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Business & Tech

Hermosa Cyclist Turns to Social Media

Forget Facebook and Twitter—a dazzling number of new platforms now populate the social media landscape, says this local expert.

Social media is altering public relations practices and the number of platforms available is rapidly increasing—allowing locals like Steve Montalto of Montalto Design and Development in Hermosa Beach to engage with his community faster and easier.

"Nothing changes as quickly as the social media landscape," he said.

By way of example, the publicist and South Bay Bicycle Coalition board member fired off the names of some esoteric platforms: Hootsuite, Instagram, Tumblr, Foursquare, Hipstamatic, SmugMug, and Socialoomph.

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The 51-year-old Montalto, a former engineer who after 13 years in aerospace marketing shifted his focus to South Bay businesses and projects, said he employs social media as a low-cost way to promote company brands, increase communication and perk-up customer engagement.

One problem for local businesses, he said, is that "people don't walk around anymore," so they don't see many of these shops. 

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With the decline of newspapers and a greater number of people seeking resources online, social media all but replaced a lot of expensive print advertising, Montalto said.

Sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Tumblr can help a business generate a larger, more passionate following.

"If you create a dialogue with the community, you get them to be your ambassadors," he said. "The key is to engage them."

Engaging business for a bike shop is the same for someone wanting to promote a book or a blog, he said.

"If a bike shop is not doing bike rides," Montalto said. "They are missing a key community service."

Most important, he said, is providing useful information on platforms—anything from how to overcome writer's block to where to buy parts.

Designing campaigns for the Bicycle Coalition and Beach Cities Cycling Club involves "a heavy concentration of Facebook posting, Twitter Tweets, blog posting, video production for YouTube and email newsletter updates," Montalto said.

Coordinating, prioritizing and utilizing new platforms, he conceded, is "a topic that fascinates (as well as frustrates) me on a regular basis."

Montalto solves one problem—keeping track of if all—with Hootsuite, a social media management tool. "It's invaluable," he said. "I couldn't keep track of all the stuff I do without it."

Hootsuite, which Montalto compares to a "dashboard," allows him to follow numerous streams—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more—on his desktop or Smartphone. 

Hootsuite also permits the user to post to multiple sites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), he said, as well as schedule tweets and update their status. "It also allows for collaboration between teammates, which can be key when launching a marketing campaign," he said.

Other such dashboard sites and software include Socialoomph, Tweetdeck, Seesmic, Mediafunnel, and Threadsy.

A Venn diagram (overlapping circles), Montalto said, is a good way to think about how various platforms interact. But in terms of "dynamics," he said, the sites are quite different. Facebook is social, for example, while LinkedIn is "very professional."

Expanding the user's follower base in any platform is best done by joining groups, Montalto said.

"Get involved in discussions—there are thousands of groups, professional organizations … forums with a lot of good dialogue," he said.

Maximizing visibility in various streams is also important, he said. Photos and videos, for example, "generally pop to the top of the news feed."

One of Montalto’s favorite sites is Instagram, an iPhone app for taking, tweaking and sharing photos. "It has a Facebook-y kind of flavor," the publicist said. "NPR uses it to publish images of hot stories around the world."

Although plans are in the works for a website, Instagram is strictly a mobile application to date. Photos, however, can be managed on several sites, including Inkstagram, a web based app that uses the Instagram login.

"There's nothing fancy about Instagram," Montalto said. "Snap a picture or pull one up from your phone's album." Tweak the appearance with one of 11 filters (the effects of which you see immediately), he said, and then share it across many social sites at once.

"It's a neat way to get a message or brand image out there and share special content with friends and followers," he said, noting that broad sharing is key. "You're talking in a visual parlance with folks across multiple platforms [Facebook, SmugMug, Twitter] all at the same time. Talk about reach."

Tumblr (pronounced like the glass) is a popular form of microblogging that offers a visual diary with a text thread.

"Instead of text, the picture is [the main] commentary," Montalto said. Nevertheless, the microblogging platform makes it easy to publish all kinds of content: pictures, videos, links, text and audio.

Unlike traditional blogs that contain meaningful, sometimes lengthy content, "microblogging is much more free form and focused on small bits, often single bits of information," he said.

Tweets on Twitter are a form of microblogging, he said. The problem? You never know if someone will see the tweet. 

"On Tumblr, you are providing a home for brief bits of content that your friends and visitors can see much like a standard blog," he said.

Instagram and Tumblr are excellent promotional tools if you have a book or some such to sell, he said. Book signings and readings offer great photo opportunities, which can be forwarded to your Facebook fans.

As far as other photo-type platforms, Montalto said Hipstamatic (a mobile app) "is about cool image effects." Whereas SmugMug is a photographer's site, Flickr is more the layman's photo library/sharing site.

"Photographers use [Flickr], too, but sites like SmugMug are intentionally set up with viewing features and sharing capabilities for serious photographers," he said.

Foursquare, a location-based app that capitalizes on the GPS in Smartphones, is another useful tool. "Users employ their phones to basically tell everyone where they are and provide some additional text and photographic commentary," he said.

The web and mobile application is basically a game. Registered users "check in" to certain locations, say a Denny’s or a Pinkberry, and add "tips" ("having a great meal at Denny's") that others can read on Foursquare (which pinpoints the location on a map), as well as on Facebook and Twitter, if they choose.

"Business can now own venues and provide incentives to both new visitors, as well implement loyalty programs for frequent visitors," Montalto said.  

Even home-based businesses can own a venue. "I will sometimes 'check in' at Montalto Design & Development with a comment about something interesting I'm working on," he said.

Users can vie to become mayor of a venue (Mayor of Denny's, for example) if they check in often enough during a month. They can also talk about nearby locations/events, such as specials (15 percent off for a half-hour massage) and send photos.

"People aren't looking for friends" on these sites, Montalto said. "They are looking for value."

The promotional benefits speak for themselves, he said. Followers recommending the best place to find great burgers or terrific mango yogurt will often sell people more effectively than company-sponsored ads.

"I frequently use Foursquare to support and promote client or organizational events," Montalto said. "You can check in at the store or event and briefly talk about it and encourage folks to come out."

Montalto said the key thing to remember about social media PR is that it is "all about content, conversation and engagement."

Throwing up a business page about a product or an event with a sign-up list and reposting it without adding anything new on Facebook or Twitter quickly converts the promotion to spam, he said.

"It takes your voice—your reaction—to engage folks out there," he said, adding that saying something like, "This is a great article; you should read this," hooks the follower in.

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