In the era of social media, Uptown shops are joining the flocks of businesses seeking new ways to spread the word to customers — in 140 characters or less.
With over 300 million users tweeting as many as 10,900 posts per second, the online social networking service Twitter has gained a substantial user base since its debut in 2006.
Since then, stores up and down Court Street have harnessed the network’s accessibility and popularity to help their businesses take flight.
Jessica Kopelwitz recognized the potential of the social networking site and started her own account before she even opened her business, Fluff Bakery & Catering, 8 N. Court St., in 2010.
Though first used to build anticipation for the bakery’s premiere in Athens, the account, @fluffbakery, has remained a helpful tool in promoting Fluff’s food products, Kopelwitz said.
“I’ll post something about lunch and people will come in within 15 minutes to grab that lunch,” she said. “We see immediate results.”
Kopelwitz said she is working to tweet more about upcoming specials and new delicacies, and to upload pictures of freshly baked food items to draw customers into the bakery.
“Even if you have the best cupcake in the world, it doesn’t matter if no one knows about it,” she said. “I think that’s why social media like this is so important. It’s how people relate and how they pass on information. Then you have people coming in and tasting something and telling their friends, and I hardly had to do any work.”
Like Kopelwitz, manager Sara Cecil said Big Mamma’s Burritos, 10 S. Court St., latched onto the Twitter trend to build relationships with potential customers with its account, @BigMammasB.
“(Twitter) gives us more of an awareness of what’s going on,” Cecil said. “We’re really just out there so that people can keep us in mind.”
While Big Mamma’s restaurant operates an official account that tweets about food specials and events, it also has a separate Twitter identity, @shitmammasays, which conveys the fun, laid-back atmosphere of the restaurant, she said.
“We’ve started a second Twitter (account) for stuff that we hear said on late nights by employees and customers,” Cecil said. “The stuff we see here is so much funnier than what a lot of other businesses might experience.”
The humorous and light-hearted tweets give people a reason to follow the business on Twitter, said Alyson Kado, a sophomore studying communication. Since the posts are eye-catching and memorable, they remind her to come to the restaurant, she said.
“I’ll read a tweet from Big Mamma’s, it’ll make me laugh and I’ll think maybe I should go there,” Kado said.
Whether managing a social-media account to reach out to students or local foodies, Kopelwitz said the importance is in establishing a channel of communication between customers and her business.
“I can’t always reach the people I want to reach, but maybe those people are talking to them,” she said. “As compared to traditional advertising, (Twitter) is more dynamic and exciting. It allows people to receive information right now.”
kg278810@ohiou.edu
