With the advent of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, both the style and efficiency of everyday communication tools have radically changed. Social media has leveled the playing field and allowed businesses, large and small, to find their voice and engage users like never before. Brands are interactive and companies can engage their clients in real time.

But, in addition, much of this success rides on actual personality and daily dealings. For a post to have credibility, users like to know who’s on the other end. Not only can friends be bound together in this virtual community even though they are physically apart, but at a local level, how area businesses and agencies use social media to their advantage is key to continued growth.

Affordable Exhibit Displays, Inc.

Affordable Exhibit Displays, Inc., a portable trade show display and printing business based in Greene, also has a success story which involves effective business promotion on social media. Owner Dena Wing says they started using Facebook in early 2009, but it was not until last year that they realized Facebook is a serious marketing tool. “We’ve discovered Facebook is a useful tool to interact with our customers around the country, in real time, to show off the exhibit displays we produce on a day-to-day basis.”

Already with an effective web-site in hand, Wing reviewed the analytics of their webpage and came to the conclusion that they could be more strategic and engaged with their customers. “Social media is unique in many ways. The question we had to answer was how to use our social media connections as a tool to keep them coming back.”

Thinking outside the box, Wing offered free shipping to clients who “liked” the company’s page on Facebook, resulting in a considerable increase in sales as a direct result of the promotion. “We proved that having a presence on Facebook did have a tangible effect on the performance of our business,” said Wing.

Today, Affordable Exhibit Displays consistently updates their Facebook page by showcasing their recently completed exhibit display projects. “Our customers may not visit our company’s website regularly, but most people do check their Facebook every day,” added Wing.

“By continuously updating our Facebook page with the latest and greatest trade show products and easy to use trade show tips, we stay fresh in the minds of those looking to make their next display purchase.”

Androscoggin Bank Colisee

For a business that promotes events occurring within their building, the benefits of spreading concert acts and bringing in additional audience members utilizing social media has been instrumental in maintaining high attendance and revenue for the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

“It’s like the snowball effect,” said Jim Mercier of the Colisee. “People are looking for things to do. If we can get them to like our page, then the Facebook newsfeed takes care of the rest.”

For example, Friday afternoon is the time when you are likely to see a lot of Facebook updates from the Colisee. “Friday is when people are looking for things to do. We know what people want and we want to keep our audience informed,” said Mercier. “Although it’s counter-intuitive to post so late in the week, we’ve actually found that mid-afternoon generates the most traffic with the best results.”

The Androscoggin Bank Colisee also hosts online contests to garner attention such as actively reaching out to their fans and encouraging them to participate by having them guess the next act to perform. “It’s little activities like this that generate buzz and enthusiasm as well as anticipation for what’s next,” added Mercier. “You get one person to like your Facebook page, then another, and then all their friends start to follow.”

In addition to using Facebook, the Androscoggin Bank Colisee also uses email marketing for event promotion to maximize the audience reached. “We’ve found that our email marketing approach had a better response rate than our traditional print mailing which was surprising,” said Mercier. “But, then again, this is show business. Nothing’s surprising anymore.”

Electricity Maine

Jane Clavet is the primary administrator for the Electricity Maine Facebook page. With an astonishingly large 11,000-member fan base, Electricity Maine recently reached a company milestone in acquiring their 140,000th customer. What does it take to engage and effectively interact with over 11,000 people on a daily basis?

The answer is education and professionalism. Understand-ing the importance of reaching out to their customers as a public relations tool, Clavet completed a course on Face-book page management at a local community college.

“True, managing a Facebook page requires a lot of common sense, but it’s not just all about that,” said Clavet. “Successful Facebook management is a science. The course required us to research numerous case studies and the fundamental denominator was that staying open and remaining engaged is the key to building successful relationships.”

Electricity Maine occasionally uses their Facebook page to release exclusive information such as giving away free Sea Dogs tickets, thus offering users an incentive to follow the page. “When you have 11,000 likes on Facebook, everything you do on Facebook will have a significant impact,” said Clavet.

“Every time someone likes your post, that post will also be seen by that person’s friends who might not be a fan of your Facebook page. Including second-degree connections, we might be connected to one million people on Facebook now which naturally has serious business implications. It’s hard to know just how many people you are reaching at any given time, but fortunately facebook does have great measurement tools in place to help the user understand their reach.”

However, with the good sometimes comes the bad. “Staying open always make you vulnerable and the power of Face-book can sometimes backfire,” added Clavet. “It’s all about opportunities. On a good day we may receive 20 positive comments one right after another. But out of the blue, a negative or an ambiguous comment might show up that could confuse customers. If this happens, it’s our policy to address the issue.”

Clavet never deletes any comments, positive or negative. She handles negative feedback by educating the audience and clarifying any confusion. “That’s the advantage of social media. Everybody has a say on it and you can wield your power to respond to anything that might work against you,” said Clavet.

Electricity Maine’s Twitter page continues to gain traction, but lags behind its counterpart with 200 followers. According to Clavet, Facebook is still Electricity Maine’s priority in online marketing, but by no means are they giving up on Twitter. “We will definitely pay more attention to our Twitter page in the near future,” said Clavet. “We’ve noticed that the youth are gravitating toward this tool. As they age and start to pay electricity bills, we’ll have a plan in place to take advantage of this trend.”

Museum L-A

Interacting with audiences of different age demographics is important when it comes to a targeted, strategic approach for bringing in non-regular museum attendees.

For Museum L-A, utilizing social media diversifies and widens the population it can reach out to and enables the Museum to interact with those who do not frequent their website. “Although we already have a website, we see Facebook and Twitter as supplements to our online presence,” said Susan Beane, archivist and public relations coordinator for Museum L-A.

A great number of traditional websites have the deficiency of not allowing visitors to give feedback. Studies show that audiences tend to get more frustrated for every click made having to search for information on a website. Beane appreciated social media’s capacity to allow information to be readily available as well as its capability to allow information to flow both ways.

While Facebook has the versatility of allowing users to post everything from text to video, Twitter is much less flexible as it only allows 140 characters to make a point. However, the strength of Twitter is brevity and convenience. Recently launched, the Museum’s Twitter account (@MuseumLA) is continuing to grow, but has yet to catch up to the Facebook account, which does not come as a surprise to Beane. “These things take time to develop and our social media applications are a work in progress.”

Asked about future endeavors, Beane added, “The great thing about Facebook and Twitter is we can also easily get an idea of what others think about what we’re doing by reading their comments. This will allow us to evolve into a better, stronger museum.” Reaching out to a wider audience through social media helps to promote and increase awareness of the Museum’s programs, events and mission.

The Museum’s fundraiser, Bands on the Run, is an excellent example of reaching a wider audience. In its inaugural year, the Museum worked with local promoters to develop separate website, Facebook, Constant Contact and Twitter accounts solely dedicated to the promotion of this June 24 event. With little less than one month away, almost 500 runners have registered, coming from as far away as California.

“Social media gives us a reach that would not be possible only a few short years ago,” stated Gina Catterson, Museum L-A marketing and development coordinator. “As a cultural institution, social media offers us the opportunity to bring Lewiston-Auburn’s history to a global audience, and a chance to promote the accomplishments of our combined communities with the pride and respect they deserve.”

“We’ve seen an increase in attendance for our education programs as we’ve been getting the word out with e-blasts, Facebook and Twitter communications. With a great schedule of upcoming special events, social media is a great marketing tool,” Beane added.

Museum L-A’s innovative formulas for creating community connections have been recognized and awarded by such national and prestigious organizations as The American Association for State and Local History and the New England Museum Association. Museum L-A’s vision is to chronicle the history of work, industry and community in the Lewiston and Auburn area as it serves as a community gathering place; creates engaging learning experiences; and contributes to the civic pride, cultural understanding, and economic revitalization for the area.

WGME-13

Companies with a larger budget and additional resources have developed a different approach to using social media. WGME-13, a major television channel based out of Portland, created both a Facebook and a Twitter account about two-and-a-half years ago.

Today, the television station continuously updates their digital presence by utilizing their broadcast news segments. If a customer misses the evening news on television, they can simply access the information by viewing WGME-13’s Facebook page. With more than 44,000 likes on Facebook and 5,400 followers on Twitter, WGME-13’s media power extends far beyond the television screen. However, according to Jim Linsky, news operation director at WGME-13, achieving such a dedicated online fan base involves some cost and effort. 

“Our reporters continue to do live updates from their cell phones while in the field, but to provide the amount of real-time content and back-room logistics we were looking for, our parent company, Sinclair Broadcast Group, partnered with New York-based Buddy Media in order to give us some great, additional tools to reach our audience, and provide them with content they couldn’t get anywhere else,” said Linsky. “It’s the cost of doing business on a large scale.”

With stiff competition from other news outlets, WGME-13 generates a considerable amount of Facebook participation by encouraging their viewers to send in news stories, tips or share a photograph. “Our viewer is an active viewer. They want to be involved and they want their voice heard. We simply provide the avenue and channel to participate and as a result, it’s allowed us to get a better idea of what’s important to families at home. Because at the end of the day, it’s our viewer who tells us the real story.”

Revelation Massage

For smaller businesses with a limited budget, social media serves as a great equalizer. While it might cost thousands of dollars to run an advertisement in traditional media platforms such as television or newspaper, it costs nearly nothing to maintain a Facebook page. Kim Jacques, president of Revelation Massage in Auburn, embraced social media from the start and utilizes it to make her business accessible not only to existing customers, but to potential clients.

Jacques is in charge of updating the Facebook page for the massage center. Launched about four months before the business opened, Jacques researched effective, non-traditional platforms that could spread information not only about the business, but about the benefits of massage therapy.

“We understood the power of social media and we wanted to tap into it early,” said Jacques. “By posting about schedule openings or the benefits of professional therapy, we were able to get a large segment of our clientele to share the information for us. Their testimonials provided additional reassurance for their friends, and pretty soon our client base started to grow.”

Rather than utilize the page solely as an avenue for forwarding promotional materials in order to increase sales, the massage center uses Facebook as a means to personalize interaction with the customers.

By posting educational articles promoting the therapeutic benefits of professional massage therapy such as increased relaxation, and more effective productivity, Jacques came to the realization that “for promotional materials to leave a positive impression, it’s difficult to use television considering our budget,” said Jacques. “We’ve found social media to be more positive and easier for our business to get the impressions needed to the right clientele.”

In less than a year, Revelation Massage has attracted nearly 1,100 fans, many of whom are still active followers. “Our fans participate, share stories and are engaged,” said Jacques. “We couldn’t ask for a more dedicated fan base.”

Furthermore, Revelation Massage recently added a reservation feature which, according to Jacques, accounts for 10 percent of all reservations made online. “We see ourselves as more than just a business, we are part of the L-A community and love how Facebook is a fun way to strengthen our relationships within the community.”