Your future, our focus
POWELL, Wyo. - James Kapptie of Greybull will show business owners how to use social networking to increase sales and client numbers with a series of four Monday evening workshops beginning March 8, in Worland.
Facebook is covered in the first program, followed by Twitter on March 15, LinkedIn on March 22 and Delicious on March 29. Each three-hour program starts at 6 p.m. in the Northwest College Worland Center for Training and Development, located in the Worland Community Center Complex at 1200 Culbertson Ave.
Social networking now accounts for 11 percent of all time spent online in the United States, according to Computer World magazine. Both Facebook and Twitter posted triple-digit growth in 2009. Businesses ranging from mom-and-pop operations to global corporations are capitalizing on this marketing medium.
The appeal of social media marketing is often the cost, which can range from launching a Facebook fan page in a matter of hours with no cash outlay at all, to paid ads targeting specific geographic, demographic and interest areas.
In February, Facebook listed more than 400 million active users who spend an average of 55 minutes per day on the site. Users range in age from teenagers to grandparents, and many times it's the two ends of the age spectrum that are communicating with and influencing each other via Facebook. According to Nielsen's VideoCensus, the site is the world's third most popular place to view video online.
Unlike many other marketing venues, Facebook can be as constantly present as a cell phone-more than 100 million active users currently access the site through their mobile devices.
In his four-part series, Kapptie will show how Big Horn Basin business owners how they can choose the site and strategy that would work best for their specific situation.
Cost to attend individual programs in the Social Media Series is $15 per session. Those who enroll in all four receive a $10 discount on the total cost.
More information about the series is available online by following the "Training Schedule" link, sending an e-mail to the Northwest College Worland Center for Training and Development, or by calling 307-347-8541.