Twitter takes off in Victoria BC
Advertising is Dead – Engagement is in
…well, not quite true, especially in Victoria BC, but the Engagement Marketing Model is quickly providing results for innovative local businesses and organizations. The use of online social media to market to and engage with clients is still relatively hit and miss – some Victoria businesses are diving in with some interesting results, others are failing to enter the online world of marketing through ignorance, or these assumptions
- Online Social Media is a Fad. Not true – 2/3rds of Canadians have Facebook profiles, it is here to stay. Marketing surveys prove product and service recommendations through social networks have a far higher ‘buy’ result than direct traditional advertising. See the Advertising is Dead slide show.
- The Demographic is Too Young for our Business. Somewhat a fallacy. Real statistics are hard to uncover, but the majority of active users of online social media fit into the 18 to 35 year old range, with the fastest growth of new users 45+.
- No time to blog, update Facebook and Twitter. In fact utilizing online social media is one of the quickest and most effective methods for directly engaging with a local market, with the power of sharing adding to the mix. Unlike print, radio or TV adverts, online engagement is active, not passive and allows for interaction.
Mat Wright ( @matvic ) on Twitter
Facebook is one platform that most businesses are well aware of (if not actively using); it is the recent upsurge in local Victoria and regional Twitter use that is proving social media is gaining traction, and opening a new paradigm.
Most readers will know what Twitter is, but a brief explanation is worthwhile. Twitter is a platform that allows users to send short messages (maximum 140 characters) to a network of ‘followers’, and receive messages from people they follow. Posts of interest are often ReTweeted (passed on), which quickly allows news, offers and requests, to be shared, and responded to, across a wide network. At the top of this blog is a green Retweet button – that shows the number of times this article has been passed on by others, and is a quick method for readers to share the post with their network.
Seesmic Social Media Desktop Client
Combining online social media accounts into one desktop application is easy. Programs like Seesmic allow you to monitor all your social media accounts – and post to them. Simple configurations also allows for a Tweet, Facebook or blog to post automatically and publish to each.
Victoria BC is Tweeting
One of Victoria’s most prolific Tweeters is Janis La Couvee (@lacouvee). She is a financial services professional with Primerca Financial Services and a founder of morning business related #victoriatweetup (with Dan Parks @cpudan and Catherine Novak @wordspring)
The businesses that engage their customers rather than broadcast have increased their fan and customer base. Some examples -
Scott McDonald of Rocky Mountain Soap @FootButterGuy reports that 10-15% of his business comes from Twitter now. Rod Phillips of Liquor Plus @Rod_Phillips has seen good action on his tweeted offers for discounts. Phillip …… of Saltspring Air @saltspringair generated 6 new customers within one hour of a special Twitter offer. Brentwood Bay Lodge @brentwoodlodge proposed a sushi #Victoriatweetup at their restaurant and had 30 new customers on a typically quiet Tuesday night. Spud Victoria @spudVictoria tweets regular offers and contests. They have seen business increases with Twitter.
The number of active local Victoria Twitter users is estimated around 1000. That number may seem small when compared to Facebook or other online social platforms – however, most of those are new users who have become active within the last few months, and the numbers are rapidly increasing. Another active local Tweeter is Jodie Gastel who has created a #yyj list of over 320 local people on Twitter – all these active users are finding new ways to provide offers and news for their business, and create new networks of engagement like #victoriatweetup.
Going beyond Business Marketing
The aspect of sharing and engagement on Twitter is demonstrating some interesting shifts in B to B networking, activism, and charitable events. The Johnson Street Bridge Campaign recently set up a Twitter account and has 21 followers – as one of the campaign directors it is our goal to utilize online social media to create awareness and discussion.
Victoria BC Twestival Sept. 11th 2009
Proving that Twitter is not for ‘geek’ communication – the Global Twestival brought together over 200 international cities, and raised over $250 000 for clean and safe drinking water. Victoria will be holding it’s first local Twestival on September 11th, with money raised going to Power to Be.
Twestival Victoria set to Tweet. Meet. Give.
Victoria’s Social Media Community unites with Global Twitter-Based Charity Event to raise Funds for Power To Be
Saturday, September 11th, 2009, at 7:00 pm, join the Victoria Twitter community (#YYJ) for a fabulous evening of food, drink, music and conversation with performances by local talent plus a silent auction and raffle. Connect with the movers and shakers in the local social media community at the Ambrosia Centre to raise funds for Power To Be Adventure Therapy Society, with all proceeds going directly to provide outdoor recreation programs to disadvantaged children, young and their families. Twestival Victoria is proudly sponsored by (but not limited to) Scott Garman and Associates and Liquor Plus.
What’s Twestival Victoria?
Twestival Victoria began when Janis La Couvée met the celebrated Vancouver blogger Miss 604 Rebecca Bollwitt. An active member of the local Victoria Twitter community through #VictoriaTweetup and Social Media Club Victoria, Janis, with a long history of grassroots community involvement, was immediately attracted to this new way of connecting those in need with those who can help. “Can you imagine an organizing committee of ten members putting together an event to fundraise with sponsors, donors, volunteers, entertainment and venue – ALL in 6 weeks? Twestival Victoria, #yyjtwestival, will be the social media event of the year, incorporating traditional fundraising methods and the power of social media to accelerate the connecting of people and the cause.”
Information on attending, and sponsoring the Victoria Twestival can be found on the website or on Twitter @yyjtwestival
The examples of Twitter gaining new clients for local businesses, helping to spread the word on important civic issues, and local residents, business owners and organizations coming together for charity, demonstrates how powerful and pervasive this medium is becoming in Victoria.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mat Wright, . said: [...]
Love the post! Keep it up… great to see the Victoria community adopting twitter!
[...] http://www.wrightresult.com/blog/?p=199 [...]
Hi Mat -
Thanks for the kind mentions!It’s been a busy year, particularly on Twitter, and there are so many people who are making the Victoria on-line community vibrant that it feels flattering and a bit funny to be singled out.
I want to draw your attention in particular to the Victoria chapter of Social Media Club. Paul Holmes came to me with the idea, and we managed in March to start the first chapter in Canada. It is an internation organization with a four-fold purpose: to increase media literacy, to share lessons learned, to promote ethical practices and to encourage adoption of industry standards. Lofty ideals wrapped up in a lot of exciting discussion and even fun! We hold our meetings the 4th Tuesday of each month, and you can find out more by joining our LinkedIn page, following smcvictoria on Twitter, or going to socialmediaclub.ca.
Mat, while it is slow, it is occurring and gov’t, traditional media and business groups will be forced to take notice. @sarahpetrescu and @AmandAsh from the Times Colonist get it for example. I don’t think it is if, but a matter of when and the sooner the better if companies are smart. Rocky Mountain Soap would be glad to be the subject of a profile in the future. There are many brilliant businesses in Victoria that are using social media, and especially Twitter to get the word out. As the Social Media Revolution video on YouTube states: “In the near future we will no longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media”.
Thanks for such a well-written & interesting post. I’ll be sending it to people who just don’t “get” why they should be using social media.
Thank you Cathy – I am delighted with the comments, emails and sharing for this article. It clearly demonstrates our local linked world.
Thanks for this article Mat. There does seem to be a ‘paradigm shift’ in how companies reach their customers – indeed before January this year we had never heard the term “Social Media” and yet now we are having the debate at Rocky Mountain Soap here about whether to even continue traditional advertising. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, …are natural extensions of the time honoured and trusted word-of-mouth.
Scott,
Thanks for your comment. The shift is occurring, but few are awake in Victoria! The move into engagement marketing is what we are trying to instill into our client’s minds – for many a static website is all they can fathom. Doesn’t help of course when the Chamber of Commerce, government and mainstream media view your method of marketing as no more than a fad.
One idea would be to profile a company (maybe yours?) with video, and a blog post – explaining the shift and power of online engagement.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a fantastic article! These are indeed, highly inspirational tweeps!!
[...] Mat Wright wrote an interesting post today onWright On! » Twitter takes off in Victoria BCHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
Thank you Mat for your kind promotion of #victoriatweetup, Social Media Club Victoria #smcvictoria and Twestival Victoria #yyjtwestival.
To clarify-there are no real leaders for any of these groups, just people willing to work together on behalf of the community.
We are an extremely collaborative, engaged and engaging group of individuals with a wide range of interests who are happy to be connected, on and offline.
I may be a prolific tweeter, but I would be remiss if I did not mention that Catherine Novak @wordspring has been my mentor and role model on this journey. I was fortunate; the day I signed on to Twitter, I found both Catherine and Dan Parks @cpudan. Both have become fast friends and partners in all things social media related.
Amazing, isn’t it?
I hope the post did not imply there are defined leaders in the local Victoria ‘Twitterverse’, or in online social media as a whole. This is an open, undefined, almost anarchist world (in the best definition of that term). However, it is fairly new for Victoria and there are certain people, like yourself, who are leading the way, and mentoring others, as other mentored you.
Yes – Catherine Novak (@wordspring) and Dan Parks (@cpudan) need mentions.
We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in local communication and social engagement, yet few people realize.