Sometimes it feels like ALL we do is tweet. We post about the weather, traffic conditions, courtroom drama, classes we are taking, and dispense information that may or may not reflect positively or negatively on ourselves. Tweeting is no longer a noise that pigeons make in Central Park, its the sound of millions of messages streaming on the Internet. We tweet when we get somewhere and when we leave- we even tweet through foursquare when checking in at our favorite pubs. We are a society fixated on immediately telling every person what we are thinking, eating, studying, listening to, or watching. We know…tweeting can take over your entire life. We know…you need an employee dedicated to messaging en masse. We know…you don’t see a difference!

Social Fulcrum has figured it out; there are ways for you to quantify the amount of time and energy it takes to properly socially market your company! Tweeting can parallel the growth of your business. If you use Social Fulcrum’s approach, you will see growth in your profile followers, and feel a response through online networking.

This is how Social Fulcrum gets Twitter to work for your small business: you are a Vintage boutique. You sell jewelry, accessories, couture and furnishings from the 1920′s-1990′s. You consign and buy treasures; you sell off memories. You have recently met with the local high school cheerleading squad coach; she consigned uniforms from the 1980′s, and since she has been a school teacher since the 1970′s at the high school, she feels that she can help reach out to the alumni community (letting her past squads know that she is selling off their varsity wear for new uniform funds). Since the uniforms are from the Hudson Valley, and all of them are in good condition, you decide to take pictures, and place the images on your social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Flickr, Pinterest and Instagram). After a few days you’ve check your Google Analytics, and know that the images have been viewed, but you haven’t had any sales or offers! Knowing that they take an entire section of your storefront away from other dresses and costumes, you decide to do a pep-squad liquidation sale and giveaway. Through your blog, you write an article that is connected to your Facebook and Twitter, telling your audience to Tweet:
#VintageCheerleadingWear is at @HudsonValleyHouseofVintage! Send in your favorite costume picture, and we’ll decide if you’re going to take home a varsity letter jacket!

You then re-post this tweet to your friends, colleagues and patrons, and then direct message your collectors. You’ve also placed your blog link in the small businesses section of Craigslist- letting your local area know the types of goods you are trying to move. You’ve redirected your audience to Twitter, generating momentum for your new trending topic: #VintageCheerleadingWear. When you search the hashtag #VintageCheerleadingWear you’ll be able to see which customers have participated in the sweepstakes, if the campaign is getting any traction, and how many of your connections honored your request of re-Tweeting your information. This is the epitome of gossiping: not only do you have multiple people reposting and informing their network of your deals, your deal is being reposted by their friends reposting…and their friends reposting…and their friends reposting. You’ve created an online swarm for #VintageCheerleadingWear. As the week-long campaign comes to a close, you count the number of #hashtags at @HudsonValleyHouseofVintage, and see over 75 different patrons Halloween and costume party snapshots, and you have to decide which 5 customers should have the wool uniforms, with matching letter jackets.
WHY is this great marketing? You can’t beat free stuff, giveaways, or the inherent desire to need anything that costs NOTHING. You may invest a tremendous amount of time on branding through social media, and receive no response. This is a way to drive loyal customers into your store: I just gave you a uniform worn thousands of times. It’s got history: buy my earrings!

About Andrew Krebs-Smith

Andrew sings our praises to anyone that will listen. Before founding Social Fulcrum, he developed and managed social media strategy for accounts including Pfizer, Ocean City MD, The National Aquarium, and Strayer University. Andrew loves food, travel, music, exercise, and tea. Connect with Andrew on Twitter and LinkedIn.