You might think a 54-year-old cataloger that started out selling products to serve the local Amish community and others without electricity would be the last merchant to embrace social media. But Lehman’s not only has a blog, it’s active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.
The Kidron, OH-based marketer sells old-fashioned, non-electric merchandise from oil lamps and Amish-made wood toys to soap-making supplies and butter churns. Speaking at the NEMOA fall conference in Ledyard, CT, last week, Glenda Lehman Ervin–vice president of marketing and daughter of company founder Jay Lehman–described how Lehman’s is using social media.
The Lehman’s Country Life blog, spearheaded by Ervin’s brother, Lehman’s president Galen Lehman, uses content such as articles and product reviews to promote simple, self-sufficient living. Ervin said the blog is the number-one referrer to Lehman’s.com.
Lehman’s also makes good use of video. Its YouTube videos demonstrate how to make mashed potatoes with Lehman’s food strainer, how to assemble and light an oil lamp, and what you need to know about wood stoves, among other topics.
As for Facebook, Ervin said, Lehman’s uses the social networking site as a focus group. “We get new product ideas and can have a dialog with our customers” via Facebook, she said.
For instance, Lehman’s is now developing a manual for its water filter, because customers said on Facebook that they don’t know how to use it.