In This Issue
FREE Social Media Workshop - April 28th
Featured Member: BOOKISH BOOK STORE
Upcoming Community Events: Taste of North Berkeley, Dine Out for School Gardens, ACCI Gallery Art in Schools Fundraiser
Buy Local Berkeley 2013 Program Accomplishments
Buy Local Berkeley Member Benefits
Our Partners 
A special thanks to our media and business partners:
City of Berkeley
Berkeley Chamber of Commerce
Visit Berkeley
Berkeleyside
East Bay Express
Chinook Book
Mechanics Bank
Radiant Brands
Minuteman Press
Greener Printer
North Shattuck Association
West Berkeley Design Loop
Downtown Berkeley Association 
Local Leaders
Buy Local Berkeley thanks our members at the Local Leader Level:
Collector
Viv and Ingrid
The Redwood Clinic
Pegasus Books
SRG Stea Real Estate
Moe's Books
Bookish Bookstore
Bio Fuel Oasis
Institute of Mosiac Art
By Hand
Greener Printer
Minuteman Press
Berkeley CPR Classes
Albert Nahman Plumbing & Heating
Eco Home Improvement
Truitt & White Lumber
Metro Lighting
Import Tile
Flooring Alternatives
Urban Ore
Did you know? 
More than 80% of Berkeley businesses are locally owned and independently operated. 
Find Us!
 
Twitter 
@buylocalberk
 
buylocalberkeley.org 
 
Quick Links
ARTICLE: Buy Local Movements Are a Proven Success
BUY LOCAL BERKELEY NEWS
April 2014
BLB Decal
Buy Local Berkeley educates about the community, environmental and  

economic benefits of shopping at locally owned, independent businesses. We provide marketing and technical support to Berkeley indies to grow our local economy and promote community events hosted by local businesses and non-profits that fundraise for social services organizations and our schools.

FEATURED EVENT:
Free Social Media Workshop April 28th: Optimizing Social Media/ Facebook Advanced  
 

Buy Local Berkeley and LocalOn.com are producing a workshop series to teach merchants the basics and intermediate skills for using social media to promote your business on the Web. These workshops are free to all Berkeley independent businesses.

Did you know that 97% of consumers use the Web to learn about local businesses? This is an excellent opportunity to learn from experts how to optimize your internet and social media presence - workshops like these can cost as much as $187!

Location: Berkeley Community Media, 2239 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 
Time:7-9pm 

Cost: FREE for all Berkeley independent businesses  


Please rsvp to buylocalberkeley@gmail.com  to ensure your space at the workshop!  Bring your laptop, photos and content on your computer to post, and your questions! Spread the word via Facebook - join and share the Event Page.

Workshop 2: Optimizing Facebook/ Facebook Advanced will cover:  
  • Social Media Best Practices (content, optimal times and frequencies, how Facebook's algorithms filter exposure)
  • Getting likes (Buying Likes -- Scam demonstration)
  • HootSuite: Automating Posts
  • Amplifying the message
  • @ symbols/ # Hash-tags
  • Facebook Insights
  • Statistics for Social Media
  • Facebook Ads
  • Purchase Intent & Traffic
  • Getting your customers to produce content for you
  • Examples of strategies used by other local businesses

    •  

    FEATURED BUSINESS
    Bookish Book Store     1816 Euclid Ave

    Bookish Book Store is Berkeley's newest independent book store and our latest Local Leader member! Bookish is a vibrant bookstore featuring a wide selection of thoughtfully curated titles of both new and used some rare and first editions.  
    Be sure and stop by this wonderful Berkeley gem soon and join them on Facebook for events and specials.
    COMMUNITY EVENTS
    Local Businesses Support our Local Community
    Did you know that local businesses give to local charities at twice the rate of chain stores? Here in Berkeley we see the generosity of local businesses, giving back to our community everyday. So enjoy these community events which feature Berkeley independent businesses! If you would like to promote your cause please contact buylocalberkeley@gmail.com

    Taste of North Berkeley - Tuesday May 6th, 5:30-8:30 pm along Shattuck Ave. and Vine St.  
    Stroll along Shattuck & Vine for Samples at Gourmet Ghetto Shops & Eateries!  Presented with the Berkeley Lions with all proceeds to benefit the Lions Community Fund which supports the Berkeley Food & Housing Project and other local food and social justice non-profits.  Get more info and join the event on Facebook!

     

    Tickets are just $25 for tastes at this year's 26 participating businesses.  Tickets available for will call through Brown Paper Tickets, and for purchase at these neighborhood business:
    ACCI Gallery - 1652 Shattuck Ave.
    M. Lowe & Co. - 1519 Shattuck Ave.

     

    Berkeley Dine Out 
    - Tuesday, May 13th, All Day

    Berkeley Dine Out is a fun, citywide fundraiser to support cooking and gardening in Berkeley Public Schools. On that day, we encourage the community to dine out in support of our work, and restaurants donate a percentage of sales to our program. For more info and list of participating restaurants, please visit:

    www.berkeleyschools.net/cgp

    Follow us on Twitter: @BerkeleyDineOut 

           

    "Paving the Way" Project Completion Celebration & Auction - May 18th, 6-8pm at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck
    Please join us for an evening of food, wine & music to celebrate the completion of the 2014 "Paving the Way" mosaic tile paver project, spearheaded by Buy Local Berkeley member ACCI Gallery.  The project brings MLK Middle School students, ACCI artists, community volunteers, and neighborhood businesses together to create art, build community, and raise funds for art programs at the Martin Luther King Middle School.

     

    Paver bids start at just $10!  All proceeds benefit the MLK Jr. Middle School art program!  More information at www.accigallery.com and gourmetghetto.org

    2013 - YEAR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
     
    Holiday Campaign  Our 2013 holiday mobile coupon in partnership with Chinook Book was a great success, generating over $75,000 in additional sales at Berkeley 
    businesses this past year.  More than 120 Berkeley retailers participated and a half dozen merchant groups and community organizations promoted the effort on the web and with ads in the San Francisco Chronicle, East Bay Express and Berkeleyside. Here are the impressive stats:
    • Received over 8 million total impressions across all print, radio, web and social media platforms during the 3 month campaign.
    • Chinook Book's mobile campaign resulted in an additional 3 million impressions.
    • Grew total economic impact from 2012 to 2013 by 62% from $46,502 in 2012 to $75,227 in 2013.  
    • Increased  participation 46% in 2013, with 35 new businesses in addition to the 75 returning businesses, and increased number of offers from these businesses by 9% from last year to 121 coupon offers. 
    • 40% more coupon packs were distributed and 65% more were redeemed in 2013.
    Marketing and Social Media   We continue to promote the Buy Local Berkeley message and our member specials and events with Berkeleyside and the East Bay Express through online ads which reach hundreds of thousands of East Bay readers. Plus our own social media audiences have grown to over 7,500 across Constant Contact, Twitter and Facebook combined.  An even wider reach is accomplished through our partner organizations and their marketing efforts, including Visit Berkeley, the West Berkeley Design Loop, North Shattuck Association, Downtown Berkeley Association, and Fourth St. Shops.

    Events 
    Buy Local Berkeley promotes local independent businesses and the benefits of shopping locally directly to the public at numerous community events, including the Solano Stroll, Sunday Streets, Snow Day in Berkeley, the Chocolate and Chalk Art Festival  and other popular events, in 2012 Buy Local Berkeley made sure that the community learned about the joys of buying locally. 

     

    BUY LOCAL BERKELEY MEMBER BENEFITS
    Support our Organization and Taking Advantage of Our Benefits by becoming a Member!
    Annual membership in Buy Local Berkeley more than pays for itself- through our partnership discounts with media partners, membership materials, promotion through our social media channels and more! We rely on membership to keep our organization running, so please consider joining today. Click here for detailed member benefits at both the $50 Local Lister and $200 Local Leader levels.  Consumers can support the movement by joining too! Visit our website and join online!