We are twelve hours into the 72 Hour experiment and I have a quick question for you.
Have you, or your business, or a cause you believe in benefited from social media?
(i.e. your Facebook Page(s), your Twitter Account, Linked In, your blog, linking websites with friends, etc)?
We would love for you to tell us about it by leaving a comment on this post…
OK…I can go back to sleep now…it’s just that the synapses; they fire at random…
Sleep who needs sleep. Great time in Evergreen at the Trinity tonight all kind of fun folks. I am runningout of MGO stuff, what do I do?
Missing you guys
Tom
Miss you too, Tom! Hoping a local takes over MGO – will keep you posted. Laurie is all set to go in her commercial kitchen in Lakewood…all the ingredients and equipment are there and she is ready to begin manufacturing again…hope to see you soon!
My company uses Facebook for individual and team interaction, social activities, team building, information exchange, etc and ‘Communities’ where product knowledge and information is shared between customers and employees live through a web portal.
Valynne, one day you will be famous and for than just 15 minutes.
Paul
I love that the other half of CC (aka my better half) left a message. Especially since he is in the kitchen and I am in the living room looking at him and thinking how sweet he is : )
Valynne,
I have found facebook to be a perfect spot to get in touch with people from my distant past. It’s so much fun to see the kids in the old neighborhood all grown up. The networking capabilities are endless…
Jan
I find it to be quite fun/educational/etc. once I spend a little time navigating/getting the hang of it…must admit it took me a while to embrace social media. The learning curve is endless; fortunately the potential is, as well!
Facebook (social media) seems essential these days. We use it as a forum for feedback and for customers to post photos. It is also a great tool (for my company) for spreading the word about new items, sales, etc.
Thanks, Jon!
Jon is married to one of my oldest (as in we have known each other since we were 11) and bestest friends, Lee.
Jon created Ultra Mount Displays – if you collect jerseys (sports or otherwise) he has a great way to show them off without spending a ton of money or tucking them away in a case.
His website is http://www.UltraMountDisplays.com, and you can fan him on Facebook as well at Ultra Mount Jersey Displays. It is fun to see other people’s jerseys and how they display them.
A lot of my friends’ websites are under my “friendly links” page on my Mountain Girl Organics Website. I am trying to figure out how to transfer everything over to my CC blog in the most organized way…it is on my to do list…
I think social media can have a big impact since so many people are using it for connecting and re-connecting. However, I have not quite seen the benefit for my little business. I find it difficult to know what approach to take to drive more “fans” to my Facebook page, and I am contemplating but not sure if “blogging” would be beneficial for my customers. I do however know many companies/retailers that benefit greatly from the ease of instant connection & communication with their customers. Hopefully, I can learn and catch up to this new way of staying in touch!
I also hope you were able to get back to sleep and get some rest! :0)
Michele, If you hadn’t commented here I would not have realized you have a “Bella Vita” Fan Page on Facebook! I somehow missed that on http://www.LiveBellaVita.com .
If you other readers are close to Kittredge in CO, check out Michele’s shop – it is full of all kinds of (natural and organic and fairly traded) wonderfulness.
And every time you post a new event, Michele, it is something I would love to attend if I weren’t currently 2000 miles away…
I agree that it is tough to initially get the word out…because you have a brick and mortar shop it is easier for peeps to find you, so I imagine it is not as necessary as it was for me with MGO.
Right now I am just having fun with all of this (i.e. it is not a lucrative venture) so it is hard to say how much time/energy one should devote to social media…
I sure am enjoying all of this is food for thought!
PS Michele,
Do you have a Guest List (including e-mails) at the shop? If so, a fun way to get people on board is to have a contest. You can e-mail and/or stick little flyers in your customers bags, etc. Have you done anything like that yet?
I definitely get more hits/comments when I run a contest! And you have all those treasures to choose from. So, maybe you tell everyone on your e-mail list that you are giving away (insert prize here) to one lucky winner…
All one has to do is qualify is become a fan of your Facebook Page in the next (insert time period here)…if you do something like this; please keep me posted on the results!
Thank you for the ideas Valynne (see you are always SO inspiring!) – I might try the contest idea! There is a facebook link on my website, but since you didn’t see it, that’s feedback enough. So I will need to get that more visible. Thank you again!! Looking forward to seeing what happens with your article – I know you will keep us posted!
I am having a lot of fun with the “research” phase of the article : )
Hi Valynne and Paul, The downtown hasn’t been the same without you guys! Wish we could have spent more time together. Go Paint! just started FB and I’m having a ball with it. I take photos and post something almost everyday. Its been a little slow getting fans as many are not on FB yet. I believe it will become a very big part of my marketing strategy. Please become a fan – go to: GoPaint! Evergreen CO and click on to become a fan. Please let me know when you guys will be back in town would love to sip some wine you. Lisa
Hey Lisa,
I just found and fanned GoPaint!Evergreen, CO on Facebook : ) Love all the pics – especially of the kids painting; so CUTE.
And Paul loves that Go Paint! heart I painted for him two Valentine’s Days/Anniversaries ago : ) It is hanging in our temporary dwelling, even!
I always tried to cross promote with MGO, and am trying to figure out how to do this effectively now that we are on a different path.
There are so many things that can be done with Fb and other sites and this blog, especially, that I just haven’t figured out yet.
Re: Fb; there are still many who aren’t on because they are technologically challenged but I do believe if I can figure this stuff out, anyone can : )
I did hear that people could become fans even without their own Fb account; that is on my list of things to look into.
Also, I have noticed with Fb right now, that people are still not getting all posts since the latest round of changes; so that could be part of the reason it is taking a while.
I have not had a fan page up for long and am excited every time I get a new fan or two : ) It is a great way to share news and pics with people, isn’t it?!
Hoping to get back out your way in the very near future and Paul and I would love to catch up with you! Will definitely keep you posted…
V
I have started 2 small businesses and both of them have benefited from social media. My favorite being facebook. I do not have a website for either one of them. The pet sitting business boomed from just word of mouth, email, and facebook. Then the floral business got going from the same sort of thing. Now I’m starting up the pet sitting again, and I’m relying on web networking. I’m doing it without an official website again. It seems there are enough resources already to get the word out…even without a website.
Heather, You bring up a really interesting point re websites. It sounds as if websites will soon be replaced by blogs, anyway. This is great because as far as I can tell, blogs can do anything websites can do and then some.
Bonus: There are no set-up/maintenance fees for my blog; and I was able to do this on my own, whereas I needed to pay for help when building the website. My favorite part of blogging is this; the rapport that stems from it.
Since much of my MGO (MountainGirlOrganics) demographic was more interested in Farmers’ Markets and less technical stuff; it took a bit for me to get the word out in cyberspace.
However, the shift in just these past three years has been incredible. I still have a couple of diehard friends that refuse to even use e-mail; but they are definitely the exception anymore.
Please give me your pet sitting details as I am beginning to get a decent amount of hits from homeowners who need petsitters, caretakers, etc. Maybe I can do a feature on you like I did on Kevin and Alicia Shea (scroll down a few pages and you will see them).
Do you have a name for the business yet? A Facebook Fan Page? Are you thinking of blogging or e-mailing out newsletters? Blogging is time consuming but I think you would be really good at it!
Please keep me posted with everything as there are people in Evergreen and beyond that contact us; asking us when we will be back or looking for personal references…
V:
As you know, Blosm and I are just learning about these social experiments. I project there will be some great things, however, like most I am not sure how to maximize the “tool”. FB has been a great way to connect/reconnect with friends and people and I have received several “hits” on Blosm because of my FB presence. My connection to Rachel at “Lost in the Attic” is only a step forward into the space but I feel I need to at least try some options, as long as they are measurable for effectiveness eg, hits, visitors, ect. Twitter and LinkedIn I see more time consuming and thus I don’t utilize them much in addition, those contacts seem more random.
I resisted all of this stuff for so long. I wanted to connect to people one on one – period. That is no longer realistic; alas. I am doing my best to embrace this way of life that we, as a collective, have created for ourselves.
There is a really good article dealing with this topic written by Martha Beck in the latest issue of Oprah. It is titled “Go With the Flow”.
I know you probably don’t read Oprah, Markley : ) but perhaps you can borrow Kelli’s, if she has it! The theme of the entire mag is “De-Clutter Your Life” and I am loving it.
Let’s just keep experimenting with this stuff; brainstorming and encouraging each other…I think we are moving in the write direction!
A friend of mine has started a blog to publicize himself and his novel.
http://thewriteplace-joe.blogspot.com/2010/02/starting-off-on-wrong-foot-writer-who.html
I don’t know if this is a valid concept, or not. What do your dear readers think?
Oh, fun! I am going to check it out now…my first reaction is “great idea” but I would say that, wouldn’t I?
I am sure your friend is familiar with Steve Dublanica of Waiter Rant fame. He began an anonymous blog several years ago discussing the good, bad, and ugly of the restaurant biz (boy could I relate)…
Anyhoo, the man ended up with an Instant New York Times Bestseller (!) when his blog rants evolved into a book. Loved his book, BTW and he has another coming out soon!
OK – I am checking out the blog now and will be back with more comments. Hoping my dear readers will, as well…
Google Analytics is a great tool for finding out what pages on your site are getting the most hits, where people are from who a visiting your site…
Great point, Laurie. You helped me get this going on my Mountain Girl Organics site. For this CC blog, I have WordPress Stats set up – but I have yet to set up Analytics. It is one of those things I have been putting off; knowing I can do it but fearing it will take half a day.
Once I get these tools set up; I find them hard to live without. I love seeing how many hits are coming in and from what approximate vicinity. It is helpful to gauge how popular a certain post is or when your readers typically take the time to “sit a spell”, etc…