Social media is catalyzing Lynchburg’s small business growth in a big way. With continued additions such as Instagram Stories and Facebook Live, many locals are making these platforms their primary marketing place.
Small business social media use differs greatly, even within Lynchburg’s comparatively small economy. Businesses that are utilizing social media can directly link high levels of engagement to their business’s success.
“Lynchburg is a very local focused area and they like things that are theirs. They like to own that business. They like to own the story behind something,” 434 Marketing’s Senior Account Coordinator Leah Jones said in an interview. “The things that get a better response are things that tell a story.”
Businesses are hiring additional employees to manage social media accounts or create content, as managing a professional social media account can be aggressively time consuming.
Lynchburg’s Live Trendy or Die trains their employees how to post on their Instagram and makes posting a duty for each shift, according to Manager Aimee Patrick. Owner Stephanie Atkinson even uses Instagram to find potential clothing wholesalers for her store, according to News and Advance.
Daniel Coco of The White Hart and Jason Arbusto of Daughters and Sons Pizza and now Waterstone Pizza have dedicated employees to manage their accounts. Coco suggests that having a dedicated employee is essential so that time isn’t taken away from other business aspects.
Businesses may hire a third-party organization to manage accounts and create content. Lynchburg’s Double Tap Media, a marketing agency specializing in social media, uses skills like graphic design, photography and video production to create content for their clients.
“For a lot of industries in this economy, recruiting and hiring is a big goal, even more so than revenue,” Tim Gosnell, Founder and Managing Director of Double Tap Media said. The White Hart announced open positions via social media this week.
Facebook is still local business’s primary platform, but some are seeing more engagement via Instagram. Snapchat and LinkedIn are also becoming more common, but few local organizations have been successful on Twitter.
“A lot of smaller businesses don’t necessarily want to compete on twitter,” Jones said. “It’s just a chaotic space right now.” Some organizations that have had success on Twitter are News and Advance, Thomas Road Baptist Church, Joe Beans Coffee and Lynchburg Humane Society.
Most businesses generally see higher numbers on Facebook, as the number of its users still outweighs all other platforms. However, more likes on Facebook versus followers on another platform does not necessitate more engagement, which is a more accurate definer of an account’s success.
Mama Crockett’s Cider Donuts are the Facebook champion of Lynchburg, with about 50,000 likes. While their Instagram followers are less than a seventh of their Facebook likes, their posts see many more likes, and they post stories about as often or more than they post on Facebook. Other mobile businesses like Nomad Coffee Co. also primarily post location information to Instagram.
The effectiveness of hashtags and the addition of stories has persuaded many to focus more on Instagram. Rookie’s, Golf Park Coffee Co., Third Wave Coffee, Nomad Coffee Co. and Live Trendy or Die have higher engagement via Instagram than Facebook. Live Trendy even includes their Instagram account outside their store window.
“The college age is going to be the most active within Instagram and Snapchat compared to Facebook,” Gosnell said.
Businesses aren’t just looking for engagement, however. Businesses measuring their social media account’s success don’t look to follows, likes or shares.
“There are several ways to measure [success], but the bottom line is going to be sales, and then long-term health of a brand of business is going to be customer service and customer satisfaction, which we work toward improving,” Gosnell said.
Double Tap Media manages social media accounts for the Parry Restaurant Group. While Double Tap focuses more on engagement and customer satisfaction, Parry restaurants focus more on how those accounts impact sales, according to a representative for the group.
“It’s not about the followers, it’s about the ability to communicate with that many people,” Coco said. Arbusto says that the primary intention of his restaurants’ social media is brand awareness.
Brand consistency drives an account’s success, according to Jones. Cover photos and profile pictures especially need to match the brand. The information should also be thorough. Every box that can be filled in needs to be, Jones said.
“You want to have everything linked up together. A Facebook page without a website attached to it doesn’t weigh as heavily as if the two were hooked up, and vice versa,” Jones said.
Lynchburg promotes a healthy environment for business social media use. There is less competition for attention than in bigger cities but a higher population of people that are on social media.
“As a social media marketer, it’s fun to get the interaction of people and we’re able to engage that way here in Lynchburg more so, it’s a lot harder, in some of the bigger markets,” Gosnell said.