Targeted Shotgun
Posted September 28, 2009
Maybe it's some sick voyeuristic attribute of keeping up with old friends and new ones that attracts me to Facebook. Maybe it's the amount of down time I have waiting here or there that is now filled with scrolling on the Blackberry to see what witty thing the girl behind me in 9th grade Spanish has to say today. I don't know exactly what is driving the phenomenon, but for the time being, I am going to try and enjoy the ride. They call it "Social Networking," and if you'll excuse the Facebook pun, "I'm a fan."
Having spent over ten years in chamber of commerce work, I understand and appreciate the role of relationships in developing business. Chambers chiefly exist to connect people and businesses, not just from the start-up side but from the "find new customers keep the cash register ringing side." Relationships translate into business which hopefully translates into profit.
Diving deeper into the virtual society, I have taken up the cause for a Facebook page dedicated to the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation. Here I am trying to build a network of "friends" who will help us, as a nonprofit, share our community story and become ambassadors of the good things we are attempting to accomplish. At minimum, it's a daily 15 minute exercise in public relations.
My friend John Helms at the Mississippi Development Authority referred to social networking as a "targeted shotgun" approach to marketing. I like his analogy and will have to use it sometime in a future FB post. At whom is my targeted shotgun aiming at? You, for one, are a target, along with anyone else who has an interest in Meridian, Lauderdale County and East Mississippi. Targets are anyone with a voice and discerning mind to comprehend our challenges while appreciating the potential outcome of community and economic development.
How and where we reach out to build relationships may tell us something about ourselves and the businesses/organizations we represent: old school, new school or sometimes no school. In time, we will gravitate to an all electric outreach, but for now, the EMBDC will continue to print the newsletter, send out direct mail and hold committee meetings to tackle community challenges. My challenge today in social networking is to stay connected with the right balance, in frequency and quality of posts, that provide useful information and/or insights. As virtual friends become beleaguered with requests for additional "links and friendships" my goal is to keep them attuned to our "loop" as opposed to being dropped for another.
For the time being, as long as the phenomenon continues, we will be there in the virtual world recruiting new friends and ambassadors who might further propagate the good stories and work of our business and community. I hope you'll look us up and send us a note, or better yet, tell a friend about us. After all, is there anybody out there who can't use one more ambassador of goodwill?
Send a comment!
Skip Scaggs, Manager of Business Development
sscaggs@embdc.org
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