I’m delighted to have an opportunity to work with George Sharp again.  He’s a high-energy guy with a depth of understanding when it comes to marketing in a tourism economy.  His job takes him around the State to talk with folks like you and I about what’s working and what’s not, which gives him some great insight about our target demographic and what gets the response we’re all seeking.

Cathy Russ from the Pacific County Economic Development Council and Una Boyle from the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau have teamed up with the Ocean Park Chamber of Commerce to put on two workshops, one in north Pacific County and one in South Pacific County.  George will be sharing best practices that are working for businesses like yours and I’ll be talking about how you can use social networking online to benefit your business.

There is a lot of FaceBooking, MySpacing and Twittering going on out there.  Most of it is great fun and some of it is good for business.  My focus is going to be on how to tell which is which so you can make a choice about how to spend time.  After all, we all know small business owners are about the hardest working, most time-strapped folks there are.

Join us.  There is limited seating so call to reserve your seat:  360-875-9330.  And for those of you over 40… you can click the image above for a print-friendly flyer you can actually read.  :-)   Keleigh

David Poulshock of Red Door Films was guest speaker at the Women In Business monthly lunch yesterday.  First, let me just digress a moment to say that Donna and Truman Rew have done a wonderful job on their new space, the Artisan, in Ilwaco.  Check it out!

It was a pleasure to hear what David is up to and his creative ideas for a viral video marketing campaign that would benefit our Peninsula community.  More on that another time.  For now, savor these viral videos David noted and ponder how amateur video could feed traffic back to your own business website.  As David noted, there are some common themes here:  a compelling story, humor, and enough surprise to keep you hooked to the end.

So, grab a bag of micro-popcorn and a cuppa.  Here we go:

Super Chameleon.  Of course it’s fake; chameleons don’t change that quickly.  But it has outstanding product placement for RayBan, without coming off like an ad. 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMT1FLzEn9I[/youtube]
The FaceBook page is there for you once you’re hooked:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ray-Ban-NEVER-HIDE-FILMS/41511152217

The Pomegranate Phone.  You know you want one.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05mi7G3jIk[/youtube]
LA Times did a nice article on this $300,000 expenditure on the part of Nova Scotia Tourism. “The month-old website — created entirely by Nova Scotian citizens, right down to where the website host server is located — has received nearly 150,000 hits, with a majority of visitors also clicking through to the Nova Scotian government website. The campaign says it is pleased with the results so far and expects popularity to snowball in the future. “The great thing about a viral campaign like this one is that it has a long shelf life!” Jones-Oxner wrote.”

The Cadbury Eyebrows.  It’s funny.  You want to forward it to someone.  You don’t think of it as an ad but there’s no mistake that the girl’s dress is Cadbury purple.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVblWq3tDwY[/youtube]

You Suck At Photoshop.  This one has some language and irreverent humor so skip it if that sort of thing offends you.  It’s reportedly won video awards and been in national magazines.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_X5uR7VC4M[/youtube]

John West Seafood has been doing funny ads forever.  They seem to have gone viral with the commercial everyone seems to have seen, Bear vs. Man
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FARnbRBWKGg[/youtube]

Bear vs. Man, take 2
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BBzpLEjAr8[/youtube]

Tuna to go
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOwiSJ5SKE8[/youtube]

Tuna Catch
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkwhAuptm08[/youtube]

Paddling Fresh Fish
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b4Z1EZvFwg[/youtube]

Fish for Kids
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOwiSJ5SKE8[/youtube]

The Battle at Kruger.  A word of warning here;  the video is fairly graphic.  Hang in there; I don’t want to ruin the story but suffice to say the plot takes a significant turn about half way through.  Notice how much advertising there is on the page compared to the other YouTube videos you’ve seen here.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM[/youtube]

Chocolate Rain.  First, this talented kid does a low-budget, internet recording:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA[/youtube]
It picks up steam on YouTube and now he’s doing high-budget video and being paid very well:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2×2W12A8Qow[/youtube]

Schick Quattro “Mow The Lawn”.  You can get away with so much more online…and that’s why it goes viral.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvFSgXpyhoM[/youtube]

Extreme Sheep LED Art. Yes, it’s real.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw[/youtube]

Thanks for those, David!

Want more?  Here’s David’s full list:  viral videos webisodes.doc

Peninsula Business Owners:  Did you know you can join the Long Beach Merchants Association whether your business is in Ilwaco, Ocean Park, Klipsan Beach, Naselle, Astoria, or other parts of the region?

The Long Beach Merchants Association (LBMA) exists to support you and your business.  The mission of the LBMA is to ‘foster economic development within the Town of Long Beach’, which benefits all parts of the Peninsula and its neighbors.  LBMA has successfully accomplished this mission year after year by cultivating a cooperative business environment, where Peninsula merchants work with one another to increase business success, and by promoting and managing numerous people-attracting festivals and public events.

Many public events for witch the Peninsula is known are the focus and responsibility of the LBMA, which also promotes and assists with public and community efforts that are the primary responsibility of other Peninsula organizations, such as festivals, local scholarships, and community-based non-profit programs.

I would like to invite you to take a look at the organization and consider joining.  Come to a LBMA meeting, so you can get a feel for the organization and what they can offer you and your business. Monthly general membership meetings are at 8 am, the first Friday of each month, at Bensons by the Beach in downtown Long Beach. The LBMA would be pleased to buy you breakfast, as an enticement to come and meet your business peers. 

We recently developed a membership brochure and invitation card for the association and are delighted to work with many of the events on their promotional materials.

The thought of eight independent, strong-minded, highly creative business owners collaborating on one website is exciting and these are just the women for the job!  What began as a logo has become a six ad run in McCalls Quilting:

…and a collaborative website at http://www.MyQuiltVillage.com.  These women are awesome. Seriously.  Check out the site to see how collaborative blogging should be done.

Meet each of them through their personal blogs:

Here are the sites of each of the contributors to MyQuiltVillage.com:

• Anna Lena’s
• Cozy Cottage Fabrics
• Pine Needles Sewing Center
• Quilt Country
• Quilted Treasures
• Quilting Possibilities
• Suzanne’s Quilt Shop
• The Quilt Company

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY[/youtube]