Surrey City Centre Library and The Surrey Board of Trade are joining forces to help local business learn how to use social media to find new customers.
Social Media Bootcamp is being held Feb. 16‐18 at City Centre Library, and addresses the need for companies to compete in the online world, to remain relevant, and access customers that can’t be found using traditional marketing tactics.
This Social Media Bootcamp is a one‐of‐a‐kind hands‐on learning program, with organizations able to set up a social media strategy and create profiles right at the workshop for a Facebook business page, LinkedIn profile, Twitter account and YouTube channel.
Plus, participants will create a professional company video in minutes and post it immediately.
“Customers are looking for the products and services that Surrey businesses have to offer. Using social media effectively will improve their competitiveness and put them directly in front of their ideal buying customers,” says Charlene Brisson (at left), marketing and communication specialist and bootcamp
facilitator.
The communication landscape has changed forever,” says Melanie Houlden, chief librarian of Surrey Libraries.
“Increasingly, we’re finding more demand to address online literacy. Social media is daunting for many businesses that need it to succeed. The bootcamp provides a safe learning environment for beginners and we’re thrilled to provide this opportunity through Surrey Libraries.”
Statistics show that companies not using social media are losing out on revenue. Fifty-one per cent of people are more likely to buy after becoming a Facebook fan – 67 per cent after becoming a Twitter follower. Fourth-eight per cent of consumers combine social media and search engines in their buying process. Sixty-one per cent of small business owners now use social media to help identify and attract new customers.
Facebook will reach 1 billion users this year and LinkedIn, known as the must use professional network to connect directly with decision‐makers, has 135 million members and is growing by two per second. Daily, 250 million tweets are sent and YouTube is the second-largest search engine next to Google.
“We’re seeing so many world class companies in our community struggle with social media –
knowing what platforms to use and how to use them to get business,” says Anita Patil Huberman, CEO
of the Surrey Board of Trade. “Social media has become an essential skill and there’s an economic
impact of low social media literacy that we need to turn around.
Social Media Bootcamp facilitator Brisson has extensive local and international online and offline marketing experience. The per-person price is $497, with 10 per cent being donated back to the library.
For more information and registration, visit www.3StepSocialMediaBootcamp.com
