Camera Centre tweet catches eye of Dragons’ Den guru

Local retailer the Camera Centre has become the first in Shetland to win on the hugely popular Small Business Sunday website.

The site, viewed by thousands of business people from around the world, asks companies to tweet in about what makes them unique. Each week, business guru and Dragons’ Den panellist Theo Paphitis picks the top six tweets and retweets them out to around a quarter of a million followers. They also feature on his Small Business Sunday website in a winners’ hall of fame.

Owner Ben Mullay could not believe his luck when messages came in showing he had won. “We’d been tweeting weekly, but this time decided a quirky twist was needed to grab attention from the judges,” he said. The winning tweet was: “Can you hear us from Shetland? UK’s most exciting camera store cleverly hidden – but easy to find at www.thecameracentre.net.”

Within minutes followers, fellow winners and suppliers from all over the globe were contacting the local businessman to congratulate him on the win.

“I’m overwhelmed by the win and just how immediate the response was,” said Ben. “It just goes to show how powerful social media has become – and why it’s so important for companies like ours.”

Mr Mullay believes the profile will not only be good for his business but Shetland as a whole. Last week’s announcement that Lerwick town centre is to become a Business Improvement District (BID), he said, is also great news for the island.