As Crimson Tide fans flock to Tuscaloosa, many local businesses rely heavily on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to attract customers to their services.
Private Gallery, a clothing boutique on the Strip, offers special Gameday promotions through Facebook. If customers buy dresses to wear to the game and post pictures of themselves wearing them on the store’s Facebook page, they are entered in a drawing for a gift card, store manager Kim Wood said. Additionally, employees use the store’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to post pictures of game-appropriate attire during the weekdays leading up to games in order to bring customers in to shop on Friday and Saturday before kickoff.
At Lucca, a clothing boutique in Midtown Village, employees use the store’s Facebook account to update statuses about sales and promotions and to post pictures of new arrivals of clothing and jewelry, Anna Florey, a sales associate, said.
“Since social media is so big, particularly in younger generations, it’s important for us to interact with customers through it,” Florey said. “Especially on Fridays before home football games, sales increase significantly because everyone’s looking for something for the game.”
Restaurants in the Tuscaloosa community use social media in similar ways.
Midtown’s Wings U manager Neal Hollingshead said the restaurant will post a comedic picture of the opposing team’s coach on its Facebook page before games. The person with the best caption will win a dinner pass.
Local businesses also get marketing help through social media from the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission, an organization committed to promoting events and businesses in Tuscaloosa, said Jessika White, communication specialist for the TTSC. Many restaurants, including Wings U and stores like Private Gallery and Lucca, are tourist destination suggestions listed on the TTSC’s website.
The TTSC also works with local hoteliers to fill empty rooms at locations such as Hotel Capstone. White calls early the week before home games to check for vacancies. The available rooms then become accessible for tourists to grab on the “Book A Room” page on the TTSC’s website.
However, using social media isn’t always the best way to attract customers.
The main problem with using social media, White said, isn’t about who it reaches, but who it doesn’t reach. Businesses can tweet about sales and post Facebook pictures every day, but older generations who don’t use social media will never see it.
“I had an older lady from Texas A&M call me wondering how far in advance she needed to book her room and if there were any rooms left for the Alabama vs. Texas A&M game,” White said. “That’s the gap that needs to be filled. Older generations don’t do Facebook.”
Regardless of who social media reaches, local businesses agree it is a necessary and important tool to attract customers, especially during home football game weekends.
“Having a social media presence is extremely important, specifically for us because we’re a small company,” said Monica Rudhart, manager of Altar’d State, a clothing boutique in Midtown Village. “People will come in on Fridays and on Saturdays a few hours before the game when they see your company on their Facebook stream or when you post interesting pictures.”
