Did you know there are more than 10,000 programs, services and applications that build on Twitter’s basic services?  Some of them are geared specifically to help you find, follow and engage LOCAL businesses and individuals.

Businesses in your area are already using Twitter and other social media to take their conversations and networking online. But, finding them, following them and having conversations with them can be quite a challenge.

This session will show you how to use some of the best Twitter tools to get your organization in the conversation.

This session is currently scheduled for Thursday, September 23 at 10:15 am.  View the full agenda here.

There are so many terms and stats to track: page views, visitor sessions, entry pages, exit pages, screen resolution and more.  Is 60,000 page views in a month good?  Is 1:30 time spent on a page bad?   That all depends on what your goals are and how your driving traffic to your website.

So, what really matters?  We’ll show you why some of these stats may not be as important as you think and demonstrate the key performance indicators you need to measure how well your website is performing and serving your community.

Hint – If you align your website with your strategy, then you’re halfway there.

Benji Craig, WebLink’s product manager for web and mobile media, and Mike Bryan, our vice president of marketing and business development, will present this session.  They’ll use real-life example from WebLink clients and break down website analytics into chunks you can easily understand.

View the full Summit agenda here and register today.

But, what happens after that “new website smell” wears off? How can you keep the energy level high and keep members coming back to your site?

This session, “You’ve Launched Your Website: Now What?” will give you strategies for keeping content up to date and weaving your website into all your communication efforts as well as offer solutions to help grow your website’s reach.

The session will be presented by Mike Bryan, WebLink’s vice president of marketing and business development.  He share insights Mike Bryan and best practices from some of WebLink’s most innovative clients.  And, we’ll seek input from session attendees on how they’ve successfully driven additional traffic to their website and to their members.

If you’re involved in creating or maintaining your website, OR if you’re looking to drive more traffic for your members from your website, you need to attend this session!

Representing 2,300 members and a metropolitan area with more than 43,000 businesses and 1.2 million residents, the Nashville Area Chamber has just come through perhaps the most challenging and rewarding year in its history.

In the past 12 months, the Nashville Chamber has:

• Implemented the programs, partnerships, messaging and internal business operations that led to being awarded the 2009 Chamber of the Year award from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). This award does not come easily. Chambers must undergo a rigorous interview process and meet certain criteria to be selected.
• Launched and grown a successful social media strategy and campaign that engages and promotes its members and has strengthened the Chamber’s position as a leader in the community.
• Led the community through the worst natural disaster in the city’s history, bringing together organizations offering aid with businesses in need of assistance while relaying news and information to the community.
• Created a membership campaign that resulted in $75,000 in new members and investments and received the ACCE’s Grand Award for campaigns and programs. Only one Grand Award is given to the hundreds of entries in each of 5 categories – making this a remarkable achievement.

What’s the common thread in all these success stories?  Technology Leadership!

He will lead you on a journey of how the chamber used a solid business foundation, sound marketing principles and today’s technology to create a world-class business organization. In this session you’ll learn:

• How the Chamber developed the programs and measurement tools needed to become Chamber of the Year.
• The marketing strategy and policy that led to the Chamber having one of the best social media programs in the industry.
• What steps the Chamber took in dealing with a devastating flood that forced staff members out of the office, and how the organization stayed “open for business” the entire time to support the community.
• How technology played a major part in the Chamber’s membership campaign that resulted in a 40 percent increase in new member units and a 30 percent increase in new member dollars, despite a down economy.

With more than thirteen years of experience in the chamber industry, Ben Wolf has served in leadership roles for the Howard County Chamber in Columbia, Md.; the Bonita Springs (Fla.) Area Chamber; and the Geneva (N.Y.) Area Chamber. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the Chamber’s member services department, including member relations, member retention, member recruitment and fulfillment of the Chamber’s member value proposition.

Ben has a passion for mentoring others who are new to the chamber industry, and serves on the American Chamber of Commerce Executives’ Membership Development Advisory Team and Education Subcommittee. In 2009, he was named one of ACCE’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars of the Chamber World as well as helped lead the Chamber to be named ACCE’s Chamber of the Year.

This information and inspiration you gain from this session alone will justify you coming to the WebLink Summit.  Yes, this session will be that good!   All the other sessions you attend will add even more value to your Summit experience!  Register for the Summit today.

So what’s missing? At WebLink’s Summit, you get to take your training to a whole new level by learning not just from your trainer, but from a host of industry experts and most importantly – your peers! It is so valuable to spend time with colleagues who not only share similar business objectives, but also share the technology used to accomplish those objectives. Learn how other chambers and business associations are using WebLink to help generate non-dues revenue, streamline events, retain members, gain new member sales, and so much more!

Another great way Summit supplements your initial WebLink Training is a simple matter of timing. When you first go through training, you are going through a huge transition. Learning a new software program is a big undertaking, and it can take a lot of time and energy just to get comfortable with the basics. Unfortunately, once you reach that basic skill level – it’s easy to just settle in and get cozy! The Summit will take you to the NEXT level in training, helping you truly take advantage of this amazing software you’ve invested in.  You’ll come back to the office energized with tons of great, easy-to-implement ideas!

Last, but not least – we want to meet you! Remote training is an extremely effective way to learn new technology, but it does have the drawback of limited face-to-face interaction. The entire Training department, along with lots of other WebLink staff members, love putting names with faces and can’t wait to see you there!

-  The Training Team

Some have done it strategically, others have done it out of necessity.

Everyone is trying to figure out how to make it an integral and valuable part of their ongoing marketing plan. To do this effectively, organizations need to be able to measure what they’re getting out of their social media efforts.

I’ll be presenting “Measuring Social Media ROI” at this year’s WebLink Summit.  Here’s the description from the Summit agenda:

Marketing without metrics isn’t marketing – it’s guessing. The key to marketing is listening and really understanding what your audience wants and needs. Organizations are engaging their audiences in many more places than just their websites. Social networking sites, blogs, Twitter, plus video and photo sharing sites are really changing the conversation. How can organizations determine the value of a conversation? What data should you look at to better understand the needs of your audience? Learn about the key trends and current thinking regarding monitoring and analytics and how your chamber can use these tools to set and measure goals – and act on the results.

We’ll avoid the super high-tech stuff and give you easy-to-understand tips and tools for measuring your social media ROI.  I’ve presented on this topic before to the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals and at last year’s Summit.  We had such great feedback and additional questions that we’re bringing it back this year!  Plus, with social media changing so quickly, I’ll be adding in lots of new content.

I hope you’ll attend this session and offer ways your organization is measuring social media ROI as well.

This session is currently scheduled for 1:00-2:15 pm on Thursday, September 23.

Check out the full Summit Agenda, then be sure to register for the Summit here. 

Here’s the “official” description:

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are becoming powerful tools for associations, non-profits and chambers of commerce. While we’re becoming more interactive online, will it reduce our “offline” (i.e. real world, person to person) activities? Beth will use the real-world experience of her Chamber and case studies from successful local businesses to show you how to use social media to grow your Chamber and build relationships with and between your members, including:

• The one thing you must do in order to monetize your social media efforts
• Strategies for turning online friends into “real world” friends
• How to help members understand and apply the value of social networking
• Measuring the impact of your social media efforts on your events, membership and other concrete activities

As an extraordinarily extroverted child (her words!), Beth was a natural fit for the position of Membership Director of the Clovis Chamber of Commerce, where she has been happily interacting with members and the community for seven years.

Beth’s first computer was an Atari 1200XL, she was a user of Bulletin Board Systems back in the monochrome monitor days, and has been an enthusiastic user of social media with her first profile on LinkedIn in 2006. This combination of social + geek inspired her to promote herself to “Chief Networking Officer” for the Clovis Chamber.

The Clovis Chamber has used social media to build their membership, enhance their community standing and as one strategy in doubling the attendance at their monthly mixers. Beth manages half a dozen fan pages on Facebook including Big Hat Days, ClovisFest, Clovis Motorsports Jamboree, Young Professionals, and her personal fan page The Networking Motivator.

Beth was one of the first chamber staff I connected with on Twitter nearly two years ago.  I have been very impressed at how she has created a loyal and engaged following of local business on both Twitter and Facebook.   I enjoy reading her blog as well, where she shares personal networking stories that demonstrate the power of using networking to grow your business.

I hope you can join us at the Summit and come to Beth’s session. I promise will come away energized about how you can improve both your personal networking and the networking events hosted by your organization.

This session is currently scheduled for 2:30-3:45 pm on Wednesday, September 22.

Check out the full Summit Agenda, then be sure to register for the Summit here.

Ben Wolf, Vice President of Member Services for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, will present our Keynote session, “Leading Your Members, Making Your Organization Great.”

Not only has the Nashville Area Chamber been named the American Chambers of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Chamber of the Year, but they also recently led their community through the worst natural disaster in the city’s history.   The flooding in May forced numerous businesses – including the Chamber – out of their offices.  Yet, through this difficult time, the Chamber remained “open for business” the entire time to support the community.

You won’t want to miss this educational and inspirational session on how the Nashville Chamber has used technology to help them become one of the premier chambers in the country.

The Summit will be September 22-24 at the Conrad Hotel in Indianapolis, IN.  There are more than 75 restaurants within easy walking distance of the hotel, plus the Conrad is connected to Circle Centre Mall – Indiana’s largest indoor shopping center, boasting more than 120 shopping, dining and entertainment options.    We’ve got a great room rate of $169/night for the rooms – far below the Conrad’s normal rate of $250/night.

Learn more about the Summit & register today!

The Conrad has received rave reviews from Summit attendees in the past and we’re thrilled to be hosting the Summit there again this year!  In fact, the Conrad ranked 27th by Expedia.com on Insiders Select List of the world’s best hotels.

There are more than 75 restaurants within easy walking distance of the hotel, plus the Conrad is directly across street from huge indoor mall.

We’ve negotiated a fantastic room rate of $169/night for the rooms – well below the Conrad’s normal rate of $250/night.  Book your room using this link to receive the special rate.

You’ll truly get to experience a 5-star hotel at a significant discount!   Check out these photos of the Conrad.  It is an amazing hotel and a fantastic location for the WebLink Summit.

We sincerely hope you’ll join us for the Summit this year.