Final Paper (Ye Olde Pepper Companie)

•             Executive Summary

 

According to the book “The New Influencers”, in Web2.0 world, anybody can use blog and the Internet to become somebody. Blogs and the Internet can make it possible for people to publish quickly and easily under their own name. However, small business can also use social media to have more visibility and gain more attention from customers. It’s a good chance for small business to promote their products or services through social media. Because social media is really easy to use and it’s free.

Web 2.0 technologies can help small company create a virtual community that will keep the business on the top of your fans’ mind and  allows them to engage with new prospective customers. (Klein, 2009) Small business can utilize social media to communicate with potential customers and it also can help to build and maintain the relationships. The best thing is that small businesses are capable of acting quicker rather than big companies.

Above all, these are the reasons why I think Ye Olde Pepper Companie should use more social media and more often to promote themselves. The following paragraphs show a brief overview of how Ye Olde Pepper Companie uses  social media and what kind of social media they chose to use. I will explain the effectiveness of the social media. I also will utilize the metrics to analyze the data and see how well they are doing online.. Moreover, I will give Ye Olde Pepper Companie some recommendations and sample campaigns to accomplish this paper.

•                  Introduction of the Company

According to their main website, Ye Olde Pepper Companie is the oldest candy store in America which located in Salem, Massachusetts. The company is rich in history and dates back to 1806, it started with an English woman named Spencer was shipwrecked and landed in Salem in a rather destitute condition. When Mrs. Spencer died, her son carried on the business until about 1830, after which he decided to return to England. The company was then sold to a John William Pepper, under whose leadership the company prospered for many years, adding many items to its catalogue such as the Black Jack (an all natural stick candy made from black strap molasses).

•             Overview of Social Media which they use

a.          Main Website

Ye Olde Pepper Companie’s main website is http://www.peppercandy.net/index.html. This website provides the basic information about the candy store. The design of the main website is really simple and easy to use. Even if it is their first time to this website, visitors still can find anything they need easily. You can find lots information through it. You can see the lists of the candies, the location of the store, and the contact information on this website. Customers can order their candies online. If visitors have any questions they can see the frequently asked questions to find the answers.

b.          Facebook

The Facebook page of Ye Olde Pepper Companie provides much information, such as the new events and the latest photos on it. You can also see the interactions between the company and customers. This candy store will post their updated events for the coming festival. Most of the messages which posted by customers were replied to in a short time. According to Facebook, you can see there are 237 people like this page.

c.          Foursquare

Based on the record, there are only 1 people visits this page and have the only check-ins. There is no mayor and no post on the page so far. Obviously, it needs lots of improvement to attract more potential customers to visit this page.

•           Current Metrics

a.          Social Mention

According to Socialmention.com, in mid-April, the Ye Olde Pepper Companie had a neutral and positive brand in social media. Overall, Social Mention gave Ye Olde Pepper Companie 2% in strength, 31% passion, and 8% in reach.

People can use many key words to find this candy store, but the most common word is pepper. According to the listed sources on Socialmention.com, there is no retweets this month. Moreover, this brand will be mentioned every 6 hours in the Internet.

b.          Google Insights

According to Google Insights, worldwide searches for Ye Olde Pepper Companie peaked in October (2009) last year. The search key words are “Ye Olde Pepper Companie”.

c.          Compete

According to Compete.com, the people who visit http://peppercandy.net/ are growth 28.94% in March, 2011. The visit times also growth 28.94% last month.

•       Recommendations

In present world, the company can use social media to listen to their customers and embrace low-cost, low-control social media technology to drive awareness and increase word-of-mouth. They don’t have to pay lots money to promote themselves. The company can also use social media to connect their customers. The opinion from the customers is a good way to realize what their real thoughts are. The company can listen where are the problems and decide how to solving these problems. Social media can let company connect with consumers directly.

Social media also become a good way to promote the company and can create buzz without any payment. In this way, I suggest Ye Olde Pepper Companie should use more social media to communicate with more customers. I will give some advices directly for each social media medium they used and the social media they should use. In order to improve the ways how they use social media to reach out the potential customers.

a.          Main Website

You can find lots information about Ye Olde Pepper Companie through the main website. However, you cannot see the messages from the social media they use. The company should post the links to each social media on the main page. They also should update the event related to social media on the main website. In order to attract more customers who use different social media. It also can make sure all of the channels are deliver the same messages at the same time.

b.          Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site that haslots of users around the world. Through Facebook, Ye Olde Pepper Companie can receive the comments from the customers and can have conversations with them directly. It builds two-way communication. Facebook users who check in to a store or click the "like" button for a brand may soon find those actions retransmitted on their friends' pages. (Ortuay, 2011) It’s a good way to promote a company.

I suggest Ye Olde Pepper Companie should post messages more often and can have votes or some interesting discussion rather than just delivering marketing messages on Facebook. It can reveal the real thoughts of their customers. You also can get the ideas from them. For example, Ye Olde Pepper Companie can have a discussion on what kind of chocolate they want to eat most right now. That may make people have the desire to eat chocolate and create more business. Or they can have a vote on what kind of fruit they want to eat with chocolate. It may become the new product in the store.

c.           Twitter

Attracting a large group of local followers on Twitter can be a great asset for a local business. It allows the company to extend special promotions and aggressive offers in real time. The tweets can be received from mobile devices. 40 percent of all tweets are now composed on mobile devices — which is twice the amount of mobile tweeting a year ago. (Janisch, 2011)

I recommend Ye Olde Pepper Companie should start to use Twitter to communicate with their customers. If they have a new product, the company should post the messages on Twitter let people update the information immediately.

a.          Foursquare

Only one people checked in on their Foursquare page. Ye Olde Pepper Companie should promote itself more often through Foursquare. I suggest they can offer some free chocolate when they become the mayor and to the 50 check-ins at the same time. It can encourage repeat visits and more check-ins among its fan base.

b.          YouTube

If you type Ye Olde Pepper Companie as the key word to search on YouTube, you will get 7 results. None of them were posted by Ye Olde Pepper Companie. There are 140 million viewers per month and there may have plenty of potential customers in it. It’s a good way to interact with the viewers and get instant feedbacks from them.

I recommend they also posted some videos on YouTube to promote their candies and deliver the messages to the customers. For example, Ye Olde Pepper Companie can post the process how they make their candies or they can just tape the chocolate and candies. Sometimes the simple way is the best. Tasty chocolate can always attract the attention from the customers. The messages which Ye Olde Pepper Companie posted on YouTube can spread out immediately without the framing of time and space. Without spending lots money, Ye Olde Pepper Companie still can earn customers and have more visibility.

•          Sample Campaigns

a.          Testimonials

I suggest Ye Olde Pepper Companie can encourage people to record how they think about their candies and post the videos on YouTube and Facebook. People will believe opinions from the peers on the Internet rather than advertisements on the television. Moreover, they can have a vote or discussion on Facebook and Twitter. Try to make customers express their voices through social media. Those reviews and opinions can create traffic to attract more and more customers through social media.

b.          Festival Campaigns

I recommend Ye Olde Pepper Companie can have special campaigns based on different festivals and also served unique kinds of chocolate in limited time. For example, they can offer a chocolate looks like a witch served during Halloween. Or during the Valentine’s Day, all the chocolate and candies will have a heart shape. It can make customers feel interested and have willing to taste the special chocolate.

c.          Mail Catalog or Flyers

Vivid catalog and flyers can create the desire to make people want have chocolate. I suggest Ye Olde Pepper Companie can email the catalog and mail to the mailbox at the same time. It should also contain how to order online or through mail and the shipment information in the messages.

d.          Networks in Salem (Combine with other tour)

There are some tours in Salem, Massachusetts. I recommend Ye Olde Pepper Companie should corporate with the tour. For example, they can provide a coupon to the people who join the tour to raise more visibility. It can also build a new business network in Salem.

 

Social Media Monitoring Project - Final Report

        I.            Executive Summary

In this final social media monitoring project, I will discuss the different ways how AJ Bombers and Sobelman’s Pub and Grill use social media to promote themselves. The reason why I choose Sobelman’s Pub and Grill as the main competitor of AJ Bombers is because these two burger restaurants are both famous in the same area located in Milwaukee. Moreover, Travel Channel also chose these two brands to face each other in a competition named “food war”, in order to find which brand is the best burger restaurant in Milwaukee.

Furthermore, I will talk about the suggestions to AJ Bombers. I will give some advices directly for each social media medium they used. In order to improve the ways how they use social media to reach out the potential customers. Hope these recommendations can help them to increase their business through social media.

      II.            Comparing the Competitor

Sobelman’s is a well-known burger restaurant in Milwaukee. It opened ten years ago. At Sobelman’s they claim that they use fresh Black Angus beef patties – fresh, not frozen – on freshly baked country butter rolls baked exclusively for Sobelman’s.

a.      Website

The main website of Sobelman’s is http://www.milwaukeesbestburgers.com. Compare to the website of AJ Bombers the design of these two website are easy to use for the visitors. It also provides lots information, such as the menu, the location, the photos, and the contact information etc. However, the website of Sobelman’s shows this restaurant have good relationship with Marquette University. People can check the latest Marquette Sports Scores and events on the first page of the website.

b.      Facebook

The Facebook page of Sobelman’s provides much information, such as the newest burgers and the latest photos. You also can see some videos on it. According to Facebook, there are 2,909 people like this page. Compare to AJ Bombers which has 2,600 people like their page, Sobelman’s has more fans than AJ Bombers on Facebook. It means the messages which Sobelman’s posts will deliver to more people. It can also reach more potential customers at the same time on Facebook.

Compare to the main competitor Sobelman’s. You can see the comments from the customers on Facebook of these two restaurants and also can see the discussions between companies and customers. Sobelman’s and AJ Bombers are all build the good ways to communicate with their customers. Not only talks about the burgers, but the normal discussions as friends.

c.       Twitter

Sobelman’s does not use Twitter to promote itself. However, based on the record, there are 13,141 following the page of AJ Bombers, 13,323 followers, and 31,214 tweets on Twitter. It will increase the opportunities that customers can use Twitter to talk about AJ Bombers. It can raise the visibility and people can use their mobile devices to receive the messages from AJ Bombers. It shows AJ Bombers have more chances to attract more customers rather than Sobelman’s.

d.      Foursquare

Based on the record, there are 2,477 people who visited AJ Bombers’ page and there are 9,081 check-ins. The mayor is Amy who checks in 27 times in last 60 days. However, there are only 1,161 people who visit the page of Sobelman’s and have 1,954 check-ins on Foursquare. And the mayor of Sobelman’s is Kristina K. who checked in 17 times. It shows that AJ Bombers have more visitors on Foursquare. Sobelman’s did not create any campaign on Foursquare recently. However, AJ Bombers offered a free burger to the 9000^th check-ins which is their latest event in March. It will encourage repeat visits and check-ins among its fan base. In an interview with the owner of AJ Bombers on YouTube, said that promotions on Foursquare have allowed AJ Bombers to increase sales 30% on select items. It shows that AJ Bombers chose a good way to promote their products without spending lots of money.

e.      YouTube

If you type Sobelman’s as the key word to search on YouTube, you will get 21 results, which is less than the compare to AJ Bombers. Comparing the content; the videos of Sobelman’s are mostly talking about the “food war” between these two restaurants. However, Sobelman’s didn’t win this competition. It means these videos couldn’t attract more customers at all.

However, AJ Bombers utilize YouTube to deliver the messages to the viewers and also use it to deliver the news letter. They use YouTube to have more visibility and gain more customers without spending lots of money. AJ Bombers obviously did the better job than the main competitor.



        I.            Recommendations for AJ Bombers

a.      Main Website

You can find lots information about AJ Bombers through the main website. You can see how they use Facebook and Twitter, and YouTube to deliver the messages on the first page. In addition to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, AJ Bombers also use Foursquare to promote the restaurant. I recommend that they can update the event related to Foursquare on the main website. In order to attract more customers who use different social media.

b.      Facebook

Through Facebook, AJ Bombers can receive the comments from the customers and can have conversations with them directly. It builds two-way communication. AJ Bombers can deliver the messages and receive the feedback immediately. I suggest AJ Bombers can have votes on Facebook. It can reveal the real thoughts of their customers. It also can avoid some crazy ideas at the same time. You can let customers to decide what kind of burgers they want to eat most. They also can decide the “Burger of the Month” to get the discount. In fact, one of their most popular burgers was created by a customer, @KateBarrie; the Barrie Burger features peanut butter, bacon and cheese. It’s a good way let customers to contribute their ideas for the restaurant. Customers can feel great if they can decide the menu on their own.

c.       Twitter

The tweets on Twitter are just like the conversations between the customers and AJ Bombers. It can be received from the mobile devices. People can read the messages wherever they are. In this way, I suggest AJ Bombers can use Twitter to deliver the message to remind people to visit it. They can post the messages on Twitter before lunch or dinner to remind people that AJ Bombers is a good choice to eat at.

d.      Foursquare

AJ Bombers offered a free burger to the 9000^th check-ins which is their latest event this month. It will encourage repeat visits and check-ins among its fan base. I recommend AJ Bombers should also offer a free burger to the mayor too. People not only can get fight to become the mayor, but can also get a free burger at the same time. It will encourage people to visit this page more often.

e.      YouTube

AJ Bombers uses YouTube to deliver the messages and also use it to deliver the news letter. The contents are almost the same as the interviews and the talks from the owners. I think the simple way is the best especial for the restaurant. Some good pictures can attract people effectively. I suggest AJ Bombers can use this as the example to gain more attention from customers.

 

f.        Sample Campaigns

Ø   Testimonial

People will believe opinions from the peers on the Internet rather than advertisements on the television. That’s called Word-of Mouth. Those reviews and opinions can build a good reputation to attract more and more customers through social media. I suggest AJ Bombers can encourage people to record how they think about their burgers and post the videos on YouTube and Facebook. It can deliver the testimonials immediately without the framing of time and space.

Ø   Festival Campaign

I recommend AJ Bombers can have special campaigns based on different festivals and also served in limited time. For example, they can offer a chocolate burger served during Valentine’s Day. Or make the burgers look like the picture. It can make customers feel interested and have willing to taste the special burger.

 

Reading Reflections #3 - Internal Groundswell

Groundswell thinking can not only can be use in marketing strategies, but internally within the company as well. Just like the book “Groundswell” said, the power and the speed of the groundswell within companies let employees and the company find what they want from each other. (p.219) Internal groundswell in the company contains several benefits. It provides a good opportunity for employees to be connected to leadership. (p.221) Take Avenue A/Razorfish for example, employees can post their thoughts and ideas about their work on a wiki. It is the a perfect platform to exchange opinions without limitations. This new technology has helps this company to communicate internally. Moreover, it cuts the time spend looking for opinions from hours to minutes. (p.221) It creates a collaboration tool and a communication channel. It means social networks can help spark the communication between the company and employees.

However, the company has to think about relationships, not the technologies as groundswell thinking. It still has to focus on people- their employees. The internal groundswell is all about creating new ways for people to communicate. If the company promotes a listening culture from top to down, it eases and encourages participation, and empowers the rebels in the organization to challenge idea. It will definitely work. If the company has a listening culture, their employees can express their thought and new ideas on their internal site. Their employees can stay up to date on a project, to share competitive market intelligence, and to collect and vote on promising ideas. (p.229) It can increase the willing of employees to participate the discussions.

The discussion above shows how social networks change people’s lives and also changes the company at the same time. Groundswell technologies are easy to use and easily to connect people whenever and wherever they want. (p.234) People in present world can access groundswell very easily, not just on computers, but on mobile devices. If people want to pay to see a movie, before going they will search the comments on the Internet rather than just but the tickets. They trust the opinions, rating, and reviews much more than the advertisements. The company can also see the comments on the forums. Their customers post their thoughts about the products and services. The company can know what have done right or wrong. Then, they can adjust the directions to fulfill their customers. Moreover, people and companies can communicate with each other through social media. People can express their voices honestly and companies can understand what they want directly. It could be a win-win situation for both sides.

Social Media Monitoring Project

I.           Executive Summary

In the present world, social media lets people to express their voices and help them to connect with each other. They can visit others’ blogs to view their opinions about the products which they are interested in. They can also share perspectives with friends whom they have never met. They will trust the rating and reviewing much more than advertisements. That means social media has empowered people to think and make decisions on their own mind.

Otherwise, the company can also use social media to connect their customers. Some customers will post their comments on forums, websites, Facebook, and other social media. The opinion from the customers is a good way to realize what their real thoughts are. The company can listen where are the problems and decide how to solving these problems. Social media can let company connect with consumers directly. That shows social media create a communication channel between customers and the company. Social media also become a good way to promote the company and can create buzz without any payment. It can build a new social network in business world. If the company can use social media very well, it will bring more business in a short time. Take AJ Bombers for example.

AJ Bombers is the name of a burger restaurant in Milwaukee which opened three years ago. It has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times in a year. AJ Bombers' success starts with a great experience and a great product. The reason why they can be so successful in such a short time is because of the owners Joe and Angie Sorge utilized social media to promote the restaurant and connect with their customers. It demonstrates the power of the medium. The ways how AJ Bombers constant building awareness and energizing fans has included: they use their main website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Foursquare to communicate with their customers.

II.         Introduction

The following paragraphs show a brief overview of how AJ Bombers use of social media and what kind of social media they choose to use. I will explain the effectiveness of the social media. I will also analyze the tone how AJ Bombers talk to their customers, what kind of messages they deliver to their customers, and how often does they post new information, and how often does they reply the messages from clients, and how’s the feedback from the clients. I want to explain the reason why AJ Bombers can be so successful not only had they had good products and services, but build a new relationship with customers through social media. Moreover, I will utilize the metrics to analyze the data I have to accomplish this social media monitoring project.

I.           Overview of Social Media which AJ Bombers use

a.      Facebook

The Facebook page of AJ Bombers provides much information, such as the new burgers and the latest photos. You also can see some interesting videos on it. The most important thing is you can know the latest event and you can see the responds below the news release. According to Facebook, you can see there are 625 check-ins and 2,513 people likes this page. Based on the record, it increases 60 check-ins and 50 people likes this page averagely every week.

The newest event on Facebook informed the visitors if you want to win a free burger, you have to be the 9000^th check-in on Foursquare. It’s really good to use every social media to deliver the same messages. It can make sure the people who used to use different social media can still receive the same messages. Facebook can let people see the post immediately and they also can see the responds from other users at the same time. You also can see the comment talking about this event will increase the desire to eat the AJ Bombers’ burgers. It provides a platform let customers can share news and experiences with each other and AJ Bombers can receive the feedback and the comments right away.

a.      Twitter

AJ Bombers also use Twitter to deliver the messages to customers. Based on the record, there are 13,141 following this page, 13,323 followers, and 31,214 tweets on it. The tweets on this page express these short messages just like the conversations between the customers and AJ Bombers. It builds a new communication channel let each side can express their thoughts and can get the feedback right away.

a.      Foursquare

Based on the record, there are 2,477 people visits this page and have 9,081 check-ins. The mayor is Amy who checks in 27 times in last 60 days. AJ Bombers offered a free burger to the 9000^th chick-ins which is their latest event this month. It will encourage repeat visits and check-ins among its fan base. People not only can get confident to become the mayor, but can also get a free burger. It’s also a good channel to deliver the selling messages to the customers. Visitors can leave the comments on this page and can see how many people have the same experience with you. It will build a special confident through this. For example, if you think the peanut butter burger is the best one in the world, and post on Foursquare, and there are 20 people agree with this idea. You will feel happy and supportive through the feedback.

a.      Others

According to http://addictomatic.com/topic/aj+bombers, you also can find the information of AJ Bombers on YouTube, Bing News, Google Blog, Truveo Video, Flickr, Twingly Blog, Wordpress.com, and Yahoo Web etc.

I.           Tone, Message, and Feedback of AJ Bombers

a.          Tone

The reason why AJ Bombers can be so successful, I think the way and the tone they talked plays an important role. They speak their customers’ language. It can make customers feel comfortable and have willing to leave the messages on social media. Then AJ Bombers has the opportunities to realize the thoughts on their minds. They have the opportunities to growth. The way how AJ Bombers talks just like an old friend you have. They will discuss what kind of chocolate burgers make you lose control. They can understand what you think and open a new conversation. The posts and the responds are just like normal conversations. It can build and maintain good relationships between the brand and customers.

a.          Feedback and Message

AJ Bombers spent many hours to responding every message on each social media. You can see almost every post, comments, tweets, and reviews were replied in a short time. It’s really good to respond the comments. It will encourage viewers to post their thoughts and experiences on it. Because they feel they are “sharing” rather than “posting”.

AJ Bombers not only use social media to deliver the new information, but have some interesting conversations. Viewers and the company may discuss what day is today. They may also discuss which movie is their favorite. It’s not always the selling messages on the websites. That can make customers feel more comfortable to visit their website, and maintain the relationships, and create the brand impression at the same time. These movements can let customers feel they have special connections with each other.

I.           Current Metrics

a.          Social Mention 



According to Socialmention.com, in mid-March, the AJ Bombers had a neutral and positive brand in social media. Overall, Social Mention gave AJ Bombers 12% in strength, 54% passion, and 21% in reach.

People can use many key words to find this burger restaurant, but the most common word is ajbobmbers. According to the listed sources on Socialmention.com, AJ Bombers appears in many different kinds of social media the famous social media is Twitter. There are 60 retweets this month. Moreover, this brand will be mentioned every 32 minutes in the Internet.

a.          Google Insights

According to Google Insights, worldwide searches for AJ Bombers peaked in October (2010) last year. The search key words are “aj bombers milwaukee”. Regionally, searches came only from within the United States.

a.          Famecount

According to Famecount.com, there are 13,301 followers and on Twitter. Otherwise,

Daily, weekly, and monthly growths are all higher than the Twitter average. It also shows the number of the followers is growth since July 2010.

                     d.Compete

According to Compete.com, the people who visit AJ Bombers.com are growth 2.42% in February. The visit times also growth 33.61% last month.

I.           Conclusion

The company can use social media to listen to their customers and embrace low-cost, low-control social media technology to drive awareness and increase word-of-mouth. They don’t have to pay lots money to promote themselves. It not only can save money, but build a new business world. AJ Bombers is the best example to support this opinion. It shows if you can listen to the customers and respond the posts, you can build a good relationship with customers. This kind of relationships will gain awareness and have more and more people to visit your company. Even small business can utilize social media to become famous brands.