Social Media is of course here to stay. It represents a true fundamental shift in the way companies communicate with their customers.

French Creek Outfitters, for those not familiar with the brand, have been around since 1993. They have established themselves as a leading online and offline provider of a full line of sportsman gear, and feature thousands of different items in hunting, fishing, camping, athletics, hiking, paintball, clothing and footwear.

They have a very loyal following who by and large became loyal followers/patrons via traditional advertising mediums such as Print, TV, Radio and Direct Mail.

They came to Stream Companies because they recognized the need to have a Social Media presence; to have the ability to interact and engage with their customers in an online forum and reward them for their loyalty.

JUST THE FACTS…
“Consumers who actively engage with social media are more positive about their connections with brands: 35% of those who use social media say they believe ‘companies are genuinely interested them’ compared with just 16% of all consumers.” – Alterian Study

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE…
“We knew we needed to be more socially active with our current customer base as well as all potential new customers,” said Derek Freidland, Director of Marketing, FCO. “The need to engage in an online forum was readily apparent. We just weren’t sure how to go about it. That’s why we called on Stream Companies.”

Our challenge was clear. We needed to establish the aforementioned Social Media presence French Creek Outfitters sought. We needed to create a Social Media presence which would tell the world that they (French Creek Outfitters) are in fact “genuinely interested in them.”

We then needed to establish a following/liking of their Facebook Page. Furthermore, we needed to achieve a steady, ongoing, continued growth of followers/likes.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS…
The decision was made to take maximum advantage of the one Social Media application that…

• Has more than 400 million active users
• The average user has 130 friends
• People spend over 500 billion minutes per month on

The decision was made to design and develop a French Creek Outfitters Facebook Page.

SPREADING THE WORD…
Our next challenge was to promote the Page. After all, what good is it if no one knows about it?

So we set out to utilize ALL applicable mediums at our disposal to get the proverbial word out re: the French Creek Outfitters Facebook Page.

• First & foremost, we added a link to their Facebook page on their homepage. A relatively simple thing to do yet often overlooked.
• We created a series of geo-targeted Facebook Ads.
  • See above re: overlooked, simple
• We told their customers…
  • We created and blasted a series of emails to their database.
  • The direct approach works every time.
  • Tell those who are already customers/patrons of this exciting new way to interact with their favorite sportsman retailer
• We told the general public…
  • We featured a prominent reference to the Facebook Page as well as some of the benefits of “liking” them via all TV & Radio spots

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING…
Still not quite sure what that means exactly but we can say the French Creek Outfitters Facebook Page has been a success.

How can we say that?

First, over 450 people “like” the page since its inception in November, 2009. Secondly, we have achieved the aforementioned steady, ongoing, continued growth of followers/likes – currently averaging between 3-5 new followers/likes a week.

Finally, we can call it a success by the amount of interaction as seen on the page between French Creek Outfitters, their fans and with each other via questions, wall posts and photos.

NEXT STEPS…
Our plan is to improve upon our success by creating new ways and taking full advantage of all new mediums at our disposal to get the proverbial word out re: the French Creek Outfitters Facebook Page.

Ours is not a “build it and they will come” world. On the contrary…We built it then it was our job to get them to come, and to keep coming… And that’s precisely what we’ve done AND will keep doing.

The DVD plays great and I burned a few to leave in the White House.

Now everyone can learn from the work done by you and the students - and see the Stream logo too!

I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your work on this.  You were very accommodating to student mistakes….and last minute craziness.

Please know that your work will really change lives when teachers all over the state begin taking courses based on the site material.

Thanks again,
Cathy Y.
Associate Professor, Cabrini College
Cabrini’s “Children as Witness Project“