Can Social Media Save a Local Business?

January 15, 2009 · View Comments

John Andrews from Simply Gourmet Grand Opening John Andrews runs the Simply Gourmet Bistro and Groceria in Peabody, Massachusetts. I was fortunate enough to attend a grand opening ceremony the other day, and sample some of his amazing hot food.

John’s situation is like a lot of other small businesses. Things are tight, and he really needs more business to stay afloat. For those of you in Massachusetts, swing by and visit John at 297 Lynn St, Peabody, MA 01960 or call (978) 530-1100. For those of you on Facebook, check out the fan page.

But seriously, is there anything that we could do with social media that would save John’s business?

I really don’t know. Because if you don’t live near John (and I don’t really), I can’t buy his food often enough to keep him funded. If you do live near him, as @CharJTF from Twitter does, you already know about him.

So how would you help John?

And, some pictures:

Simply Gourmet Ribbon Cutting
Char James-Tanny at Simply Gourmet Grand Opening
Vera Simply Gourmet Grand Opening
Simply Gourmet Grand Opening
Simply Gourmet Grand Opening
Vera From Simply Gourmet Grand Opening

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Theme Framework

Genesis Theme Framework

Genesis empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go. It's that simple - start using Genesis now!

Take advantage of the 6 default layout options, comprehensive SEO settings, rock-solid security, flexible theme options, cool custom widgets, custom design hooks, and a huge selection of child themes ("skins") that make your site look the way you want it to. With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.

Become a StudioPress Affiliate

Comments

  1. Sikiş izle says:
    April 14, 2010 at 12:44 am

    ohh nice

  2. Maya says:
    July 7, 2010 at 10:33 am

    I have been building my local business quite well with the help of social networks

    Thx for the info

« Older Comments

Trackbacks

  1. More social with less capital — Vad NU! says:
    January 16, 2009 at 2:16 am

    [...] Brogan asks, whether social media can save a local business? I don’t know if social media can save a business as such, but I have a very strong feeling [...]

  2. How to Advertise Locally Without a Budget | Understanding Marketing says:
    January 16, 2009 at 10:41 am

    [...] Here’s a great blog post from Chris Brogan, talking about a small business that needs to promote their business locally. Read through the comments there’s a lot of great ideas there. http://www.chrisbrogan.com/can-social-media-save-a-local-business/#comments [...]

  3. Fractured Bloughts » Social media » Audience, visitors or people? says:
    January 16, 2009 at 2:03 pm

    [...] Can Social Media Save a Local Business? [...]

  4. Social Media - Just Do It! « Charlie Four Whiskey says:
    January 16, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    [...] is widely regarded as one of the leading experts on community and social media) posed the question Can Social Media Save a Local Business? on his blog. In the post, Chris talked about a local restaurant (Simply Gourmet Bistro and Groceria [...]

  5. January 17 Newsletter « Simplygourmetbistroandcatering’s Blog says:
    January 17, 2009 at 9:16 pm

    [...] The article mentioned above: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/can-social-media-save-a-local-business/ [...]

  6. Could local blogs save local businesses? : ASH-10 : Social Media Advice and Training in Birmingham UK by Pete Ashton says:
    January 18, 2009 at 9:09 am

    [...] week Chris Brogan asked Can Social Media Save a Local Business? John Andrews runs the Simply Gourmet Bistro and Groceria in Peabody, Massachusetts. I was fortunate [...]

  7. Response to the question: Can Social Media Save Local Business? — Mark Hayward says:
    January 19, 2009 at 6:32 am

    [...] a small business owner and former Massachusetts resident, I read Chris Brogan’s recent post Can Social Media Save a Local Business? with great [...]

  8. Could local blogs save local businesses? « Test says:
    January 19, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    [...] week Chris Brogan asked Can Social Media Save a Local Business? John Andrews runs the Simply Gourmet Bistro and Groceria in Peabody, Massachusetts. I was fortunate [...]

  9. Random Thoughts and Musings » Blog Archive » Hello, Massachusetts (#19/365) says:
    January 20, 2009 at 12:30 am

    [...] If my word is not enough to get you out the door and on your way … check out Chris Brogan’s blog post on Simply Gourmet. [...]

  10. Steal This Small Business Promotion Idea | chrisbrogan.com says:
    January 21, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    [...] Andrews from Simply Gourmet has a blog for his restaurant in Peabody, MA. (You might remember John from this post?) I love this [...]

  11. A Local Social Media Experiment | Mark Evans says:
    January 22, 2009 at 9:27 am

    [...] Chris Brogan recently wrote a post on whether social media could save a small business. [...]

  12. Rural Business Weekly News 01/24/09 says:
    January 24, 2009 at 10:49 am

    [...] Can Social Media Save a Local Business? is the question Chris Brogan asked this week, and the incredible ideas described by nearly 100 blog readers in their responses are worth reading. Only time will tell whether the Simply Gourmet Bistro and Groceria in Peabody, Massachusetts will survive, but in the meantime those of us with rural businesses can learn from its struggle. It certainly made me think in new ways how I might use Twitter to promote my business to tourists passing through the Blue Ridge region – what about you? Share and Enjoy: [...]

  13. Building Rural Community - One Sip at A Time says:
    January 25, 2009 at 7:33 pm

    [...] or cope with increased competition, a bakery with suddenly shrinking sales after sixty years, or start ups trying to establish [...]

  14. My Habari :: Audience, visitors or people? says:
    January 26, 2009 at 4:17 pm

    [...] Can Social Media Save a Local Business? [...]

  15. Social Media Goes…Local? « BLOGacki says:
    February 9, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    [...] weeks ago Chris Brogan wrote a piece in his blog raising the question of how to stimulate business at a local eatery (possibly utilizing [...]

  16. Local businesses can build real-time personalized newswires « New Rules of Investing says:
    March 24, 2009 at 7:02 am

    [...] this article on how to save a local business via social networking (see the [...]

  17. » Top 30 + 200 Blog Posts on Social Media Spotlight Ideas says:
    November 10, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    [...] Can Social Media Save a Local Business? – Chris Brogan – Jan ‘09 [...]

  18. » Top 250 Blog Posts – Advertising, Marketing, Branding, Digital Spotlight Ideas says:
    November 10, 2009 at 5:40 pm

    [...] Can Social Media Save a Local Business? – Chris Brogan – Jan ‘09 [...]

  19. Top 250 Blog Posts – Advertising, Marketing, Branding, Digital | Advertising News says:
    November 10, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    [...] Can Social Media Save a Local Business? – Chris Brogan – Jan ‘09 [...]

  20. 5 Things That Small Businesses Want To Hear About Social Media (#3) says:
    January 7, 2010 at 7:55 am

    [...] because if you are a new business, or are just preparing to launch, you are getting involved and will adopt onto a much more level [...]

  21. Yes, Chris Brogan, Social Media Can Save a Local Business | CHICAGO CARLESS says:
    March 1, 2010 at 2:10 am

    [...] in January, new-media marketing maven Chris Brogan (@chrisBROGAN) asked whether social media could save a business. In the face of the TARPconomy, He was hoping to help keep a Peabody, Mass., sandwich shop open. He [...]

blog comments powered by Disqus