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Social Media for Small Business: Bridging the
Experiential and the Analytical
Jack Fitzpatrick
27 April 2015
Internship in Marketing
Applied Research Paper

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Personal Statement
When I was growing up, I had a tough time deciding what exactly I wanted to do with my
life; however, my time at American University allowed me to explore possible career
options in the ream of marketing and communications. The mystique of social media
has sparked a deep interest inside of me that I had to explore. As the Digital Media
Intern for Secolari, an artisan olive oil and vinegar tasting room, I posted frequent
updates on the small business’ social media platforms and engaged in the
conversations about paid marketing strategy when it comes to advertisements on local
magazines, a movie trailer still in the works, and, my favorite, targeted social media
buys on Facebook.
In this paper, I aim to combine the analytical with the experiential while discussing social
media strategy and integration. I am taking my experiences with Secolari and combining
it with the observed social media presences of other companies and a myriad of
scholarly and practitioner-focused works. I examine three small specialty food
companies as well as an upscale bar and grille to provide a bit of contrast. These tools
can be used for any small business; however, these specific examples draw from my
experiences in this professional realm.
Introduction
Small businesses have always been innovators in the marketing arena. This isn’t
ineludibly by choice but by necessity. Finding means of marketing to target audiences
that are low-cost and efficient is a major task small business marketers face. Thinking
back to the small town drugstores of the early twentieth century, they primarily marketed
through word of mouth, funneling consumers to a physical stand-alone storefront. Now
in the twenty-first century, the saturated free enterprise economy has made it much
more difficult for small businesses to rely on past methods especially in larger urban
areas. This difficulty becomes greater as corporate behemoths slowly encroach on their
sales. The emergence of social media has slightly evened the playing field in the favor
of small businesses with the low entry barriers of costs and expertise.

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The social media integration permeating U.S. society and culture as a whole has even
strengthened the power of this marketing tool – it just has to be used correctly. Small
businesses can utilize social media to motivate consumers to become better customers
and transform them into brand ambassadors through engaging, sharable content,
community building, and quality integration into the company’s culture.
Overview of Social Media History
To begin, using social media is more than just tweeting and uploading photos to
Pinterest. It is truly participating in an ever-expansive digital community made up of
user-generated content. Many have wrestled with defining social media, as it is a vast
idea to encompass in one or two sentences. In an academic setting, Andreas M. Kaplan
and Michael Haenlein described in their journal article “Social Media is a group of
Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations
of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content”
(Kaplan 61). A more collaborative, crowd-sourced definition comes from Wikipedia:
“Social media are primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information
among human beings” (“Social” 1). For a definition pulled directly from the popular
social networking site, Twitter, @CatLowMusic mentioned, “SM is [an] open platform,
free form, uncensored conversation between millions of people worldwide without
borders” (Lake 1). Personally, I describe social media as the intersection between
technology and community.
In terms of history, social media has been evolving since the mid-twentieth century with
closed email servers and telephone voicemail boxes used to hold some of the first audio
blogs. It also took the form of digital bulletin boards held on the Internet. These early
incarnations were blown out of the water with the birth of the World Wide Web in the
1990s. This event spurred the creation of some of the first social networking sites. In
“"The History of Social Media and its Impact on Business" published in the Journal of
Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, the authors noted: “Many social networking
sites were created in the 1990s. Some examples [of social networking sites] include Six
Degrees, BlackPlanet, Asian Avenue, and MoveOn. These are, or have been, online
niche social sites where people can interact, including sites for public policy advocacy

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and a social network based on a web of contacts model” (Edosomwan 81). This time
period also brought a few of the first blogging sites such as Blogger and sites like
Napster for peer-to-peer file sharing.
The turn of the century brought some of the more prolific changes as Internet access
became more available. This time period spurred the “rising culture of connectivity”
(Wankel 2218), which led to explosive growth in the industry. The new sites that began
to emerge in the early part of the 2000s centered on increasing global connectivity
focused largely on niche markets. These social media platforms include lastFM for
music lovers, Wikipedia for a crowd-sourced encyclopedia, Linkedin for professional
networking purposes, and Facebook for meeting people on one’s college campus, a
small market that eventually went through an unforeseen boom in popularity.
Today, social media has become nearly completely integrated into American society
from being a prominent part of most national news programs when gauging trending
topics to the spread of smartphones pre-loaded with this technology. According to Pew
Research Center’s Internet American Life Project, the heaviest saturation of social
media users (89% of internet users) wavers around the ages of 18-29. With that in
mind, more mature demographics are still high with 82% for 30-49 year olds, 65% for
ages 50-64, and 49% for those 65 and older (“Social Networking” 1). Though it makes
sense that older Americans would not be as interested, the numbers speak to how this
new media has permeated society as a whole
Social Media Uses in Business
As already mentioned, social media’s low barriers of entry allowed these platforms to be
the booming communities that they are today. In addition, they also set the stage for a
new platform to market products and services. Besides more traditional methods of
advertising such as print and television ads, the growth of the Internet opened up for an
explosion of untapped advertising spaces. An article published in the New Review of
Hypermedia and Multimedia, the authors noted: “In particular, social media have
become a mighty channel for both small businesses and large enterprises to engage
existing customers and attract new customers. As social media can be easily set up at

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no cost, social media offer a significant opportunity for small businesses in competition
with large enterprises to promote and sell their products or services on the Internet” (He
226). Businesses navigating this realm of “new media” encouraged out-of-the-box
thinking, a trend quite prevalent in social media.
In contrast, small businesses building a social media presence are faced with many
constraints. As the authors of the last article further laid out, limited financial resources
for setting up a strong information technology infrastructure as well as limited staff
carrying the expertise necessary to run, produce, and manage content can stand as
road blocks to the implementation of social media. (He 227). These problems, if not
handled at the beginning can appear as relentless issues that will not disappear.
Without a solid team and infrastructure set up, it is unlikely for a small business to
succeed with their online presence.
When business owners consider using social media there are a few common practices
that are found most important. Kahar, Rohayah, Faizal Yamimi, Ghazali Bunari, and
Hadina Habil found in their study of small business owners who use social media that
“other than a mere percentage usage for fun, the two most important usage of social
media is visibility among prospective and present customers, positioning oneself to a
distinguished up to date business setup and progressively build up the networking”
(Kahar 568). This group of researchers also noted that from the perspective of a
business owner, social media is the “cheap-and-convenient” option and can only be
harnessed with a clear understanding of writing for advertising (Kahar 569). This
specific study examined this through the lens of the business owner steering the social
media presence and acting as the face of the organization. Though that is not
consistently the case, the principles ring true: social media is the point of access to a
greater community of people that can grow a business through building partnerships or
actually finding new customers.
Moving away from the theoretical, the actual implications of social media on businesses
can shape the entire image of a company in their community. In a study on the creation
of online communities for small pizzerias, the authors analyzed a shop that paved the

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way for businesses in Twitter. Naked Pizza in New Orleans was one of the first
businesses to successfully use Twitter to grow the pizza business. Naked Pizza focused
on finding Twitter users within three miles of their restaurant and using the platform to
engage their customers and neighbors. They replaced their big “Call for delivery” sign
with a “Follow us on Twitter for specials” sign in front of their store (He 227). The
pizzeria went on to integrate social media into their physical store with multi-media
screens engaging customers with real-time updates to their twitter feed. Social media
fosters creativity within these types of businesses.
Case Studies
Throughout this paper, I aim to illuminate social media’s conceptual best practices with
examples of small businesses that have invested a serious amount of time and/or
money into their web presence. These companies include three specialty food retail
shops and a single, stand-alone restaurant. In this section, I will examine each of these
four businesses in terms of product/service, audience, location, history, etc., as a
reference point to their current position. I later delve deep into the specific tactics used
by these institutions. I have bolstered the examples that relate to specialty retail as they
speak to my experiences working with Secolari and set up a conversation of different
practices in a certain arena.
To begin with that sector, Secolari, an artisan olive oil and vinegar tasting room founded
in central Maryland, is a retail establishment selling California extra virgin olive oils,
fused oils, balsamic vinegars, artisan flavored salts, jarred goods, and over 40 different
varieties of pasta. Mary and Bart DeRosa, owners of Secolari, currently have two
stores. One is in Bethesda, Maryland’s shopping and dining district, Bethesda Row; the
other can be found at the bustling Mall in Columbia in Howard County Maryland, which
houses the company’s cooking classes and chef demonstrations. Two additional stores
are in the works as this small company aims for expansion. Bart DeRosa sits on the
California Olive Oil Council and works directly with farmers to source their “liquid gold.”
These stores cater to a generally older demographic; however, they also attempt to
reach a young family demographic attempting to make expensive specialty food goods
attainable. Secolari has a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and their

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own website. They also actively participate in community events in Bethesda and
Columbia to reach new customers.
Jrink Juicery is a shop specializing in juice, cold-pressed in Washington, D.C. Jrink
(pronounced like “drink”) began in 2014 when two former wall street professionals
decided to bring the powers of juicing to the busy people of DC, jumping on a huge
trend of artisan, specialty food and drink products. According to their website, they aim
to make Jrink a part of their customer’s daily ritual (“Who We Are”). To expand on their
target audiences, they target urban professionals in the DC-area as well as entire
companies to ensure that a large amount of people are exposed to their product. One of
the most memorable things about Jrink is their bottle design. It is a crisp memorable re-
usable bottle that also serves as the cornerstone of their marketing campaign. These
bottles are visible in nearly every social media post and increase brand cohesiveness.
This company has an active website and is visible on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The next business, which rounds off the specialty food realm, is Capital Teas. This
company was founded by Peter and Manelle Martino in 2007 in Annapolis, Maryland
and continues the tradition of Manelle’s family as a fifth generation fine tea merchant. In
addition to selling loose-leaf tea sourced from around the world, this company offers a
wide variety of tea accessories, biodegradable sachets, and local honey. Capital Teas
has recently grown to have 12 different stores throughout the mid-Atlantic region with
plans for even further expansion. This company targets a higher-end clientele with
stores located in affluent neighborhoods such as Maryland’s Bethesda Row and
Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. Capital Teas’ marketing efforts on digital media
include buys through ad exchanges and a wide-variety of social media platforms. They
have a presence on Facebook, Tiwtter, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, Youtube, and
Steepster; the company also has a thorough website and blog. Most of the postings are
simply bulletins of weekly samples.
Providing some perspective from the lens of an eatery, The Hay Merchant is a bar and
restaurant specializing in craft beer located in the Montrose borough of Houston, Texas.
The Hay Merchant takes great pride in all of its products. This can be seen, in one

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instance, by making sure that all of their brews are stored and sold at the perfect
temperature. This business is deeply embedded in their community, partnering with
breweries, media outlets, and community organizations. They exude the qualities of an
American neighborhood bar, which speaks to their target market of Houston natives
looking for a good time, especially young urban professionals. Their marketing efforts
include community engagement, upkeep of an aesthetically pleasing website, and social
media outreach on Facebook and Twitter. Their social media posts feature content
relating to new beers, food specials, events, and other fun material relating to the bar.
Interesting, Engaging, Sharable Content
One obstacle in modern social media marketing for small businesses is actually
reaching a desired target audience without an extraordinarily high price. This becomes
even more important as social media platforms such as Facebook moves towards a
more expensive model for advertising. In order to stretch the reach of a post, social
media practitioners must stretch the value of each posting. Each time a post is shared
or retweeted by a consumer, the businesses messaging is able to travel exponentially
further, garnering many more impressions by that individual’s network. This applies to
not only consumers but also other businesses. The share or retweet also allows for a
direct link to the company’s own profile, which can lead to more consumer engagement.
I will break down these types of posts by the material being covered including
promotions, crowd sourcing, and other interesting stores.
Distributing information about promotions is vital for small business as they are always
trying to find new ways to get people into stores and/or restaurants. Though they can
eat into profit margins, targeting new people to engage with a brand is key to digital
survival. In my internship with Secolari, I learned about how to distribute information on
promotions as each month usually brings a new one. For the Super Bowl weekend,
Secolari decided to sell its new line of mustards for $10 each, a price cut from the
original price of $12. In order to promote this particular promotion, I posted a picture of
pretzels alongside a variety of mustards on January 29, 2015 (Appendix Exhibit 1, see
page 14). The picture was quite aesthetically pleasing with a caption that captured the
spirit of the Super Bowl and further discussed the product. Consumers are generally

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drawn to deals and often feel compelled to share this information with friends. One
organization that engaged with the post on Facebook, was EdibleDC, a local magazine
with an active fan base and stellar social media presence. Being picked up by that
source led to more likes and shares with more potential customers learning about
Secolari’s new mustard line.
Another form of sharable content, which stands usually untapped, is not created in
house at all but through sourcing the opinions of the crowd. This can be done by simply
asking a question such as, “What tea are you drinking right now?” This can also come in
the form of an entire campaign based off of user-submitted responses on social media.
During March, Capital Teas carried out their annual March Tea Madness Competition
pitting different blends of loose-leaf tea against one another. Facebook and Instagram
users could choose which tea they wanted to advance further up the NCAA style
bracket (Appendix Exhibit 2, see page 14) This encouraged consumers to engage with
the post for the chance to win a prize. Providing an incentive for participation
encourages engagement on the post itself, which factors positively into garnering more
impressions. I have a few issues in regards to implementation of this specific campaign
due to the sheer number of posts cluttering the company’s Instagram and Facebook
accounts. Nevertheless, it is an example that demonstrates the power of crowdsourcing
with high engagement levels.
Especially on platforms that have evolved over time into news outlets, such as Twitter,
small businesses have the ability to participate directly in nationwide conversations.
Social media practitioners can post articles that relate to the business and serve as a
pseudo news source for its followers. Businesses can post articles that highlight the
benefits of their products or field of expertise in aims of educating the customers. The
Hay Merchant tactically excelled in this arena when they posted Cool Material’s article
on April 18, 2015 titled, ”The Best Craft Beer Bar In Every State” (Appendix Exhibit 3,
see page 15). This bar used this moment as self-promotion, as they were featured on
the list and as an opportunity to participate in a larger discussion on craft beer bars.
When considering the benefits of earned media, a popular concept when discussing

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public relations, being hailed by a media outlet can provide so much free publicity that
can be spread even further through a business’ social media.
Online Community Building
An active group of brand supporters is invaluable to a small business. This community,
if strong enough, can work to sell products for you with little to know expenses on the
business end. The Networked Nonprofit by Beth Kanter and Allison H. Fine has become
the bible in regards to using social media in a nonprofit environment, but these lessons
can be easily transferred to for-profit businesses. The authors noted: “Networked
nonprofits don’t work harder or longer than other organizations, they work differently.
They engage in conversations with people beyond their walls—lots of conversations—to
build relationships that spread their work through the network” (Kanter 46). For a small
business, this advice can be applied through digital community building with a consumer
base revolving around a product or lifestyle. Gathering user-generated content,
participating in global conversations, and building relationships with other organizations
online can all strengthen this community.
Creating a space for mass aggregated user-generated content can provide a venue for
customers to discuss a certain product or service and learn how other take advantage
of it. Using social media in the plight can add cross-promotional benefits, getting more
eyes on the content. Jrink Juicery has done just that with a #Jrink section of their
website. This serves as a landing pad for all of the promotional material the company
releases as well as a hub of approved user-submitted posts using #Jrink as a hashtag.
Visually, there is a variety of boxes in different sizes that postings are fit inside of
automatically (Appendix Exhibit 4, see page 15). This digital arena can boost the ego of
the consumer that submitted the featured post and build brand affinity that brands like
Jrink thrive from.
Conversations that people care about can further engage consumers in a brand. Topics
centering around health and quality are easy for consumers to understand and
participate in, especially if the company’s specific product or service is undoubtedly a
cut above the rest. Capital Teas does this well through taking their health-pomoting

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product and provide strong support in the form of social media postings and articles on
their blog. The Capital Teas blog features content stemming from the experiences of the
employees such as “Detoxing with Tea” posted on October 17, 2014. In the particular
article, the author discusses the benefits of tea in general while promoting Capital Teas’
brand offerings in particular. The article reads: “Cardamom goes quite a ways to help
repel harmful bacteria in your body, without destroying the beneficial bacteria that
already exists. One effect that cardamom can have is that it can act as a natural
antidepressant! Feel like improving your mood? Try a daily cup of Gingerbread
Rooibos or Talk of the Town” (“Detoxing with”). These are easily relatable points that
compel the user to stay on the site longer and even share the posts on social media.
When building relationships online a company should focus on extending messages to
other businesses and organizations in addition to the customer base. These interactions
can come in the form of private messages to comments on photos to shares of the other
organizations’ content. Besides just the previously mentioned work with EdibleDC,
during my work with Secolari, I aimed to foster numerous online relationships with other
businesses, community groups, and media outlets. Both Secolari locations can be found
in busy shopping districts with accounts and management that heavily engage with the
surrounding community, traditionally and digitally. For instance, on social media, both
parties cross promote events and promotions frequently to capitalize on the combined
forces of both networks. In the Fall, Secolari posted about Bethesda Row’s Halloween
event (Appendix Exhibit 5, see page 17). Conversely, in the spring, Bethesda Row’s
Facebook page provided a shout out recommending Secolari products as Valentine’s
Day gifts. A similar relationship occurs with Howard County staple, The Elkridge
Furnace Inn where they promote Secolari products in a few of their dishes and Secolari
in Columbia provides the Inn an opportunity for in-store cooking demonstrations to
promote the seasonal menu (Appendix Exhibit 6, see page 17). Social media makes
collaboration simple and unbelievably rewarding.
Social Media Integration
Keeping messaging focused throughout all aspects of a business is important to its
lifespan and profitability. The concept of integrated marketing planning is making sure

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that all promotional material, marketing efforts, and public relations is fluid to increase
potency and brand value. In his article, "Integration of Social Media in Businesses,"
Yousef Abuhashesh Mohammad noted: “The company cannot develop a marketing plan
which does not cater these important factors. The organization also has to develop the
technological infrastructure in the facility. The level of investment also has to be based
on the long term vision of the corporate entity” (207). Every piece of content should be
loosely related in some way, but that does not guarantee at all that this is an easy or
inexpensive task to take on in neither a physical nor digital space.
In the actual business location, there are certain aesthetic choices, such as hanging
posters with QR codes leading to Facebook pages, but there is much more opportunity
for this social media integration. Jrink Juciery does a wonderful job at this by having the
actual bottles as the cornerstone at nearly all of the company’s marketing efforts. The
bottle is designed with a simplistic yet stylish bold font. The white lettering contrasts with
the bright, colorful liquid inside of the glass container. One of the most recent posts on
April 12, 2015 tied the brand to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington,
D.C. (Appendix Exhibit 7, see page 18). This post not only becomes relevant in terms of
timing, but the pink blossoms add to the Jrink’s clean, beautiful aesthetic. Nearly every
piece of image-based social media content features this bottle in some way or another
because it is just such a memorable, recognizable image.
Digitally, besides the previously mentioned integration into a website as seen with Jrink,
there are fascinating marketing initiatives that seamlessly bind social media to a
company. Many small businesses release periodic newsletters as they act as an
inexpensive way to get promotional initiatives out to a target market. However any
communication with the customer should follow the procedures of an intergrated
marketing campaign. With that in mind, when working with Secolari, I aimed to amend
this issue by getting linkage to the company’s social media platforms as well as linking
from each social media channel back to the newsletter (Appendix Exhibit 8, see page
18). This brought more cohesion and dramatically increased the page views for the
newsletter.

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Conclusion
The advent of social media dramatically changed the tactics that small and large
businesses use on a regular basis. However, staffing and budgetary limitations have led
small “mom and pop” style businesses to become some of the major innovators in this
growing industry. With a toolbox filled with engaging, sharable content, community
building expertise, and quality integration into the company’s culture overall can guide
these types of businesses can become successful, as displayed through the case
studies of Secolari, Capital Teas, Jrink Juicery, and The Hay Merchant presented in this
paper.
Looking back to Yousef Abuhashesh Mohammad’s writing in the International
Journal of Business and Social Science, he noted: "The important aspect for the
marketers to cater in this regard is that the virtual community developed by the social
media network has similar attributes as a real world community." Social media was
created to mimic the world. The marketing efforts that occur in this digital space are just
as important, if not more, than the highway billboards, primetime television
advertisements, and direct mailers, because of how intrinsically personal these
platforms are to Americans.

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Works Cited
"Detoxing with Tea." Capital Teas Blog. Capital Teas, 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
Edosomwan, Simeon, et al. "The History of Social Media and its Impact on
Business." Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship 16.3
(2011): 79-91. ProQuest. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
He, Wu, Feng-Kwei Wang, and Shenghua Zha. "Enhancing Social Media
Competitiveness Of Small Businesses: Insights From Small Pizzerias."New
Review Of Hypermedia & Multimedia 20.3 (2014): 225-250. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 8 Feb. 2015.
Kahar, Rohayah, Faizal Yamimi, Ghazali Bunari, and Hadina Habil. "Trusting the Social
Media in Small Business." Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 66 (2012):
564-70. Web.
Kanter, Beth, and Allison H. Fine. The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social
Media to Drive Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.
Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein. "Users of the World, Unite! The
Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media." Business Horizons 53.1
Lake, Chris. "What Is Social Media? Here Are 34 Definitions..." Econsultancy, 19 Mar.
2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Mohammad, Yousef Abuhashesh. "Integration of Social Media in
Businesses." International Journal of Business and Social Science 5.8
(2014) ProQuest. 20 Feb. 2015 .
"Social Media." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
"Social Networking Fact Sheet." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life
Project RSS. Pew Research Centers, 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Wankel, C. "The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social
Media." Choice 50.12 (2013): 2218-9. ProQuest. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
"Who We Are." JRINK. Jrink Juicery, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

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Appendix
Exhibit 1: Secolari Super Bowl Facebook Post
Source: http://www.facebook.com/Secolari
Exhibit 2: Capital Teas March Tea Madness Instagram Post
Source: http://www.instagram.com/capitalteas

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Exhibit 3: The Hay Merchant Best Craft Beer Bar Facebook Post
Source: https://www.facebook.com/HayMerchant
Exhibit 4: Jrink Juicery Community Page
Source: http://www.jrinkjuicery.com/pages/community

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Exhibit 5: Secolari Elkridge Furnace Inn Winter Menu Facebook Post
Source: http://www.facebook.com/secolari
Exhibit 6: Secolari Elkridge Furnace Inn Winter Menu Facebook Post
Source: http://www.facebook.com/secolari

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Exhibit 7: Jrink Cherry Blossom Instagram Post
Source: https://instagram.com/jrinkjuicery/
Exhibit 8: Secolari Spring Newsletter Facebook Post
Source: http://www.facebook.com/secolari