The Impact of Social Media on Small Businesses

Photo courtesy of Symphony Blush

Last week, Pixe Social's Director of Sales, Michael Krantz, recounted his adventures in cosplay at New York Comic Con (NYCC). Michael had the opportunity to partner with a talented special effects makeup artist, Lindsey Ann, of Symphony Blush. The experiences had by both Michael and Lindsey's experiences are a reflection on  how beneficial social media promotion and engagement can be for small businesses.

These days, social media isn’t just for social interactions at a personal level. While posting pictures of your family and friends and rekindling friendships from high school may have been the original plan for networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, businesses big and small, have finally figured out how to connect with previously unattainable audiences and potential customers online.

Sharing her thoughts on social media, Lindsey-shared explained how it allows her to make people aware of what is happening in her world of photo shoots, films, and special events. Leveraging Facebook, Twitter, and especially Instagram, Lindsey welcomes fans to contribute to as well as share her entertaining experiences. “Once Instagram was created, it was easy. Just one click of a button and I can share a picture that other people were able to see, making it much easier to view my work. Social media allowed me to make people aware of any events that I was attending, like New York Comic Con, so they can be a part of it,”, says Lindsey.

Symphony Blush Instagram

While at NYCC, Michael used Pixe Social’s free consumer app, Pixe Snap, to expand the reach for both Symphony Blush and Pixe Social. By using the hashtags #NYCCPixeSnap, #SymphonyBlush and #NYCC on all of his posts to Twitter and Instagram, Michael started to contribute to one of the top trending topics of the weekend. “Recognition is the only way an artist can make a living. An artist's work has to speak for itself. If ‘Symphony Blush’ could trend [on social media], then others can see my brand,” notes Lindsey. Now, when Instagram users search the #NYCC hashtag, the #Symphony Blush” hashtag will be included in some of the posts instantaneously reaching a wider audience.

To learn more about how Pixe Social can provide your small business a scalable social media marketing solution, read our #SBW2014 blog post.

Snapping Cosplay with Zombie Captain America

Guest blog post by Michael Krantz, Director of Sales

While at NYCC, I planned on fully immersing myself in the spirit of the Show by getting transformed through cosplay, compliments of the very talented Lindsey Ann, owner of Symphony Blush. Lindsey specializes in the craft of special effects makeup, which she studied at MUD in New York City. I volunteered to be one of Lindsey’s cosplay canvases to roam the show floor and pose for pictures with admiring attendees.

For my cosplay, Lindsey chose to transform me into a Zombie Captain America. I decided to capture my makeover using Pixe Social’s consumer photo sharing app, Pixe Snap. Pixe Snap allowed me to document the transformation from start to finish, and share it through social media. Using the hashtags #NYCCPixeSnap, #SymphonyBlush and #NYCC I was able to share my experience with social fans.

I arrived at the Symphony Blush booth ready to begin my first experience in cosplay. Three hours later, after multiple cosmetic applications, an interesting attempt at putting in a colored contact while fully masked, and thousands of curious looks from the passing crowd, my transformation was complete! Zombie Captain America was alive…err, dead and ready to walk the show floor.

After a full day of snapping photos with NYCC attendees it was time to get out of costume, which I can say was very relieving. Eight hours in prosthetics, makeup, and silicon was awesome and a great experience…but I was ready to shower. Thanks so much to New York Comic Con, all of the Pixe Social team and especially Lindsey of Symphony Blush for giving me an unforgettable, drop-dead
fun time!

View all of the photos here.