Social media is an important part of society, as illustrated by last month's storm.
Many homes and businesses across the state were without power, and business owners were forced to rely on social media to get the word out about closings and other information.
But in addition to connecting with customers, social media also plays a role in marketing a business or its product. The Charleston Area Alliance had a workshop July 12 to teach local businesses how to use social media to their advantage and keep up with digital trends.
"We always think that with social media ever changing, a lot of our members want to know what the next trend is, how to keep up," said Matthew Thompson, communications director with the Alliance. "And we try to have these events to educate them, make sure they are getting their full potential out of social media, out of you tube, out of anything that is in the digital age. We hope they learn a lot and can use them for their business and succeed."
The event included a panel discussion lead by Thompson and featuring local social media experts. Panelists included Mark Wolfe, owner of Mark Wolfe Design; Naomi Bays, chairwoman and CEO for the Arts Council of Kanawha Valley; Christa Hamra, director of sales and marketing for MotionMasters; and Delegate Meshea Poore, D-Kanawha.
The two most prominent social media tools are Facebook and Twitter, and while both are vital in connecting with customers, Wolfe said he sees Twitter as much more important to businesses.
"I don't really see any cons with Twitter," he said.
Wolfe noted that Twitter is much more controlled. Users post updates of 140 characters or less and allows businesses and customers to connect in real time. On the other hand, Facebook is much more susceptible to phishing, or hacking, and that can tarnish a business' reputation. Facebook also requires much more time to maintain. Despite that, businesses should maintain a presence on Facebook.
"Facebook is very much an established media channel and always will be," Wolfe said.
Poore noted that she is not a social media expert, but she did make good use of Twitter as the area recovered from the surprise storm. She is also a lawyer, but said her firm doesn't use social media. Despite that, she had some advice for businesses who do want to take advantage of myriad social media sites available.
"Do what you're comfortable with, but don't overwhelm yourself," she said.
She also said businesses need to make their customers comfortable. This means that business owners should keep their personal and professional social media accounts separate. Wolfe cautioned against posting things that could be perceived as inappropriate, especially personal opinions.
"If you're going to have a personal page, keep it general, keep it polite," he said.
The panel agreed that business leaders should make their own rules about who they will "friend." Bays said she sometimes finds that people who "like" the Arts Council page will then feel obligated to friend her personal page. That means she feels like she has to censor herself and think twice before she posts anything to her personal page for fear of offending anyone.
"Anything you post on social media lasts forever," Wolfe said. "It doesn't go away."
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