From Social Media to Social Networking

Last week I asked if you knew what Social Media was.  In these small rural communities I have been met with much skepticism over this subject.  However, in this mobile society people will continue to use the computer and internet as a place to not only gather information, but to connect with other people.  According to recent data 1 out of 8 couples married last year met online, 24 out of 25 of the largest newspapers are struggling, 78% of people trust peer recommendations while only 14% believe advertisements and wonder of wonders social media has overtaken pornography on the internet.  The various social medias have grown by 8% in the last year with each one reaching different target markets.  But the point is that these tools/networks are reaching these various target markets.

Who is embracing Social Media/Networking?  Corporations, the military, non-profits, schools, businesses as well as politicians.  Whether we agree or not with his politics our current President used and harnessed the power of the Social Networks to reach his “Fan/Support” Base quickly and often through Facebook & Twitter.  According to Wikipedia Facebook has over 300 million users worldwide and according to another site it is the 4^th most trafficked site per day in the world.

According to Sean Parker one of the developers of Facebook, there are two types of services on the Internet today.  Informational services such as Google, Yahoo, MSN Bing, and YouTube.  Their main purpose is to gather and disperse information and data.  The other type is Network Services such as Facebook, Twitter, Ebay and Paypal, whose core values are to facilitate relationships between people and groups.  Both of these venues are important in this day and age.  There are numerous reasons why you should look at using and or becoming involved with Social Media/Networking. The fact is that people are spending time on these sites and that is where we can reach them and it isn’t just young people, it is people of all ages.  Another reason is that in this day and age of mobile society connecting with people in this way gives people a sense of community.  People are connecting with colleagues, relatives, classmates, and local friends as well as reconnecting with long lost friends that in most cases you would never have known where they were, much less communicate with them.  These connections are with people you know and hopefully trust and when they talk about things you are more likely to listen.  So when they recommend a particular product or site the odds of you responding goes up exponentially which is why Social Media/Networking works.  This is the reason why all the various entities are embracing these tools.  Landing high on a search on Google is critical to a website but being recommended by friends and having them recommend your site, services or information is even more critical because people trust their friends more than anyone else.  Some entities are creating closed networks for employees to increase collaboration.  They know that somewhere within the organization someone has the answer to the problem if everyone will just talk to each other.

So are you embracing Social Media/Networking?  Are you dismissing it as a fad?  Just remember the cycle of new technology and information is increasing exponentially every year, we either adapt or get left behind.  Next I will touch on Blogging, Podcasts, and YouTube.  I’m not an expert on these tools, but I realize that if we want to reach different audiences we have to be willing to learn different ways of doing it.

Become a fan of the Furnas/Harlan Partnership on Facebook or check out the blog on the home page of their website. For more information contact Rosie Stockton Furnas/Harlan Partnership, 308-962-7894, email: director@furnas-harlan-partnership.org. www.furnas-harlan-partnership.org

Social Media

I recently asked the question, “do you know what social media is?” The response was “teenagers”. If that is your answer, you would be wrong. Generation Y are the children of the Baby boomers also called Echo Boomers. This is the generation born in the late 70s and 80s through 2000. According to some, this group will outnumber the “Baby Boomers” starting next year. One significant finding is that 96% of this generation uses some form of Social Media. This generation grew up with technology around them and they are comfortable with it.

So we need to use these tools in the Social Media bag, to reach not only this generation but the others that are joining in this activity. Less than a year ago the average age on Facebook was 26 it is currently 33. This shift was caused because as more and more parents, in particularly Moms joined Facebook to communicate with their children as they left for college, they realized that a large number of their own friends and family were participating in this form of social networking and jumped in.

Communities and organizations are using this medium to connect with interested people quickly and often about what is happening within a community or organization. It is a form of news and entertainment. The news and information comes in short bursts as little or as often as wanted, whether it is on Facebook, Twitter, flicker, or even You Tube. There are organizations with employees that work full time updating their Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to keep people aware of what is happening and to draw customers to their website, where these people can find out more about the organization, an event, read more news, or increase the number of viewers that are exposed to advertisers that pay to be on particular websites.
Another way to reach people is with a blog. What is a blog you say? A blog is a website that can be anything from a personal diary, to a pulpit, to a political soapbox, to a breaking news outlet. What you write on a blog can be about anything you want it to be. There are millions of them. People can read what is new and comment. Blogging has shaken up and reshaped the world of politics, as well as journalism, by giving people a voice and the ability to connect with others.

The title of a recent books says it all, “The Facebook Era, Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell more Stuff.” If we are not able to reach a particular demographic by using a particular means, then a shift has to be made to reach them where they are, rather than trying to force them to come to us. These social mediums are free to use other than the labor and it is a great way to get feedback. You can create interaction with your consumer without being in their face or using hard sell tactics.

Become a fan of the Furnas/Harlan Partnership on Facebook or check out the blog on the home page of their website. For more information contact Rosie Stockton Furnas/Harlan Partnership, 308-962-7894, email: director@furnas-harlan-partnership.org. www.furnas-harlan-partnership.org

Create your own Brand

Continuing with information from the Nebraska Tourism Assoc. Fall Conference, last week I left you with the thought, what if you feel like your community doesn’t have a niche? How do you create a “Brand” if you don’t have one? 97% of the time it is a grassroots effort to improve and save the community. A Brand is based on a promise; and that promise has to have a product to back it up. There are towns, both small and large, that have created a “Brand” for themselves to bring people/tourists to their communities. Here are three examples and all happen to be small towns.

Jefferson, TX a town of 2000, now known as the Antique and Bed & Breakfast Capital of Texas had declined since 1873. This town now has over 100 Antique shops and more than 60 Bed & Breakfasts. It now features attractions from its early days such as carriage rides along the brick streets, steamboat rides and theater productions. It is a pedestrian community where residents and visitors alike can walk to the shopping and amenities. They took the history of their town and built on it. This is the focus of the whole town, to have a product when people come. http://www.jefferson-texas.com/

Leavenworth, Washington, population 2074, was started by people looking for gold and the logging industry. It flourished with the coming of the railroad but started into a decline when the railroad was rerouted. Building on the natural resource of the Alpine Mountains in the area, their last chance effort was to transform their town into a Bavarian Village. It wasn’t just a complete facelift for their downtown, but they developed numerous festivals to bring people to the community. http://www.leavenworth.org/modules/pages/index.php?pageid=1

A relatively new example of building on something the town already has is Lovelock, Nevada, a town of about 2000. It began as a resting and grazing spot for weary horses and oxen, before crossing the Forty Mile Desert. It built on its name “Lovelock” and the ancient Chinese custom of symbolically locking one’s love on a never-ending chain. This can be done in Lover’s Lock Plaza. Afterwards there are numerous amenities and shopping for the lovers. It has also become a wedding destination location. http://www.loverslock.com/index.html

Next week I will try to wrap of the information shared by Roger Brooks of Destination Development. If you would like to know more of his tips and ideas go to http://destinationdevelopment.com/index.html . You can also read these articles on the Regional Economic Development Blog located on www.furnas-harlan-partnership.org contact Rosie Stockton Furnas/Harlan Partnership, 308-962-7894, email: director@furnas-harlan-partnership.org. or become a Fan of the Furnas/Harlan Partnership on Facebook.

Brand Your Community

I will continue to share information presented at the Nebraska Travel Association Fall Travel Conference in Norfolk.  As a community it is our responsibility to “Jettison the generic” the days of the marketing list is over.  The reason is most communities’ lists are the same as the next community down the road.  If our list is the same as the community down the road or even the same as what is available in someone’s home community why would they want to go to all the effort and cost of coming here.  If it is just like home why bother coming?  We have to create a brand that will set us apart from everyone else.  If you can go to another community/tourism website and the list of available activities looks identical to your own that means your community has some work to do.  A Brand is the perception of what people “think” you are.  So it is important to figure out what people think we are.

The unique niche may not be a huge thing or it may be something you don’t necessarily like about your community, but it is what makes you unique.    Market this heavily and then let everyone know about the other things you have available to do and enjoy once they have experienced the lure that got them to your community.   The point is your community cannot be everything to all people.  This will result in mediocrity and ultimate failure.

The speaker expressed an interesting concept that membership organizations however, can kill good marketing efforts.  The reason is that in a membership organization everyone gets very territorial about their own interests.  When the community “lure” is promoted, travelers will also look to diversionary experiences to fill their time once they have experienced the “lure attraction”.  These diversionary experiences will create a full rich travel experience.  So ultimately everyone benefits.

Another fact presented was if you have a niche and it has been bringing people into your community for years and years; don’t try to change your image because you are tired of it.  Freshen it up, spice it up, present it with a new twist, but don’t reinvent the wheel.  An example given was Salem, Massachusetts and the “Salem Witch Trials” of 1692.  People have been visiting that area for that reason for over 300 years.  Recently some community leaders decided they wanted to change the lure and focus of the marketing strategy, because they were tired of the “witch image” and felt like “their personal interests” weren’t being promoted.  They soon realized this marketing strategy wasn’t going to work and returned to focus on what had worked for their community for 300 plus years.

I know some communities will say we don’t have anything that is unique.  Next week I will share with you examples of how communities created their uniqueness.  For more information contact Rosie Stockton Furnas/Harlan Partnership, 308-962-7894, email: director@furnas-harlan-partnership.org. www.furnas-harlan-partnership.org

Marketing to Today’s Traveler

The Fall Conference for the Nebraska Travel Association was held last week in Norfolk.  It was a good thing we were kept busy indoors for those three days, because it rained the whole time.  It was a great educational and motivational experience.  Tourism continues to be the third largest industry in Nebraska so we were challenged to make sure we are marketing correctly to today’s traveler.  We are entering into a New Age of Tourism.  More Baby Boomers are hitting the 50 and 60 plus age each day, but a more significant finding is that Generation Y is going to be larger than the Baby Boomers starting in 2010.  This group is also called the Echo Boomers or the children of the Baby Boomers.  They were born anywhere from 1976 through the 1990s.

When it comes to Baby Boomers though there are 350,000 of them turning 50 everyday.  This group controls 70% of all the wealth in North America and they stand to inherit more than any other generation because their parents were some of the best savers in history. Their mindset is individuality and their mantra is “we may be aging but we are not old.”  This group also likes to travel at different times of the year than other groups.  They want to extend the peak season by traveling in April, May, September and October.  Other significant information found through research is that advertisements that show children turn off this demographic group.  Their thought is, we like children, but don’t necessarily want to travel with them or experience them during travel.

It was stressed to us that we need to quit marketing a particular geographic area, but to market what makes us unique.  What makes us unique is our lure and the activities such as hiking, biking, shopping, interesting restaurants, will be what make the whole experience one they remember.  People are exposed on average to 1200 marketing messages a day and people have learned to filter out everything that doesn’t pertain to themselves. If every community is saying the same thing about themselves in their marketing approach people will tune them all out.  The specific activity or attraction that makes us unique or is a niche is what must be promoted.  What is difficult, is figuring out what that unique attribute or niche is for our community.

People are trying to diversify their communities because the Industrial Revolution is over.  Diversification isn’t the promotion of events and activities that we have in our community that is just like everyone else, diversification is figuring out what we have that is different and making that our  number one marketing priority on “the Internet.”  The internet is where the majority of people go when they start researching where they want to travel.  Research has also shown that they search by type of activity or experience and then they go where that is available.  Rarely do people go to a specific location and then look for what they want to do.  Most of the activities people are looking for have a learning  or experiential component.  People are interested in learning about how to do something new or to live through someone else’s life if even for a short time.  For example; people don’t just want great places to eat but they want to learn how to make those great recipes, therefore culinary tourism is very popular.  Art is another example.  People are four times more likely to buy art if they meet the artist or get to try creating something for themselves; other unique learning experiences are ethnic festivals, home & gardening, open air markets in particular if you add entertainment,

I will share other things we learned during this conference in the coming weeks but ultimately the goal is to find or create that niche or lure that is different from what people can get or do at home.  For more information contact Rosie Stockton Furnas/Harlan Partnership, 308-962-7894, email: director@furnas-harlan-partnership.org. www.furnas-harlan-partnership.org

Regional Economic Development

Furnas/Harlan Partnership

As I begin my fifth year with the Furnas/Harlan Partnership, I want to review what the Partnership and its mission is.  The Furnas/Harlan Partnership – is an economic development partnership, working to ensure the future of our region.  The Partnership works to build a unified vision for economic development in Furnas & Harlan counties.  This is the mission statement of this organization.  This is done by working together with a Board of Directors, made up of Village/City, City/Board Members or someone appointed by these entities.  The organization also works directly with various regional groups, local groups, private individuals and various state & federal organizations and agencies.  This is done through community assistance, providing information about resources, grant writing, and technical assistance.  Communication and promotion of opportunities available to people in the area through newspaper articles, email notices, and the website.

Education is also a vital component to growth and development in the community.  Programs such as EDGE (Enhancing, Growing, Developing, Entrepreneurs) is available for business owners that need to learn how to develop a business plan.  Leading Locally is available for anyone that might have, would like to have or does have any interest in being involved in a Leadership role in the community, an organization or even in school.  Business Transition is another area education is needed in our area.  This is for business owners that are ready to move on to a different phase of their lives and need help understanding the process.  Wealth Transfer is another facet of education important to the growth and development of the region.  When people learn how to give back to the community and region with their time and resources everyone benefits.

Collaboration with regional organizations increases the circle of influence we have outside our local region as others learn who we are and what we have available.  In this day when funds and resources are limited, collaboration is one of the key components that funding organizations look at when requests are made so it is vital that people, groups, and communities learn this.  Because funds have become even tighter, grant writing has become an activity of greater importance for the Partnership.  However, grant funds are only available to certain groups and entities and they take a lot of time and effort by a lot of people for the project to come together successfully.

The Furnas/Harlan Partnership is not a political organization, however we do try and follow the issues that can and do affect the area and will try to be an information source about those issues.

For more information about the Partnership contact Rosie Stockton Furnas/Harlan Partnership, 308-962-7894, email: director@furnas-harlan-partnership.org.   www.furnas-harlan-partnership.org

Furnas/Harlan Partnership