Member Profile: Ray Lighting Centers

Using Social Media and Online Marketing

ALA member Ray Lighting Centers has been in business for 78 years, serving southeast Michigan with three lighting showrooms. While the company still utilizes traditional marketing, such as radio and magazines, they have begun focusing some of their efforts on developing a stronger digital presence. Recently, CEO Pete de Steiger and Director of Showroom Operations Michelle Edmonds spoke with ALA about the company’s online and social media marketing efforts

What is your goal in using social media and digital marketing?

Edmonds: Across all of our marketing, we are trying to develop a solid brand and personality that positions our store as the go-to resource for lighting solutions, with our ultimate goal to bring customers into our showrooms.

de Steiger: I think people come to us when they are shopping for lighting because they need guidance. Even when people shop on our website and contact us regarding fixtures, it is always helpful for them to be inside our showroom. That’s our advantage. They can touch the products, see them in person, get an idea of size and scope, and receive the answers to their questions from trained lighting professionals.

Why do you feel a social media presence is important to your business?

Edmonds: Social media is critical. The customer is changing. Everyone is using multiple devices over multiple channels, and they are doing research online before they even step foot on the showroom floor. We are fairly new to the social media game, but the response has been good. Social media marketing is an efficient way to expand our customer base.

When developing content online, we strive to provide solutions to what people are searching for related to our company and products. The more interesting the content, the more likely people are to share it, giving us a wider reach.

We use Facebook for articles, new product introductions, customer loyalty specials, and coupons. We also plan to start using Facebook ads. However, I believe Pinterest is the most useful social media platform for us. Pinterest use is growing the fastest among women age 35 and over, which is our target market. When someone is searching for something on Pinterest and finds our profile, we know they are already actively looking for products we sell, or products related to what we sell.

Has developing an online presence been difficult? What are some of the things you’ve learned through the process?

Edmonds: I think the biggest mistake people make marketing online is not realizing that social media is primarily for socializing and networking, not necessarily for promotions. Consumers don’t just want to hear about Ray Lighting Centers, they want to be part of a conversation, so it’s really all about the content.

One thing we’ve learned about Pinterest is that users are more likely to share the content on our boards if it’s not just about us, or even our products. It is about sharing information and inspiration. For instance, one of our boards may be titled “Everything Mid-century Modern,” and it will contain everything related to decorating a home in that style. The rule of thumb we use is to break down our Pinterest content to be 20 percent about our company, and 80 percent about other brands or ideas. So, on any particular board, users will find a lot of lighting products linked back to our website, but we also include different rooms, different ideas, and visuals of homes, all with the corresponding theme. People are also constantly returning to our boards because we provide information on putting an entire room together.

Managing an online presence is a lot of work. How do you keep up with it all?

de Steiger: We hired an intern this summer who was with us for three months. She has been assisting Michelle by laying the groundwork as we build our social media platforms. That has been really helpful. There are too many details for one person to cover everything and give it all adequate attention.

Has being a member of ALA helped with your business?

de Steiger: We appreciate the assistance ALA has provided us. ALA has a lot of marketing and web resources, so we are taking advantage of that to try to populate our website.

 Edmonds: We used a lot of ALA’s video content when setting up our YouTube platform. We took the videos and organized them into different categories. Everything we put out online represents our company, so we need to ensure the content we share is representative of who we are. ALA’s videos are produced very professionally, so it is wonderful to have access to content like that.