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But it’s who she is and it's this authentic approach to social media that makes her good at it. Her company, Christine Gritmon, Inc., offers her social media-savviness available to small, local businesses to manage their accounts. Gritmon sticks to core social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and is in the process of learning Snapchat -- mainly because Snapchat users are becoming adults.
In Rockland, Gritmon explained, business owners wear many hats, and as a result, social media tends to fall by the wayside due to a lack of time, money or marketing expertise. And when businesses aren’t properly marketing themselves, they often close.
A hurdle Gritmon faces in her role is the opinion many people hold of Facebook: That just being on Facebook is all that is required.
"But now it's a serious marketing tool," she said, explaining that Facebook provides generous data and demographics information. "But people don't know how to read that, how to turn that data into an action plan."
Gritmon does, and when businesses hire her they’re getting someone who excels at maximizing the organic reach of Facebook posts at the lowest price possible ("organic reach" meaning the number of people a post can reach for free by posting to a page).
Her thorough understanding of Facebook's algorithm contributes to this success, like knowing that videos uploaded directly to the platform will be seen by more friends or followers compared to a YouTube link. Much of what is shown on Facebook feeds is based on audience engagement, she explained.
"It's giving people what they already want to see, is what it comes down to," she said of getting a restaurants post seen. With restaurants, people want to see pictures of food or hear their menu specials. The same goes for stores.
There are a few reasons she is well-suited for this role: 10-plus years of marketing experience in the corporate beauty industry with companies like Estee Lauder and Avon, and her voluntary decision to spend all day on Facebook to name two. A few years ago she moved back to Orangetown -- where she is from --and settled in Pearl River with her husband and two children.
But more than know-how, Gritmon brings passion and enthusiasm, and is a big fan of local businesses, always posting about local spots she visits on her personal accounts. She has even been asked if she works for The Time Nyack Hotel or Gypsy Donut in Nyack based on her activity (she doesn't).
And if her name looks familiar it’s because Gritmon is the mind behind lohud's “Hippest Town Contest” (not her name for it), an honor that went to Yonkers last year, and a story that caught fire last year on social media.
Her biggest piece of advice to businesses on managing social media accounts is to not be dismissive.
"Don't discount the importance of it. It is an unprecedented opportunity to interact with your customers where they already are," she said. "And make sure to interact."
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