As part of Canada Month here at WebFuel, every Monday we will be examining a Canadian Company or Person that has effectively and successfully used Social Media to engage fans and improve their brand.
This week we will be looking at Greg Locke, a noteworthy local Artist, Community Volunteer, and (hopeful) Politician. Greg is based out of Schomberg, Ontario, which is about a 45 minute drive north-west of Toronto where he owns and operates Gotham Glassworks, a custom stained glass proprietorship. Greg is also running for Councillor of Ward 4 in King Township. Over the past few years Greg has created and heavily developed his Social Media presence for both his artistic, and his political career endeavours on a wide variety of platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube and Blogging.
Greg Locke: Gotham Glassworks
As an artist, it is important to get as many people to see your work as possible. But, seeing is is only half the battle – you also want people to talk about it. That is where Social Media comes into play for Greg and Gotham Glassworks. Right from the get go on Gotham Glasswork’s website, Greg encourages his visitors to participate by allowing them to comment on and rate his works. From there, he invites them to “get engaged!” with his brand on a variety of platforms. On Twitter and Facebook alike, Greg promotes his art and classes as well as informs his followers of any news or events with Gotham Glassworks and the related industry. Greg also visually displays his beautiful artwork on Flickr and Picasa. “I try to find my fans and potential customers wherever they tend to be, not relying solely on a static web URL”, says Locke. Lastly, on YouTube, Greg has posted fascinating videos that show the process of making his art. As an artist, Greg has done an excellent job in leveraging these platforms to promote his fused glass art and communicate with his target audience.
Greg has not only used Social Media to promote his personal brand as an artist, but also as a politician. Greg is currently running for Councillor of Ward 4 in King Township.
Greg Locke for Ward 4
“I’m not so much trying to build support for my platform as I’m simply trying to get our community discussing the issues”, says Locke. “The voter turnout for King Township is just over 50% – which seems outstanding compared to nearby municipalities such as Vaughan to the south, having about 30% in comparison. That doesn’t cut it! Half of eligible King voters are disengaged from their local government and as a community we need to improve this.”
Using Social Media, Greg is committed to making a difference: he plans to get King voting by discussing the hot-button issues openly with King residents, whether they side with his platform or not, or reside in Ward 4, leading up to the October 25th election.
Greg’s blog, “Greg Locke for Ward 4“, not only conveys his message, but encourages the voters to tell him what they want to see. He is constantly listening for fresh ideas, issues and concerns related to his community. Greg also uses Facebook and Twitter to promote his ideas for “Positive Leadership for Ward 4”. He strives to get as much engagement from the public as possible, and takes their opinions to heart. After all, if elected, he will be representing them as a community.
As both an artist and a politician, Greg has effectively and successfully used Social Media to promote himself, his ideas and his work. As opposed to many others who generally post way too much useless and annoying content on one or two platforms, Greg posts relevant and interesting content across a very wide variety of platforms. Congrats Greg, you get an ‘A’ on WebFuel’s Social Media Report Card!
July is Canada Month here at WebFuel. All month we will be sharing Canadian stats, stories, trends and much more! Feel free to share with us anything Canadian related to Social Media and Search!