Am I allowed to link and rant while on “hiatus?” (which is turning out to be the worst hiatus evah.) Because, I am.
As I think about what it is that I want to “be” or “do” as it relates to blogging, writing, social media consulting, I keep going back to being local. I know local people, I am a patron of local products and businesses. I like helping out the neighborhood and the small shops.
So I was very interested to read what Cassie Boorn (thanks, Kim) had to say about marketing your small business online in response to Jessica Gottleib’s thoughtful post about why small businesses should not engage bloggers. In Jessica’s mind, it all comes back to providing customers with the best product or service you can give them. If those suck, well, no good blog campaign can fix it. And Cassie gives some good tips in her post like having customers review your business. While I don’t necessarily agree that customers should be given discounts just for reviewing on Yelp (it may look like they’re being “paid” for a positive review), I think that third-party validation like Yelp always helps when making decisions about what service or business to use or shop at.
IMHO and from limited experience, at least locally here in Chicago, I think there are four keys to local social media outreach:
- Make genuine online conversation with your customers. I love, love what The Bleeding Heart Bakery (also a neighbor of mine) has done with their Twitter feed. It’s not sales-y. Rather their banter is light, funny and to the point. And always responsive to people’s opinions and thoughts. Sunda does the same thing. It has the benefit of local celeb Billy Dec to Tweet about, but when I replied to one of their Tweets, they responded immediately and genuinely.
- Tie in-store promotions and events with an online presence. Whether it’s a post offering an in-store discount to Facebook “fans” or mention a Twitter update for a free soda with your purchase of a sandwich, there has to be a connection between the bricks to the clicks. Not all people are on Twitter and Facebook all day long, but most people have an account to either service and would more than happy to check online for an in-store deal.
- Be an online personality. Most of the local small business people I’ve chatted with are terrific personalities in and of themselves. Cassie rightly says that small business owners should start a blog to talk about news, specials, post links, and have a conversation. But it’s more. Blogs are a showcase for the unique and individual nature of a small store owner’s personality and interests. And it’s a great way to get a niche following of other like-minded and interested bloggers and potential customers. (Hello, Krista K?? Why isn’t your blog updated!?)
- It’s not one size fits all. I agree with Jessica that blogger outreach isn’t for everyone or every store. I’m finding the more I talk about the topic, the more I find that the blog world in a lot of ways is a small, insular place. Every mom blogger event I’ve been to in Chicago has the same 75 person target list. Not all of those moms (many of whom I know and love) are going to all want to blog about the same thing. Some of my friends who are avid Facebook updaters don’t even have blogs. But they have a great audience on Facebook. There’s something to that as well. I think good marketing is an integrated mix of social media, traditional online media, print and good (emphasis on GOOD) PR. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, foursquare, etc., are all good to have on the roster, but not necessarily all good to use in every situation.
So what are your keys? What am I missing here?
Back about 8 weeks ago, I was singing my own praises about my abundant milk supply and breastfeeding prowess. Now, I’m just a regular-old nursing pro. But while I have mastered the hooter-hider, (I highly recommend the Bebe Au Lait ones, and I’m not being paid to say that.) I have not mastered the attractive or comfortable other nursing gear.
Tempted not to spend a lot of money on a product, like a nursing bra, that I might have only used for a week or two, I bought a few cheapie ones at Target. Ten weeks later, they are still highly unattractive and not very comfortable.
Which is why I jumped at an offer by my friend Beth to test out (and giveaway) a new nursing wardrobe by Bravado. (I am being compensated to say this.) Bravado, apparently a well-recognized brand in the lactation nation but unknown to a rookie like me has come out with an affordable line of nursing gear at Target called Basics by Bravado. Yay! Just one more thing I need to add to my cart.
The stuff looks totally comfortable, and I like how on their website Bravado itemizes each item’s use and purpose.
See? She didn’t cheap out on nursing gear like I did.
I’ll tell you how it lives up to its promise when I get my gear to test out.
But, in the meantime, you can enter to win $500 worth of must-have baby items by entering the Basics by Bravado “Spot a Mom” by following these easy steps:
- Find the nearest Target store in their area offering Basics by Bravado nursing wear.
- Visit the store and snap some pics of themselves finding the Basics by Bravado store display.
- Email their photo, along with their name and contact details to basics@bravadodesigns.com.
Let me know if you decide to do it! If you do, I’ll put you in a pool to win Bravado nursing gear plus a DVD. I NEVER do contests like these, but now I’m like a member of La Leche or something. Well, not quite, but who doesn’t like free stuff? Good luck!
Disclosure: I am being compensated for writing a review of Basics by Bravado and conducting the contest. Not for breastfeeding, although if I was I’d be a bizillionaire right now.
Lest you think the Sears Willis Tower swallowed me whole, it didn’t. But winter break with two kids, a non-stop working husband and sub-zero temperatures nearly did.
Not that I didn’t have fun touristing around Chicago amidst the snow, slush and rain. I We thoroughly enjoyed the My Gym Holiday camp where you get to drop your kids off for three hours. And I did a hallelujah dance every time my sitter showed up for a few hours. Which didn’t happen nearly enough to keep me sane, but with school starting up again tomorrow, I’m hoping to get some of it back.
I’ll never forget the moments of joy we had eating fast food (twice). I found I like Wendy’s food, but McDonald’s fries better. Nor will I forget the pissing away ung-dly amounts of money on attractions and events. We drove all the way to Schaumburg to pay $30 to go to Legoland. (And, no, Schaumburg didn’t feel all that close to the city.)
I went to Legoland and all I got was a piece of plastic.
We had some down time, though. I owe a lot of my “quiet” time over break to Lilo and Stitch and the crazy cool graphics of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Thank you dear friends at Sony Pictures for the complimentary copy! Out for the rest of you on January 5!) I never knew how grateful I’d be to animation until I really needed it.
But beyond the bad eating habits, crappy weather and crummy souvenirs, I know this much is true: I survived winter break. Barely.
Did you?
My first night out with the ladies since having #2 consisted of a few more firsts:
- The first time I used a breast pump in public. Well, if public is considered in my husband’s car while parked on Belmont. That’s public enough for me. He kept psyching me out that everyone walking out of Potbelly was looking at me. Needless to say, I will not be repeating that first again any time soon.
- The first time I showed up at an event where I was a guest of main attraction. My name looks good in lights, er, on a printed program. (You can see the photo story here, hopefully the video soon, too!)
- The first time I read something I wrote to a public audience. Will probably be the last, but I’m glad at least a few people I know laughed. (Thanks to momtrolfreak for the photo.)
The first time I put on real jeans since giving birth.
- The first time I actually felt like a legit writer. Among already established writers. In a book that I’m proud of and think is absolutely hilarious. (Hint, hint buy it!)
I always thought Disney on Ice was just for girls. Twinkling lights, skating princesses, fairy dust. Please. But when I was offered tickets to the troupe’s show in Chicago from the lovely folks at Feld Entertainment, I just couldn’t say no. Princesses and all.
So we invited a little girl friend of my son’s and checked out the show yesterday at the United Center. And you know what? Even though there was a pre-show princess exhibit inhabited with replicas of Belle and Cinderella, and every girl I saw was dressed up as Ariel, I have to say the show was fit for kids of every size. And gender.
It also helped that we sat front row.
We were so close I could almost touch Goofy’s ass. Not that I wanted to or anything.
Plus, because the show veered more towards the Princess theme, I didn’t have to get suckered into buying any of those $20 glow wands which were all pink and stuff.
On the other hand, my friend got suckered into the purchase.
We all had so much fun that by the end of the show, my son knew the names of at least two of the princesses we saw perform. Here’s to more tutus and translucent sparkly wings in our future.
