While speaking at many ger.com/Home/Archives/InTheNews/tabid/85/newsid393/802/Default.aspx”>chamber of commerce events this year, I always emphasized the importance of each individual business using social media. I now realize that chambers themselves could be more effective if they implement a social media strategy.

Social media includes blogs, social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, and video sites like YouTube and Ustream. These sites have been great for reconnecting old friends and building business relationships, but they can also be the missing link for chambers across the country.

Blogs

Every Chamber should have a blog on their Web site. The gold standard in blog platforms is WordPress, which can be added to any existing Web Site. The link should be www.yourchamber.com/blog. A blog will dramatically increase traffic to the chamber’s site, which will in turn increase clicks on advertisements and chamber member links.

A blog and Web site with heavy traffic will increase the value of the chamber membership. Many chambers already send out monthly newsletters via e-mail to their members and send regular mailings to their residents. You don’t have to be twice as creative here. The content in your newsletters can easily be copied and pasted into your blog. This blog is now search engine friendly. Anyone searching Google can now find your blog and will now visit the chamber Web site.

There will always be a struggle to create good content. Chamber officers should contribute regularly, but the chamber members themselves should also be invited to contribute as guest bloggers. By inviting the chamber members and officers to the blog, you are working collectively to drive traffic to the chamber Web site and to its respective business sites.

Someone may click on the blog link to read a post by the local realtor, but while they are there, click on a post written by the local florist. This blog is now connecting the business owners to each other and they are working collectively to promote each other’s businesses.

Facebook, LinkedIn and more

Every chamber should have a presence in social networking sites. These sites help build strong relationships by always putting a face to a name and helping chamber members learn more about each other by staying connected between meetings.

Almost all chambers host regular networking opportunities for their members. These events have tremendous value for building relationships between chamber members. Invitations are usually sent out via e-mail or mail. The problem is that this communication is closed-ended and doesn’t build communities.

Every time a member RSVPs to an event invitation posted on social media, the information is shared with their entire social network. They are not only sharing that information with other chamber members within their network, but also with potential chamber members. Events tend to grow virally when social media is used.

Social media also provides subtle reminders to the invitees. Every time a guest RSVPs, everyone in the network gets a gentle reminder. Also, as chamber members update their status, saying they are leaving the office to head to the chamber event, their network is reminded again. Once the members leave the event, the cycle begins again and they remain connected online until the next meeting.

YouTube and Ustream

If pictures are worth a thousand words, videos are worth a million. Almost everyone has watched videos on YouTube. When someone does a Google search, videos get very high search engine rankings.

Every chamber should have a YouTube Channel. They are free and can host short 30- to 60-second commercials for every chamber member. This is also an excellent opportunity to showcase videos of chamber events. Videos will help connect chamber members and help promote their businesses to their customers. Videos are the next best thing to meeting someone in person.

Ustream may seem a little complicated, but it is free and as easy to set up as an e-mail account. Ustream allows you to broadcast any event live and then it stores the recordings. These recording can also be added to YouTube and Web sites.

Many chamber members are not as active as they could be in monthly meetings or committee gatherings. Ustream allows the chamber and the businesses to stream live video at anytime and store it for future reference. Business owners that cannot leave their office to make a meeting can watch online and interact live via chat. They can even volunteer, ask questions or share comments for a meeting they were not able to attend, or watch the recording when convenient.

Next Step

All of the above tips are free and can be helpful in growing chambers and the businesses of members. Social media will never replace a good old handshake or the exchange of business cards, but it is a great way to supplement these traditional methods of business networking.

As businesses and chambers struggle to stay ahead of the economy, social media may make the difference. Many chambers have seen a dip in membership this year, and social media may be the best way to bring value to existing members, encourage members to return or find new members. I encourage all of you to become active in your local chambers of commerce and become active in social media to make the rest of 2009 a success and 2010 your best year ever.

By Brian Tomkins

By Brian Tomkins

Social media has become the buzz at business conferences across the country in 2009. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Blogs are the best known forms of social media today.

Although some of these tools have been around for several years, business owners now realize that they may be the best way to promote their business on a tight budget. Most business owners see social media as an inexpensive way to advertise but, it’s also an inexpensive way to build lasting relationships with your customers.

A strong client for life program is one of the most important pieces of any marketing strategy. Most companies spend most of their marketing budget on advertising to new customers, but finding new customers can be difficult and expensive. It’s always easier to farm than it is to hunt.

Traditional client for life programs include regular mailings, holiday cards and sometimes a calendar with your picture. These mailings are basically stay-in-touch tactics. The goal is to be the first person or company that customers or referral partners think of when they need your product or service.

In the last 10 years, companies have added e-mails to their client for life programs, which can be less expensive than mailings. All of these traditional techniques have been effective in the past, but social media has opened the door to new possibilities and higher customer expectations.

People don’t like being talked to and they dislike being marketed to even more. A good friend is a friend who listens. A good business is a business that listens.

Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter open the lines of communication between a business and its customers. The companies that have found early success in social media have learned to actively engage their customers and most importantly, listen.

The first step to a successful, social media-driven, client for life program is to listen. The more you know about your customers, the better you can serve them. Companies used to spend thousands of dollars for the market research social media can provide for free. If you want to learn more about your customers, look and listen as they give you access to their lives. They will share their likes and dislikes.

Most importantly, they will share their successes and challenges. Twitter offers tools for you to listen to when people are talking about your specific product or service.

The next step is to stay in touch. Facebook allows you to see pictures posted by your customers. These pictures could be of a newborn child, an anniversary celebration or a graduation. All of these are excellent opportunities for you to offer congratulations. Referral partners may also share their successes and challenges.

This is another great opportunity for you to offer your congratulations or support. The posting of helpful articles and links is easy to do with social media and can provide additional value. Every time you post something, your picture or logo accompanies your post.

Finally, the most important step in a successful, social media-driven, client for life program is to build relationships through communication. We prefer to visit a restaurant where the owner comes out to greet us personally and asks if everything was OK.

Two-way communication will be appreciated by your customers more than any other gesture. If they have questions or concerns, your response and interaction will help build strong personal relationships. We have often heard that customers will buy from people they “know, like, and trust.” While that is true to the sales process, it is even more important to the client for life process.

Customers remain loyal to companies that listen and address their personal concerns. They will always feel connected to a business owner that they feel they can talk to. If the success of your business is based on the relationship you have with your customers, then it is important to make building and maintaining these relationships a priority.

How do you know if you are using tools like Facebook and Twitter effectively? Look at your Facebook wall. Do you see comments on your posts? On Twitter, how often do people re-tweet your tweets? Are your updates one-way communications or are you actively engaging your followers?