If you think Facebook is nothing more than a giant time-suck for your employees with little redeeming value for the photo retailer, you should talk to Gabe Cano and Glen Hodges of Specialty Color Services in Santa Barbara, California.

Gabe and Glen have put social networking to work for them, building customer loyalty and increasing their store’s “cool factor” through Specialty Color Services’ business page on Facebook.

As I write this, the store has 652 “fans” on its page, a number I’ve noticed has steadily grown in the last two weeks. And these fans are more than just idle observers; they share photos and videos, participate in photography-based discussions and return to the Specialty Color Services page on Facebook several times a day just to check out what’s happening.

And what does it cost Gabe and Glen to run this networking page? Nothing.

“It’s our way to pitch new products in a non-sales way. It’s us, literally, saying this is cool, why don’t you try it?” Gabe says, referring to a new video he had just posted on Specialty Color Services’ Facebook page where he talks about the store’s Valentine’s Day services. “And since I’ve been doing these videos, when people call up and recognize my voice, they just want to talk. I’m their friend, via Facebook, and that’s an amazing level to achieve with a customer you might not have ever met.”

Glen says Facebook adds an “authenticity” to the store’s online presence, something you can’t get from a website or an e-mail campaign. “People get to know who you are and what you’re about,” he notes. “The way we are on Facebook is the way we are in person.” Social Networking at PMA

Gabe and Glen spread the gospel of integrating social networking into photo retail during an educational session at PMA 2009 on March 3 at 8 a.m. The panel discussion, “How Do Retailers Get Involved with Social Networking?” (D73), included photographer Erin Manning and was moderated by Peter Tahmin of Ritz Interactive.

Interestingly, Gabe and Glen first heard the call of social networking and online marketing a year ago during the DIMA 2008 keynote addresses by media entrepreneur Ze Frank and marketer/author Joe Pine, who stressed developing relationships with customers and building “authenticity.” These are ideas that Specialty Color Services has built on in the last year.

After getting their feet wet by starting their own personal Facebook pages, they launched the store’s business page last fall. Though things started slow, it gradually snowballed when they tied in the page to a contest they were running, “Photograph Your Love.” To enter the contest, all participants needed to do was go to Specialty Color Services Facebook page, click the “Become a Fan” button, and upload a photo they felt fit the contest’s theme. Prizes included iPods, photo equipment, canvas prints, cash, gift certificates and more.

To spread the word about the contest and the Facebook page, they had friends pass out flyers with all the info. “For it to take off we did a lot of marketing off of Facebook. We did it guerilla style with teachers, students and customers putting up posters everywhere,” Glen says. “We just went for it. Every coffee shop in Santa Barbara and Ventura had our posters.” “We even had former employees spreading the word from New York to Washington State,” Glenn adds. “You’ve really got to think about how you’re going to market something like this. If you decide to do this, you need to come up with a plan on how you’re going to get the word out.”

Specialty Color Service’s Facebook page grew from around 100 fans to over 600 by the time the contest ended in January. Meanwhile contest submissions went through the roof. “We didn’t expect it to take off the way it did,” Gabe says. “We received over 1,900 entries. In the last three days of the contest it was at a fever pitch. We sent out a notice to all the fans, and we got 900 submissions in the last three days. Some were submitted just hours before the contest deadline.”

Getting People to Print Of course, Gabe and Glen’s social marketing efforts are about more than just getting people to enter a contest or click a button on Facebook; they’re about building a relationship and getting their customers to print their photos.

“In the end, we’re photofinishers and we don’t forget that,” Glen says. “We always tell our customers it’s critical for them to print their pictures and store them and catalog them. And when you build that trust with them through Facebook, they’ll be more willing to do that.”

Adds Gabe: “The industry is looking to reinvent itself, and we think this is a fresh approach. No lab is an island anymore, and if the industry as a whole doesn’t move forward we’re going to be in trouble. So let’s target young people and new customers, and not only market to them but make it a more attractive industry that they’ll want to be a part of.”