Using social media on LI to build businesses

Twitter, cupcakes and customer service -- that was the theme of Social Media Club of Long Island's breakfast Tuesday when Lev Ekster, chief executive of CupCakeStop, a mobile gourmet cupcake shop, spoke on how he uses social media to establish a bond with customers and engage in dialogue.

"I never delegate the responsibility" of tweeting, he told some 25 attendees gathered at the Harvest Diner in Westbury. Having established a voice for his company, he said he knows all it takes is "one wrong message."

Indeed, tweeting is a way for him to distinguish himself from other cupcake establishments, which may have great cupcakes, but "I hope won't have better customer service," said Ekster, 27, who founded his business in Manhattan in 2009 after graduating from law school with no jobs to be found.

Known on Twitter as @CupcakeStop, he now has two trucks, two Manhattan retail locations, a bakery in Montclair, N.J. -- and about 15,530 Twitter followers.

As for return on investment, he said, "It's infinite," because a business can get its followers buzzing about a product or service, which carries more credibility than traditional promotional methods.

Nichelle Stephens of Brooklyn, the morning's other speaker and founding editor of the Cupcakes Take the Cake blog, agreed. Known on Twitter as @niche, she said she understands why businesses want to have the "ROI" conversation, but when it comes to social media, the return is "so hard to quantify. You're building something. It's an investment. The return on it can be limitless if you do it right."

A further tip for business owners new to social media: If it sounds like an advertisement, "there's no conversation going on," said Stephens. The place for selling is a business' e-letter, which customers opt into.

Ekster agreed, ticking off subjects he does tweet: truck locations, flavors of the day, new flavors under development. He said he's been quick to develop the flavors in which followers express the most interest, gathering ideas for names, as well as hiring employees through Twitter.

When trying to sell your boss on Twitter, steer clear of lapsing into jargon, said Stephens. That means not tossing around terms like "at replies," which means you're responding directly to someone's tweet, or "hashtags," an organizing tool for grouping tweets. (If you search for the hashtag #smcli on Twitter, you'll find all the tweets written Tuesday about the breakfast.)