Tees In A Pod: followers

Showing posts with label followers. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

"The Waiting Game" Success!

Josh Charles is a singer, songwriter, and pianist, who is working diligently on promoting his album, "Love, Work, & Money," which was released in February of this year. Most of you, have more than likely heard the name, Josh Charles, long before Tees In A Pod featured his song, "The Waiting Game" in Podcast 8.
Josh's music was first recognized by his charity efforts for the song, "Healing Time." In 2009, Josh Charles moved to New Orleans, four days before Hurricane Katrina hit. From his experience, and for the love of New Orleans and it's people, he dedicated the song, "Healing Time" to help rebuild New Orleans. All of it's proceeds goes to the "Preservation Resource Center Of New Orleans" and is still available for download at Amazon.com.

Today, Josh Charles was a spotlight speaker and musician for the Mashable Media Summit, presented by CNN. In his speech, Josh highlighted the importance of how he uses Music and Social Media, by sharing how he first started out using MySpace in 2004, and since then, incorporating other various social media sites to connect with his fans. Josh begins his speech with the fact that there once was a time, where fans could only read about their favorite musicians in magazines, but now, with the help of social media, fans can connect "almost instantly" with musicians.

Josh states, "When asked if I was on Twitter... I had no idea what they were talking about..." but in 2008, Josh joined Twitter. He began tweeting about songs and other various topics relating to what he was working on at the time. During his speech, Josh mentions one follower in particular, who began sharing his tweets with fans of the "Dave Matthews Band" on Twitter. As a result, Josh began connecting with followers who liked his music as well. He stated, "I was thrilled to be able to connect with people and start making friends..."
He also expressed that when he was on the Rebuild Tour "it was very easy to tweet..." He found blogging took time he didn't have while touring, but still "being able to connect with people and make that connection was very, very special..."
Josh also shared what he has learned using Music and Social Media, "it is definitely about the engagement with people, it's social. It's not about the self promotion..." Being able to share what he is doing at any given time regarding his music, Josh finds, Twitter and other Social Media sites to be the"Most Powerful tool..."

As you all know, Tees In A Pod are advocates in using Social Media as part of any business. It is always great to hear those who are successful at what they do, share how they use Social Media and in how helpful it has been with their career. Tees In A Pod wishes to extend a congratulations for being a spotlight speaker and musician during the Mashable Media Summit today and a job well done for the two songs preformed, "The Waiting Game" and "Healing Time."

Social Media can make a difference and Josh Charles is proof of this. Begin connecting with those "waiting" to connect with you and success is sure to follow.

Spotlight on Music and Social Media with Josh Charles at the Mashable Media Summit 2010

Watch live streaming video from mashable at livestream.com

Written By: Amanda Ryan, Creature Creations, Personalized Photo Gifts

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Viral Marketing Battle: Facebook Fan Pages vs. Facebook Groups

In one corner, Facebook Fan Pages, the newbie; has a powerful right-hand hook in creating long

term relationships with the crowd. In the other corner, Facebook Groups, the elder one of the two; is well known and is quick on its feet when getting the crowd actively involved in different topics. The bell is about to ring, so take your places and let the battle of the two begin. Not sure at this point, in the viral marketing battle, as to which one is the most effective way to get noticed online? You are not alone. It can sometimes be daunting and confusing in figuring out which is the better choice when launching your brand on Facebook. First, lets take a look at the major differences between the two before diving into the hits and misses of each, to make a more informative decision that best suits what you are trying to accomplish. Let the battle begin...

The Major Differences

The Newbie: Facebook Fan Pages

Facebook Fan Pages were created for official representatives of a particular brand, company etc. They are to be used as the official profiles of businesses and other entities which allows a way of sharing information, like, the latest promotions, products, etc. through status updates. In doing this, it creates longer-lasting relationships between the business and their clients and a larger community based feel. Creators of fan pages, address their fans using bulk updates. This can be an effective way in sharing information with all of the fans, quickly and as a whole. There are no limitations as to how many can be sent or to whom they can be sent to. Status and bulk updates, are great ways to communicate with fans and to make the fan page more interactive and engaging. The creator is also able to appoint administrators to the page which gives them the ability to change and edit where regular members cannot.
Fan Pages are automatically set to "public," when first created, which lessens the control over who can or cannot participate. Since they are publicly visible; they can be indexed by search engines. From this, non-Facebook members are able to see the fan page, allowing more exposure.

The Elder: Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups were created for those who want to rally around a particular brand, company, etc. They are to be used more for discussions about particular topics, like, common interests, opinions, causes etc. Creators of groups have more control over who they want to join by choosing which network they want the group to belong to. For example: Public (access to everyone), Private (invites only), etc. this gives a more “Club” like feel. The creator can also appoint administrators, who can then add or remove members and edit the page. Officers can be appointed as well, but in becoming an officer, does not create more privileges then that of a regular member. It only changes the title and displays it on the groups page.
Groups can send their information to members using bulk emails. This is a great way to reach all members at the same time and can entice them to participate more within the group. There is a limit to this however, bulk emails can only be sent to 5000 members. After reaching 5000, the ability to send bulk emails is no longer an option which can be discouraging to those who do not want to limit themselves to only 5000 members. Groups are only visible to those on Facebook and thus cannot be seen by the public (outside of Facebook) nor can they be indexed by search engines which gives less exposure.

The easiest way to distinguish their differences is in using this example:
If you are a fan of a particular television show like, "The Office", you have the option of joining "The Office" Fan Page that was created by an official representative of that show and not by you (unless you are the official representative) OR you can create one like "The Office" Group to express your love of the show and in wanting to meet others who also enjoy "The Office".

Now let the battle continue...

Facebook Fan Pages vs. Facebook Groups: Hits and Misses

(Click Table For Larger View )

Both are well suited in gaining online presence and in connecting with others, but which one do you use or think is the better one of the two? In now seeing this battle play out, Do you think they are competitors? Or are they to be used for different reasons? If they are competitors, who do you think won the Viral Marketing Battle: Facebook Fan Pages or Facebook Groups?

Share your comments here or on Teesinapod Facebook Fan Page.

Written By: Amanda Ryan, Creature Creations, Personalized Photo Gifts