“I guess we just rely on steady customers…loyal, you know?” The uncommonly chatty woman behind the counter at a small local business in Winter Park pauses to scrape together her thoughts. “I think we have a website–at least, I’m pretty sure we do. But it’s not updated, like…” (she gestures widely) “…ever!”
I spent the better time of yesterday meandering the charming downtown area of Winter Park, FL, in the hopes of striking up some conversation with locals about the tech wave that is stomping its way across the business marketing world. For you see, I am a blogger, and an imperfect one at that. Anticipating a good deal of valid, flourishing insight into how Winter Park folks draw in customers with scintillating technological wit, I brought along a student reporter from the University of Central Florida to take notes and ‘work her beat’. Hungry for a good story and some phenomenal networking opportunities, we took off, she with a skinny white chocolate mocha latte, and I with a spicy vanilla chai.
After four or five visits at random storefronts, however, it grew apparent that the Winter Park area relies on a substantially more organic approach. Only one store owner I spoke with, Julie at Thread, had a running website with a solid plan to take advantage of social media marketing.
“It’s a must these days,” says Julie. “I do it because it’s a minimum nowadays. You have to.” Thread is a fashion and design store geared towards young women with an eye for the aesthetic. Julie, one of the co-founders of the company, sends out eMail blasts once a month and advertises for an eMail newsletter.
“And I’ve set up a blog!” She claps to herself with glee. “It’s not quite finished yet, so I’m not really promoting it, but it’s in the works, and I’m excited about it. It’s a great way to just send out quick updates and personal favorites of…you know, articles, fashion tips, exercise idea of the day, whatever.”
I spent a few minutes chatting about how RSS feeds work, and my reporter friend swapped contact info so they could discuss at length the intricacies of the business world in Winter Park. I’m proud that at least one business owner is taking advantage of such a savvy mix of organic and technological advertising and marketing, but reporter-friend and I certainly pondered on the economic situation of Winter Park and its fate as we drove home. Inclining my ear to Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbons in the Sky”, I couldn’t help but look forward to the evening’s planned period of research on blogging techniques and Twitter tips. I hope others are doing the same. Winter Park is far too beautiful to be overgrown by failing economies and apathetic demographics.
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