From meeting Twitter friends in real life (IRL) and making new ones, to walking the red carpet and posing for the cameras, the Bolt PR team had a blast at the #InfluenceSD Awards Show on Wednesday night.  Thank you to all who voted for us to win Agency of the Year; we are proud to announce that we were named Best Agency in San Diego for our use of new media. 

After a very full work day – to do lists don’t pause for paparazzi – we checked into the Keating Hotel (highly recommended!) for “hair and makeup”.  All dolled up, the Bolt ladies arrived at Anthology and checked in on Foursquare.  Chatting with best in community winner, Michelle Guerin of DiscoverSD, and Blog of the Year finalist “Adventures of a Military Family of 8”, we were unsure what to expect once we walked in the VIP doors. 

Inside the gorgeous venue, we found a table with Brad and Stephen, New Brew Thursday, bloggers and Blog of the Year finalists.  Then Krys Justice set the tempo for the evening with his performance and the show began…

Here are the winners: 

Check out the view from stage. The audience looked gorgeous, so I couldn’t help but capture the moment with a TwitPic as we accepted our award: http://ow.ly/i/10i4 

I must admit that I don’t envy the judges and their task of choosing the winners because all of the finalists were certainly new media champions. The good news is that all of the finalists will be moving on to nationals. #InfluenceSD co-founder Melanie Gordon announced the launch of the awards show in cities across the country in conjunction with a national show.

On behalf of the Bolt PR team, thank you so much to @melgordon and @sdmatt for  recognizing new media achievements in San Diego by creating such a fabulous awards program and show, and thanks to the judges for taking on the task of selecting the winners from such a impressive group of finalists! We were honored to be a part of it all!

I find it interesting that in all the discussions about social networking, most people view social networking as this (fairly) new model for interaction. But haven’t we been social networking from the time our parents put us in daycare? And haven’t we been social networking our way all along to new business deals, partnerships, relationships, etc.?

I think it’s important to remember that social networking does not, and should not, just happen online.

This past week, @AnneRipley and I attended the SDTechScene MarchMingle event and it was a blast. In the midst of this sold-out crowd, we were able to put faces with Twitter names and, immediately following the event, reconnect again online, ‘tweeting’ about how we met  “IRL” (In Real Life). While we were ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ before, the face-to-face meeting solidified those relationships and made it more memorable.

So the moral of the story, just because we have the opportunity to hide behind our computers and network through cyberspace, doesn’t mean that’s the only venue we should be exploring. Get out there and attend every networking event you can. While your words may be memorable, your face will leave a lasting impression.

At Bolt, we believe there are four key components of a successful social networking strategy:

1. Network. Reach out directly to other users in your target markets.
2. Engage. Maintain communication with current followers/fans/connections to foster community and build relationships. Ask questions and offer advice and insight to engage your online communities.
3. Manage/Monitor. Update and manage your accounts daily to grow loyal follower base, interact with online communities to drive awareness, and monitor what users are saying about your brand or business.
4. Inform. Post links and industry-relevant information to position yourself as the industry expert and go-to resource. Inform about trends rather than only self-promote.

If you are looking to boost your Internet presence through social media, just remember NEMI. If social networking is too much of a time commitment to learn or implement, talk to our Bolt team about managing social media to truly maximize exposure for your business.  Although we are based in North County San Diego, we offer reputation management and social media management for organizations nationwide.  Feel free to email me at anne@boltpr.com or connect via Twitter at http://twitter.com/boltbuzz108 if you have any questions about public relations and social media or about Bolt PR services.