Everyone has heard that Social Media is the next big thing for companies. But who has really seen it applied? Sure larger brands and corporations have made their mark – companies like JetBlue Airways are making splashes in the world of Social Media by having special online deals, but is it possible for smaller, local businesses to leave their mark?
Carving A Niche
Companies such as Kogi, a Los Angeles based Korean BBQ-To-Go, and Streetza, a hand-made mobile pizza in Milwaukee, Wisconsin–have used Twitter in a whole new way. Not only do they offer special and promotions on their Twitter pages, but they also release locations that their trucks will be at each night.
Kogi has seen great success on their Twitter profile. The company started last November, mixing Tacos, a popular street food, and Korean barbecue sauce. Owner Mark Manguera started with a truck, found a chef to form a partnership, and enlisted those around him to brand his new taco truck.
Simply by placing the moving truck on Twitter and encouraging consumers to follow them online in order to find the location each night, Kogi BBQ has grown into its own “Kogi Kulture” attracting 300 to 800 people each time it parks. They currently have more than 46,000 followers on Twitter, a number that is growing by the day!
Streetza, on the other hand, is lesser known, but is still carving a huge niche in Milwaukee, using Twitter as a great tool to attract devote enthusiasts. With almost 2500 followers, Streetza is getting their product out in Milwaukee as well as gathering a national group of supporters. In September, GQ Magazine named Streetza as one of the 10 Best Food Trucks in the US.
Not only can followers of Streetza find where the truck will be located each evening, but they can also submit their own ideas and recipes for new pizzas. So not only does Streetza get users to follow them, they have the ability to really get consumers involved. Talk about amazing branding.
So what ideas can you apply for your business when jumping into Social Media?
Find Your Audience – Street food is notoriously popular with a younger crowd on their way home from a long night out, but other companies are becoming just as popular on Twitter by promoting themselves to their target market. JetBlue’s lower airfares on Twitter broke out because they used the Search.Twitter.com feature and began following users who mention traveling or flying.
Be Unique –Anyone can start a Twitter account, but that doesn’t mean you’ll garner followers. By standing out and offering great incentives to your customers, your company will stay on the forefront of customers minds and help you niche your market.
Get Users Involved! – This is possibly the most important thing you can do on a Social Networking site, especially if you want to build an online following for your company or product. Ask your Twitter followers for suggestions on a future project, get feedback via a poll, or even aim to write Tweets that your followers want to “re-Tweet” (which is simply reposting your Tweet along with a link to your profile).
Tweeting Toward The Future
These companies are truly showing that Social Media is a thing of the future. Even though advertising is not yet on Twitter, it is possibly to bring in more revenue and build a stronger audience. All you have to do is step outside the box and have great content. Then your audience will be coming to you.
Make sure to visit Kogi (@kogiBBQ) and Streetza (@StreetzaPizza) on Twitter.
By Abigail Wolf
Paid Search Analyst