Over the past couple years, in the midst of economic downturns and zigzags, between the cracks of reinvention and possibilities, among the trends of what’s happening NOW, and where things are going with marketing, communications, business, brand-building, and community-driven movements of all shapes and sizes, we’ve had a few real stand-out things happen for us and our business.
First, a smidge of backstory:
When we moved from Los Angeles to New Hampshire back in 2003, both of us quite immersed in the power and potential of the online space, we set an audacious goal of helping hundreds – even thousands – of businesses in New Hampshire jump in and embrace the opportunities of the Web 2.0 world.
Last year, that goal was manifested – and catapulted! - in a big way when we were hired by the NH Division of Economic Development (NH DED) to get them blogging, tweeting, and active on Facebook and other social media platforms so they could connect and communicate more effectively while leveraging their limited time and resources.
Now, with Steve Boucher at the helm (NH DED’s insanely smart, creative, driven, and prolific Communications and Legislative Director), after the first full fiscal year of our collaboration with the State:
- NH Economy’s No Bull Blog has increased the site’s overall Page Views by 70% AND literally doubled the site’s Unique Visitors, adding more than 20,000 targeted sets of eyeballs every month while giving them unmatched, content-rich SEO dominion on Google AND peer respect in the NH business community.
- NH Economy’s “No Bull Business” Facebook Page shares resources, information, and conversation with more than 1,160 “Likers” while being one of the most “Liked” Economic Development Facebook Page in the United States…right behind New York City. (They’ve got 1,386. C’mon, New Hampshire, let’s beat ‘em! We’re soooo close…and they’ve got 8 million residents compared to NH’s 1.3 million!)
- The “No Bull” Twitter feed (@NoBullBlog) has attracted more than 1,440 Followers, with more joining the fun every day.
Allen, Steve Boucher, and Lani
Those are just a few numbers, but the real miracles are not quantifiable. The real miracles are the friendships that have been forged, the seeds of change that have been planted, and the projects that have been either invented or evolved, all with the intent and purpose of adding to the economy and quality of life of the beautiful, inimitable Granite State.
Just goes to show that no matter how much we all want to be in control, no matter how much we all wish you could predict the future, sidestep the present, and plan our adventures to a fine-tuned pulp, we really don’t know how these dreams and opportunities in our minds and hearts will unfold.
Our job, then, is to trust that they will, in ways that are better than we would dare hope or imagine, and do our best to enjoy the heck out of the white-knuckle ride along the way.
