A Sense of Belonging

Of the many marketing tools at our fingertips, the very best are the kind that reach into the community and inculcate you and your team as part of that family.  The message isn’t about purchasing something, discounts, or value; it’s about your place as a denizen of the town and your pride in being a part of it.

In New York City, where I spend a good deal of time, the problem isn’t a desire to be a part of a community; it’s a struggle to find a community!  Sure, we have sections of the town that historically have had a flavor, a sense of scaleable size, Murray Hill, Turtle Bay, the Upper East Side, Chelsea, come to mind, but anymore, NYC and Lord knows how much of the America’s sense of community has been paved over and replaced with a generic identity.  Secure an inroad into a community?  What community?

Which might be a great opportunity for you and your practice. I’m flipping through the twenty-five pages of the local newspaper here in my other world…it’s the opposite of New York City…a little town called Wyalusing in part of Pennsylvania called the Endless Mountains.  If New York City is the place to go for haute cuisine and glam, this is the town for neighborly help when selecting the right shotgun or securing that used Dodge pickup you’ve been meaning to buy. This place is rife with community inroads because it is abundantly just that: community.  Page five features a picture of six kids from the high school that sewed pillowcases for children with cancer.  Page three is a ‘way we were’ photo of the town’s citizens 68 years ago.  Page one is a detailed expose on the goings-on at this year’s Quilt Festival.  None of these events made the national news, but they did an amazing job at lighting up my face when I read about them and the businesses smart enough to sponsor (and in some case create the event), captured my attention.

Those of you who’ve attended our the Social Media Workshop with the infectiously likeable Brenda Tassava,Brie Messier and Phillip Barnes know that the secret to a successful social media marketing plan is an honest connection with one’s audience.  Its the site administrator’s ability to create content that embraces its ‘like’ base, says hello and most importantly belongs.