As we all universally have cell phones now, the more connected we seem to get when we can’t physically be together, the more distant we fall apart with the ones geographically close to us. Businesses also have the same problem, where small businesses’ marketing department is run only to cater to online or in-person customers, very few organizations excel and deliver to both audiences well.

As a spin-off of my last blog about “The Blend Oneida- Social Media Goals” we are going to travel not far down the street and visit Higgie, the symbolic character and mascot at Hipster’s Cafe, also in Oneida.

I believe this organization has a good mixture of both an online presence and community engagement because they host a lot of giveaways for their followers on Instagram and Facebook, as well as collaborate with local organizations, charities, and businesses like The Blend, Kym’s Pallet Art, and more.

For charitable community outreach, Hipster’s has sponsored for multiple years Connor’s Clan walk to benefit Connor Bailey, a boy diagnosed with autism.

By supporting this walk, Hipster is able to reach a geographically local community that are ready to donate, and seeing Hipster at the forefront of this campaign sells people on emotion, and the audience falls in love with how personable and local this business is, which is influential in the morning making the decision between Starbucks, Dunkin, or Hipster. Running giveaways on their social media entices the community to share their content, and if just the right cover photo has been selected, people will want to ‘try this place out’ making it their new favorite coffee shop to stop at before work. Including the audience in both the physical atmosphere and having an influential presence online helps get the word out, generating that into direct sales for the company, making them overall successful.