One of the best parts about working at Mindstorm is the wide array of great clients we work with on a regular basis. Recently we completed and launched two new web sites for clients that have truly been a pleasure to work with, in two very diverse industries.

The first site, aimed at the local surfers and skaters, is for Charlotte and Myrtle Beach-based surf shop Wallerbears. It’s rich with cool imagery and gives visitors easy access to the shops via the social network of choice. It also provides product inventory information and helpful links for snow and surf reports. The owners of the shop really know their business and have a need to update product and store information quickly and efficiently. To best meet this need, we built the site using In Context Editing features from Adobe. This gives the client the ability to make changes to their site on their own schedule and without added cost.

The second site we recently launched was for a company named American Boxwood. As their name implies they are a national supplier of boxwood plants to landscapers and nurseries. In addition to redesigning their business-to-business web presence, we also completed a company rebranding including logo redesign. The impressive team from American Boxwoods opened our eyes with their depth of knowledge in this niche market. We certainly relish the opportunity to be a small part of their successful team.

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In attending a few Social Media conferences and events recently, I recognized a trend among many small to mid size businesses. They have a basic understanding of Social Media and the various outposts of Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, blogging, Flickr and YouTube. They are pretty sure employing a Social Media strategy could have a positive effect on their business. But they are fearful of taking that first step.

Granted, there are a lot of very valid “what if” scenarios to consider. There is also a commitment of time that must be made. However, the potential rewards of having ongoing open dialogue with your target market  are too great to pass up.  As a small business owner and a marketer, it pains me to see companies miss opportunities like this.

For some businesses, it’s just a matter of more education on the topic. With learning comes comfort. Likely that is why so many turned out for the recent Social Fresh conference held in Charlotte.  The one-day event was chockfull of useful tips and information and provided an open forum for questions and answers from some leaders in the Social Media movement.

But I am beginning to realize that what many businesses need is a jump-start. At Mindstorm, we believe that the majority of a company’s social media content must originate from within their own walls. That’s why we have developing a custom Social Media Jump Start package for small to mid-size businesses.

How does it work? Basically, we sit down with a business and assess where they are in terms of comfort level. We listen to their objectives and vision for using Social Media and we gain a basic understanding of their target market. Then, we formulate custom recommendations and a simple but thorough plan to execute. We set up the corresponding accounts on behalf of our client and then teach them how to use them appropriately. We monitor and guide the efforts for several weeks, assess the success, and provide feedback. Once a client feels confident, we take off the training wheels and they ride off on their own into the online land of opportunity.

Want to learn more? Have thoughts on our approach that you’d like to share? We welcome your comments and feedback

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