Is your shop online? Should it be?

Today almost everyone is engulfed in the online world. You are constantly exposed to QR codes and to websites and companies telling you to follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook. It’s become a large part of how people communicate and businesses get their products in front of their customer.

Small shops like ours often can overlook these valuable tools. Mom-and-pop businesses sometimes are overwhelmed by the Internet tools and can’t find the reasons for or knowledge of using them.

When I graduated from Appalachian State and started working for my dad back in 2004, one of the first things I told him was that we needed to get a website. I learned a lot in school about business and engaging in technology. I took some graphic arts classes and could do some basic website stuff. So we took the leap and hired a local website company, Anthony Web Designs, to set us up with a domain name and get us ready to go online. I did the work and maintenance on the website. I’ll admit it wasn’t the best website, but it was online and we had a presence.

We recently attended a Waterfowlers Expo here in Wilson, N.C., where my dad and I were selling some fire pits and other things we make. I was constantly talking to people about their business and where they were from. People gave me their business cards and I gave them mine in return; the usual tradeshow stuff.

I began to notice that some of these small businesses didn’t have a website or any online presence. Having a phone number is great, but not many people are going to call you up and talk about your product without checking you out online first. That is just how it goes nowadays.

Not having a website or online presence may seem crazy, but I think this happens more than people realize in the manufacturing world.

Small job shops and businesses need to take advantage of all the tools available. Maintaining a website is definitely an undertaking and can be difficult, but it is important to at least have one. If you have to, outsource a website company to get you started. We just had our site overhauled to give it a little cleaner look. It won’t blow your socks off, but it will give you a good idea of what we are capable of doing without taking a century to load on your browser.

Take your business to the next level and jump on Twitter, Facebook, or even Instagram. These services are often fun and can be used nearly 100 percent from your phone. Search for some pointers about how to use them and get some pictures of your products online.

I have ours set up so that when I take a picture, I can send it to a Flickr e-mail address. It then is uploaded to our Flickr account, and a “tweet” is sent out to all of our followers on Twitter. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

Social media is something you have to keep feeding and it will grow. As I was writing this, I realized that we didn’t have an Instagram account for our company. I picked up my phone, registered with Instagram, and decided we needed to give it a go. Look us up as BarnesMetalCrafters and follow us. Mention this blog post and I will follow you back. It is something else to do at work, but I know I will have fun with it.

Looking through an aluminum canopy being fabricated.

I’m not one to talk about being active in all of these services. After a while it does seem like another job. You just have to look at it as being fun and it will definitely be rewarding. Having people comment and ask you questions keeps you engaged in your work.

Larger companies often have a social media person or a department that focuses on these tasks. We haven’t reached that point yet. I will stick to my phone for now to update Twitter, Facebook, Flickr … and now Instagram.

All photos courtesy of Barnes MetalCrafters.

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