Everything I Really Need to Know about Social Media I Learned in Kindergarten

In our work with communities social media is always a point of discussion. Most communities believe social media is going to be complicated, confusing and take far too much time. This belief can keep communities from engaging in social media.

When we were young we were taught how to behave and socialize with other kids. In fact, many of our lessons came when we entered kindergarten. With apologies, and a little "borrowing" from Robert Fulghum, most of what you learned in kindergarten is what you need to know for social media.

Share - social media is all about sharing. Share your community, your knowledge, your expertise, give the reason why investment, business and people should be there. For your businesses get them to share information about their products and services, share the reasons why they are the company to do business with.

Play fair and don't hit people - in other words don't talk badly about others. Social media gives you the opportunity to play up your strengths and to tell your story. It's not about posting unkind remarks about competitors.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody - if, for some reason, you didn't play fair, take responsibility and make it right.

Live a balanced life - social media should not be a 24/7 operation. Find out what works for you, what resources you have and balance out the rest.

Learn some and think some - social media presents the opportunity to learn from others like no other media. Interact, get involved and invite discussion. Find out what people are saying about you, your community and your business.

Draw and paint and sing and dance - there are many ways to use social media, try a couple or a lot. How can your community benefit from Twitter or YouTube? Combine LinkedIn, Facebook and Ning. Post photos on Flickr and start a blog.

Be aware of wonder - social media is still in its infancy and most of us have no idea what the future holds. That's exciting and offers a world of wonder still to explore.

Finally, as Robert Fulghum said, "warm cookies and cold mild are good for you".

Shop Local

Shop Local - as economic developers we all know the benefits to a community when we can get residents to stay at home and shop locally. As consumers we understand the importance of keeping the small mom and pop stores in our community - in fact, most of us want to retain the unique character that these types of shops provide. So if we know it as professionals, residents and consumers - why do so many of us still shop outside our communities or at big box stores? This was one of the questions we recently discussed with a community who was wanting to put a Shop Local program in place.

Let's face it - convenience is sometimes going to win - the lowest price is sometimes going to win - the brand is sometimes going to win. A community that wants the Shop Local program to be the only shopping option in town is being unrealistic. The consumer wants all the choices available and that means having the convenience of big box along with the uniqueness that only local shopping can provide.

For towns that want to start a Shop Local campaign there are lots of resources available online. The key to getting a program off the ground is to have a champion or champions behind it. The program needs to be sold to your local retailers and residents for it to be successful. Start with a small step and build from there - get your media involved and education your consumers about the dollar value of a Shop Local program.

Here's only a couple of excellent online resources to help your community develop a program:

• StayLocal.org - New Orleans developed this excellent resource for shopping local. The website provides the toolkits, studies, reports and success stories.
• Big Box Tool Kit - This website is a project of Local Self Reliance. It provides a step by step guide to competing and winning against big box.
• Foods Co-op Toolkit - Communities are setting up food co-ops so they can get good food at an affordable price. This website helps communities set up their own food co-ops and buying groups.

Building Accountability in Economic Development

Economic development should be accountable for how they spend public money and how programs are working or not working in their community. Many economic development organizations have no formal system for accountability and in the end it will catch up with them. Here are five ways to build accountability into your daily routine.

Make your goals public – This works on a number of levels. In terms of your organization it means publicly announcing your goals and objectives for the year. In terms of your board, it means clearly defining your goals and providing regular updates on status. In terms of yourself, it means holding yourself accountable for getting the job done and working with your team to motivate and lead.

Share your planning documents and action plans – Many of your economic development projects will have timelines and milestones. By sharing your action plans with your team, board and other key stakeholders you build trust and increase accountability. It is another way to publicly state your agenda and create a powerful accountability mechanism for getting things done. If you are constantly missing milestones, questions will begin to be asked. Alternatively, when you are constantly meeting milestones, you begin to build a strong sense of accountability.

Build in short-term goals – If every goal is long-term it will be difficult to show results. Make sure every goal has smaller or short-term goals built in. Then communicate with others when the smaller goals are met and how they work towards and are accountable to the larger goals.

Encourage discussion and debate – It is often easier to quietly go about business and work towards your goals. However, by encouraging discussion and even debate with staff, board and stakeholders about what you are doing will help to stay accountable. It will communicate your goals and provide another level of understanding of what you are doing and why.

Schedule regular updates – Some organizations meet on a weekly or monthly basis while others it’s quarterly or annually. Depending on when your organization meets develop a regular routine of providing updates. This can be through emails, newsletters or scheduled meetings.

Business Leaders and Change

Business owners have no control over how fast markets grow or how sensibly banks lend their money. But one thing a business owner does control is his own attitude and mindset. In these challenging economic times it may only be the businesses that change or do things a little differently that will survive. Economic development needs to be a part of their business community and provide information and assistance to help them grow in any economy.

Harvard Business Publishing put together the 10 questions that every change agent must answer. How would you answer “Do you see opportunities the competition doesn’t see?” or "If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would miss you and why?"

Challenge your businesses and yourself as a business leader to answer the questions and see how you can change the way of how business is done.

Successful businesses grow because they have strong leaders that define them. Read about seven innovative companies that are inspiring workers and boosting their bottom line. What can you learn from what they do? Can your businesses offer on-site daycare, stop smoking assistance or a break room complete with Wii?

Another way to change how businesses do business and to become a leader in your community is to look at how giving can be part of the business strategy. Small businesses are finding that using charitable giving can increase sales, lift employee morale and helps a good cause.

Website Check-In

The importance of a website is not lost on economic development organizations but once the website is up and running how often do you check in to see how it’s doing? Technology changes every day, how people access websites change and user expection change. Here are a few things to look at for your website to improve its efficiency:


Increase the speed – The user expects to find the information from a website quickly. They want to get it and get out. Adobe Flash was the premier choice but demand has decreased so your site may not need showy add-ons. Users would rather read information but you will still need images of some sort. Make sure your image files are as small as they can be and move any unnecessary items to the bottom of the page. This will help load the important information first.


Write a better script – Spend some time reading what is on your website now and make sure it is succinct and not filled with extra and unnecessary filler. It may help to have a third party read through what your website says and offer advice from a “user’s” point of view.


Use only the tech you really need – While you may want to show that you are up to date on the latest software or tech gadgets, use only what makes sense. Evaluate your use of music, video and detailed zoom views . Be aware of adding in the trendy and new technology because it can be costly and time consuming to keep up with. Look at how you will use the technology and whether it really make sense for your organization.


Unique page titles on every page – These are the words that appear in the bar across the very top of the browser window. Users may not notice them but search engines do. If you have 15 pages on your website and they all say Come Do Business Here, the search engines are not going to see them as different and this will affect your search ranking. When you change your page title make sure it actually relates to what the page content is. Again, you may want to have a third party assist with this project.


Short forms – If you have a contact form on your site make sure you only ask for the information you really need. Do you need a physical address when you will only communicate through email? Resist the urge to get more information and don’t make the user jump through hoops to get your information. Keep it simple.

Signs of Recovery in Your Community

Businesses are starting to become more and more optimistic about an economic recovery coming sooner than later. Good news for communities that have been struggling over the past year but do you know how to read the signs of recovery in your community? Here are a few examples of successful businesses, pockets of consumer spending and rebounds to look for in your community.

Personal Services – Over the past year and a half businesses offering personal services (i.e. salons, spas, massage) have been experiencing a drop in demand. Recently, more and more of these businesses are expressing an increased demand and are seeing consumers no longer holding out on paying for these services. Can you easily walk into a salon in your community and get an appointment immediately or do you have to book in advance?

Increased Automobile Sales – Certainly financial incentives and low or zero payment plans are playing a role in consumers purchasing cars. But look around your community and see how many new vehicles are on the road, how many have temporary paper plates or demo plates?

Temporary Agencies – Local temp agencies are starting to report an increase in demand for their workers. As local businesses start to see an increase in demand for their product or services, one of the first places many will go to is the temp agencies to start to fill the vacancies. Talk to your local agencies to see what they are experiencing.

Business Expansion – Are any businesses expanding in your community? Many communities are seeing an expansion of their local businesses, particularly the ones who had planned it over a year ago are now starting to go ahead with their original expansion plans.

Consumer Spending – Are your local consumers confident enough to spend their discretionary income on products considered non-essential or luxury? The sale of 1 million iPhones 3Gs within three days of its launch in the US was clearly one sign of recovery.

Advertising – The way businesses spend their advertising and marketing dollars have changed over the past number of years and businesses have cut marketing budgets. Recently, businesses are starting to investment again in marketing and advertising. Online, low-cost advertising investments are booming. What's happening with your local businesses?

Economic Development and the Media

Today the word media has expanded to more than the traditional means of print, television and radio. It encompasses much more since the proliferation of the internet and the explosion of social media. Though the methods of media communication has expanded there are still some very basic rules of engagement.

It is worth asking how economic development professionals can best prepare themselves to communicate in the most effective manner possible. Even with these ever expanding avenues of media, it is still the good, old-fashioned methods that work best.

Prepare – This point cannot be overstated. It is at the core of successful media communication. Know what your message is and how you will convey it. This means more than just memorizing the message, it means internalizing it. Read related publications, know who else is involved, brush up on the media with whom you expect to connect. It is important to set aside time before connecting with the media to put your “game face” on. This applies whether it’s a traditional press conference, video or podcast.

Be in charge – When the time comes for the media interview you are the one who should be in the director’s chair. You must be truthful under all circumstances but be the one who leads the interview and take charge of your story. The media is there to hear from you and expects you to follow your agenda even if they may challenge it. The interview is not an interrogation nor are you on the witness stand so take charge and answer honestly.

Be concise –Pick a limited number of points to emphasis, i.e. three key messages. The media needs things quickly and precisely. By preparing well this should not be an issue. You are not writing a book, you are conveying a message that should be short and to the point. This is true for face-to-face interviews, blogging and tweeting (there’s a reason there’s only 140 characters).

Create a picture – Use powerful word images. Develop sound bites. Use well-crafted metaphors and similes. Be interesting. Most media will not have the same level of understanding or expertise that you have developed so try to relate what you are doing to the broader audience so they can relate.

Smile and engage –Just like most everything else the physical demeanor can tell a story in itself. It says whether you are passionate about your subject and whether you believe in your message. Be expressive, lean into the conversation and a smile can be detected even in a sound bite.

Develop the relationship – The use of media is not a one time event. Develop an ongoing relationship with media in your community and farther afield. Make sure the relationship is not one-sided. A supportive media can go a long way to ensuring economic development success.