This is an excerpt from a guest post I wrote for Laura Click’s blog as part of  #BeMyGuest, a month of guest blogging.

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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 does it give a business insight into how many times a customer frequents their spot, it also creates friendly competition among patrons aiming to take the mayorship, thus promising more sales and free online publicity. Foursquare can easily become an extra element of a spot’s marketing campaign through its intrinsic, viral word-of-mouth components. And what business doesn’t want that?

Users love it because they’re often given special deals at their favorite venues just for checking in. And if you’re able to secure the mayor badge at your favorite location, you get bragging rights to match. And what about if you’re in a new city and curious what to eat? Checking a spot’s “tips” on Foursquare can provide some local insight.

But what about privacy?

Earlier this year, a site called PleaseRobMe popped up with the intent of showing the world the dangerous side of location-based social networks. While its purpose was actually to open eyes instead of inspiring robberies, it brought up valid questions: Is “checking in” to a location safe? Or does it just broadcast that your home is ripe for the robbing?

To read the rest, head over to Laura Click’s place : )

As part of #BeMyGuest (a month of guest blogging), today I bring you a guest post from Laura Click. Enjoy!

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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?

If you’ve ever tried meeting new people in a bar, you know how difficult it can be. A bar is crowded. It’s noisy. How do you connect with people like you? And strangely, this analogy applies to social media as well. While many have deemed Twitter and Facebook to be a “virtual water cooler”, I tend to think of it as crowded bar.

While social media can be an incredibly useful way to develop relationships, it can take a bit of work to cut through the noise and find the right people to talk to. And, once you find those people, how do you get to know them without tossing out the cheesy pick-up lines?

Social media offers the incredible opportunity to connect with people we never thought possible, such as industry leaders, potential employers and even our favorite celebrities. However, the real value of social media occurs when online interaction translates to relationships “in real life”.

As with any solid relationship, it does not develop overnight. Whether you want to connect with business prospects, colleagues, mentors or simply other totally awesome people, it’s important to invest time in cultivating relationships.

So, how do you get started? Here are some tips to developing relationships online (sans pick-up lines):

1. Listen. If you’ve identified some people you’d like to get to know, follow them and listen to what they have to say. Their posts can give you a great insight into the person’s interests and ideas.
2. Introduce. If you want to connect with someone, introduce yourself and say hello. After reading about the person, you can mention something that you have in common or compliment them on something you saw on their blog. This is a great way to start up a conversation.
3. Retweet. Retweeting is one of the best ways to compliment someone on Twitter. Essentially, it’s like forwarding an e-mail message. It allows you to share someone’s tweet with your followers. So, if you like what someone had to say, retweeet it! Oftentimes, they’ll send you a thank you in response.
4. Reply. As you follow people, respond to posts that interest you. Using Facebook, you can “like” or comment on posts. Sending an @reply on Twitter is a simple way to show you’re listening to what the person has to say.  Over time, this may lead to a more in-depth discussion or even a conversation offline.
5. Comment. If the person has a blog, join the discussion and comment on their posts. This is a great way to provide value to the blogger, while also highlighting why you are someone the blogger should get to know. And, you might just learn something in the process.
6. Repeat. Because of the large scale of social media, it’s important to repeat the process. It can be hard to grab someone’s attention if the person has thousands of followers or fans. Continuing to participate will help the person recognize you when finally do make the ask.
7. Ask. After you’ve communicated with the person for a while, it will be much easier to suggest meeting the person for coffee or even having a phone conversation. Because you’ve taken the time to get to know the person a bit first, they will be much more likely to oblige.

This approach has worked well for me. After getting to know someone online, I’ve not had anyone turn down the chance to meet up for coffee. And, because of that, I’ve met some fantastic people in the process.  Yes, there’s a little risk. And, there’s always the fear of rejection. However, I think you’ll find that once you’ve done it, you’ll be glad you did.

How do you develop relationships online? What have you done to connect with people you’ve met online?

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About Laura
Laura Click is a marketing and public relations professional in Nashville, Tenn. She works in state government by day, and is a blogger and marketing consultant by night. You can find out more about Laura at www.lauraclick.com, or by following @lauraclick on Twitter.

Image Credit: opacity

This post originally appeared on the ReadPyxl blog. Because it was quite popular, I’m re-posting it here in hopes that it will help more people. But check out ReadPyxl for similar topics. Pyxl is a pretty awesome company (hint: I work there) ; )

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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.

Of course, there are tons of tools out there, and more popping up each day. But I’ve found a few good ones that I would call my favorites. So here’s my list of the 7 tools I can’t live without:

1. Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is easily the social media tool I use most often. The leading browser for the real-time and social web, it allows users to connect with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace. I use it mostly to keep track of the multiple Twitter accounts I handle (including @ replies and DMs for each), to keep track of the Twitter lists I’m most interested in, and to monitor what others are saying about my search terms. I also use it to post to Facebook pages. It’s easy to use and columns are completely customizable. Simply put, it’s my social media dashboard, and I couldn’t live without it!

2. Hootsuite

The only thing missing from Tweetdeck (and my guess is that this might not be the case for long) is the ability to schedule tweets and posts. For this, I use Hootsuite. To be clear, however, some people use Hootsuite in place of Tweetdeck, but it all comes down to preferences. I just prefer Tweetdeck. Hootsuite is nice if you don’t want to download a client like Tweetdeck, as Hootsuite is web-based. But if you’re like me and use Tweetdeck as your #1 client, Hootsuite still comes in handy when it comes to scheduling tweets and Facebook posts!

3. Bit.ly

Bit.ly is (IMO) the best link shortener around. Not only does it make your links nice and small and tweetable, but it tracks how many people click each link! This is useful information to help you figure out what links are most popular and what your followers want to see more of. You can create an account to have a nice dashboard of all your links (and this account integrates nicely with Tweetdeck), OR you can add a “+” to the end of a bit.ly link to check out that particular link’s statistics. You can also see who else tweeted about the link and what time of day people went to it. It’s just really great information to have.

4. Social Mention

I really love this tool! Social Mention is a social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user generated content from across the universe into a single stream of information. It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. Social Mention monitors 100+ social media properties directly including Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google, etc. It also allows you to set up alerts — think Google Alerts only more social!

5. PitchEngine

With PitchEngine, users can easily create and share social media releases. You can incorporate embedded video, images, powerpoints and more into a hosted “microsite” that can easily be shared via the social web using apps like Facebook, Twitter and more. A dynamic blend of traditional PR and a more progressive, conversational method, PitchEngine opens doors and engages readers. Those readers include not just media, but investors and consumers (friends, fans and followers) alike. This is an awesome tool to supplement your press release initiatives.

6. Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

HARO is an email digest that comes out 2-3 times daily, and is an amazing tool for every PR pro! Every day, HARO brings nearly 30,000 reporters and bloggers, over 100,000 news sources and thousands of businesses together to tell their stories, promote their brands and sell their products and services. HARO is entirely free to both sources and reporters. Basically, a PR pro can take a quick look at each digest and if an opportunity seems like something a client might be interested in, you send information over to the reporter, and you might just chosen as a source! Last week, Pyxl was mentioned in Inc. Magazine. How did we find the opportunity? HARO of course!

7. Google Reader

It’s important to stay up to date on what’s going on in the industry and in the world, so I follow a lot of blogs and news outlets — A LOT! And it can be hard to keep track of them all. However, Google Reader is a great way to manage this and cut down on daily reading time. It’s a one stop shop where all of the outlets you follow are aggregated into one place.

So there you have it — the 7 tools I can’t live without. Which tools are on your list?

Monday was our official first day of work in the new Pyxl office. It was a long time coming (and an 18-month wait), but ultimately now that we’re here, it was worth it. (Side note: stay tuned for a virtual tour and information on our open house.) It’s a pretty sweet office if I do say so myself.

But anyway, the whole scenario got me thinking about patience and how necessary it is in the business world – not just in waiting for the build out of a new office, but in almost everything — especially in social media.

I often hear of people and businesses getting discouraged because they expect to have a thriving social media presence, along with hundreds or thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook fans within days of starting to implement their social media strategy. When this doesn’t happen right away, they assume social media isn’t working for them.

“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!

Social media takes patience. It takes time, dedication and care to build credibility and trust with the public via social media. It takes time to establish yourself as a thought-leader and time to build a community.

And when you give it the time it needs and do it right, social media can greatly help your brand. You just need to be patient and make sure you have the right plan in place to make it happen.

Good things come to those who wait (of course that’s only as long as you’re working during the waiting period). Do you agree?

This post originally appeared on the ReadPyxl blog. However, in an attempt to get more Knoxville businesses involved with Foursquare, I’m re-posting it here.

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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?

Essentially, Foursquare is a location-based, game-like social network. Users visit locations (restaurants, coffee shops, bars, parks, gyms, offices, etc.) and “check-in” via a phone app (which is then often broadcast to their Twitter followers & Facebook friends). The user earns points for checking in, unlocking new spots, visiting new venues, hitting multiple locations in one night, and leaving “tips” for other users. These tips can include things like:

• “Half-price sushi at Nama on Monday and Thursday”
• “Make sure you try the lobster mac & cheese at Cafe 4″
• “Wine is half-price at Sunspot on Wednesday night”

Users can also become the “mayor” of a certain spot by checking in at the same location a few times. From what I’ve seen in other cities, businesses often offer special incentives to the mayor. For instance, some restaurants have hung signs declaring, “Free drinks for the mayor!” Sometimes, even basic check-ins are given discounts that non-Foursquare users would not receive.

So what does this mean for Knoxville businesses?

Foursquare can tell a business how many times a customer frequents their spot, which is allowing venues to use this data to reward their most loyal customers.

Offering mayor-only deals can potentially create friendly competition among patrons of a spot, thus promising more check-ins and free online publicity.

Additionally, as users add tips about a venue, they’re shared with that person’s friends and possibly the general public, thus creating buzz about a spot’s specials, must-try’s and more. This will also often encourage more people to visit a certain location.

It’s almost like a frequent buyer card only very public. Thus, Foursquare can easily become an extra element of a spot’s marketing campaign through its intrinsic, viral word-of-mouth components.

Let’s think about it – a Foursquare user is down the street from your venue when they get an alert to their phone that your spot gives special treatment to Foursquare users. It’s then more likely that they’ll stop in and see you…don’t you think?

So where are we at now?

Of course, Foursquare has only been open to Knoxville for about a week, so I haven’t seen many venues pick up on it yet (the Healthy Living Expo was the first and only I’ve seen so far). However, I’m hoping it catches on just as it has in other cities. After all, numerous spots nationwide have found success with Foursquare. Hopefully some Knoxville spots will as well.

I really think this is a business opportunity not to be missed. What do you think?

Any Knoxville businesses thinking of jumping on board?

With tonight’s post, I’ve decided that {aPRettySocialBride} will be a weekly series posted every Monday. That said, I’m sorry this is post is slightly later in the day. It’s been a long weekend of family, wedding deposits and bridal shows followed by a long Monday at the office…but you might know how that is ; )

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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 their customers and potential customers online (and by engage, I don’t mean trying to sell something), but today I have a pretty great case study to back it up…

Lisa Spegman, owner of KnoxPlanning (an event planning company here in Knoxville), and I have known each other for a little while via social media. She is someone who has been very helpful to me as I’ve been crowdsourcing to find my wedding vendors (she even referred me to my wonderful photographer!)…and yet, through the process, she didn’t try to sell me her services once. She provided tips and vendor referrals as a friend, never once plugging that she wanted me to hire her.

Fast-forward a few weeks and I’m on the verge of signing the contract to have Lisa coordinate my wedding…

At the point I decided I wanted a day-of coordinator, I didn’t think of anyone else but Lisa. She had been so helpful to me through the process so far (for free) that I knew she would be the right person to handle my big day.

So what’s the lesson for businesses here?

Don’t jump on Twitter and immediately start trying to sell your product or service. Be genuine. Engage. Befriend those that might (or might not) one day want to give you their money. I understand it might seem like a long process, but it could (and probably will) have a big pay-off in the end.

Everyone — consumers, brides, etc. — wants to work with companies and people that they feel good about. Be that person. Be that company. Be more than just a faceless brand or a salesperson. Build those relationships first, and the business will follow!

What do you think? Have you had a similar experience?

Back in November, I wrote a post announcing my engagement and my intention to use social media as much as possible in the planning of my wedding. Today, I bring you a new blog series — aPRettySocialBride : )

In this new series, I’ll detail how I’m doing in my social media wedding planning, including tips and tricks for you to do the same.

So without further ado, here’s the first post in the series: Crowdsourcing Vendors.

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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 : )

My first priority was the photographer. After the wedding, the only tangent things you keep are the husband, the rings and the photos, so I wanted to make sure we hired the right photographer. But as you may know, photographers are a dime a dozen, and in my experience some of them barely know what they’re doing. In Knoxville, there are 1,077 local search results, so how’s a girl supposed to know where to begin?!

Lucky for me, I’m a twitter-holic and I have quite a few Knoxville followers, so I tweeted a simple question:

“Anyone know of a good wedding photographer in Knoxville?”

I received an outpouring of recommendations. Wedding planners told me who they would suggest. Happy brides told me who they had used. Other photographers offered their services. This was an awesome start!

I created a master list, scoped out their portfolios and blogs – (Hint to photographers: Have a blog! I was really impressed by those that did. It gave me a chance to see recent work, not just the very best work. I ultimately decided I would choose a photographer that ran a blog related to their work.) – and sent an email about pricing to the few whose work I liked best.

After considering what recommendations I’d received, whose style really fit what we were looking for, and the price of each, Michael and I met with our top choice: Jennie Andrews.

Upon meeting with Jennie, we knew she was the right fit and we signed a contract with her the next week…but it all started with one simple question on Twitter.

After finding success with the photographer, Michael and I continue to pose questions on Twitter and Facebook related to our wedding. Whether asking for advice or vendor referrals, we’ve had success so far, and I highly recommend crowdsourcing to other brides and grooms.

After all, it’s just like word-of-mouth, except on social media, your friend-base is much larger : )

All you have to do is pose a simple question and see what answers you receive. Of course, it still requires a little leg-work once you compile a list…but having a list of recommendations is a great place to start!

Have you had similar crowdsourcing success? Do you have questions for me? Let’s chat…

I wrote on this topic a week or so ago over at ReadPyxl, my company’s blog. If you like, check out the original post.

Earlier this month, Social Media Club Knoxville hosted a panel discussion on social media liability, ethics and policy. The topic, which drew a lot of interest locally, is a big issue for numerous organizations, including some of our larger clients.

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 posted the defamatory comments, had he been informed about social media liability, he may have thought twice about his posts. But instead, the company has a legal mess on its hands.

So what goes in to creating a social media policy?

Of course, social media policy is not one size fits all. All companies are different and thus, they require different social media guidelines.

That said, there are a few key similarities I would include in most policies…

First things first, not everyone truly understands social media. It’s still fairly new, so it’s important to start by explaining the new media and also explaining why the policy at hand exists. It’s also important to keep the policy positive overall. Often, if you tell someone what they can’t do…they get angry. Rather, it’s important to focus on the positive and employees will be more likely to understand and comply.

Another very general guideline involves transparency and authenticity. If you’re representing a company on Twitter, Facebook, a blog, etc., it’s important to acknowledge that. Trust is very important on the social web, and is also important to a brand’s customers. Plus, with new FTC guidelines in place for bloggers, you could come under fire if you don’t disclose your affiliation when writing about your company, its clients, etc.

What I would consider one of the most important guidelines, however, is that employees need to use their judgment. (This seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised.) Be sure employees know that while it is perfectly okay to share your opinion online, it needs to be done in a professional manner. Avoid anything that’s demeaning to others or that could come off as hot-headed. It’s also important to stay informed of the laws in place and avoid making any statements that could be considered defamatory.

As I said, social media policies are not one size fits all! These are just a few key ideas that I think around important to any organization. A social media policy needs to be thought out and needs to fit the organization that it is written for. If you need help, let Pyxl know : )

What do you think? What social media policies have you heard of? Do you agree or disagree with them? Let’s chat…

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 an “expert” in the field. (For the record, I still don’t think anyone is a social media expert yet. I just didn’t know how else to word that : P)

Gen Y’s have a unique advantage right now. Because there’s so much focus on new media (which has only been around for a few years), the playing field is even. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been working for 1 year or 15, there aren’t too many people that have much more than a few years’ worth of experience in social media. A lot of us have been able to come straight from college and into the social web and excel.

Additionally, social media “expertise” isn’t gauged by how long you’ve been doing it but rather by how well you’re able to engage online — your social media “klout” if you will.

And the thing about social media is that it’s SO public. Anyone can scope you out on Twitter, Facebook, etc. and gauge how you’re doing everyday. Are you providing value to your audience? Are you building a community? How well do you engage others? It’s not longer about just “taking someone’s word for it”. Now, if anyone is curious about your social media “expertise”, they can see for themselves. IMO, it bring a whole new level of credibility to business — at least those in the social sphere.

It’s also because of social media that I personally have had the opportunity to do speaking engagements and to be quoted in local news outlets as an “expert”. Sure, I may look young (and I am). However, if I’m doing a better job engaging my audience and that of my company and my clients, then I may be more qualified — despite my age and lack of full-time experience.

Now, I’m not trying to piss of those of you who have been in business for much longer than me. There are, of course, many scenarios where you are more qualified to speak, be quoted, etc. The point of this post, is to draw attention to the very unique opportunity Gen Y’s have right now to stand out and embrace the trend.

Aside from the fact that we all graduated during a terrible economic time, I think social media is the silver lining. It opens so many doors and opportunities. I’m grateful that I’m able to experience this new technology as it continues to grow, and I am excited to see what the future brings!

What about you?

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 possible in planning my big day. So of course, I’ll document the journey with you all via my blog in hopes that I can help others plan their weddings in the most efficient way I know how…via social media!

In a way, this is kind of an experiment, but I’m confident I’ll be able to do it.

Of course, I’d love any tips or advice anyone may have. After all, this is my first time planning a wedding…so feel free to comment, email me, tweet me, etc! I’m all ears (or eyes I guess in the case of social media)!

Stay tuned…