The New World of Communication from Print to Online

Today's explosion of technology services have allowed businesses of all sizes, industries and budgets to have more options to grow their mindshare and sales. By increasing brand awareness or lead generation, social media tools offer new opportunity and a blank slate of strategies for businesses seeking to grow their share of the market. These online opportunities can seem overwhelming to professionals who have relied on the traditional formats of media and publicity and are challenged to stay abreast of the latest technologies available and suitable for business development. 

Are there manageable means to bring the two worlds of new media and the traditional printed world of marketing together? In searching for tips on how to merge these two worlds, I found a helpful resource from Facebook LIVE that I'd like to share.  

Facebook LIVE is one of Facebook's latest resources to offer business support with video broadcasts. A recent Marketing Talks video titled, "Connecting Your Online Community to Your Offline World" offers three tips during an interview with two social  marketing savvy representatives from hospitality and retail industries. To view the video, click here >

This webinar included advice by Director of Social Media & Digital Content for Applebee's, Scott Gulbransen and Cathy Choi, Director of Social Media for Sephora who shared examples that they use with their million plus user communities on Facebook. The topic and content was intriguing however the information was tailored to an exclusive group of marketers with corporate pedigree advantages like
1. big budgets  

2. well known big brands and 

3. industries (like hospitality and retail) that are already highly social in nature.

Most businesses and marketers aren't lucky enough to play in a market of that magnitude and genre. Yet, despite the clear advantages these marketers had, there are still some key best practices that can be applied to the real world of B2B and professional service sectors. Here are the top level takeaways gained from this video accompanied by specific recommendations, from my viewpoint taken from my baggage of experience in the small to medium sized business sector. I hope you will find this list to be comprehensive and be encouraged to apply these best practices to your own real world:

1.  Keep message consistent from real world to online presence. 

Remember your brand and long term goals with each point of interaction.

Don't over-promote. Use the 80/20 rule. 80% of your interaction should be light and social, 20% of your messages can be promotional.

Don't get lost in the medium that you forget the message. 

Stay steady with your communication plan and only take on what you can manage, either in-house or with the support of a social marketing professional.

2. Create social experiences for engagement.

Tell the face-to-face stories, share photos from the real moments on-line. And vice-versa. Personally invite people, verbally and with printed signage and cards to the online community. 

Host and sponsor events and invite the public directly through your social media tools. 

Create profiles and check-in rewards with localization mobile media applications. 

3. Engage and mobilize.

Be available. Don't hide behind a web site. 

Communicate well when and where you are. Some examples: respond to comments online, answer your telephone, return your phone calls, say thank you, give eye contact and firm handshakes. 

Offer a variety of communication channels that meet the comfort zone of the individuals in your market.

Encourage feedback and honesty from your audience. 

Turn the feedback into action. Don't be afraid of negative messages. This can be an example to show strong customer service. 

Use the feedback as research and helpful data for future product development or campaign offers. 

Finally, when in doubt, do what works. If your marketing practice is becoming outdated and you are called to update your approach, don't get lost in a world in between. Have a plan, get support and remember that there is no silver bullet to success, no matter what planet you are from.

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In Review Blog World NYC Live Blog Day 2

While attending the Blog World Expo last week at the Javits Convention Center in New York, we were able to capture industry-notable quotes on emerging technologies impacting business and leading the trends in technology, marketing, journalism and publishing as we know it. 

If you are interested in learning more about any of these topics, please visit the actual live blog report from Social Fresh by clicking here >  

Live blog sessions coverage on topics such as: 

Gamification Creating Obsession and Addiction for Marketing Success

FourSquare, Angry Birds, Triva Games and More

Why ToyotaFailed, Behind the Scenes 

In-House or Outsource PR? 

How to Build Lead and Sales 

How to Use Humor and More! 

This post  provides industry shaping quotes leaked directly from live presentations from dynamic leaders making impact in the social media realm such as:

Jason Keath (Social Fresh)

Kipp Bodnar (HubSpot)

Shelly Kramer (V3 Marketing)

Lucretia Pruitt (Geek Mommy)

Mike Schneider (Location Based Marketing for Dummies) 

Chris Pirillo (Lockergnomie)

Jordan Cooper (Notaproblog)

If you or your business would be interested in live blogging services, contact Andrea Cook to learn more about how you can provide your readers with hot updates, live from your next event. 

The Midas Center is an innovative communication service that transforms touchpoints to gold. Go for the gold >

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How to Schedule a Presentation on Social Media for You

Andrea Cook presents
on Social Media.

We are pleased to present on Social Media this weekend at the Century Center and the South Bend Museum of Art during the Artist Sampler Workshop, sponsored by the St. Joseph Watercolor Society.

Andrea Cook, owner of The Midas Center will be presenting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 30 during this event. The material that will be presented is designed to help artists boost their careers through social media. The presentation, titled "The Social Media Renaissance" will cover three areas:

- Encouragement and Inspiration
- Strategy and Tools
- Tips and Resources

This presentation is designed for artists seeking to grow online. All levels of technology and social media usage are welcome.

If you would be interested in a presentation to your organization or business on the topic of social media, contact Andrea Cook at The Midas Center (574) 936-7058 to discuss your specific goals and needs.

Presentations, workshops, training and coaching sessions can be customized to meet your objectives. In addition to educational resources, The Midas Center also provides social media marketing, with the design and development of strategy and overall management of messages to the public.

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Upcoming Event: BLOGGERS UNITE

Save the date for the second Friday of May.

BLOGGERS UNITE.

We are calling all bloggers and blogger wannabees to join us in a meet and greet networking event.

Open to all. All ages. All subject interests. All level of blogging experience. If you have a blog or would like to get started blogging, we'd like you to join us for a new Buzz Club meeting.

Friday, May 13th
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
at The Midas Center,
200 N. Michigan Street; Downtown Plymouth

Bring your business card, your lap top, your curiosity, your questions.

We will have light refreshments and some resources available for you. Feel free to bring friends and family members downtown to enjoy Plymouth's Second Friday activities that will be going on right across the street!

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Creative Social Media Tips at the St. Joe Valley Watercolor Society’s “Artist Sampler” Workshop

Are you an artist with talents to share?

Do you have limited time and money for effective marketing?

Have you considered the benefits of social media?

Andrea Cook, President of The Midas Center and a professional in the field of marketing, advertising and branding, will present Use Social Media to Get the Word Out at the St. Joe Valley Watercolor Society’s The Artist Sampler event to be held 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., April 29-30, 2011 at the South Bend Museum of Art in South Bend.

The unique format for The Artist Sampler will provide hands-on workshops, art demonstrations, and instructional lectures from a variety of experts to help artists in many different disciplines enhance their skills and careers. Andrea Cook’s presentation on social media, 9 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, will focus on helping artists use tools such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with the people who enjoy and support their art.

For more information and to register for “The Artist Sampler,” please visit www.stjoevalleywatercolor.com.

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Today's Real Estate Value

Ask any real estate agent, what are the three most important attributes one should consider when purchasing a home. He or she may reply, (all together now...) Location, Location, Location...

Now, ask us what is the most important attribute one should consider when building an online presence? We will tell you: LINKS. LINKS. LINKS.

Outbound and inbound links, the more you have, the more valuable your online presence will be.

Just having a web site is your ticket of admission. How you grow your online presence to be found is the secret to success.

If you are interested in learning how The Midas Center can help build your online presence so that your touchpoints turn to gold, contact us today >

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The Midas Center Workshop Update

Yesterday's workshop entitled "Social Media 101" presented 101 tips and tidbits on Social Media, from its evolution to its current tools, suggested strategies and first steps to get participants started. Twelve guests attended and received handout materials that included a glossary of latest terms and more tips to take back to the office or home computers. Course material was developed for users to become smarter and more efficient with their social media practices.

If you were unable to attend this workshop but would be interested in an encore presentation at The Midas Center for your business or organization, please contact us.

The next workshop is scheduled for the last Friday in February and is entitled "Branding: It's Not Just For Cows." This session is scheduled for noon, February 25th at The Midas Center. Registration is required. Details will be posted soon!

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A Deal To Motivate You In Today's Digital Era

In honor of today's workshop, we want to invite our readers to sign up for one of the super star tools we use and recommend, Constant Contact. Sign up for a 60 day free trial and then receive $30 credit on your first month by following the steps in this link >

It is time you harness the tools available in this digital era. Stop blaming the economy for the lack of growth in your business. Work smarter, faster, better on reaching your buyers and building your reputation. Try electronic newsletters, electronic invitations and save money, be green, and see results in a click!

To earn the $30 credit, you must enter the site through the link provided above. As a full disclaimer, The Midas Center will also receive a discount. However, we would not recommend a product or service just for the money, we do it because we like to promote everything that is awesome.

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Today's Pioneers and the New Frontier

Evolution of social media can be traced back before Paul Revere and his horse, Brown Betty. True pioneers discovered, invented and made a difference that impacted the world.

What does it take to be a true pioneer? From the tangible land of the free to today's intangible landscape of technology and communication, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Today's frontier is a new world, an intangible landscape of technology and communication but it takes a true pioneer to lead and innovate.

When I think of a pioneer, one of my favorite movies "Far Far and Away" comes to my mind. This film, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was a big hit back when the superstar couple were still married and seemed "normal." The movie was about two young people living in Ireland, both seeking a new world. From entirely two different upbringings, one a farmer, oppressed and who lost his father and his own farm due to the tyrant of his land at the time. The other, a young woman with a spirit for adventure who yearned for any thing non-conventional. Watch a trailer here >

The two main characters set out on a journey, a true pioneer story. And, as their paths crossed and they ventured overseas to a land of the unknown, they experienced life as a true pioneer. An open range of land, freedom and opportunity. They came across groups of people and circumstances they would have never imagined. Their standards of ethics and integrity became more pronounced throughout their venture and once they arrived at their destination, standing on a hill near a stream, with one hand holding a white flag to claim their own land, the sun set in the west and the movie credits began to roll. A success story of a pioneer - or, only the beginning?

That was then. Pioneers went westward bound on their pursuits of happiness, seeking natural resources like land, streams of water, oil and gold. These opportunities were available to those who dared to step out beyond the boundaries of status quo.

Today's pioneers have the same reasons and passions that drive them. They have the same rugged- and character-building journey. They are also on a pursuit of happiness but today's pioneers are not discovering America, the land of the free. That was then. This is now. America has been discovered, acquired, capitalized and over-utilized. Today's pioneers are venturing out in an intangible land seeking life and liberty in a new frontier, a new world of intangible possibilities.

They're the entrepreneurs, inventors, designers, writers, all with creative minds and a fearless spirit that drive them forward, in hot pursuit of innovation. The far away lands and turbulent seas that once shaped a pioneer's journey is much different than the landscape just ahead in the eyes of today's pioneers. Today, our new frontier is a cyber world endless and rich with intangible resources, just waiting to be discovered. The future discoveries and inventions are going to change the world.

Are you ready for the intangible adventure? Let's go!

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Seeking Job Candidates

The Midas Center is growing. We are actively seeking passionate individuals to join our team. There are several positions available in the areas of Sales, Copywriting, Social Media, Web Development and Account Management.

Each of the qualified candidates will have specific job duties. Some positions will be compensated on an hourly rate, others will be commissioned-based plus bonus incentives. We have part-time and full-time needs. Freelancers and independent consultants are welcome to apply.

The Midas Center is a creative communications agency that offers services and products to help businesses and organizations succeed in northern Indiana. We have a strategic vision to grow our business. All candidates must possess a positive entrepreneurial energy as well as a strong understanding of branding and the variety of tools used to build a successful web presence for our growing list of clients.

If you are self motivated, have a strong work ethic and would like to join our creative team of movers and shakers, please send an email with your resume and a letter to convince us that you are the right candidate. Interviews will take place throughout December and new hires will begin in January 2011.

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Social Media Tip: True Identity

Me, myself and I.

If this sums up your profile across all social media platforms, well then, your online identity is safe. However, if you have additional profiles, or online brands that you are managing, then be sure to be mindful when you log in and share comments, updates and posts.

Perhaps you didn't realize you could even branch out of your own personal identity and recreate new profiles, new brands that represent your professional aspirations and values. Well, you can and you should. Depending on what your over all objective is for using social media, you should be mindful of your own online brand. For example, if you use Facebook or Twitter for venting your views about politics, you should not use the same profile for your professional identity, unless, well, you are in politics and everything you post or tweet supports your position and principles of your political views.

As a working mother, I may use my Facebook for seeking a special Halloween costume for my kids. I also might use it for playing way too much time on Bejeweled, but I would never share personal information as a post for my professional profiles. And, yes, I do have more than one professional profile to represent my full online brand. Don't you?

To sum it all up: Who are you and what are your goals? Your profile represents your reputation and your brand. Your status updates should reflect who you are and what you want to be known for.

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Social Media: Want to optimize your online marketing efforts?

Learn more about what social media is and how it can help your business succeed today.

Workshops and coaching sessions are available for individuals and groups. Coaching sessions can be customized to your specific business goals and can include training, guidance, support, strategy or what ever helps you meet your goals.

Clients achieve an improved understanding of social media tools including how to better communicate and meet goals using facebook, twitter, LinkedIN, blogs, google documents and more!

To learn more about how The Midas Center can help you improve your social media activities and take your business to the next level, contact Andrea Cook today to schedule your first session by phone at (574) 936- 7058 or by email.

Presentations now available:

• Social Media 101: The New Frontier of Marketing

• Facebook 101: Save Time and Money and More

• Twitter 101: To Tweep or Not to Tweep and More

• iHEARTplymouth 101: Small businesses get online for free

• Blogging 101: Passionate Social Activists Wanted

• Branding 101: It's not Just for Cows

Professionals who have participated in a social media workshop or coaching sessions by The Midas Center are welcome to be members of The Midas Center Social Media Club.


Award winning full service creative communications agency providing professional marketing, advertising, public relations and branding services to businesses and organizations.

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Local Social Media Workshop for Beginners

You are invited to attend a beginner's social media workshop titled iHEARTplymouth 101.

iHEARTplymouth is a free local social media resource for everything we love about Plymouth. This workshop is open to persons of all ages. Workshop will provide hands on, step by step instructions for getting your own page for yourself, your business, church or neighborhood. Printed materials will be provided and will include how to set up a page, upload photos, add events, add friends, integrate with other social media tools like Facebook and Twitter and more. Bring questions and an eagerness to learn. All questions are welcome!



iHEARTplymouth 101 is a class sponsored by People's University as part of the Plymouth Park Department's Art and Leisure fall courses.

Cost is $3 for city residents, $5 for out of city limits.
Students need to bring a wireless laptop.

Classes will be held at Webster Recreation Center.
Located at 110 Webster Avenue, Plymouth, IN, west of South Michigan Street near Felke Florist.

Register for workshop by contacting People's University by phone or email.
phone: 936-9904 or toll-free at 1-866-936-9904 or email mcoas@hotmail.com


Select preferred date and class item number:
Friday, September 17, 9:45 a.m.
AL 110-1 Social Media (Instructor Cook)

Friday, October 1, 9:45 a.m.
AL 110-2 Social Media (Instructor Cook)



Interested in other social media workshops The Midas Center has available?

Some topics include:
- Branding: It is More Than Just For Cows
- Twitter 101: To Tweep Or Not To Tweep
- Social Media Pioneers: A New Frontier
- Be Famous: Get Your Blog On
- You’re Never Too Old: Social Media

Contact Andrea Cook at The Midas Center to schedule a workshop customized to meet your individual or group's needs today by calling 936 - 7058.

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Birthing Story of Go Green Media and iHEARTplymouth

When The Midas Center relocated and opened its doors last fall in Plymouth, we hoped to reach out to help local businesses and organizations succeed. Previously, we specialized in legal marketing and clearly knew how to help law firms and attorneys build a brand and get the message out using the business media outlets and channels online and in print.

We quickly learned that to help get the word out in a small town, however, was not as simple as sending out a press release to a news wire or calling reporters who covered a specific beat. Being creative solution seekers and doers, we launched a new media business called Go Green Media. Go Green Media helps businesses and organizations get the word out organically, at a grass roots level. It spreads the message that builds the brand without using harmful toxic inks and wasteful paper. It is also powered 100% by wind energy. One of the products that Go Green Media has proudly launched this summer is called iheartplymouth.com.

iheartplymouth.com is a social media resource created specifically for the Plymouth, Indiana community. Much like an online magazine, it includes photos, articles and events that relate to "everything you love about Plymouth." It is community-based, like a local Facebook with full interaction. It also links with Facebook and Twitter automatically, enlarging the readership. Any one can access the content at any time and there is no cost to read, write or share the copy. The tag is Extra Extra! Read it. Write it. Share it. Live it. Love it.

iheartplymouth.com was launched summer 2010 and in the past 10 weeks has received over 30,000 pageviews. It is financially supported by private investors, advertisers and business membership sponsors. It has been designed to promote businesses and organizations and all the great activities that the community has to offer leading to an improved quality of life for its residents, businesses and visitors. As social media becomes more mainstream, iheartplymouth.com provides the necessary components for strong economic development.

Founder, social activist and editor Andrea Cook shares, "Preserving the unique characteristics of a small town is as important to me as building community. It is a pleasure giving individuals, businesses and places a voice and online brand."

Cook hopes to continue to grow iheartplymouth.com for the local town of Plymouth, Indiana as well as offer the social media service to other communities, upon request. If your community would be interested in the benefits that an online community product offers its residents, businesses and visitors, feel free to contact The Midas Center to learn more.

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Retreat Day 3: The Change Agency and the Infotech Revolution

"The modern computer has been with us for more than half a century. But it was arguably a member of the supporting cast, not a prime determinant of enterprise strategy, until the early- or mid-1990s. Then the emergence of the Internet and the wild growth in telecommunications technology together changed everything. Virtually overnight.

Fact is, depsite sectoral turmoil and disappoinntments of the last two or three years, we are merely in the baby stages of the infotech revolution. Established organizations do not exactly shine in discontinuous times. Neither do successful 40-year-old middle managers. On the contrary, orgs and hiearchs tend to hunker down, to guard their turf ferociously - and to pray that "This, too, shall pass." Well it won't..."

- Tom Peters, reinforces the staying power of social media, "Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age"

The infotech revolution is upon us and admittedly has hit this almost 40-year-old middle manager-type with much angst. From day one of entering into my career, I can't seem to get the right footing for the pace of this infotech world. To stay abreast of just the terminology let alone mastering the latest tools has required a level of endurance, like sprinting up to the top of Kilimanjaro without one day of training. And, once you arrive to the top, no one else is there. The timing is all off. Sometimes I wonder if I've missed the boat, when I see someone offering social media advice to their following of over 10K tweeps, for example. Other times I feel like I am just way too early, especially when some of my prospects are still trying to understand what "branding" means.

Understanding the world of business is critical for success. Keeping up with the trends of finance, management and marketing alone is a full time job. Add on top of that a dedication to understand the basic coding languages and proper software tools. Tech knowledge that is necessary to make what was once needed to happen, and at times still is necessary for printing on paper is now needed to produce social media. Then, sprinkle on the style, the aesthetics, most importantly to uphold credibility and add value to any collateral deemed acceptable in today's commerce. A strong sense of business, an understanding of the latest technologies and a creative flair is the necessary combination for success in today's infotech revolution.

Yet, the fragmented groups of the techies and creative types miss the mark when it comes to business sense. They lack the mojo to step up and only a few will have the stamina to keep up on the social media journey. The business executives who fear the change that technology brings or lack the zest to learn have regretfully slowed today's economy. These sub groups all speak a different language and hang out at different water coolers. They are missing the mark on how to work collectively in the internet era. Once they realize the value each bring to the table and respect one another, that is when they will settle, build a town, an enterprise.

Until then, most techs and creative types go unemployed. Corner offices are cursed with insecure chiefs who no longer know how to lead and thus, have instead grabbed onto fear. Fears that have led to corruption and the need to control. This begets less and less innovation that leads to more techies and creatives being unemployed...

What happens when droves of techie and creative types are unemployed? Well, I hope that a new free world is created. I hope that people will see today's business landscape of unpredictability and know for sure that there is opportunity in social media. We are living in an infotech revolution. Some see it as revolting. Not me. I see it as a golden opportunity and it is time to forge onward, fearlessly. March on social media soldiers.

Signed,

Social Media Maniac of The Midas Center

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Retreat Day 2: The Change Agency

"It won't be easy, just as it wasn't easy for those brave families in their Conestoga wagons, heading across the dusty and dry plains, and then on to the virtually impenetrable Rockies and Sierras. But if there wasn't always gold at the end of the rainbow, there was - almost always - an opportunity for reinvention. A new start. A new you."

- Tom Peters, encourages reinvention and restlessness, "Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age"

When I think of social media, I often visualize American pioneers and their journey of discovery. What was the fire in their bellies that kept them moving forward? What sort of support systems did they rely on when the they were faced with a "bad day." How did they keep their focus? At what point along their journey over the sea and vast land did they realize their success and relish the reward? Picturing the pioneers of our past inspire me to take on the new technology of social media.

Social media is the new frontier plentiful of possibility. Domains are like online real estate and just like the centuries before the cookie cutter subdivisions were created, here we stand with a blank canvas, a land of opportunity. Social media juggernauts are at the starting point of the journey.

Treading along in today's business landscape, I am hopeful yet somewhat anxious. The rate at which technology changes and shifts is speedy and the learning curve is steep. But, step by step, I move forward because it is the future and if I feel a calling, a purpose driving me forward.

Behind me, darkness is beginning to fall on those big businesses, those Fortune 500 leaders who once led all of us to drink the kool-aid from the same communal cup. Their big budgets for too long have controlled the messages and images that we have consumed through those old forms of media. Traditional media once gave us only three channels that worked through our rabbit ears all sharing the same messages on same schedules. Some of us could purchase more channels, cable provided us with options of 350 channels, yet nothing was ever on.

Sure, we had choices and freedoms, we even had the convenience of a remote control that only created us to become more lazy and complacent. The messages through advertising, through programming, programmed us, formed us into a mainstream culture that idolized name brands. Robotically, we digested the messages. At times, we would change the channel, channel surf and that was about all the control we had over the messages coming into our living rooms.

Today, social media gives society so much more freedom from the traditional one way communication. Not only do we have so many more channels to select from, we also have more avenues to comment, share, tweet our likes and dislikes about our consumer experiences. We can choose what messages we want to hear, when we want to hear them. The information highway is not just a one way road. Social media has created multiple lanes of two way communication.

Consumers now have a louder voice than just their pocket books. Now, consumers can tell it like it is and spread their feedback, the good and the bad, on a product or service faster and more effective than it takes you to find a 1-800 number to customer service. How businesses will respond to this new freedom of client feedback? That might be what separates those who will stand and and those who will fall.


And, from where I stand, the horizon of social media is more than just a flat line before me. It is a multidimensional land of opportunity that is going to divide mainstream into its natural habitat. It will impact the way we do business and the way we learn.

We can learn about anything we want as quickly as our wireless connections will allow. Sitting at a keyboard, we can travel anywhere on the informational highway. In fact, it isn't just a cyberspace of information, social media has extended the universe to include entertainment, socialization, consumerism, education and beyond!

Now, all humanity has a voice. Social media is a friend to all humanity, helping small businesses the disenfranchised minorities to become media movers and shakers. Small businesses that don't have the big corporate budgets to advertise will now have a voice and have opportunity to reach out and be a player like they never have before. That is, if they will hop on the band wagon and not be afraid to stake their claim on social media.

For too many years we have accepted the ol wagon wheel. Perhaps the wheel still works for you and you are comfortable settling in to where you are.

This pioneer is seeking more. We're seeking ways to improve that ol wagon wheel. We want to give a voice to minorities, the creative types, those non-conforming identities that you probably don't even realize exist! We're looking for new media platforms and tools that will help us all get to that place, over the rainbow.

We'll tweet ya, I mean, send you an email...um, I mean a post card or a message in a bottle when we get there!


Signed,

Social Media Maniac of The Midas Center

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Nine Months of Delivery at The Midas Center

Dawning on the ninth month since The Midas Center has opened its doors at 100 W. Garro Street in Plymouth, Indiana, the full service communications agency has experienced a treasure chest overflowing with projects! Although we realize that a newborn baby can be spawned in nine months, we are proud to announce the delivery of the following bundles of joy:



- Designed gratitude cards for Akina Corporation








- Helped promote the Imaginary Art School








- Launched and promoted ongoing events at the inSPIRATIVE art center, a gallery and studio rental space







- Designed and developed new web site for Culver's Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council






- Launched and managed a social media program for Earthworks and Earthworks Market, within the first six months, the program attracted over 250 members combined







- Designed and developed a web site for Culver's Wesley United Methodist Church







- Designed new image and graphics for Marshall County Recycle Depot







- Designed new identity and exhibit graphics for Sorian, Inc., a start-up wind power business







- Designed and developed web site for art gallery, Gallery on Main LLP







- Designed and developed materials for Chiropractic Association







WORKSHOPS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

For the first six months, we offered numerous brown bag workshops to help local businesses better understand topics such as web sites, branding and social media. Two of the most attended programs were titled, "Branding Basics: It's Not Just For Cows" and "Social Media: New Frontier of Marketing." In addition to these free workshops, owner Andrea Cook became a member to the Wythogan Toastmaster group in Plymouth. Cook also was a speaker at Indy Green Fest 2010.






COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY

We offered our creative services for a multitude of local philanthropies and causes including the Marshall County Neighborhood Center, Run Baby Baby Run and Tri Kappa's Tour De Max. Owner Andrea Cook also launched Women Advisory Group, a local group of likeminded women entrepreneurs who meet monthly to support one another helping each other succeed.








ECO-INVOLVEMENT

After ten years of using the same hosting service, The Midas Center made the decision to select a hosting company that is powered 100% by wind power.


Owner Andrea Cook and her husband have also launched Project Green Building, a proposal to purchase a downtown property and renovate it into a green building to help build awareness for eco-living, eco-working and eco-building. This project is designed to help build awareness through the media on each decision needed to be made throughout the full process. It also is designed to aid economic development by providing educational tours once project is completed. There is also a Facebook page for Project Green Building that has accumulated over 75 members locally and throughout the world.







Andrea Cook was selected as a finalist by Indiana Green Business Award selection committee as Indiana's Green Entrepreneur of the Year.






FUTURE STEPS

For the month of June, The Midas Center will be redeveloping its business model to better meet client needs for today's market. For the past decade we have offered integrated marketing, advertising, public relations and branding services. We want to work on a clear message so that we can improve our communications with you!


The Midas Center will continue to provide visual integrity and help businesses and organizations succeed in the marketplace. Transforming touch points into gold is our motto, and we're sticking to it!

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You Are Invited To Attend February's Brown Bag Lunch: Branding Basics: It Is More Than Just For Cows

The Midas Center is presenting this month's free workshop titled, "Branding: It Is More Than Just For Cows."

This 30-minute session will include information on how businesses and organizations can communicate a competitive advantage and separate themselves from the herd. Learn more about what branding is and how to succeed from a healthy branding platform.

Business leaders are welcome to attend this free seminar scheduled on Wednesday, February 24th at noon at The Midas Center, 100 W. Garro Street, Plymouth, IN.

The Midas Center's main objective is to help local businesses succeed. To help reach this goal, a series of monthly Brown Bag Lunch Workshops are offered to business leaders. Presented by The Midas Center's President, Andrea Cook, "Branding: It Is More Than Just For Cows" is part of an ongoing series of workshops. Other presentations include "Website Basics," "Social Media, The New Frontier of Marketing" and "Networking: Increase Your Net Worth."

Seating is limited. Online registration is available >>
Pre-ordered boxed lunches are available upon request during the registration process.

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Culver Wesley United Methodist Church, Latest Client to Go Live!

The Midas Center is pleased to announce the most recently launched web site created for Culver Wesley United Methodist Church. This site was created to give the church an online presence so that they may provide information about their programs and ministries throughout the community including the church's preschool, Kid's Club and Thrift Store.

Pastor Larry Saunders was interested in a site that was budget-friendly and had the functionality for updates and content changes while maintaining a striking and sophisticated image of the church's personality online. Pastor Saunders is leading the communication efforts in social media with a recently created facebook site for Culver Wesley Methodist Church. Interested in being a fan? Check them out >>

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February's Brown Bag Lunch: Branding Basics: It Is More Than Just For Cows

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