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Jan
7
Bike Shops using Twitter
Filed Under Interbike | 3 Comments
Other than setting up a U-Stream feed so that my sister in Atlanta could watch the kids opening presents on Christmas morning (what a geek), I apparently did a really good job of unplugging from the frenzy of social media and haven’t written much either here or on Twitter since about mid-December. That’s not to say that things have been quiet here at the office. December’s priority was the preparation and sending out of 2010 contracts to 2009 exhibitors (yes, it’s that time already). One of these days I’m going to write the “what do you guys do at Interbike the rest of the year?” post.
So getting back into the social media stream here early in 2010 (“twenty-ten” as I’ve learned), I’ve plugged away on a side project that I’ve been meaning to get to for some time and which Twitter’s still-new lists tool makes easier. With the help of friends on Twitter, I’ve compiled a list of bicycle shops and retailers that have accounts on the popular micro-blogging service. The point–aside from helping to promote our industry’s retailers–is to give those not involved an opportunity to see examples of how others are participating. I think the debate as to the value of social media to a small business (or any business for that matter) is pretty much over, but how, exactly, to take advantage of it is a whole other challenge.
The 245 shops, as of this writing, are using Twitter in many different ways. Not all are super active or social, but many have found great success at using it to connect with their communities and customers. In browsing the list, you can see that there are some great shops on the list like. Names like the Pony Shop, Revolution Bicycles, Belmont Wheelworks, Bonzai, Bicycle Therapy, Harris Cyclery, and I Martin are a few that stand out among those that I’ve found. If you’re a shop that Tweets (a “TwIBD”, if you will – ugh) and not on the list, let me know here or @Interbike on Twitter.
So in the spirit of the great Picasso’s statement that “good artists copy, great artists steal,” follow these shops and see how they use Twitter. Learn from them and then take some of what you see and like and make it your own. Oh, and don’t forget to use the list as a means to connect with your fellow retailers, too! Social networking, remember?
Up next, bike shops on Facebook.
Apr
20
Levi Leipheimer discusses Twitter at Sea Otter
Filed Under Cycling, Industry News, Racing, Video | 1 Comment
Just back from the Sea Otter Classic. If you’ve ever been but missed it this year, you really missed some unbelievable Monterey weather – absolutely gorgeous. Felt a little like we were at Bootleg Canyon in September.
I was up there for two reasons, one was to attend and present at the annual Bicycle Leadership Conference on the topic of social media marketing. I’ll be posting about that soon. The other reason was to meet with members of the industry to see how things are going and to try to capture some interesting video interviews with my new good friend, videographer/producer Markus Neuert of Cyclefilm.
So in the first of many videos we’ll be posting up, here’s one that ties both reasons together as we checked in with Levi Leipheimer about his use of Twitter.
Follow us on Twitter:
Levi: @levi_leipheimer
Me: @interbike
Cyclefilm: @cyclefilm
Dec
29
Social Media Primer for Bike Retailers
Filed Under Blogging, Interbike | 11 Comments
Here’s a cop-out post from me today so I don’t finish up the year with such a long posting drought. Been going through the annual holiday season blogging doldrums here. I’ve had some fleeting topics for posts over the last few weeks, but between the work of getting things going in earnest for 2009, the drain that the holidays themselves can impose and continuing allure of the 140-character-limit Twitter as an easy networking and communications tool have all conspired against this now seemingly long-form medium.
Now it’s a cop-out only in the sense that I didn’t craft the content. Having been somewhat ‘offline’ since leaving for Christmas, I was catching up on what’s been going on in the Twitter bike world and saw a post from Chris Matthews about a “gift” he made for Bike Shops during his spare time. Chris works in the marketing department at Specialized Bicycles and writes an insightful blog on issues related to “bicycles, business and the bicycle business.” He put together a nice brief, yet thorough, introduction to social media specifically geared toward bicycle retailers. As a fellow believer in the opportunities that SM can provide a business and brand, I created the Web 2.0 and SM seminars at this last Interbike for the same reason that I assume Chris wrote this.
In preparing for the seminars, I struggled to find a retailer taking advantage of SM to participate in the panel. The online communities are obviously populated with many active cycling enthusiasts. Members of the media also seem to be early adopters of these relatively new tools, and manufacturers are not too far behind for the most part (with many notable absentees). Retailers, though, are few and far between and they have so much to offer the cycling community online. As Chris writes, with the challenged economy that’s upon us, retailers really owe it to themselves and their businesses to use these free marketing tools to help weather the storm and thrive:
I noted recently that there are very few bike shops that are taking advantage of free Social Media marketing that’s available to them. This is stuff that ANY bike shop can and should do, and in times of scaled back marketing budgets, the practicality of it makes it extra sensible. However, if you’ve never used it before, it can be rather intimidating.
Here’s how he wraps up his primer and sums up the benefits of SM:
Through the strength of active and passive referrals, by becoming involved in the daily lives and conversations of your customers, and by extending the reach of the activities you’re already investing time and money into, Social Media can offer your bike shop an absolutely free way to grow your tribe, and remain strong so that you’re there for your tribe when they need you in the future.
Well said, Chris. Read his post and download the pdf of his “Social Media for Bike Shops – A How To Guide” at his blog, “Chris Writes”.
Retailers?
Sep
15
Twitter Redux and Email Outage
Filed Under Attendee News, Events, Exhibitor News, Interbike | 2 Comments
So it looks like the news about our Twitter feed for Interbike event updates and news hit the BRAIN newswire this morning. I’m curious to see the industry’s reaction and willingness to give it a try. Twitter’s got a silly name and won’t be the answer to war and hinger in the world, but I have found it to be a really easy way to stay in touch with people.
If you get enough people Twittering at an event like Interbike, you can get a really interesting view on how people spend theie time at the show and learn about stuff that’s going on that’s not necessarily on the calendars. It’s been huge at tech industry events like South By Southwest.
But, as with everything new, there are the detractors. Now, I don’t think I’m forcing this Twitter thing on anyone, am I? Heck, it’s why I chose the platform in the first place to help people stay on top of what’s going on at the show – it’s free, totally opt-in and you can turn it off anytime. Some people see this as another intrusion of technology in their lives and would prefer to tune out. I see it as another way to easily connect with and communicate with my peers in the bike industry during our biggest gathering. And beyond. I’m hoping that people will enjoy the experience and the new online community that we created will be a positive thing for industry. Who knows. Just have with and let’s see what happens. I’ll post a list of some notable bike industry Twitters to add to your list shortly.
On a totally separate note, if you’ve been trying to email anyone at IB (or anyone at our offices in San Juan Capistrano) over the weekend or this morning, don’t hold your breath for a reply. I don’t have details since I’m in Denver for our FlyFishing Retailer Expo and it’s early on Monday morning, but it appears that our email servers are down and the web servers have been spotty – possibly as a result of hurricane activity. Can’t wait till the home office opens so I can call to find out what’s up. All I can say is be patient if you’re waiting for an email from us.
Sep
10
Interbike 2008 News & Updates Via Twitter
Filed Under Attendee News, Blogging, Events, Exhibitor News, Interbike | 4 Comments
So, do you Twitter?
Without going too deep into an explanation of the Twitter concept, it’s basically like a group instant messaging system. Once you have your Twitter account set up, you select the people whose posts (“Tweets”) you chose to follow. Others will do the same and some will even choose to follow your stream of tweets. Each time you post in the system, each of your “followers” will receive it in their Twitter home page. Likewise, your home page will show all the posts from the people you have chosen to follow. Simple, no?
Twitter suggests that you answer the question “What are you doing?” as the topic of your tweets, but as long as it fits within the 140 character limit that they impose on each posting, anything goes. One of the basic ideas of Twitter’s micro-blogging platform is to give people a better insight into your day to day life – things that may not appear in a more profound blog posting. (You do blog, don’t you?) Take a look at Common Craft’s “Twitter in Plain English” for a simple overview of Twitter.
Twitter is another in the line of social media technologies that provide a way for people to connect and stay in touch with what others are up to. That last item is where this post comes into play. I’m not here to evangelize Twitter, but it has allowed us to do something that we’ve tried to set up in the past through cell phone text messaging: For 2008, we will be using Twitter to send out Interbike 2008 event reminders, updates and news throughout the show. The reason we’re using Twitter? 1. It’s free for you and us, 2. you can sign up to receive tweets on your cell phone, 3. you won’t be giving us your cell phone number and 4. it’s fun.
Here’s the plan. We have set up a Twitter account called Interbike2008. If you don’t already have a Twitter account, go create one for free. Once you’re set up, search for “interbike2008″ or visit twitter.com/interbike2008 and click on the “Follow” button. That’s it. Oh, you can also set up your account to work with your cell phone so that you can receive tweets on your phone via SMS text messages. If you have an iPhone, you can just access it through Safari or any of the new Twitter apps that are out there. As a matter of fact, you really don’t even need to sign up for an account to read the updates.
For those of you that I Twitter with already under the “Interbike” username, why create a new separate account? Well, after talking it over with fellow Twitterer David from our PR firm, we felt it would be useful to keep the current voice of Interbike as me. For updates and news, that will come from the new account.
I’m really looking forward to participating in and reading the conversations that will go on during the show and I’ll use my current account to do that. I saw a few of these exchanges at our recent Outdoor Retailer show and we should see much more from the more connected and early-adopting bike industry. Twitter has become a very popular way for show attendees to communicate onsite at events in the tech industry. If enough of you choose to sign up for this, we might actually even end up with a nice little community online that will all be in touch post show, as well. Good for the industry, right?
Who else from the industry is on Twitter? You can take a look at the list of people I’m following on my Twitter page for a small idea. I’ve tried to limit the accounts that I follow to those related to the bike industry in some way. You’ll recognize a bunch of familiar names and logos there. VeloNews tweets news items. Pro teams Slipstream, Rock Racing and Type 1 post race updates. Jonathan Vaughters was even twittering from the team car at the Tour this summer. Obviously, the industry’s vibrant blogging community is active online. Talk of Lance’s comeback has been the topic of many posts over the last couple of days.
Give it a try – at the very least you’ll be able to stay on top of the events that are going on and know about any changes or updates during the show – whether you’re in Vegas or not.