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
