Social media has truly become an art form. The act of planning and executing a social media marketing strategy takes patience, practice and a bit of creativity.
As a business owner you may feel you don’t have the time or resources to learn this craft, but the truth is your success may depend on it.
That’s why Times-Union Media and Office Environments and Services have teamed up with industry expert Shannon Kinney to host The Art of Social Media: How to Grow Your Small Business lunch and learn on Thursday, April 20 at 11:30 a.m at 1 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville.
Kinney, who has worked in marketing for more than 30 years specializing in digital since 1995, understands the struggles small businesses face when it comes to marketing on social media. After working for well-known companies like Cars.com and Careerbuilder.com, Kinney decided to start her own company, the full-service national marketing agency Dream Local Digital, eight years ago. Since then, she’s helped small businesses all over the country market their products and services online.
While her business may revolve heavily around social media, she knows not every owner has the resources to keep up with the latest trends and changes. So, she’s giving you an in-depth look at all the best tips and tools to help you master the art of social media.
If you’re still not sure if this is for you, check out our Q&A with Kinney to learn why you can’t afford to miss it.
What can we expect at The Art of Social Media: How to Grow Your Small Business event?
This is going to be a really exciting lunch and learn. We’re going to focus on businesses that have a lot of questions about [social media]. Maybe they’re investing time in it and not seeing results, or maybe they started doing it and they’re not sure how it’s going to help them grow their businesses.
We’re going to cover many of the different tips and tricks to help them make sure the time they’re investing drives a return on investment for them. We’re going to show them how to analyze their business and look at the results of what they’re doing to see if it’s really moving the needle, and if it isn’t, a few different tactics.
We’re going to look at many of the different tools that we’re seeing have the biggest impact in terms of helping small businesses grow.
Are there any new or improved social tools that you will focus on?
We’re going to cover all the major social channels and we’re going to cover search engines, but there aren’t as many new tools as some of the platforms have new features that are really driving results for small businesses.
Instagram has made a lot of headway in terms of how businesses can expose themselves via stories as well as paid advertising opportunities.
Facebook has made huge improvements on advertising targeting capabilities. We will be covering how to use each channel to your advantage, and if they’re for you or not. Facebook and Instagram are probably the ones with the most new data and really power to put in the hands of small businesses.
What about metrics? Will you go over how to read these and improve them, and use that to increase business?
Yes, and we will talk about which ones really matter. There’s a lot of data available to small businesses, but owners are busy, they’re running a small business. Not all these numbers really change the bottom line of the business, so we’re going to be covering them — how to increase them and how to understand them — but also which ones really matter and why.
Why is small business week important?
I think those of us that run our own small businesses realize it’s a very daunting task that more than 29 million people in the U.S. have taken on. This is an opportunity to really help support those small businesses in the great work they’re doing for their customers, for their families, for themselves, their employees as well as the communities they’re part of.
I left big national firms to start Dream Local Digital because I feel so passionate that the real growth in the U.S. is coming from small businesses and we need to make all of these big tools and marketing concepts accessible and understandable and easy to use at the small business level.
For us, we’re deeply passionate about small businesses and proud of our relationship with Times-Union Media because we believe this is an excellent opportunity to give back and help small businesses grow.
Anything else you want small business owners to know about the event?
It’s going to be a really intense session with a ton of usable data. People will be able to leave this lunch and learn and start using it immediately. If for some reason they need help we will have a team of people who can follow up with them and get their questions answered for their specific business long after the lunch and learn.
The Art of Social Media: How to Grow Your Small Business Lunch and Learn
- Date: Thursday, April 20, 2017
- Time: 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- Location: Times-Union Media, 1 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32202
- Tickets: $25 includes lunch
- Click here to RSVP now!
