I created a graphic for the holiday season about shopping small and posted it on Facebook, well, it has been shared hundreds of times. I realized that it was Arkansas centric so I am making one for every state.
I am adding them to a Pinterest board. Share! And Shop Small Y'all!
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You know what to do. Support independent retailers as much as you can this holiday season. Sure, you need tech gifts and you might drift into a big box retailer, but if you commit to a percentage of items bought from independent stores, artists and crafts people you will be making a difference in the lives of people in your community. That is a MUCH better gift then anything you can find at something called mart. Do it. Commit to shopping small y'all.
Do you have a small shop? Etsy store? Put your link in the comments and I'll post them on Facebook too! Let's support each other this year during the holidays!
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Yesterday I presented to The Belford Group team about using Pinterest for Small Business, Bloggers and Nonprofits, a presentation that is part of my Crash Course series that I teach Main Street communities, Chambers, and more.
You can see the presentation that I uploaded to SlideShare.
After the presentation I do a live demo, that is not included.
How to be Pinteresting - Pinterest for Small Business, Bloggers and Nonprofits:
Then I do a live demo showing examples of Pinterest - it is a lively good time where we can take your clients and see how Pinterest can work for them.
I will be presenting this at the Destination Downtown Main Street conference in September 2012. You can follow my work on Pinterest too.
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I'm not a rookie at what I do for organizations, small businesses and small towns. After over 16 years in the field I have learned a lot about how I can help a company, organization or community succeed; that process is called Solution Oriented Community/Company Organizing (SOCO). My goal, always, is to find a common ground and a solution to move forward. It is how I operate in the world and what I bring to the table when I am brought in as a consultant.
My first rule is no whining. No one wants to hear complainers complain. Probably because we have heard a similar complaint before. People get stuck in their stories and they tell the same ones over and over. The more often they tell the story the more "true" it becomes. It may not be really true, but it is what they believe to be true.
Someone can't do one more thing, they are too busy. Someone else just can't get ahead. Another team thinks that one person is to blame for all of their failure. Someone else spouts that about how it was always done in the past. You know these people, you are probably one of these people for some issue, idea, cause. We all are.
What I bring is that I can cut through the stories to find the kernel of truth. Often those repeated stories have some feeling or emotion built into them - most often that feeling is fear. Fear of success, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of feeling hurt - it is all in there. My technique is to try to listen, then stop the story and re-frame it to help them see another side of the picture they are sharing.
For instance, in my small town the story is often that the downtown shops are not open at night. That was true 10 years ago. It might have rung true 5 years ago. Now, though, that is not true. Stores are staying open longer - especially on the weekends. But what has happened is that collectively the entire town remembers the experience they had years ago and continue to tell that same story. They tell that story to visitors, each other, leaders in the community, the press, and anyone who will listen. Is the story true? No, but the the listener isn't going to do the research 99% of the time to figure that out. They believe the story and so the cycle continues. People think downtown is closed up at 5PM, visitors don't come, shops feel frustrated they are staying open, etc.
One on one, when I hear that particular story I share a new story. The story of how it is today and invite them to experience it now. I coach others to tell the new story. I co-create a Solution to the problem. 9 times out of 10 people can start to find a new story, but often only if they are listened to and coached through the fear of learning a new way of moving forward. My goal is that they learn to tell a story of possibilities.
Next Up: How This Process Works With Individual Small Businesses
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A few months ago I created a program for our nonprofit that would have three objectives: Give back to the local organizations that do so much for our communities, Raise money for our organization and Drive mid-week traffic to a local pub.
Cocktails for a Cause was born! It is Third Thursday event each month. We rotate to a different pub and support a different cause. Supporters pay a $10 cover, and the location gives 33% of the drinks purchased during the 2 hour event. This is then split evenly to the two organizations. We raise anywhere from $350 - $850 an event.
To advertise we use our Constant Contact email list, a Facebook Event and send it out through our own email contacts. We ask that the nonprofit also send it out to their contacts. We don't print or pay for any advertising for the event - it would take too much out of the profits.
It's fun, it is easy, and it is a constant flow of dollars into our cash-flow and a little boost to the nonprofit and the pub on a slower day. Plus folks that wouldn't normally visit any particular location are exposed in a fun, non threatening way and might just go back.
It also creates amazing PR. We get a photo with the checks the following week which is great for the location and then we also work for a month talking about the nonprofit which helps put their name out there.
This idea happened, it was voted on at the board level, a committee met the next day, the venues and nonprofits for the year were decided and we went to work. Simple, effective and fun! That is my kind of Main Street program.
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Creating the true Americana experience on a VERY limited budget for 4th of July is a challenge that can be undertaken by any Main Street community. People are highly engaged in the simple pleasures of playing on the 4th. This year we had a severe drought and there were no fireworks allowed in any of the surrounding counties, including ours. So, we were the only game in town after community after community canceled all of their 4th fun.
This is our 3rd year doing the silly stuff of American fun in our downtown park and we are getting better at it every year. We had hundreds of families participate - and we played in our downtown for 5 consecutive days celebrating Main Street USA on a budget of less than $350.
First, we partnered with a local business to sponsor a fan that on one side would have thier business and offer a discount and on the other have the full 5 days of events we were planning. They ordered 1000 and we passed out almost all of them to hot visitors and locals alike. Her business was waving up and down the downtown district!
We also partnered with the Farmers Market to donate the watermelon for the festival and several shops and organizations to cover the expenses of crafts and games.
Starting on the 4th of July we offered FREE family activities in our downtown park starting at 10AM and we had people lining up to play immediately. We always had a craft and a game going and switched them each hour. Some things, like the water balloon toss, we played several times to let everyone get in on the fun. Our big event is the Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest and this year we divided the entrents into categories: Ages 0-6, 7-12, Women 13+ and Men 13+. The prize was a watermelon in each category.
On the second day we did a celebration of cultural tourism featuring free 15 minute tours every half hour led by area residents. We had the GM of the local historic hotel give a full tour, a ghost tour led by a leading ghost-oligist, an art tour exploring the arts, a natrualist tour, etc. We also provided a free scavenger hunt in our downtown where players had to hunt for sights and landmarks, asking locals along the way. We had families all finish with the winning prize being a free tour the next morning.
On the third day we featured shopping! Local shops hosted free refreshements and discounts from 4-7pm for shoppers. Some had adult beverages, some punch, and other goodies. The event, Shopping with a Punch, was a great way to get people into downtown shops at a time when there is often less foot traffic due to dinner plans.
On the fourth day we highlighted the number of pubs we have with an American Spirits tribute. Participating locations provided specials on drinks featuring American licquor, wine or in the spirit of Red White and Blue. This was a late evening event - 8-10PM and just for grownups.
On the 5th day we gathered the board and paraded down our central street and went into every business thanking them for being part of our downtown. We were, of course, decked out in red, white and blue with American flags and balloons - oh, and two huge great danes! We then met the mayor in the park for a Mayoral Proclimation. Refreshements - watermelon, of course, were provided. After a local square dance caller led a huge group for called square dances. People jumped in and out of the dances having a great time.
5 days of celebration, very little money, and a huge tribute to the 4th and everything it takes to be a Main Street. I highly recommend that folks spend time playing downtown and offering free family fun. We had one family say that after seeing our posted events they chose our community over two others they were thinking of visiting. Another said that they loved sharing simple outdoor fun iwth thier kids. And another was thrilled to get exposed to all the shops and tours that we offer in our town. Was it worth it? You bet it was!
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I have been working on a variety of projects both as a consultant and as a Main Street director. This is a quick peek at some of what has been brewing on my desktop.
So many more projects are happening, but a quick overview of some of them is fun! I have a lot going on, but the fun never stops!
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I have the great pleasure of traveling to conferences that are centered around Main Street. These are filled with people who are committed to making our places, towns, and downtown's matter - to be relevant to our lives and not fade away. I am in Tupelo, MS (the birthplace of Elvis) at the Destination Downtown conference - Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas small town managers all gathered to celebrate, learn, and dream for the future. Some highlights so far:
Entrepreneur Support - there is a real push from the National Trust to give actual support to entrepreneurs with the tools and resources that they really need. Over the next few weeks I will share some of the resources and case studies that they have highlighted.
Communication Matters - this was supposed to be a workshop on public relations, but instead it was a 101 communications class. Which actually had a great insight. She used the example of Martin Luther King's I have a Dream speech - which when I hear him I well up a little (yes, I am easily brought to tears of joy and hope.) With that as the example she said that when we are sharing our story (business, what we do, who we are) we need to educate, inspire, believe, be humble, and be enthusiastic. I sometimes tamp down my passion about small businesses and small towns when I am with people who are less than enthusiastic. I don't need to do that - I can authentically share that passion and so can you.
Lastly, the very best part of conferences is the networking. Today I had lunch with a Fed (like the banking people), a banker, a massage therapist, a small town manager and B&B owner. I learned more about the banking, community development, and making the ask for big bucks at that lunch then I did ever before. As my friend Alexa says - she has learned the value of doing lunch from me - because you reap rewards, gain relationships, and learn new insights.
As Elvis would say, thank you very much.
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Facebook for marketing? You bet. If your demographic is women, Facebook is the place to be. The amount of women 20-55 years old grows leaps and bounds each month. They are hooking up with their favorite brands, friends, families - it is where they are bonding.
My thoughts on Facebook before I went to the workshop with Lela was to keep it small and to keep it tight. Just people I really knew. Just people I wanted to really see my stuff. I deleted a bunch of people. Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I was just reeling it in.
After the meeting I realized how wrong I was. Facebook is a tool for connecting and bringing it up a notch from Twitter. If I want to get to know you better I should add you to Facebook. If I want to share more of myself and learn more about you we need to connect there - you can just do more on Facebook.
For example, if you are hosting an event and you want to invite people - you can only invite people that you are friends with. Even from your business page. So if you only have connected with 30 people that is all the invites you can send. Sure, you can make it public and they can invite people, but really, who does that? So, your reach is only as good as the number of people you connect to.
Another example, let's say you are following a reporter on Twitter - and they cover the beat that your business is in. You can definitely send them an invite on Facebook and say, "hey, I just wanted to get to know you better. I really like your work." Chances are they are going to connect. And you have moved the relationship up a level.
My advice on Facebook is that you have a page for your busienss/blog and a personal page. You connect personally with your customers, friends, people you meet at conferences, etc and you start to include them in your world. It is ok if they see photos of you at the beach - you are becoming friends and that builds the relationship. Really, I promise.
Expand your relationships should be the mantra to growing your business - because, really, people do business with people they know. And people want to know you, the work you do, your ideas, and what makes you happy dance all over the place. Really.
Check out what EvolvedMommy has to say about making real connections online. She was in Lela's class too - and obviously we learned a lot! I know that Chris Brogan is dropping Facebook - but he's a guy and he markets to guys and they are all on Google+ right now... more about that another day.
Flickr Photo: David Domingo Creative Commons License
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I thought I would share on a more regular basis some of the fun projects I am working on. I get to do so many great things for clients that I thought that readers might like to see what I am working on - and maybe get inspired for their own projects.
Fun After 5! Is a a project that was developed to help communicate that our downtown district is open late, fun, and family friendly. When does the downtown close? Is somethign we hear too often - those of you in small towns will understand that question. The answer should be it doesn't close. Sure, some of the shops might be closed, but exploring a downtown is marvelous all year long, at any hour.
To help share that message we are doing 6-weeks of programming in the city center park that highlights different themes: Go Dance, Go Big Top, Go Chalk, Go Read, Go Play and Go Green! Each Thursday night event showcases some exciting event, such as, Clifford the Big Red Dog is coming to Go Read and Strike from the NWA Naturals will be at Go Play. Along with a host of games, music, and fun for families.
The goal is to create an atmosphere that says, "hey, we are fun! Don't miss being downtown." Even if they don't come, I want them to feel like there is a tremendous amount of activity in our downtown district. During the promotion we are giving away a $175 shopping spree - sponsored by area retailers. Each time you come to an event you can enter to win. The more you attend, the greater chance you have of winning. The prize will be announced at the Go Green! night.
My involvement: I developed the program with a team, created the branding, developed the programming for each event, created the ad campaign, and am doing the social media for the 6 weeks.
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