You may think that spending time on social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook won’t help your small business.  But think again:  depending on how you use it, it can be a great way to get some positive PR for your company, and connect with current and potential customers.  Just ask the owners of Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, Becky and Scott Harris; one of their tweets landed them in the Wall Street Journal last week! 

 

Catoctin Creek Distilling Company is a new small business, opened earlier this year and still ramping up, currently one of the finalists in the MyBizCounts.com startup cash contest.  Located in the heart of D.C.’s Wine Country, Catoctin Creek is the first family-owned microdistillery in Northern Virginia, and the first distillery based there since Prohibition, specializing in organic spirits. 

 

Becky and Scott have been busy on social media during the startup phase of their business, which has helped them to place as a finalist in the MyBizCounts.com contest; their video received more than 3,000 votes from Internet viewers, driven largely by their Facebook and Twitter pages and word of mouth online. 

 

Scott tweeted on September 30th that they had just gotten their SBA loan approved, and says, “That got picked up by @SmallBusinessAd and they retweeted us.  I guess Emily Maltby, the Wall Street Journal reporter, follows them, because within 30 minutes of their retweet of ours, she called me up asking to do an article.  We talked for an hour or so, then she did a fact check call the next day, and we were in!  It was very exciting.” 

 You can see their article here:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125441647838456813.html 

If your small business doesn’t currently have a presence in social media, perhaps it’s time to consider getting out there. Social media is an inexpensive tool for connecting with your customers and can get you some nice publicity in traditional outlets as well.

 

To see Catoctin Creek’s Web site:  http://catoctincreekdistilling.com

On Twitter:  http://twitter.com/catoctincreek

On Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/catoctincreek