Yo, MK here again for another installment of Social Media Marketing Friday. Today’s topic: Location-Based Social Networking

I often try out new social networking sites and phone applications for my Blackberry (everyone else here’s got an iPhone, and I wanted to be different), mostly because i just get bored and need something new to explore and play with during my rides to and fro on the Muni. Oh, and for work, right! Lately I’ve been pretty impressed with FourSquare, a location-based social networking application you can get on your phone or use on the web, with geotagging. I’ve been using this for more than a few months, mostly on my phone, and it’s been pretty handy and cool. Basically, you “check in” when you are out and about, and as you check in you can see what your friends are up to, if you’d like to meet up with them, and as you visit places more often you can become “mayor” of a certain place  (being a mayor is highly competitive!).  Sometimes, businesses offer specials if you visit a certain number of times, too! Yay, free dessert!

I synced Foursquare with my Twitter and Facebook, too- so everything goes up on there automatically and there’s also a spot to put your own feedback. This is like Yelp! gone mad, with awesome rewards, too. It’s as much a game as it is an application, and I’m totally digging location-based social networking. It has been especially helpful to me as I just moved to San Francisco in recent months and I’m still trying to find my way around and every bit of feedback and research helps.

So what does this mean for your social media marketing plan? If you own a business that is customer driven, you NEED to be on location-based social networking sites. FourSquare is by far not the only one, GoWalla or BrightKite are examples of other major players in the game. Location-based social networking sites will put your biz on the map and in people’s ears. Also remember to take note of any feedback (take a look at last week’s blog for more on that).

Foursquare and location based social networking in general is still pretty cutting-edge. However, don’t let that scare you, this service can be very helpful and it is expanding. So get in the game early, grow with it and see what happens!

Heya there, MK here with the latest bit of social media marketing thoughts before the weekend. For those of you at SXSW this week, have fun and let us know what you’re seeing.

For those of you not lucky enough to be at SXSW, you can bond with me.

Do you feel like somebody’s been watching you? That’s a good thing, Rockwell! With sites such as Blogpulse and Technorati out there, it’s easy to see what is popular and also what is being said about your organization online. Not only is it easy, it’s also vitally important to know what is going on out there with your name attached. Why is this so important that there are actual sites out there to help you? Because you have to keep up with your markets, and you have to know what they are thinking to better serve them. After all, they may have some ideas that can help you succeed. Perhaps even more importantly, you need to know what the world is saying about you so that you can maintain and defend your brand or organization’s reputation online. Seems easy, right?

Well you have to have a thick skin too, and ignore some of the comments such as “you’re lame”  that are inevitable, and just not helpful. But take the good and the bad feedback that is constructive and work to solve their issues and improve your service. It’s almost always a good thing when somebody talks about you. Remember- sometimes a bad review can be handled in a way that turns it into a positive!

Whether you are getting positive or negative feedback, as long as it is constructive, make sure you thank the person and let them know how you will improve or continue to maintain the functionality of what you are doing. Point them towards things you’re doing to encourage the sharing of experiences (such as your Facebook fan page). Get involved in the discussion, and encourage them to get involved, too!

Again, and I cannot stress this enough- in almost all my posts I have to mention that social media is about discussion and conversation, and that means a two-way stream of information. Without that, you will lose big. So get in there, stalk the stalker, and work the social web!