@PeggyJeansPies
So, anyone who knows me In Real Life knows that I love Facebook. It has put me in contact and helped me develop relationships with family members I probably would see or talk to every 10 years or so without it. More importantly, Facebook is a legitimate excuse to no longer to send out Christmas cards or go to your high school reunion (what's the point - you've already looked at all the pictures your high school boyfriend posted on his profile, so there is nothing to go scope out). It turns out that Facebook has been an invaluable tool for building Peggy Jean's Pies V 2.0. The ability to post information, pictures, blog entries, or updates FOR FREE is awesome...and it is immediate and accessible to everyone with a Facebook account. So many people have asked Jeanne what are some major differences between starting PJP now and starting PJP in 1994 with Peg and I think we both agree that the impact of social media has been a complete game changer. I'm not sure we could have afforded the publicity in traditional print media or radio advertising that an updated Facebook account has afforded us.
So, let's talk about Twitter. Historically, I have not been a tweeter (is that a word?). A lot of people ask me if I'm personally on Twitter because I'm a fan of snarky statements that are 140 characters or less, but no...no I haven't tweeted. I knew though that Peggy Jean's was going to have to tweet to be relevant with our customer base. So, I made an account in September and promptly forgot about and didn't touch it again until November. About that time, behind-the-scenes-tech-guru Jason was all "why aren't we tweeting?" Uh...because I don't really get it (hint: he thought that was a lame answer).
He dove right in to @PeggyJeansPies on the Twitter. Encouraged, I logged in and started to figure it all out (I'm notoriously late the party...I'm sure there are 10 year old kids that have figured out Twitter before me). But here is the thing with trying to build a presence on Twitter...it isn't easy. It is all about tweeting, but also about "mentioning" other accounts in your tweet or re-tweet. I believe Tech Guru Jason referred to it "cross-hybridization" of your business name to gain exposure. I completely tuned out at that point because I really thought it would be just to log in and say something random like "I like pie. Do you?" Inside Jason's tweets look more like "You will love Peggy Jean's Pies #CoMo #Pie #EatNow #YummyInTummy" or "@CoMo, Peggy Jean's Pies is back #EatPie #ComeSeeUs #VisitMo #VisitCoMO #CVB".
Here is an actual tweet he did while I was working on this blog post:
Thanks a million @IC_Prime for our #cover! We see some #pie in the future for you! We have had so many compliments!
Oh my. I still don't really grasp it because this is really just fancy Boolean logic with easier names. And the whole hashtag thing...I'm guessing you can just make up whatever you want. This really makes me what to have a #hashtag just for the irony lovers on Twitter.
I've decided I need a Twitter project. Sorta like some Twitter homework so I can figure out how to use it to our benefit because it is hip, relevant, and FREE. So, I think that I'll just incessantly tweet at Jon Hamm until he stops by for some pie on one of his visits home to Mizzou. I'll consider myself a Twitter champion the day Don Draper rolls in for a slice of pie (clearly, he would choose the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan). #MadMen, #JonHamm, #DonDraper, #StopBy, #PeggyJeans, #FreePie, #HowManyHashTagsCanYouHave?
If you are curious to see if I'll pull it off, follow us @PeggyJeansPies. If you don't really care about Jon Hamm, but are curious about Twitter, then follow us for that. In the time it took me to write this post, Jason has tweeted six tweets.
#I'mLame