A native of Venezuela who has lived in the United States since she was 11 years old, Hegedus-Garcia holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Miami. 

 

Social Media has made it possible for anyone to reach out to people you would not have had access to in the past – from politicians, building officials, business owners and communities in general. To think, for example that I was able to meet Bob and Susie Hale in person this year because of social media is the perfect example of this incredible reach.

As for how it’s changing relationships? It’s easy to be more aware of local happenings, of people’s everyday lives and easy to become a part of your community’s heart. I make a point to help as many businesses as I can, I help them promote their services and know that it will eventually come back to us. It’s always about the law of giving.

 

The blog has really taken a life of its own. We generate from 70 to 80 percent of our business from the blog, although we do traditional marketing as well.

I started the blog in 2006 to supplement our marketing. We were spending a lot of money on print advertising and not getting the return I wanted. Blogging would give us an opportunity to have a wider audience and would be able to speak to that audience as if they were in front of us, something that could never be achieved with traditional media.

Coming up with the name was easy – looking at Miami’s vitality, diversity and culture, it was easy to discern a certain philosophy and way of life … Miamism!

My aim has been to become a resource for our community, to share social capital. Now people look to us for information and contact us to help them promote events and services.

 

Be consistent – always think of what you bring you the table that others don’t, what makes you different is what will make you stand out from your competition.

And to turn this question around in order to make your readers think about their marketing strategy, I ask the following:

What if that one social platform you spend all your time and efforts in (whether Facebook, twitter, etc) were to disappear tomorrow?  Would that affect your business?  I use my blog as my hub and all networks link to it, if my account were to be cancelled, I would be devastated for personal reasons, but my backup plan would be in place and my HUB would still be standing for people to find me.  I focus my energy on what I can control, and ultimately get the most return there as well.