Link to the Times Free Press Facebook pageHighest Facebook fan counts in Chattanooga:1. Tennessee Aquarium: 27,3862. Explore Chattanooga (visitors bureau): 10,1813. WRCB Channel 3 Eyewitness News: 10,1304. The Chattanooga Market: 6,5045. Gigi’s Cupcakes (Chattanooga): 3,8176. The Comedy Catch: 3,6937. Kiss-FM Chattanooga: 3,3778. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: 3,3379. Chattanooga Times Free Press: 2,56310. Ruby Falls: 2,446Source: Facebook.comWant to create an effective Facebook page?1. Update frequently, even daily.2. Encourage conversation and answer questions.3. Don’t be afraid to have some fun.4. Use signs or take time to announce your page to patrons.5. Offer special promotions to followers and fans.6. Think about when to publish updates.7. Look at your page’s analytics and cater to your audience.8. Limit who can update to keep posts consistent.9. Purchase Facebook ads to jumpstart your fan count.How to create a free Facebook page for your business:1. Login at Facebook.com2. Go to facebook.com/pages3. Click on “Create Page”Source: Facebook.com
Chattanooga businesses are increasingly embracing Facebook to amass huge fan bases and keep in touch with customers.
“Facebook is one of the most effective and lowest-expense mechanisms for reaching our core audience,” Chattanooga Market Chairman Chris Thomas said.
Facebook pages, which are free to create, let businesses tell fans about events, upload photo albums or videos, and send timely updates to every fan, by phone or computer.
Approximately 10 percent of the 600 Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau members have created Facebook pages for their businesses, Candace Davis, marketing and public relations manager, said.
“I think a lot of people see it as very overwhelming,” she said. “It’s not; you just have to keep up with it.”
Ms. Davis updates the bureau’s Facebook page at least twice a day, using her iPhone when not at the office, she said.
Promotion
A quaint Chattanooga store, Gigi’s Cupcakes has quite the reputation on Facebook.
With nearly 4,000 fans, the shop has more than any other store in the franchise, including the original Nashville location and the entire brand.
Even though the fan page has been online less than 10 months, it ranks fourth overall in fans among Chattanooga businesses on Facebook, outranked only by the aquarium, the visitors bureau, and the region’s largest market.
The shop’s manager, Jennifer Jones, said she uses the page to let customers in on the latest specials. When the store’s too busy to update its Facebook page, sometimes a customer will pop in to type up the specials and share it with other fans for them.
Mrs. Jones frequently posts printable coupons and recently asked fans their thoughts on building a new store in Hixson. Dozens of comments poured in within an hour.
Gigi’s isn’t shy about its loyal customer base, largely built through Facebook. In fact, each of the store’s registers bears signs encouraging newcomers to log on and become fans.
“I definitely believe it has helped our store,” Mrs. Jones said. “We ask customers frequently if they are a fan on Facebook.”
Advertising
Chattanooga’s biggest fan pages purchased Facebook advertisements to jumpstart their social presence.
“In about a year and four months we went from a couple hundred fans to 27,000,” Meredith Lewallen, marketing and sales coordinator for the Tennessee Aquarium, said.
Soon after launching the page, the aquarium spent several hundred dollars on ads. Now it owns the second-largest aquarium fan page in the world, Ms. Lewallen said.
“It was very beneficial to us,” she said. “It’s great to create awareness, especially if you’re just getting into the game.”
Today the aquarium hopes to continue to boost its fan count by posting content that people will want to share with their friends.
The visitor bureau’s “Explore Chattanooga” page has reached more than 10,000 fans with the help of advertising both online and off. Ms. Davis said the bureau prints its Facebook address on newsletters and press releases.
The bureau’s page also includes a “favorite pages” widget, with links to its members on Facebook. This month the bureau integrated Facebook “like” buttons on its website for every member business, Ms. Davis said.
Have some fun
Monday has always been a slow business day for Gigi’s Cupcakes. Just add rainwater, and it’s practically a recipe for closure.
Nevertheless, it was one wet Monday in February that Mrs. Jones hopped on Facebook to post an update to fans: “The first 10 people to come in after 10 a.m. with a red umbrella get a free cupcake of their choice!”
It took less than 20 minutes for the first winner to arrive, and business soared from there.
“It’s crazy,” Mrs. Jones said. “It’s just really funny what they’ll do to get the cupcakes.”
Katrina Craven, public relations and marketing director at the Hunter Museum of American Art, said it’s important to occasionally post offbeat updates on Facebook.
Several months ago an employee spotted a baby raccoon living on the bluff behind the building, she said. The technology manager took the opportunity to post pictures and ask fans to name the newborn creature.
The Chattanooga Choo Choo used contests to double its number of fans from 600 to 1,200 in just four months, human resources director Kerry Buckman said.
The historic hotel posted photos of antique cars on Facebook and asked fans to guess what years the vehicles were made. Those who guessed correctly won dinner in the diner.
The aquarium also used contests to its advantage, Ms. Lewallen said. When “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” appeared at the IMAX, she asked fans to describe their ideal sub sandwich for a chance to win tickets.
Conversation
Facebook encourages users to comment on pages by default, and while fans are traditionally very positive, Ms. Lewallen said she sometimes checks the aquarium page from her home to delete the occasional spam message.
“You obviously have to keep an eye on it to make sure that the comments aren’t insulting to other people, but for the most part we have really great fans,” she said. “It doesn’t take a lot of monitoring.”
Ms. LeWallen said the aquarium reads every comment, and while most fans write about their experiences, some share suggestions.
Communications Manager Thom Benson said the aquarium recently responded to requests from fans who wanted to see “Avatar” at the IMAX.
Ms. LeWallen said that sometimes fans will respond to questions from other fans before she even gets a chance to reach the keyboard.
In an effort to get more fans talking to each other, the visitors bureau asks its followers which local spots they recommend, Ms. Davis said.
“We don’t want our page to be a giant commercial, that’s why we like feedback from fans,” she said. “Third party endorsement is always better.”
Ms. Davis said she removes comments that aren’t tourism-related, for instance, photos posted of a lost dog.
“I monitor it very closely,” she said. “Even at night I can look at it and make sure no one’s posted anything bad.”
The Hunter Museum uses its page to ask visitors about specific exhibits, Mrs. Craven said. “People aren’t shy about saying what they like.”
The Creative Discovery Museum also wants fans to tell how they’ve benefited from their visits, Director of External Affairs Lynda LeVan said.
“We want to engage people in conversation with us, not just spout out what we’re doing,” she said. “If you ask a question, people will answer, because they love to share about their own experience.”
Interactive media
Like the bonus features after watching a film, social media has become a way of enhancing a person’s visit, Mrs. Lewallen said.
The most popular photos on the Hunter Museum page, Mrs. Craven said, are from “behind-the-scenes” installations of exhibits.
Mr. Benson and Ms. Lewallen said they were preparing to purchase smart phones so they could snap pictures and record video at a moment’s notice.
“Sometimes you walk by and an animal’s doing something hilarious,” Mr. Benson said.
Fans who might not be present when a birth or hatching occurs could watch the video on Facebook afterwards, he said.
The aquarium also uses Facebook to post links to news coverage.
Ms. Lewallen said she utilizes the page’s built-in analytics to study demographics.
“We have fans all over the world,” she said. Most are from either Atlanta or Chattanooga, but a surprising number come from Mexico, she added.
Both the aquarium and the Hunter Museum are experimenting with new ways to use fan photography.
Ms. Lewallen said she encourages camera-toting aquarium visitors to upload their best shots online.
An online redesign may feature photos snapped by aquarium patrons with their permission, Mr. Benson said. In addition, those who share images with the Hunter Museum could find their work in the institution’s member magazine, Mrs. Craven said.
Ms. LeVan said the Creative Discovery Museum’s fan count has swelled substantially as of late to 1,300. The key? Consistently posting fresh content and even analyzing what time of day is best to publish updates.
The non-profit museum eventually wants to set-up a way for patrons to donate through Facebook, she said.
Ms. LeVan said that in order to ensure consistency and quality, only a few staff members are permitted to post updates.
When the Hunter Museum holds a public program visitors are encouraged to post to their Facebook pages during the event, Mrs. Craven said.
The social network has essentially brought more business to the Chattanooga Choo Choo, Ms. Buckman said.
“Facebook helps us have a bigger presence and get our name out there,” she said.
Ultimately it’s an organization’s responsibility to be aware of social media and use it effectively, Ms. LeVan added.
“You’ve got to jump on the bandwagon,” she said. “It’s happening whether you’re involved in it or not.”