I had been trying to connect with the gentleman at our local Chamber of Commerce that handled the internet marketing, etc. so that we could begin to use our outlet there to get the word out about our fairly new Facebook giveaways. Once we did finally communicate,
he asked if I would be willing to share my social media experiences, especially our use of Facebook for contests and giveaways. 
Of course I obliged and he published it through their website and blog. However, he formed it as a Q & A session.  (I will provide the link to that blog at the bottom of this post.)
I want to share my original piece with you here on our company blog site (since I am far from a writer I definitely want to share any every little thing I type- lol ) So here it is. Enjoy.

THE 5 “W’s” OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SMALL BUSINESS IN MY OWN EXPERIENCE 

Initially starting out, the company we have now become was only a two person crew which consisted of my mother and father in law. A true mom and pop operation in which they travelled from car dealership to car dealership repairing vehicles’ interior blemishes and exterior paint work.

Fast forward almost eleven years to present day we have three mobile divisions and an array of services. But the kicker would have to be in our opening a service center on April of this year in Lexington, South Carolina. Reason being we our now serving the retail market. 

Never before have we had any need for marketing or more specifically social media. 

However, with the sales and marketing arena evolving, social media has become a major player in the game. It has become such an amazing tool. I have done a lot of research and study on this among many other marketing outlets and it is said that with the consumer markets growing use of mobile devices and internet shopping that well over 50% of all final sales are done with these two mediums alone. Wow! Fifty percent! 

This means that if we are not using social media, we are quite possibly missing an enormous amount of business; which led me and should drive you, to begin using social media platforms to advance your company.

Whew! Glad to have gotten all of that out there. Now, onto what I am writing this article about.

In setting up our social media business pages I quickly realized that the old saying, “Build it and they will come” does not necessarily apply. So I embarked on more research, more study and I decided to try out contests and giveaways through Facebook. Our specific goal in using all social media platforms is to bring brand awareness, capture leads, and ultimately serve the needs of people within our niche. Without having to invest a great deal financially into social media marketing, the ROI is phenomenal.

Thus far, our company Automotive Cosmetics Group has run three monthly Facebook giveaways and we are currently running one as I type this note to you. We have given away our services and we are going to give away Starbucks and Long Horn Steakhouse gift cards in the future. Our first giveaway that ran for three days on Facebook increased our following by 120 people or “likes”. The second giveaway increased our following by 35 people or “likes”. And the third added around the same number of 35 people or “likes”. The monthly giveaway is a work in progress so of course we are constantly testing and learning as we go. 

Because of the potential I saw in these organically made giveaways I decided to (yes you guessed it) do more research and I found a few different options in software platforms that assist in social media marketing. I spoke with several and joined in on webinars to learn more about them. In the end I decided to use a platform that is built to assist my efforts in doing our monthly Facebook giveaway with excellence. 

I am using that platform for the first time in running our current giveaway on Facebook. It has two days left to run but we have already captured 35 new email contacts and added 17 new people or “likes”. In giving to our community and state by using social media we have gained free advertising and we have had several new customers come through our doors. We are recognizing money we did not have before while growing in an area we did not have before.

As you can see, with a minimal investment, which in turn creates large profit, there is simply no reason that any company should not be using social media. The future of internet marketing is already here. It is social media. Create your company profile today.

Some of our first monthly Facebook Giveaway winners

LINK TO OUR LOCAL CHAMBER AND THE Q & A CHAMBER BLOG LINK

Introducing Our Half Moon Upholstery Division

The Story Pt.2

                                                           

Where was I? Oh yes, Ron.
As you recall, Rochelle worked extremely hard in climbing the corporate ladder and made a successful go of it. But the end result for her sadly was much like so many others in corporate America.

And... along comes Ron Roos. "The Dutchman" I like to call him when Im in a joking mood.
He was born and raised in Rotterdam, Netherlands. A "Dutchman" for sure.
After high school he joined the Royal Dutch Navy for two years. He then became a plumbing apprentice a year but found his way into the traditional stucco trade where he would become a specialist. His strength and focus was in the restoration of museums and historical homes. And he did this for over eleven years.

Eventually he was presented with an opportunity to join the very large company Dupont and he could not pass it up. This job went well for awhile but he would eventually go back to doing what he had done for so long in the past, remodeling and stucco work in which he travelled some to different  countries such as Germany and Austria.

During his travels in doing the construction work he met and became friends with someone who asked him to come work for an International Franchise that specialized in automotive paint repair and  he accepted. This work would bring him to the United States in 1998. More specifically, Kansas City, Missouri where the headquarters for the franchise was located.

Ron became the automotive paint trainer for all who bought into the franchise from across the globe. Once they bought into the franchise they would fly into Kansas City and be trained in automotive paint and repair before going back to there city or country for that matter to start up their franchise.

And this is where you may tie in my last blog. In 2001 my mother in love (not law) Rochelle met Ron and as I stated before she was asked to join the company at the Kansas City headquarters. By 2004 Ron and Rochelle's relationship had grown and their vision for business had as well. So they loaded up a small minivan with a few paint and interior supplies and moved to South Carolina where Rochelle's parents lived. They had a dream and some repair material and equipment.

There are many many more details to this story but I will save you the rambling on by simply stating that as we fast forward to the present year of 2014, we (Automotive Cosmetics Group) are an eleven employ company and are not only celebrating ten years in business but we are also celebrating the expansion of our family business in opening our Service Center in Lexington, South Carolina!
Wooo Hoooo!!!

Wow! Talk about small beginnings....


Catch you on the next blog.

You can find us at  http://www.automotivecosmetics.com
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