Ottawa's Little Italy Uses Social Media Well!

In an ambitious campaign to remind Ottawa that Little Italy's businesses are open during the final phase of construction, the Preston Street BIA has launched an online social media campaign that is about to get Ottawa moving!

Luigi is the lovable chef that has been predominately featured on signage over the last month throughout Ottawa's Little Italy. Now, Luigi is branching out online with a social media campaign that will see a $5,000 Grand Prize Shopping Spree awarded to one lucky participant later this summer.

How does it work? All you have to do is Catch Luigi! Over the course of the 13-week campaign, participants are being asked to follow Luigi on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Preston Street website to track his location.

Make note: Luigi is a 5-foot 8-inch cartoon cardboard cutout that will be found at local events and inside Preston Street businesses. Those who can catch Luigi will need to follow his clues online and will have a limited time to find him. Those who see him will then take a picture with the cartoon character and send it to catchluigi@prestonstreet.com.

Weekly prizes will be awarded as well, and participants are encouraged to submit as often as they are able to catch the lovable Luigi.

For full contest details, visit Catch Luigi.

You can track Luigi by following him on Twitter (@catchluigi) OR become his friend on Facebook (Become Luigi's Facebook Friend).

Within minutes of the campaign's launch, Tweeters from all across Ottawa were standing by for the first clue (expected to be given on Wednesday, June 3rd).

pattichurch RT @krusk Great to see locals having fun and experimenting with new marketing tools. Go Luigi! http://twitter.com/catchluigi

Good luck Ottawa!

3 Easy Things to apply to your Twitter campaign

Earlier this week the team over at Marketing Breakthroughs, Ottawa's number one choice for making mid-sized companies grow, got together and took part in a brainstorming session to hash out some tips and tricks on how to best utilize a Twitter campaign. The truth is, Twitter's abilities are vast and to be able to sift through all the information online about this social networking tool can be tiring.

With the help of the great minds over at PRNews, we were able to create a list of 3 useful ways to properly tweet your messages to the proper audiences. Enjoy!

1) Learn these keystrokes to best engage your Twitter community:

• "@" - used when replying publicly to a tweet (eg: @twitterusername insert message here);
• "d" - used when sending someone a private direct message (eg: d twitterusername insert message here);
• "RT" - when you read something you like, pass it on to your community. (eg: RT @twitterusername insert the original tweet here).

2) Tweetbeep.com - What are others twittering about you, your product, your company, or your business community? This handy tool sends you an email if anyone mentions you. This is the best way to monitor what's being said about you.
For example, Esther at www.blinds.com was recently part of a webinar where she explained the way she uses Tweetbeep.com. By monitoring the Twitterverse she is able to provide proactive customer service, she can address customer concerns, and she's able to provide solutions almost immediately.

3) If you're planning on executing a local Twitter campaign and you know your audience is somewhere in the area, how are you supposed to find them? The best tool to find locals in your area, and thus speak to people who you want to communicate local messages to is: Nearby Tweets.com. This tool is the best way to find people in your area who would be interested in what you're doing!

As practical usages for Twitter continue to present themselves, it's a good idea to keep these three points in your head. They will always remain useful in the growing Twitterverse.

Have any Twitter questions? Let us know, and we'll answer them for you.