For the next in our series of case studies looking at how small businesses are using social media, we caught up with William (Eddie) Donlin, Owner at Studio D
In no more than 50 words explain what your business is
I have a photography business focusing primarily on active lifestyle, promotional, senior and corporate photography. I spend my free time shooting projects for myself, usually involving our community or a subset thereof.
How do you use social media as a business?
I use Twitter and Facebook (and to some extent MySpace still) to drive traffic to my blog and studio website. Every time we post a blog or a new set of images to our Facebook fan page, a tweet lets everyone that follows us (plus the 1800 friends on my personal Facebook page) know that there’s something new to see.
I’m also starting to use social media as a way to help other businesses, primarily non-profits, better understand how to incorporate social media tools in to their workflow.
What are your business/marketing objectives for social media?
First, learning the best and most effective way to use social media. Second, putting those practices to everyday use. Third, staying up on what the latest SM trends are and how to use them. I use SM to create the world I want my customers to see…which is just me in the end.
Do you measure the success of your social media marketing? If so, how?
Very informally. For now, it’s mostly amazement about how it actually DOES work. The more we post, the more people talk about us…the more they talk about us, the more business we see. I’ve run contests for free shoots through my blog and twitter and used reader feedback as part of the mix.
How does social media fit in with the other marketing your company does?
We don’t do a lot of marketing…word of mouth is HUGE for us, and we see social media as the nuclear bomb of word of mouth advertising. Last year we started doing mailers, but we tie these HEAVILY to our social media endeavors.
Do you have plans to increase your use of social media in 2010?
Very much so. I want to get better at blogging (better content – moving in to video, and better interaction with my readers). I also want to explore (understand would be first), how analytics can help me understand better ways to adjust my social marketing energies.
What would be your top 3 tips for businesses looking to get involved in social media?
- Research your options first
- Understand that being active in the ‘community’ is essential
- Don’t take yourself too seriously…fun is always more fun! :D
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