When you’re running a business, you’re constantly looking for feedback. You want some sort of engagement with your customers to let you know you’re on the right track.
For a boutique owner, if a particular dress sells out in two days once it hits the floor, you know you chose well eight months ago when you trekked up to NYC to pick out holiday items while the first bloom of spring was hitting the Lowcountry.
For a restaurant owner, it’s butts in seats. If there is a restaurant you always have to make a reservation at weeks in advance, there’s a pretty good chance they’ve cornered the market on food, ambiance, and service (or they only have 10 tables). 😉
Writing letters to editors went out with the tide 20 years ago, so I like to judge interest by comments and shares on our Facebook page, where you can find just about everything we print in the magazine with some fun extras throughout the month. I like to think that after a few decades doing this, I know what will resonate, but sometimes I am just flat out surprised.
That happened last month when I shared Bluffton Mayor Larry Toomer’s monthly column, in which he encouraged his constituency to pick up after their dogs – for the sake of our waterways (and everyone who has ever accidentally stepped in dog poo.) While I fully endorse this sentiment, I was shocked at how quickly it won the internet that day. I watched in amazement as his post on CH2’s Facebook page hit 100,000 views in less than three days.
I called Jevon Daly and told him he needed to write a funny song about picking up your dog’s droppings ASAP.
Then it happened again the next day, when I shared Alan Perry’s column about the Town of Hilton Head stepping up and removing 11 abandoned boats that have been littering our waterways for years. The internet again responded positively to the message.
So, what did this teach me? Our residents really care about keeping our environment and waterways pristine. And the mayors’ columns are extremely well read. Maybe I should move them up to the front of the magazine.
Wishing y’all a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. I am thankful for your friendship, readership, and support throughout the years!
P.S. Pick up the Poop. Funny video coming soon.
Maggie Washo
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
