CEDAR RAPIDS - In a world of cookie-cutter chain stores, the Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee in Cedar Rapids is creating a new pattern.

To let their customers know what's on sale, they're using Facebook. Late last year workers there created a fan page.

"Within a week we had 150 [fans] and in two weeks it was over 200, so pretty big,” said store operations manager Jason Lester.

It's no surprise that many major retailers have Facebook pages, but not many of the individual stores have their own page. Hy-Vee has its own corporate page, but the Johnson Avenue store has its personal fan page. Log on and you can find deals specific to that location.

One thing Hy-Vee has going for it is the fastest growing population on Facebook last year were people 35 and older. In other words, your big grocery buyers.

Heather Smith with de Novo Alternative Marketing in Cedar Rapids helps companies use new tools like Facebook to connect with customers.

"Facebook is really moving more towards the older audience,” said Smith.

She said the average person that uses Facebook, logs on for 55 minutes a day, which makes it a gold mine for advertising. However, she says traditional advertising won't go away.

"Ignoring Facebook and not implementing it into your marketing campaign is equally irresponsible,” said Smith.

The fastest specific population of Facebook users were 55-year-old women in 2009, said Smith.

Lester said the new tool is paying off. One day, he said they advertised a special order of 12-packs of pop for 99 cents.

"And people are coming and asking when the next special is going to be on Facebook, cause they want to know,” said Lester.

You can find the store’s fan page on Facebook by searching Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee. And, of course, you can find KCRG-TV9’s Facebook fan page too.