http://www.chicagotribune.com/business
By Ann Meyer
Facebook, tweets, blogs help companies extend their reach
Charter reservations are sailing in for Free Spirit Yacht Cruises this year despite the turbulent economy, and co-owner Angela Motola-Donofrio attributes it to a social media push.
The company is tweeting regularly on Twitter and recently launched group and fan pages on Facebook, two platforms that didn't exist when she started in the charter business in the 1990s.
"Back when I first started, Yellow Pages was our main source of new business," said Motola-Donofrio, who owns the company with husband Joe Donofrio. The company is targeting 300 charters this year, up about 30 percent from 2008.
The Chicago-based company, which docks its two charter boats at Burnham Harbor, is among small businesses broadening their reach through social media and blogs.
While just a few years ago the mediums were associated with the teenage and 20-something sets, that's changed. Two-thirds of all online users visit social networks and blogs, according to data from Nielsen Online. And the largest growth in social media users last year came from the 35- to 49-year-old group.
With the average age of its readers approaching 40, BradsDeals.com didn't consider social media the best fit until this year.
"When we started on Facebook a few weeks ago, I wasn't sure we were going to connect with people because our demographic is older," said Brad Wilson, founder and editor in chief, who also began using Twitter recently.
The company has attracted 2,500 followers through Twitter since March 1 and nabbed 1,200 Facebook users since launching a fan page this month. Now, traffic to BradsDeals.com is streaming in at more than 1 million hits a month, up 150 percent from a year ago, Wilson said, adding that consumers' focus on frugality also factors into the site's growth.
Companies catering to younger customers are more likely to be veterans of social media marketing.
The Scion Group, a real estate services firm that owns and manages college housing, has morphed its blogs into a larger Facebook presence because that's where its college-student customers are, President Robert Bronstein said. It uses Facebook to announce events, such as a fashion show of student-designed apparel at Automatic Lofts last year that drew a standing-room-only crowd.
"It exposes the building in a cool, fun way," Bronstein said.
While most digital media cost little to use, they do require an investment of time, something many small-business owners are short on. That's why small businesses are turning to experts for help keeping up with blog entries, Facebook announcements and Twitter tweets.
Online test-preparation company PrepMe.com added Michael Marchese as vice president of consumer marketing this month, after the co-founders realized they didn't have time to handle online marketing themselves.
"I don't think you can do it halfway," said Chief Executive Karan Goel, who had been blogging. But with more than 20,000 students using PrepMe, and sales targeted to hit $1 million this year, the company plans to hire an online marketing manager dedicated to its online presence.
It launched a Facebook crossword game in 2007 and offers words of the day on Twitter. This year, it began group pages on Facebook associated with individual high schools that use PrepMe's services.
Deciding which online opportunities to embrace comes down to understanding your audience, experts said.
"Go where your customers already are. Social media is not about being the first one into some new technology," said Andy Sernovitz, chief executive of GasPedal, a Chicago consulting firm specializing in word-of-mouth marketing and social media.
If you don't know what social media your customers are using, check it out by searching for your company name on Facebook or others. When Motola-Donofrio first went on Facebook last year, "I noticed people talking about posting pictures of Free Spirit Cruises. That made me interested," she said.
Since the company launched pages on Facebook this year, it has received more comments and picture sharing. Free Spirit plans to upgrade its photos and add video, in response to feedback that the boats looked much better in real life than their photos conveyed.
Presenting honest information without directly trying to make a sale is an effective marketing approach using social media, Sernovitz said. Businesses should avoid using the hard sell, because participating in social media is like participating in a casual conversation.
"Nobody wants a salesman in the middle of their conversation," Sernovitz said.
But customers sometimes sell your product for you by talking it up among their Facebook or Twitter followers.
Customers who find a bargain on BradsDeals.com like to brag on their social network.
"There's no better reference than your friends telling you about something. It's that exact interaction that happens on Facebook," Wilson said. The company announces one deal a day on Facebook with a quick, informational approach.
Because of the viral nature of social media, companies that take the time to communicate are likely to see their goodwill spread. One simple technique for building relationships involves responding to positive mentions by saying "thank you" and following up on negative mentions with an apology and a solution to the problem, Sernovitz said.
"If someone is unhappy and you say, 'I'm sorry. I'd like to fix it,' those things add up pretty fast," he said.
mindingyourbiz@gmail.com
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