At today’s Silver City Chamber of Commerce Workshop I learned several things about marketing. First of all it was a very well attended Chamber luncheon. Secondly, any Chamber member that does not regularly attend the Chamber luncheons is missing out as it is a great networking opportunity.

The topic was about Internet marketing and responsible tourism. The points that came across to me was that everyone in a community is impacted by tourism. Many readily appreciate tourism such as hotels, restaurants, destinations, etc. But the point that was made is that every one has a stake in promoting tourism because if the hotel has a good year they could potentially expand their business and bring more business to the building and furniture trades. If a restaurant has a great year the owner could buy more advertising and bring money to the newspapers or web designers. If an organization puts on a great festival or production that brings in out-of-towners the REALTORS could potentially get home buyers.

The discussion was about marketing a communities history, geography and culture. If many businesses market the community then together the community benefits. Any organization that markets their town it is a thing of value to the community and to the business. There was discussion about building a marketing plan and implementing it using print, radio, television and Internet. Word-of-mouth advertising is not to be counted on because generally it is the negative things that get repeated, very rarely do people comment on positive experiences.

In the discussion about websites one of the key points I heard that I could relate to is “Today people assume you have a website if you are in business.” A website is nearly, if not as important as having a business card. Keep your website information current and fresh. There was discussion about using keywords, use keywords that YOU would type into a search engine if you were looking to find your business. On your website set yourself up as the expert in your business and the community.

The keynote speakers for today’s program were the ladies at Southwest Blend Magazine.