Social Media has become a mainstay in business marketing, but the idea of it still leaves many business owners a little lost and confused as to how to use it effectively.

The informal nature of Social Media can confound even a savvy business marketer,because “Just be yourself” and “Be professional” don’t always coincide as seamlessly as we would like to believe. A few small readjustments the overall understanding of how Social Media fits into your business can help provide some relief to this confusion.

1. Stay true to your branding – If you have a brand image offline, that brand image needs to be the same online. People tend to think that Social Media gives them a reason to play with logo variations, change company colors, or just completely divert from their brand message and try something new. More often than not, these things just confuse your patrons and weaken your brand. It’s ok to be a little less formal and add some personality, but don’t let it stray from your business’ brand message.
   


2. Transparency does not mean “TMI” – Transparency has been a buzz term for the past few years with many online marketing gurus touting the need for your business to be “Transparent” online. This has risen in popularity as many social consciousness movements have begun to malign businesses and greedy, soulless entities bent on getting rich while their employees slave for low wages. So business owners have tried to be more human, real, and transparent. This can be a slippery slope however. The goal is to let people know that your business values its employees and tries to contribute to the good of the community. It is not an excuse to complain about profits being down or how hard government regulations are making it for you to cash flow. Be human, but don’t be whiny.
   


3. Tread lightly with humor - Humor is a great medium to use on Social Media, the only problem is that humor is subjective. What you find funny may be construed as corny, silly, or even worse, offensive by your followers. It is never a good idea to be political or religious with your humor. It’s fine to poke good natured fun at yourself and to let people know a bit of your personality, i.e. you’re part of nerd culture, you love golf, you are a booster for your favorite college team, etc… but don’t trash talk or make fun of anyone or anything in the process. A good rule is, if you wouldn't share it at a business networking event, don’t share it online.
   

There is no doubt that Social Media Marketing is necessary in business these days, so take the time to do it well. Plan your posts for the week or even month. Strategize with your messaging just as you would in any other form of marketing to ensure that you are maximizing the time and resources that you are putting into this valuable online resource.

I’m a business guy, through and through. I love talking about it, thinking about it, doing it. 

As such, I am fascinated by what I call “moments” of business innovation and industry, those times when the planets seem to align, all the right people are in the room, and ideas drip from the walls.

These times can be macro, like the Industrial Revolution, or more localized (but with global impact), like Burbank, California in the 1920’s or Silicon Valley in the late 1970’s. These are standout moments characterized by a wild blossoming of creativity, enthusiasm and production. Businesses are started, communities are revitalized, or even created from scratch. Cultural stimulation follows. Museums appear, maybe a metropolitan zoo, world-class acts start showing up at your new civic arena. With any luck at all, a professional sports team or two comes to set up shop. And the ethnic restaurants. Ooh, the ethnic restaurants.

These are, in almost every sense, exciting moments, and I guess what interests me most about them is not so much the “what” of the situation, but the “how”.

See, I think we tend to look at these times from afar and think those communities must have had something we don’t. Surely there was some genius entrepreneur who moved to town. A generous and civic minded billionaire decided to lavish funds on the people and built them a stadium. Maybe they struck gold in the foothills, whatever.

But that is a myth. Writers like Malcolm Gladwell and Stephen Johnson (authors of Outliers and Where Good Ideas Come From, respectively) have put the lie to the idea that success, idea generation and entrepreneurship are attainable only by a certain few in a certain place.

I am here to tell you that, with today’s technology and economy, any community can make up its mind to create a moment of innovation and industry of its very own. In fact, I believe Bay County has already started.

You essentially need three conditions to create a moment, and they are, ironically, the same three you need to prove a crime. You simply need Means, Motive, and Opportunity. So, let’s look at Bay County and see what we get.

1)      Means: In Bay County, we have an interstate, an international airport, a deep water shipping port, two of the most important military bases in the world (which both specialize in Research and Development), two world-class educational institutions (one of which just spent millions to erect a facility with the sole purpose of advancing innovation, education, and job creation in Bay County, the Advanced Technology Center), ample empty pine forests to build on,  and what are, without fear of exaggeration, actually the world’s most beautiful beaches. Whew, all in one breath. Are you really going to tell me we don’t have what it takes to stimulate business and culture in our community?

2)      Motive: When I first moved here in 1988, I was told I was coming to the “Redneck Riviera”. How charming. Well, that may have been true 25 years ago, but it’s time to bury that fetid moniker in a shallow grave. There is a whole generation of Bay Countians who left after high school, worked for a decade in Atlanta or Jacksonville or L.A., had a couple of kids, and realized they wanted to come home again. They have, but they miss the bustle and verve of the bigger cities and are ready to make a change for Bay County. But not only them; there is a reservoir of drive and ambition among many natives of all ages who have been waiting for the day when they could break free from the good ‘ol boy system of Bay County past and take us forward. We are finding each other, and it won’t be long before we reach critical mass.

3)      Opportunity: The Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce puts on a monthly event called IdeaCamp, where entrepreneurs and business types come together to share enthusiasm, encouragement and, yes, ideas. There are speakers from across industries and disciplines. It’s fun and informative.

Two speakers in particular, Mike Ross and Randall Shepard, Silicon Valley veterans both, have articulated the exceptional opportunity we face right now. These men have each, at different IdeaCamp functions, said Bay County has everything Silicon Valley had just before it’s great moment, only more! These two have seen this special type of innovation-producing climate first hand, and see all the hallmarks right here.

This is happening people. Pier Park, Harley Davidson and the Advanced Technology Center are only the beginning. Keep your eyes open and look for ways you, and your business, can be involved. We are in a special time and a special place, and we are going to have our moment.

Take it to the streets.

 Kevin Elliott 
 Marketing Director at ABT Media and Marketing



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The Business Innovation Center at Florida State University Panama City is structured around a modern proven business incubation model.  That’s simple enough to say, but actually describing what the benefits are to a new startup takes a little time.

Business incubation is not a guarantee of success, but it will reduce your odds of failure considerably.  Statistically only 40% of startups succeed on their own.  Startups associated with incubators increase their odds to 90%.

So here are the beginning steps to take your idea and build a business around it.

1.    Idea Generation - what is your Big Idea?

2.    Planning - build a business plan that will take the idea from concept to revenue.

3.    Getting started - the standard things that every business has to do.  

First: the reality check

Spend some time taking “inventory” of what you have to start with.  How much money will you have available for the first 12 months of your business?  How much time are you going to put into it on a daily basis?  What resources do you have available to help you get things going? 

Second: get someone else on your team

Don’t let the reality check discourage you from going to the next step which is talking your idea over with a trusted advisor of some kind.  It is not really important that this person fully gets your idea, but that he or she will be someone you trust and is honest and willing to express their opinions. Someone with whom you feel comfortable discussing all of your thoughts about the idea. Their opinions aren’t as important as their feedback about your feeling about the idea.  When you hear someone else repeat your idea back to you, it often turns a light bulb on that you needed to better express and shape the idea.

Third:  start your engine

This is where a modern business incubator comes in.  Once you are convinced that you want to pursue your business idea, it’s time to sit down with someone that will help you start putting the pieces of the puzzle in place.  Their job is to help you visualize what steps you will have to take transform your idea into a revenue producing reality.  They can offer you a range of assistance with low cost office space, business plan writing, branding, sales and marketing advice, and legal resources to form and protect your business idea. There is great value in having advisors to help you along the way, and provide ideas on sources of additional capital to fuel your startup.  A big part of the value of the incubation model is to reduce the time it takes to get your business formed and producing results. 

Remember success is process and having someone help you with that process is the most likely way to get the results you want.

Mike Ross
Site Manager, Business Innovation Center
President at 4PSA - CLOUD CALLING - Cloud OnDemand - Virtual Phone Systems - Hosted UC, Orlando, Florida Area

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On behalf of the Business Innovation Center’s Board of Directors, I am very pleased to announce the launch of our new blog; created to share the latest news and resources on innovation and 
entrepreneurship, as well as guest posts from our partners. 

 While our heritage dates back to the founding of the first small business incubator in Bay County, Florida in 1992, the evolution to the new BIC is focused on supporting innovation oriented entrepreneurs across Northwest Florida.

Our first location on the FSU-PC campus geographically and intellectually positions the BIC squarely within the innovation cluster developing across and around the academic campuses of FSU-PC and GCSC, and will leverage the intellectual capital residing throughout our community.  

Research continues to show that successful completion of a business incubation program increases the likelihood that a start-up company will stay in business for the long term. As a new and substantive addition to the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Northwest Florida, we look forward to the BIC contributing to job creation and enhanced economic health across Northwest Florida.

We really hope you enjoy having a look around our new website (bicpc.com) We will be regularly adding new content and providing updates as we progress. So, please watch this space for more, and to keep up with our growth, be sure to follow @BizInnoCtr on Twitter and "Like" us on Facebook!

Andrew Levy
Chairman, Business Innovation Center
Attorney, Harrison Sale McCloy
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