8A | SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS BUSINESS BEAT 541-997-3128 290 Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439 www.FlorenceChamber.com www.facebook.com/fl orenceoregon www.twitter.com/FlorenceOrCoast April 10, 2021 Welcome New Member! NEW BUSINESS PARTNER MEMEBERS Rotex Excavation & Construction - Rotex Excavation is a full-service excavation and new construction company that also provides land clearing and home remodeling services in the Florence, Veneta, Waldport or Eugene, OR areas. www.rotexexcavation.com 541-999- 7280. Sheila Clark, Realtor with Th e Virtual Realty Group - Florence Let me share all things the beach lifestyle, Florence and the Oregon Coast! 541-914-4472 Why Membership Matters Wondering why you should join the Chamber? Here’s a perfect answer! It’s important to be part of something bigger than yourself. Joining the Chamber is joining a team of community leaders committed to working toward a better town/county/region for everyone. (Today it may be recovering vs building.) Th ere is arguably no greater force for good in a community than businesses working together and the Chamber harnesses that power to assist individual businesses and the larger community as well. If you’re in business, you must be in the Chamber. 2020-2021 From the Director’s Desk By Bettina Hannigan President CEO You can’t push a string. Th is saying has been in my repertoire for many years and is a simple truth that reminds us we need to have engagement and be engaged. Th e last 13 months of COVID have brought many positives and negatives that we’ve pivoted, changed, embraced, and ultimately accepted. Th ough all of this, Florence has continued to be incredibly generous with time, funding, and resources. So, before I get into the string pushing thing, let’s take a moment and toot our own horns. We’ve worked hard and a solid pat on the back is well deserved. 1) We’ve overcome Zoom fatigue and continue to collaborate and work with our community stakeholders to support our businesses, organi- zations, and vision. 2) We’ve been nice, even when we Business Matters: What Makes You Mad? By Russ Pierson Chamber Board Past President Corporate Underwriters Banner Bank Drift wood Shores Resort Th ree Rivers Casino Resort TR Hunter Real Estate Th is may seem to be contrarian advice, but here’s my value proposition for you: Are you putting your anger to its best and highest use right now? I have long, deep roots in the faith community, so I am a fan of the great wisdom traditions. Th ere’s a brief vignette in the Christian writings around Jesus that has long intrigued me. Near the end of his life, he enters the Temple in Jerusalem and knocks over tables staff ed by merchants and moneychangers Distinguished Sponsors 101 Th ings to Do Magazine Bi-Mart Burns’s Riverside Chapel Christina Voogd, Principal Broker Berkshire Hathaway Coast Radio Fred Meyer Stores Korando Dental Group Lofy Construction Oregon Pacifi c Bank PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center Sea Lion Caves Spruce Point Assisted Living Th e Siuslaw News Torex ATV Rentals Be sure to thank these members for their investment in our community! didn’t want to. 3) Our lodging and tourism have been safe and vibrant while we continued to support our economy. 4) We’ve survived politics, snarky people, masks, take out and eating outside with jackets and blankets to support our restaurants, remote schooling, and the constant aware- ness that COVID is front and cen- ter to our daily lives. 5) We’ve been home way more than normal and some of those “some- day” projects have come to fruition. 6) Some of our businesses have ex- panded exponentially while others have maintained on less than 50% of normal and some have not sur- vived. 7) We’ve missed spending time with our families, hugs and kisses, get- togethers, and events. 8) We’ve embraced new ways of doing things, spent time learning better ways to serve our clients and sus- tain our businesses. Way to go Florence, don’t give up. Now to the string pushing… One of the most diffi cult challenges our businesses are facing is labor shortage. Who wants to take a pay cut to go back to work? Unemployment supplements in many situations exceed normal wages, combined with parents remote schooling their children are preventing our labor force from being active. Staffi ng is always diffi cult here on the coast, but we’re looking at a crippling situation. Our high season is right around the corner and if our hospitality positions aren’t staff ed, we’re in for a BIG PROBLEM. Tourism generally supports around 1,900 jobs in the Florence area. Each one of those jobs translates to a paycheck, local spending, personal responsibility, and hopefully a level of independence. Th e Chamber has shared these concerns with Senator Merkley and other representatives and there are no easy answers. Let’s stay engaged together. Share those resources whether they be PPP Loans and other “Rescue” provisions, educational resources like RAIN’s series of programs, LCC and the SBDC and my favorite, “Let me help you (fi ll in the blank).” Your Chamber is here for you with up to the minute resources, sign up for the Weekly Blast, and stay informed at FlorenceChamber.com under the Business Info Tab. Florence, we can do hard things – TOGETHER. making a profi t off all the visitors. Is Jesus taking a position against small, local businesses? Uh, no. Th ere is something else going on here. It turns out that the anger Jesus clearly displays is in service of people at the edges of society. First of all, these merchants were set up in what was supposed to be an area of this holy space reserved for those who were unable to enter the main temple courts. It might be a bit like setting up a vendor fair in space reserved for accessible parking at your favorite local store. Worse, these merchants were capitalizing on the poor with a kind of “double markup”. You fi rst had to change your money to a special currency reserved for the temple—at a loss of value—and then buy the wares you needed at infl ated prices. Anger is an interesting emotion. It’s oft en used to shut down and shut out— to minimize those living at the margins. But here Jesus turns that dynamic upside down. He uses his anger to right this wrong, and to point his followers toward working in concert with the principle espoused by Martin Luther King, Jr. nearly two millennia later: “Th e arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” King here paraphrases a portion of a sermon delivered in 1853 by the abolitionist minister Th eodore Parker, who said: “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. Th e arc is a long one…. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the fi gure by experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice.” Parker’s full quote underscores an important component of “anger with purpose”. Have you noticed a marginalized group others are taking advantage of? If so, you may have found the next chapter in your life’s journey. Virtual Video Social Media Marketing – Yes You CAN! By Mitzi Hathaway, Chamber Event & Tourism Development Coordinator Th is past year businesses have turned to social media to reach their client base. With the lack of in person interactions, visual tools have become vital. While the use of photos and videos have allowed followers to view what a business has to off er, it is the personal connection and interaction customers miss most. Event coordinators like myself, have turned to virtual events to fi ll the gap. Th is is where both recorded and live video comes in. While many in person gatherings have on hold, videos have risen to greater popularity than ever. From art showings, instructional videos, and product demonstrations, a viewer can connect to not only to what is being seen but to the person relating the message. From informative Q & A sessions to entertainment, we are all using this format to connect to one another virtually. Videos have the #1 return on investment (ROI) online. YouTube reaches in an average week than all cable TV networks combined in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic. Facebook Live has the most organic reach yet is used the least in social media marketing. An under used tool that can have a huge impact. Posting short videos into Facebook Stories, allows your message to be seen by the most viewers in the shortest amount of time. Instagram Reels allow users to create 15-second videos, set them to music, and add eff ects. Users can then post created Reels to their Stories—where they will remain for 24 hours. Or to their feed in a dedicated Reels tab. Public accounts can also post their Reels to the Explore tab, where other users can fi nd and watch their videos, which can lead to expansion of viewers and sales. Instagram has rolled out a new feature Instagram Shops to aid businesses and shoppers. During a product video a shop link appears on the side of the screen. With one click, the viewer can buy the product. Th ere’s no need special equipment or editing soft ware. A smart phone with a decent camera and a video trim app is oft en all you need to get started. Before you fi lm, you should ask yourself; What do I wish to say? Who is my desired audience and what result do I want from this video post? What works for you in other marketing platforms, will escalate in the form of video. More than 4 billion video views take place on Facebook every day and 65% of all Facebook video views come from mobile users. Now that you know what you wish to say, who you wish to say it to and what result you want. It is time to decide what kind of video you wish to post. A slideshow is a simple way to combine personal or stock photos to tell a story or show merchandise. Short videos targeted to a specifi c demographic. Remember to add captions, for 80% of social media videos are watched with the sound off . Finally, there is Live Video, which during the pandemic has been an essential tool business tool from Zoom meetings to virtual events. In sales, it provides in real time authentic interactions with your followers. Th e return of personalized customer service. Bringing back the fun of doing business. Which leads to shares, new followers, as well as an increase in clients and/or sales. Now that you are ready to record and post video or go live, you may be wondering what the best time to post across social media is. Typically, it is Tuesday – Th ursday 8am – 4pm. With the most interaction mid-day on Wednesday. With the least on Sundays and Mondays, as people are winding down their weekend and then gearing up for the work week. Th is here to stay world of virtual events, informative networking and sales driven videos can be intimidating. Just know that once you put your oars in the water of visual social media marketing, you will fi nd that they are easier to navigate than you thought possible. Using your personal touch, with a bit of creativity along with trial and error, video marketing can take your business farther than you ever imagined. #findyoursmileinflorenceor #fi d il i fl #oregonscoastalplayground #kindnessatthecoast