Below you will find some great resources on New Media Marketing from my recent speaking engagement in Heritage, Ohio.

The Case for a New Approach to Marketing

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Your Marketing Toolbox

This PDF download lists the various tools that you’ll want to put in your marketing toolbox to have the ready for upcoming promotions and marketing efforts.

Twenty Blog Post Ideas that you can use & use again

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Headline Ideas & Where to Use Them

PDF coming soon…

E-mail Marketing Explained and other ideas

Following are links to blog posts on this web site that will help you in your quest to successfully convert your email list into economic benefit to your community.

Improve Conversions from E-mail Marketing with this Simple Tip

How to Collect Customer Information This Holiday Season

How to Collect More E-mail Addresses from Customers

E-mail Marketing: Mix It Up with the “Letter” Format

Five Tips to Improve Twitter E-mail Open Rates

Seven Reasons to Keep Using E-mail Marketing

When to Send E-mail Marketing

Recommended Tools, Blogs & Books

This PDF download lists the various recommended resources that have been especially helpful or inspirational to me and my team over the last six months.

Case Studies Worth Watching

The following are links to the various businesses and events mentioned in my presentation. These are live events, and they may cease to exist or change and develop over time. Hopefully you can learn from them and the other promotions that these businesses conduct – and use those ideas in your own community!

The Doherty Hotel - a historic, independently owned hotel in Clare, Michigan with a catering department that actually cooks yummy food and truly caters to the specific needs of their conference customers.

I was delighted to wake up today to find Chris Brogan’s new post on Detroit in my RSS reader. From where I’m sitting, I don’t think enough ‘atta boys’ can be sent Michigan’s way. Despite all the publicity scars they’ve endured from national media, national politicians and even their neighbor Canada, Michigan’s passionate citizens have persevered and are under the radar turning lemons into lemonade at a mind-numbing rate.

A local taco joint in Almont City, Michigan – a really small town where more than 100 folks came out to learn how to do small business better. That’s passion to succeed.

Two years ago next month, I had the privilege to keynote the Michigan Downtown Conference. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of visiting community after community and meeting business owner after business owner and to work with state and development agencies across the state – and all the time, I was learning firsthand what passion and perseverance really looks like. In Michigan, more than any other place we’ve worked, they “get” social media, and they’re using the power of human relationships to change their world and transform their image from the inside out.

If your small business is in a rut – just look to the passionate folks in Michigan for some inspiration. Is your local community or state in need of a boost of energy or even a complete image overhaul? Connect with some passionate folks in Michigan – they’ll show you how it’s done.

Need some places to start?

My first recommendation and go to person in general is my friend Joe Borgstrom (@JoeBorgstrom), a guy that didn’t wait for permission and created enormous buzz that reaped big dividends for Michigan’s downtowns among media, politicians and local shoppers alike by personally taking Michigan’s Main Street initiative into the social media world – and keeping it human and real every step of the way. He’s the guy that made the “OPEN” video happen – a video that went viral all over the U.S. last year, and he’s the commander of the simply brilliant Pure Michigan Living initiative. You should also know his wife, Kirsten, because now her PR genius unveiled at Travel Michigan is now available to the world (Congrats, Kirsten, on being another cool Michigan entrepreneur!).

Catching Fireflies is in a rehabbed train depot in downtown Rochester, Michigan.

Check out the passion at Getz’s (@getzs, Getz on Facebook) – the third largest Carhartt dealer in the nation – at home in an old building in downtown Marquette, Michigan – and running what can only be described as a Santa’s workshop on the top floor.

I’m also in love with Sandy at the Howell’s Mainstreet Winery (Howell’s Mainstreet Winery on Facebook) – where a great couple, both former auto industry folks, combined some passion with savings to start a wildly successful micro-winery, classes, and wine shop in a great downtown building in Howell, Michigan.

April at Catching Fireflies (@whimsicalgifts, Catching Fireflies on Facebook) in downtown Rochester, Michigan also has a store in Berkeley – and a fantastic wholesale line that is bringing money into the state every time she goes to market to sell. She’s creative and brilliant when it comes to making human connections using Facebook, Twitter, her blog and regular e-mails. I can never resist her passionate offers – or her fun notes stuffed in my packages when they arrive.

There’s Motorless Motion (Motorless Motion on Facebook, @motorlessmotion on Twitter), a little bicycle shop in Mt. Pleasant that loves people and educating customers – and now they can do it on Twitter and Facebook and reach the world with their information – and sell bike parts that way, too. There are the local cops who bought the floundering donut shop in downtown Clare, renamed it Cops & Donuts (Cops & Donuts on Facebook) – and made the national news in the process.

Marianna with the owner of Starring, a brilliant art gallery experience started by a former automotive exec.

And there are dozens and dozens more stories just like these – where pure passion is sprouting “green” for folks in Michigan.

Watch out world.

Michigan’s identity is transforming from the inside out. After spending some time there, I want to be more like those folks. Hardworking, passionate, friendly, helpful people they are…

How about you?

Chatting with my BFF the other day about how best to convince small business owners and restaurateurs that online marketing was worth paying money for. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Well, I dunno… perhaps that over a year ago 63% of all American consumers across every demographic looked online first before making a brick and mortar buying decision. Most of the folks we’re talking to are targeting a higher end demographic, and it’s a year later, so that number has to be much higher………

BFF: I didn’t ask you why they should be online. I’m talking about how to convince them within their existing worldview why this is worth spending money on.

Me: The money is online.

BFF: But are they going to see value in spending money online?

Me: (insert scream of frustration)

It’s seriously this bad. In small businesses and restaurants and boutique hotels across America, folks have their heads stuck in the proverbial sand.

I hear things like the following:

“I know we’ve got to do it, but I just don’t have time.”

“I just don’t see the value in it.”

“Well, I just spent $90,000 on new merchandise, so that website upgrade to allow me to make my own frequent updates to my website…that sounds good, but it will have to wait until next year… I just don’t have the money for that right now.”

“Well, I’m in a contract with the local lifestyle magazine, and I’m running some cable advertisements and sales have been really down lately, so I just don’t have the money to invest in online. I know it would work, but I just can’t afford it right now.”

How about this, Mr. small business owner? What if you could spend half per month what you spend for an ad in the local lifestyle magazine, and you could track feedback, gain market intelligence – and oh yeah, sell more stuff and know that it was a direct result of this marketing effort? Would you do it?

Would you spend the same amount if you could get that kind of measurable results?

If you wouldn’t – then why are you in business? Because it seems like you’re only there to support the dinosaurs. As for me, I’m going to stay in business by selling more stuff. Online.

Photo Credit: blakeimeson

The Delta Gypsy in Helena, Arkansas is located in a recovering Main Street district in the heart of Blues country in this Arkansas Delta city adjacent to the Mississippi River. I was in town to speak to Arkansas Main Street executives about how to use New Media and Social Media for community and business development, fundraising, etc. It only took one spin through downtown before my session, and I was irresistibly drawn into this business because of the signage and curb appeal.

After speaking for four hours, I ran back by this store before heading out of town. The store was a perfect eclectic collection of old and new – a Vera Bradley line combined with antique painted metal yard furniture, plants, and whimsical birthday gifts made the experience delightful to explore. The innovative use of lighting both inside and out, creative displays, personal attention, storytelling by the staff, the fresh scent and blues music left an indelible memory.

What marketing lessons can we learn from The Delta Gypsy?

1. Your curb appeal is your most valuable marketing. It’s the least expensive way to get people to stop in their tracks and come into your retail business. The Delta Gypsy does an outstanding job of combining fantastic, bright and eye-catching signage (probably created on a dime!) with live plants, whimsical displays and HUMAN interaction on the sidewalk outside of their store. Being greeted by the owner OUTSIDE the business was definitely a smart move!

2. Your experience matters. It sells, it upsells and it repeat sells. If the experience is consistent and memorable, folks will fall and love with it – and long for it. You have an experience whether you know it or not – are you controlling all five senses in YOUR store’s experience?

What marketing lessons does your business have to offer others?

We’ve all been to conferences and come home with the bag of goodies that were given out. I admit, I’ve gotten those bags, carried them around for the entire conference, and seldom done with it what I should have done. However, recently I’ve taken some habits away from conferences and trips like the National Main Streets Conference in Oklahoma City, OK.

We’ve created a list of people who are tweeting around the #MSCONF hashtag. If you don’t know what a hashtag is, it’s simply a way to connect on twitter around a specific topic. Twitter as a community will have hundreds of people tweeting, sometimes in the same room. The way they are all aggregated is via a hashtag. If you watch a hashtag, you’ll hear brief snippets of what people are saying about speakers, topics, meal plans and more. It’s a great way to find the cream of the crop, technically speaking, at conferences like this. Last year’s conference had a handful of folks tweeting along the hashtag #MAINST09. We just made it up, since no one seemed to be doing it in an official way. This year, many, many more people are already using the social media tools out there, and it’s been great to see people who are leading the way. We created a short list of those people, and hope you enjoy following them. We don’t endorse any of them, but just are noting that they are tweeting from the conference this year.

Here are some more tips I’ve learned over past conferences:

1. Friend or Follow. I have SMS enabled on my cell phone, and I often ask people I meet what their Twitter username is. I simply text “FOLLOW JOESMITH” to Twitter 40404, and I’ve instantly added them to my virtual rolodex on Twitter. This also gives me instant SMS updates on my phone when they tweet. It’s very handy to be able to quickly connect in a way that is harder to lose than a business card, and you’ll be reminded that you followed them when they tweet. You’ll get a text message each time. In many cases, the several messages a day are a good way to keep up with a new contact that I’ve met, and a nice reminder each time they tweet.

Facebook allows us to do the same thing, from smart phones, you can go to the url with the username of someone you’ve met. I use this to add them, on the spot, so I don’t have to keep up with a business card. Adding them allows me to message them, and see other contact information that my new friend may have shared.

2. Following up. The great part of these techniques is that you’ll almost always be reminded of the person, and what they do just via the social media connections. I’ve done it hundreds of times, and it’s a great way to keep in touch with people, even without carrying around a huge bag of names and numbers.

3. Organize. After an event, you might want to go back in to facebook, or twitter and make a list of the people that you met or connected with at the conference. This allows you to keep up with them in bulk, and also (if need be) communicate with them in bulk. A private twitter list, or facebook list, is a great way to do this. It will also help you remember where you met them.

I’m not against business cards, and I always keep a stack of them with me. But usually they tend to get handed out with an invitation to connect on social media. Mine have the links for connecting electronically, as well.

If you want to get the most out of a conference like the National Main Streets Conference (SAME LINK HERE PLEASE LAURA) have a plan, and keep up with folks. Use these handy tools, and you’ll be glad you did.

Butterfly Thank You Card from Peru Paper (www.perupaper.com)

I’ve been thinking a lot about being thankful lately. Here are a few random ideas that will hopefully spark more of your own. Please post YOUR ideas or expansion on these ideas or your experience with using thankfulness in business in the comments section…

Here are a few of my ideas for customer appreciation and showing thanks in your local small business:

1. A local restaurant could give out free dessert gift cards that say “Thank You!” in random check presenters throughout an evening. At the beginning of the evening, stuff random check presenters with the gift cards for a fun twist on a thank you. With slight alteration, this same principle can apply to your locally owned small business.

2. Write thank you notes. Use the handwritten note, an e-mail or a Facebook private message. Any way you do it, the effort to say a specific “thank you” is always appreciated. No matter how small or time-limited your business, you can do this one.

3. Conduct a non-advertised “thank-you” promotion. Pick a random day each week to offer customers a discount upon checkout. Keep it a secret until the moment of checkout, then say something like “Guess what? We are having a secret sale today to say ‘thank you’ to our customers. Just for shopping with us today, we’d like to say ‘thank you’ with a 10% discount.” It’s not a big discount, and the discount didn’t motivate their shopping. This keeps your business from being positioned as a “discounter.” Instead it uses the discount as a happy surprise and a genuine “thank you.”

4. Publicly post a list of things you are thankful for in your business on your Facebook wall weekly. Tag people, places or just list the little things that make you thankful. Good weather, smiling faces, loyal customers, new merchandise, popular items, a community event, a person, place or thing that you love. Thankfulness is contagious, and your customers will catch it quickly!

5. Participate in thankfulness on Twitter by saying what you are thankful for in 140 characters or less on Thursdays and applying the hashtag #thankfulthursday. You will join others who are thankful around the globe and promote your business at the same time.

Bonus story:
Last night, our client and Results Revolution sponsor, Patty Peck Honda, gave us FOUR tickets to the Mississippi Braves baseball game. Andy and I used two of the tickets. When we arrived at the game, we walked up to the ticket counter area where there was a pretty good crowd waiting to purchase tickets. We walked to the rear of the line and Andy said, “Excuse me, does anyone here drive a Honda?” A young college aged guy turned around and pointed to his friend, “He does.” The young gentleman, looking a bit confused, said, “Yes, I drive a Honda.” Andy said, “Sir, you just won two tickets to tonight’s game. You don’t have to stand in line any more. Patty Peck Honda wants to say ‘thank you’ for driving a Honda.” After a quick snap of the camera to document the event, we were on to find our seats while overhearing a wake of rumbles through the crowd “That guy just won free tickets from Patty Peck Honda… Who?… Patty Peck Honda just gave away tickets… Patty Peck Honda… Cool… That’s great… Great folks over there at Patty Peck Honda… He won free tickets to the game… Nice…”

What random acts of kindness can you do today in your business? How can you show thanks today? Post ideas in the comments section – and more than that, go be thankful! (I have a feeling it will pay you back…)

The following questions are some critical questions that you, as small business web site owner should ask your web development guy.

If you do NOT have some of these items, they are easy, but necessary, fixes to your business web site. These are the basic building blocks upon which search engine optimization occurs (in other words – the basic building blocks that will help potential customers find YOUR web site when they search the Web – and they WILL search the Web first).

• Do I have unique, keyword rich page titles on each and every page? (View example)
• Do I have unique page descriptions written in common vernacular and keyword rich on each page? (View example)
• Do I have unique, relevant keywords and keyword phrases (meta tags) in the HTML code for each page? (View example)
• Do I have an XML site map? (View example)

If you don’t have these bases covered and your web guy argues with you about them, I’d say it’s time to move on.