Social Studies Episode 1: In A Pickle? Not so much…

As I mentioned in Tuesday’s blog post, I will be featuring a new series, called Social Studies, on the blog in which I interview Managers and Owners from various businesses to examine their use of social media marketing. For further background on the derivation of Social Studies, I encourage you to read my previous post. The series begins today with Episode 1, a discussion with Tim Burke, Owner of the In A Pickle restaurant in Waltham, Massachusetts.

While devising my plans for Social Studies, I was impressed by a few of In A Pickle’s Social Media Marketing efforts. The restaurant is doing an excellent job of listening to and engaging with its customers online. Tim Burke, the owner, manages the restaurant’s social media. In addition to seeing the business benefit of incorporating social media into In A Pickle’s overall marketing strategy, Burke enjoys exploring the medium. He considers social media to be a hobby, above and beyond a job requirement.

Burke has displayed a willingness to adopt new channels as they arise, intuitively avoiding most of the pitfalls to which many small businesses fall victim. In reading the reviews of In A Pickle on Yelp.com it becomes readily apparent that much of the restaurant’s success (the obviously good food aside) has been due to the cultivation of a fun and welcoming environment. The friendly interactions which the customers enjoy and appreciate have carried over from the confines of the restaurant into the digital space.

The following video shows pieces of my discussion with Tim Burke in which he describes the restaurant’s implementation and usage of social media marketing:

For a further illustration of In A Pickle’s social media presence and ways in which the restaurant has utilized the various channels, please watch the following SlideShare presentation:

I want to thank Tim Burke for taking the time to sit down with me and discuss his experience at length. For a quick video of Tim’s advice for small business owners who may be hesitant to begin using social media, you can click here.

I welcome any feedback or questions you may have regarding this episode. Be on the lookout for more videos being added to the Social Studies YouTube channel. Additional episodes will be posted in the next few weeks featuring businesses in a variety of industries.