December 5th, 2008 by SEO Audio

Of Twitter: “It’s a tool, fool” says Fred Abaroa, better known to his Tweeps as @CostaVidaFred, the bon vivant who can connect all of lifes little ups and downs with the addictive flavors of Costa Vida, a fresh Tex-Mex restaurant with restaurants in Utah, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Oregon and, oh wait… Maine?!

While most local business marketing managers might be happily esconced in radio spots, TV ads and coupons in local news flyers, Fred has helped foster addictiveness and brand recognition through his active use of the social network Twitter.

We talk to him about his thoughts on Twitter, social media and the art of marketing in general.

SEO Audio Voices: A Chat with Costa Vida Fred

May 8th, 2009 | Posted in Blog, Mindset & Strategy |

Sometimes people ask us if Facebook can be the focal point, or foundation, of a social media strategy. My answer? Sometimes, but not typically. Why? For the same reason that Twitter (or other like tools) can’t typically be the foundation either.

A thoughtful blogsite is the best place to tell your story. As Chris Brogan has said, “Today, marketing is about engaging with communities and delivering products and services with stories that spread.” Your blogsite is the place where your story is focused—where you have the opportunity to lead your tribe down a path. Many social media tools are decentralized or evaporative like Twitter, and/or scattered—like Facebook.

The following news story, aired by WCSH-TV in Portland, Maine, may appear to be about Twitter. But as you listen, you’ll see that it’s about centralization too:

I’ve always liked Rich Brooks and his blog. He’s a smart guy.

So, some may ask, “For CostaVida Fred, isn’t Twitter the best way to get to his audience? I mean, how much can be written in a blog about Mexican food?” Yes, using Twitter to get people in quickly during slow times at 10% off is a good idea. In fact, a great idea. But I spent some time on CostaVida Fred’s blogsite, where he does a good job of taking people down a path—illustrating that Twitter messages bring people in now… but the long term play is nurturing brand-loyal customers and evangelists that help spread Fred’s story.

Way to go, @CostaVidaFred. Smart uses of social media that help your business, AND help others as well.

Is your blogsite telling your story? Do the other tools you use point back to the blogsite where you’re focused and centralized? How can you use Fred-type thinking to grow your business?

Roundtable-Social Media-Networking Strategies

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Are social media/networking strategies a good idea for your business? Roundtable discussion with Amanda O'Brien of Hall Web Services,Fred Abaroa of Costa Vida and Jaica Kinsman of Guiding Stars.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-5275-Portland-Restaurant-Examiner~y2009m5d14-Fred-Abaroa-Restaurateur-and-Marketing-Imagineer

I have lived in Maine for about a decade now and the one thing I love about this state is that I'm always meeting fascinating people who have a great story and have chosen to live here (like me) for the quality of life. Fred Abaroa is one of these people and is the coolest restaurateur you'll ever meet.

In 1978, at the ripe old age of 16, Fred started college in hopes of getting a degree in computer programming. It was quickly discovered that he knew more than the teachers and was hired to work full time in the industry. While working with Ziff-Davis in the early nineties, management discovered he had a talent for presentation analitics. He started working on the market research side and eventually worked on a joint project between Ziff-Davis and Disney.

During the next 14 years he worked with marketing departments for companies like Disney, Pepsi, ABC News, General Mills, Nabisco, Hilton Hotels and Yahoo (to name a few). He has also worked for various state governments, including the State of Maine, and local companies such as Hannaford, BankNorth and Idexx. Fred eventually invested in Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill as part of his retirement plan but soon became its Marketing Imagineer. Costa Vida's primary owners are Dan Kenning and Brian Wilkes.

Fred is surely called the Marketing Imagineer for his tech-savvy ways. For those Mainers on Twitter, Fred, is famously known as @CostaVidaFred. He uses social media to keep friends and followers abreast of current Costa Vida promotions and his "Tweet On the Street," a podcast where he and co-host Jeff Parsons are joined by other Mainers to talk about the latest Twitter and social media news. And, in person, if you are spotted by Fred and his trademark green glasses while wearing a Costa Vida "Addicted" shirt, you may be rewarded with a coupon...

I have always liked Costa Vida anyways, but now that I know the Marketing Imagineer behind the curtain, the experience is all the better. This video features my recent visit to Costa Vida (make sure you turn on the volume) and below are important links featured in this article.

Costa Vida
209 Western Ave
South Portland, ME 04106
(207) 772-8432
www.costavidanewengland.com

Follow Fred Abaroa on Twitter
twitter.com/costavidafred

Word On the Tweet Podcast
www.wordonthetweet.net

Submitted by Justin Ellis on Wed, 05/13/2009 - 13:05 in

Twitter has led to many, many things, from a gold rush of Twitter applications to a torrent of skepticism and snark from the curmudgeony corners of the web.

But here in Maine, it's actually led to ... a podcast?

Last month Jeff Parsons and Fred Abaroa got together to launch Word on The Tweet, a podcast on all things Twitter.

Each week Parsons, a morning radio host on WJBQ 97.9, and Abaroa, co-owner of Costa Vida, a Mexican restaurant in South Portland, are joined by other Mainers on Twitter to talk about the latest Twitter and social media news.

A big fan of Leo Laporte's This Week in Tech pocast, Parsons said he wanted to try something similar but focused specifically on Twitter.

It was only natural to send the idea out on Twitter, Parsons wrote in an E-mail.

"What about a podcast of 3-4 tweeters a week discussing interesting tweets, twitter apps, suggesting people to follow and other randomness," he remembers Tweeting.

Serendipity stepped in - as it sometimes does thanks to Twitter - because Abaroa was thinking something similar and already had bought the domain wordonthetweet.net.

Abaroa said over E-mail the name practically invented itself. "I tweeted out to the whereabouts of one of my tweeps and the answer that came back was 'The Word on the Tweet is...' I decided that would be a really cool name for a podcast," Abaroa wrote.

As Parsons describes it, the podcast is a fairly simple endeavor thanks to the wonders of modern technology. Parsons and Abaroa use Skype to talk to guests, Parsons records, mixes and edits the show at home. The website? Wordpress.

With thousands of Mainers on Twitter, the potential guest list is long. It doesn't matter if they're a business owner, a news reporter, a teacher or a new mom, if they're on Twitter and in Maine, they can be a guest. Still, jumping from one medium to another, the
social and yet removed world of Twitter, to an unfiltered podcast, can be interesting, Parsons said.

"Putting a voice behind the tweets is always a lot of the fun," he said. "I've only met two of the guests we've had so far in person. I haven't even met Fred in person yet."

As Abaroa sees it, there's little difference in how he holds conversations on Twitter and in real-life, and that made the show feel natural.

"Just like any conversation, it has to be two way. One way is a lecture. Almost all my twitter conversations for me are real, thus they became real-life conversations," he said.

Of course it all wouldn't work without a willing and open-minded bunch of Twitters (sorry, I refuse to say "Tweeps." It is one bridge too far). For all its many (and probably even more untapped uses), Twitter has a way of creating a community (or communities).

"I use Tweetdeck and separate the people I follow into those communities. I have people from Maine in one group, people interested in sci-fi in another, Red Sox fans in a third, poker players in a fourth and so on," Parsons said. "Some people end up in more than one group, but they each belong to a community I do."

But even as some think the Twitter wave will never crest, Abaroa points out that it's good to remember a sense of scale. "For those who are on Twitter it is very effective. The twitterverse is still very small in comparison to an entire group," he said. "For example, at the last Maine Roller Derby there were thousands of spectators and a subset of 10 tweeps were there and we eventually all got together for a good time."

Since the show started in April, the topics on Word on The Tweet have included celebrities who use Twitter, Twitter in the headlines and new tools to use Twitter. It's in those suggestions, along with guests' picks for good people to follow, that Word on The Tweet mirrors the spirt of openness and sharing information that has made Twitter popular.

Still, as anyone who's spent more than an hour on Twitter knows, people use the service for different reasons. In that same vein, Parsons and Abaroa have slightly different views on what the show's about.

"I've described Word On The Tweet as being similar to a meeting of friends just sitting around a bar or restaurant, having a few drinks and talking about something they all enjoy," Parsons said.

"It is bringing all the hype from the media into a real-life conversation as to what is really going on in the twitterverse," Abaroa said. "Before I started using it all I ever heard in the media was people were posting things like 'I'm brushing my teeth.' Almost one year later, I don't think I have ever seen that type of post. Most of the posts I have seen have been very educational. They have brought me closer to my customers and helped me make new and
influential acquaintances."

SOUTH PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER) -- If you think social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are just for chatting with friends ... think again. Small businesses are maximizing contacts and free promotion opportunities.

The lunchtime crowd at Costa Vida restaurant in South Portland, for instance, could be a bunch of Mexican food junkies ... or they could be first timers responding to a tweet - or a message on Twitter - from owner Fred Abaroa.

"Every once in awhile I'll look at my goals, my plans and if I'm behind what I need to get by a certain time I'll tweet out, "says Arbaroa. "I'll say something like,"If you come in within the next 15 minutes get 10 percent off. I'll usually get 4-5 people run in really quickly."

Arbaroa is part of a growing number of small business owners using social networking sites to expand clientele, promote for free and network with other business owners. They also find it's an excellent way to see what clients are saying about their business or services - good or bad.

"We need to really be aware of these conversations because if people are complaining about bad service at our restaurant we should either apologize for it or try to improve on it or if we say the time you came in there was a mother's day party or whatever it was, "says Rich Brooks, whose company, Flyte New Media, helps businesses capitalize on the web. "No comment is basically like saying you're right but I'm just not going to admit to it."

Brooks says every business should at least be on Facebook, Twitter, and LinedIn - in that order - and should have a blog, a website, and be uploading video of their products and services.

NEWS CENTER