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Thank You To Our Sustaining Partners
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Get Your Chamber Happenings Monthly Newsletter HERE!
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Upcoming! Mark Your Calendars!
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Small Business After Hours
Wednesday, Feb 19 at Amherst Label, 5:30-7:30 PM
Join us at Amherst Label, 15 Westchester Drive, Milford! This After Hours teams up several small businesses as your presenters along with host Amherst Label. Participating businesses include: Absolute Landscaping, Abikay Payroll Services, Acupuncture & Everything Wellness, Armarium Business Consulting, Coffee News, Double Play Hobbies, Global Patriot Adjusters, Reflexology For The Sole, Sin Cal Chimneys,
Ski 93 Trips, SvenGrafik and Touchstone Farm. Refreshments, raffles and see how it's made tour of Amherst Label.
Lunchtime Series - Women in Business
Tomorrow-Tuesday, Feb. 18, 12-1 pm, SVCC Office
Led by Debbie Adair Hoffman. Join our group of women business owners to discuss business and a wide range of other topics. Bring your lunch and join us at the Chamber office!
Build Your Business Workshop 
Small Business Lending Panel, Thursday, March 27, 8:30-10:30 am, SVCC Office
You need money to expand your business or purchase equipment, but not sure how to go about applying for a commercial loan? Are there other options for finding funding? Our panel of commercial loan specialists and financing experts can walk you through the process - learn what they are looking for in terms of credit, collateral, types & terms of loans, as well as niche financing. $10 per person, RSVP recommended.
Sponsored by 
Save the Date! Commercial & Retail Available Space Tour Milford/Amherst
Saturday, March 29, 8:30-12 Noon.
Looking to start a business, expand your business or relocate? Start with our tour available spaces for sale or rent in Milford and Amherst - office, retail and small commercial. Presented by the Chamber, Milford Improvement Team and the Towns of Amherst & Milford. More information to follow.
Veteran's Benefit Auction
Friday, April 11 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nashua
Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce is pleased to partner in the Chaplain Emergency Relief Fund - NH National Guard for our 7th Annual Benefit Auction. The proceeds of the Auction go to both organizations and fund their efforts for their constituencies. Funds assist military families with emergency financial needs. It's a terrific night out with fantastic items and helps those who have given their service to our country.
Interested in being a sponsor? Click HERE for more information.
Have an item or cash contribution to donate for the auction? Please click DONATE |
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
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Social Media Trends for 2014:
So many social media outlets, so little time. Which strategies are actually worth your time? Social Media Today breaks down the top trends for 2014: - Mobile Is About To Go Mainstream: Every website needs to be optimized for mobile. This means having responsive design and thinking about how people interact with your business via mobile devices should be one of your top priorities. As a small business it's time to make the switch to a mobile site if you haven't yet, and think about ways that you can get in front of your customers through their phone.
- Niche Sites Will Make An Impact: As Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus make it harder to get found organically, niche sites are going to prove to be more valuable than ever to get in front of your customers. Not only are niche sites highly targeted, they can also provide a much more affordable solution for advertising.
- Blogging Will Remain The #1 Way To Generate New Business: Creating great content on a regular basis and driving traffic back to your site is going to remain the number #1 way to generate new leads.
- Spammy Content Will Be Eliminated Everywhere: We've seen it happen on Google and now it's happening on Facebook. Spammy content is not going to get you anywhere, and the big sites are cracking down. Think about creating valuable content that resonates with your customers
- Google Plus Will Grow Faster Than Ever: With the search benefits from Google and the increased user base, it's likely that your audience will be making the move from Facebook to G+. Being a step ahead of the game is a good idea. Plus, they are about to launch promoted posts (+Post ads) that will get your content to a larger audience than ever before. Get on Google Plus as soon as possible.
- Triggered Emails Will Increase Sales: Consumers are looking to connect with brands, and by providing custom content for them based on their behavior, it is going to help you increase your sales.
- Ambassadors And Influencers Will Hold The Power: Influencer marketing and word-of-mouth marketing is going to be one of the most powerful ways to get in front of customers in a new way. By empowering your best customers to spread the word for you, you can gain trust in a new audience and hopefully turn them into new customers.
- Image-Centric Sites Will Continue To Rise: Instagram, Pinterest and probably many more sites will come about in 2014 that are based around images. While text is not dead, you need to think of ways to incorporate images into your strategy that compliment your written context.
- Video Consumption Will Increase: Whether it's an educational video or an ad, consumers will look to video content to learn about businesses. Video will continue to create meaningful relationships between business and consumer. Think video customer service here. Many times they will be watching video on their mobile phone.
- Sharing Will Be More Important Than Ever: Social media sharing will be get ramped up and everyone and their mother will be doing it. While this is a good thing for getting your content shared, it also presents challenges to get found. The key here is to communicate to your customer directly and relevantly and you'll be found. Plus, it's going to help your search rankings
Marketing Will Be About Adding Value: It's no longer about pushing yourself out there, it's about how you provide value to your customer that matters. Whether this is through blogging, video, or email marketing, in order for people to stay engaged, they have to perceive value. (reprinted from DTTD Insider and Social Media Today).
Curious what your fellow business leaders in the Souhegan Valley are using in terms of social media? We are too! Please take our quick 3 question survey - we will report the results in a following Chamber Weekly.
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