave suggestions for others in the comments below.
• Use the #SMday hashtag on Twitter.

Source: Mashable

We all want to do well on Twitter, we all want to reach out to as many people out there as possible. Developing a higher influence when it comes to internet marketing can help you in ways more than one. It can improve traffic to your website, help you gain publicity, get you noticed and make an impact – there are few things it can’t do. In social media, numbers of followers don’t equal influence, influence is built by how you interact and form your social circles. Here are the top 10 things found in all the influential tweeters.

Source: The Top 10 Blog

1. Share interesting and useful information

To put it bluntly, no one cares if you only tweet about yourself all day. Twitter isn’t built for people to rant about themselves. All influential tweeters share killer content – be it links, amazing photos, great blog posts, or inspiring quotes. Share something which will make a difference. Find something valuable and share!

2. Be grateful

Thank people – it doesn’t make you smaller in any way. There are many ways to thank and express gratitude. You can retweet them, list them, or just send them a ‘thank you’ tweet. Also a great way is to give them a Follow Friday mention.

3. Respond and reciprocate

Why reciprocate? Because it is important to give back. Because it is Twitter Etiquette. It’s not the “I scratch your back and you scratch my back”, but instead it is the “Thanks for doing this for me, I’d love to help you too”. See the difference?

4. Tweet regularly

This is essential because you have to stay in your followers’ minds and not be forgotten. Of course, short breaks are okay. But a long hiatus can hinder your influence. Your Klout score (which is a measure of your social media influence) can go down if you don’t tweet and interact for a long time.

5. Tweet at the right time

Find good stuff and deliver it – at the right time. Find out when Twitter is more active and buzzing with tweets, and tweet at that time. If you want to reach out to people from different timezones, schedule your tweets.

6. Be original

Create content that stands out. Something that people haven’t read before. Don’t be scared to put forth your point of view – but be careful when you do so. Original content always gains the spotlight and has the ability to go viral.

7. Don’t spam/Auto DM

This doesn’t need further explanation, does it? All of us have had experiences with automated DMs and spambots. The most common one I’ve read is – “Thanks for following me – now let’s connect on Facebook as well [Link]”. Umm, I just followed you on Twitter, and you want us to be connected on Facebook so soon? Not cool. *unfollowed*. See? Auto DM doesn’t work.

8. Reach out

Engage. Don’t wait for people to come to you, go out to people. Tweeters don’t become influential just by making a Twitter account and tweeting away. You have to *find* people to follow and engage with them. Learn from them, give them something to learn.

For the full article click here.

As an Internet Marketing Company, good social media strategy is a crucial part of everyday life. Social media is the cool kid on the inbound marketing block right now. Most members of the marketing community are obsessed with the topic and are moving fast to develop new social media strategies. The problem with many social media strategies though, is that they are blown up and overstuffed with “social media junk.”

Source: 7 Tactics to Delete From Your Social Media Strategy Now

1. A Bloated Strategy Doc

Having a clear policy is important for any aspect of marketing (or business for that matter). The problem is, some businesses use bloated, 50-page strategy documents as a way to evade actually doing anything or accomplishing real results. Stop this today. Set a deadline for the review and approval of the strategy document and be ready to move forward. The web moves at a fast pace, and being agile is more important than having a manuscript that outlines every “What if?” situation.

2. Product-Centric Content

Social media can provide value in all stages of the buying cycle. That being said, many marketers primarily use it as a tool to establish reach and generate leads at the tip-top of the funnel. At this stage of social media strategy, product-focused content should be avoided. Social media connections are often only just beginning to learn about your business. Therefore, use social media as a tool for building trust and credibility early in the buying cycle.

3. Guessing

The goal of using social media is not just to get your feet wet. Instead, it is about achieving meaningful business result in a defined period of time. A great social media strategy has clear and quantitative objectives. Another key aspect is to prepare for data collection and analytics. How will you gather the data to know if you’ve met your objectives?

4. Multiple Social Media Profiles on One Network

Social media marketing isn’t easy. Adding several social media profiles for your business on one social network makes your job exponentially more difficult. For example, don’t create a different Twitter account for each of your products and services. Instead create one, single account for your business so you can consolidate your reach and influence in one, centralized place. It is much easier to construct a community on one profile instead of 10. By this same token, it is unnecessary to make a profile on every social media platform. You will be wasting your time on an audience that isn’t listening, or worse, no audience at all. Test the waters on a few main profiles and see how the community responds to you.

For the full article and more tips, click here.

What else would you add to this list? What makes a great social media strategy? Let us know in the comments!