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WEB EXCLUSIVE From the Jan-Feb 2012 ISSUE of The RINKSIDER :

Rink operators moving more dollars to online advertising

By Catherine Miedell

The number of social media networks available for business owners to utilize is growing at a rapid pace, and for many it can be overwhelming choosing which will provide the best publicity for events and promotions. After weeding through dozens of social media sites, many roller rink owners find they trust Facebook�s effectiveness most.

Facebook is currently the most popular social networking site, according to Social Media Today. As the face of marketing changes quickly, rink owners, like Scott Cernik, said they realize more money needs to be put into online advertising. Facebook is one way to do this.

�Websites are a huge part of a business now,� said Cernik, owner and operator of SkateDaze in Omaha, Neb. �Every year we spend less and less on phonebook advertisements. We are spending a lot more on Internet marketing � optimizing all the search engines.�
Cernik said he believes Facebook is undoubtedly the leading social networking site, and after seeing the value social media has in business, he hired a computer-savvy employee that consistently updates their Facebook page along with other online marketing techniques.

�I spend a lot of time on the computer and learn as much as I can, but I�m definitely not as good as some other people that kind of grew up with it,� Cernik said. �It�s a huge tool and I can�t believe how much it has changed if you look at the last 20-30 years.�

To date, about 1,300 Facebook users have �liked� SkateDaze�s official page, and Cernik said he is certain the successes of some of the rink�s events are contributed to the publicity they receive on Facebook. SkateDaze hosts an Adult Night between Christmas and New Years, and Cernik said it is apparent Facebook has been a big help in bringing more people to the rink for that event.

Facebook provides a level of connection with customers that could never be achieved before, said Julie Rookard, manager for Spinning Wheels Arena in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. This connection goes two ways, though, and Rookard said she appreciates the opportunity Facebook gives customers to post feedback.

A successful tool Facebook offers is tagging, which allows a link to a business�s Facebook page to appear on a customer�s personal page, Rookard said. For instance, after a parent had their child�s birthday at Spinning Wheels Arena, she posted the party�s success on her personal page, linking the business page, she said. This familiarizes the rink to a new group of potential customers, she said.

�Facebook is something that really reaches out to the tweens and the demographic that we see come through our doors,� Rookard said, �and we have a roller derby team that we tag in our posts, and they tag us back. I think the business owners that are not using it are missing out on a great communication tool.�

In Nick Champa�s experience, he found the demographic Facebook reaches includes active skaters � predominantly kids and former skaters � as well as past and present employees. Champa, owner of Champs Entertainment Center in Lexington, Ky., said though Facebook is beneficial, it shouldn�t be the only form of advertising a rink business uses. He feels more demographics can be reached through radio, television and text advertising. He also said plagueing a Facebook page with updates is the same thing as spamming customers. After a while, customers will ignore the updates altogether.

Champs Entertainment Center�s has a Facebook group page and personal page. The personal page has more than 3,000 friends, and Champa said he makes sure to only update both pages once or twice a week.

�Facebook is a good marketing tool if treated correctly,� Champa said. �It can be a safe marketing tool, but it can be dangerous too ... you may mean something one way, and the end user�s mother or father may take it different. You have to be really careful.�
Any time a business uses social media with two-way feedback, the administrators of that site can never be too cautious about what they post, Champa said.

�Things could be misrepresented in a hurry,� Champa said. �The only thing worse than not advertising online, is being bad at being online.�
Since Facebook is free of charge for its users, Rookard said signing up for an account is a no-brainer in today�s world where the bulk of information is accessed through the Internet.