THIRD QUARTER 2018 19 COVER FOCUS continued on page 22 Demystifying Social Media: How Four DLI Members Tackle This Tough Subject By John Paul Roggenkamp DRYCLEANERS LOOKING TO GROW THEIR BRAND AND ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS ARE INCREASINGLY TURNING TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO BOTH ENGAGE DIRECTLY WITH THE PUBLIC AND SHOWCASE THEIR GARMENT CARE SKILLS. Using social media to interact with the public has many advantages, chief among them the ability to connect with members of the community wherever they may be via the devices they use every day - their cellphones. Keep reading to see how four different drycleaners and one marketing maven approach the world of social media. HAND CRAFT CLEANERS Pam Anderson of Hand Craft Cleaners in Richmond, Virginia, has a relatively nimble footprint on Pinterest and Instagram. The weight of the company’s presence lies on Twitter, which features stock photos of gorgeous people in fancy dress, staff photos featuring delivery drivers, and people cleaning clothing on-site. Hand Craft’s feed also features news stories about garment care and storage, links to fun YouTube videos with clothing-related content, tips on garment care, articles about how clothing affects success rates in business, videos on washer and dryer care, how to clean up after kids, and an array of other posts. The company’s Facebook page features employee videos, stain removal tips, and much of the same content as can be found on Twitter. The content Hand Craft posts to the Internet differs little across its social media platforms, allowing it to maintain a uniform stream of high-quality content using a few carefully-selected, visually-compelling still shots and moving images. Working with a uniform cache of content makes keeping track of and uploading pictures or videos time and labor efficient. The company uses its blog to share news articles about the industry rewards it has received as well as updates about its community outreach programs.