[2/1/2010 SteppersUSA Daily News]
She's Got A Point
By Markie Bee
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In the many email newsletters for
the steppers community that make it to my inbox on a daily basis;
more than occasionally I find a gem of information or wisdom in one
of those publications.
There are several people who in their publications expound their
views on the state of the dance, what people in the community are up
to and so on (I do it every day). One of those people is published
author Lana Reid. I've been reading her articles for some time now
and agree with some of the things she has to say in her weekly
missive.
Her latest article touched on the use of Facebook by Chicago style
steppers, its promoters, and its potential for our community. She
brings many valid points to the table many may have missed at first
blush. She, like I can only assume the majority of Chicago style
steppers has more interaction with people who don't step or haven't
stepped. That's hardly a
controversial stance (I've mentioned it
many times in this column) it's more of a fact. We're just scratching on
the surface of the consciousness of the broader marketplace of potential
steppers.
Steppers are very comfortable (for the most part) communicating with and
promoting the dance and its events with each other. The problem as I see
it (and as Lana mentioned in her article) is we as a community have been
missing the (very real) opportunity that Facebook presents our genre.
Lana puts it like this, "Steppers using it to reach people who are not
already in the Steppin community which is a wonderful thing. I’ve often
wondered why we keep talking/ promoting exclusively to people who
already Step about Steppin as if that will expand the audience! Seems
like a wasted marketing opportunity to me, but what do I know? Let’s
just think for a moment: if there are 500 active Steppers on FB who
befriend at least 10 non-Steppers and get them to come experience this
dance then what kind of numbers will we have? Just from killing time
posting status updates on FB!"
Of course we can play the numbers game (many of us do it every day at
work)… The
Chicago style stepping Facebook group has 3200 members and
within the bounds of our genre that's a powerfully large group. Just
imagine what we could do with 32,000!
The average stepper has many more interests than dancing and has many
more friends that have their own varied sets of interests. There's no
reason we as steppers and promoters shouldn't be trying to pull these
people into our favored activity.
We're usually friends with people because we share some common interests
and experiences so why aren't we making a concerted effort to share this
wonderful experience with these people?
If a person calls themselves a promoter wouldn't it be foolhardy not to
promote to a larger audience (Since they can make more)?
There are those who do "get it" but I'm afraid there are even more who
don't. The evidence is there and all you have to do is look. If you have
50 Facebook friends why not offer them the same opportunity you enjoy by
inviting them to step?
Sometimes you have a friend who lives in another city who doesn't step
and at the same time you have another friend in the same city who does
step; why not do a little networking? Why not put two of your friends
together so the stepper can give the non-stepper another inside look and
guide to stepping in that city? Not only are you helping your friends
expand their own social circle of friends but you're doing your part in
helping to bring Chicago style stepping to its next level of growth and
expansion. That's a win – win situation!
Of course there are many other possibilities but you know me… I'm the
master of the obvious. Do you have an idea that would help the greater
good of stepping? I'd love to hear those ideas!
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