Week 2b - Businesses using Social Media

This was a fun adventure into the social media of several local businesses that I frequent. In fact, some gained my patronage through social media (MacBeth Footwear, Catalina Offshore, and Crossing Dental) , and others through word of mouth (6 degrees and Tasting Room Del Mar).

What I've noticed of many businesses that use social media is that the target audience sees the same information posts on several sites. However, there are a couple of businesses that target different content per social media site. I would imagne that takes effort and my guess is those businesses have one or more staff members dedicated to social media.

Probably tops on the list of effective social media is the wholesale seafood business Catalina Offshore. They use videos as the main form of communication to offer valuable content, presenting entertainment, education on preparing and sourcing seafood, and updates on what's for sale in the shop. They are most active on Facebook and use it and website blogs to offer content and to draw you to their videos. They give you a reason to visit their web page or social media sites almost daily! They are also the only site in this list that responds to users on Yelp.

The networking business of 6 degrees uses Linked In creatively, which makes sense since they are all about offering their members tools to extend their reach. They also offer enough quality content of videos and blogs on local events and members to encourage frequent visits to one of their social media sites several times per week. I know from experience, they have an effective email campaign that draws the customer to their site. And I tend to check out posts on Facebook to see pics and causally communicate with other business professionals I met at an event. They seem to be most active on Twitter.

The local dentist Crossing Dental mainly updated Facebook on occasion to keep human face on the business. Considering it's a place a client visits only every six months, quarterly posts on Facebook seem appropriate. Anything more than that would be a nuisance. As a service provider, they are the only business listed here that has a link to Angie's List. Their Twitter and Google + sites have not been updated in 4 years.

The wine bar Tasting Room is only a few months old and already has over a thousand followers on Facebook and Instagram. They post pics almost daily and both social media sites mirror each other in content. It is hard to tell if their followers have been gained organically and also if their content is effective. So far, the social media does not offer a human face or voice I associate with the business. They are so new, I think it is great that they are establishing a presence from the start. Unfortunately, they hid their social media links at the bottom of their secondary web pages.

MacBeth Footwear is a SoCal footwear shop. They keep regular posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but those posts seem mechanical - mainly pics from professional photoshots of models wearing product or lifequotes. They used to be very active in their posts, blogs, and music updates. The website doesn't seem to have been updated since Jan 2016. I believe this is a business in decline.

Here are the stats:

6 Degrees Networking
http://www.6degreesnetworking.com/
Website: Updated daily
Facebook: Updates almost daily. Last update 9-19-16
Twitter: Updates multiple times per day. Last update 9-16-16
Instagram: Updates several times per week. Last update 9-14-16
You Tube: Updates every six months. Last update 5-16-16
Vimeo: Updates every few months. Last update 8-17-19
Linked In: Updates every other day. Last update 9-11-16

Catalina Offshore Products
http://catalinaop.com/
Website: Updated 7-26-16
You tube: Updates several times per year. Last update 9-16-16
Pinterest: Many boards updated weekely. Last update 9-15-16
Facebook: Updated daily. Last update 9-19-16
Twitter: Updates multiple times per day. 9-06-16

Crossings Dental
http://www.crossings-dental.com/
Facebook: Updates every other month or so. Last update 8-29-16.
Yelp: Had a link to the website. No posted responses to comments
Linked In
Google +: Last update 11-2012
Twitter: Nov 2012
Angie's List

Tasting Room Del Mar
https://www.tastingroomdelmar.com/
Site asks for email upon visiting their page.
Open Table link
Facebook Link: Updated daily. Last update 9-17-16
Instagram: Updated almost daily. Last update 9-17

Macbeth Footwear
http://macbeth.com/us/
Facebook: Updates almost daily. Last update 9-19-16
Twitter: Updates almost daily. Last update 9-16-16
Instagram: Updates almost daily. Last update 9-16-16

I commented on the wonderful blogs of
Antonio Russo
Sophia Ludyjan
Sherrie Moore