Back in July of last year (Should Municipalities use Social Media) I wrote about how city government could use social media to communicate with their residents. Since then, my little experiment with the City of Tipp City has been going full steam. The City launched their facebook fan page back in October, 2009 and now have 614 fans. The City Manager, Jon Crusey is the primary editor of the fan page and uses the resource to communicate to residents about:

1. Snow Emergencies – Often during the winter road closures, troublesome potholes and trash collection day changes necessitate urgent communications with residents.
2. City Council Agenda – One of the murky areas for residents had been lack of knowledge of what is going on with City Council. Full agenda summaries are now available online from Facebook.
3. Financial Transparency – The City uses the page to post winning bids for work being performed around town, street repairs, water towers, etc.
4. Schedule of Events – The City can now announce events and uses the wall to post openings/closings

Social State of the City

If you visited the link, you noticed that the facebook fan page did not have direct fan comments to the wall enabled. This prohibits the fans of Tipp City from creating their own interesting, snide, or thoughtful commentary on the City’s wall. What impact does this have on their “social state?”

• Fan counts stay artificially low. Residents with a “beef” with the City won’t become a fan, because they can’t create their own rant post
• Rants that are shared within threads started by the City can be edited out, keeping the friendly state of affairs in-tact
• Comments within the City threads are mostly favorable
• Links are presented on the fan page that lead readers to the City’s website http://tippcityohio.gov

I have consulted with several of my social media peers regarding Tipp City’s specific use and management of their facebook fan page and there seems to be agreement that their work is a good example of a municipality taking its first step into the social media vista. The worst scenario of course would have been an experience where the City received a barrage of comments, rants and questions that they were not staffed to handle. What has resulted has been a steady stream of mostly positive comments about the City making an effort to stay in touch with residents.

KUDOS go out to Jon Crusey, City Manager of Tipp City for his use of facebook to better communicate with residents. Hopefully other cities and townships in Ohio are able to learn from Tipp City’s example and use facebook to better deal with communication challenges that they may face.

With a passion for Ohio and a drive to share with others what he loves about working and living in the State of Ohio, Mike McDermott, Lead Community Manager with Bash Foo Social Media is now a card-carrying Ohio Ambassador.

Mr. McDermott will work to help excite his friends, family and business associates about all that Ohio has to offer. The Ohio Ambassador program seeks to gain recognition as the ideal state to achieve a perfect balance in life, allowing for both professional and personal success without sacrificing one for the other.

As an Ambassador for the State of Ohio, Mr. McDermott seeks to:

• Share his Ohio experiences
• Address misperceptions of Ohio
• Avoid negatively positioning another state or location
• Be supportive of all Ohio business

Mr. McDermott seeks to achieve these goals as the founder of the Why Buy Ohio alliance http://whybuyohio.com where he works to encourage the growth and opportunities made for small, independent businesses in the State of Ohio.

About Bash Foo Social Media

Bash Foo Social Media is a business strategy and marketing firm that grows online communities of followers as well as brand relevance. Bash Foo Social Media seeks to become the most valued and trusted partner for every client through a passionate voice, winning strategies and measurable results. Today,
Bash Foo Social Media delivers these winning strategies and measurable results for companies across all industries in Ohio as well as a number of national and international accounts. For more information on Bash Foo Social Media, call 937-573-8535 or visit http://bashfoo.com

podcamp ohio 2009

I can’t possibly deliver a blow-by-blow account of the great conversations, sessions or fun that was had at Podcamp Ohio 2009.  There were simply TOO MANY!

It was really an honor to speak in front of some of the most amazing social media participants and leaders here in Ohio. This was really Community overload for me.
I posted my slides on SlideShare but the real information can only come from attending my session. What great participation, questions and feedback! I am humbled to have emoted so much great energy from the session attendees. Small businessmen/women who were looking for answers, social media leaders who provided GREAT feedback. A community manager’s dream.

A big shout out and thanks to all who organized Pod Camp OH & the great sponsors – OSU CSTW, Qdoba, Blubrry, Avitae, TechSmith, DrA,COSproductions. One notable note. I literally ran out to Krogers this morning for some Avitae to wake up this morning. Thanks for the coupon guys! If you guys ever need a social media community manager, look me up. I have some terrific ideas for your campaign!
Qdoba, you guys will be my next call for catering. Wonderful job. I never could have imagined that you could cater such a delicious spread!

Some notable new friends.
Cheryl Harrison – The best idea I have met in a long time
Cliff Ravenscraft – Bowing to the podcast master, monetizer and closet Hannah Montana Fan
Jacob Burke – A pretty great guy in his own right
Bill Condo – First presentations are always the most difficult. Kudos for breaking through
Gabe Taviano – The Lord works miracles within thee. With Him all things are possible.
Gina Kay Landis – Electric personality, a Realtor that “gets being social”. Kudos!
Amybeth Hale – Super-charged socialite. I learned alot from you. Thanks for the positive Chi!

and all those that I did not mention.. Thank you too for helping to grow my community!

This article by the Dayton Business Journal was spot on.

Lt. Gov Fisher coming out with that childish statement “NCR stands for No opportunity to Communicate or Respond” was the icing on the cake.
His defensive posture belied the fact that his office has not done anything to attract or retain business in the local area. Just coming out on TV and saying that Dayton “has a lot to offer businesses” cannot deflect the fact that more are moving out than in. Strickland spent his stimulus dollars on other budget line items = all of those other 2009 budget considerations he could not pay for with current tax dollars. Stricklands’ “casinos in the sky” failed at the ballot box and thereby failed to rain cash from the heavens to save his budget crunch.

Enter Obama Stimulus Cash. Has any state stimulus cash been actually spent in Dayton yet? No!

Dayton’s residential and business community has collapsed around NCR and the tax incentives provided by Georgia were not the only consideration. The unfriendly business climate, declining property values, lack of funding for local schools and colleges, all were part of the overall equation.

While NCR will be identified as poor corporate citizens by those who have been negatively impacted by their departure, they truly must have had salient reasons for leaving Dayton in the way that they did. Picking up and leaving has an incredible cost for a corporation to bear in the near term. They responded to all indicators that pointed to even more troubling times ahead for Dayton.

My hope is that our leaders find a way past their childish, knee-jerk actions to identify immediate relief for the displaced workforce and substantive change for the Dayton business climate.

Type A job seekers

• Totally unaware of their true gifts and abilities.
• Cannot easily describe why someone should hire them.
• Are fearful that they lack the skills to obtain a good job yet still SPAM out their resumes to any and all job openings.
• Fear that their age will hold them back from getting hired.

Type B job seekers

• Recognize that they lack the education necessary for the jobs that they want, and actively seek out retraining to further their education.
• Often find that they lack the funds to obtain a better education.
• May often shoot for jobs either greatly above their capabilities, or under.
• Often have weak resumes and do not recognize their own worth.

Type C job seekers

• Focus on something that they not only are qualified for, but also are passionate about.
• Are willing to sacrifice salary for job happiness and work/family balance.
• Have a strong, clear and concise resume that demonstrates their value to the position being sought.
• Find value within adversity.

Both Type A and Type B need to receive a transfusion of faith and understanding from those who can provide both. Additionally, Type A and B will never find jobs in the Dayton area without first understanding their predicament and then dealing with each challenge appropriately. Active networkers often lend a committed hand to folks through job shadowing, cross-training, free education resources, free resume review.. the list goes on and on… I am personally taking on the challenges presented by this exercise through my work in the following organizations:

The Northern Miami Valley HYPE organization (Helping Young Professionals Emerge)
Dayton Marketing Community
Linked Dayton
Rain Ohio

All of these organizations provide Dayton professionals with an opportunity to network with their peers and build their “street cred”.  While everyone can agree that networking is an important part of a job search, the members of these organizations actually go a step further to develop the individual into a better and more educated job seeker readying them for the challenges of today’s job market. I have a strong belief that tomorrow’s economy will be driven by those between the ages of 25-45 and also that the positions that these individuals will eventually have are not even currently envisioned. Think all new job titles, new responsibilities and new focus.

So what’s in it for me?
Easy… This business transformation will occur without the understanding, prior-approval or recognition by those currently leading today’s established corporations. The transformation will be driven by the consumer (rather than the producer) who will identify what is most important to them. All new businesses will sprout up to fill the vacuum and accommodate those new consumer wants and needs. As a Community Manager I get a front row seat for the formation of this new economy thanks to my immersion into the social media stream of conversation that both heralds the birth of the new economy as well as the death of the old.

p.s. Thank you Bridget for helping me gain additional clarity on this challenge, and then find the proper insight behind this blog post.

Connor was able to finally ride a bike (versus being pulled along in a wagon) in the parade. We were so proud of him. Here is a picture of us with his decorated bike.
Have a blessed day!

So how do these forms of advertising and marketing aid our local plumber or roofer’s business when:

• Their customers will never email a request for service.
• They receive their service calls by phone, and usually when something is broken and needs to be fixed.
• A Real-life Reputation for being honest, reliable and trustworthy is not equivalent to online reputation points and scoring.
• Their real-life local competition reaps more financial benefit than any online competition will.

So, with those out of the way, are there any compelling reasons why a plumber (for example) would want to engage in digital marketing or social media?

• Search Engine placement. With a growing majority of people “Googling” their search results to find a local product or service, your placement in the results are key. Have you setup your Google business profile yet? You will want to be the first hit when people search for service + city/location.
• Online reputation. While word of mouth reputation is still the most truest and effective form of reputation gain/loss for the “plumber”, a blog site that includes customer comments (rants or raves) could bring positive buzz about your services, increasing the effectiveness of your search engine placement and competitive edge.
• Affordability. Many times contractors and other businesses have loads of information that they need/want or are required to share with their customers. Things like contractor license numbers, privacy notices, financing terms, or legal documentation can be easily stored, referenced and posted for customers (either current or potential) to view. Think of the cost of mailing this information or printing it out for each customer versus posting it on your company blog.
• Keyword definitions. I once owned a small computer store and on my website I posted an ATI video card along with its SKU number. When folks entered that SKU into the search engine my website was the first hit. I sold 11,000 video cards that month, making me the largest distributor of ATI video cards in the state of Ohio. This trend lasted only a few months until the biggie parts distributors caught on and cannibalized my trendy marketing work. If your business has keywords or product SKU’s you need to own them digitally.

Are there any other “good reasons” you can think of for digital marketing that would enhance a contractor’s business? At the end of the day it comes down to a customer picking up the phone and dialing a number and listening to the reassuring confidence of the contractor who wants to earn their business.

Overachieving SM specialist and community manager looking to meet and learn new techniques from the digital marketing superheroes of today in order to lead hundreds of small and medium sized businesses to build strong communities rallying around their brand. Recently experienced a string of family, economic and employment challenges which prohibit me from flying to SoCal to meet with these guys in person.

The Social Media Success Summit is right down my alley. I can sit in the comfort of my SM castle here in Tipp City, Ohio and experience the Session Objectives!

• How to Create a Mega-Following and Mega-Sales With Social Media Marketing
• Building a Loyal Facebook Following for Increased Profits
• How to Grow and Engage an Audience on Twitter
• Using the Power and Reach of LinkedIn to Grow Your Business
• How to Productively Engage in Social Media Marketing
• Five Reasons You Need to Be on Twitter (and Tools to Help You Manage)
• Social Media Start Up: 3 Key Tools to Build Your Social Media Marketing Plan
• How to Attract Tens of Thousands of People in Mere Days
• Using Social Bookmarking for Improved Traffic, Links and Visibility

The SM superheroes that I referred to are:

• Chris Garrett
• Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV)
• Darren Rowse (Problogger)
• Mari Smith (Facebook guru)
• Jason Alba (wrote the book on LinkedIn)
• Ann Handley (MarketingProfs)
• Brian Clark (Copyblogger)
• Denise Wakeman (BlogSquad).

So yea, I want to with the free ticket to the conference and capitalize on the info-sharing and bash foo goodness from this online SMM summit.

I signed up for the JDRF Walk for a Cure today.

Connor McDermott

Our 3 year old son Connor was diagnosed in December 2008 with Type 1 Diabetes. My wife and I are taking on this disease as a personal (and public) crusade. Connor happens to be one of the youngest children in the Miami Valley with Juvenile Diabetes and therefore is looking at a long lifetime of daily finger pricks and insulin injections along with all the nasty long term repercussions of this disease. Unlike Type 2 Diabetes which can affect anyone, Type 1 actually targets only children.

If you can find it in your heart or in your wallet/purse to donate to the Juvenile Diabetes cause, please visit my walk page and donate a few dollars or if you are local you can sign up to walk with our team “Connor’s Troopers”.

A very special part of being on Connor’s team includes participation from the Star Wars 501st Legion – Ohio Garrison who will be walking for Connor this year. The 501st Legion is an international group of Star Wars costumers who donate their time and funds to great causes for children. You may have seen them in local parades or on TV. Our son is very honored to have them a part of our supporting family.

Virginia and I thank you for considering a donation in support of Connor’s fight against Type 1 Diabetes.