I'm excited for some of the things happening in Iowa and the Social Media "stuff" that's being made available by some of the voices worth hearing here.
One of those people is the dynamic and energetic Suzanne Hull, a generous and contagious teacher of Social Media for Small Business. I've had the good fortune of working with and hearing her talk with
customers — and she not only "gets it" – she "gets it done."
On Tuesday (09/07/10), Suzanne starts another series of Social Media Workshops, with the intro at the affordable price of "free" – and followed up with a series of session for only $25 each.
Here's the schedule of Fall Lineup of Social Media for Small Business Workshops that Suzanne is leading (class descriptions by Suzanne):
*FREE* Social Media for Small Business Workshop Overview, 7-Sep
In this FREE workshop, learn why it’s important to engage in social media as a small business owner and how best to engage in which platforms to get the most out of your time.
__________________________________________________________________Create a WordPress Website/Blog Session I, 14-Sep – $25
Bring your laptop and we’ll create a basic website/blog for your business using WordPress. WordPress allows you to develop a website/blog for free. If your business does not currently have a website or blog, this is a great start. We’ll create a few critical pages for your site and focus on the techniques of blogging. Prerequisite: General computer skills.
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Create a WordPress Website/Blog Session II, 21-Sep – $25
This is a continuation of the first session which took place on 14-Sep. Bring your laptop and we’ll continue to create a basic website/blog for your business using WordPress. In addition to the pages we created in Session I, we’ll create a few side-bar widgets. We’ll take a look at the blog posts people wrote for homework and critique. Prerequisite: General computer skills.
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Create a Twitter Account for Your Business, 28-Sep – $25
Bring your laptop and as a group, we’ll go through the steps required to set up a Twitter account and profile for your business. You’ll learn Twitter etiquette and how to engage Followers on the platform. If you attended the fist two sessions in this series and developed a website, I’ll show you how to create a link on your website to your Twitter account. When you leave, you will have a firm grasp on how to find and follow people and how to create relationships that will help you in your business. Prerequisite: General computer skills.
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Create a Facebook FanPage for Your Business, 5-Oct – $25
Bring your laptop and as a group, we’ll go through the steps required to set up a Facebook FanPage for your business. We’ll talk about the tabs and Facebook Ads, edit the Bio section, upload your business’ logo and add some content to the Wall so you can begin inviting your friends to become FANS of your FanPage. If you attended the fist two sessions in this series and developed a website, I’ll show you how to create a link on your website to your Facebook FanPage. Prerequisite: General computer skills and a personal Facebook page.
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Create a LinkedIn Profile and Company Page, 12-Oct – $25
Bring your laptop and as a group, we’ll create personal LinkedIn Profiles and Company Pages for your business. We’ll spend most of our time on the profile, but we will also talk about how to search for people you can build relationships with to help you in your business as either a customer or connector. If you attended the fist two sessions in this series and developed a website, I’ll show you how to create a link on your website to your LinkedIn presence. Prerequisite: General computer skills.
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E-Newsletter Creation using MailChimp, 18-Oct – $25
Having an e-newsletter for your business is a great way to stay in touch with customers – especially when they’re not quite ready to buy. We’ll set up an e-newsletter template using MailChimp (free for up to 500 email addresses) and you’ll leave with a firm grasp on how to draft your first e-newsletter and send it to your email database. If you attended the fist two sessions in this series and developed a website, I’ll show you how to create a newsletter subscription link on your website. Prerequisite: General computer skills.
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Content Creation and Management Tools, 26-Oct – $25
I consistently hear from those not engaged with or new to social media: “I don’t have the time to do this” and “I don’t really have anything to say”. Bring your laptop and we’ll download TweetDeck to make it easier to manage your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles and we’ll set up your GoogleReader so you can subscribe to blogs and searches relevant to your industry as RSS feeds. Prerequisite: General computer skills.
All workshops in the series will take place on the dates above from 6-8pm in the Conference Room of the Worldwide Amplified Studio located on the Skywalk Level of the Partnership Building at 700 Locust Street in Downtown Des Moines.
It is my hope that if you own a small business, or you're an independent, or you know of one who is either of those, that these workshops will be filled with an SRO crowd.
By the way, I've seen the conference room at Worldwide Amplified. It's a top-flight venue. When you're there, ask Suzanne how you can hold your own classes there.
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Find Your Social Media ROI
I hear it from a lot of business owners: “Where is the ROI with all this Social Media?“ If this is a question you ask yourself, maybe we should work together a bit more. We can work together solo, or via a professional learning community. Find and increase your ROI. There is a “there” there.
