Cha-ching (3-28)

Unless you've been living under a rock with the guy on the Geico commercial, you recognize "social media" as one of the hot-button buzz phrases in our industry. To varying degrees your world is marked -- and changed -- by the likes of Facebook, Twitter, blogging and a variety of other virtual means of communication. Some of you have served as spectators. Others are participants. Sloat Garden Center in the San Francisco area, has become a leader.

If you visit the blog link on Sloat's website, you'll see 19 entries in March alone, as of the past weekend, If you check the archives, you'll see the blogging team at the garden center averaged more than 30 blogs per month in 2010 during the historically busy season (March-June), showing that this store places a real premium on reaching techno savvy customers.

In fact, the blog at Sloat Garden Center is now a major part of its brand, the part that gets people reading and responding -- and, for the purposes of Cha-ching!, returning again and again.

Looking for a Cha-ching! you might have missed? Go to the search box and type Cha-ching! Items are listed by date.