The bigger the better
By Robin Schuppert
Just as most sports at Quinnipiac University are growing and adjusting to Division-1 athletics, the Bobcats pep band is trying is to make a name for itself as well.
Back in 1998 when Quinnipiac athletics made its move into the top echelon of collegiate sports, the teams didn’t even have a pep band supporting them at games. A strange moment then convinced Athletics Director Jack McDonald that Quinnipiac needed one.
“On September 4th, 1998, we had a big rally the day that we went into Division-1,” McDonald said. “All of a sudden, in the middle of my speech, I heard this horn go off. Some guy played a couple of notes on a trumpet, and I said ‘ladies and gentlemen, that is the Quinnipiac pep band.’ That was the day the pep band was born.”
McDonald promised the audience that the band would grow quickly, and soon play a major role at athletics events. But before the band could be where it is today though, they had to go through some tough times.
Shelby Pierson is a junior athletic training major at Quinnipiac University and has been going to QU ice hockey games since her sophomore year in high school.
“They sucked,” Pierson said. “I’m not going to lie, it was a small group of about 10 kids who played their hearts out, but they weren't good whatsoever. They were excellent at playing a fight song after every goal and getting the crowd going. They had signs and would play this beat on the drums and get the whole crowd riled up, it was really great. I wish they still did that now.”
After spending the first few years as a small band, they have nearly doubled in size over the past couple of years.
This year there are 25 active members in the pep band, and McDonald is the first to recognize the importance of having a big and loud band at athletic events.
“Pep bands are synonymous with college athletics,” McDonald said. “Having a band is incredibly important to the atmosphere of a college game, and since our band has grown, and become quite good, they really have added significant atmosphere to our games.”
In fact, the growth of the band has allowed them to expand not only in personnel, but also play for different sports. While they originally just played for men’s and women’s hockey and basketball games, they now try to do a little bit of everything.
“Last year we started playing for spring sports,” Senior Operations Manager Chris Malico said. “We played at a softball, baseball, and lacrosse game and it went very well. This year we started playing for fall sports. We played at cross country events, and soccer and field hockey games.”
Having a well developed pep band has been very advantageous to many, at a school where pep band is really the only ‘organized’ music program on campus.
“I played music in high school and it was a really big part of my life,” former pep band President Amanda Zilinski said. “I really wanted to continue doing that, and I really enjoy it, it’s a lot of fun. I love being here, and I love coming to ice hockey and basketball games.”
With the program thriving like it never has before, the athletics department is starting to let the band travel to road games as well. This past weekend, the pep band traveled to Yale University to support their team at a crucial road game. More of this is planned for the future.
“From what I’m told we are supposedly traveling with the team if they go far in the playoffs,” Malico said. “No matter where they go, we’re going with them.”
McDonald, the man who first announced the pep band 11 years ago, sees a lot of promise in the program for years to come.
“Getting bigger and developing some tradition has to be what’s next for the pep band,” McDonald said. “They can become as much a cheer spirit group as they are a pep band. I think they're sort of like our teams: The band is learning how to be a Division-1 pep band, and they’ve only been at it for a few years.”
Just as most sports at Quinnipiac University are growing and adjusting to Division-1 athletics, the Bobcats pep band is trying is to make a name for itself as well.
Back in 1998 when Quinnipiac athletics made its move into the top echelon of collegiate sports, the teams didn’t even have a pep band supporting them at games. A strange moment then convinced Athletics Director Jack McDonald that Quinnipiac needed one.
“On September 4th, 1998, we had a big rally the day that we went into Division-1,” McDonald said. “All of a sudden, in the middle of my speech, I heard this horn go off. Some guy played a couple of notes on a trumpet, and I said ‘ladies and gentlemen, that is the Quinnipiac pep band.’ That was the day the pep band was born.”
McDonald promised the audience that the band would grow quickly, and soon play a major role at athletics events. But before the band could be where it is today though, they had to go through some tough times.
Shelby Pierson is a junior athletic training major at Quinnipiac University and has been going to QU ice hockey games since her sophomore year in high school.
“They sucked,” Pierson said. “I’m not going to lie, it was a small group of about 10 kids who played their hearts out, but they weren't good whatsoever. They were excellent at playing a fight song after every goal and getting the crowd going. They had signs and would play this beat on the drums and get the whole crowd riled up, it was really great. I wish they still did that now.”
After spending the first few years as a small band, they have nearly doubled in size over the past couple of years.
This year there are 25 active members in the pep band, and McDonald is the first to recognize the importance of having a big and loud band at athletic events.
“Pep bands are synonymous with college athletics,” McDonald said. “Having a band is incredibly important to the atmosphere of a college game, and since our band has grown, and become quite good, they really have added significant atmosphere to our games.”
In fact, the growth of the band has allowed them to expand not only in personnel, but also play for different sports. While they originally just played for men’s and women’s hockey and basketball games, they now try to do a little bit of everything.
“Last year we started playing for spring sports,” Senior Operations Manager Chris Malico said. “We played at a softball, baseball, and lacrosse game and it went very well. This year we started playing for fall sports. We played at cross country events, and soccer and field hockey games.”
Having a well developed pep band has been very advantageous to many, at a school where pep band is really the only ‘organized’ music program on campus.
“I played music in high school and it was a really big part of my life,” former pep band President Amanda Zilinski said. “I really wanted to continue doing that, and I really enjoy it, it’s a lot of fun. I love being here, and I love coming to ice hockey and basketball games.”
With the program thriving like it never has before, the athletics department is starting to let the band travel to road games as well. This past weekend, the pep band traveled to Yale University to support their team at a crucial road game. More of this is planned for the future.
“From what I’m told we are supposedly traveling with the team if they go far in the playoffs,” Malico said. “No matter where they go, we’re going with them.”
McDonald, the man who first announced the pep band 11 years ago, sees a lot of promise in the program for years to come.
“Getting bigger and developing some tradition has to be what’s next for the pep band,” McDonald said. “They can become as much a cheer spirit group as they are a pep band. I think they're sort of like our teams: The band is learning how to be a Division-1 pep band, and they’ve only been at it for a few years.”
Audio Clips:
Click on the image to visit the QU Pep Band homepage:
Title.
How to: Make money off your blog
By Robin Schuppert
Blogs were started for people to be able to post information on a personal site. It wasn’t meant to be a professional or commercial site, but much rather a page where people could share information and have people comment and interact. To date there are over 112 million bloggers, and this number doubles every six months. Some people spend a ton of time working on their blogs, and have noticed that a daily update is needed for it to be successful. For some people it’s like having a second job, and just as with any other jobs, blogs can also make you some money. Three bloggers who have made some money with their blogs help explain the five key steps to making money off a blog:
MONEY MAKERS:
Andrew Vazzano (The ‘Ropolitans) – General Manager / publisher of The Chronicle
Andrew Fletcher (Scott Proctor's Arm) – Editor in Chief of The Chronicle
Lenny Neslin (lenNY's Yankees) – Sports editor of The Chronicle
DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR BLOG - Before you can make money, you need people to come visit your blog. Use chat-rooms or social networking pages to promote your blog, because without traffic, it will be tough to get good ads.
“You must use twitter and facebook,” Neslin said. “The two are the best social networking applications available, and it can help you find a bigger audience. All of your new posts should be tweeted and put on your facebook.”
The more traffic you have on your page will certainly translate into getting bigger and betters advertisements onto your page.
GET GOOGLE ADSENSE - This is perhaps the simplest way to get an ad onto you page. While it doesn’t pay very much, it is a good thing to have on your blog while you’re just getting started.
“The ads change based on what your site is about, and if people click on them, you get a few cents, Fletcher said. “That's the most popular way, but it takes a while to get paid.”
As a matter of fact, you have to have made $100 before you ever get a check from Google, and this is where page traffic is really needed. The more traffic your page has, the higher the chances are of people clicking on the links, and making you money.
RENT AD SPACE - Once you have established your blog and want more money than the few cents you get from Google, try to get a company to rent an ad space on your site.
“If you can get an advertiser to lock in for a year, do it,” Vazzano said. “They'll pay more than if you had ads that need clicks and if they like the results they get, they will come back.”
There are plenty of companies out there that like to advertise on blogs, most notably amazon.com. Another ad, bet.us, gives Vazanno around $400 dollars a year.
GIVE GOOD AD SPACE - Make sure to have plenty of ad-space on your blog. Whether it’s on the left or right sidebars, or the top or bottom of the page, you need space. To fill this space, always give the ‘top payer’ the prime spots.
“If you're offering ad space that requires a lot of scrolling to even view it, the advertisers won't be paying nearly as much as you would hope,” Fletcher said. “I host a few "above the fold" ads while the ones that pay less go
lower. Without good real estate, you won't make good money.”
GET THE RIGHT ADS - Be smart about the ads you have on your page.
“If you have a sports blog and are advertising beauty products, do you really think people will click on the ad?” Vazanno said. “Now if it's a sports blog advertising sports merchandise, there's a much better chance that a visitor will click on that.”
Blogs were started for people to be able to post information on a personal site. It wasn’t meant to be a professional or commercial site, but much rather a page where people could share information and have people comment and interact. To date there are over 112 million bloggers, and this number doubles every six months. Some people spend a ton of time working on their blogs, and have noticed that a daily update is needed for it to be successful. For some people it’s like having a second job, and just as with any other jobs, blogs can also make you some money. Three bloggers who have made some money with their blogs help explain the five key steps to making money off a blog:
MONEY MAKERS:
Andrew Vazzano (The ‘Ropolitans) – General Manager / publisher of The Chronicle
Andrew Fletcher (Scott Proctor's Arm) – Editor in Chief of The Chronicle
Lenny Neslin (lenNY's Yankees) – Sports editor of The Chronicle
DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR BLOG - Before you can make money, you need people to come visit your blog. Use chat-rooms or social networking pages to promote your blog, because without traffic, it will be tough to get good ads.
“You must use twitter and facebook,” Neslin said. “The two are the best social networking applications available, and it can help you find a bigger audience. All of your new posts should be tweeted and put on your facebook.”
The more traffic you have on your page will certainly translate into getting bigger and betters advertisements onto your page.
GET GOOGLE ADSENSE - This is perhaps the simplest way to get an ad onto you page. While it doesn’t pay very much, it is a good thing to have on your blog while you’re just getting started.
“The ads change based on what your site is about, and if people click on them, you get a few cents, Fletcher said. “That's the most popular way, but it takes a while to get paid.”
As a matter of fact, you have to have made $100 before you ever get a check from Google, and this is where page traffic is really needed. The more traffic your page has, the higher the chances are of people clicking on the links, and making you money.
RENT AD SPACE - Once you have established your blog and want more money than the few cents you get from Google, try to get a company to rent an ad space on your site.
“If you can get an advertiser to lock in for a year, do it,” Vazzano said. “They'll pay more than if you had ads that need clicks and if they like the results they get, they will come back.”
There are plenty of companies out there that like to advertise on blogs, most notably amazon.com. Another ad, bet.us, gives Vazanno around $400 dollars a year.
GIVE GOOD AD SPACE - Make sure to have plenty of ad-space on your blog. Whether it’s on the left or right sidebars, or the top or bottom of the page, you need space. To fill this space, always give the ‘top payer’ the prime spots.
“If you're offering ad space that requires a lot of scrolling to even view it, the advertisers won't be paying nearly as much as you would hope,” Fletcher said. “I host a few "above the fold" ads while the ones that pay less go
lower. Without good real estate, you won't make good money.”
GET THE RIGHT ADS - Be smart about the ads you have on your page.
“If you have a sports blog and are advertising beauty products, do you really think people will click on the ad?” Vazanno said. “Now if it's a sports blog advertising sports merchandise, there's a much better chance that a visitor will click on that.”
Title.
Jack McDonald – Promoting with technology
By Robin Schuppert
When it comes to using technology, Quinnipiac Athletics Director Jack McDonald is on top of his game. He’s a self-pronounced geek, and has used his technological wisdom to help promote Quinnipiac Athletics.
This October, quinnipiacbobcats.com, the official athletics website for Quinnipiac University had its most page views since the site was created in 2000. On October 29, the site had 472, 000 page views and 91,000 unique visitors, both of which can be credited to the endless promotions sent out from McDonald.
“It’s phenomenal. In November of 2000, we started our first athletics site, and we had 5,519 page views. In the month of September, this year, we had 421,000,” said McDonald. “In November of 2000, we had 439 unique visitors, and in September of this year we had 39,500. All that hopefully generates into good will for Quinnipiac.”
McDonald first began to take advantage of technology in the late 70’s when he was a coach at Boston College. He was the coach for the cross country team, as well as the indoor, and outdoor track teams. He had 100 men and women compete in 21 different events throughout the entire academic year, and needed something to help him stay organized.
“Whether it were workouts, or bus schedules, or knowing where the hotels were and knowing who was wearing which uniform, I could put it all onto the computer,” said McDonald. “The only way I could control who was running in which race and who ran on certain relays was by doing it that way. Since I had to do it all by myself, it was almost like having an assistant coach for me.”
At Quinnipiac he has taken those computer skills to help promote QU athletics in a very cheap and efficient way. One way he’s promoted athletics is by creating both a facebook page and a twitter account, which gives fans and followers score updates, game stories, and upcoming game alerts. All stories posted on the official athletics page go directly onto facebook and twitter.
“I’m a fan on Facebook and also follow QU athletics on twitter,” said Justin Cohen, a QU alum who now is a Board Operator at WAXY ‘The Ticket’ in Miami, Fla. “It’s a way to stay in the loop and it does keep me aware of what is going on with QU athletics, especially for the sports I don't necessarily go onto the website for.”
One of the things that McDonald is now posting on the Facebook and Twitter pages are post game shows from live broadcast of QU athletics events. McDonald has worked extensively with WQAQ, the student run radio station at Quinnipiac University. They broadcast every home game for every QU athletics event, and then the entire broadcast gets posted on the official QU athletics website.
“He does a lot for us as a station,” said Corey Hersch, the co-sports director of WQAQ. “It was clear at the beginning of the school year that he really wants to help us out as much as possible. By promoting what we do and by posting all the games we do online, it gives us exposure that we wouldn't otherwise have.”
The games are also broadcasted live, and are available to anyone that has internet access and a computer. The links to the broadcasts are always posted on the game story before every game by sports information, so it’s easily accessible.
“It definitely gives the parents of athletes a chance to listen to the games if they aren't able to make it,” said Hersch.
Along with the radio promotions, QU athletics is also promoted on TV. They’ve just recently announced an agreement with a very prominent television station in the Northeast.
“In the month of November the NESN channel will be airing a new episode titled ‘Quinnipiac Bobcats unleashed’ six times,” said McDonald. “It’s all for free, because they need content. That’s a new thing for us, having our own highlight show on NESN, and it’s going to be great.”
According to McDonald, the New England Sports Network (NESN) is viewed in over eight million homes in the Northeast. The 30 minute highlight show was produced by Peter Sumby, an associate director of media services at Quinnipiac, and will be another asset in promoting Quinnipiac athletics.
“He’s always looking for new and innovative ways to improve Athletics,” said Seth Rothman, a QU alum who is now the community Sports Producer at LMC-TV in New York and a Production Assistant at the YES network.
“He’s always very quick on the ball when it comes to technology, and certainly his desire to get QU sports on TV is second to none. No school in the Northeast of Quinnipiac's profile has a better TV profile”
The Bobcats will also have 13 totals games broadcasted on various local TV stations. Men’s and women’s basketball along with the men’ ice hockey will have some games shown on NESN, CBS College Sports Network, Time Warner Cable, and CPTV – Fox College Sports.
Quinnipiac also broadcast live games on their website on the ‘Bobcats channel’. To view these games a visitor must pay, but it’s another easy way for parents and visiting spectators to watch the games at Quinnipiac.
“In the world of website companies, there are over 200 schools that use jump TV to broadcast games online,” said McDonald. “We are ranked 55th, and there are a lot of very reputable schools who’s traffic to their channel is much less then Quinnipiac’s.”
Some of those schools that have less traffic than the Bobcats include Denver, UC San Diego, Pepperdine, North Carolina, and even Florida.
Perhaps one of the most glaring examples of how McDonald is using technology to promote athletics is the soon to be released ‘QU Athletics App’ for iphones. It’s currently in the licensing/ permission phase, and will only cost fans $1.99 to keep up with everything going on with QU athletics.
“It’s going to have results, schedules, podcasts, and even some video,” said McDonald. “It’s just another way to help promote QU athletics, and it just shows that our athletics department is on the cutting edge of technology.”
Once again, all the stories that are posted on the official website will be transferred right to this application.
“I'm definitely for it. I think that in the age we're in as college students, if you didn't use technology to promote athletics, no one would have a clue what was going on,” said Hersch.
McDonald said a lot of his inspiration to use technology in promotions came from his sons.
“Kids these days can watch TV, work on their laptops, listen to music, chat, and do homework all at the same time,” said McDonald. “It’s a multitasking phenomenon. All of that has contributed in us using technology to promote athletics.”
Before every home game of any of the Quinnipiac athletic teams, McDonald sends out an e-mail to the entire student population. These e-mails usually contain two things: The subject field gives people the game information, and the body includes a link to the official athletics page.
“I always like to say: For you to delete an email, you’ve been informed,” said McDonald. “You don’t just delete an email you have to read the subject field.”
With more students at Quinnipiac than ever before, and with the constant promotional efforts by the athletics department, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that quinnipiacbobcats.com, the official athletics site of Quinnipiac University, has been viewed by so many people recently.
“I've seen a ton of college athletics websites and Quinnipiac is the only one that has such comprehensive video, audio, and photography pages, and it's much appreciated,” said Rothman.
When it comes to using technology, Quinnipiac Athletics Director Jack McDonald is on top of his game. He’s a self-pronounced geek, and has used his technological wisdom to help promote Quinnipiac Athletics.
This October, quinnipiacbobcats.com, the official athletics website for Quinnipiac University had its most page views since the site was created in 2000. On October 29, the site had 472, 000 page views and 91,000 unique visitors, both of which can be credited to the endless promotions sent out from McDonald.
“It’s phenomenal. In November of 2000, we started our first athletics site, and we had 5,519 page views. In the month of September, this year, we had 421,000,” said McDonald. “In November of 2000, we had 439 unique visitors, and in September of this year we had 39,500. All that hopefully generates into good will for Quinnipiac.”
McDonald first began to take advantage of technology in the late 70’s when he was a coach at Boston College. He was the coach for the cross country team, as well as the indoor, and outdoor track teams. He had 100 men and women compete in 21 different events throughout the entire academic year, and needed something to help him stay organized.
“Whether it were workouts, or bus schedules, or knowing where the hotels were and knowing who was wearing which uniform, I could put it all onto the computer,” said McDonald. “The only way I could control who was running in which race and who ran on certain relays was by doing it that way. Since I had to do it all by myself, it was almost like having an assistant coach for me.”
At Quinnipiac he has taken those computer skills to help promote QU athletics in a very cheap and efficient way. One way he’s promoted athletics is by creating both a facebook page and a twitter account, which gives fans and followers score updates, game stories, and upcoming game alerts. All stories posted on the official athletics page go directly onto facebook and twitter.
“I’m a fan on Facebook and also follow QU athletics on twitter,” said Justin Cohen, a QU alum who now is a Board Operator at WAXY ‘The Ticket’ in Miami, Fla. “It’s a way to stay in the loop and it does keep me aware of what is going on with QU athletics, especially for the sports I don't necessarily go onto the website for.”
One of the things that McDonald is now posting on the Facebook and Twitter pages are post game shows from live broadcast of QU athletics events. McDonald has worked extensively with WQAQ, the student run radio station at Quinnipiac University. They broadcast every home game for every QU athletics event, and then the entire broadcast gets posted on the official QU athletics website.
“He does a lot for us as a station,” said Corey Hersch, the co-sports director of WQAQ. “It was clear at the beginning of the school year that he really wants to help us out as much as possible. By promoting what we do and by posting all the games we do online, it gives us exposure that we wouldn't otherwise have.”
The games are also broadcasted live, and are available to anyone that has internet access and a computer. The links to the broadcasts are always posted on the game story before every game by sports information, so it’s easily accessible.
“It definitely gives the parents of athletes a chance to listen to the games if they aren't able to make it,” said Hersch.
Along with the radio promotions, QU athletics is also promoted on TV. They’ve just recently announced an agreement with a very prominent television station in the Northeast.
“In the month of November the NESN channel will be airing a new episode titled ‘Quinnipiac Bobcats unleashed’ six times,” said McDonald. “It’s all for free, because they need content. That’s a new thing for us, having our own highlight show on NESN, and it’s going to be great.”
According to McDonald, the New England Sports Network (NESN) is viewed in over eight million homes in the Northeast. The 30 minute highlight show was produced by Peter Sumby, an associate director of media services at Quinnipiac, and will be another asset in promoting Quinnipiac athletics.
“He’s always looking for new and innovative ways to improve Athletics,” said Seth Rothman, a QU alum who is now the community Sports Producer at LMC-TV in New York and a Production Assistant at the YES network.
“He’s always very quick on the ball when it comes to technology, and certainly his desire to get QU sports on TV is second to none. No school in the Northeast of Quinnipiac's profile has a better TV profile”
The Bobcats will also have 13 totals games broadcasted on various local TV stations. Men’s and women’s basketball along with the men’ ice hockey will have some games shown on NESN, CBS College Sports Network, Time Warner Cable, and CPTV – Fox College Sports.
Quinnipiac also broadcast live games on their website on the ‘Bobcats channel’. To view these games a visitor must pay, but it’s another easy way for parents and visiting spectators to watch the games at Quinnipiac.
“In the world of website companies, there are over 200 schools that use jump TV to broadcast games online,” said McDonald. “We are ranked 55th, and there are a lot of very reputable schools who’s traffic to their channel is much less then Quinnipiac’s.”
Some of those schools that have less traffic than the Bobcats include Denver, UC San Diego, Pepperdine, North Carolina, and even Florida.
Perhaps one of the most glaring examples of how McDonald is using technology to promote athletics is the soon to be released ‘QU Athletics App’ for iphones. It’s currently in the licensing/ permission phase, and will only cost fans $1.99 to keep up with everything going on with QU athletics.
“It’s going to have results, schedules, podcasts, and even some video,” said McDonald. “It’s just another way to help promote QU athletics, and it just shows that our athletics department is on the cutting edge of technology.”
Once again, all the stories that are posted on the official website will be transferred right to this application.
“I'm definitely for it. I think that in the age we're in as college students, if you didn't use technology to promote athletics, no one would have a clue what was going on,” said Hersch.
McDonald said a lot of his inspiration to use technology in promotions came from his sons.
“Kids these days can watch TV, work on their laptops, listen to music, chat, and do homework all at the same time,” said McDonald. “It’s a multitasking phenomenon. All of that has contributed in us using technology to promote athletics.”
Before every home game of any of the Quinnipiac athletic teams, McDonald sends out an e-mail to the entire student population. These e-mails usually contain two things: The subject field gives people the game information, and the body includes a link to the official athletics page.
“I always like to say: For you to delete an email, you’ve been informed,” said McDonald. “You don’t just delete an email you have to read the subject field.”
With more students at Quinnipiac than ever before, and with the constant promotional efforts by the athletics department, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that quinnipiacbobcats.com, the official athletics site of Quinnipiac University, has been viewed by so many people recently.
“I've seen a ton of college athletics websites and Quinnipiac is the only one that has such comprehensive video, audio, and photography pages, and it's much appreciated,” said Rothman.
Robin Schuppert
A small project on the evolution of facebook. Many more adults are now starting to use facebook. As a matter of fact, the growth of 35-54 year old users is 276 %, by far the fastest growth of any age group. ----->
Advertising made easy
By Robin Schuppert
Facebook and Twitter, the two most famous social networking websites of our generation, now give companies and businesses the opportunity to advertise, even for free.
One of the ways to advertise on Facebook is by choosing the “cost-per-click ads”, and having to pay every time someone clicks on your add. On November 6th, 2007, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg introduced this newest Facebook system for businesses to connect with users and target advertising to the exact audience that they want. After a few steps, the ad is set up, and a business can target certain areas that will be able to see this add on their homepage. In the end though, it does cost money.
Businesses have now figured out how to promote their companies for free as well. On Facebook it’s as easy as just setting up an account, and having people be-friend you. Once your friends with people, you can send messages to all of them, and the promoting begins.
“Typically what we try to do is post any set of specials or any upcoming events. For instance, if we had comedy on Sunday we’d try to post who the actual comedians are going to be. We also post whatever specials we have running for the day, whether it’d be food or drafts, or anything of that nature,” said Don Lynch, a bartender at Side Street Grille, a restaurant and bar in Hamden, Conn.
“In business, any time you can get your name out there it’s going to help.”
Side Street created a Facebook profile a few years ago, and has accumulated 74 friends since. Fans of Side Street have also created a fan page, which has 45 fans.
“You want to expand your customer base too, so we use Facebook and have a lot of people that work here and go to Quinnipiac University as well, so they can keep their friends in touch with everything,” said Lynch.
Other local businesses have also figured out that this method may be a good one to promote a company.
Kobi Berg is a property manager for Hamden College Rentals and is also using Facebook as an aid to promote his business.
“I had Facebook for a long time but just this year used it to help rent houses. It’s an easy place to find people and easy place for people to see your information.”
This year 95% of the people renting houses from Hamden College Rentals met Berg via Facebook. Berg says he posts pictures of available houses onto his Facebook page, and then gives the house details along with the picture. For college students who use Facebook, this is an easy way to find housing.
“It’s easier for us to get the information into the hands of people that need it, and definitely easier than putting signs on houses. It’s also cheaper keeping Facebook than an office on Whitney Avenue.”
Promoting his business this way gives Berg the opportunity to promote his business from the comfort of his own home.
Ray and Mike’s Dairy and Deli in Hamden, CT recently started using Twitter to advertise. They’ve gotten over 150 followers in the first three weeks of having a Twitter.
“I put on the daily lunch specials and I give little reminders that we’re open all night, every day, seven days a week. Before the weekend starts I remind everybody that we’re open Saturday and Sunday all day,” said Ray George, the owner of Ray and Mike’s.
In over 370 tweets since joining Twitter, Ray and Mikes has tweeted about fun facts, specials, and store hours. In one of the most recent fun facts Ray and Mike’s tweeted that they have been open for over 4,000 consecutive days. They’ve also given away free drinks and t-shirts with sandwich purchases upon mention the daily tweet.
“We’ve gotten 150 followers after three weeks only. People are on their accounts and constantly seeing our names out there. That repetitiveness might help and make some people say ‘hey I’m hungry, let’s go to Ray and Mike’s,’” said George.
Quinnipiac University has also started using both Facebook and Twitter to promote their Athletics department.
The Twitter page has already tweeted over 280 times, and currently has 234 followers. Tweets include anything from live game scores, upcoming games, athletes of the week, and even promotions for special events such as Midnight Madness. They have set up links to online polls, text polls, and even an entire page dedicated to Midnight Madness.
The Facebook page, which has over 840 friends, often posts postgame shows from WQAQ Radio broadcasts of games, and also posts a lot of the QU athletics game releases.
This constant promotion on Facebook and Twitter has gotten the official athletics website some more attention. According to Jack McDonald, the athletic director at Quinnipiac University, the Athletics web page has received more than 470,000 page views since Sept. 12.
Facebook and Twitter, the two most famous social networking websites of our generation, now give companies and businesses the opportunity to advertise, even for free.
One of the ways to advertise on Facebook is by choosing the “cost-per-click ads”, and having to pay every time someone clicks on your add. On November 6th, 2007, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg introduced this newest Facebook system for businesses to connect with users and target advertising to the exact audience that they want. After a few steps, the ad is set up, and a business can target certain areas that will be able to see this add on their homepage. In the end though, it does cost money.
Businesses have now figured out how to promote their companies for free as well. On Facebook it’s as easy as just setting up an account, and having people be-friend you. Once your friends with people, you can send messages to all of them, and the promoting begins.
“Typically what we try to do is post any set of specials or any upcoming events. For instance, if we had comedy on Sunday we’d try to post who the actual comedians are going to be. We also post whatever specials we have running for the day, whether it’d be food or drafts, or anything of that nature,” said Don Lynch, a bartender at Side Street Grille, a restaurant and bar in Hamden, Conn.
“In business, any time you can get your name out there it’s going to help.”
Side Street created a Facebook profile a few years ago, and has accumulated 74 friends since. Fans of Side Street have also created a fan page, which has 45 fans.
“You want to expand your customer base too, so we use Facebook and have a lot of people that work here and go to Quinnipiac University as well, so they can keep their friends in touch with everything,” said Lynch.
Other local businesses have also figured out that this method may be a good one to promote a company.
Kobi Berg is a property manager for Hamden College Rentals and is also using Facebook as an aid to promote his business.
“I had Facebook for a long time but just this year used it to help rent houses. It’s an easy place to find people and easy place for people to see your information.”
This year 95% of the people renting houses from Hamden College Rentals met Berg via Facebook. Berg says he posts pictures of available houses onto his Facebook page, and then gives the house details along with the picture. For college students who use Facebook, this is an easy way to find housing.
“It’s easier for us to get the information into the hands of people that need it, and definitely easier than putting signs on houses. It’s also cheaper keeping Facebook than an office on Whitney Avenue.”
Promoting his business this way gives Berg the opportunity to promote his business from the comfort of his own home.
Ray and Mike’s Dairy and Deli in Hamden, CT recently started using Twitter to advertise. They’ve gotten over 150 followers in the first three weeks of having a Twitter.
“I put on the daily lunch specials and I give little reminders that we’re open all night, every day, seven days a week. Before the weekend starts I remind everybody that we’re open Saturday and Sunday all day,” said Ray George, the owner of Ray and Mike’s.
In over 370 tweets since joining Twitter, Ray and Mikes has tweeted about fun facts, specials, and store hours. In one of the most recent fun facts Ray and Mike’s tweeted that they have been open for over 4,000 consecutive days. They’ve also given away free drinks and t-shirts with sandwich purchases upon mention the daily tweet.
“We’ve gotten 150 followers after three weeks only. People are on their accounts and constantly seeing our names out there. That repetitiveness might help and make some people say ‘hey I’m hungry, let’s go to Ray and Mike’s,’” said George.
Quinnipiac University has also started using both Facebook and Twitter to promote their Athletics department.
The Twitter page has already tweeted over 280 times, and currently has 234 followers. Tweets include anything from live game scores, upcoming games, athletes of the week, and even promotions for special events such as Midnight Madness. They have set up links to online polls, text polls, and even an entire page dedicated to Midnight Madness.
The Facebook page, which has over 840 friends, often posts postgame shows from WQAQ Radio broadcasts of games, and also posts a lot of the QU athletics game releases.
This constant promotion on Facebook and Twitter has gotten the official athletics website some more attention. According to Jack McDonald, the athletic director at Quinnipiac University, the Athletics web page has received more than 470,000 page views since Sept. 12.
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