Erik Granato, co-owner of a social media marketing company, was chatting with me about security concerns people have with Facebook and the Web in general.
I listened, but inside my brain I was totally rolling my eyes.
I’ve been on Facebook for some time.
Heck, I created the massively successful Valley Indy Facebook page, voted the no. 1 media Facebook page in the entire state.*
*According to the reporters at the Valley Independent Sentinel.People who get paranoid about “security” on Facebook are the same rubes who think the Freemasons control local government and that the newspaper industry is still viable.
Granato, who has a background in sales, marketing and, apparently, big brother-esque black ops, was talking about how people who think they have their personal information locked down, but don’t.
“OK hot shot,” I wish I had said to him but actually didn’t. “Search me. Let’s see what you got.”
Luckily he understood I meant enter my name into Google.
Some stuff I knew about popped up. My affiliation with the Valley Indy on Facebook. Yeah, big deal.
Then, within a minute, something weird. He was on some Facebook page that listed me as a developer. Something I didn’t create. What in the …?
I captured the moment on my cell phone, about 40 seconds into this video. Check it out:
Now, I didn’t say all that much about that random Valley Indy Facebook thing, but inside my brain I’m thinking in capital letters “OH MY GOD THEY KNOW EVERY WEBSITE I’VE VISITED SINCE FIRST DISCOVERING GOOGLE IN 1996 AT CORNELIUS LIBRARY IN NEW ROCHELLE.”
Talking Finger
And with that I was sold on the concept of social media marketing companies such as Talking Finger, which launched precisely one year ago in Oxford.
If you run a business and you’ve heard of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and Foursquare, you probably know they can help you reach people.
But, do you have the time to actually figure out how to use all those sites to market your business?
That’s where Talking Finger steps in — they live and breathe social media marketing if you don’t have the time or inclination to do it yourself.
Example — they’ll design you a custom-built Facebook page, giving you a nifty logo and landing tab. If you’re on Facebook, click here to check out Talking Finger’s Facebook page.
They’ll also figure out the always-changing privacy rules on Facebook, to make sure you’re displaying what you want to display.
Their local list of clients include the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, F.W. Serra, Inc., Goodman Insurance, Inc. and Minuteman Press of Shelton.
Talking Finger is owned by Granato and Bill DeRosa, who lives in Oxford.
DeRosa and Granato both have marketing and ad sales background. Granato adds web development and graphic design to his resume.
They were motivated to launch the business by the old urge to be their own bosses.
The business was born — naturally — on Facebook.
DeRosa posted a random thought to his friends on Facebook:
March 28, 2010 — “There’s a lot of brain power and talent. How can we harness this?”
Granato, who knew DeRosa through a mutual (real word) friend, saw the post and responded.
The two met in a bungalow on DeRosa’s Oxford property and brainstormed. Talking Finger took its first steps.
At first, the men focused on brick and mortar businesses, such as restaurants. They started managing restaurants’ online reputations — researching what was being said on Yelp, making sure the basic information about the business was accurate.
“That was our beginning business model, but we’ve gone way beyond that,” DeRosa said.
Today they do everything from running a businesses Twitter account to advising you on a trade show displays. Click here for a full list of services.
Social Media
The social media revolution of recent years hasn’t quite rendered websites obsolete — but business that maintain a static upset are being left behind, DeRosa said.
Today it’s about talking to your customers — and sharing information with them — through interaction sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Sound like a bunch of hogwash? Then you’re probably not marketing your company or managing your brand properly.
“Engage. Be social,” DeRosa said about using Facebook for your business. “It doesn’t matter how fancy we make your page, in the end, if you’re not having a conversation with people, you are going to fail.”
They pointed to research showing some 1.5 million people in Connecticut alone have Facebook accounts.
“One of the things we hear from business owners is — Who has the time to use Facebook? To post these reviews? Who spends all their time online doing this? It’s your customers,” Granato said.
“Compared to a $5,000 magazine ad that goes out one time and you’re done, social media is dirt cheap — and you can hit people continually. It’s not a one-night stand. It’s a relationship.” DeRosa said.
