Social Media In Motion for Non-Profits

When we used to think of social networking we thought of all of these online profiles like Facebook and Myspace which have since expanded to Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and so on. It was originally just social sharing among friends. It has since grown into an advertising tool for businesses with business pages and targeted marketing ads.

This newer evolution of social media platforms has been great for marketing. It’s been an asset for many businesses who have invested the time to market effectively through these online tools. Companies have used the platforms to add a personality to their business, target their audience, reinforce brand awareness and gain invaluable feedback from customers.

So now we know social media is great for socializing with friends and we have also found a lot of great ways to use it for advertising, but how else can it be used?

Recently I witnessed something that made me realize just how powerful social media is. Social media was successfully used to raise money for a local non-profit.

Tarantella’s Pizza Alley, a local pizzeria in the Montgomery community, often hosts fundraising nights where they donate a portion of the sales to a local charity. November 16^th was a fundraiser to support Boy Scout Troop 31 of Walden, NY. Five o’clock hit and the doors were almost instantly flooded with customers, the phone ringing off the hook. Employees scrambled to take care of everyone as fast as they could, but were still being overwhelmed with the unexpected flow of customers through the door.

It didn’t take long to figure out what had happened. Customers started presenting coupons at the cash register, which were sent out through Facebook and e-mail saying “Come Support Troop 31”.

Being the computer-savvy techies that today’s youth tend to be, they took the initiative to upload these coupons to their walls in the form of a picture and tag all of their friends in it. Under the coupon was a caption that said, “Print this picture and come to Tarantella’s to support my troop”. We have all had the Boy Scout or Girl Scout at our door with a candy bar or box of cookies and just could not say no. They have now figured out a way to get into our e-mail, onto our computer screens and into our smart phones.

This successful marketing campaign, via social media, created a huge benefit for everyone involved. Troop 31 was able to raise a ton of money to support their program and Tarantella’s was able to reach potential customers it may not have been able to reach otherwise.

Kudos to the scouts for schooling the professionals with a great way to use social media! And, to Tarantella’s as well. In the three years they have been doing these fundraisers, on November 16^th Troop 31 more than doubled the largest amount of money raised in one fundraiser night.

Orange County Chamber proves Trade Shows are Still Alive and Well

There were over 200 Exhibitors at yesterday's Orange County Chamber Trade Show, held at Anthony's Pier 9 in Newburgh, and for a long-time Chamber member, I've found that walking through the show gets to be more fun every year. 

Each year there are more and more familiar faces. And, sometimes, you run into people who you may not have seen since last year's trade show! But, more often than not, the people who are involved in the Chamber are also involved in other community events and organizations. Having been involved in the Orange County community for over 20 years now, I have had the opportunity to meet a good number of my fellow Chamber members and community leaders. Orange County is lucky to have a very strong Chamber, under the direction of Dr. John D'Ambrosio. The benefits of membership are many, and businesses of all sizes should check it out at www.orangeny.com

Being in the field of advertising, I know how trade show attendance is slipping in recent years. But you would never guess it from yesterday's show. It is a bit hard to navigate from room to room at Anthony's, but with some determination (and help of the floor plan that's handed out at the door) you can make your way through the 5 or more different rooms... and it is well worth the effort.

I always enjoy meeting new people and learning about new businesses in the area. There are so many resources for your own business, as well as for your home and personal needs. I also find it very interesting walking through the show and observing how some exhibitors really engage attendees and make the show work for them, while others just sit back and almost seem unapproachable... even if you are interested in their product or service. I often wonder why these businesses even bother making the investment in the first place, if they're not going to invest in the training of trade show staff.

For those of you who had booths at the show.... make sure you take the time within the next two weeks to follow up on all those leads. You should be categorizing your "hot leads" from your "not so hot leads" during the show, to make follow-up more fruitful. There's no sense in just gathering a bunch of business cards and then putting them in your desk drawer. Develop a follow-up system, and stick to it. A good follow-up system will make your trade shows well worth your investment. 

June Bisel

BBG&G Advertising & Public Relations

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