SDG Web Agency Blog

It was a pretty exciting week. We had our first ever Tweetup in Brevard. Thanks to Space Coast Business & Pizza Gallery & Grill for sponsoring and hosting the event. If you weren't there you can follow the discussion with the hastag #getsocialbrevard.

If what I just said, went over your head, no worries. Its just Twitter talk. Hopefully the image below will shed some light.

Now the question is, will this keep going, or will it eventually die down? Brevard is known for its techy industries, but not for its locals being all that techy or up-to-date with new marketing technologies. I hope I'm wrong, because being a local myself, I'd like to think we're up to par with the rest of the country. But honestly, that's just wishful thinking.

So what will it take for Brevard County to step up to the social media challenge and get everyone on board. I think Andrew Gall, of Space Coast Business, said it well, and I'm paraphrasing, "...that having this 1st Tweetup is a start."

Here are some things I believe needs to happen:

1. Believe In Social Media (You saw the numbers, if not, see it again here.)
   
   
2. Learn How To Be More Social In-Person & Off (People do business with those they know, trust and like.)
   
   
3. Embrace Change (Learn new stuff, or the competition will.)
   
   
4. Start Building & Stop Selling (Build relationships, stop shoving your business card down someone's throat.)
   
   
5. Collaboration & Healthy Competition (In today's market, the one with the most help, wins. You can only do so much alone.)
   
   
6. Humility Not Humiliation (Don't think you're better than others, you may just learn something.)
   
   
7. Service More Than Leadership (We all want to take the reigns, but lets think of the greater good first.)

"I wrote this because just like you, I want Brevard to succeed."

It would be great to see people working together in mutual respect, and ownership. That way we can all run our businesses successfully and ride this storm of economic difficulty.

I didn't say it was going to be easy, nothing worth doing ever is.

To close up, I would love to know what you think about what I just said. Maybe you disagree or agree with me. Better yet, you got something to add, will give you credit if you do.

Regardless, speak your piece and let everyone know how we can all make a positive change. If you use twitter, please, leave us your handle and comments below. This way we can connect further and who ever reads this can connect with you.

Here are some pictures I took for the event, its on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=238886&id=517491854&l=3435f0c625

Here's a great article on building online communities: (thanks Andrew for sharing)

http://socialmediatoday.com/blaisegv/181855/10-key-guiding-principles-online-community-building-and-engagement

So I wrote a blog post 9 months ago on my personal "Posterous" account called "Web & Business Predictions for 2010". I wanted to revisit what I wrote and see how I did to further expand my thoughts on it. No, I don't have a crystal ball telling me or confirming these predictions by any means. So who knows if its accurate, but read further on and see if I was accurate. Now if I'm correct with most of my predictions for rest of the year and beyond, then this post will be advantageous to you. If not, sorry I wasted your time, but I promise its got merit.

1. Facebook is Gonna Dominate - I think everyone saw this coming, so this was easy. I do have to mention though, some are saying it will be gone in a few years. I beg to differ. My reasons for this will be on another post.
   
   
2. Its About Relationships - It always has been, and will be more so than ever. As the web and social media grow, that means anybody & everybody will have a website and a blog to pitch you their products & services, relationships will be at the core of anyone's success.
   
   
3. Real Value & Price - This is "The Law of Value" according to the "Go-Giver" author Bob Burg. Which states, "Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment." As I mentioned earlier, everyone will be on the web, and that means price comparison will be more fearce than ever. So make sure in the relationships you build, you're complementing them with "real value & price", or else loyalty can be thrown out the door.
   
   
4. Building Loyal Raving Fans - Let me clarify. If you're going to build a fan base, make sure they're well equipped. Its the cheapest form of marketing. Make everything you have easy to share throughout all the platforms and media.
   
   
5. Twitter Alone is Dead - Anyone utilizing Twitter effectively knows this. More engagement requires further interaction than 140 characters. So make sure you have a blog or a website for your followers to go to.
   
   
6. Video Goes Even Further - Youtube is the new search engine. What??? Yes, people would rather watch a video than read something online. Darn, I guess I'll need to get on the bandwagon on this. Stay tuned.
   
   
7. Authenticity Redefined, True Morality is Pursued - True morality is not catching up as I had imagined. Although, with the help of social media, transparency is up, meaning that corporations can't hide behind traditional news anymore. They've got Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and much more to handle. So PR would be a nightmare if people called you out for doing something unethical.
   
   
8. Niche It Even More - This is funny, as I read this again. I remember getting tons of spam and email broadcasts from marketers on "how to niche..." this and that. Yes, this will grow even more.
   
   
9. Locally Focused, Yet Worldly Open - More and more, we hear "support your local businesses", and we'll hear it more until our ears bleed. So get use to it. If you are a business, try to do business with someone within your area. You give them business, it will be only a matter of time, when that favor is returned.
   
   
10. Locally Smart & Effective - IBO's (Independent Business Owners) who rely on locals will really need to step up their game and dive into social media quickly. They will still need to do it right and not just be a noise to their customers. This of course, gives them the ability to reach globally as well. Now how they maintain their brand to reach their customers is up to them. I would direct them back to #2.
    
    
11. Partnerships Becomes An Even More of a Necessity For Success - Yes, this is more crucial than ever. If you've got a product or service, and you are an underdog, you're gonna need help from others. So learn how to work with others. To make big changes without killing yourself, you'll need more help to take on the big fish.
    
    
12. Push For Multilingualism - On this one, it hasn't really pushed well, but big corporations understand this and soon enough, we'll all follow. This will be made possible by multilingual copywriters and marketers, making it easy for us to dive into this new market. We'll see what happens. At least for now, thank God for online translations on browsers.
    
    
13. Mobile Is The New Netbook - On my last post, I wasn't really sure what I was saying, but I knew an Ipad wasn't what I wanted. You see, I want something more portable yet just as powerful as a notebook. Perhaps a new generation of smart mobile devices will come along that will allow us to be truly mobile and accessible. Perhaps the new Samsung Galaxy Tab can fulfill that (Picture below). I'm sure Apple, Dell and Microsoft are all racing to get there. 
    

FREE Can Be A Turnoff, It Shows That You're Cheap

From business cards to websites, you see it all around, and you know their free. Now, let me ask you something. When you see that a business professional has a FREE business card or a FREE website, would you lose respect for them? Or would you think their cheap?

Its either or, regardless, you'll at least think in some form or fashion, that they simply can't afford it, and therefore, you may also deduce, that they may not be good at what they do. 

You may also think, they're simply being shrewd or prudent with their spending.

How would you like to be portrayed? Successful, cheap, shrewd or prudent.

We all make judgement calls when it comes to "first impressions", we look at a person and try to see if we can like them, trust them or want to do business with them. 

Next time someone gives you a business card, and its a freebie, check your thoughts. Or the next time you visit a website and its a freebie, because in the bottom of the site, its says, "free site by...", what do you honestly think of the business.

Now, don't get me wrong, "free stuff" is not bad. At least for this point, its not bad for nonprofits, but for a business, I don't think it pans out. There are so many options to choose from these days to get a website. You can get them really cheap if you wanted to, you just have to do all the work, or you pay someone to do it for you.

Just don't get it FREE, it looks bad, that's my opinion. Is it yours too? Tell me what you think.