Tempe Chamber introducing social media to members

The Tempe Chamber of Commerce announced in today’s “Monday Morning Update” details of their upcoming seminar titled “Why We’re Using Social Media and Why You Should Too” which will be held April 9th from 4-6pm at Monti’s La Casa Vieja. (100 S Mill Avenue) Members can register for the seminar by calling 480-967-7891. *non-members are also welcome!* The event is free but registration is requred.

From 4-5pm the seminar will feature committee members Nick Bastian from RailLife.com, Sandy Catour from Sitewire, Jack Smith from The Social Latte and Neil Chitel of Manage Staff Inc. as well as special guests who are also actively using social media effectively. These “real life” examples will be a great way for members to learn the importance of properly using social media in their business. From 5-6pm there will be an informal Q&A session in the bar and patio area of the restaurant. (yep, it will be fun) 

The committee has been assisting the chamber with ideas on reaching out to members in new and effective ways. Tomorrow, they will begin using their new Tempe Chamber Twitter page as a lead up to the launch of a great new blog platform which will be unveiled in the near future. A LinkedIn profile has also been set up for people to connect with the chamber, and other methods of communication are also being considered.

Many business owners hear the buzz about social media and understand there can be a benefit, but most don’t understand how powerful these tools can be in helping to grow a brand or increase customer loyalty. Often, the small business owner feels like there isn’t time for “internet stuff” even though most people use the internet to find just about everything. At RailLife.com, we have quickly become the “go-to” source for everything located near the light rail line, giving us a tremendous opportunity to help our target audience find these small businesses. By using the Rail Life blog, along with sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and others to spread the word, we have been able to reach a very large audience in a relatively short period of time.

I am enclosing a link to a video on social media featuring a little company you may have heard about. Listen to and watch the video.  The mention of interacting with your audience is something that can’t be over looked. Hopefully, the Tempe Chamber will be able to add value to their members just like companies large and small are beginning to do all over the world.