Century Business Center’s First Lesson: Social Media Is A Must

May 6, 2015

The use of social media is a necessity for almost any business — that was the lesson learned Tuesday in the first class of the “Amplify Your Business Through Fundamentals” training series being presented in Century by the Small Business Development Center at the University of West Florida.

“You can use social media to establish yourself as an expert in your field,” said Kelly Massey of the Small Business Development Center.  Business can become that go-to expert, he said, by presenting original information relevant to their field or even sharing links or research.

Small businesses usually do not compete with “big box” or national businesses on price, but on service, convenience and expertise, he said.

“A social media page is not a web page but a service page,” Massey said. Attendees learned how to capitalize on the top social media sites, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter during the “Winning with Social Media” class.

The class was attended by a handful of people, most participants in the Century Business Challenge which will award $25,000 to the creator a winning business plan in a few weeks. It was the first event held in a rehabilitated portion of the recently renamed Century Business Center.

Space in the center will be offered at $1 per year to the top two finishers in the Century Business Challenge. An additional area is being converted for a business development center employee, and could be shared in the future  by community non-profits providing regular services such as the United Way or Northwest Florida Legal Services.

Additional free classes in the series will be offered as follows:

Thursday, May 7
Marketing II – Using Google Tools and Boosting Your Business with Great Customer Reviews: If you have heard of Google Ad Words, Alerts, or Analytics and wonder how they could benefit your marketing efforts, this workshop is for you! Learn how to track website visits, research keywords, find articles relevant to your business, and most importantly, manage your brand online. In addition, customer reviews through online sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp are crucial to the success of a small business. Don’t overlook this vital tool for marketing your small business. Discover the various online customer review sites, how to create compelling business listings for the most popular sites, and tips for getting great customer reviews.

Tuesday, May 12
Financial & Cash Flow Statements, Pt. 1: Learn how to create and use profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements to manage a small business.

Thursday, May 14
Financial & Cash Flow Statements, Pt. 2

Tuesday, May 19
Human Resources: This training will provide an overview of the many aspects of human resources management. During this session, we will provide training on the following topics: Fair Labor Standards Act, effective recruiting, effective hiring, drug testing, employee motivation, costs of employee turnover, and effective communication.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

5 Responses to “Century Business Center’s First Lesson: Social Media Is A Must”

  1. chris on May 6th, 2015 9:18 pm

    @The Other Side…in the future study Amendment #1

  2. Sage 2 on May 6th, 2015 5:22 pm

    The “entrepreneurs’ in the drug bizzness already have all the facts relating to being successful…except when they’re caught takin’ care of bizzness everyday…sounds like a song I heard once along time ago.

    Question: Why were those most in need, not available for this?

  3. TheOtherSide on May 6th, 2015 3:37 pm

    Chris …………. I don’t believe that is what is being said here ………. In the future try not to put words into other peoples mouths.

  4. chris on May 6th, 2015 10:05 am

    So, despite your business model, social media can be the “golden ticket” to success?

  5. Reader on May 6th, 2015 8:29 am

    Sad to see such a small turnout. Wondering — did UWF promote the class on social media?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News