About Face(book)

Amy Spiezio

Every day, more and more individuals and companies in the optical industry are jumping into the world of social networking. (Eyecare Business Magazine is no exception—our web presence has expanded from www.eyecarebusiness.com to include a Facebook page and a Twitter feed).

Is it really that beneficial from a frame buyer's perspective? Just think about it…you have the opportunity to expose your inventory, literally frame by frame, to a pool of existing and potential clients. This is a prime opportunity to get objective opinions about your inventory and boost sales.

How you go about your entrance to Facebook depends on your creative choices. Los Angeles-based Gogosha Optique posts a specific frame style almost every day. Some days it's worn by a friend of the dispensary, other days the style is shown alone. The postings show the cross-section of people who call Gogosha their dispensary, as well as the range of frames offered.

Valerie Vittu, owner of Margot and Camille Optique in Philadelphia, takes a slightly different approach, using the store's page to promote trunk shows, new style launches, and the location's many events such as artists' exhibits for the city's First Friday events.

Facebook, Twitter, and other electronic communities are powerful tools to keep things personal in a day where dispensing time allotments seem to get smaller and smaller. Serving as a combination Yellow Pages, photo album, datebook, and town center, social media can help you make new friends and build your business. When you get there, don't forget to “Friend” EB, too.

Inventory Question of the Month:

Do you use social media to promote the highlights of your frameboard:

— It's something I've been meaning to do, but it just hasn't happened yet.
— This is a hands-on business, why should I invest my time in no-touch media?
— I'm currently applying for citizenship in the world of Facebook.

Please email your responses to managing editor Amy Spiezio at amy.spiezio@wolterskluwer.com or cast your vote at Eyecare Business' Facebook page.

FACE FACTS

300 Million+

In a recent story in the New York Times, the power of Facebook for retailers was explored. In it, Clara Shih, author of “The Facebook Era,” notes that the number of participants is huge: “And with 300 million people on Facebook, and still growing, that's increasingly where your audience is for a lot of products and services.”

1.4 Million Pages

The article goes on to recommend that most small businesses can get a strong social media start by launching their own Facebook pages. “Pages allow businesses to collect ‘fans’ the way celebrities, sports teams, musicians and politicians do. There are now 1.4 million Facebook Pages and they collect more than 10 million fans every day, according to the site.”

$300=$60,000

Finally, the story showed the dollar figures that prove a powerful return on investment for social media involvement. To promote his bridal-oriented firm, Chris Meyer elected to reach out to women ages 22 to 28 who listed their marital status as engaged in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. In two years, his $300 investment in Facebook ads has generated more than $60,000 in business.