If you run a small business, you know that social media marketing and online services are all the rage, but do you really know how to get started? Well, we're here to help!
This month, we've launched a series of informal events in 20 cities across the United States and Canada called "Hands-On Small Business." These are gatherings of small-business owners who really want to get down to the nitty gritty about using social-media marketing tools such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as Microsoft Office Live's online services. We've teamed up with Kirtsy, a female-focused website with user-contributed content, to hold these sessions, which are free and open to the public.
The sessions will be held in these 20 cities: New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Charlotte, Boston, Denver, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Columbus, Seattle, Portland, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Miami, and Toronto. Get information here on specific dates and times for each city.
Earlier this year, Kirtsy and Office Live teamed up to host 10 hands-on social media sessions. Those sessions were a big hit with attendees and so we've beefed up the schedule to bring you even more.
"This year, we've seen increasing discussion from women starting their own businesses about how to best find online resources to match and meet specific needs," says Gabrielle Blair, one of the Kirtsy founders. "Women often get together to compare notes. And there are a lot of us who want to talk right now about how social media and online applications can enhance our small-business pursuits."
With these sessions, we hope to help entrepreneurs like you gain some valuable insights you can take back and immediately use to grow your business. So what do you think? Are you interested in attending a "Hands-On Small Business" session? Leave a comment here and let us know your thoughts.
Monte Enbysk