'Four C's' of social media help businesses grow

By Anya Tikka
MILFORD — How do you attract customers though social media marketing?
It's a four-pronged approach: "Create, communicate, collaborate, and connect." Those are the four "C's" in C4 DigiCon, an October workshop hosted by the Tri-State Chamber of Commerce at Delaware Valley High School.
Social media expert Tim Sohn, CEO of Sohn Social Media Solutions, recruited to make the first-ever C4 DigiCon happen, addressed an audience of about 60 business people eager to learn the ins and outs of this ever-branching new world.
Chris Barrows, mobile and social media coordinator at New York University and founder of Why I Social, explained why digital marketing is essential to business in these times, and how it works. Katrina Foster of KKPR Marketing and Public Relations talked about creating your own brand.
Nuby DeLeon showed how to make professional videos on phones and tablets. Sohn shared some social media "tricks" that help grow your businesses.
Mandy Pennington, director of internet marketing at Net Driven, demonstrated how to maximize search engine results.
“Google your business, and check with Google Special to see if it's listed," she said.
Businesses can become more visible through the use of search engine optimization techniques, said Pennington. And make sure names, addresses, and phone numbers are correct and consistent. Use local citations, photos, and a graphic profile.
Those attendance asked lots of questions, like: How do you cope with working from home when it seems impossible ever to get away from work that way? Pennington's advice: Keep regular hours, as in any conventional office job.
Foster advised against giving out personal cell numbers.
“It’s important to create trust," she said, and boundaries.
Charlene Trotter, the chamber director, said she was delighted with the turnout and hoped it would boost business for the workshop's participants.