Last week, I presented a session at the Florida
Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP) 90th Annual Meeting
called, "Social Media Strategy for Impacting Member Sales
& Retention." It was great to see how many chambers
of commerce have implemented social media into their communications
efforts!
I follow around 700-800 chambers of commerce and their staff on
Twitter and Facebook and I see several chambers doing a great job
of engaging their members and finding ways to demonstrate the...Read More » »
Posted Tuesday, July 6, 2010 by
Curt Moss
If
your chamber of commerce or business association moved to a new
location, you'd probably let your members know, right?
You'd send them some emails - maybe even send some "snail
mail." You might even hang a sign on your old office letting
visitors know that you've moved to a new location.So, when you change your website, do you let your members know about all the changes?
Most chambers of commerce and business assocations launch new websites by telling members in their print newsletters...Read More » »
Posted Thursday, May 20, 2010 by
Curt Moss
We know that one of the main
reasons companies join chambers of commerce is to increase their
business. And the exposure your members gain via your website
is the single largest way you can promote them and drive traffic to
their business.The value that members receive from exposure on - and traffic from - your chamber’s website often justifies their membership renewal each year. And, that value can be used to acquire new members, plus generate non-dues revenue through website advertising.
With...Read More » »
Posted Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by
Curt Moss
I saw a post on
Twitter today about how someone thought that texting was a useless
form of communications. It made me think about a story that a
chamber of commerce president told me recently.The chamber was having their regular board meeting and one board member was offering his opinion on a certain position he thought the organization should take.
He was getting some initial pushback from other board members and retreating slightly in his position. While other board members were discussing...Read More » »
Posted Friday, March 5, 2010 by
Curt Moss
Recently, the Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village Regional Chamber of
Commerce changed is name to the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of
Commerce to create broader appeal for the region it serves.
Read a brief article about this change
here.
While the new name is certainly a bit easier to type and say, I was curious as to how those various place names could potentially drive traffic to the chamber's website.
Using Google's Keyword Tool, I looked for the monthly search volume for each of the areas...Read More » »
While the new name is certainly a bit easier to type and say, I was curious as to how those various place names could potentially drive traffic to the chamber's website.
Using Google's Keyword Tool, I looked for the monthly search volume for each of the areas...Read More » »
Posted Thursday, March 4, 2010 by
Curt Moss
In the past year, I've seen dozens of chambers of commerce
dramatically increase their use of social media, especially Twitter
and Facebook. I've noticed a few chambers of commerce
that have truly created their own community of
followers on Twitter, too.
These chambers not only promote their own events and news, but they highlight their members (using their Twitter IDs) and they engage them with conversations. And, their members even end up promoting each other in addition to recommending...Read More » »
These chambers not only promote their own events and news, but they highlight their members (using their Twitter IDs) and they engage them with conversations. And, their members even end up promoting each other in addition to recommending...Read More » »
Posted Friday, February 26, 2010 by
Curt Moss
There's
a story making its way around the internet right now about a woman
in Minnesota who tried to pay for tickets at a local movie theatre
with a credit card. After learning that the theatre only
accepted cash, she left the theatre to get some cash and returned,
only to continue the unpleasant experience.Upon returning home, she sent an email to the company that runs the theatre. While her email could be considered mildly inflamatory, the resulting reply is profanity-laden and offensive.
Rea...Read More » »
Posted Friday, February 26, 2010 by
Curt Moss
The
Zionsville IN Chamber of
Commerce (just northwest of Indianapolis) recently
announced a new marketing initiative using technology to promote
their community. However, several of the community's
business owners are not exactly enamored with the plan.
Read the full article here.The Chamber has purchased advertising on electronic billboards at the baggage claim area of Indianapolis International Airport. While this is a technology used by many companies to reach their target audience, I...Read More » »
Posted Friday, February 19, 2010 by
Curt Moss
The Maryland Chamber of Commerce is kicking off their 2010
Membership Drive with a special incentive for current
members. Recruit three new members and the Chamber's
Chairman will wash your car.
Read more about the offer on the Maryland Chamber Blog.
I like this particular offer because unlike prizes or other incentives, it personalizes the organization. And, unlike special offers where the new member gets a reward, in this case the exisiting member gets the prize.
However, this does...Read More » »
I like this particular offer because unlike prizes or other incentives, it personalizes the organization. And, unlike special offers where the new member gets a reward, in this case the exisiting member gets the prize.
However, this does...Read More » »
Posted Tuesday, January 5, 2010 by
Curt Moss
I read a story today about how the Mesquite NV Chamber of Commerce
has worked through a rather tumultuous year.
In addition to the economy forcing the Chamber’s members to rethink their investment of membership dues, the Chamber lost a grant of $25,000 from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) – money that had already been budgeted. (Note: The Chamber did nothing wrong; the LVCVA stopped grant monies to all chambers of commerce.)
Read the full article here.
As with many...Read More » »
In addition to the economy forcing the Chamber’s members to rethink their investment of membership dues, the Chamber lost a grant of $25,000 from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) – money that had already been budgeted. (Note: The Chamber did nothing wrong; the LVCVA stopped grant monies to all chambers of commerce.)
Read the full article here.
As with many...Read More » »
Posted Wednesday, December 2, 2009 by
Natalie Ciambrone
Within the past two years, we’ve seen well-established
newspapers fold as readership numbers plummet. The culprit? The
internet, of course. As this CNN article points out, newspapers are
“losing their relevance in the lives of a majority of Americans,
particularly younger readers.”And this trend isn’t isolated to just newspapers – it affects chambers of commerce and business associations. Today, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce (a WebLink International client) announced they will cease...Read More » »
Posted Monday, November 2, 2009 by
Natalie Ciambrone
Today I came across this article that gives a glimpse into the
spending habits of consumers. It’s obvious that discounts motivate
buyers, but did you know it takes less to motivate young
professionals?YP’s said discounts as low as 10% would make them willing to spend. Comparatively, it would take a discount of nearly 30% to get the affluent to “open their wallets”.
So, why should you care? Members join associations and chambers of commerce primarily to grow their business. And allowing...Read More » »
Posted Wednesday, October 7, 2009 by
Curt Moss
Earlier
this week I posted
Part 1 of 10 Things Chambers of Commerce Can Do To Improve
Their Websites. Today, I continue with Part
2.5. Cross promote your social media activities – You’ve probably got a Twitter account, a blog, a Facebook page and a LinkedIn profile. You might even have a Flickr account or a YouTube channel. How will your site visitors know about these unless you tell them? Include social media icons on your home page (every page would be better) and link them to your...Read More » »
Posted Wednesday, October 7, 2009 by
Curt Moss
A
few months ago, I wrote about the Pitfalls of Social
Media for chambers of commerce and associations. Since then
I've had some great conversations with staff from chambers and
association about how to avoid these pitfalls and use social media
to strengthen their brands and engage their members.Recently, I found this post by B.L. Ochman about Three Top Ways to Damage Your Brand With Social Media. She makes some good points about ways you could negatively impact your organization with the...Read More » »
Posted Monday, October 5, 2009 by
Curt Moss
Since
WebLink International works exclusively with chambers
of commerce, business associations and membership organizations, I
get to see and use chamber websites every day. And, since I
managed the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce website for eight years,
I remember all the challenges of keeping a chamber website up to
date and relevant.Recently, I was asked what things most chambers of commerce could do to improve their sites. I thought this topic would make a great "top 10" list for the WebLink...Read More » »
Posted Friday, October 2, 2009 by
Natalie Ciambrone
Many young professionals give back to their communities by
mentoring area children and students, but rarely are they are on
the receiving end such a relationship – until recently!In an effort to get more young professionals involved in their young professionals groups, chambers of commerce are beginning to offer mentoring programs.
The types of programming for such mentoring programs vary, but two of the most popular I’ve come across include:
- One-on-one programs that pair young professionals...
Posted Thursday, September 17, 2009 by
Curt Moss
You've probably been using social
media such as blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for a
while now. Have you seen your efforts pay off with new
members? Some chambers of commerce have.Read this article about how the Athens GA Area Chamber of Commerce appealed to a local businessman with their adoption of social media. From the article:
"Athens businessman Alex Sams plans
to join the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce because of a tweet - a
short message - he read through the online social...
Read More » »
Posted Thursday, September 17, 2009 by
Curt Moss
Retention. It's a key indicator for most chambers of
commerce and business associations. The factors that drive
retention also drive just about everything else about the financial
health and growth of your member-based organization. Revenue.
Sponsorships. Event attendance. New member sales. Higher retention means more satisfied members, more connected members and more word of mouth advertising for your organization.
And more fans.
Fans. Not just Facebook fans, but someone who actually...Read More » »
Posted Monday, September 14, 2009 by
Natalie Ciambrone
While
perusing the U.S. News and World Report’s website today I came
across a few lists of “Bests” --
America’s Best Places to Find a Job,
10 Best Places to Grow Up, etc. And yet, when I went to some of
those city’s websites, there was no mention of these honors -- a
missed opportunity for the chambers of commerce, the visitor’s
convention bureaus and any other city website really.Maybe my college liked to brag too much, but whenever something like this was announced and we were on the list,...Read More » »
Posted Tuesday, September 8, 2009 by
Natalie Ciambrone
I keep hearing that when individuals search for businesses within a
community, the first place they go is to the chamber of commerce
website. But what if that individual doesn’t know what a
chamber of commerce is? While this may seem absurd to
some, I’ll admit my ignorance – before working for WebLink, I did
not know much about chambers of commerce, let alone that
chambers are a trusted business search engine. And
the sad reality is that most of my generation is missing out on the
valuable...Read More » »
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