MPC Community to LAUNCH!!!!

We are in shock & awe!  We are actually going to launch our new community to 5000 of our customers starting August 29th through September 1st.

Ali has been spearheading the training to all the sales teams & individuals with great success.   Of course there are always the typical comments of “it is just bad timing” & “I don’t want my customers talking to each other, they might say bad things!”  Well, if they are saying bad things, it is probably already happening, people don’t tend to bottle up issues like that.  We will now have a place to hear the conversations & act on them when needed.  I loved what Angela said yesterday…”it is time to knock down the walls & start communicating with our customers in a way that has never been done before at MPC.” 

Considering we are the last computer manufacturer to launch a community site, we are positive & hopeful of the success of the site.  Customers have been asking for one for almost 3 years now & the fact that we can finally deliver this to them with enthusiasm, I feel very confident in saying this is going to be a great moment in MPC history.

whoo hoooo!
-jen

The “Who Is MPC” Question

So, who is MPC?  What is MPC?  You’re in Nampa?

I get these questions all the time from fellow Treasure Valley (aka: Boise area) friends along with, “what does MPC stand for” and “that’s Micron right?” 

We are going through changes so we are figuring this all out too.  Our Media Relations expert Michael Boss commented to a fellow Treasure Valley resident’s comment HERE on my page asking “What is MPC’s Brand?”  He starts the post like this:

If MPC were a person, we’d be at that angst-filled, “poised between childhood and adulthood” stage that all of us suffered through with varying degrees of success.

Enjoy the banter…and by the way, a good sense of humor is always needed. 

New Media Success Story

So my position here at MPC is still unofficially labeled as “New Media Specialist”, which I am just fine with!  Angela is getting me involved in a bit more strategy of how & where to use New Media (I use “New Media” as an overarching 60,000 ft. view of how marketing is used today on the internet (blogs, podcasts, social media, social networking) vs. Traditional Media being print, tv & radio) in different opportunities that come along & ones that we make…which stay tuned, we are rollin!

With ample of time, we wanted to start advertising/marketing a career fair specifically for tech support that was going to take place on site here at MPC.  The event was slated for 8/1 & 8/2.  We started with graphically perfect banner ads at careerbuilder.com & the top page banner at idahostatesman.com.  We also scheduled radio spots starting one week before the event along with the same banner on Kizzn & Magic’s streaming radio (WAY cheap BTW-they are looking for exposure!).  Well due to the fab banner that Wendy created as of today we have filled 26 of the 30 positions…and we are 2 weeks from the event!

Angela said the last time they did a career fair all they did was print classified ads & radio ads & they got a horrible turn out!  Even the gal at the Statesman said that we were getting more traction than they were for a Career Fair held about the same time.  It was all about the visual!  Wendy, you are a rockstar!

Could it be right time, right place?  Yes, we all know that…but it just goes to prove that a majority of the people/consumers are “looking” online.  If you are there and you have the right message: you will win!

A List of answers to the question “why social media/2.0″?

If you are reading this, most likely your answer would be “how can your marketing mix not have social media?”
There are a lot of companies out there that don’t get “it”…”it” being how to use the new tools (blogs, podcasts, vidcasts, social media sites, linking, tagging, etc, etc, etc). 

My job has been to educate those on what social media is, what it does, show what value it has, explain new tools & how we can/should be using them…etc, etc, etc!  But the truth is, I have been doing this for two and a half years & some are just now getting wind that they “have to” have one of these components of new media in order to be taken seriously in the market anymore.  My job is to teach, guide & inform my Director of what I believe we should be doing & in turn, she has to explain it to her boss as to why we should be blogging. 

I admit it, that I can be a bit overwhealming when I get on a roll…it’s because I love making changes in a company that I know will have a positive result (aka: great ROI!).  So this list by Chris Brogan will explain a lot of the catch words that we use on a daily basis to those that are unfamiliar, but want to learn!