Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 2, 1 February 2010 — To know you is to love you ... and oh, how tweet it is [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

To know you is to love you ... and oh, how tweet it is

By Francine Murray Broadcast/Media Coordinator Happy Valentine's, Native Hawaiian Business owners ! As hearts swoon with spring fever and courting couples exchange sweets, be sure they get word of what your business has to offer lovers, whether it's chocolate-dipped delectables,

a stunning Big Island tropical arrangement or a night out with Paeihe fusion and hot live Hawaiian entertainment - spread the word. The exchange of information and opinion via social networking is growing exponentially. You've got the bandwidth, now get on the bandwagon. Further your relationships and networking in the community on Facebook, and/ or tweet your company's unique loeal flavors or daily specials on Twitter. The largest microblogging service according to the Nielsen Ratings, Twitter attracts more than 14 million visitors in the U.S. A whopping twothirds of the online population takes the opportunity to use community member web sites and blogs. This is more than the activity in personal e-mail. For businesses large and small, this is the wave of the future and the surf is up. To start, visit the site of your ehoiee (e.g. Twitter.com, Face-

book.com, MySpace.com, Linkedln.com, MaoliWorld. eom, etc.), peruse it and set up an account. They are simple, and effective messages are not wordy. Posts on Twitter are limited to 140 characters, or about 20 words. It's like an ad that you ean update as often as you'd like without the cost. We suggest buying loeal and supporting Hawaiian-owned businesses. Wise consumers are also looking for value, thus some may

t u r n to the big-box

retailers. So, deliver the me s s a g e that your H a w a i - ian-owned

business offers a

great value in island products and services that we all need, at very competitive prices. Yet keep your advertising costs at a minimumonline, because everyone knows business savings and costs are passed on to the consumer. Over 10.5 million people in the U.S. get updates on their mohile phone and that number is growing every day as people swap out their landlines for wireless family plans. Imagine the possibilities and have a sweet time doing it. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has made it a priority to promote eeonomie self-sufficiency for Native Hawaiians. To learn more, visit OHA.org and tune into Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino morning talk radio every Thursday from 6:30 to 9 a.m. as we feature eeonomie development and Native Hawaiian businesses on KKNE-AM 940 on O'ahu, KNUI-AM 900 on Maui, KHLOAM 850 in Hilo, KKON-AM 790 in Kona and always live online at am940hawaii.com. ■