Facebook: Premiere Morgage Hawaii
Twitter: @TriciaMaui
Web: Mortgage Maui

Tricia Morris and her team have been working on mortgages for 20 years in Hawaii.  Their dedication is unparalleled.  They take customer service very seriously and are steadfast in completing a project once it’s began.  There’s a reason why Hawaii’s Premiere Mortgage Company has such a great reputation.  When you’re looking to get a new mortgage, or refinance, contact Tricia’s team in south Maui at 808-874-8800 and in west Maui at 808-665-8800.

• TIME
• More TIME
• And an increasingly complex knowledge of how to convert, which only comes from an obnoxious amount of testing and research.

The first point is why most people fail when using social media to market their business.  In fact, the first point is also why most people fail using the Web to market their business in general.  Even when business owners have the time, they’ll most likely not put it into social media.

I’ve been working with social media for marketing from the beginning, and I’ve hated it ever since.  That doesn’t mean that part of me doesn’t love it too.

I LOVE Social Media when:

• I’m doing business on the mainland, and a Tsunami is supposedly distorting my home.  Reports on mainland News channels covering Hawaii were drastically different from the reality found on Twitter by our neighbors.
• After MUCH time on the web, and many discussions with local social media guru’s #mauiSMUG, I find that my life can be a little less complicated and more efficient with the use of social media.  Using Twitter among other aggregating networks, I can get all of my news in 1 place, directly from the sources, without wasting time looking for it.  This saves me time and effort, contrary to what social media does for most people.
• I build unique relationships with very interesting, web-savy people through a filtered, controlled medium.  There’s sort of a secret society of people that are active socially on the web (and I’m not talking about Facebook.)  People that think similarly tend to gravitate towards each other and then meet “In Real Life”= IRL ( I hate that I just wrote that, but it’s relevant.
• I share something fun and get a bigger reaction than I expected.
• Using social media share buttons on my sites boost traffic, exposure, and a little you-know-what with the search engines.

What most business owners do incorrectly:

• Set up a blog and never post.  Everyone thinks they’ll blog, but unless you like to write, you’re not going to use it.  It’s useless if not used.
• Use Twitter to promote your product without building relationships or sharing anything of value.  I don’t care about your weight lose drug; STOP PUSHING IT ON ME!  No one is listening anyway with your 3 followers.
• Setting up multiple profiles on all networks and leaving them blank with a default avatar.  This is similar to the first point.  It’s like buying a bunch of blank billboards.  NO ONE CARES.
• Highering a “Social Media Expert”.  Personally, I think there are only really 4-5 social media experts/coaches that actually make a living doing it.  There’s too much time needed to go into it, where I believe the only way to get an even ROI is by doing it yourself.  You have to love sharing and writing to really get involved and make it work.  You’ll need some serious budgets if you want to see an “expert” actually function in any capacity that will elevate your brand on a regular basis.  It’s just too time-consuming for most people to get a positive ROI.
• Use social media buttons on their sites to direct traffic to their social business pages.  Why send traffic away from your site?  Aren’t those profiles supposed to bring traffic to you?  There’s a better use of those buttons.

Oh, by the way, you should follow our social profiles at Facebook and Twitter!  Haha, I know, a bit hypocritical, but you gotta do what you gotta do…

One of the best boats to go on for these Maui sunset cruises is the Aikane X5.  This vessel is a 62 foot power catamaran that only allows a maximum of 12 passengers onboard for a shared trip.  That means you get A LOT OF BOAT for very few people.  Perfect.  The reason we bring this up is because some boats will send  you out with 50-100 people beating each other up over a spot to sit and watch the sunset.  Not fun.

Give Kelly a call and reserve this one-of-a-kind sunset cruise boat for your next visit.  1-800-490-0849 They also do the same 12 passenger limits for their shared snorkeling trips and whale watches!  If your group is larger than 12, you can bring them all on with a private charter.

Now we’re back and building!  Our goal is to build no more than 6 websites per year.  because of our detailed methods involved in designing, we can’t take as many clients as we’d like.  Below we’ve listed a few prerequisites required of our clients.

1. Flexibility – This is very important.  Hawaii Web Group builds websites for local businesses in order for them to grow their exposure and brand.  Ultimately, the website has to help the business become more popular and increase their sales.

This means that we have to have the final say in design.  Again, this sounds strange.  You know your business, but we know the web.  If you want someone to build a site exactly as you want, we recommend you find different designers.  We’ll do everything in our power to make your site look the way you want, but some things shouldn’t be done if you want to reach the largest amount of your ideal visitors.   You have to trust us.

2. Content – You know your business better than we do.  We need you to write the content for your pages before we even start.  This point will make or break a business relationship.  Right off the bat, I can tell you that most people we deal with are amped to begin the project and ready to pay, but they’ll never get us the materials we need.  This kills the project. We can make things up for your business, but it won’t be entirely accurate, it will take longer to write and fix mistakes, and it will cost you more for us to write it.

3. Commitment – Once you’ve decided to go with us, you need to be committed 100%.  When we need your input, you’ll need to give it to us in a timely manner. That means getting us answers within hours, not days.

I know this sounds strange to have prerequisites for clients, but we have high standards for what we build, and it takes time.  If we’re going to build, we’re going to do it right!  Give us a shout!

It’s back in action!  Da Rush Hawaii, a Flowrider wave pool, has recently been reopened by entrepreneur Christopher Williams of south Maui.  This is Maui’s only man-made wave and available to the public in Kihei, Maui.

Why Ride Da Rush?

Some people would ask why someone would want to try riding a man-made wave instead of surfing real waves.  We’ve got some very good reasons:

• Regular ocean waves are inconsistent.
• Regular ocean waves can be crowded.
• Da Rush offers consistent, controlled waves, so you know what you’re getting every time.
• Friends can watch at a close distance to cheer you on.
• There’s no danger of getting cut by coral.
• The wave is conveniently located in Kihei, south Maui.
• Private parties can be booked where you have Da Rush completely to yourselves.
• Friendly, helpful instructors with lots of Aloha!
• It’s something new to try that’s available year round!

Da Kine Rush Hawaii is located off of Alahele Street just off of South Kihei Road next to Lulu’s.  In fact, you can watch people surfing Da Rush from the patio at Lulus while eating!

22 Alahele St.
Kihei, HI 96753
808-264-5406

The attendants at Da Rush are incredibly helpful in teaching you the best way to surf this wave pool.  They take as much time as you need to make sure you have a great time in the water, whether it’s surfing, body surfing, or boogie boarding.

Learn more by visiting their website at Da Rush Maui.

The Client: Haleakala Bike Company

Project Description: Haleakala Bike Company needed their old site rebuilt.  They’re #1 for most all Maui bike keywords, so it was important that we build it in the most search friendly way.  The new site adheres to Google Webmaster Guidelines and uses code that search engines prefer over the old site.  We’re happy to unveil it to the World!

Please check it out.  They’ve got great photos, videos, a blog, and Maui bike trails.

Visit Website: Bike Maui

At first, we thought it was just another Hana CD sending visitors to the best spots on the way to Hana.  After closer examination, I found some characteristics that have earned our respect.

Here are a few of those points:

• They don’t send visitors to spots that require trespassing or any illegal activity (Red Sand beach is the only spot that’s questionable.  But I’ve never heard anyone that has had problems traveling over that very small section of land to get to the path.)
• This isn’t just a CD.  They offer a custom map of the Road to Hana that you can use while making your journey.  You’re given driving tips and a folding map.
• Downloadable!  We like that you can download the file straight from their site for cheaper if you’re in need of the CD right away.
• They emphasize spots that are romantic and locations that are adventurous.
• Well Mastered!  The music is great and the narration really brings you to “Old Hawaii”.  You can tell it’s professionally put together.
• Did we mention that they’re cautious about respecting local land by not sending tourists to off-limits spots?  We really like this.

We suggest getting this Hana CD next time you go on the Road to Hana.  In our opinion, it’s the best Hana guide CD on the island.

Yes, Hawaii Web Group has acquired the Twitter Handle @Maui!  So now you can follow us at this easy address:

http://twitter.com/maui

This falls along the lines of our ongoing effort to secure the highest quality visitors by being the most visible.  Simplicity is also our goal here.  We’ll still be using @MauiHawaiiInfo for our business here at Hawaii Web Group.  Follow @Maui for updates on the island.

The Client: Hawaii Web Group LLC

Project Description: We’re in the webcam game!  What we’ve done here is aggregated all the available webcams on Maui and added links and feeds to them.  We’ve also started putting up our own HD cameras in ideal locations.

If you’re interested in having a webcam to help promote your Maui business, let us know by contacting us.

Visit Website: Maui WebCams

This 2 bedroom 1 bath private cottage is only around 10 miles from the beach, so you can still enjoy sun, surf and sand. You’ll also be only 15 to 20 minutes from the Kula and Makawao forest reserve as well as the Haleakala National Park! Call them before availability books up for 2011-2012!