Marketing Mud is the proud provider of marketing services for the North Florida Build -- Project 819. Through the build website, Facebook page, and Twitter page we are able to give our talents to team together to achieve the extreme. Together with the Gainesville FPRA Chapter and the North Florida PRSA chapter we are helping to provide local PR opportunities to the builders of project 819 and the generous donors to achieve this great build.  Stay tuned on our Facebook page and Twitter page for updates and opportunities to volunteer!

One of the most important elements to a successful social media campaign is one that is most often forgotten.  These days most businesses and brands have taken the step into the social media revolution.  They have created Facebook pages, posted Tweets, and started a blog but it is too often that we see them forgetting one important step:  letting their customers and potential customers know about their social media presence.  One of the first things that we recommend in our workshops and consultations before we even teach people how to use Facebook, Twitter, etc. is to use your current customer base as a way to gain quality fans and followers.  We suggest emails and postcard mailings letting people know that you are now on Facebook or Twitter and letting them know exactly what they will get out of being a fan of yours.  We also recommend adding the famous social media icons to your business cards, post cards, signage at your storefront, and most importantly on your website.  

Those are the basics and we have started sharing some examples of how companies are sharing their involvement with social media on our Facebook page.  We are going to start posting photos of these good examples in an album on Facebook and we'd like to involve our fans and customers.  Between now and January 3, 2011we want our fans to post pictures of creative ways that they promote their involvement with social media or ways that you see others promoting their social media presence on our Facebook wall.  Those that post photos with a description on our wall will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 VISA gift card.  The winner will be selected by random drawing and you receive one entry per uploaded photo example.  Photos and entrant name must be uploaded to the Marketing Mud Facebook Page Wall.  

We hope that this is an exciting way to learn more about how to get new followers and fans on your social media sites.  Please feel free to ask questions on our Facebook wall and please share this with others who might be interested.  Thanks fans!

In these tough economic times it is now more important than ever to market your non-profit creatively and of course cost-effectively.  According to Antoine Dupont of AdmineSolutions.com, in order to stand out as a non-profit organization it is of the utmost importance to “make sure your organization’s purpose is immediately apparent”.  To do this you have to make it simple to find out about what your cause is, how to donate to it, and how to become more involved with the cause.  He also points out that designers often take for granted what visitors to their cause’s site will already know about the organization.  Making sure to put an abbreviated version of your mission statement, and harnessing the power of social media outlets are great ways to send this message out to your target audience.

At Marketing Mud we realize how important giving back to our community really is.  Through our Marketing Mud Cares initiative, a program where we choose local Gainesville non-profit organizations each year to donate our services to, we are currently helping two organizations with their advertising and branding needs; The American Heart Association and the Alachua County Public Schools Foundation.   These two organizations were selected by the team at Marketing Mud based on their needs and their contribution to the community.  Marketing Mud Cares is proud to be assisting both of these deserving organizations with their branding for the 2010-2011 year.  A new organization will be chosen as the Marketing Mud Cares recipient in the Spring of 2011.  Applications are available upon request by contacting Marketing Mud.  Other local non-profits that Marketing Mud Cares has donated services and talents to over the years are Girls On The Run of Alachua County, Susan G. Komen for Breast Cancer & LinkedIn Women of Gainesville, The Junior League of Gainesville, The March of Dimes, Fischer House of Gainesville, Child Advocacy Center, Duffels of Love, FluMist of Alachua County, Kids4Kids Triathlon, and The Hippodrome Theater.

We agree that letting people know exactly what your organization believes in is very important.  We also think that using social media is the best and most affordable tool available to non-profit organizations.  Remaining active and consistent on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or even your own customized social network (http://buddypress.org/) will help to boost your search engine optimization and help others who believe in your cause share it with their fans and followers.  There is no exact equation for how to promote your non-profit but by making sure your message is clear and concise, and by interacting with your followers and community, you can’t go wrong and will only benefit from the positive word of mouth!

We took 12 of our fans to see the premier of The Social Network last Friday.  We all had a blast and were honored that our fans chose to see this amazing movie with us.  There have been many mixed reviews on this film and even some skepticism about the timing of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropic activity in relation to the movie release which portrays him in a negative light.  Reviews and skepticism aside, one line stood out to us as a true reflection of what social media means to us now and in the future: "It's Never Finished".  One scene features Mr. Zuckerberg telling his CFO, Eduardo Saverin, that "The Facebook" is never finished.  He is expressing that no matter how much they do to improve the successful social networking site, it should never be considered a finished product.  This stood out to us for a couple of key reasons.

First, we think this is the key to how successful Facebook has been.  It is something that changes constantly as technology is updated and new ideas arise.  It is clear that Facebook is the social media giant and has stayed that way because it meets the needs of its users and continues to add features and products that users don't even realize they need until they use them.  In a sense it is timeless and goes with the flow just like we have seen some musical artists do over time.  For instance, why is Madonna still so popular?  Notice that her music and style has changed as the times have changed and her fan base keeps growing and growing.  When people ask us if we think Facebook is here to stay and wonder if it won't be around in 10 years, we say we think it will because it is not stagnant.  It is "Never Finished".  

Second, we think that social media as a whole is an ever-evolving giant.  In order to stay current with the trends we read blogs and join all kinds of different social networks just to see how they work.  Social media is also "never finished" in that it changes from one day to the next and new creative ways to use this now required marketing medium are developed every single day.  It is part of our job as social media experts to stay current with what is going on and remain involved in the news and developments surrounding social media.  As long as we realize that it is "never finished" we will remain at the top of our game for our clients.  

The Social Network is one of many movies that will come out about Facebook and social media in the future and we are aware that only one viewpoint was expressed in this film and that all facts may not have been accurately portrayed.  With that in mind we will continue to participate in all of the various social media platforms that we can in order to be the best resource for our clients and partners.

Marketing Mud is so excited about the October 1st release of "The Social Network" that we want some of our fans to see it with us!  Social media is so important these days and we were thrilled to see that this movie was coming out to showcase the behind the scenes events surrounding the creation of Facebook.  "You don't get to 500 Million friends without making a few enemies" so Marketing Mud wants our friends to have a chance to experience this movie with us!  Contest details below:

See the movie, "The Social Network" with Marketing Mud for FREE!  To enter for a chance to win tweet the following using Twitter:  "I want to see "The Social Network" with @marketingmud on October 1st".  Or post the same thing on your Facebook wall, making sure that you use the @ symbol to tag Marketing Mud in your post.  Do this between now and Monday, September 27th and be entered in our drawing to win a pair of tickets!  Visit our website for more details on this fun contest, www.marketingmud.com.