What Seperates NYC from Orlando? Big Spenders

Are companies stingy down here in Orlando or are we (Social Media leaders, gurus, consultants, add your title here) afraid to ask for the bucks?

Orlando doesn't have the skyline, the billboards, the glitz and glamor of New York, but we do have some great companies and the potential to market and promote them in a New York way. They key to local Orlando marketing is finding your niche.

3 key niches in Orlando

1. The college crowd - 55,000+ at UCF and don't forget Rollins College, Valencia, Seminole, Full Sail and the bevy of career colleges in the area.
2. The out of towner's - The tourists, mostly from overseas who are spending more money than we can think about at this point, and they are doing it in our backyard.
3. The locals - Downtown O-Town is not NYC, but there are plenty of areas that we can improve in promotion, marketing and brand awareness.

How to get the money:

1. Ask for it. I had been shy in my first few client interactions and paid for it drastically. Up all night working on tedious client work for pennies. I woke up, analyzed my time and now ask for what I want from clients.
2. Prove it. I once heard that an SEO is only as good as his own sites perform. How can they get you to the top if they are stuck at the bottom? Now that I have established my brand, I can (unfortunately) neglect my own site in favor of my clients as long as I am producing for them and well, my dinner table is good to go.
3. Analyze - What are they spending their money on? Look for trends and ask about their ROI. If they are spending 6 figures a month on Times Square billboards, what will 4 or 5 figures put into Social Media or PR or recruiting do for their business.

This is not a complete list, but rather my list. It has worked so far. Getting companies involved in Social Media is not always an overnight task. It is a growth period, a time for trial and error, commitment to the project and an investment. If companies do not see the monetary investment of using your services, move on.

There are plenty of businesses here in Orlando and every city for that matter. The more we can teach them about Social Media, the more opportunities will arise for us to make money and feed our families with Social Media.

At Social Media Camp NYC, the speakers were talking about their clients that spend money. The courses they teach that make them money and the commitment of their clients to try this thing out and make it work.

We need to open up some eyes here and get them to open up their budget. The ones that do will be the big winners when the economy turns. Brand yourself as a leader now.

Why wait for things to get better, when you have the power to make them better now?

It's all about the Benjamin's baby!

-Greg Rollett