Ask most owners what they want from social media and you’ll hear some version of the same dream. One video blows up. A million views. The phone rings all week.
Tearah Rice, who started Rad Social, wants something smaller. And it works a lot better for a local business.
“The key is five mile famous.”
What does “five mile famous” mean?
It means the people near you know who you are. Not the whole internet. Just the homeowners, parents and business owners within a few miles of your shop. They see your name, your face and your trucks so often that you feel familiar.
Tearah is the first to tell you it isn’t her phrase:
“I did not make that up. Somebody else did. I just live by it. My goal is to leave my house and to see somebody I know everywhere I go, right?”
So when someone near you needs what you sell, your name is already in their head.
Why is going viral the wrong goal for a local business?
Because the views mostly come from people who will never hire you. A roofer in Gilbert has no use for fans three states away. Neither does a bakery, a dentist or a plumber.
Tearah has seen it happen to her own page:
“Also very controversial like I don’t need to go viral. In fact, that is the worst thing that could happen for my for my page.”
You can’t plan a viral video, and you can’t repeat one. Getting known in your own town takes longer, but you can work on it every single week.
What actually gets you known in your town?
Nothing fancy. It’s the same few things, done over and over:
- Post every week, without long gaps. A page that goes quiet for a month starts over.
- Show real people. Your team, your jobs, your shop. People trust faces they’ve seen before.
- Be yourself. The owner who’s a little corny online is the one people remember.
- Say yes to community events. They put a face to the name.
Of all of those, showing up steady matters most. Tearah puts it plainly:
“It’s not so much what you post, it is how consistent you are in your posting.”
Why does meeting people in person still matter?
Social media gets your name out. Meeting people is what makes it stick. The two work best together, and one can’t stand in for the other.
“There is no substitution for authentic social media and there is no substitution for meeting people in person.”
If you don’t know where to start, her advice is simple: start with your local chamber. Events like that are usually cheap, and the people there are business owners who know other business owners.
How does Rad Social help you get five mile famous?
We take the steady part off your plate. Once a month we come to your business and film. Then we edit it into reels, photos and graphics, write the captions, and post five days a week, Monday through Friday.
You still have to show up. Tearah says so herself:
“Even if you pay someone to run your social media, you still have to show up. You still have to tell the story.”
That’s why the one thing we ask of you is an hour or so a month in front of our camera. We handle everything after that.