GROW News
April 21, 2010
Who Sold Online This Week?
These GROW Nebraska members sold items on the GROW Nebraska eBay and eCommerce stores this week.
Marketing Workshop in McCook
Twitter Tense? Facebook Frets? Utterli Uneasy? Social Media Stressing You Out? We Can Help!
GROW Nebraska has teamed up with the University of Nebraska Extension Specialists to help you reduce your anxiety in keeping up with the social media marketing craze.
Social media marketing is essential to increasing brand awareness and expanding your online business presence. However, if you don’t understand how it works, thinking about posting tweets, updating your Facebook page and incorporating your blog into the media mix seems overwhelming.
Not only will we teach you how to save time by being more efficient when using social media, but we are bringing the "Get Social Sessions" to you. Spots are filling quickly! Price is $10/person. If you have questions, call us at 888.GROW.NEB or e-mail us at
info@grownebraska.org. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please sign up
HERE.
- May 4 - McCook - 9am - 12pm
GROW Food Members: Important Network Meeting
GROW Food Members:
GROW Nebraska is going to host a network meeting for Nebraska food businesses. The purpose of the meeting to discuss marketing needs of businesses and how we can better work together. If possible, please bring something everyone can taste that contains your product so everyone can try your product – remember word of mouth is still the best form of advertising.
- When: Thursday, April 29
- Where: Conestoga Mall Grand Island Social Room
- Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Please respond by or before April 15 by
clicking here.
*Please note if you are unable to attend this network meeting, please plan to attend the GROW Nebraska Marke
Tech Conference on April 22. During the conference a network meeting is also going to be held for industry specific products.
Click here to sign up.
Google AdWords Pilot Project
GROW Nebraska is starting a pilot project for Google AdWords in conjunction with GROW Member eGrowth Marketing. This project will allow members to access Google AdWords for FREE. If you sign up, we will help to promote your product using our Google AdWords account to try and increase sales on our eCommerce site.
To participate, you must have your items on the GROW eCommerce site at
shopgrownebraska.org. To find out if your product is available on our site,
click here and to see if your business is listed. Please remember that to have items on our eCommerce site you must have them available in the Kearney retail location.
If you are interested, please
sign up today. If your items are not available on the eCommerce site, you will be required to submit photos and descriptions for your product. Members will be limited to 5 products each to open the opportunity up to as many members as possible. If you have any questions about this service, please e-mail us at
info@grownebraska.org.
Sign Up Now >>
State Capitol Event
Thank you to these member businesses who participated in our 2010 State Capitol Open House. The purpose of this event was to introduce your products to Nebraska State Senators.
- George Paul Vinegar
- KD Designs
- Hunzeker Frameables
- Springfield ArtWorks
- Sandra Hilsabeck Books
- Jules Jewelbox
- Rising Star
- Pur Java
- Kernal Krazy Popcorn
- Mike Mennard
- Otoe Steakhouse
- Opa-O's
- Bert Anderson Collection
- Dano's Specialty Sauces
- Free Smile Guy
New Members
Three Brothers Vineyard and Winery - Farnam, NE
This winery creates red and white semi-sweet and semi-dry wines. Learn more
here.
Lovely Street - Omaha, NE
Lovely Street specializes in inspirational childrens books. These books and the collectibles that accompany them are based on the Lovely Street snow people and their friends.
Learn more
here.
Member News
A special thanks to Bert Anderson of the Bert Anderson Collection for referring new GROW Nebraska member Barbara Goos of Lovely Street, LLC. Barbara does a Nebraska based children's book, figurine and Christmas cards. A $25 check will be going to Bert for that referral to thank him for his efforts. Bert will serve as a mentor to Barbara on letting her know different benefits of membership.
Dawn E. Bryant of Dawn E. Bryant Originals in Thedford, NE, has one of her jewelry pieces featured in the gallery section of the third edition of Metal Jewelry Artist Magazine, due out in June. Several months ago, at its inception, the magazine's editorial staff requested gallery submissions from readers.
Bryant's piece is a maple leaf pendant formed by painting multiple layers of thinned metal clay onto a real maple leaf, and then firing the leaf in a small kiln. The leaf burned away, leaving only the shape of the leaf with all of its markings in the silver.
The leaf was accented with a cubic zirconia "dew drop." Her work can be found at her studio in a remodeled Burlington Northern Caboose just east of Thedford on Highway 2, at the Thedford Art Gallery and online at
www.dawnebryant.net.
Big Money in Wildlife Watching
(Ord, NE) - There's big money in wildlife watching. Just look at the figures: over the past 20 years, participation in wildlife watching, particularly bird watching, has increased nationally by more than 266%. Conservative estimates put the value to the US economy alone at over $40 billion dollars. During the same time, national participation rates both in hunting and fishing continue to decline.
Jim Mallman of Watchable Wildlife Inc. will be hosting several workshops to share insights about how entrepreneurs, outfitters, individuals, businesses and municipalities can build nature-based or wildlife tourism programs. Workshops will be held in Red Cloud on May 18, Ord on May 19 and Ogallala on May 20. These workshops are especially suitable for current Nebraska outfitters looking to diversify their non-game season by building wildlife encounter experiences.
Workshops begin at 8:30am and run through 4:00pm with lunch and refreshments provided. The cost for early-bird registration is $25 if participants sign-up before May 11. The cost for late registrants is $40. For more information, including registration forms, visit the Nebraska Development Network Central Region website at www.ndncr.com or contact Sharon or Jodi at (308) 995-3190.
Extension eShip Webinar: "Marketing Research – Moving It to the Top of Your ‘To Do’ List”
April 20, 10:00 a.m.. CDT
This UNL Extension eShip Webinar: “Marketing Research – Moving It to the Top of Your ‘To Do’ List” will be on Adobe Connect Pro at
http://breeze.unl.edu/extension/eship. Get it marked on your calendar Now!
The monthly eShip Webinars are coordinated by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Entrepreneurship Initiative. The intent is to expand adoption of entrepreneurship strategies by communities and rural businesses and introduce new potential resources.
Marketing Research – Moving It to the Top of Your ‘To Do’ List
You may have often thought that doing some market research to help you better understand your customers would help you improve your business, but it somehow always gets moved to the bottom of your ‘to do’ list. You often come up with a variety of reasons why you can’t, or don’t, move ahead. It’s too expensive, the results can’t be trusted, you’re too busy running the rest of the business or maybe you believe you already know how the research will come out. Join
Dr. Steve Pharr, Market Research Analyst at The UNL Food Processing Center, to enhance your understanding of market research, learn strategies for overcoming our tendency to put it off, and, most importantly, why you shouldn’t.
Why Do I Need the Internet to Increase My Sales?
Join GROW members Nebraska Business Coaching and Sally Cohen of eGrowth Marketing for this workshop on May 4 in Columbus, NE. Conference fee is $25. Deadline for signup is April 30. For additional information please contact: Nebraska Business Coaching, Kelli Faltys at 402-910-2601
9:00 a.m. Welcome and Introductions
9:15 - 10:30 a.m. Social Marketing
— What is social marketing?
— Why is it vital to your business and your bottom line?
— Examples of social marketing getting results.
— What is Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin?
10:30 - 10:45 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m. - 12 p.m.: How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Social Marketing
— Explore the features of Twitter, Facebook and other applications and their value to your business.
— How do you link social marketing tools into your existing marketing strategy?
— Questions and answers
Session II
Noon - 1 p.m.: Networking lunch (at your expense)
Session III
1 - 2 p.m.: Hands-on Application with Sally Cohen & Dennis Kah
Discussion continues with hands-on application focusing on your specific business needs.
2 - 4 p.m.:
Business Social Networking
As Social Media changes, we must adapt quickly, so come to this workshop and get your hands on the keyboard and develop a Facebook or Twitter account. Observe first-hand how to create Twitter ‘convos’ and why businesses should examine how direct marketing with social media such as Facebook and YouTube can expand your network and potential client base by leading them to your business. If you would like to prepare in advance, create a Twitter account for your business or personally and be ready for a ‘convo’!
