When I became the publisher of Locksmith Ledger in 1992, there was no public internet or anything resembling social media. When Bill Reed and the Ledger wanted to advertise the brand, meet readers and spread the locksmith gospel, it was done with their famous Frank & Bill shows around the country where Reed and Frank Agius would team with writers Jerry Levine, Hank Spicer, Len White and Steve Young to teach and preach. Nancy Brokamp and I later did the same with our LedgerWorld shows in Reno, Nevada, and around the country.
Three decades later, the Ledger is still teaching es and preaching to the locksmith community, but now, it relies on the phalanx of social media options, from Facebook and Twitter to LinkedIn and YouTube. Like the community we serve, Locksmith Ledger is a small business at heart. We thrive on the exposure we gain with our audience.
If you and your locksmith business haven’t looked at the benefits of social media, the time is right.
Plenty of locksmiths around the country leverage social media to increase their name recognition and grow their bottom line. One is Wayne Winton, owner of Tri County Locksmith Service in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Winton and friends launched Locksmith Nation awhile back, which is a private group for the locksmith community on Facebook. It has more than 2,500 members, who are able to glean technical and business knowledge through Winton’s posted video demos and monthly group meetings.
Winton might be an extreme example of social media leverage, but anyone can enhance their own brand by simply knowing the basics and starting slowly. Here are a few straightforward advantages that social media might provide for your business:
- Increase your shop’s brand awareness – More than 4 billion people use social media platforms worldwide, but creating your own little sphere is enough to reach new and highly targeted potential customers.
- Establish your brand as a thought leader – Platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn are excellent places to establish you and your business as the go-to technology and applications experts in your town.
- Generate leads – Social media provides an easy and low-commitment way for potential customers to express interest in your business and your products.
- Customer and audience engagement – Social networks allow you to interact directly with customers and fans and likewise give them the chance to interact directly with your brand. Unlike traditional media, which provides only one-way communication, social media is a two-way street.
- Reputation management – The obvious goal of social meeting in business is to get customers and perspective clients talking about your company. However, some already are discussing you whether you know it or not. It pays to monitor social media, whether it’s your sites or not, to be able to pick up and counter any potential negative comments.
I encourage you to be active on social media through any of the major platforms, putting max effort into your top two. The benefits are worth the effort.
