http://youtu.be/midIvKkp_Vg

Luca & Leonardo is a new Italian restaurant on the swanky Waterway in The Woodlands, Texas. Scheduled to open in May 2011, Hallaron Public Relations created the temporary web page ( www.lucaleonardo.com ) and is managing the company’s social media marketing, public relations, and marketing. HPR created a short teaser video to entice future restaurant patrons while the restaurant continues construction. The full website will launch soon after opening.

In addition to web devevelopment, HPR will create and manage the restaurant’s Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare social channels. We are also handling mobile website versions, additional marketing videos for websites and You Tube, press releases and media distribution, and event marketing.

by Mike Hallaron
Hallaron Public Relations

A friend on Facebook asked me about using Groupon to promote her local resume writing service in our suburban community. Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that is localized to major markets in the United States. Members sign up and receive special one-day promotions from local business via email. Here is the short version of my advice to her.

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by Mike Hallaron
Hallaron Public Relations

Small business got a taste of social media in 2010. Following the lead of Fortune 500 companies and big brands, small business owners were probably introduced to social media on a personal level first: joining family on Facebook, taking note of Twitter on ESPN or Tosh.0, or someone emailing a funny video from YouTube. Of course there were also the email invitations to connect to former colleagues on LinkedIn, checking out personal photo albums on Flickr, and for a few, even adventures on Foursquare. The average “Joe” or “Jane” with a locally-based small business was indoctrinated into the “social” world in 2010.

So there it is. Social media has pervaded our lifestyles and the lexicon. After recognizing the networking and communications potential of social media on a personal level, “Joe” and “Jane” decided there must be a business application for all of these free, web-based tools. Some have already added social marketing to their business arsenal and a small percentage are doing it well. Many more have floundered awkwardly into untested waters. One thing is certain, more small businesses will try to use social marketing to create new prospects and new sales in 2011. Here is what we have learned, so far.

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