Hey I’m back! I want to apologize for my extended absence. Last Wednesday I drove down to Columbus Ohio to set up for the OFA Short Course, and I have been busy setting up and talking to industry revolutionaries since then. My body is finally adjusting to the temperature of my office after being in the cooler known as the Columbus Convention Center all weekend.
Anyway, I am back now and inspired as ever! I know I told you in my last post that I was going to talk to you a little more about what was going on with some different Twitter tools, but I think I will have to hold off on that for a little bit. I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss some things I saw this weekend.
First and Foremost: Things are changing in the industry and they are changing rapidly. Almost all of these changes are occurring because of the new rising generation – the Millennials. In the keynote address Joe Lamp’l gave growers, breeders, and retailers some real insight into some of the changes happening within the business. He stressed the need to take our industry from being one of “fast food to more of a bistro”. He said if we want to cater to younger generations then we have to change the way we do business. We have to cater to all the senses, and we have to cater to how young people get their information. Joe emphasized how Social Media plays a HUGE part of how youth obtain information in their daily lives from Facebook to Pinterest all the way to Yelp!. This really set the tone for the rest of the convention.
After listening to Joe on Sunday morning, I got a chance to walk the aisles for the next two days. Companies are starting to get it. They are beginning to understand that Social Media and Mobile Apps are great opportunities for exposure in the industry. GIE Media had a booth demonstrating the use of certain mobile application technologies. MasterTag was displaying some cool QR technology linking to all sorts of things. Burpee Home Gardens unveiled their “Grow Anywhere Tour” stating that their truck would be “trackable” on Facebook, and posted a video to youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3J2R_NHc8Q. These were just a few of the awesome displays at OFA.
It was definitely a great weekend for the industry. I would say without a doubt the industry is coming into the “Smart” Era. Now it just seems we have to tread carefully and pay close attention to what we are doing. Tomorrow I’ll be back at it in my usual style. Also if you get a chance you should check out www.24green.com they recently featured one of my blog posts, and they have a lot of cool ideas about the industry. Also Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @mday55 .
As usual, please feel free to email me at mday55@gmail.com or comment with any questions, concerns, suggestions, or job opportunities ha-ha! Thanks!
Great blog, Mason. We were at OFA as well as exhibitors representing GGS Structures and Niagrow. We also made use of QR codes in our contest posters, which when scanned, led to our Facebook page where you could Like us to win an iPad. The contest is still running, you just need to Like Us on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteIf you're ever in need of content to publish on your blog, feel free to check out our Facebook page - we will soon be launching our own blog and will link the articles on Facebook. I will continue to check your blog and link to some of your articles that are relevant to our customers.
Thanks! I remember passing by your booth at OFA a couple of times actually. I didn't notice the QR codes at the time, but as soon as I saw this comment I made sure I went to your FB page. You guys have some really good content there. It's also great to see someone take advantage of Social Media that isn't necessarily catering to a "mass market" if you will. If you're selling structures you're most likely selling to businesses. It's great that people are realizing Social Media works in the B2B marketing channel. I also made sure to like your page as I am still trying to get a hold of one of those I-Pads. I had always been a PC guy and had really doubted the capabilities of those things until about 3 months ago when my friends started getting them and showing me what they could do. However, as an aspiring college student, there's not much room in the budget for one of those. Well anyways thanks for checking out my blog and I'll make sure to check out yours!
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