You keep hearing about it on TV, radio, and around town but you haven't taken the time to research things like, "Facebook", "Twitter", and the blogosphere.  Well, don't look now, but your competition is passing you by on the information superhighway. 

As tempting as it may be to discard these internet sites and medium as "fads", don't be so quick to judge.  Social media sites have become extremely relevant to not only your customers, but every type of small & large business out there.  Major global entities are interacting with their customers on these sites everyday.  Whether it is Starbuck's sending out coupons via "Twitter" or Papa John's discussing new products on "Facebook", the social media network is an extremely viral way to market your business.

Take & Bake pizza companies are no different.  By communicating with customers, colleagues, and local business people in this manner, you can create greater brand awareness with virtually no major effect on your bottom line.  These sites are free, and if you are willing to spend only a few minutes a day updating your "status" or sending out a 140 character or less message telling your customers about the daily "Twitter" special, you can be very successful with this type of marketing.

The key to this type of social networking is the business owners commitment to providing fresh and updated content on a regular basis.  The more people see you interacting with your site the more it will be on their mind the next time they want to order pizza.  If you are a new independent store, it can create the push you need to generate sales volume without the high advertising cost of additional print, TV or radio advertising.

Twitter Explained:

Twitter is a quick, rapid way of providing bursts of information in small (140 characters or less) bursts.  It is also possible to share pictures and video, but that is for the more advanced user and something you will learn as you progress through the system.  To see what a Twitter page looks like visit:  www.twitter.com/tjspizza.  This is the twitter page for TJ's Take & Bake Pizza in Hilton Head, SC.  As you will see, I have been doing this everyday for over a week. 

Facebook Explained:

Facebook is a more interactive type of social networking site.  As a business you alert your customers to the fact that you have a facebook page.  You also will need to link to your facebook page from your website once you have created your account.

Facebook allows you to upload pictures and videos as well as direct message your "fans".  As a business your account also allows  you to see how much traffic is being generated and how many people are viewing your facebook page.  It is almost like a more personal version of your website that allows people to interact with your brand rather than just bear witness to it, i.e. your website.

Both of these services are extremely easy to set up.  And, over time, you will learn how powerful they really are.  There are even special 3rd party applications so you can manage multiple twitter and facebook accounts from one location.

Jay Conrad
The Take & Bake Guys