Yorktown Chamber Of Commerce Hosts Seminar to Help Businesses Generate Awareness and Sales

Despite the rise of new technologies and the wide use of social media, only 50 percent of small business owners have a website and many might not know how to take advantage of the web.

With that in mind, approximately 50 people attended the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce's “Grow Your Business Through Effective PR & Marketing” seminar yesterday at The Mansion at Colonial Terrace in Cortlandt Manor.

The interactive session featured a panel of three experts who shared tips and insight on how businesses can develop an effective PR and marketing strategy that generates increased awareness and sales. 

Guest speakers included: Christina Rae, President of Buzz Creators, Inc.; Andrea Wagner, CEO of Wagner Web Designs, Inc.; and Rich Klein, President of Rich Social Media.  The session was moderated by Robin Newhook, President of Newhook Marketing Solutions. 

Newhook talked about some statistics to keep in mind. She said 50 percent of small business owners have a website, 13 percent plan to start one within the year and the rest simply did not have time to start and maintain one.

Social media tools are a powerful way to potentially reach more clients. There are 500 millions users on Facebook, surpassing Google with a number of visitors per day. On Twitter, 67 percent of the 40 million users have said they use the tool to talk about their favorite businesses. LinkedIn has 40 million members and many joining every day. YouTube has 2 billion video views a day and more videos are being uploaded. 

"The world is changing," Newhook said. "And business is changing."

Wagner, with background in web design, talked about why a business' website might not be doing its job. She advised that websites should be regularly updated. 

"If your business is changed or grown and it's not the same," she said. "Your products or services are not the same, you need to make sure that you get your message across."

If your website looks outdated, it's not easy to navigate through or the animation on your website can't be seen on smart phones, then it's time to update it, Wagner advised. 

Rae, with background in marketing and communications, spoke about effective PR practices, getting your business known and pitching your story to reporters. If there is a new business in town, if you're expanding to a new market, have gotten awards, introducing new products, or are involved with a charity, are some examples of newsworthy business stories. 

Klein, who has background in journalism and advises his clients on social media strategies, spoke about how businesses can use Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to their advantage. Simply having a website for your business, he said, is not enough for people to find you. Instead, there are a number of ways to reach the public. You can join groups on LinkedIn, and don't just upload your resume and bio, he said. Showcase what you've done lately for your clients and regularly update your status. 

"[Facebook] is a becoming a powerful tool for business," Klein said. 

Businesses can post questions, update about new products, and get feedback from clients on Facebook. Monitoring what people say about your business is just a crucial, since negative feedback (and you not responding to it) can hurt your business. Adding video to your website is another powerful tool, since you can better engage people and "bring people closer."

Business owners who listened to the experts, said they wanted to learn about how to better use the social media tools and get their names out there. 

"Developing a strong social networking presence is worth the investment and time," said Jodi Kennedy, an applied kinesiologist, whose practice is located in Mahopac. 

She has a website and said she wanted to learn how to communicate with people through the avenues that are most used and accessible. 

For others, like John Settembrino, who has a professional financial consultants firm, and Michael Popp, who is in the construction field, said the world is changing too fast and they can't keep up with the use of social media. 

"You can't call it social media," Settembrino said. "It's 'dis-social.' I want to deal with a real human being."