We’re so excited to announce the merger of Visual Alliance Media with Moonstruck Marketing Group and Good Dog/Bad Dog Creative Design to form Exakt Marketing.

Exakt Marketing is a full-service marketing agency that will continue to work with clients in many different market sectors including higher education, associations and professional services, but with a particular emphasis on three verticals:

• Restaurants & Hospitality
• Health, Wellness & Fitness
• Meeting & Conference Planning

We’ve been asked, “how did you come up with the name Exakt Marketing?”   Well, we all fell in love with the name “Spot On Marketing”. We just knew we were going to do amazing things with that brand concept! Well apparently, we were not the first to have that brilliant idea, because we found at least five other companies out there already using that name and concept. So we did the next best thing: we looked up “spot on” in other languages and found “exakt” … which means “spot on” in German! And as they say, the rest is history!  But coming up with a name was the easy part.  Now the real fun begins!

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our clients who have supported us over the years and we look forward to working together even more closely as we enter this new chapter in our history!

If you’re a student looking for internships in Tampa FL for the Fall 2012 Semester, then
Visual Alliance Media wants to talk with you!

Join our team as a social media marketing intern and get hands-on experience that could land you a social media job some day … and have fun in the process!

Jayden (that’s him to the right), the most productive member of our team, attends all team meetings, including our weekly 10-3-0 – a Google Hangout we hold every Friday (which is otherwise known as #PajamaDay … because everyone gets to work from home … in their pajamas if they choose)!

For details and how to apply, check out the Tampa social media marketing internship description.

Restaurant owners and GMs: beyond your management of reservations, staff scheduling, finances and ordering restaurant supplies, if part of your day isn’t devoted to managing your online marketing program or working with your online marketing agency on these activities (which includes online reputation management) as part of your restaurant marketing activities, pause here, scroll to the bottom of this post and submit your email to request a copy of our free guide “Three Things You Can Do Right Now to Start Marketing Your Restaurant Online”.

If you or your agency are actively managing your online reputation, you already understand the necessity of politely responding to negative reviews on local search and review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor in a positive and constructive way. If done properly, not only are you showcasing your restaurant’s culture and interest in guest feedback, you might even get a second chance from the reviewer in a best case scenario.  This is important because just one bad review can cost you thirty potential customers!

But what about good reviews? Do you respond to those? If not, you may be missing an opportunity! Let’s be honest … most people take the time to write reviews when they’ve had a bad experience. If someone takes the time to share good feedback, reward them with an acknowledgement and a few kind words.  You’ll be surprised at how far that will go. Beyond their review, the fact that you responded will stick with them and keep your restaurant front of mind, likely resulting in return visits and their spreading the word about how great your restaurant is…beyond the dining experience…with their friends and family!  The screen shot above is an example from The Lime, one of our Tampa restaurant clients.

Does anyone have any other examples or experiences to share?  Please leave them as a comment to this post!

Request your copy of Three Things You Can Do Right Now to Start Marketing Your Restaurant Online by Visual Alliance Media.
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Click to view our slide deck: Social Media for Restaurants.

Word of mouth marketing has always been important for businesses like tattoo shops. When it comes to “products” as permanent as tattoos, most people look for recommendations from others before deciding which shop to visit and which artist to engage. And the internet, social networks and local search and review sites have put the whole process on steroids!

So, like most other businesses, shop owners not only need to proactively create and manage their online presence, but they also need to be aware of what is being said about them online as a critical component of their tattoo marketing activities.

To kick-start the process, Visual Alliance Media recently released a white paper written exclusively for tattoo shop owners. Click the title to download a FREE copy today:

Three Things You Need to Do Right Now to Kick-start Online Marketing for Your Tattoo Shop.

Rarely do I get excited these days about new “features” rolled out by Facebook (side note: I loved the one where they recently changed everyone’s default email to something@facebook.com! *note sarcasm*) … although every once in a while, something useful comes along! Page admins, have you noticed it yet? When visiting pages you administer, a blue bar now appears at the top that allows you to toggle back and forth between posting and interacting on the page as yourself and as the brand (see image). While this is obviously not new functionality, this neat little shortcut makes it a lot less hassle to change your “voice” on the fly!

What do you think? Love it or hate it?

Visual Alliance Media is on the move again! This time, we’re looking for an Assistant Social Media Marketing Manager to join our team. The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree and at least one year of experience using the leading social media channels for business purposes.

This person will help to create and implement social media marketing strategies for clients.

Facebook? Yes. Twitter? Yes. Foursquare? Yes. Pinterest? Yes. Blogging? Yes. Etc. Etc. Etc. Get the picture?

We work hard but have fun. Fridays are #PajamaDay (meaning we work at home) … and we connect up during our weekly Google+ Hangout dubbed “The 10-3-0″.

If you’re interested in applying, please send your resume and cover letter to hr at visualalliancemedia dot com.

Yesterday afternoon, Joseph Imbrogno presented a new iPad to Theresa Novak, the winner of the IncrediBull iPad Giveaway, a sweepstakes that was sponsored and administered by Tampa social media agency, Visual Alliance Media, on the University of South Florida’s InformaBull Facebook Page.

The page, also managed by Visual Alliance Media, is the Office of Student Success’ social customer service solution for students on the Tampa campus. The giveaway helped to raise awareness of the platform in a way that is fun, useful and engaging to students.

Pictured below with Theresa are Renee Svec, Director of Communications and Marketing, Division of Student Affairs and Joe. Congrats, Theresa!

As you may have heard, Michael Novati of Facebook recently announced Groups for Schools after months of testing – the latest social media opportunity in higher education. Groups for Schools is a subset of Facebooks Groups that requires users to have an active .edu email address in order to join.

Individuals with current .edu email addresses can visit the main Groups for Schools page to search for their school, enter their .edu email address (which then associates that email address with their Facebook profile, requiring email validation of that address), and allows the individual to join their school’s Groups page. As you can see in the screen shot of the Groups page for The University of Pennsylvania, my alma mater, the interface is pretty similar to any other Facebook group you might join.

So what makes Facebook Groups for Schools different? Here are the main points:

1. As noted above, you must have an active .edu email address in order to join. Note: some schools provide their alumni with a lifelong email address on their .edu domain!

2. Existing Facebook groups cannot be converted to Groups for Schools. So any sports, majors, dorms, sororities, fraternities, classes or other academic organizations are going to have to start over with a new group in Groups for Schools!

3. Groups for Schools offers three privacy options: open, closed and secret. Here are the descriptions of each, according to the Facebook Help Center:

Open: Anyone can see an open group, and who’s in it. Members of the school community can also see or post updates, photos, files and events shared within the group.

Closed: Anyone can see a closed group, and who’s in it. Only members of a closed group can see or post updates, photos, events and files.

Secret: Only members of a secret group can see the group, who’s in it and what members post and share.

4. Group members can share files up to 25 MB right in the Newsfeed! But beware – Facebook will be policing these uploads to prevent piracy of copyrighted materials, so sharing music is off limits!

5. Any Facebook Groups for Schools confirmed user can message any other user at their school even if they are not “friends”.

6. Facebook provides a few “starter groups” for newly established Groups for Schools that include Jobs & Internships, Textbook Exchange, etc. Since these groups will not yet have admins, individuals can volunteer to fill the role!

For more detail on the above as well as how to start a group, visit the Groups for Schools Help Page in the Facebook Help Center.

Are you the group administrator for any groups at your school? If so, are you considering migrating them to the new Facebook Groups for Schools platform?

It seems that infographics are all the rage these days … visually slicing and dicing data in ways that are fun, engaging and informative! And there is no shortage of them when it comes to higher education! Social media marketing for colleges? Check. Digital technologies at colleges and universities? Check. The evolution of higher education from 3500 BC to today? Check (seriously!).

Here’s a list of ten recent infographics related to higher education that our team found to be interesting and informative (including one of ours on social media in higher ed … which we definitely found to be interesting and informative, as you’d expect)!

Do you have any to add to the list? Add a comment with the title and link!

How Higher Education Uses Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

Are iPads A Better Value Than Textbooks? #highered #infographic

The Social Media Opportunity in Higher Education [INFOGRAPHIC]

The Higher Education Bubble – Part 1

The Higher Education Bubble – Part 2

How Higher Education Is Going Digital [INFOGRAPHIC]

The Evolution of Higher Education Infographic

Is America’s Education Worth The Money? #highered #infographic

The Unprepared Nation Infographic

Infographic: Teaching in Higher Education

Frustrated but not outraged, I sent out a simple Tweet last night about my Bright House cable box not working properly.

I really wasn’t too bummed (luckily, my boyfriend wasn’t home) but wasn’t too excited that my box was out either. I just logged on to Netflix and called it a night. And then to my surprise, something happened… I had a Tweet from Bright House.

Now, working in social media I know that I’ve personally spent hours searching for people talking about different restaurants or businesses that I manage, and making sure that everything being said about the brand is addressed – but never have I been on the receiving end! I was amazed that (without even @ mentioning Bright House) I got a response – and one that seemed to be genuine!

I followed Ian’s instructions and direct messaged @BrightHouseCare. In a matter of minutes, Ian was looking up my box and checking if there were any issues. In the meantime, we were making small talk – proving to me that he indeed was a human who cared! Brownie points. Ian found the problem and is sending someone over to take a look at my box.

Yes folks, this all happened via Twitter.

As a customer, I was impressed and felt like Bright House TRULY cared. As a community manager, my brain started churning… Buzz word alert ROI: How can you prove social media brings in business? Dare I say… forget about bringing in business for a minute. Think about the impact that social media has on customer satisfaction.

As a current customer, the customer service I received today sold me. Bright House has my business as long as I live here because of Ian, his attentiveness and the fact that I felt like he truly wanted to help me. I was so impressed, I tweeted about it, I am blogging about it, I called my Boss and bragged about it… I am promoting Bright House and it’s because I WANT to.

So I guess what I am trying to say here is… forget about ROI right now. I’ll tell you why with an example…

If someone is displeased with his or her meal at a restaurant, what does the manager usually do? He personally visits the table and comps it. Why? Because he wants to do everything he can to make sure that the customer leaves with the possibility of coming back. They didn’t make any money off that customer RIGHT THEN, but if the customer comes back, it will all be worth it. Focus on who you already have in the door and give them the best customer service they could ever imagine.

As a customer and as a community manager, I’m begging you… take a tip from Bright House and don’t lose sight of what really matters – your customers. Whether it’s reputation management or a smile when they walk in the door… make it known that you care and you should see the benefits.

And on that note… Bright House, give yourselves a pat on the back. You’ve made one customer very happy and I don’t plan on shutting up.