Week 12.2: Other Social Media Research

Crunchie's @ LinkedIn

I started my research with Crunchie's (a freeze-dried fruit competitor) on LinkedIn. Although it is clear LinkedIn is not an account Crunchie's uses actively, I still found good info about the company.  Crunchie's did a good job with their "About Us" section. They gave a brief history of the company and then dove right into the highlights, benefits and sourcing of the products.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/crunchies-food-company/about/

Crunchies @ Yelp

My initial thought was that platforms like Yelp and Trip Adviser would only be useful to my business once I have an actual brick and mortar location. However, after further investigation I think I may have changed my mind. I found Crunchie's on Yelp, but not because Crunchie's created an account there. It was noted that it was an unclaimed account and had 1 negative review. This told me that any company, including mine, could potentially be reviewed even if I do not create an account with Yelp. I would rather create an account that way I have more control over the situation. If I create and account and a positive or negative review is posted I will know about it, where as if I do not have an account it may go unnoticed. This would also allow me to appropriately respond should someone leave a negative review.
Also, I saw that food trucks utilize Yelp, and of course those are not considered brick and mortar establishments. I think once I get a consistent schedule with farmer's markets small grocery stores I could utilize Yelp to help get that info out.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/crunchies-food-company-westlake-village

Kitsuma Bar @ LinkedIn 

While getting myself familiar with LinkedIn and looking for similar companies I stumbled across one had not heard of before called Kitsuma Bar. This company caught my interest because it shares qualities, mission and customer demographic with my company. Also, it is based out of Ashville, NC which is not too far from Knoxville, TN (on opposite sides of the Smoky mountains). Kitsuma had a few well presented posts, including a video on LinkedIn. They also did a nice job on their "About Us" section, concise but thorough. They also had a link to their website on LinkedIn. This led to me investigating their website, Instagram, and Facebook page.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/kitsumabar/


Kitsuma Bar @ WatchPitch
One of the video's Kitsuma Bar had on LinkedIn was created in Watch Pitch. Watch Pitch is not something I was familiar with. After watching Kitsuma Bar's video pitch and researching what Watch Pitch has to offer I think it could be considered another useful social media tool. The premise is to connect investors with small business owners, start-ups, etc. Watch Pitch also provides an opportunity to receive feedback on a company's pitch. This is something I will definitely consider utilizing in the near future. It also makes me wonder if similar sites as well as crowd sourcing sites, such as Go Fund Me, are also considered to be social media platforms.
https://www.watchpitch.com/assignment/kitsuma-bar-nc-performance-energy-bars-public/