Phone book ads, business cards, brochures, newspapers, and local radio.  Fifteen years ago these were still the main components of a good marketing strategy for the leathercraft business to get the word out about their services.

When I began my business, I spent a substantial sum of money using marketing products just like these.  The world of Likes, Comments, DM’s and Sharing photos to thousands of people with the tap and swipe on a piece of expensive glass was not yet a reality.

Facebook was just a place for college kids to connect and share funny anecdotes.  Instagram wasn’t a thing yet.  And twitter… well, twitter (if it was around) was still as confusing and useless as it is today.

The best option for connecting with our customers online during those days, was for them to happen onto our website and hopefully be able to navigate their way through the makeshift debris of photos and half written content.  At best, they would be able to get our phone number to just give us a call.

Today we live in a hyper connected world where anyone has the ability to express an opinion, share a photo, or even share an hour long live video on how they prefer to assemble their peanut butter sandwich.  Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have become ingrained into the fabric of a great majority of the population for staying connected with friends, family and businesses. Continue reading →