Brandon area businesses find fans on Facebook

Darren Denington raised an eyebrow and smiled when he learned that I had heard about his restaurant's charity fundraiser through the virtual grapevine - Facebook.

"They told me we needed to be on Facebook," he said, nodding towards two young employees serving a steady stream of customers at the Copper Bell Café on Parsons Avenue. "I guess they were right."

Denington is on board now with a growing number of local businesses jumping on the social networking bandwagon to keep in touch with customers and connect with the community.

With a few simple clicks, companies can create a "fan page" and invite other Facebook users to "like" their profile. When you join a fan page, that entity's status updates (sales, news, events and promotions) show up in your newsfeed . The constantly updated list displays your friends' and fan pages' posts; quick hits about what they are doing, seeing, hearing, thinking or want you to know about at any given time.

Wait, what's that awful sound? Ah, the groans of the Facebook uninitiated or overwhelmed. I heard that.

Granted, personal social networking is not for everyone.

Perhaps you're thinking, as I did last week, "Why do I need to know that my sister-in-law had heartburn after eating a taco for lunch?" or "I'm really glad my former colleague is in good health, but must I be subjected to a photo of his colonoscopy procedure?"

True, I was visually accosted online by a digital photo of the guy's internal plumbing. But it was good for a laugh, just one of many interesting updates that stream their way into my newsfeed.

And now my Facebook connections, in addition to the personal pages of family members, high school pals, neighbors and work buddies, include fan pages for a growing number of local businesses.

I'm convinced that social networking can benefit both businesses and consumers.

The Rack Sushi and Billiards, recently opened on State Road 60 in Brandon, uses Facebook to drum up business and advertise specials. Its fan page boasts more than 900 friends.

"Hey Everybody!!! The Rack Brandon is throwing an "all day, $12 all you can eat" barbeque tomorrow," the restaurant recently posted. "Hospitality peeps, 50 percent off your entire bill from 7 p.m. to close!"

If you're a server or a bartender, that's a pretty good deal, one you might not have heard about if it didn't pop up in your newsfeed.

Coconuts Comedy Club, with more than 500 fans, also on S.R. 60 in Brandon, recently posted this reminder: "Flyers are up all around Brandon. Bring in your group of 10 or more and get two free pitchers of beer!"

I don't know about your circle of real-life friends, but that offer would go over pretty well with mine.

A couple hundred fans "like" Westfield Brandon mall's page, used recently to promote the Brandon Blast on July 4 and a chance to win a $1,000 mall shopping spree. Contest enthusiasts surely loved that heads-up.

Many chains with Brandon area locations such as Stein Mart and Chick-fil-A have pages that offer store locators, sales, contests and online coupons. And The Greater Brandon and Ruskin-SouthShore chambers of commerce fan pages help keep members apprised of news, meetings and special events.

Of course, The Tampa Tribune, TBO.COM and WFLA News Channel 8 post breaking news alerts through their fan pages. In this 24/7 news cycle world, it's easy to miss the highlights - and lowlights - unless someone funnels it directly to your computer screen.

The communiqué goes both ways on the most active fan pages.

If you "like" a business, you can comment (offer feedback) under their posts, and interesting discussions often ensue.

Denington's Copper Bell Café page saw a good amount of back-and-forth dialogue after his Cooking For a Cause fundraiser, a chance for community leaders to cook and sell their own culinary creations to raise money for charities of their choice.

The month-long event, which raised more than $10,000 for local nonprofits, ended in June. But the momentum on the café's Facebook page is still abuzz, and Denington's profile administrator seems bent on tempting customers back to the cafe.

On June 19, the restaurant posted, "Come in today and try out our new brunch menu! Now serving pancakes, grits, Italian sausage & onions, smothered chicken, stuffed French toast and biscuits & sausage gravy. YUM! Hope to see you soon!"

What's not to "like" about that?