4TM Social Media Services » 4TM Information

Workshop Fully Booked (Thu 25 Feb 2010)

David Sim — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:04:06 +0000

We’re delighted to announce that our social media introductory workshop in Forres this Thursday is fully booked. We will be joined for the first time by Tom Minter of the brilliantly named Socks for Happy People.

We intend to make audio, video and text from the event available for those who haven’t been able to make it this time.

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The decade in travel: Technology and terrorism

Rene Looper — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:20:59 +0000

Good article at the The Associated Press on the changes in Tourism over the past 10 years. From the article:

Expedia and Travelocity began accepting online bookings in 1996, but the phenomenon of using the Internet to routinely book and plan travel has exploded in the 21st century.

In 2009, for the first time, more than half of travel bookings were made online, according to Douglas Quinby of PhoCusWright, a travel industry research company. (If you’re surprised that online bookings make up only 50 percent of travel, consider this: Most group travel, most cruises, many complicated itineraries and even the majority of lodging reservations are still booked through a travel agent, by phone or in person, Quinby says.)
But the Internet’s impact on travel is not just in booking; it’s also in planning trips. Instead of buying a guidebook, today’s traveler might consult a destination Web site. To find a restaurant, you might go online to Yelp or Chowhound, or ask friends for a recommendation through Facebook or Twitter. For hotels, you might visit TripAdvisor.com, which started allowing customers to post reviews in 2001 and today has over 30 million of them.
Technology has even changed the way we drive to our destinations. MapQuest started offering directions online in 1996, the same year GM introduced Onstar. Google Maps dates to 2005. An early handheld Garmin GPS device sold for $589 in 2003; today’s Garmins start as low as $89. But you might not need one if your phone has a mapping app.

Travel and Technology, a combination that is embraced here at 4TM! :)

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New Product: 4TM Social Media Dashboard

David Sim — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:43:39 +0000

Rene and I regularly talk at business events and workshops. Participants are invariably impressed by the power of social media and the potential to build powerful relationships with customers which lead to sales and referrals. (4TM bought a high-end technical service last week, originally inspired by a recommendation on Twitter).

The problem most organisations foresee? Despite the importance of social media, in today’s market conditions organisations find it difficult to dedicate the required employee resources. We recognise that, and have made a number of recommendations in the past to help companies manage social media, including the use of Google Dashboard and Google Alerts. These free tools, unfortunately, do require setting up and management within the organisation to be truly effective.

There has been demand, therefore, for a managed service. Something that can help companies manage their own social media, but which provides a one-stop shop for social media information. Hence the 4TM Social Media Dashboard has been born, providing a way to monitor conversations, blogs and forums on the web. It empowers companies to manage their reputation (how much is that worth?), find new leads and strengthen connections.

Moreover, it’s not just a computer system. There’s a bit of us in the dashboard too. Your account manager will review what the dashboard is showing, altering its sources of information to make it as relevant and comprehensive as possible.

Why not read more, or contact us!

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Welcome to the new 4TM

David Sim — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:04:27 +0000

You have joined us in the midst of relaunching a new web site, so apologies for the work in progress.

However, we felt it was important to “go live” as soon as possible, so we could start to share with you developments in our approach to corporate use of social media.

We have retained the great people who represent the skills, knowledge and good humour 4TM is famed for. However we’re adding some new faces, a new methodology for linking social media to business objectives and a new dashboard for tracking social media.

Social media, and how businesses interact with their customers, prospects, suppliers and partners, is constantly evolving. 4TM is too. Please use the box on the right to subscribe to our updates, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Image by Tim Kloske, distributed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0. Thanks Tim!

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TweetDeck Rocks Our World

David Sim — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:36:16 +0000

If you use Twitter through the day, chances are you might have found one of the Twitter applications more appealing than using the Twitter website itself. An estimated 80% of Twitter users rarely visit the site.

Our team has been using Seesmic Desktop, but the latest update has caused it to grind to a halt, so we took the opportunity to take another look at TweetDeck.

The latest update to TweetDeck is impressive. It supports multiple accounts, allowing you to view replies, friends and mentions in their own columns. It runs quickly and is now available for the iPhone, synchronising columns between your desktop and mobile.

You can have TweetDeck monitor search terms so you’re notified instantly if someone tweets about a topic. You can quickly reply to a post or “retweet” it to your own followers. Tweetdeck can also track trends, shorten web addresses, post to Facebook, upload photographs, translate tweets into another language and, if you’re verbose like me, even shrink your writing down to 160 characters.

It’s free and available now for PC, Mac and Linux.

TweetDeck.

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Keep in Touch With 4TM

David Sim — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:52:56 +0000

Don’t forget you can keep in touch with 4TM and the 4TM team – on social media, of course!

Join us on Facebook for the latest news, information, hints and tips.

Rene Looper’s Twitter
David Sim’s Twitter
4TM Company Twitter

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New office!

Rene Looper — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:34:37 +0000

We’ve been busy this week with the long awaited move to our new office. We were growing out of our first office and were looking for a bigger office in the Horizon building where we’ve been based since the last three years.

The day has finally come and we’re now settled in our new home. See the pictures of our move on our Facebook page. We’re still unpacking boxes and carrying desks around. Once we’re settled in we’re planning an official opening with drinks and nibbles! Watch this space! :)

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Social Media UK

Rene Looper — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:33:43 +0000

Over the past few weeks we’ve been inundated with emails and telephone calls from people that like help with setting up a Social Media Strategy for their business. Web 2.0 and Social Media is certainly a hot topic at the moment and over the past few days I’ve seen Twitter, Facebook, YouTube being mentioned on national TV and radio.

Forward thinking businesses in the USA have already adopted Social Media and are reaping the awards and in the next blog posting we will give some examples from companies that have embraced Web 2.0.

In the meantime please find below some great quotes on Social Media that I picked up today:

75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies are eager to get involved in social networking initiatives for marketing or customer relations purposes, but 50 percent fail…

Gartner Group

They fail because of lack of understanding on how to use Social Media effectively.

Social Media tools don’t matter. What does matter is whether or not a company has an engagement strategy.

John Cass, author of strategies and tools for corparate blogging

We couldn’t agree more…

Call us today to book a free Social Media strategy advice meeting.
01309 678100 or email enquiries@4tm-services.com.

We look forward to hear from you.

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UAE Project for 4TM Director

David Sim — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:47:35 +0000

4TM’s David Sim will be heading to the Gulf next week to commence work on a project in the UAE (دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة).

Follow @4TMSocialMedia on Twitter to keep in touch!

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Plaudits for @VisitAviemore

David Sim — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:37:36 +0000

Visit Aviemore has received yet more plaudits for its web presence and work using social media, this time from The Times.

In a report on the use of Twitter by tourism marketing organisations, VisitAviemore scored a mighty 7 out of 10, one of only 3 local tourism organisations to be featured in the review.

“Who could resist a live video link showing three newborn osprey chicks in their nest at Loch Garten? If that doesn’t make you want to jump on the next train to Aviemore there is a paintballing video on YouTube, deals on golf course fees, holiday deals and news of local events.”

Visit Scotland scored 5/10, Visit Wales 4/10 and discover NI only 2/10.

4TM provides social media advice and services to Visit Aviemore. Congratulations to the team at VisitAviemore.com!

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