Inkling Media - Social Media, Marketing in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

On a snowy evening I met with Ken Mueller at his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to discuss his social media venture, Inkling Media (http://inklingmedia.net). Mueller evolved into the social media/marketing business via a combination of accounting, FBI interest and radio. Three venues that have little to do with one another, but thanks to the usual twists and turns of college confusion, it brought him to a career in radio.

As a part-time marketing and membership coordinator for a popular listener-sponsored radio station, WXPN (http://www.xpn.org), Ken experienced some unexpected job changes. The career change led him to transfer his love of all things Twitter to helping local businesses such as Fig Lancaster (http://www.figlancaster.com/) get on their feet through the use of social media.

While many everyday users of social media do so for keeping up with friends, many more recognize the marketability of social media for their business. Mueller understands the power of 'word of mouth' marketing, especially for local businesses. He is passionate about discussing how social media has changed his life, and how it has evolved local businesses to seek out their customers through new technology, rather than outdated marketing such as hard copy print.

Mueller offers a range of services from setting up Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts, teaching his clients how to properly keep them up to date, and full social media manageability. He encourages businesses to learn social media themselves, so they can give their own distinct voice to their social media feeds and fully interact with their clientele. Mueller would rather teach Social Media so that businesses can stay in tune with their customers. He also offers services to 'check under the hood' from time to time for clients that manage their own social media. This gives clients a chance to see what is working and what is not, and Mueller can reassess what their company needs to do to connect locally and globally.

"The beauty of social media is that it's word of mouth, amplified," states Mueller. While the majority of his clientele is based locally, he is working on some new projects that have given him a chance to expand nationally. While he wants to succeed, he also is passionate about keeping a moral compass and only working for companies, bands, and clients in which he can fully support. He wants his business to shine on what is and can work and succeed in the community.

Mueller has a working philosophy of "community and collaboration" and has been a driving force in the Lancaster County Twitter community. As we discussed our mutual Twitter friends, we both continued to be amazed by the tight knit community that has been created in this area because of Social Media. Mueller is willing to admit that a majority of the people he associates with are through Social Media outlets.