A recent interview with Heather Patton, Director of External Affairs for the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples.

OnFast staff recently interviewed Heather Patton, Director of External Affairs for the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples about the museum's social media usage.  Here are some of the highlights:

About Golisano Children's Museum of Naples

The Golisano Children's Museum of Naples is Collier County's first learning environment devoted exclusively to child's play and the serious business of discovery that helps children attain hallmark milestones on the journey into adulthood. C'mon is a 30,000-square-foot museum for families located in the North Collier Regional Park. Opened in February 2012, the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples is envisioned to be one of the finest children's museums in the United States and will be fully accessible to all children regardless of their physical or learning abilities. To learn more about C'mon, visit www.cmon.org.


Has Social Media posting proved to be beneficial in getting your message out?

"Very much so. As we led up to our grand opening we were able to keep the community aware of our progress. We generated so much interest we filled to capacity the day we opened. We have over 3,800 likes on our Facebook page."

Has Social Media helped you save budget resources over other forms of advertising?

"Yes, but let me say we use all the media channels available to us where appropriate. Social media compliments our efforts and certainly is cost effective. Social media is not totally free when you consider staff time. The big advantage besides low cost is that social media is real time. We can get our message out immediately with little preparation or interaction with other organizations."

Customer Engagement On LinkedIn

LinkedIn is unique among social media networks in that it targets professionals in the business community helping participating colleagues to stay connected.

LinkedIn is not meant for directly selling or promoting your company's products or services.

In recent months, LinkedIn has added features enabling businesses to more effectively engage their followers. This improvement has resulted in enhanced marketing possibilities.

Company Status Updates -

Status updates that are relevant professionally to a company's followers can now be posted regularly through the company profile. Job postings, product and company news, and industry related articles that may be useful to the followers can now be posted on the company profile.

Importance Of Developing A Social Media Strategy

The topic of whether a business should be using social media to further their marketing efforts is no longer in doubt. Clearly, social media is a necessary and vital component of any comprehensive marketing plan. But, what is the right way to go about it. The shortsighted strategy many businesses follow is to set up accounts and company pages on popular networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. While it is commendable that those companies have adopted and integrated social media into their marketing campaigns, their efforts will be much more effective if a formal plan is created and implemented.

This blog is the first of a series covering the development of strategies for launching a marketing campaign that utilizes social media in coordination with the company's overall plan to accomplish its goals. Future posts will be released on Mondays and will include these topics:

1 - Who Are You? - Clearly identify what your company's niche is and how social media fits into the big picture for your business.

2 - Who Your Audience Is - Determine whom you are trying to reach with social media.

3 - What You Hope To Accomplish Using Social Media - What are your goals and objectives for your company's social media marketing efforts?

Social Media News For The Week Of 3/16/12

Five Things To Take Away From This Year's SXSW

The annual South by Southwest Interactive was held in Austin, TX this past week. The conference was attended by social media and tech insiders, and featured a collection of small startup companies alongside big brands. Highlights this year included passive-location apps like Glancee. This was the 20th anniversary of SXSW. Full Story Here:

Does Social Media Affect How You Spend Money? You Betcha

People are becoming increasingly indifferent to traditional marketing methods and advertising. Individuals' social media circles are having a markedly greater influence on their purchasing decisions, particularly among younger people. Consumers are more likely to trust the opinion of their friends on social media networks than a commercial. Full Story Here:

Attributes of a Successful Blogger

With the competition closely on their heels, more and more business people feel the obligation to hype their business virtues using the new social media medium.  Once the decision to join the Blogosphere is made, most new comers immediately encounter the stress and angst to produce quality content quickly. Please read on.

It's not uncommon for competent business professionals to freeze at the keyboard. Frankly, writing an effective blog takes skill, practice, and a love for writing.  All of these skills can be learned and mastered. 

Although the resistance to writing can seem almost insurmountable at times, writing passionately about the business you know is not difficult. Your desire to compete and succeed should give you cause and motivation to overcome the reluctance to master the task at hand. If you are still unsure about your writing skills visit Dailywritingtips.com. 

If You Plan to Blog About Someone Read This.

When writing a Blog post about someone or a business your intent should be altruistic. Using referrals and testimonials effectively wins friends and customers. People like to give their opinion and usually they are willing to help your cause.

Here are a few basics to follow to keep your efforts on the right track:

Never reveal private or confidential information about a person or business. Always get consent from all businesses or individuals you plan to cover in your blog. It's a good practice to review your material with your subject before you release your post for the whole world to see. If your material is sensitive or objectionable, change it so as not to offend your subject.

Providing Exceptional Customer Service

Providing "good" customer service is not enough these days. You must provide EXCEPTIONAL customer service and go beyond customer expectations.  With that in mind, here are some helpful tips for providing exceptional customer service.

1. Listen to your customer's ideas, needs, or concerns. By doing so, you are getting an outsiders point of view regarding your services and products and letting them know that you care about what they think.