Promise Marketing Blog

Where do you use social media? And I don’t mean where on the Internet. I literally mean where.

Stephanie Sherman, co-owner of Lela Boutique in Milwaukee, knows how to successfully incorporate social media to make it work for her in the fashion world. Since the boutique profits from sales, technology is not allowed on the floor due to the fact that it might turn away customers. Stephanie explained in Milwaukee BizTimes “The Last Word” article in the June 25th issue that even though these items stay in the back office so as not to deter from making sales they DO assist with marketing . But it’s in a way that jives with the goal of the business and doesn’t get in the way with people who are in the store. The payoff? The sales keep coming and Lela Boutique’s Facebook page is quite active with over 500 people who like it.

This mindset can be used in a variety of situations by almost any organization. Think about your own business or organization and consider what policies you have in place for what’s allowed in your front room and back office area when it comes to social media usage. If participating in social media is impacting how you are able to serve your customers, a change needs to be made. If someone at a nonprofit is spending too much time connecting with people on Facebook when he/she could be doing more to help clients (either by grant-writing or direct service) a change needs to be made. While Stephanie commented that she may be old-fashioned with her idea, her system keeps her customers happy and she is still able to connect with others online.

Using social media in the back room to promote your company or organization means that people are hopefully making the time they put in short but effective. It means listening to what people are saying about you and having two-way conversation online, but still listening to the customer if they’re “in your store.” If you forget about those people in the front room and the experience that they’re having, it’s almost not worth putting in the effort elsewhere.

In my experience, I’ve found that a team effort when participating in social media is the best solution, if possible. This means that the responsibility for being the voice of the organization rests on more than one person. The pair or team can work together to come up with fresh ways to connect with current or future customers. Then, while one person is out “manning” (or womanning!) the store, the other person can update Facebook or Twitter and communicate with potential or current clients who are online.

Keeping Stephanie’s success in mind, it’s not necessary to have a long and complicated social media policy guide but have some simple rules in place about when and where to use it.

Erica Gordon is currently interning at Clear Verve and works part-time at a Milwaukee area nonprofit. She recently received her Communication MA from Marquette University.  Follow Erica on Twitter @erica_g.