Small Businesses Get Another Social Media Setback

You have your Twitter account.  You're using Tweetdeck or something like it to auto-post your tweets to Facebook, LinkedIn, and so on.  You can promote yourself and your business as far and wide as your ambition can go.

Then you see this in the news:

From Social Media Today:

Will New Twitter Filter Hurt Small Businesses?

"...Twitter’s streaming API will be able to rank which tweets are most important and how high they will be placed in the feed for developers. Though Roomann-Kurrik doesn’t explain how each tweet will be judged and ranked, big businesses with a large following and a high frequency of engagement will probably take over these top spots. For a company that founded itself on the notion that anyone should be able to share short, intimate, important thoughts or anecdotes, this change could leave some Twitter users feeling worthless, especially small businesses.

The new filter integration undermines the possibility to market to an endless pool of consumers, which was an action Twitter originally promoted. There’s no doubt that Twitter wants to make money, and understandably so, but this is going to hurt a lot of small businesses and possibly discourage individual users from using the site."

I intend to keep a very close eye on these developments for all of my clients who benefit from Twitter as an up-to-the-minute news and PR distribution outlet.

Like I said in an earlier post, if you're going to engage in social media for your PR efforts, be ready to change on short notice.  That includes being ready to abandon ship if a previously useful outlet becomes unprofitable.

INTRODUCING: 2013 State of the City Address

This is an unusual project for SDOC:  there was almost no screen media involved!

There have been times in the past that I have created a website, then formatted the graphics so they could be applied to printed materials.  This one is all print.

Edie gave me a call late last year and asked for some samples of how I would create invitations and signage for State of the City.  As always, the branding style guide standards had to be included and followed.  The result is shown in the invitation to the left and has been scaled up to include all of the directional signs and welcome signage at the entrance.

I got the inspiration for this look from (don't laugh....) invitations to Queen Elizabeth II's garden party at Buckingham Palace.  When it comes to print, it's OK to scale down - small, understated graphics make the greatest, most positive, upscale impression.  Dunwoody's branding graphics are already bold and modern.  So simplicity and subtlety is the key to making them appealing on a keynote event.

State of the City is not "invitation only".  The point of this event is to throw open the doors for all of Dunwoody's residents.  Come on in, have a drink, have nosh, visit with other residents and hear how Mike is going to set the tone for 2013!

2013 Taste of Dunwoody

Two words:

SOLD.   OUT.

You have to get your tickets early for this event anymore.  Part of SDOC's sponsorship is a pair of tickets so if you are a business owner in town, you may want to sponsor next year and your admittance is a done deal.

The AHA Connection has created a "trading post" if you are looking to buy or sell Taste of Dunwoody tickets.  Try your luck here.

I'm glad to help support CHOA as a sponsor again this year.  I've posted before how I worked in pediatric oncology and how I saw first hand how this type of events benefits patients and their families.  As mom of 3 active kids, it's even more personal.  Between my eldest with a nut allergy to be monitored, my son (youngest) having been diagnosed with sensory integration problems requiring OT and speech therapy, and a middle daughter who is just bound and determined to bump herself as much as she can playing on the playground at preschool, our family are now officially "frequent flyers" at Scottish Rite.   No matter what happens we're confident that the kids will always be OK because the pros at CHOA are there for advice, support and - when necessary - treatment.

If you got your tickets in advance, see you there tonight!

(BTW, I LOVE Yacht Rock Revue!)