Brandish Creative

by Rob Schnapp

To be good at social media, you don’t need to be an expert (there’s no such thing) or even a pro. Maybe you just need to know how to be social.

Case in point: Hobby’s Deli in Newark, New Jersey.

They’re not doing anything fancy. But with tongue sandwich firmly planted in cheek, they’re connecting with their friends on a human level. Their Facebook updates are fun, relevant, transparent and authentic. And like a good meal, they inspire sharing and conversation.

Located near the Prudential Center, they serve lots and lots of Devils fans. The owners are true fans themselves.

During a recent playoff series, Hobby’s poked some good-natured fun at the neighboring New York Rangers. Of course, plenty of Hobby’s friends are Rangers fans - myself included. But I got a kick out of some of their temporary menu items such as The Bloody Ranger and the photo that showed the door to their restroom with a post-it note that said Ranger Fans Seating.

I love (and actulally Liked) this recent status that has some fun with the fact that the Devils are facing the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup finals. While it mentions their food (by the way the #30 sounds delish) it’s not at all self-serving. Certainly they’d be very happy to sell lots of #30’s but you can just tell they did it mainly for the joke.

Let this serve as a lesson for small businesses as they delve into social media. I’ve seen so many local businesses fork over $100 a month to local charlatans claiming to be experts. (see my earlier post on this topic here) These “experts” are churning out the equivalent of generic, bland, processed meats. 

Meantime, Hobby’s is serving up authenticity. Okay, now I’m hungering for a Hobby’s corned beef on rye. Real. Authentic. Like!