Twitter: The Basics

Social Media

I recently attended ACCE (American Chamber of Commerce Executives) in Raleigh, NC. Despite my spending most of the time trying to recover from a bad bike wreck, I picked up lots of valuable information. The biggest wave was social media. All week there were packed workshops and classes on the subject. The overall message was that it is everywhere and is a blossoming forum. I am a bit of a facebook, twitter, blogger, flickr addict, but how many people out there use and feel comfortable with social media? It seems like the responsibilities of social media get pushed on the younger people in the office just based on their inherent knowledge of online communication. But one thing I pulled from the classes is that this is not a fad and will not be disappearing anytime soon. It is essential for all business people (regardless of age or skill level) to learn and take advantage of social media. I will give some quick lessons on how to get started.

The easiest is Twitter. For those not familiar, it is essentially the same as a
Facebook status. Or in layman’s terms, it is a short, 140 character sentence designed to answer the question, “What are you doing right now?” To get started:
1) Go to Twitter.com
2) Click the “Get Started” button
3) Pick your identifying information and fill in your email address. If you are doing a personal Twitter, fill out your real name and pick a cute username. For a business, fill out your real name, and use the company name as your username. This lets you keep it personal and informal but still focused on business. IMPORTANT: Do not use your business account for personal tweets! All the other companies won’t care that you just picked your kids up or ate a sandwich.
4) Click “Create account” and you’re done! From there, you can upload a photo (I recommend a company logo) pick a background or upload your own and fill out the short profile section.
5) Start tweeting! Write about upcoming conferences, link to upcoming events, etc. If you aren’t sure what to write, look up what similar people are doing. For example, if you work for a Chamber, go to Search and type “Chamber.”
6) Followers: Twitter works based on follower/followee relationships. When you find someone else in your community, line of business, etc. you can choose to follow them by clicking the “follow” option by their name. In turn, people will look you up and follow you. Who ever follows you can read your tweets and vice versa. The more followers you have, the better. It is a great way to share up to the minute info, communicate with others, and you can brag about what your favorite politician or celebrity tweeted that day. (Tip: Lance Armstrong has a great twitter)

Rules of Twitter Etiquette to follow…

Any questions?

Total Resource Campaign

As you have probably heard by now, the Chamber is beginning a Total Resource Campaign. And as many of you are probably asking, “What on earth is a total resource campaign?” While the campaign itself may be a foreign idea, the concept is actually pretty simple. Rather than selling sponsorships throughout the year, we are concentrating into one time frame and utilizing volunteers to help sell. Since people rarely like to volunteer for something they get no benefit out of, we are offering some amazing prizes for selling sponsorships, culminating with a trip to Mexico. The interesting thing about TRC is that is actually mutually beneficial to all involved, and the prizes are relatively easy to win. We have so many Chamber events, functions and committees (and therefore captive audiences) that sponsorships bring a lot of attention to local businesses. The volunteers have a fun time organizing teams and winning prizes, and it allows us to sell and organize all our sponsorships through a tried and true program. The teams are quickly organizing and coming up with some great names, like the “Ringing Cow-bells” (which is an inside joke, just ask a staff member if you’re curious). There are still slots open if you would like to be a part of TRC. I hope everyone has a great season and best of luck to everyone involved!

Annual Banquet

I hope everyone had as good a time at Annual Banquet as I did! Little America is a fantastic venue for a fancy event, and we worked hard to spruce it up from years’ past. Also, the event stayed on track and didn’t drag into the wee hours, which always makes programs more enjoyable. Our speaker, Rep. Cynthia Lummis, was very topical and interesting, and had a couple entertaining stories as well. If you missed it, here is Rep. Lummis on the “Know Your District” segment of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

Click here to watch

I think she did a pretty good job dealing with Colbert’s political satire. Very funny!

On top of the lively program and elegant atmosphere, we also had a silent auction hosted by the Artist Guild. I won’t go into the details for all that were present (and for those that weren’t, you will forever be in the dark) but it was quite a fun night. Here are some great pictures from the night as well!

Holiday Greetings!

Thank you to those who submitted ideas to our Holiday Contest! Unfortunately, we did not have enough entries for a complete Top Ten list, but thank you for submitting.

Our most creative idea was submitted by Robin, who said, "I think with times being tough - you could make a "goodie" basket filled with items that are in "need". I'm thinking breads, canned goods, gas cards, even coupons for babysitting, or a gift certificate from the Cheyenne Chamber. Remember the "Reason for the Season", and the great thing is you can vary the pricing on your baskets to fit your budget!" If Robin could get in contact with us (638-3388) we can arrange how she can recieve her prizes.

How are all of you enjoying the holiday weather? If thinks keep up we most certainly be having a white Christmas. The Chamber participated in this year's Christmas parade to get the season rolling right.












Also, we have been enjoying the snow falling in the soft, windless way that is so uncharacteristic of Cheyenne. Rather than a vertical white-out,the falling flakes made for some lovely photos of the Depot.

Christmas Top Ten Contest

It is astounding how many events take place in Cheyenne around Christmas-time. There is Gingerbread Contest, Christkindmarkt (a craft show), the Festival of Trees, and going to see Santa, just to name a few. The best part (or worst, for some) is the Christmas shopping. Around Cheyenne, there are many creative gifts that could help someone who doesn’t know what to give. We are going to begin doing “Top Ten” lists in which the number one will get a prize, and this will be the first. In the comment section of this blog, submit your entry for the most creative Christmas present. Whether it is in your own store, or something you saw out Christmas shopping, we would love to know about it! It is a great way to get some publicity around the holidays. We will publish the Top Ten list here, and the top entry will get a picture on our blog, a free ¼ page ad in our Holiday Newsletter, and a free web ad for the month. Thanks!!

ATHENA Luncheon

Hello! We just had our November Luncheon, which was ATHENA oriented. If you aren't in the know, ATHENA is an exceptional group that works to promote women in the business world. Every year, they award someone (a male or female) that works to promote the cause. This year, our winner was Jo Ferguson! Congratulations to her! Here are a few more photos from the event:

Post-Election

Whether you are crying in your coffee or dancing in the streets over the results, thanks to all who took the time to vote! High voter turnout coupled with pressing national and local issues made for quite the season. Now that the excitement is wearing off, the issues that triggered the campaigns are taking over. We are interested to see what you all think...
What do you think the future economy of Cheyenne will be? Is the economic crisis a hiccup or a tidal wave?
The new wave of politicians are making this a priority and we are interested to see how they handle it.