I would like to share this article with many of our small manufacturing companies that ask me about social media and if its something they should consider. This article provides some good information that can help answer some of those questions. I like some of the points this author makes in his article. - DPB

Column From: MMSOnline.com, Peter Zelinski, Senior Editor
Posted on: 5/6/2010

When anyone sets out to talk about social media, the danger is that we end up merely talking about ourselves. People are very different from one another. In particular, they differ in the ways they are “social.” Businesses are very different, too—yet if you own or lead a business today (practically any business), it is hard to avoid the feeling that you ought to be engaged with your prospects through Facebook, Twitter or other so-called social media. How engaged should you be with social media? More than you are! Or, at least, so goes the thinking. In reality, many of the voices championing social media right now begin from a false presumption. They assume their world looks like your world, or your customer’s world.

I also think you ought to be engaged with social media. I just hope to avoid that presumption. Businesses are, again, different—and machining businesses are particularly distinct. If you run a contract manufacturing business using CNC machining, then there is a good chance you differ from the leaders of other businesses in at least a couple ways:

First, you have less control over your time. Short-lead-time metalworking is a field in which the common mode of work is a controlled emergency.

Second, broad marketing strategies likely have little relevance, because you don’t wish to persuade thousands of people or even hundreds. You might do cartwheels if you could get a dozen sources of steady, serious and substantial work. Your view of social media (and marketing in general) thus has to be tempered by these realities.

That is why some of the advice I have to give here might contradict the social media experts. I am no such expert myself. I’m still clumsy with social media, and my opinions are incomplete. However, I have seen what is easy and what seems to work—two requirements that are key. Based on those requirements, here is what I suggest:

Have a great website.
Any online strategy still has to start here—social media haven’t changed that. Your website continues to be the most natural way for people to seek information about you. The site should be attractive, interesting, focused and clear. It should make plain what is different and important about your shop. If your site is sub-par in any of these areas, attend to this.

Blog? Probably not
Various blogging websites make blogs easy to launch. However, blogs are also easy to do badly. As a manufacturer, it is unlikely you have the spare time and attention internally to support a blog—and that’s fine. Just don’t succumb to the temptation to launch one and add it to your site. A blog that hasn’t been updated in months implies you have a lack of follow-through. If all you really want to do is showcase an interesting announcement every month or two, then have a “news” section on your website.

Use LinkedIn
LinkedIn.com is a networking site for business. Though it’s very popular, I still think it’s underrated—if only because the success of Facebook is so huge by comparison. LinkedIn accomplishes some of what Facebook can do while avoiding the latter site’s difficulties (see below). For professionals, LinkedIn is a wonderful resource not only for staying current with your own contacts, but also to ensure visibility in ways that have minimal impact on your time.

Once a profile is entered at LinkedIn, maintaining the presence requires little to no effort. Changes or additions to your profile are shared with your contacts in ways that unobtrusively keep them aware of you. Increasing the number of connections within your target industries increases how likely you are to be suggested as a contact to others within those industries. Even if your contacts and prospects use LinkedIn no more than occasionally, they still stand a fair likelihood of seeing a reminder of you when they do pop in.

Another plus: I have made beneficial contacts and appreciated some of the online discussions I’ve found as a result of connecting to industry groups on this site.

Join LinkedIn, and begin connecting to profiles of people there who are familiar to you. Connect to me there. (When you do, just mention in the text field that you saw this article.)

Twitter: Not silly
Twitter.com provides a way to send short messages to those who have chosen to “follow” you within the Twitter site. Many use Twitter just on the Web, not bothering to involve a mobile phone. One of the beauties of Twitter is the way it’s forgiving of occasional use. A blog updated once per month looks anemic, but a Twitter feed given a new message at that low rate still seems OK. After all, it’s only Twitter.

To get started on Twitter, create an account and post a few tweets. Then, find and follow other Twitter accounts in your industry.

(Examples: “MMSOnline” and “Z_Axis_MMS.”) Some accounts will likely choose to follow you in return, so a few initial followers may result. Even with only a few followers, it is still worthwhile to tweet occasionally, because both keyword searches and followers who “retweet” you can permit your tweets to be seen by more people. Plus, connecting LinkedIn to Twitter (easy to do in LinkedIn) makes your tweets visible to all of your network there.

What should you tweet? If nothing else, use Twitter to periodically describe interesting work being done in your shop—work that offers yet another reminder of your distinctive capabilities and how they are being put to use.

Facebook? Maybe
Facebook is a marvel of engineering. It solves a problem we never saw as a problem before—how to maintain group interaction across a group that is spread out in space and time. Yet Facebook’s usefulness for marketing actual engineering-related services is questionable. At least, I’ve been asking that question.

To put Facebook here at the end of an article about social media might seem like mild heresy, but Facebook presents a couple of challenges. One is that it demands attention. For your Facebook presence to be meaningful, you need to remain involved within the ongoing interaction that Facebook was created to carry out. That can be time-consuming. A more subtle challenge comes back to the simple point made above: People are different. Among Facebook users, they differ in the extent to which they are open to letting their business life into this space. In fact, among manufacturing decision-makers I’ve spoken to who use Facebook, I have yet to hear one express an active desire to use it for work-related information. Its users value it for personal reasons instead—keeping up with family or staying connected with college friends. At best, only some of these people are open to mixing the space with work. Others are not.
My own Facebook use is slight. Thus, my view might be slanted (see the first sentence of this article). That said, I don’t see Facebook as a good starting point for your business’s use of social media. Maybe Facebook will follow, but start instead with the recommendations above.

Thank you, David Radin!

Mr. Radin’s article appeared in the Business section of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this past Sunday, April 25th. Here is the link to read the full article.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10115/1052912-467.stm

Wow! In April, 1983 Sewickley Graphics & Design was established and I signed my first office lease. Where did those years go?

During the last 27 years, SG&D occupied and outgrew 5 office locations, employed over 26 people, weathered 3 major economic recessions, and most recently, repositioned the company - changing its name to SG&D Communications & Design. It is very humbling to reflect back on it all.

No one could have possibly prepared me for all the challenges that I experienced as a small business owner. But with the love and support of my family, our dedicated and talented SG&D employees (both present and past), our extended family of subcontractors (you know who you are), and the many wonderful clients we have had the privilege to serve through the years, I can post this Blog with great pride.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SG&D! May you continue to grow and prosper.

This is an interesting article on Social Media compliments from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10077/1043449-58.stm?cmpid=news.xml

At a recent chamber luncheon, a simple question was asked that, upon answering, sparked a flurry of additional questions surrounding the importance of Facebook and Twitter for businesses.

The question went a little something like this, “I know what social media is but why exactly would any of my customers care what I had for breakfast this morning or that I was upset when (insert name here) was voted off American Idol?”

The short answer is that most of your customers don’t care that you ordered the three-egg omelet or what you thought of American Idol. But there’s a lot more to these applications than you may think and by using them effectively, you can enhance the awareness, image and impact of your business. More so, you can keep in contact with customers, better understand their needs, quickly adapt to changing circumstances and increase clientele within your community.

The one constant between all social networking sites is that you get out of them what you put in. In that sense, social networking is like a garden. It will flourish based on the amount of care and effort you put into helping it grow. Simply planting the seed isn’t enough and the same can be said for the social networking sites. You must work to grow them in the right direction so that they yield the desired results.

Facebook as a business tool helps you connect with customers, pass along news, maintain open lines of communication and even attract new business. Facebook is simple to use (once you get the hang of it) and requires a larger upfront investment of time but less continual maintenance. By increasing the number of “friends” you have on Facebook, you can reach a larger audience and pass along pertinent information about your business. A restaurant, for example, can list daily specials while stores can announce sales. Where Facebook excels in communicating with the masses, it often lacks the “personal touch” as your posts generally go out to everyone…but no one in particular. Since it’s inception, Facebook has been used as a social tool amongst friends. Its capability on the business side is still being tested.

In a nutshell, Facebook is about people you have already met and desire to keep in touch with, whereas Twitter focuses more on the people you’d like to meet, who may have similar interests. Additionally, Facebook updates go out to a crowd, whether they care to hear it or not. Twitter updates still reach a crowd but one that has an implicit interest in what you are saying.

Twitter, from a business standpoint, is a simple tool that helps you communicate with likeminded individuals. To be effective, Twitter must be maintained and updated at least once a day. But fear not as your updates can’t be more than 140 characters in length, which is the length of this sentence, when I add these extra words. Communication on Twitter is much more instantaneous than on Facebook. If you ask a question or make a point, you can expect responses to arrive quickly. Think of Twitter as the modern day water cooler where you can discuss last night’s game or comment on the newest trends impacting your business. Twitter enables you to reach past your circle of friends and speak to larger groups. A search feature on the site enables viewers to search topics where they just may stumble upon your posts and begin following you. Businesses not offering tangible products may find Twitter more useful. It can effectively market a person or service, whether a lawyer or a trainer.

While there are some inherent differences between the two, in the end, they are both social tools that help you better connect and communicate with your desired audience.

To learn more about these social sites or to schedule a meeting to discuss how your business can benefit, please contact us at 412-375-7601.

When SG&D first sat down to discuss their website in April 2009, Pittsburgh Mailing expressed concerned that it was no longer communicating the company’s mission and vision for the future.

SG&D recommended a bold new design and multiple content features that would ultimately define Pittsburgh Mailing as Pittsburgh’s “One-Stop Shop” mailing fulfillment company.

Pittsburgh Mailing and the website are off to a great start in 2010, providing existing customers, as well as prospects, with many reasons to frequently visit the website: bold visual impact, easier navigation, important mailing information, and much more. To offer a more personal approach to better customer communications, SG&D implemented a social media plan with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

To check out Pittsburgh Mailing’s new website, click here: www.pittsburghmailing.com

UPDATE: Miss the show? Listen to the segment HERE!

It’s the busiest time of the year, it seems, between the holiday shopping and office parties and family gatherings.

But it’s also time to start thinking about 2010, believe it or not.

And what better way to start thinking than to take a little bit of time out of your Tuesday afternoon and listen to the radio?

SG&D President Donna Barger will be a guest on this week’s Pittsburgh Technology Council’s TechVibe broadcast on 1360 AM WMNY at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

TechVibe is hosted by Jonathan Kersting and Audrey Russo of the Tech Council and airs every other Tuesday from 2 to 6 p.m.

Donna will be discussing a little bit about what SG&D does and how we can help with your marketing efforts, whether large or small, in 2010.

So, grab a cup of coffee after lunch tomorrow afternoon, and tune in!

Just in time for the big holiday shopping season, major retailers are starting to take advantage of the social media tools available to connect better with customers.

As Doris Hajewski of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently reported, large-scale retailers like Kohl’s and Best Buy are using Facebook in particular to connect with customers, getting feedback – both positive and negative – and reacting to it in order to better communicate with those likely to spend dollars in their stores this holiday season.

Kohl’s has adapted its Facebook page to match its more traditional holiday advertisements, and has assigned a specific marketing team to monitor that page for customer feedback.

Bill Emerson, a former retail executive turned advisor, told the paper that leaving criticisms on retailers’ Facebook pages isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

To read Hajewski’s full article, click here.

What are your thoughts on using Facebook as a retail communications tool? Will you visit a store’s Facebook or Twitter page before shopping this holiday season?

One of the fun parts about moving into a new area is getting to know your new neighbors.

But when it comes to moving a business, meeting your new business neighbors typically requires a whole lot of networking.

Fortunately there are many really fantastic organizations in the Pittsburgh area to help us do just that, and SG&D is very excited to recently have joined two of them.

Right while we were in the process of moving, SG&D joined the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

Through our membership, we’ve met a ton of really great people and been introduced to some fantastic businesses in the Pittsburgh area who are doing some pretty amazing things in the fields of technology, manufacturing and higher education. And we’ve gotten to know the folks who make the Pittsburgh Tech Council run like a well-oiled machine.

And it was very exciting to see our SG&D markevation ad in the Tech Council’s membership directory … which is on page 11, if for some reason you hadn’t noticed it yet.

Also, a bit more recently, SG&D has become a member of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, (now marketed as “The Chamber” as per their recent rebranding effort), where we’ve come in contact with some of our more immediate neighbors and have found a new networking group to meet with on a weekly basis.

We’ve really enjoyed getting to know members of both organizations, and we look forward to meeting more of you in the future at events!

For 26 years, the borough of Sewickley had been the home of Sewickley Graphics & Design.

Today, Moon Township is the new home of SG&D Communications and Design.

SG&D has moved up in the world, quite literally, as it moved its office last week up the hill to the airport area into an office building where it resides on the top floor.

The new office space is fantastic. And there will be internal pictures forthcoming, but we wanted to wait until all the boxes were unpacked before doing that.

Anyhow, moving a business turned out to be quite an interesting challenge, especially when that challenge included crossing an extraordinarily busy bridge multiple times a day and carrying really heavy furniture up three flights of stairs to its new home. The men truly worked hard on Friday getting everything up here. But they did a great job, even if we did make them move the conference room table one too many times.

Some of the rest of us, who knew better than to attempt carrying heavy furniture, kept ourselves busy packing, carrying, and unpacking the “little stuff,” including office supplies, paper, and more shelves than I’ve ever seen in my life. Who knew a business needed 437 shelves? (I’m exaggerating a bit there, but as you can tell by the picture, there certainly were a lot of them. And I think I carried most of them.)

It was hot. It was humid. We were all very tired. But we think you’ll be pleased with the final result.

We’re very excited to be beginning this new phase of business as SG&D. Our new contact information is:

SG&D Communications and Design
Airport Professional Office Center
900 Commerce Court, Suite 910
Moon Township, PA 15108
412.375.7601

Our new web address is sgd-communications.com.

So, if you’re in the neighborhood, feel free to stop by and check out the new digs! And we promise we won’t even make you unpack anything. Although, if you’re interested in some shelving …

~ Carla

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