A few months back, I had the notion to Tweet about interviewing any business in Wisconsin who was using social media. I got a couple of responses including Cousins Subs. The headquarters is in Menomonee Falls, just a straight shot east from Madison. I spoke with Justin McCoy, senior marketing manager. They have only been using social media about 1 1/2 years but have gone slow, listening first, planning and building a strategy.
The most useful tools have been Facebook for overall brand conversations and Twitter for a news and conversation stream. It was refreshing to talk with Justin, who seems to have put in a lot of thinking time and assessment before putting his toe in the water. Even with that, he says he spends only about 20% of this time on social media related activities. Keeping a couple of extra tabs open – one for Twitter and one for Facebook – keeps him very responsive to his audience.
I was surprised that they haven’t used video more, seems like a natural connection. But Justin assures me they plan to do more video on their Youtube Channel in 2010.
Here are a few questions I asked Justin:
1. How do you measure success in social media?
2. What advice do you have for businesses just getting started?
Be sure and follow Cousins Subs on Twitter (@cousinssubs)
