Navigating Social Media

Published in the Culpeper Star Exponent
Monday, January 16, 2012

Normally a Chamber of Commerce meeting is interesting, sometimes very interesting, and occasionally they are inspired. The first Social Media Mastermind Group met last Monday morning at the Depot. 
With a fresh pot of coffee and an open slate of discussion, we did not waste anytime diving into the reaches of social media. We navigated thru Facebook, Goggle Blogs, Email, Foursquare, Yelp, and a few others that are outliers. Within each of these, there were basic and advanced revelations for everyone. Whether you were a novice or an experienced Social Media Pro, there were new ideas in the constant stream of discussion.

So what is a “Mastermind Group"? The term is common in cyber circles. In fact, the term mastermind may apply to almost any area of interest. The concept is for a group of like minded talent to exchange ideas about a subject with the intent to sharpen everyone’s knowledge.

The rate of change in social media coupled with its exponential growth has continued implications for business. As a business community we are faced with decisions everyday in applying our time productively. Social media can consume time and leave you at the end of the day with more questions than answers. And yet, we cannot ignore the need for education in determining the strategic social media direction that is best for your business.

To further complicate the issue, especially for Digital Immigrants (those that did not grow up with computers), we are accelerating toward the mobile environment. Consumers and businesses alike are leveraging their mobile devices (now including tablets like the Ipad) for the best value in their immediate location. Where are the best places to eat, shop, and play…. Now!!! We are moving from waiting to have a celebrity endorse products to tuning into our friends online for immediate recommendations.

As a rural business community, we are attracting visitors from the urban areas that have adopted the mobile technologies in mass. They expect our community to be mass communication savvy. Granted there is an appeal of the rural setting and preserving this is essential. That does not conflict with the need to be digitally dynamic. In fact, it is my view that as we are collectively agile in digital media, the brighter our digital light shines for business opportunity.

Our “Wireless Ecosystem” is evolving and these are enterprising times. There is a great deal of opportunity. We are in a place and time to move our community forward thru digital intelligence.
We invite you to join the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce and take advantage of the next Social Media Mastermind Group meet up on Monday, February 13th 8:30 AM @ the Depot.

REGISTER and let us know you are coming by CLICKING HERE