“We really wanted something with a little meat to it so when someone came to visit there was a tangible reward for visiting and liking our page,” said Jackson. “I’m a big believer in social media, and while I haven’t figured it all out yet, we are still trying to find new ways to reach out to our clients and potential clients.”

The question is, “Was the event a success?” According to Jackson it was. In fact, he is already working on the company’s next iteration of a virtual event. How did he get through the first one and what was the product that had people virtually lining up?

Getting the Word Out

One of the first steps to the company’s success with the virtual sales event was the fact that Jackson Systems had previously established FB and Twitter accounts. Some of the company’s customers were accustomed to interacting with them on social media platforms. Jackson Systems, however, didn’t stick strictly to social media. As Jackson had said before, not only did he want to reach out to current customers, but he also wanted to reach out to new and potential customers.

With that goal in mind, he and his staff began blanketing different mediums with appropriate promotions. Jackson Systems sent out a mass email to 12,000 recipients, created a press release and delivered it to approximately 1,000 media sources, tweeted, posted on FB, etc.

The message of these items was simple, “Jackson Systems has a new product and if you will ‘Like’ our Facebook page during a certain time period, we will provide you with a promotional code to receive a discount on this new product.”

The Main Event

Jackson System’s event was held Aug. 16 from 4-8 p.m. EST. This time was decided on so that even if contractors were out making sales or service calls, they would still be able to make it to the sale. With the rules set, the product chosen, and the promotion complete, when the time came “We flipped on the switch and let the promotion do its thing,” said Jackson.

Over the course of the event, the company’s FB page received roughly a 10 percent increase in the total number of likes on its page. There were also 114 unique visitors to the virtual sales event and 157 engaged visitors that the company was able to directly correspond with online.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot,” noted Jackson. “But for us just starting in this we were pretty pleased with that.”

Outside of the event, 230 people clicked on the emails that were originally sent and 56 people read the story and then did something with it — emailed, shared, posted, etc. The virtual sales event tweet received 111 retweets and the company picked up another 20 percent in Twitter followers.

Product Buzz Needed

What product caused all the buzz? Jackson System’s Barometric Zone Damper™ (BZD). According to the company it operates like any standard zone control damper but has a built-in static pressure relief mechanism that eliminates the need for a bypass damper.

“The damper has been factory set and does not require any adjustments,” said the company’s release. “When the static pressure reaches the set point, the barometric half of the damper will start to modulate open, bleeding a small amount of air in order to keep the static pressure from rising to an unacceptable level.”

Jackson’s father, Ron Jackson, developed this new product that is currently patent pending.

How did Ron Jackson get the idea for this damper? Listen to the NEWSMakers Tom Jackson podcast to find out at www.achrnews.com/podcasts or http://bit.ly/IOLhNA.

Future Endeavors

With a successful virtual sales event under its belt, Jackson Systems is looking for the next evolution of social sales and customer interaction. Not sure what it will be, Tom continues to brainstorm with his staff. In the meantime, the company is promoting its new product as well as continuing to carry on its conversation via social networks.

To find out more about the new BZD, go to www.nobypassrequired.com.

To learn more about Jackson Systems or to contact Tom Jackson, go to www.jacksonsystems.com.

Publication date: 10/1/2012