Location-based social networks: some people love them, some people hate them. While networks like Foursquare and Gowalla have been becoming very popular over the course of the past year, many people are still unsure of whether or not they should jump on board. I’ve written before on what Foursquare could mean for small businesses, and I truly believe that the service (and others like it) could mean big things. Not only…

As part of #BeMyGuest (a month of guest blogging), today I bring you a guest post from Laura Click. Imagine you’re in a crowded bar. The music is pumping and the atmosphere is electric. You spot a guy (or girl) across the room that catches your eye. Your pulse quickens. You want to meet this person, but how do you strike up a conversation without feeling awkward? Sound familiar?

Last night, I (along with some colleagues) had the privilege of speaking about social media with a group of PR students at the University of Tennessee. In one part of our talk, we shared a list of helpful tools we use to manage social media, monitor brands, spread information, discover opportunities and track results.

“Viral” is a word often used to describe social media, and I think when many people think of the word “viral” they assume the results happen immediately. However, unless you created the JK Wedding Dance or David After Dentist, this is generally not the case. Unless you’re Bill Gates. But chances are, you’re not. Social media success is not going to happen overnight!

As of last week, Foursquare opened its doors to all cities and towns globally. In the past few months, Foursquare had been growing rapidly in larger metros around the world…and now we’ll be able to experience the phenomenon in Knoxville. But what is Foursquare? And more importantly — what does it mean for Knoxville business?

Today’s post is about engagement — not the kind that comes with a sparkly ring on your finger, but rather the kind of engagement that happens every day on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. We often rate a person’s or a company’s social media presence by how well they build and promote relationships online. I’ve talked a little bit before about how important it is for companies to engage with…

I’m a big fan of crowdsourcing. Since I witnessed how well in can work in Pyxl’s Help Us Name Us campaign, I’ve been interested in using it in other situations. Some call it lazy…I call it efficient! When it came time to find wedding vendors, I was a little lost. I didn’t grow up in Knoxville, and I’ve never been to a wedding in Knoxville. In addition, Michael and I are among the first of our friends to tie the knot, so we really had no where to turn — except for social media of course…

As companies of all sizes start getting involved in social media, it’s becoming increasingly more important for many of them to create a social media policy for their employees. After all, what happens when an employee does something stupid on a social network? It could affect the company’s brand (in terms of PR and/or legally)! Just take a look at the Pizza Kitchen case here locally. While it was the owner of the restaurant who allegedly…

The nice thing about social media is how it evens the playing field. Online, it’s not about how many years you’ve been in the business but rather how well you engage. It’s no secret that I’m young. I’m in my early- to mid-twenties, with one year of full-time salaried agency experience (+ my year and 1/2 of internship work). I haven’t been working in PR for 15+ years like a lot of people here in town. However, because of social media, I’m still able to excel as…

In case you didn’t catch my big announcement on Facebook this weekend or my tweets this morning…I’m getting married! As of Saturday night, Michael and I are engaged to be married on November 6, 2010! So what does this mean for my blog? Well, in true PRettySocial style, I’ve decided that I’m going to use social media as much as…