Commissioner Alison Smith leads the Wilton Economic Development Commission‘s social media effort and went straight to work in the aftermath of Sunday’s flooding, using social media to assist Wilton’s small businesses impacted by the extreme weather event.
“Our goal with the weather event was to mobilize the ‘network’ to support the businesses and inform the community on what changes were happening in operating hours,” Smith explained.
One such Instagram post by the EDC urged followers to support Wild Child, a toy store that opened in Wilton Center last year and sustained heavy damage from flood waters.
“The goal of our social media presence is to be an active voice to benefit the businesses of Wilton by connecting local and regional consumers to the unique benefits and opportunities available in town,” Smith said.
Smith also used social media to respond to anecdotal reports from residents about a lack of timely communication from the Town.
“We were hearing that there was a lot of confusion on the emergency notification system, so we also posted the right link to get connected to the system going forward,” Smith said, adding that she had “great feedback that it led to more residents signing up.”
EDC Chair Joe Favarolo said he wants to see the EDC expand its social media presence and following. Smith echoed that idea.
“I would also love to encourage all local businesses to reach out on Instagram @wiltonedc to ensure we are following their pages. We support all for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in Wilton at no cost to the business so would love to ensure we can represent as many that would like to be represented,” she said.
“And take our survey!” Smith urged local business owners. “We are looking for other ways to be an advocate for the business community and want to hear as many voices of local business owners as we can.” (The survey is open to Wilton businesses including non-profits and home-based businesses.)
Business Satisfaction Survey Status
The survey to which Smith referred is a business satisfaction survey that was launched earlier this month (Aug. 2). The EDC designed the survey to gather insights on how to improve the local business environment.
EDC Commissioner Tom Shimko reported that 41 respondents have completed the survey so far. While that’s less robust than the commission had hoped, it’s a larger response than the last survey the EDC conducted among business owners (on the subject of signage), although it’s far less than a resident survey on signage conducted last year.
The commission intends to make a full-court press in the coming days to promote the survey and boost responses. Favarolo said he was inclined to extend the survey beyond the original Aug. 31 deadline by “at least a couple weeks.” Commissioners agreed to Sept. 14 as a new target end date.
So far, Shimko noted the majority of responses have come from businesses with five or fewer employees. In the hopes of hearing from larger businesses as well, the EDC is planning some direct outreach to select businesses.
The EDC’s next meeting is Sept. 18.