News Archive
Hurrdat Social Media, Small Startup with a Big Voice
Posted 30, 2012 in Business Briefs, Haymarket
In an ever-expanding online universe, brands are forced to adapt to new platforms, engage their target audiences via new strategies and develop new tactics to convey their content in creative and relevant ways.
But what happens when a business isn’t sure how to do that, or doesn’t have the time?
That’s where Hurrdat Social Media comes in.
Last fall, they moved into the Candy Factory building in the Haymarket on 8th and P.
Citing the success of other tech companies in the area like Nebraska Global and Hudl, both located in the Salvation Army Building across the street, Founder/CEO Blake Lawrence said the area has a lot to offer.
“One of the number one reasons we moved downtown was because of the thriving community here.”
Photo credits Jon Miller
Another draw to moving to the Haymarket was the proximity to one of their biggest clients, Husker Sports Marketing, located just two floors above them.
With dozens of clients, Hurrdat has had a variety of experience in helping businesses around the region establish a strong social media identity. Their business model is comprised of two parts: agency services and their athlete platform.
“Our agency services strategy consists of creating top-quality content, interacting with customers when they have questions, and measuring everything. That’s where the whole process starts.”
Founder/CEO Blake Lawrence with his parents
While they specialize in all types of social media, Lawrence said they mostly deal with the big two.
“Our bread and butter are where the people are at, and that’s been Facebook and Twitter.”
In addition to their agency services, they also provide an athlete platform in which they’ve proven themselves to be a go-to for any business looking to contract former Husker players or professional athletes around the country to endorse a product or service via social media.
“Athlete endorsements add credibility, you reach a ton of people and you get a lot of customers, but they’re very difficult to attain and can be very frustrating to execute. This is why we’re making athlete endorsements as easy as buying a book on Amazon. If I want to reach someone in Alabama, I search ‘Alabama,’ and our software pulls up all the pro athletes there, and then they can add them to their cart.”
CMO Austin Brown and Founder/COO Adi Kunalic
The name of the company Hurrdat is a modern take on the phrase heard that, an expression Lawrence said is commonly used when people are discussing something they’ve learned or were made aware of through media.
Now with nine full-time employees and four interns, Hurrdat will expand their business into an adjacent room that will become their tech lab.
“We’re painting the room today,” Lawrence said as he looked down at his t-shirt and athletic shorts. “I don’t normally wear this to work,” he says with a smile.
The room will be bright orange, a color that will match the rest of the walls in the office and one that encapsulates the vibrant personalities of the employees at Hurrdat.
“Obviously it’s a fun environment, and most of the people here are young,” Lawrence says as he gazes across the street at the Hudl employees playing basketball on their rooftop court.
“They have a three-on-three league they’ve started up. We haven’t been invited yet,” the former Division I athlete chides.
Hurrdat’s basketball court consists of a mini, wall-mounted basketball hoop in their brainstorming room which is roughly eight-foot by eight-foot.
“This is our three-on-three court,” Lawrence laughs. “Hudl’s got the outdoor court and we’ve got the indoor court, which is nice because of the air-conditioning.”
The CEO says there’s been a long-running joke between the two companies that are a block apart that consists of attaching a tin can to a string and running it from the Hudl office to their own.
But the folks at Hurrdat don’t need a tin can on a string to make themselves heard in the realm of social media. Their adept mindset and strategic solutions for engaging a brand’s online audience have allowed them to expand their operation and hone their creativity in a number of ways.
You’ve heard that social media is important for a business.
You’ve heard that regularly interacting with the target market will help a business succeed.
And now you’ve heard that Hurrdat can help your brand create that dialogue and effectively manage all of your social media needs.
To learn more about Hurrdat, visit their website, Facebook Page or watch this video.
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Be social. Be heard. Hurrdat.
