Living On A Prayer:

   The rumor mill exploded today as John Bon Jovi was reported to pass, his song Living On  A Prayer is  one of my favorites. I fell to the hoax as I reported it on my radio show. This just shows us how social media and its reports can spread messages. With in minutes of the tweet the news of John Bon Jovi’s demise reached over 1,000,000 people. I started to think how many businesses are missing out on the social media aspect by not being open to receive and utilize. The John Bon Jovi death hoax illustrates just how powerful this medium can be. Most people today are getting their news via twitter and facebook and with the number of users increasing daily you as a business person can capitalize on this market.  Every business can incorporate twitter and facebook into its marketing plan.

 

 

 

A Holiday Prayer:

    I would like to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah and a Merry Christmas. While you celebrate the holidays remember that you can use social media to send prayers and well wishes to others and state they were sponsored by your business. My father tells me a story about a local deli in NY who used to look at the newspapers for Bar Mitzvah announcements and send a platter witha  card courtesy of  _______________. The deli would receive many new customers as a result. I thought this was clever. Now instead of newspapers you can do your research in social media and capitalize on the information to create new customers and to keep existing customers.

      Using Hanukkah and Christmas in your promotional and marketing strategy will lead to increased awareness. For example on the first night of Hanukkah you can host a special candle lighting and announce it on facebook. For Christmas you can become a drop off point for Toys for Tots, host a food drive, give out Christmas Cards, offer gift wrapping at no charge. As you create promotions you can announce it in social media as well as send out media releases announcing your events. People like to do business with those they perceive as caring and giving back. My Holiday Prayer is that you are blessed with the spirit of the season and that your business flourishes and that you build on the success of the season.