Lisa Gratz, a Cheltenham native, founded the Glenside & Wyncote PA Community Facebook group in April of 2020, and began Marketing Mondays in early 2021.
For those unacquainted, the idea behind Marketing Mondays is to provide a public space for residents and small business owners to locate one another for goods and services.
“At the beginning of the pandemic when precautions and lockdowns had many of us feeling separated and isolated, I wanted to find a way to bring the local community together,” Lisa said. “Since there was no Facebook group page for Glenside, it made sense to start one. I could not be prouder of what it has become.”
Today the group is 7,000 members strong, and the key, Lisa says, has been “keeping the feed clear” by limiting ads to a single day.
“Facebook groups can get flooded with spammers and ads to the point where neighbor-to-neighbor communication gets impeded, and I was determined to avoid that while still finding a way to support local businesses,” Lisa said.
Rhonda Genzick Isser agreed to join Lisa as a co-administrator in September 2020.
“Rhonda was instrumental in setting up Marketing Mondays, and Tom Hendel has been wonderful in continuing it. We also had generous help from community member Merle Rosenberg Slyhoff,” Lisa said.
“We sometimes make exceptions and leave posts from hyper-local family-run businesses, especially those that are just getting off the ground, because it just makes sense to help in that way, but limiting almost all advertising to one day guarantees a space where neighbors can speak with their neighbors,” she said.
Tom Hendel, a local Realtor, has been helping to maintain Marketing Mondays since July. A Glenside native and Bishop McDevitt graduate, Tom came on as a moderator for the group after Rhonda gradually stepped out of the role.
“Lisa cares deeply about the community,” Tom said. “I saw how important Marketing Mondays was to these local businesses and the residents around town, so I took it over and told them that it’d be run properly. Rhonda was amazing, so now it’s just Lisa and I.”
“The businesses love it and they thank us for helping them out. A lot of local pages don’t allow advertising,” he said. “Everyone steps up to help each other. We think that doing it one day a week helps support local businesses.”
Tom noted that the page is routinely helpful in other ways. Residents find housing, jobs, and lost pets. Mondays, however, are wide open for business promotion.
“That way, the rest of the days of the week can be about everything else,” he said. “Everyone treats each other with respect. We’re just trying to keep the page running, and the group members make it easy for us.”
The son of two realtors, Tom is in his third year with Keller Williams Real Estate, and loving the family business.
“It was a great fit for me. I chose Keller Williams because my parents were Realtors for over 35 years, and the second half of their careers were with KW. They’re part owners of three of the KW offices, and I followed in their footsteps,” he said.
“Keller Williams does a great job training new Realtors and also has the best technology. I love Real Estate because I’m a big people person, and every day I get to meet new people. Buying and selling can be complicated, so I try to take the stress out of it. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my clients achieve their Real Estate goals.”
Tom notes that Real Estate markets are very local.
“With rates going up, the market has eased some for buyers, but mostly in areas that have a lot of inventory. As for sellers, if inventory is low in their area, they can still expect a considerable amount of interest and multiple offers, if you price your home correctly,” he said.
For more on Tom and Keller Williams, you can click here. For more on Marketing Mondays, you can check out Glenside & Wyncote PA Community’s Facebook page here.