JONESBORO, Ark. (Jan. 24) - Arkansas State University's Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) will team with ASU-Newport at Marked Tree and the Marked Tree Chamber of Commerce to host "Five Strategies for Social Media Marketing" seminar, Thursday, February 2, from 1-4 p.m. at the ASU-Newport Marked Tree campus in Marked Tree.
The seminar is designed to help area small businesses and organizations learn how to develop an effective social media marketing plan. The instructors will be Herb Lawrence, center director for the ASU SBTDC, and Abbi Siler with Pleth, LLC, a professional social media consultant helping businesses get the most of out of social media sites.
"For the ASU SBTDC, social media networking sites have proven to be very effective online tools that have helped us connect with small businesses, find new clients, and grow our revenue stream," said Lawrence. "The real challenge to small businesses just getting involved is to know the rules of the road for the social media networks they want to use.
"No social media network is a 'silver bullet' that will bring you thousands of customers just because you sign up to join it. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter require time and commitment, but the return on investment can be well worth the effort."
Thousands of small businesses in rural areas have found social media marketing networks such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter to be cost effective 21st Century marketing tools that are helping to grow a customer base. But, social media marketing has its own set of rules that a small business owner must understand to be effective.
Cost is $35 per person, $25 for Marked Tree Chamber of Commerce members, $20 for ASU-Newport faculty, staff and students. Register for this workshop by calling the ASU SBTDC (870) 972-3517, e-mail your registration to asusbtdc@astate.edu or on-line at http://asbtdc.ualr.edu/training/jonesboro.asp.
This workshop is co-sponsored by the Marked Tree Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas State University at Newport, Marked Tree campus.
(Copyright 2012 Arkansas State University)