Family run companies that are moving into a third or fourth generation have a unique angle that they can exploit in social media marketing. We happened upon this great video of Cindi Bigelow, the head of Bigelow Tea. Bigelow, through its Constant Comment brand, really re-invented the idea of socialite tea brands for the 20th century. The company was started after the Depression, when her grandmother Ruth needed to make money as her interior design business had gone under.
The company’s YouTube page is packed with videos about the company, with her narrating. Up now for two years or so, none of them have been standout YouTube hits, but that doesn’t make the effort not worthwhile. Interestingly, the most watched video was one of Wally the green monster of the Red Sox Fenway Park; however the second most watched is an informative video of how to make a good cup of tea.
While wacky videos can go viral, the best bet for a company is to build videos that show the product and how to use it. This is a combination of marketing and entertainment, and it’s smart.
The company also has a blog called Constant Comment, with perspectives of the staff.
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Garland: Thanks for noticing our social media efforts! It’s true that we haven’t pushed for a “viral” video approach, but we get some great comments and feedback from our viewers, blog readers and tea drinkers in general. It’s that kind of two-way interaction that helps us build stronger relationships with our customers by better understanding their needs.
For example, as you may have noticed on our blog, one of our tea flavors (Fruit & Almond) was saved from discontinuation by the impassioned pleas of their online fans. Now we sell it exclusively online, and it’s become a top seller! If the fans of that flavor hadn’t been moved to action, they’d have lost their flavor and we’d have lost an opportunity to better serve our customers. This way, it’s win-win, all thanks to a few (well, actually a LOT) of blog comments. 🙂