In the words of Yoda, “Size matters not.”
I have said on more than one occasion that social media is the great equalizer in marketing. All companies are on a level playing field. In the case of Twitter, everyone has only 140 characters to get the message across, no matter the budget.
Humphry Slocombe is a 14-seat ice cream shop in San Francisco’s mission district. The duo of Sean Vahey and Jake Godby opened the “adult-oriented” frozen dessert shop in 2008.
“We started with online marketing at the suggestion of customers,” said Godby in an SBA video. “People were asking us ‘Why aren’t you on Facebook?’ ‘Why aren’t you on Twitter?’” Vahey and Godby have more than 100 flavors of ice cream, which rotate on a daily basis. They have utilized Twitter every day to let their customers know which flavors are available.
According to the New York Times story published on May 26, Vahey was less than impressed with the traffic on Twitter. So he decided to have a little fun with Humphry Slocombe’s feed.
The new flavor is here! Elvis (the fat years). Banana ice cream with bacon peanut brittle. Elvis has entered the building..and he’s fat! – 1:50 PM May 7th Humphry Slocombe Twitter Feed
Humphry Slocombe’s feed has become popular due to its entertainment value. As of June 1, it has 299,215 followers. To give you some perspective, that’s 37 percent of San Francisco’s population and 21,373 Twitter followers per seat in the shop.
But does that mean that it translates to sales?
“As soon as we put it on Twitter, it moves,” Vahey was quoted in the Times.
Keep in mind that this is a shop that is less than three years old. There is no long-standing name recognition and tradition with this company. This is a small business with only one storefront.
Compare its numbers with some national ice cream heavy hitters.
Baskin Robbins
Founded: 1945
Locations: 5,800 worldwide (2,800 in the U.S.)
Twitter followers (as of June 1): 11,513
Dairy Queen
Founded: 1940
Locations: 5,700 worldwide
Twitter followers: 7,020
Ben & Jerry’s
Founded: 1978
Locations: 580
Twitter followers (as of June 1): 2,795
Humphry Sloclombe’s success isn’t due solely to its Twitter feed. Obviously, the product must be great for the business to survive. However, the feed has garnered the attention of some significant media outlets.
Are you prepared to be daring and entertaining in your Twitter feed? How would you be original in only 140 characters?
