Pinnix, Scott Dickson of Dickson Interactive in Winston-Salem, Doug Uzelac of Broyhill Inn, and web designer Boomer Sassman of Big Boom Design in Asheville will guide business people through intensive, hands-on coaching sessions using Blogs, Facebook and Twitter to build your business and boost revenue.  Talk of the Town Workshop was created to give participants a private consulting experience at a fraction of the cost of a private consultant.

The April 13th Workshop will focus on creating a “home base” for your social media footprint, focusing on the power of Blogs/RSS feeds.  Interested individuals can find more information and register at www.talkofhtetownworkshop.com, or email sarah@highcountrymomsquad.com.

The first round was a success and consisted of 6 sessions where local area businesses could come to the workshop and learn how to effectively use social media to promote their products and services.

Doug Uzelac, General Manager of The Broyhill Inn & Conference Center and host of the workshop series states, “Social Media Marketing is such a fast growing segment and it is the Broyhill Inn’s pleasure to be to be able to host these very informative sessions. I would greatly recommend folks that have an interest in increasing their social media knowledge to attend.”

Vicki Stevens, Marketing Manager for the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System adds, “The Talk of the Town series provided phenomenal insight to the world of social media and assisted our organization in establishing a new presence with our audience. I highly recommend the series!”

Julie Hayes from the NC Christmas Tree Association also adds, “The Talk of the Town workshops showed us what Social Media is, gave helpful hints, and provided resources to get us started.”

Mast General Store also comments, “The Talk of the Town Series helped us understand the power of social media and how we might use it to start a conversation with our customers. We found the interaction with Sarah, Boomer, and Scott to be informative and refreshing and also enjoyed brainstorming ideas with our fellow classmates. Our Facebook page has grown by leaps and bounds – surpassing all of our expectations, and it is a ready resource to convey timely happenings.”

These workshops cover such hot-button topics as Website Design & Development, Search Engines, Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Analytics and much more. Success stories abound as attendee, Mast General Store has nearly 5,500 Facebook fans as we write this. The NC Christmas Tree Association is experiencing online traffic growth on their site and the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System is setting up multiple Facebook pages, writing social media policies and growing followers on Twitter.

For more information, please visit: http://talkofthetownworkshop.com

Please contact Scott Dickson at 336.331.2185 or email sdickson@dicksoninteractive.com

to arrange interviews and to inquire further.

I also mentioned Hubspot who has a a great online tool called a website grader.

Over the next few weeks I’ll add to this list of after thoughts about todays AWI meeting.

Location:
Inn on Biltmore Estate
1 Antler Hill Rd.
Asheville, NC 28803 US

When:
Friday, February 26, 9:00AM
Phone: 336-887-0700

Our Speaker:
Boomer Sassmann

Social Media . . . could you? should you? would you?

Social Media platforms build buzz, boost business and serve small businesses as low-cost/no-cost marketing tools. Small business owners need to understand how these tools strategically serve and support small business first so they best implement social media strategies to sell products and/or services.

Hand-outs for the day:

Social Media Terminology = http://bigboomdesign.com/AWI/SocialMediaTermsfromWikipedia.pdf

Website Terminology = http://bigboomdesign.com/AWI/WebsiteTerminology.pdf

Social Media Map = http://bigboomdesign.com/AWI/social-media-map.pdf

Woodworker Social Media Links:

Woodworkers on Twitter = http://www.twibes.com/woodworking/twitter-list

Top 49 Woodworking Blogs = http://www.networkedblogs.com/topic/woodworking/

Sawdust Soup = http://www.sawdustsoup.com/group/socialmediaforwoodworkers

Other relevant links about social media:

http://mashable.com/2010/02/08/ted-talks-social-meida/

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/5_simple_twitter_listening_tips_every_marketer.php

http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/free-resources/social-media-marketing-links/

http://socialmediatoday.com/SMC/165191

http://www.redalkemi.com/articles/benefits-link-popularity.php#

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/143935

http://www.seofool.com/twitter-as-an-seo-tool

http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/01/27/10-things-all-businesses-should-do-to-market-more-effectively-on-facebook/

http://www.10e20.com/blog/2009/10/30/optimizing-an-existing-website-checklist/

Social Media (ie: Blogs, Facebook,You Tube, Twitter, Flikr, etc) are unique platforms to engage your target audience and create the kind of viral buzz that can make or break your business. These days, consumers want to do business with people they know and trust.  And we can effectively forge these relationships, without breaking the bank, using Social Media.

The “Talk of the Town” Workshop Series will delve extensively into each mode of social media, and include knowledgeable speakers as well as peer coaching.  We will come alongside you as you navigate the world of new media and customize it to suit your needs.

• Instead of talking into the sea of people and hoping one will hear, learn how to inspire others to talk about you in a positive way!
• Reach out and draw consumers to your message through “permission marketing.”
• Discover how to make Social Media work for you, with specifically tailored workshops and peer coaching, abandoning the “one size fits all” approach!
• Teaming with successful bloggers and social media users to promote your message.
• Overcome the publicity challenges unique to a small town!

Future “Talk of the Town” events will be held monthly, and may be purchased individually or as part of a package.  Prices start at $30 per session.

The Introductory Breakfast will be an overview of our “Talk of the Town” Series on using social media (Facebook, Blogs, Twitter, and more) to create buzz for your business. The minimal fee includes a deluxe continental breakfast and a private room facility at the Broyhill Inn.

Speakers/Coaches include:

Scott Dickson is the President of Dickson Interactive, LLC. Scott has been helping businesses and organizations define and reach their target audiences for nearly 15 years. A veteran of traditional media advertising, including broadcast, newspapers, and magazines, Scott embraced the digital world when he became the Director of Online Sales for Media General in the NC region and as a Director of Business Development for the real-estate portal, Listingbook.com. After meeting success in the digital world, Scott realized there was a dire need for businesses to optimize their online marketing strategies to take advantage of the culture shift to the digital world. For the past 3 years, Scott has acted as both a consultant and project manager to help lead customers through the digital maze, maximizing their online presence with organic search engine optimization, usability and functionality analysis, competitive intelligence, conversion metrics, analytics, content development, distribution and social media marketing. A graduate of Appalachian State with a BS in Communications, Scott is also a published author and accomplished musician.

Boomer Sassmann is the President and Digital Technology Director for Big Boom Design. For over a decade Boomer has been building progressive, straightforward, and striking websites that combine the perfect mixture of form and function. His fascination with the internet and website design began in the mid 90’s before the days of Google. At that time website design and search engine techniques were fairly simple compared to today’s standards. Boomer began teaching himself Flash Animation and started incorporating these animations into his website projects whenever possible. This interest in Flash (motion) based websites forced him to become an expert in search engine optimization. As the internet continued to evolve, so did Boomers’ interest. First it was the Open Source movement followed by Content Management based websites, also known as blogs. This “worldly” knowledge of the internet gives Boomer an uncanny ability to select the perfect platform to build any type of website, no matter how complex. Basic HTML, Animated Flash, Content Management, and of course Blog design are all offered by Boomer and his staff at Big Boom Design. A graduate from Appalachian State University with a degree in Industrial Design, Boomer also works on the side tinkering with electric cars and sustainable building designs.

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