Becky DiStefano, Founder and President of Haute Tags™

Interviews with Social Media Pros

Welcome to the very first installment in our new series of in-depth interviews with professionals who are using social media and blogging to market their brands. Our purpose is to give you a peek at the people behind the brands, and show you how they got started using social media and blogging to build online networks they now put to work for whatever their goals might be.

First up is the lovely and talented Becky DiStefano, the founder, designer, creator and president of Haute Tags™, a new jewelry line touted as “the world’s first social media accessory.” Becky’s social media skills are a testament to her love of both the medium and relationships, as you’ll discover in this interview.  Read on to see how Becky got started using social media, what she thinks are essential skills for a savvy social media marketer, and how she uses social media to spread the word about her popular social media accessory line, Haute Tags™.

Becky, tell us about Haute Tags™!

Becky: Haute Tags™ is a social media accessory line born of a love of social media. Our high-end tags are engraved with one’s Twitter handle, favorite hashtag, logo, e-mail address or name and bejeweled with gorgeous Swarovski® crystals. We are the world’s first social media accessory collection designed to take who you are online and show it off in the real world.

Haute Tags™ with Swarovski® crystals

What was your very first personal experience with social media?

Becky: My first experience with social media was MySpace. I loved reconnecting with old friends and schoolmates. I always wondered “what happened to so and so?” and this was the best opportunity to find out what everyone was up to!

What was your very first personal experience with blogging?

Becky: I used Squarespace to create my own blog called “BeautyInRI.com” which is no longer live. I blogged about beauty products, events, news, etc. and also provided an online directory to beauty boutiques and salons in Rhode Island. I even won a “Best of Rhode Island” award from Rhode Island Monthly for “Best Beauty Blog.”

Do you remember when you realized social media and blogging could be used for marketing?

Becky: I realized it when I started writing for GoLocalProv and my editors encouraged me to go on Twitter and to post my articles on Facebook. Suddenly hundreds of people were reading and sharing my work and I realized its true potential.

Specifically, how do you use social media and blogging for your own business?

Becky: For Haute Tags™, I use Facebook and Twitter to promote my brand. I do giveaways, contests and also remind people about the tags as a unique gift idea. It’s also a way to connect with the growing lifestyle community in Rhode Island: people who are passionate about fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and jewelry as well as helping small businesses grow. I send tags out to celebrities and editors, often connecting with people I may not have had the chance to were it not for social media.

How much time would you say you spend on social media for your brand each week?

Becky: Wow, that’s a big question! I’m online at least 6 hours a day so I’d say it’s a full time job! Thanks to my smartphone and my laptop, I’m constantly on social media because it’s what I love.

How many blog posts do you write each week?

Becky: I don’t blog currently but I post at least once a day about Haute Tags™.

Are there any social media tools or apps that you can’t live without right now?

Becky: I can’t live without Facebook and Twitter…they are how I stay connected, where I get my news; I literally learn something new everyday from these amazing sites.

Do you plan out your social media posts ahead of time?

Becky: Nope, I like to fly by the seat of my pants!

How important are keywords in your social media and blog posts? Do you pay much attention to SEO?

Becky: Currently I do not, but I am aware of how my words have an impact on who sees my website.

Do you take any time off from social media during the week or year?

Becky: I try to stay offline at night but sometimes there’s a Twitter party or a show I live Tweet about so I’m online; when I go out to eat, I really try to shut my phone off or at least keep it in my bag; it’s hard to disconnect!

Do you use an editorial calendar? Can you explain your process?

Becky: I do not because I just post on Facebook and Twitter at random…I love random.

What would you say is your greatest strength when it comes to social media and blogging?

Becky: My greatest strength comes in my skill to connect online and in real life; I see social media as a platform to meet incredible people in real life, and social media is kind of the “first” meeting; when you meet someone you’re Facebook friends with or with whom you Tweet, it’s like you already go way back and it makes the relationship really special.

What would you say is your biggest weakness when it comes to social media and blogging?

Becky: My biggest weakness would have to be my inability to disconnect. I have a hard time shutting off because I always want to know what’s going on and who’s who and what’s what.

If you had all the time in the world, or could hire all the social media managers and bloggers you needed, what would your brand’s social media and blogging strategy look like?

Becky: All the time in the world? That sounds fabulous! My strategy would be engagement and connections; it’s not enough to post a link and say “buy here!” You must engage and have conversations with your fans, friends or followers; I’d make sure my team was making sure they expressed themselves as real people, not automatons pressing buttons.

Is there anyone whose social media and blogging prowess you admire?

Becky: So many! The Couto ladies of Mom Generations come to mind because they are so honest and real and funny;  Vera Sweeney (Lady and the Blog), Jennifer Leal (Savoring the Thyme)…so many talented bloggers and social media mavens doing big things!

What do you wish you knew more about when it comes to social media and/or blogging?

Becky: I think I’d like to learn more about SEO and RSS feeds and how it all works. There is so much intricate design behind these networks that I’d love to know the nuts and bolts of how they function. Essentially I’d like to be Mark Zuckerberg for one day.

If you could only choose ONE social media platform to use for your brand (in tandem with blogging), which would you choose?

Becky: Twitter, hands down…I just love Twitter.

Are there any social media platforms you wish you had more time for?

Becky: I find time for all of them though I need to really get into Google Plus.

If you could create the perfect social media manager for your brand, how would you describe them?

Becky: My social media manager would have a fabulous sense of humor, they would be smart, open to new ideas, be super savvy when it comes to social networks, creative, innovative and overall NICE.

Visit the Haute Tags™ Website 
Follow Haute Tags™ on Twitter
Follow Becky on Twitter
Like Haute Tags™ on Facebook 

Excellent interview, Becky! Thank-you so much!

How about you, folks? Do you have any questions or comments for Becky?

2011 was a really bad year for a lot of folks. People lost their jobs and then their homes, banks tightened up credit requirements, businesses shut their doors, and the government raised our taxes for the next however many years to bail out institutions and cover the costs of so many folks out of work.

Suddenly, our national and individual financial folly — and interdependence on one another — became glaringly apparent. Businesses need money to stay in business and continue to deliver goods and services, and when Joe Customer doesn’t have money to spend, businesses don’t have money to cover expenses. No business was immune in 2011, and since business is the lifeblood of our economy, everything changed.

And a nation of people started pointing fingers at one another.

But is everything someone else’s fault?

Gini Dietrich Sets an Example for All of Us

Gini Dietrich, CEO of Arment Dietrich

In response to someone else’ blog post that referenced her own business’s near-bankruptcy in 2011, Gini Dietrich, founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, wrote the following:

“…I am a bit disappointed that you wrote this before talking with me. You know I would have told you the ins and outs of my ONE statement in ONE blog post that we nearly went bankrupt.

“You see, we have a great business. We have lots of fantastic clients. All of whom pay their bills on time. But the United States, last summer, had a near crisis when our government couldn’t come to agreement on what to do with our credit. So, like everyone, our clients retreated to their corners and held on to their money as long as they could. And it hurt us. Just like I’m sure it hurt other small businesses.

“But the issue was not due to our clients. The issue was due to *me* forgetting that cash is king. You see, I let our expenses get out of control (it took me 18 months to get out of a lease that was much too large and expensive for us) and I let the business live from paycheck to paycheck, essentially. So, when clients went from 30 to 90 days, overnight, I didn’t know how I was going to make payroll.

“Let me be very clear. This was not their fault. This was only my fault. I know better, but I was ‘hoping’ everything was going to be OK. I know hope is not a strategy, yet I focused on it in 2011. That is no one’s fault but my own.”

Gini Dietrich, power blogger, business owner, and role model to so many, did what most of us are too proud (or self-absorbed) to do: she accepted responsibility.

Imagine if every single person in this country did the same thing, right now. Imagine if we each took a good, long look at ourselves, and at our businesses, and took personal responsibility for whatever we’ve done — or not done — that contributed to not only our own financial stresses, but the stresses on our nation’s economy as well. And imagine if we taught the next generation to do the same.

Because that’s how we’ll rebound individually, in our businesses, and as a nation.

Are you willing to share what you learned “the hard way” that you want the next generation to know?

Can I ask you a few simple questions?

I think we all agree now that blogging and social media are no passing fad. As a matter of fact, if you have a product or service to sell, a message to get out to the world, or a desire to get paid to write about your passion or expertise, you’re likely already on the Blogging and Social Media Bandwagon, or seriously looking into it!

Are you already using a blog and social media in tandem, whether to market your product and services, build community around your business or interest, or make a full- or part-time living? We want to interview you, and share your story here!

I’ll make your interview painless, fun, and fast. We can do a recorded video interview using video conferencing, chat over the phone for a recorded podcast, or do the whole thing in writing, with you answering a few questions and sending them back to me. Whichever you prefer, I promise to push the post like crazy on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (if video), and Google+, include links to your website, blog, and social media profiles, and make your contribution work for you.

So — are you interested in free traffic and backlinks in exchange for answering a few questions about how you use social media and blogging? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll be in touch! You don’t have to be an A-List Blogging and Social Media Star, either, so don’t be shy. We just want to hear your story so far!

“She blocked me?”

Did you see the interesting discussion on our Facebook Page about blocking people on Twitter?

I referenced a post called “10 Reasons Not to Block People on Twitter,” by Diana Adams. Diana’s post touched a nerve with me, because I’ve been on the receiving end of being blocked on Twitter, both as New England Multimedia and in my work for another brand.

In both instances — and here’s the real clincher — I had some sort of networking relationship with the blocker. We had talked back and forth at least a few times, shared interests and goals online, and had/have common social media connections.

I’m not alone, either. I get DMs from folks asking me, “Do you know why so-and-so blocked me?” When I’ve tried to gently be a go-between behind the scenes, I’ve been either immediately blocked myself, or unfollowed, and had all conversation cease.

Maybe that says more about the blocker than anything else.

Are you following Twitter’s Rules of the Road?

In my own cases of being blocked on New England Multimedia, the experience left me puzzled, because I didn’t know what I’d done that would cause someone to block me. I know and obey the Spoken and Unspoken Rules of the Road when it comes to Twitter etiquette. I’m not a spambot. I never auto-DM. I don’t push sales messages. I don’t auto-post to Twitter from an application (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I use Twitter to converse and connect, not broadcast (again, not that there’s anything wrong with that, if the tweets are educational or otherwise interesting).

“Quit yer cryin’. What’s the big deal?”

Twitter for me is the 21st century version of a small-town village, just on a much wider scale. Relationships matter both in the short- and long-term. Even the perception of a relationship matters.

Social media provides the opportunity to build and nurture relationships with people, to encourage them, and to be kind, generous, and helpful. If we have a relationship on Twitter, I’m in your corner. If you’re good at what you do, I’ll refer you when you fit a niche for one of our customers. I’ll help you find a job. I’ll teach you what I know. I’ll promote your blog, your Tweets, and your causes, if they’re the kind of content our audience is interested in.
 

When to Block (and Report)

I realize there’s a time and place for blocking. I’ve blocked and reported bona fide spammers, like this “person,” but only if I end up in their list of @mentions:

It seems to me that unless someone is

1) a bona fide spammer, or
2) someone who’s flooding you with @replies and harassing you, or
3) someone who’s sending you objectionable tweets (porn, anyone?),

you’re running a “community risk” when you block someone.

When someone finds out you’ve blocked them, what’s the message they “hear”? Is the message about them? Or about you?

If you don’t want to see someone’s tweets in your stream, why not just unfollow them? It’s a nicer way, and leaves the door open for a conversation or relationship later on.

Maybe I’m missing something.

Two questions:
1) Have you ever blocked anyone on Twitter? Why?
2) Have you ever been blocked on Twitter? Do you know why?

Where do you turn when you need a lot of cash for a project you believe in?

Yesterday I wrote a blog post asking if anyone can be an entrepreneur, and one of our commenters lamented about the lack of capital available to people who need it.

What do you do when your business idea is so big, you’ve got to come up with serious cash to launch it?

Enter Crowdfunding

“Crowdfunding (sometimes called crowd financing, crowd sourced capital, or street performer protocol) describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organization.” Wikipedia

I just discovered Kickstarter, a remarkable reward-based crowdfunding platform for creative projects.

What I love about Kickstarter:

• Kickstarter is focused on creative projects, enabling artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers and the like to enlist the financial support of those who love their work;
• Kickstarter’s guidelines ask the creative to offer a reward of some sort to supporters, and include the option for the supporter to refuse the reward;
• Kickstarter has protection in place for supporters if the creative is unable to raise the support needed, returning all donations (Kickstarter uses Amazon.com as their payment platform).

The project Scott and I are happily supporting is called “REVEALED: Personal Visions of Transformation and Discovery.” Check it out:

Have you ever supported a crowdfunded project? Or, have you ever used crowdfunding for your own project? Tell us about it.