'Likes,' 'Friends' Translate Into Profits for Local Businesses

High school students use it to see who can get the most friends. Moms use it to post pictures of their toddlers. Grandmothers use it to keep track of their growing families. And, now more than ever, businesses are using it to bring customers through the door -- and those in Eldersburg and Sykesville are no exception.

Facebook makes getting in touch with the public both easy and, best of all for businesses, free.

“I have found that Facebook and direct mail have been my best source of marketing,” said Debbie Scheller, owner of on Main Street Sykesville. “Facebook is free currently and I can reach a wide range of people.”

Scheller’s Facebook page for her store is the third most popular of the businesses on Main Street Sykesville, offering deals and up-to-the minute discounts on store items.

“I believe social media has almost become a necessity today as you can reach such a range of people, quickly and inexpensively,” said Scheller. “With the economy the way it is, small businesses have taken a hard hit and marketing is essential to stay in business. Social media helps with keeping down costs while continuing to market your store.”

Out of the 19 businesses listed on the Main Street Sykesville official website, only one, Farm and Home Services, is missing a presence on Facebook. In addition, three on Main Street and several businesses in Eldersburg and Sykesville use the social networking site as their voice on the Internet, not hassling with domain names and the Web design that are required for setting up a website.  

The Main Street businesses have a combined 3,158 “likes” on the social networking site, not counting “Sykesville Main Street’s” official page, which has a total of 1,757 friends as of the end of November.

The Sykesville Main Street Facebook page attempts to promote local business pages, linking to deals and bringing awareness to local shops and deals.

“Main Street Sykesville’s page has so many ‘likes,’ it’s great for us that they help to promote our pages on theirs,” said Mary Martin, owner of on Main Street. Her Facebook page has a little over 100 “likes” and is constantly updated with information on the boutique.

“Everybody’s looking at Facebook, it’s free advertising and it goes out to friends of friends. It’s just this huge network and it’s fantastic for small businesses,” said Martin.

Local restaurants also benefit from the free tool, with Sykesville’s seeing an influx of customers because of the social networking tool.

“We definitely do get a lot of nice comments on there,” said Baldwin Station’s general manager Bryan Seifert who started the site himself just over a year ago.

“Obviously there’s a huge following on Facebook and we try very hard to keep it up to date. There’s very wide diverse number to be honest a lot of the people who respond are people who I wouldn’t think would be on Facebook as much as they are, so it’s really a great tool to reach a lot of different people,” said Seifert.

A look at some stats from area businesses when it comes to local businesses and Facebook (as of Nov. 30):

Sykesville Main Street - The official Facebook account of the Town of Sykesville: 1,758 "friends."

Cobblestone Tavern and Grille - 1438 Liberty Road, Eldersburg: 1,720 "likes."

E.W. Beck’s Pub - 7565 Main Street, Sykesville: 963 "likes."

Photo Scraps - 1213 Liberty Road, Eldersburg: 499 "likes."

Samsara Salon and Spa - 7606 Main Street Sykesville: 472 "likes."

A Likely Story Bookstore - 7566 Main Street Sykesville: 433 "likes."

The Big Belly Deli - 877 Sandosky Road, Sykesville: 377 "likes."

A La Mode Boutique - 7546 Main Street, Sykesville: 334 "likes."

Baldwin’s Station - 7618 Main Street, Sykesville: 265 "likes."

Virginia’s Rose - 1720 Liberty Road, Eldersburg: 209 "friends."

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