How To Convince Your Employer To Let You Run A Social Media Campaign
Here is the deal. Social Media is an undeniable force. Is anyone even talking about anything else? Nope, not really.
I went to a Competitive Edge luncheon today where a panel of tourism industry experts regaled us with “How To Operate In the New Norm”. They talked about team building, communicating with your employees, looking toward the future, networking in industry groups and…You guessed it, Social Media. I could sit here and list off a handful of examples where I attended a luncheon and was lectured on the importance of Social Media. I won’t bore you with the details, I think you get it.
So why am I blogging on this blog? Well, I have been tasked with telling you, the fine readers of Don’t Drink The Koolaid Blog, how I, Megan Capizzi, convinced my employers that Social Media was an important avenue for Seaport Village to explore. And to be honest, it was a gradual process. The folks at Bailey Gardiner sat me down and said, YOU NEED TO WRITE A BLOG. How awesome. I LOVE reading blogs! I was really excited about it. I could finally talk to the Seaport Village “customer” the way I had always talked to my friends and family about my job. I would get to divulge the behind the scenes stuff! What my favorite store was. Where I liked to sit and people watch. My favorite lunch item at Edgewater Grill (on days I’m not working of course) – coc0nut shrimp and a Mojito, in case you were wondering. I was finally going to get to shout from the rooftops my love for Seaport Village. And by shout from the rooftops I mean unleash my blogs onto the Internet.
Where I saw awesome opportunity and a two-way conversation, my company saw… well, a two way conversation.
Them: “What if they say something bad about our parking?”
Me: “Then I will remind them that we are the cheapest parking in downtown! I will give them the parking tips they need to know!”
Them: “What if there is a complaint about a store? And it is on the Internet for everyone to see?”
Me: “Then I will help right the wrong! I will be the connection that that customer is looking for. I can help!”
Them: “Are you sure? You will monitor it…”
Me: “Yes! Yes! Yes! This is going to be great. Let’s give it a chance.”
And to their credit, they gave it a chance. And from that, Boardwalk Betty was created. Boardwalk Betty is Seaport Village’s social media persona. She has gone on to create a Facebook, Twitter, Flickr & YouTube account.


I believe they gave it a chance because they believed that our product, Seaport Village, was and is a quality product. We take pride in our little shopping
center on the water. We want our customers to be happy. And let’s get serious, our customers are vocal about what they like and don’t like. Why would we not be a part of that conversation? It is a privilege to be part of that conversation!
After everyone saw how wonderfully Boardwalk Betty and all of her blogs were being received- we were actually getting comments and feedback, hooray!- we moved into the Facebook and Twitter arena. Similar apprehensions, but there I was again, “People are talking about us! People actually really love us! Let’s make them love us more.” These were my cheers when I put on my social media cheerleading outfit. I wish I had a picture of that outfit, because it’s cute and cheery. But that is beside the point.
Now, not only does the company allow me to “run with it” they are applauding my efforts. They see the valuable conversations that are being had, the community that is being created. On top of that, I encouraged our stores & restaurants to get on board. We now have 14 stores on Twitter and 24 stores who have individual Facebook Fan Pages. The conversation between the stores alone is amazing. The cross promotion opportunities, endless! Social media- undeniable my friends, undeniable.
So my suggestion to you, if there is apprehension in the upper ranks, ease ‘em in slowly. Start with something that you have a lot of control over, like a blog. You control the content and monitor the comments then hit ‘em with the big guns- FACEBOOK! TWITTER! The benefits are overwhelming and if done right the results will be undeniable.
PS- While I would like to take all the credit, I have to admit that Bailey Gardiner played a gigantic role in getting Seaport Village on board the social media train. I owe them a million thank you’s for all of the support and guidance as we navigated this new and exciting territory.
Megan Capizzi is the Marketing Manager at Seaport Village in San Diego. A client of Bailey Gardiner’s for four years, Megan has overseen Seaport’s advertising, public relations and now social media campaigns. She runs the Seaport Village Blog as well as their Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube accounts.



















