Every social media job description asks for a “proven track record of experience”, and rightfully so — everyone want’s to work in social media, but many lack relevant industry experience. Luckily for me my first industry related gig put me in the role of a (social media) Brand Evangelist for high-dollar agency level clients who purchased the service through NetBiz.

The Brand Evangelism service from NetBiz is designed for enterprise level clients. Our in-house social media team will strategize, implement, and manage a brand’s content strategy and value proposition through social media channels.

Long Island Wine Tours had been a long-term SEP client of NetBiz when they decided to pursue social media marketing and the owner, Jim, was looking to become an industry leader in the area.

That’s where I came in.

After an initial baseline report, phone conversations, and understanding the business’s goals I developed a 6-month + social media marketing strategy that would establish them as that leader. In total I worked with this client from June 1st, 2011 to Oct. 1, 2012.

Here’s my experience:

Story

In 1998, Jim Ferrarie opened Long Island Wine Tours® and for more than 15 years has been offering wine lovers exceptional vineyard and winery tours on the East End of Long Island, NY. Long Island Wine Tours had already taken the initiative to establish a basic presence for their business on Facebook, with 246 “Likes” on June 1st, 2011.

Advertising, Branding, and Landing Page Optimization

Using the the demographic information provided by Facebook’s Insights of the current fanbase demographics I utilized sponsored and targeted display ads on Facebook to increase brand awareness and fanpage traffic. I also applied a welcome page to be the designated landing page; this created an engaging first impression and helped reinforce the ads call to action and convert traffic to “Likes.”

To reinforce their branding and professional appeal I also added a new Facebook cover photo. I feel having a solid impression makes it easier for your fans to engage with your page as well as increases the likelihood of them sharing it with their friends.

Social Networking

Along with running Facebook ads I utilized Facebook to network with other Long Island businesses, most importantly the vineyards and wineries. I made our presence known on their page and would share their content to Long Island Wine Tours fans from time to time; these relationships led to valuable referral traffic from their Fan pages.

Results

Targeted Ads began on 7/16/2011 and resulted in 3,500 new likes as of 2/27/2012 (The important thing to look at here is the flat line prior to the ads running)

Use of the Facebook Platform

As LIWT’s fanbase grew so did the engagement on Facebook. By accurately targeting those in Long Island and the surrounding areas with Facebook Ads, their community primary consisted of previous customers or potential customers.

Dan’s Best of the Best 2011

In September 2011, I stumbled across a contest by Dan’s Papers, a local Long Island publication, that was holding a poll where users could vote for the best services across Long Island. I noticed there was a category for Best Limo Service and I quickly jumped at the chance to leverage LIWT’s fanbase for support. After the votes were tallied, Long Island Wine Tours was awared the Platinum Award for Best Limo Services on the North Fork.

Winterfest Jazz on the Vine Coupon

Winterfest Jazz on the Vine is a concert series which is held each year where residents and visitors can enjoy six great weekends of expectational jazz performances in winery tasting rooms across the East End. In support of the event we created a coupon for 10% off transportation to any of the concerts. I shared the coupon to LIWT’s fanbase and found that based on the other relationships I had build with other Long Island related fanpages, they were sharing our coupon to their fanbases as well.

Engagement on Facebook Page

By providing a welcoming environment for our online community I experienced numerous interactions including customers leaving reviews as well as posting this own pictures of themselves on the tours. This helped promote the social aspect of the page and foster conversation.

Strategic Partnerships

After reaching the 2000+ fan benchmark I noticed LIWT was becoming a strong influencer amongst the Long Island and Wine Industry Community. Aside from local organizations looking to partner with LIWT, Vine Talk, a unique wine-themed celebrity talk show on Public Television which airs nationwide, contacted LIWT about becoming a partner. Long Island Wine Tours is now poised to break into the national scope because of this new partnership which may not have been possible without Brand Evangelism.

Conclusion

I worked with Long Island Wine Tours through October 2012 and 6500 fans later handed back the new and improved social presence to the owner Jim. Though he now maintains the page, I have equipped him with a loyal social following and a brand voice to engage with them with.

Not only did LIWT benefit from working with me, but I was very thankful to work with them. Sure I made a few mistakes along the way, but I learned, and that real industry experience in community management was invaluable to my own progression as a marketer.

The post Social Media Brand Evangelist | Case Study appeared first on Social Media Tutorials by Jacob Curtis.

The Expo, which ran from Nov. 3-5, is the first and only industry-wide conference, trade show, and media event dedicated to blogging, podcasting, social media, social networking, online video, music, Internet TV and radio. Conference attendees had the chance to attend cutting-edge educational sessions and network at the New Media Expo, which was packed with online business and marketing resources.

I was fortunate enough to tag along with my friends and directors of  Netbiz Social- Rory Kaluza and Guedo Fanony. We secured a booth right next to WordPress at the very entrance of the Expo, which allowed us an ample amount of conference traffic.

Although we were available to speak about our numerous marketing resources, we were most excited to introduce Fan Catcher – which is a free Facebook application brands can use to increase the rate of fan conversion by improving their page with visual branding.

A big ‘thank you’ to the attendees who visited our booth, Netbiz for sending me, and to BlogWorld L.A. for the warm welcome. I look forward to seeing you all again next year!

The post My Job took me to Blogworld LA! appeared first on Social Media Tutorials by Jacob Curtis.

During my Junior year of high school, I met a substitute teacher named Jon Schneider. I later found out he was in charge of conducting comedy shows in Hawaii under the famous Laugh Factory franchise. He liked my sense of humor, and when he asked me if I wanted to help him promote the shows he brought to the island through the Laugh Factory Hawaii, I couldn’t resist – it was my first taste of the entertainment industry.

I helped Jon for two years distributing flyers and assisting backstage for the Laugh Factory Hawaii until I graduated in 2006 and moved to Oregon for college. Later Jon and I collaborated again for the Bobby Lee comedy show we hosted through Ohana Entertainment at OSU during my sophomore year of college. He has remained a close friend of mine, and he introduced me to some pretty cool people too!

I had an amazing time working for the Laugh Factory Hawaii and I am very thankful for the good times I had.

The post Promoting my favorite Comedians at the Laugh Factory Hawaii appeared first on Social Media Tutorials by Jacob Curtis.

Very rarely are you given the chance to leave things better than how you found them. Now, because of myself and a select group of students, Oregon State University will never be the same.

In 2010, OSU announced that The Memorial Union Bookstore and the adjacent pay-parking lot were set to be cleared leaving prime real estate up for grabs right in the heart of campus.

However before the space was designated for another strictly academic building, a student petition was developed to secure the open lot and develop a new hangout spot specifically designed for OSU students and student groups rightfully named The Student Experience Center. The student center was estimated to have a total cost of $42 million with the construction being paid for entirely out of student fees and would cost students an extra $48 in fall, winter and spring terms and $36 for summer term.

But only if the petition received enough student signatures, that’s When Michael Henthorne, Director of the Memorial Union introduced me to the SEC Student Committee.

As I was the current Marketing Director for KBVRtv I became very interested in supporting the SEC for two reasons. Primarily Snell Hall, the current location of Student Media, was condemned as it was no longer up to code. Secondly the opportunity to create promotional videos for the campaign and utilize social media to reach student voters.

Phase One

The first phase of the campaign involved collecting 3,000 student signatures in order to get the Student Experience Center on the spring ballot. Justin Molter and I spoke about the power of video content and incorporated much of what we were learning through New Media Communications to create a 55- second video to build awareness around the campaign.

Phase Two

Phase One resulted in the Student Experience Center gathering sufficient signatures to be placed on the Spring Ballot. Phase Two of the project was to gain enough student votes on that Spring Ballot to begin construction of the new building. From the success we saw from out first video. I worked with Justin to create two more videos.

The first video aimed to educate students on why they should vote for the Student Experience Center as this was their only chance to secure the location.

The second video focused on the history behind “Leaving your Legacy” at Oregon State University. The video compared the history of the current Memorial Union and how it was the students vote that constructed the building we are still able to enjoy today.

Results

On May 26th 2010, The Student Experience Center Special Election closed and history was remade with 69 percent of students voting in favor of the new building.

Very rarely are you given the chance to leave things better than how you found them. The passing of the SEC measure ensures a smooth transition for existing student organizations in Snell Hall and provides future student groups a modern, safe place they can call home.

Follow the SEC & MU Planning & Construction blog for up to date news on the Student Experience Center.

Go Beavs!

The post My OSU Legacy- The Student Experience Center appeared first on Social Media Tutorials by Jacob Curtis.