Are You Playing Pinball With Your Social Media?

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The silver ball swiftly glides across the smooth wood surface, propelled by a quick snap of a flipper. 

It lands in a pop out hole, percolates there for four long agonizing seconds, then charges out and catches you off guard as it plunges into the depths of the unknown after passing between those two paddle devices that really should be closer together. You, of course, frantically try pushing hard on the flipper buttons in a last ditch attempt to save the silver ball from slipping away. 

Ah! Being reactive instead of proactive. Letting things come at you instead of anticipating them. Is this anyone to run a business? YOU should be controlling the shots.

Pinball is a game of skill and strategy (and a little luck too). You learn the layout of the playing field and you plan the best way to navigate it. Doesn’t that sound a lot like how you should be approaching social media?

Think of the bumpers as the "chatter" that comes from the posts or tweets you make; they chime with excitement! And they need to hit, or reply, again and again to increase the engagement and bring you to the next level. Good reflexes are the baseline.

Now, take those narrow chutes towards the back of the machine that require more strategy, including anticipation and foresight, as where you need to go to garner the most success. 

However, before you get to those chutes, you need to light up a series of targets as you skillfully get closer to the jackpot, which could be a free play or perhaps an extra ball. Ping!

There’s a learning curve of course. Additional knowledge is required and you’ll gather that as you maneuver to hit all the targets. Do you have all the know-how you need to obtain your goals? Will you do it all or will you seek professional assistance so that you can hit the jackpot sooner?

The Who sang about some “mean” pinball playing despite the player (Tommy) having major handicaps. It’s inspiration for us all. And if you want to put some ping into your marketing efforts, stop by and see us at our website, or on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. 

In Search of the Next Beanie Baby.

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Maybe I’m out of the loop as far as cute, inexpensive collectibles go. I did get swept up in a craze not too many years ago, adorable little stuffed critters with the big heart tags. Despite not having a young child in my family I was drawn to them. So I bought a few: A poodle, a lobster, a crab. 

I even bought the protectors that prevent the tags from creasing.

And, in the height of their popularity, by some luck, Beanie Babies became a quick opportunity for me to make a few bucks.

Being a big fan of garage sales, off I went one Saturday in 1997 or 1998 after carefully planning my route. Walking up a long driveway I spotted a woman dragging out a large plastic container from the garage; a quick glance nailed it for me. I quietly asked her how much for the contents inside. She said “Well, there’s about 30 of them in there, so how does $60 sound?” I forked over the funds and dragged the container out to my car. 

Now being the proud owner of some 30+ Beanies, I had to do my homework. A quick run to Barnes & Noble to purchase a softback pricing guide, an hour of study, and I was prepped to make my next move. 
“Helloooo Ebay” I cried, as I launched eight new listings. 

And the bidding began. My $60 investment in beanies + $5.95 for the latest quarterly price guide turned into over $500 in three days. After that I put out some more Ebay listings; this time it didn’t include the rarest ones, however my profits continued to increase as more bidders fought to win a stuffed animal. 

So what’s my point? Having a clever marketing strategy in place works.  Nice going, Ty Inc. You got me and I’m not even the target audience! What contributed to their success? 

• Sure they were for kids, right? But yet, they were for everyone.

• $5 is little to pay for something that can bring much joy. And another $5. And another. You get the idea. 
• People were talking about them. Word of Mouth travels. Sure it’s “old fashioned” but it’s a great resource for any company. And it’s free. Who needs social networks to talk about a product?                       
• Supply and demand. Special editions, scarcity, and variations of the product made them more collectible. 

• Variety. Keep pumping out new designs so that people keep adding to their collections. I think I had at least 10 birds; there were probably more than that!
• Never saw them advertised on TV or in print. That’s going to keep the costs down!
• I recall buying them in card/gift stores. A few sources online say that they weren't even sold at big box stores. So the “where” or placement comes into play.
• We all could learn a few things from this fad’s marketing. Wait a minute! Was it really a fad? The craze went on for a few years. Let’s call it a success story. 

Now to go find my Garcia Bear. Yes, he was in that large plastic container. I kept him!

Speaking of Garcia, Jerry and his band released this fine tune in the early 70's. Enjoy.

Stop by, say Hi! There's the website, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ ...and thanks for stopping by here.

Poor Nana Jeans!

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The Black Sheep Bistro was a fantastic restaurant with Mediterranean influence in their cooking! Pricey, but delicious. 


Perhaps best of all was enjoying their food for free. My hair salon is next door and if I happened to be there around mid-afternoon, the first batch of the special of the day was brought over for everyone in the salon to enjoy. 


Sadly, they closed their doors after many successful years. But they had a brilliant exit strategy. Five years before closing they started making videos on food preparation in anticipation of a new career that included those videos. 


Another restaurant moved in soon after; roughly a little over a year ago. After my usual “coiffing” I stopped over to say hello. The overall atmosphere appeared to be casual and laid back. It was only around 11:15; the lunch rush hadn’t started yet. A gent close in age to me that looked friendly said hello. Turns out he was the son of Nana Jean, the namesake for the establishment as well as the owner. 


Spoke to him for a few moments, welcoming him to the area and asking about the menu. Then I mentioned what I do for a living, handed him my card and said if he needed any assistance with marketing strategy that I’d be glad to support him.


The reply? “I know ALL about MARKETING…I have a degree in blah blah blah BLAH ….”  Whoa Nelly! Was just letting you know, okay? After thanking him for his time, I was out the door, never to return.


Nana Jean’s closed a few months ago.


They haven’t taken down their Facebook page, so I took a quick peek. Their last post appears to be an act of last minute desperation:

A quick assessment reveals that sixteen posts were made July 1 – November 11, 2011. Apparently, the owner did not see much value in having a Facebook page. Interestingly enough, more people had checked into the restaurant than there were fans; why didn’t they like the page?

A quick assessment reveals that sixteen posts were made July 1 – November 11, 2011. Apparently, the owner did not see much value in having a Facebook page. Interestingly enough, more people had checked into the restaurant than there were fans; why didn’t they like the page?


Initial posts focused on the beauty of the food, with some photos of the large screen TV peppered in. However, by Labor Day the focus had turned to discounts and took on a selling flair. 


No sign of a Twitter account. No presence on Google+


The website was lackluster, sporting a menu without photos, just text. In fact, there were very few pictures, period.


Did social media play a role in their demise? It’s highly possible. There’s no evidence that Nana Jean’s took any opportunity to differentiate themselves from hundreds of other restaurants in the area. They were at a disadvantage physically, located in a quieter part of town, suggesting that part of their woes included a lack of foot traffic. 


Would a social media strategy have helped? Yes. Properly engaging their customers via a presence on social networks would have created awareness in the local area. Some folks would ultimately try this establishment and become “ambassadors of the brand”, spreading the news via good old fashioned word of mouth.

A simple way for them to engage would have been posting visuals of food on Facebook and Google+ pages (and their website for that matter). Everybody eats and almost everybody enjoys food!  A halfway decent digital camera, lots of takes, and little cleanup and polish on the chosen photos, and there you go. 

Was the food not up to par? Since I didn’t eat there, can’t say. The few photos posted suggested that the food is delicious.


There’s a new restaurant in that space now. I’m considering stopping by and checking it out. Hope I don’t get my head bitten off if I do check it out.