As mentioned at the last club event, Blog Indiana or #BIN2010 took place last week.

Several of our members went. I had the incredible honor of being on a panel with Dave Woodson, Steve Dalton, Cheryl Watterson, Duke Long, Amy Stark, and Will Hardison .

The two days spent in Indianapolis were worth every penny! It was  packed with people from all over talking, sharing, teaching, preaching, and in some cases, ranting. But we all walked away with smiles and a better understanding of our emerging fields.

One of the people I had the pleasure to meet, and was grateful to hear present was Douglas Karr:

Author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies, Founder of the Marketing Technology Blog, Co-Founder of Smaller Indiana. Douglas is an online marketing and technology expert with a couple decades of experience. His agency, DK New Media, was started a year ago and works with clients to grow their inbound marketing strategies and lower their acquisition and retention costs. Clients include the ChaCha, the Indinapolis Colts, HHGregg, Webtrends and many other companies.

He was funny, witty, charming, and packed full of knowledge. I spoke with him after his event when he was signing books. He recognized that I was affiliated with our club. He mentioned that he has been previously asked, but that the dates had not worked out. Well, we got out our planners and decided to give it another go!

 I am pleased to announce two things:

• Douglas Karr will be our next speaker for The Social Media Club of Evansville September 20^th.
• The “tweet-up” originally scheduled for that date is being moved to Sept 10^th and will be held at @GTPie

We are pleased to announce the 1^st official Southwestern Indiana Tweetup

#SWeetUP

A BIG Thank you to John at the Grand Traverse Pie Company ( @GTPie )for hooking us up with a special:

A FREE Slice of PIE

(with the purchase of lunch and a drink)

Please RSVP if you plan to attend this informal, get together where you can take the relationships you have made online (and at the Social Media Club) and  make them stronger.

Building better relationships is, after all, one of the best parts of being online!

What’s your biggest question about social media?

What do pros really think?  How do they use it with their businesses?

Mark Monday, June 21, 6 p.m. RiRa’s on your calendar now for the Social Media Club of Evansville.  A panel of local pros who walk the walk, post the status, and tweet the Twitter will answer questions.

USI alum and active member of #smcedu, Brooks T. Cooper will moderate your questions to the panel.  You can Submit your questions now in 3 different ways:

-Comment on the blog post.

-Twitter question with #smcevv hashtag.

-Post the question on our Facebook wall.

Join the conversation! See you June 21!

Panel Member bios:

Saundra Hadley is an event engineer and owner of planning…forever events in Evansville, Indiana since 2003. Her team creates memorable, unique and the unexpected at weddings and corporate events in the Tri State area. She also gives wedding planning tips as the Fox 7 Wedding Planner on AM Evansville, a weekly segment since 2006.

Saundra has extensive knowledge regarding social media and online advertising and uses the power of the Internet to promote her business, brand and gain more clients. She has blogged since 2006 and uses Facebook, LinkedIn and twitter to network.@planningforever (over 4,000 followers) and @saundrahadley(for her sales training to event professionals).

Dave Huffman is currently the Inbound Marketing Strategist for the Ohio Illinois Center for Broadcasting where they have used social media to unite a community of students spread out over 6 campuses and 3 states and bring in a more informed ready to buy prospect, as well as pull in and nurture along some early funnel leads.

All told, Dave has used Social Media in a variety of sectors including  Entertainment, Broadcasting, and Education.  He also blogs regularly on business and marketing in the music industry at TheIndieLaunchPad.com.  Connect with Dave on Twitter @davemhuffman.

Dana Nelson is a social media strategist, consultant and trainer. She owns @DanaMNelson in Evansville, Indiana.  She is founding co-chair of the Social Media Club of Evansville, founding co-chair of Evansville Girl Geek Dinners, and founder of Linkedin to Learn.

She has used social media in her professional life to build the computer consulting company that she previously owned, to connect with the 4-H Technology club, and to help connect and build the community of Evansville as a whole.  She has help a number of local businesses both large and small develop and deploy social media policy, goals, and strategies. She speaks on the topic regularly at both public and private events, and conducts regular training on the best practices of social media. Her goal is to foster awareness of the power of social media to build stronger businesses and better communities, one relationship and conversation at a time. Connect with Dana on Twitter @DanaMNelson

As we do every month, we’ll gather for a social mingle at 6PM upstairs at Ri Ra Irish Restaurant and Pub in Evansville, and the formal presentation will get underway at 6:30, wrapping up by 8PM. After that, some of us will move downstairs to enjoy company, and perhaps a meal. There is also table service during the meeting, so you don’t have to wait if it’s been a long stretch since lunchtime.

Don’t forget to leave your questions!

WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

Building an online presence is a great first step, but how do we use that presence and use social media to make money? Using Twitter you (and your sales team) will have the ability to increase close rates and sales by building new connections and strengthening existing connections with your prospects! It doesn’t matter if you market to farmers, stay-at-home mothers, or C-Level employees, Twitter gives you the tools necessary to connect on a deeper level with potential clients.

YOU WILL LEARN:

•The best way to design a Twitter marketing plan
•How to search and find information that will help with your sales process
•Connect with your prospects before you meet them!
•How to take online interaction to the offline environment and SELL!
•Tracking your close rates and measuring your success through social media
•5 marketing points you can implement today!
FREE ADVICE ABOUT YOUR INTERNET WOES:

The 3-hour seminar will be followed by a 1 hour Q&A session with Internet experts designed to answer questions and address issues with regards to online initiatives.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Sales and marketing executives, small business owners and entrepreneurs

REGISTRATION INFORMATION (Preregistration and payment are required BEFORE the class). Please call Debbie Albin at 812.425.7232 to get registered. Seating is limited and confirming your attendance on this Facebook page does not guarantee you a seat!!!!

Cost $30.00 (paid in advance by cash, check or credit card – MC, VISA or Discover)

Registration includes a copy of Kyle Lacey’s book, “Twitter Marketing for Dummies”.