On Saturday, June 18, I attended the social media seminar presented in conjunction of the GrowHERE campaign of GrowCedar.org in partnership with Cedar County Economic Development Commission. Brand strategist, speaker, author, and educator Nick Westergaard presented a polished and informative session. Westergard is the author of Get Scrappy Smarter Digital Marketing for Business Small and Big.

The 90-minute presentation focused on basic strategy for creating a social media-marketing plan. The advent of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others has created digital marketing opportunities. The prospect of using these tools effectively can be over whelming. Most of us do not have a large marketing budget. Westergaard said to “Get Scrappy”, which means to do more with less; think like an underdog (even when you are not) with a winning and determined mindset. He recommended creating a blueprint to keep your digital efforts focused toward the end destination – creating marketing that matters to your target audience. One of the questions he suggested to ask yourself is why are you digitally marketing? He suggested focusing on one of the following destinations: branding, community building, public relations, market research, customer service, or leads and sales. In follow up of why, ask who are you trying to reach; this will tell you what works best where and when.

I found the presentation interesting and walked away with a few ideas. Everyone who attended received Westergaard’s book. Currently I am ready Get Scrappy and hope to be able to implement some ideas in my business and for the chamber. I think we can all ‘get scrappy’ because engagement and people skills are more important than technical skills when it comes to social media. Thank you CCEDCO and ECIA for sponsoring this event.

Heather Wiskow, Durant, IA

Images in Ink, Owner

Durant Chamber of Commerce, Baord Member