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?

We get this question a lot, so I thought I would post the question and answer here.

Question:
Which Facebook option is better for my business or organization? A PAGE or a GROUP?

Answer:
Facebook defines groups and pages differently, and upon reading their definition – and having intimately used both – our official position is to follow the Facebook rules for best success.

This means that if you are the official representative of your Main Street program or the owner of your business or the executive director of a non-profit organization, etc. then it is advisable that you start a PAGE that allows others to become FANS of your organization or business.

If you are a volunteer or individual seeking to raise awareness and support for an organization, topic, issue, etc., then you should start a GROUP page and invite folks to join your group if they are like minded.

To give an example of how to properly use GROUPS, a group of businesses or citizens could band together, name a leader and promote a GROUP on Facebook to rally citizens to participate in ongoing efforts to hold local officials accountable. This group of citizens is an UNofficial collection of like-minded people pursuing a goal. There could be many of the same sorts of GROUPS pop up, even within the same community, and that is allowable under Facebook rules. GROUPS are basically a free speech forum to meet and gather likeminded individuals.

As for PAGES, Facebook contends that they must be "official." Therefore, there will only be ONE Facebook PAGE for the Michigan Main Street Center, for instance, because they are the official organization and promoter for Michigan Main Street programs at the state level. Similarly, Swagger Gifts' Facebook PAGE will be the one and only because she is the official owner and promoter of Swagger Gifts in Cary, North Carolina. And there will only be one Team HALO Facebook PAGE, and we will administer it, because it is our official presence on Facebook.

Facebook PAGES provide a lot of promotional flexibility, professional image and communication features handy for those pursuing strategic marketing vs. the GROUPS option. But never fear, if you've made a GROUPS page but would now choose the PAGES option, Facebook will help you convert it, just ask them.

More information is available on this Facebook Help page under PAGES. (You will likely need to be logged in to Facebook to view any Facebook content including this and the links shown above.)

Small Business Marketing Tip: The bottom line is that you should be on Facebook with a personal profile and a PAGE for your official business or organization. Just get on there and start to learn the ropes. You should participate and encourage your employees to do the same (within reason of course). Your business will be better for it.

Soon, we'll address specific Facebook marketing tactics and strategies to give you an edge in your Facebook network. We also present this information in our small business seminar called Marketing Tactics that Will Work Right Now. 

So, I succumbed to the Twitter phenomenon, and I have to tell you – I think there's something to it. But more on that later. If you're a small business feeling the need to learn in this last phase of the early adoption of Twitter (similar to those who got on Facebook over a year ago – now it's standard and you're losing money if you're not there…), I compiled some great reading material that's helped me get a pretty good jumpstart in less than a week there. By the way, there are folks like furniture stores (@furniture) and dry cleaners (@thedrycleaner) on there. There's a reason… read up and consider your strategy for making the most of Twitter.

Random reading about Twitter and small business:

Seriously, there's a dry cleaner on there. Ann Handley pontificated beautifully on the subject earlier this week.

First you'll need to know what a "re-tweet" actually is. I recommend just downloading "Tweetdeck because it manages the madness – and allows quick "re-tweet-ing". (Which is sorta just like forwarding an e-mail.). But once you get the "re-tweet" concept, here are some tips for making it successful for you.

Check out Twickie. This isn't reading material, it's another service. But I watched Robert Scoble use Twickie the other night and it was really terrific – especially if you're another blogger or writer who wishes to compile content – or a business owner or non-profit exec who wants to poll via Twitter and quickly compile responses…

How Twitter Can Help at Work – New York Times article

Once you get started on Twitter, you might decide you want to see where you've been and predict where you're going. For that privilege, simply use TwitterCounter.

Download John Jantsch's Twitter for Business guide… his stuff is always worthy of a read.

Last but not least, for some pithy comments and frank banter on the Twitter phenom, check out this chat with marketing genius and straight talker Guy Kawasaki as he describes his own Twitter habits.

In recent months, I have moved beyond urging each and every small business and organization to have at least a GREAT looking one page web site with their own domain name. Now, I am frankly a bit shocked when a business or organization does NOT have a web site.

I’ll admit, I get annoyed when a restaurant that I’d like to visit doesn’t have a menu and wine list posted online. I get annoyed when I can’t check out the inside of a retail shop or download a shopping guide to a new downtown I’m visiting. It’s annoying. And I’m not even a member of the all too important Generation Y market segment. We’re all online – why aren’t you?

I thought I’d drive the point home by listing some of the search terms that recently drove folks to our HALO web sites. The search terms pulled up our web sites because I wrote about these businesses at some point in the recent past – and this was the only information the searcher could find online about these businesses. These are just a small, small sample of real search terms as they were typed by the searcher on Google or Yahoo last week. This is what your customer is typing in about you, too. Can they find you?

"Tresca Restaurant Hillsboro"

"McComb, Mississippi"

"Purses Sold at Josephine’s"

"Monogram Magic Jackson, MS"

"Tresca, Hillsboro, Oregon"

"Oddlee Unik"

"Southern Belle t-shirts in flowood brandon"

"Oddlee Unik t-shirts"

Isn’t it time that your small business had a web site? Honestly, for the money, it’s the cheapest and most effective form of marketing you can do. Nothing should keep you from getting this project done – immediately.

Study reveals several empty downtown units – Marietta, Ohio (great investment opportunity!)

Lumberton to seek redeveloper for 8-acre site on Main Street – Lumberton, New Jersey

Commission approves two new projects in Main Street Corridor (including Starbucks) – Bloomington, Illinois

Upscale Tresca tempts Main Street diners – Hillsboro, Oregon

Report: Tennessee’s State Main Street communities generate $82 million

Restaurateur honored for work downtown – Nashua, New Hampshire (great case study of a visionary – and every downtown needs at least one!)

Downtown dreams – Eugene, Oregon – a great discussion on how to approach the public/private partnership and discussion of planning and redeveloping a downtown area – no answers, but good thought process outlined.

How people view downtown is revealed – Defiance, Ohio – a great look at how to publicize survey results – and some of the ideas/questions to target in a downtown survey.

Letter to the Editor "Last-minute change on buffers wrong" – Lake Stevens, Washington – a great example of how to hold public leaders accountable and remind them of the importance of valuing the public/private investment. In case you’re fighting this battle right now or a similar one – know that you aren’t alone and see a great letter that publicly faces the hard issues.

Development Firm Continues Downtown Commitment; Two New Eateries Open in Detroit – Detroit, Michigan

This week, I had the privilege of working on the Mississippi Main Street Resource Team in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Earlier in the week, I commuted for a few days the nearly two hours between home and Pontotoc via the Natchez Trace Parkway each day. While driving on Tuesday early evening, the roads were damp and the spring growth was fresh with the reflection and smell of a recent spring shower. I couldn’t help but reflect upon the opportunity afforded with new beginnings.

Pontotoc County is a special program for a couple of reasons – first, they are the first designated county-wide Main Street program in the state. Second, Pontotoc County is one of the regional partners that helped land the Toyota manufacturing plant that was announced about a month ago. Toyota is slated to employee 2000 at the start with growth anticipated. This is not to mention the multiplication factor with suppliers and spin-off business to support the community – a factor experts believe will be two to eight times the Toyota employment numbers. If 6000 folks bring along a family, that is quite a population and/or employment boost in this region. For Pontotoc County, this is truly the opportunity of a lifetime – to be entering into a county-wide Main Street program at such a time as this.

Real estate development is already starting to boom, and a terrific base of business and buildings exist upon which to build a successful, thriving, historically preserved downtown area. I believe their revitalization effort could be one of the most successful stories we tell in recent history. I hope they recognize the opportunity this new beginning affords them – they don’t come along very often. In fact, it likely won’t happen again.   

Dove has started the Campaign for Real Beauty – in case you haven’t noticed. I noticed the first time I watched the TV commercial and made an about-face to see the gray hair and wrinkles, the young and middle-aged all displayed as beautiful. I loved it – I related to it. It’s been a long time since I related to a TV commercial.

Dove has released an intriguing commercial on Canadian TV – you can watch the link here and read some other comments about the campaign.

http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2006/10/dove_does_it_again_canadian_tv.html

Small businesses take note: Dove is marketing a message that is authentic – it relates the the customer. They have started a non-profit organization to actually educate young girls about "real beauty" in light of the "evolution" problem they demonstrate in their video. They have created a real connection with customers in a virtual way – their customer experience is genuine and real – they understand and they get it. And by doing all of that – wow, have they created a buzz…women’s beauty issues are all the rage again – and skinny models are once again under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The word of mouth is loud – and it’s making Dove products move. Dove gets us – and so they get our business. What can your small business do to market in such a way that you connect with customers – it should be much easier for you than it was for Dove. Quit trying to copy the national advertisers and their big budget campaigns and start connecting in an authentic, real way.