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As the ongoing rise of sea waters continues to threaten businesses in coastal areas, The Post and Courier decided to use its Inside Business LIVE platform to spread awareness of this issue.

In this virtual edition of the quarterly discussion series, four panelists joined environmental reporter Chloe Johnson and business reporter Warren Wise for a live video conference streamed to viewers. Panelists included Josh Dix, Director of Government Affairs at the Charleston Realtors Association, Erin Stevens, President & Landscape Architect at Surculus, Christine Von Kolnitz, Sustainability Manager at MUSC, and Dr. Norman Levine, Professor of Geology & Environmental Geosciences at College of Charleston.

As waters rise, so does awareness

The discussion focused on a range of topics and solutions to the issue of rising sea waters in coastal communities. As a whole, the panelists believe more people are educated about flooding than ever before. This can be partially attributed to rainy day flooding becoming more of an issue, outside of just hurricanes. 

On the real estate front, Stevens is seeing a rise in people seeking solutions. People are looking for effective landscaping implementations to make land adaptable to changing climate.

“The idea of the resilient landscape is being reflected in how people are setting up their business” Stevens said. There are a number of factors businesses have to consider when building on land. They have to understand their microclimate and are faced with larger issues than just whether the property floods or not. This includes things like the question of if employees can get into the office on a heavily rainy day.

Protecting Charleston together

The panelists jointly discussed how their organizations are building solutions and working toward the common goal of protecting the Charleston peninsula. Von Kolnitz discussed how MUSC has been a part of the Dutch Dialogues in order to adopt a plan to slow, store and drain flood waters downtown.

The dialgoues are an ongoing study and hazard mitigation plan in Charleston that every member of our panel has been involved in. Other solutions MUSC has adopted include cleaning out drainage in the medical district, securing funding for a dropshaft system in the lowest area of MUSC, and a system for storing roof rainwater in an underground reservoir that can hold equivalent water to a 7 year storm.

College of Charleston’s Professor Levine also mentioned solutions he believes will be important. Levine said nature based solutions will improve and enhance water flow. Both water storage and wetlands need to be improved in ways that can account for marsh expansion.

“We need to accept that there are going to be areas that will be reclaimed by the sea” Levine said. He believes we have expanded our reach and development into places that are too susceptible to being retaken by rising waters. He also highlighted that over 8000 businesses will be impacted if nothing is done.

Educating and planning

Dix also outlined measures that the Charleston Realtors Association is adopting to inform its members. “We are trying to change, this isn’t a new phenomenon”, Dix said. His organization has started a class for members on the issue. “We have to be educated, our buyers are more educated, so our members have to be educated in the best possible way.”

One major topic of discussion during the panel was the proposed Charleston sea wall. Levine believes the wall is one of many solutions, and will not be the end all be all problem solver. “The sea wall is a necessity, but not the only piece”, Levine said.  He pointed out that it should be integrated with the architecture of the peninsula.

The goal of preserving the natural allure and structure of the Charleston peninsula was a sentiment shared by the entire panel. The natural beauty of Charleston’s waterfront is a major tourist pull. And citizens are concerned about the barricade blocking the view of the ocean. “I think it needs to be carefully designed from a human perspective”, Stevens said.

Von Kolnitz emphasized MUSC’s support for the sea wall. She said we need to let the experts decide where it needs to be and how it should be built. “ We want it to enhance, not take away from the reason why we all want to be downtown.” Von Kolnitz said.

The conversation continues

In the end, this issue is much larger than just the Charleston downtown peninsula. Dix pointed out that we are not a single topography in this area, so it is hard to say one size fits all with our solutions. The discussion ended with panelists agreeing that some of the largest hurdles are government funding, but more importantly, government prioritization.

Levine said that we currently don’t have “anywhere near the level of funding from federal or state that would be necessary to augment what needs to come from the private sector.” 

From developing businesses, to long standing businesses, to the large majority of the United States population that lives on the coast, this issue affects a substantial amount of people.

“As a society we have to completely change how we think of how we live, between the built and natural environment,” Stevens said toward the end of the panel. “This is an ongoing issue, the climate will continue to evolve”

The entire live-streamed panel discussion can be viewed by clicking here.

As a business, you might be wondering what forms of marketing you can take under your control and manage without spending money. At a glance, social media may look like one way to market yourself for free. But a deeper look at the benefits of paid social media marketing shows that it’s one of the most profitable and targeted ways to market.

So what is the difference between paid social and organic social? Organic social posts are anything you post on your feeds that appear in front of your existing followers. Paid social posts have the power to reach audiences that don’t already know you, but are a perfect fit to do business with you.

Paid social posts will show up in the feeds of whichever audience you decide to target. You can target audiences based on demographics, location, interests, and more. The more money you put behind the boost, the more people you will reach and the longer your campaign will remain effective.

But even though paid social posts can reach the widest audience, let’s start by looking at why organic social is valuable in its own way. Because in the end, the more people you convert into social followers, the more likely they are to spend money with you.

The value of organic social

People who follow your business on social media are doing so because they care. They want to support the business they are seeking updates on. And they are looking for reasons to spend money with that business.

So keeping up a regular cadence of speaking to this audience is incredibly important. Once you have a customer invested in what’s happening with your business on a daily basis, you want to hold onto that investment and build it further. Regular organic social posts are the key to this. 

For that reason, your organic social presence should be as informal as you’re willing to go. Show the faces behind your company. Show the fun things your employees are doing. And in times like we’re facing in 2020, it is a great way to show what causes you support.

You should also be minimizing your promotions in organic social posts. Avoid salesy talk and don’t try to get people to buy things here. Instead, focus on valuable content that can educate, tell stories, and inspire creativity. 

You can still mix in things like big sales, giveaways, store hours, etc. As long as these things are the smaller percentage of your posts, you won’t look like you’re taking advantage of your followers. You need to show that you care about them.

Organic social posts are also effective at building up your online resume of sorts. When new customers end up on your page for any reason, they should see a robust history of posts that let them “catch up” on everything you’ve been sharing. 

In fact, a recent Animoto survey shows that 58% of consumers visit a brand’s social pages before visiting their website. What you are sharing on social is often more important than what you show on your actual website. A blank social media profile will be a huge turn off to someone researching you through this channel.

You can’t ignore paid social

If organic social is like having a casual chat with a longtime friend, paid social is akin to a professional job interview. 

When you’re paying to put social media content in front of strangers’ eyes, you need to strategically craft your message to put your best foot forward. This isn’t like sitting down for a beer with someone who knows you well and has already committed to spending time with you.

With paid social posts, you might know who you want to reach, but those people likely don’t know you yet. And first impressions really matter.

The process of setting up a paid social media campaign involves a few major factors. The first being choosing your goal.

Do you want the customer to follow a link to your website? Do you want them to engage with your post? Do you want to collect lead information in order to reach them via email or elsewhere? These are all options that ad management systems on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter allow you to select.

Following this selection, you can carefully craft the targeted audience you want your post to appear in front of. Location, age, gender, interests, behaviors and languages are all traits you can target. You’ll then see an estimated audience size that your targeting will reach. 

This is also the place where you can choose specific placements for your post. If you’ve made a video sized for Instagram stories, you can remove all other placements and ensure that your post only appears in stories.

Though it may be time-consuming, creating multiple ads that are curated for specific placements will be a strong look for your business. Avoid taking a single ad creative and just sharing it everywhere at once.

Finally, you can determine the budget and schedule that drives your post. These factors will also determine the estimated audience results that the platform gives you.

A great way to determine ROI is to check the “cost per result” data that your ad manager will provide to you. This is based on your overall spend compared to the reach and engagement that your post receives. This is updated over time and can be tracked throughout your campaign.

An effective paid social post includes a strong call to action and gets right to the point. A new customer needs a short snapshot of what you do and why you should be paid to do it. Unlike organic posts, these posts should focus on selling and creating a sense of urgency.

Combine your organic and paid strategy

The line between paid and organic posts is often walked by boosted organic posts. This is when money is put behind an organic post in order to make that post appear in front of a selected audience. 

The boost feature on an organic post gives you a basic version of Facebook Ads Manager, where you can select an objective, add a call to action and choose your target audience. This is a good way to learn the tools available to you, and use posts you’ve already made to reach new people.

And even once you get to the point of balancing your paid and organic strategy, boosting organic posts can still come into play when you notice certain posts performing well. Even just a few dollars being put behind a popular organic post can lead to a strong ROI. Here are a few things to consider when choosing which posts to boost.

So with the differences and separate values of organic and paid social media posts explained, all that is left is to choose what you want to post. What content is right for your brand? What products need a boost and resonate strongly with social media audiences. Feel out what’s right, and when you need a partner in setting up social media strategy, contact us to get your business started on the right foot.

Here at The Post and Courier, we have a history of hosting unique and community valued events every year. Not letting the COVID-19 quarantine hold us back, we recently held our first Drive-in Movie Night.

This event is a fantastic family-driven event that is a great opportunity for sponsorship. I got to attend the event myself, and will run you through the setup and what you can expect from future events like this.

Where and when was the event?

Our first Drive-in event took place on Friday, May 15th at 8:30pm. Being the spring season, this means we had rare-for-Charleston temperatures in the 70s, and a sunset time around 8pm. These conditions won’t always be available to us here in the lowcountry, so this really was a perfect time of year to host a drive-in movie.

The viewing was hosted at our King Street parking lot in downtown Charleston, which provided ample space for over 100 attendees. But despite the large crowd the event attracted, we did want to be sure social distancing precautions were taken. After all, the ability to go out for a movie, but watch safely from your car was the inspiration for this event amid the current pandemic.

While attendees were welcome to open up their trunks or sit in the bed of their trucks, this was not a tailgating experience. Viewers that arrived together were asked to stay together, so that different groups would not gather.

The luxury of using our parking lot meant spaces were easily marked and attendee’s knew the boundaries of their vehicles. At the end of the night, departure was also a smooth experience, with the lot naturally funneling guests back out onto King Street. It was far from hectic, and for a first time experience, I’d say it went over better than expected. The events team did a fantastic job of directing traffic and making sure everyone was comfortable.

Our partners at D’Allesandro’sPizza and King Street Cookies also took precautions to provide guests with food orders without the need to stand in lines. Both sponsors used phone numbers to communicate with guests when their order arrived at their table at the back of the lot. This way, guests could continue to place orders throughout the night, without having to come into direct contact with others.

Sponsorship Experience

Speaking of sponsors, the event presented a number of high impression sponsorship opportunities. This being a unique experience from a traditional movie theater, audiences are naturally more invested in the brands they are presented.

This is a local experience, and it gives attendees the chance to support businesses that are struggling right now. The ads viewers saw ahead of the film, and the food partners they could order from were all local. This isn’t the type of movie experience where you buy skittles and a diet coke and then sit down to watch national commercials.

In a normal movie theater, people know what to expect from advertisements. People have come to learn that you can arrive 10-15 minutes after the listed start time, and still catch the trailers. On top of that, we’re living in an age where theater seats are reserved in advance, so arriving early to get a good seat isn’t a concern anymore.

At a drive in experience, people arrive early and are ready to see everything that comes before the film. We opened our gates an hour and a half prior to the movie start time, and the lot filled up fast. There was a line of cars stretching up king street, full of guests ready to be let in once gates opened.

Join us for the next event

We plan to host 4 more drive-in events throughout 2020, so keep an eye out for the announcement of when those will be. Be sure to contact us to learn how your business can participate in this exciting series of events, as we continue to connect local audiences with Charleston businesses.

With the start of a new year (and a new decade), now is the perfect time for Charleston businesses to evaluate their marketing needs. Whether you’re a new or old business, you’ve probably already given thought to ways you want to market yourself. The options can likely be overwhelming, and it can be tough to decide where to put your dollars first.

Breaking down the marketing services available to you and understanding what applies best to your business is crucial. Should you prioritize your website design? Should you perfect your branding and logo before focusing on search engine optimization? The answers to these questions might just depend on the size of your business and who your audience is.

We can break down the options for expanding your audience into 3 key pillars. Advertising, agency solutions, and events cover all of your potential needs. Let’s start by analyzing advertising solutions.

Advertising

Print

In a time when digital spending clearly leads the charge, businesses tend to overlook the benefits of print advertising. 

Your business needs to identify how its brand fits into either of these ecosystems. Always consider who should see your message and how you want to impress upon them.

Are you making a new push for strong local recognition in 2020? Print is ideal for this because the reader knows that the publication is a window into local interest. While digital advertising can still be used to great effect on local audiences, print advertising is innately local because the publication itself already is local.

Print advertising is a great starting point for businesses that just need to get their name out there. It simplifies the advertising options down to when you want to appear and where in the publication you want to advertise. Options like front page messaging and insert ads are still available to consider, but the print method is generally the most straight forward approach.

Digital

Businesses who are ready to take a more targeted and aggressive approach to advertising should go digital. There’s more tactics to consider in this space, but the potential for reaching new audiences is great. 

Digital ads have the benefit of being adaptable to your audience’s browsing habits. Ad placement can be directly determined based on the context of the host page. Or delivery can be determined on the fly using location data and data driven insights.

When it comes to choosing the right digital strategy, not only does the choice depend on your business’ size or industry, but it also depends on what’s leading at the time. Digital marketing strategies evolve every year. New tactics can pop up at a staggering pace.

With 2019 coming to a close, we can look back at what dominated the digital marketing world last year and how that will impact 2020. 

2019 saw voice automated artificial intelligence (AI) rise to prominence. Families became comfortable with welcoming voice assistants into their home, and forward-thinking companies entered this market on the ground floor.

This trend will continue in 2020. In fact, voice search is expected to be a $40 billion channel in the next two years. will likely branch out from just voice assistants. AI can be utilized in a variety of ways to market products or services. 

When it comes to marketing, the core benefit of AI comes from its ability to learn about customers. Data powered by machine learning fuels things like audience targeting, web design, and branding decisions. A new year is a great time to gather up data and build a fresh approach to targeting your desired audience.

Agency Solutions

An effective marketing strategy includes a variety of marketing channels. These tactics should run together and build off of the data gathered from each other. Enlisting the help of an agency is the best way to begin firing on all marketing cylinders.

Traditional wisdom says that you should just hire a marketing person to do all of these tasks and keep the work in-house. While it can be nice to have that resource person existing in your office on a daily basis, this might not be the most cost effective plan.

Turning to an agency allows you more control over the amount you spend on marketing services during a given period of time. If you see progress coming from the money you spend on Search Engine Marketing in one month, you can put a greater amount into the next month. Or add on things like Content Marketing services or Social Media management, if you haven’t already.

Additionally, consider the fact that an in-house marketer would need access to specific programs and tools in order to effectively do their job. An agency already has these programs and the knowledge of how to get the most out of them. They’ll have dedicated team members for each marketing solution, rather than a single person or small team. Don’t rely on a jack of all trades, master of none.

 

Events

It is important to know your end goal when participating in events to market yourself. Charleston is a hotbed for B2B, industry and recruiting events. Having a physical presence at things like these can help you achieve a number of growth objectives. Any level of brand exposure is good for small businesses.

Sponsorship

This is easily the most common and most directly effective way of utilizing events. Audiences are familiar with this relationship and don’t think twice about it. This concept exists in all types of events, from live sports to trade shows.

Determining your right level of investment in event sponsorships is simple and always comes down to budget. Spend more, get your logo placed more prominently or announced more often.

Booth Presence

The level of sponsorship you pay for might also afford you a physical booth presence. Naturally, this is great for interacting with potential customers or clients. 

This is the place to build your database. You’ll want to have a way to take down people’s info, through something like a raffle or contest. Gather up as many business cards as you can.

Aside from making new connections, attending events or having a sponsorship presence is always useful for retaining existing customers. It can serve as a reminder that you’re the local business in their market. Data shows that the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70 percent, compared to a 5-20 percent chance of selling to a new prospect.

Being on the floor at industry or recruiting events is also ideal. This could be the place your next business partner or agency. It’s not always about staffing up. Events can help connect you with other local leaders and experts.

Make a plan for 2020

Not all of the above strategies are going to be right for your business right away. If you’re just finding your place in the local Charleston market, contact us to talk to an expert about where your money is best spent. Soon enough, you’ll see what does and doesn’t work for you and you can tackle your annual marketing plan with confidence.