A grand opening event was coupled with a social media best practices presentation from Ad Astra Directive at The Cliff restaurant in Elmdale Thursday evening.
The Chase County Chamber of Commerce hosted “An Evening at The Cliff,” where chamber members and curious locals were given the opportunity to learn the best way to engage with customers via social media while also enjoying the scenic views and fine dining experience The Cliff restaurant has to offer.
The Cliff at Clover Cliff Ranch, located at 826A US Highway 50 in Elmdale, was born out of a partnership between chef Jacob Holmes and bed and breakfast owners Warren and Susie Harshman. The Cliff brings the idea of fine dining in the Flint Hills to a new level, right down to the tiniest details in the dishes and ambiance.
While enjoying a spread of overflowing charcuterie boards, savory meatballs and creamy spinach and artichoke dip, attendees listened intently to Jon and Zoey Wadick of Ad Astra Directive, a marketing consultant service located in Council Grove.
The session aimed to empower local businesses and individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the ever-evolving social media landscape effectively.
Jon Wadick, an experienced graphic designer, began the discussion with tips on how a company should present its logo. Jon said logos should always be in bold print to help with readability. Additionally, he suggested, don’t simply pull a logo off of Clip Art. Always use something unique to your business.
When displaying your logo on social media, Jon said businesses should be aware of how profile pictures are formatted.
“All social media profile pics are square format, which usually have a round clipping around it,” he said. “So make sure, when you are uploading onto social media, it fits within those constraints.”
In addition to logos, a good way to keep branding cohesive is to be consistent in coloring and font.
According to Zoey, a seasoned marketing professional, Facebook is the number one social media platform for businesses. Zoey said the biggest mistake some businesses can make right off the bat is not setting up the basics — a handle, name, phone number, address and link to the company’s website.
Once you have the basics established, Zoey said businesses should post five times a week, with 30% of their content being shared from others and 70% of their content being original. When interacting with other businesses or residents in the community, Zoey said the more a business likes, shares and comments on posts — even their own — can help boost the algorithm to prioritize their posts.
“The algorithm judges you on how responsive you are too, so if you have a business that doesn’t respond to Facebook, it’s dropping you down,” Jon said. “So interaction with your clients bumps you up on Facebook.”
Ad Astra Directive also builds and maintains websites for dozens of businesses and organizations throughout the nation. While a website isn’t necessary for every business, Zoey said, those who utilize a webpage should ensure it is ADA compliant.
In fact, the freshly redesigned website for the Chase County Chamber of Commerce, heartoftheflinthills.com, was Ad Astra Directive’s first 100% ADA accessible website.
Attendees asked questions about Facebook’s longevity as the most widely-used social media platform, whether it is worth it to pay Facebook to boost posts or not and more.
“Facebook is a free tool and there are ways to organically maximize that free tool,” Zoey said, referring back to her earlier tips on how to stay at the top of your algorithm.
As for Facebook’s staying power, Zoey said she believes it is like a family album.
“These kids might be on TikTok and they might be more social with their friends and their peers on Instagram but they are also on Facebook because they are keeping up with their family, they’re keeping up with their community and they’re keeping up with their school friends,” Zoey explained. “It seems to me like the once consistent social media platform that has crossed the age boundary.”
For more information, contact Chase County Chamber of Commerce executive director, Toni Schneider at 620-273-8469 or email her at chasechamber@sbcglobal.net.
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