Using Social Media to Save Mary Lake

In yesterday's post entitled "Social Media is Just a Tool" I contented that services such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are merely helpful tools in terms of sales and marketing. In my opinion the marketing of high quality custom furniture requires more from the craftsperson to instill confidence in a potential client .

However, this is not to say that social media can't be powerfully effective in certain applications. Here's an excellent example of someone using these tools to effectively deliver a message by suggesting simple "things you can do" to help.




In British Columbia there's an 86-year-old man by the name of Bob McMinn who, despite his age, has gone to great lengths to learn and master social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube in an effort to save a piece of endangered forest around an area known as Mary Lake.



Bob's website is Save Mary Lake and the following Youtube video will explain what he's trying to do.




By simply donating $10 you can symbolically "adopt" a square metre of endangered forest (from a digital map provided on the website) to help Bob achieve his goal.

Without question what Bob McMinn is doing is inspirational beyond words, and his tireless efforts have not only convinced me to support what he's doing but also share his story with others.

At the end of the day it won't be Facebook, Twitter or Youtube that saves Mary Lake.

Bob McMinn will do that, and the social media sites will be his tools.

Social Media is Just a Tool

Three days ago violent mobs overthrew the government of Tunisia. While many are quick to credit social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube for this sudden turn of events, the fact is that it was the people who overthrew the government - not social media. As far as I'm concerned Facebook, Twitter and Youtube were merely tools that helped mobilize disgruntled Tunisians to facilitate the outcome.

In my own little world of custom furniture making I have come to similar conclusions regarding the effectiveness of social media sites for marketing and sales. Over the past few years I have undertaken a number of digital initiatives including starting this blog, setting up a Facebook page, and signing on to Linkedin, Twitter and Youtube - in addition to maintaining a website that was started well over 10 years ago.

Given the considerable amount of time that's been invested in these efforts I've come to realize that, in the grand scheme of things, all of this marketing via social media is really little more than a means to an end. While this blog , or my Facebook page, or my Linkedin profile, or a clever tweet made on Twitter might catch someone's attention - at the end of the day it's going to take more than a digital presence for me to successfully sell my work to a potentially interested customer.

In this regard I feel that doing business today is in many ways no different than it was back in the days before Internet. Namely, somewhere along the way a potential client has to feel confident that I will deliver on my promises at a level that's going to meet or exceed their expectations.



This is something I've been trying to stress to my son Kevin as he prepares to participate in next week's Interior Design Show (IDS11). So far he's done an admirable job of creating his own Facebook page, Youtube site and Twitter feed . While these tools will help him tell others about who he is and what he can do, his success at this show will ultimately be determined by how he presents himself and instills in others the confidence of wanting to do business with him.



Nevertheless, I can be counted on to use social media tools in the coming week as I shamelessly promote Kevin and his abilities as a custom furniture maker.

Would you expect anything less from a Dad?