This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Businesses Get Personal on Twitter

The trendy social media site Twitter is sweeping the nation, but is the same true in Hermosa Beach? Local businesses practice, observe and report.

Customers ready for pampering can get 15 percent off any service at the Mark of Excellence Salon on Pier Avenue just by mentioning one magic word: Twitter.

Even over at White House Pilates, Twitter followers are the first to know when a coveted spot for class opens up.

"Twitter helps put you on the map," said Caroline Londergan of White House Pilates.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The quickness and efficiency of tweets, such as messaging "only one spot left in the Reformer class tonight," can be "fun in the urgency that it created," Londergan said. "Whoever signed up can feel like they 'won' that spot."

Companies have been quick to wave the Twitter wand lately because the online tool allows them to talk with customers, and not to them, according to a six-month study conducted this year by digital agency 360i.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The study found that 94 percent of tweets are personal instead of related to business matters, 92 percent are publicly accessible, and 85 percent reflect an individual's wants or needs. Because of this, Hermosa-based Barbie's Q food truck owner John Bowler said that Twitter is a "crucial" part of his business.

"Twitter not only increases business, but it's integral in communicating with customers," he said.

The Barbie's Q Twitter account has reached more than 3,600 people, and uses Twitter to tell barbecue-lovers where the food truck is located each day.

But there are some local businesses that have not jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, and don't see the tool as a predominant form of communication. The clothing store BKB prefers to rely on Facebook to reach customers online, according to the store's social media manager Bobbi Barbour.

Although the trendy boutique has a Twitter account, South Bay shoppers are more receptive to Facebook updates, Barbour said. She added that a majority of customers inquire about Facebook more often than Twitter.

"More people in the South Bay have Facebook accounts," Barbour said.

Research conducted in the Spring showed that Facebook pages "are the best way for your company to publicize relevant information needed for customers," compared with other online tools.

But as time passes and Twitter becomes more mainstream, many other local businesses are finding otherwise. Since Twitter launched in July 2006, the social media tour de force has grown to having 190 million current users worldwide, who tweet about 65 million times per day, according to the company's chief operations officer Dick Costolo.

The Twittersphere continues to expand and reach Hermosans. In the social media wars, Richard O'Reilly, who manages online accounts for Spyder Surf, said that he wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Twitter as a valued resource.

With "so much going on both in and outside of our stores, like events, specials, promotions, surf sessions, and autograph signings... we need to take advantage of every opportunity to let people know about them," O'Reilly said.

Spyder Surf not only tweets about these happenings, but also offers special promotions that are exclusive to Twitter followers.

Monien Ibarra, co-owner of Paciugo Gelato, said that it's imperative for small businesses to find the right social media channel to not only deliver effective product and business messages, but also to engage customers.

"Twitter has helped us convert followers to sales," Ibarra said. "[It] helps us develop relationships with followers who have not yet tried our gelato."

Marissa Rosen, special events manager to Saint Rocke and Union Cattle Company, also finds this concept of connecting Twitter followers on a personal level to be effective.

"It keeps up with the concept of being V.I.P. and 'in the know' prior to the entire mass Saint Rocke audience," she said.

But in the long run, all social media channels are crucial for businesses today, and attracting "different demographics and motivators," according to Ibarra.

"We incorporated Facebook to engage and communicate to our most loyal customers," she said. While Twitter feeds are essential in, "communicating and staying in touch with our followers on a real-time basis." 

Follow Hermosa Beach Patch on Twitter @HermosaBchPatch

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Hermosa Beach