Inbal Hotel – the first in their field

Inbal Hotel Facebook photo contest

It’s easy to jump on the social media bandwagon once it’s already moving, but to be the first to get the bandwagon going in your field can feel a little daunting. As far as I know, the Inbal, a hotel in Jerusalem, is the first Israeli hotel to really go all the way, social media speaking. From their gung-ho presence “all over” Facebook and Twitter, it’s easily apparent that Ruth Waiman, the enthusiastic Executive Assistant along with Online Marketing Manager Pinny Orzach, the SEO/SEM person, have been given the OK to really give social media a try.

It really is a risk when a company decides to put a substantial amount of employee hours towards a social media presence. There could be growing pains when a conventional company puts itself out there in the world of social media. Often there is a slight image change as the company shows itself to be more hip and young through their social media presence.

You’ve got to be at least a little creative and really quite proactive to keep your social media presence alive and well. It’s not just about posting, “The chef is now cooking duck for dinner.” It’s about being cool, fun and interactive.

The Inbal Hotel’s latest photograph competition is exactly that – cool, fun and interactive. Actually, the beauty of their competition is that it isn’t about the Inbal. It’s about Jerusalem. You can enter the competition by posting up to three photographs you’ve taken of Jerusalem on their Facebook wall. At the end of October the best photograph will be chosen and the winner will get a night for two at the hotel.

When I wrote to Ruth about their latest contest, she explained:

To further boost our interactions on Facebook on both English and Hebrew walls, the photo competition was launched and has been receiving enthusiastic feedback from the outset.

Having now received close to 80 photos on the combined pages, we’ve definitely noticed an increase of fans and interactions and are hoping to involve external photography professionals for the judging due to take place early next month.

Ruth also mentioned all the events they’ve been hosting at the hotel, including the WordCamp afterparty (which we, as the WordCamp organizers, are really grateful for) at the beginning of September.

Nefesh B’Nefesh’s “This is my Israel” Campaign

Nefesh B'Nefesh This is My Israel campaign

Slightly before the Inbal’s competition commenced, Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN), the organization that supports Jews who move to Israel, started a photo contest on their facebook page. To participate in this competition, people were requested to take a picture of themselves holding a sign that says “This is my ISRAEL” somewhere in Israel. The place where they are photographed should be one that they see as truly representing Israel for them.

Also, a fun campaign that is not about the actual organization behind the campaign, but instead about “you” and Israel.

What a wonderful use of social media to get people involved in an organization and, of course, more connected to each other and Israel.

It is currently voting time on the NBN campaign so you can go to the album and click “like” on your favourites. The winning photographer will receive a Flip video camera. Sweet.

Goals and drawbacks

The main goals of campaigns of this kind are exposure and building a certain image and relationship with your followers. As long as your campaign really is, as I said, fun, cool and interactive, and not all about you, the image and relationship aspects will probably be fine. The only problem with these types of contests is that if you want to participate in the contest, you might hesitate telling others about it since the last thing you need is more competition!

(Of course that brings up the question, why am I writing about it here if I plan on entering the Inbal contest? I suppose my blogging addiction is stronger than my “I need to win” attitude.)

Otherwise, both of these contests are a great and fun use of Facebook.

And here are my pictures

So yes, I plan to enter three of my pictures in the Inbal competition. Here are the photographs I’m considering. Which ones do you think could be winners? Help me choose! I really could use a night in a fancy hotel.

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November 3, 2008. Tel Aviv, Israel.

November 4, 2008. Netanya, Israel. The Entrepreneurs club is hosting Asaf Peled, Benny Shneider, and Yoram Shamir at Cisco HQ. More details

November 4, 2008. Tel Aviv, Israel. Building a Social Network of Enviornmental Activists in Israel hosted by Jeff Pulver and Eilon Schwartz. More details.

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I’ve been working on a new venture aimed at helping non-profits develop their knowledge and skills in the social media field. My partner in this venture, Lisa Barkan from Digital Shtick (www.digitalshtick.com), has extensive marketing experience in the non-profit world. The venture, called amuta 2.0 (http://amuta20.com), will be launching on August 31 in Jerusalem with a networking breakfast event featuring Jeff Pulver, an internationally renowned social media expert (http://pulverblog.pulver.com/), and a panel of key representatives from some of Israel’s most innovative non-profits. Jeff will be speaking about “New Trends in Social Media in the post-facebook era,” and the panelists will discuss how they use social media to promote their non-profit and achieve their goals.

While the event will focus on the use of social media by non-profits, businesses are also encouraged to attend, since the tools and strategies we will be discussing could be equally applied by them as well. We already have a number of businesses who have registered to attend.

More information about the event, including the complete agenda, venue, and costs can be found at http://amuta20.com/events/.

You can register here: http://amuta20.com/register/.

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I’m excited to announce the launch of a new course I’m giving on blogging and social media marketing strategies.

About the course

The new web, also known as web 2.0, is changing the way we communicate. With people spending more and more time online as active participants in the consumption and generation of content, companies and brands who wish to engage with online customers must adopt a new way of thinking.

“Corporate Blogging and Social Media” is a 3-day seminar that will take place on Thursday June 5, June 12, and June 19, 2008. During the course, you’ll gain a solid background in blogging and social media, start your own blog and write and optimize your first post for social media and search engines. We’ll also cover the following:

• How an effective blogging strategy can be an amazing way to market your brand and/or company
• How to set up and promote a blog with the various social media tools available
• Creating and monitoring an online social media profile that delivers results.
• Search engine optimization (SEO) basics for better blogging
• Digital PR/PR 2.0 – moving beyond the conventional press release to the Social Media Press Release

Where and what?

The courses will take place at Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem, conveniently located off of King David Street, near the David Citadel Hotel. Each day will begin at 9 am, and continue until 6 pm, with short breaks and a lunch break. Participants will receive printed material as well as access to a password protected part resource section on the illuminea site. Refreshments and a dairy lunch are included in the cost.

Find out more about the course, and see the agenda, click here

For more information, please contact us at info@illuminea.com, or at (02) 566-0297.

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