Social Media: The new Chamber of Commerce?
I’ll probably catch some flack for the following observations, but in talking with some of my tweeps, I know I’m not alone.
Its that time of year – time to renew my local Chamber of Commerce membership. Before blindly writing a $300-$400 check and dropping it in the mail, I have to stop and think about why I want/need this membership, and what such an affiliation actually does for me.
Getting down to Business
After relocating to my adopted new home town, signing up for the local Chamber was the first business item on the agenda to jump-start my networking efforts. I wanted to belong to a club that was all business, all the time, and be able to make connections with like-minded folks who might be interested in working together. I went to a year’s worth of mixers, chatted a few folks up, but found that making business connections was rarely on the menu. Attendees pretty much drank the wine, ate the appetizers and said adieu until the next event. I could live with that, but I can do happy hour anywhere.
Ironically, hardly a mixer went by that I didn’t get invited to join another micro-biz networking group outside of the Chamber. I investigated a couple of these groups (don’t even get me started on BNI) but decided they were more of the same, so I moved on.
All the while, I’ve been engaging in social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, and meeting people in the local community (and nationwide, really) that were very enthusiastic about actually networking. Someone I met needed a software program trainer on the West Coast – I knew someone, and they connected successfully. I’m looking to expand my online marketing skills in the tourism and hospitality industries, and people I’ve met via Twitter have introduced me to some nice pieces of business in New England and back in Seattle.
Social Media membership dues = Sweat Equity
Just the sweat equity I’ve built up using social media has more than paid for my Chamber membership. And what does that membership actually lend to me? An online listing, discounted admissions to Chamber events and horribly designed digests, email marketing, and direct mail pieces (I’m a designer so have license to judge!) Don’t get me wrong, the folks at my local Chamber are very nice and have the best intentions at doing what a Chamber is ‘supposed’ to do.
Social Media is the new Chamber of Commerce. I’m putting my ‘money’ where the real connections are – in my social networking community.
Tweet-up anyone?
Update 12/03/09: This article was reposted by TexasOnTheGo.com >>
I’m on your train. Certainly Chambers have their worth (there are still some businesses in the world who, when they need goods & services, reach out to them, just as some people still use the Yellow Pages).
But if the main reason you pay dues is to make contacts, you can do that using social media. Hell, you can make a lot MORE contacts using social media. And those connections are usually more meaningful, too.
It’s a lot easier to keep yourself on a potential client’s mind by engaging them through social media than if you’re bugging them every couple months with a sales call or spam e-mail…
I think your point is well taken,and, I do not disagree at all.
I think you have an interesting point.
While I have made probably 50 times the amount of business contacts through social networking, I also have gotten plenty of referrals from the chambers I have belonged to but in return have also done plenty of things for them.
I think like anything, you get out of it what you put into it.
For people in our business where clients looking for services will go to the web first, I think the future maybe social media entirely but it may not hold true for all types of businesses in all industries.
Just an FYI – most Chambers do WAY more than just offering networking opportunities! Most are very involved with watching legislation that could potentially impact doing business in a community. Most Chambers also have many committees that impact the quality of life in a community. They also offer no cost/low cost seminars to their membership to help businesses learn anything from greening their office; effective marketing to how to use social media! We DO offer networking opportunities, but I can tell you that most Chambers do much, MUCH more than just mixers!
Thanks Sharon, I agree that Chambers offer much more than mixers – like affordable insurance, lobbying for business interests, etc. My point is from a networking and business prospecting perspective alone. Social mediums have allowed small biz and entrepreneurs like myself to take the networking ball and run far further for next to nothing budget-wise. I’m still looking forward to going to local events and paying a little more as a non-member.
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by asgoodandbetter: RT @DeepDishCreates: Is Social Media the new Chamber of Commerce? Food for thought: http://ow.ly/zeba...
I think that the social media network is a great additional tool for reaching out to a larger audience. I still feel that the chamber has a larger outreach to people looking to move to the area or for tourism. The web listings allow locals to find goods and services of reputable companies, which they may not know how to connect with. To answer the question in your blog title; no social media is not the new chamber. Social media is a tool to add to your arsenal and the benefits of a chamber far outreach a single component, which you also acknowledge in your comment to Sharon.
It is an interesting question that you raise. I want both Social Media and Chamber of Commerce. I use my SM to blog about the events with our local Chamber and promote the business people I meet at the events. I don’t think Social Media will every totally replace Chamber of Commerce work because they serve many purposes beyond networking as mentioned in some of the other comments. Ours here in Round Rock, TX actually has a partnership with the City of Round Rock and performs integral functions in economic development. It works and therefore our city is growing 8 times faster than the national average.
There will always be those that will never get on the Social Media train but those same people will gladly go out and shake hands and meet other folks in the community at chamber events. Even SM has “tweet ups” and such because most sales related businesses are about meeting people face to face and you have to do that IRL (in real life) and not just from behind a screen. The chamber is just like anything else…you get out of it what you put into it. I am very involved and my real estate business has benefited greatly from it.
Your blog was thought provoking and I appreciate your thoughts however I will happily renew my Round Rock Chamber of Commerce membership each and every year!
Thanks for this post. As a solo entrepreneur who works online, I don’t really need the classic “giant scissors ribbon-cutting” Chamber publicity assistance. My own Web site’s Google Page Rank is as high as the Chamber’s page that would link to my business, and I’m already on Google’s first page of results for my key search terms and local area, so I don’t need their help to be “found.”
Here in Austin, homegrown site Network in Austin – http://www.networkinaustin.com launched by local guy Scott Ingram – offers a full, richly-featured Web page for each member, monthly meetings and valuable connections for less than half the cost of a Chamber membership.
I keep trying to justify joining my Chamber, but I can’t do it. They need to figure out how to regain relevance in a digital, bootstrapper’s world.
Nicole: Thanks for your thoughts and congrats on your Chamber’s success. Unlike you, I didn’t feel like I was getting out what I put into it.
Sheila: I’m a solopreneur as well and I suppose a Chamber isn’t for everyone. Your last comment absolutely hits the nail on the head, bootstrappers or not.
This post actually prompted a phone call from my local Chamber to ask why I didn’t contact them if I was unhappy about (in my opinion) wan, uninspired promotional materials, emails, whatever. Thing is – I did offer my services and I never heard from them. After a year I suppose they’re happy with the way things are, so I voted with my dollar by not renewing.
Despite the attention this post apparently funneled their way, they were not inspired to comment on it publicly. I wish them the best and hope to see them step up their social media ballgame. I’m afraid its here to stay.
*** “Despite the attention this post apparently funneled their way, they were not inspired to comment on it publicly.” ***
Part of the problem there is that they may not understand the social media communications space enough to realize that public commentary in response to a blog post is not only OK, but is expected.
As someone resigning after nine years of leading a chamber to be with my family, I’m still disheartened when I see businesspeople underestimate the value of a chamber membership. So, where to start?
“…and horribly designed digests, email marketing, and direct mail pieces (I’m a designer so have license to judge!)Don’t get me wrong, the folks at my local Chamber are very nice and have the best intentions at doing what a Chamber is ’supposed’ to do.”
You see, I’m a chamber professional. I have Master of Public Administration, a national Insitute for Organization Management certification that required four years of industry specific training, and have and continue to serve on national, state, and local industry specific boards to stay abreast of trends in the industry, be it environmental or economic sustainability, face-to-face or social networking, and beyond. Many of my peers have more training than I.
I DON’T have the best intentions…I DO what I’m supposed to do, which in our community is being a catalyst for an enhanced experience for visitors, residents, and businesses by serving as the hub of information and advocating for Southlake’s growth. Of course, what each community offers is completely different based on its needs. Therein also lies a part of the problem…the disconnect between what a chamber of commerce is supposed to do versus what people think a chamber does.
To carry out our goals, it requires funding through our membership base, AND outside programs and services. In order to fulfill our mission, it averages approximately $700 per member. As such, if a member pays $300, it’s actually a net loss, yet it’s our role to service each member equally. It’s these businesses that typcially utilize the majority of chamber services. Understanding that our communities average 90% small business, we fulfill that component within our overall role – and gladly. If we can help one mom & pop stay in business because of our efforts, then we’ve succeeded at what we do, at least for that day. The next day will present a new “ballgame” as mentioned, and we will step up to the plate to meet that need as well.
Our goal isn’t the prettiest collateral, best food, or a good old-fashioned parade. Thankfully, it’s substance over beauty. Don’t get me wrong, we like beauty, too. However, we, too, are a small business with limited resources, and as such relate to our members more so than many realize.
Membership is completely optional, and voting with a dollar is a choice. Another choice is getting involved, being a voice for local business, and making a difference within the organization and community.
Now, if you consider all of the above “flack,” then you’ll be happy to know I’m not naive enough to think we’re perfect. We’re not “your daddy’s” chamber anymore, nor do we desire to be. There certainly are antiquated chambers out there that will fall by the way side, UNLESS they choose to reinvent themselves. After all, I said we’re a business, right? All business has to continue to reinvent itself.
Those of us with the passion for our communities AND our profession will continue to do so. We believe in blogs, websites, streaming video, and virtual networking. We also believe in offering traditional member benefits, such as print, radio and/or tv advertising discounts, insurance opportunities, and business counseling. We believe in bringing colleges and incubators to our communities for business to have a future workforce. We believe in shopping local, recycling programs, young professionals and women in business development, and taking a position on governmental affairs. We also believe in social media, that it is viral, and that it has outcomes – both positive and negative. There’s also a cost for sweat equity. We teach our businesses, get on, do your business, and get off. Like any networking, you can have too much of a good thing!
How exciting that we live in a world where we can network with anyone at anytime! I just hope that we don’t forget the value of building relationships within our own backyard as well. After all, social networking will never replace a smiling face and a handshake, or better yet a hug! I met many of my peers online before I ever saw them. What a joy to meet them and put a face to a name and email address.
Social media is, as accurately described, a new form of networking. It is a weapon within the business building arsenal. Social media is not the new chamber of commerce.
I hope that businesses will choose to engage and change their chambers versus writing them off. Make a difference within the organization!
Now, I have to run to start a new discussion, check on our groups, and post our next event! Oh, and if you’re looking for a “club,” I hear Bunko’s still around. If you’re looking for a business organization dedicated to advocating for your community now and into the future, call the chamber of commerce!
Kudos for saying what’s on the minds of many. Chambers are horrible at communicating what they actually do. Until social media came into prominence, Chambers were known as THE place to get connected within your business community.
Connecting people is what Chambers have been most noted for, but it’s a small part of what a chamber actually does. The others, you ask? Promoting the community with a unified voice, Representing business interests in government, taking political action, and strengthening local economies.
Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as economic insurance. There’s no premium you can pay in order to make a claim when the economy tanks like it has. The efforts of the most effective local chambers of commerce have been quietly insulating their community from more devastating economic results in this downturn. These communities know that their chambers will never be replaced by social media.
Still other chambers continue to push that their chamber is the only place to get connected in a community. Meanwhile the rising of leads groups like LeTip and BNI (and many others) in the 90′s made their temporary impact on the core functions of chambers, and many who left chambers for the more costly (time and money) leads groups soon realized what they missed about the chamber.
The impact of social media on chambers of commerce depends on the chamber. In my town, the chamber uses social media to promote member news and promotions, help the businesses get on the first page of Google as a result. This is one way to turn a potential threat into an enhancement. Not even the search engine optimization companies in my region can touch this in the same time-frame as this chamber.
Social media tools will always be an advantage for those of us who prefer remote connections over face-to-face interactions. Some people are shy; many unskilled at the science of networking; most of us are lazy; still others have a personality not conducive to networking.
I believe the most chambers, as they are today, will continue to be impacted, to a small degree, by social media. I hope your (former) chamber of commerce will make the wise move to embrace what the technology can do for them. I wish more businesses questioned their investments like you have done. At the very least, I’d like fewer salespeople from the Yellow Pages companies calling on me… they’ve been replaced.
I know that in the blogasphere it’s easy to throw something out there and see if it sticks. I’m a membership rep for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and while I truly respect your point of view one of the things we realize is that chamber membership isn’t for everyone!
Your experience in social media is not unlike what many people are saying right now but I don’t think the case should be framed to diminish what Chamber membership could do for a business.
I believe that for the right businesses chamber memberships should be used in tandem with social media to create business opportunities. As much as I love technology, there is no substitute for looking a potential customer directly in eye, shaking their hand and sizing them up on the spot.
That’s what an “engaged” membership means to a business.
The fact is whether it’s Chamber membership or social media, it really all comes down to where do you want to spend your time? If social media is the place after time, effort and effective use you should start to see results but I also know that with the same formula toward chamber membership the same will happen.
I know that chambers are finding their way in social media and that there are several chambers that are excelling in their use of it. Our own chamber is very forward thinking in the area of social media and we’re moving deeper into making it a part of the permanent fabric of what we offer. Bottom line our challenge and our charge is to offer more to our members and social media is part of that value but it doesn’t replace everything else we do but only emboldens our product.
Good luck to you in your endeavors and I’m sure if you change your mind about membership your chamber will be happy to have you back!
And that’s all I have to say about that! (Forest Gump circa 1993)
Giovanna: Thanks for your passionate comment – I don’t think its just flack. In fact, your statement “I met many of my peers online before I ever saw them. What a joy to meet them and put a face to a name and email address.” Is exactly what I reap from Social Media circles. The point of my post is the value of what I long for my dollar to pay for – exposure and connections, which I never really experienced during my year-long, event-heavy membership. As for the ‘horrible’ opinion of printed pieces, I might have chosen a more PC descriptor, although ‘mediocre’ seems even worse.
Kyle: Yes, let’s hope Chambers can get more active with new media and stake a claim where their members are – online. Like Sheila mentioned above, they need to be relevant in this digital world. And as far as I’m concerned, bad design – whatever the medium, is unacceptable, so why bother. Spend the money elsewhere.
Darron: I’m flattered you might think I wrote this post just to see what sticks. I’m NOT a blogger per se or even remotely a ‘writer’, although I’m not surprised my thoughts have struck so many nerves. I am, however, intrigued that the post was given a second glance. My own comments to my local Chamber (who called me shortly after this was posted) included my surprise that what I write has any influence at all. Apparently they, and a handful of others, disagree. I’ll take it as a compliment. And hopefully THEY will consider the feedback in their next marketing plan. I wish them all the best, truly.
Your indictment of all chambers of commerce based upon your disappointment in the events, publications and ROI of your local chamber of commerce is unfair, and I am disappointed that your blog has been further promoted by texasonthego.com.
Based on feedback from our members and our growth rate, our chamber excells in all areas, and IMHO, your post is akin to my claiming all freelance graphics artists are a waste of time with low ROI based on an isolated, disappointing experience I might have with one.
Our chamber does have great programs for “connecting people” but is most known for “making things happen” that are good for businesses here in town, such as lobbying for more fair business policies, street improvements, and keeping unfriendly policies toward business at bay. We work very hard to keep our member businesses informed on what goverment is trying to do to them or for them and their business’ future. In turn, with the more pro-business policies and economic growth the chamber is making happen, maybe businesses can grow and have the budget to hire freelance graphics artists like you. That is the way local economies work.
A colleague recently said, “Anytime you see something good happen in a community that you thought just happened all on it’s own, there’s usually a chamber behind it.”
Oh, and we do a great deal of this “making it happen” and creating a united business front and keeping businesses engaged in these issues through social media. We are wizards at it, in fact. Small businesses, especially, tell us they depend on us for all of this because they’re too busy running their businesses to keep up with it.
We, too, have members who are disappointed when our chamber doesn’t contract with their business, but good businesses don’t join the chamber in order to get the chamber’s business. They join it in order to have a voice in which of these movements and issues the chamber gets involved in and so that if they see an issue that needs to be addressed and the bulk of the membership agrees, they have big muscle at the ready. And they join to support an organization that is helping to foster a business climate that will, in turn, indirectly benefit all businesses in town.
(Oh, how in weak moments I have secretly and devilishly wished that when we lobby for a new policy we could legally limit its use and occupacy to chamber members only!)
I hope that you will rejoin your chamber and learn about other chambers like ours so that you can have a voice in improving your own chamber rather than engaging in the wholesale indictment of worthwhile and valuable organizations.
And in this time, which is a time like no other in history when businesses have needed to stick together, I sincerely hope that the unfortunate publication of your misguided blog by texasonthego.com won’t harm our cause, our unity and in turn end up helping to chip away at local economies and business climates, thereby giving more ammunition to the enemies of business.
Nancy: Thanks for your comments. Please keep in mind my post was not a slam on everything a Chamber does, but only ONE aspect of it – connections w/ other like-minded people in my community. The fact that my opinions were picked up by ANYONE’s radar is an anomaly.
Didn’t work out for me in that my Chamber is not appealing to my own networking or marketing interests, nor did they take me up on any offers to help them out with their online marketing or social media presences. Yes I kindly offered, and no, they are still churning out the same ol’ ho-hum emails and EXPENSIVE paper mailers. Not interested in my dues being ear marked for mediocrity.
Any Chamber could take the comments this post has generated and rethink how the business community’s expectations and interests have evolved thanks to social media, blogging, Web 2.0 and the current economic environment. That is all.
All points very well taken, although it is very apparent that the author is not very knowledgeable of what Chamber’s do for a community. While networking is a big part of what Chamber’s do, it is not by far the only thing they do(examples have been noted by many). Many chambers have begun to use social media as a way to reach out to their members and others. It’s up to a business if they want to invest in their Chamber for everything else it does for their community. But they should do the research before they decide.
Nancy – your article points out the simple truth that local chambers of commerce better get with the times and quick – they need to be adopting and promoting the benefits of social media, and provide members access to the tools and education to use these new networking and marketing tools.
While online marketing or social media presences are important for small business to adopt to be more competitive – real face to face networking connections are still very important and local chambers provide this opportunity to members better than any other resource.
Small businesses have expectations and as they become more educated about the benefits of social media they will demand that their local chamber be at the forefront of the social media revolution.
I am a social media network designer/developer and also a director of a local chamber in Trail British Columbia Canada. While I agree with many of Nancy’s comments, I feel that such comments are a wake up call to chambers, and the only way for them to keep members and gain new ones is to become educated about social media. The question for most chambers is how to do so on limited resources?
I found that social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook are very important to educate chambers and members, but a local hub social network for chambers to connect and share ideas and content was missing, so I created an open source social network for chambers of commerce to connect.
http://www.chambervoice.com – it is in beta and will be launched in late January.
With all the fanfare of Twitter – I got an idea – create a Twitter for chambers to connect. I recently implemented a chamber focused microblogging site that has groups and social media capabilities such as link, video and image embedding. http://www.chambervoice.com/microblog/
Our local chamber needed a way for directors to connect with members in a public environment, but they also wanted to have the ability to discuss issues in private group. Rather than limit the new microblog to the Greater Trail area, I created the ChamberVoice Microblog network so all chambers can join for free and connect to share ideas about social media. Now the Trail Chamber can have the best of both worlds – a social network for private and public social networking – all in an easy to use Facebook/Twitter type environment.
The goal in 2010 is to gain early adopters and provide access to a wealth of open source content and tools so chambers can get with it and not brake the bank doing so.
Randy McCallum
Founder
ChamberVoice.com
Director & Volunteer
Trail & District Chamber of Commerce
brake -> break –
Edit to my above post –
The goal in 2010 is to gain early adopters and provide access to a wealth of open source content and tools so chambers can get with it and not break the bank doing so.
I have been asked – How can a chamber create their own social network and Twitter type site and not break the bank?
In January a series of Guides (screencast videos) will be posted to http://www.ChamberVoice.com and http://www.chambervoice.com/microblog to show chambers how they can implement their own social networks using the same open source tools I use on a regular basis.
I look forward to Nancy’s next post that has a chamber focus.
Randy McCallum
ChamberVoice.com
In regards to Nancy’s comment about chamber membership dues.
In January our local chamber will be sending out renewal notices for membership to the local Chamber of Commerce and we already know that many members will be asking themselves that important question asked by people such as Nancy and many of those who don’t have a clue about what social media can provide them. That question – what does the chamber do for me and is it worth it to join or remain a member?
Before dropping a check in the mail, many will stop and think about why they want/need the chamber membership, and what such an affiliation actually does for them.
This year, the Trail Chamber will be providing more education on the benefits of why it is important to be a member of the local chamber of commerce and to join other chambers across the country. And social media education will be a very important part of that message.
In regards to Nancy’s comments on the benefits of engaging in social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, and meeting people in the local community and nationwide that were very enthusiastic about actually networking, this is key to a chamber’s understanding.
I agree with her that more can be gained if the need is social media focused – and this is all a part of the cycle of adoption for social media by chamber members.
In his book Crossing the Chasm – a must read for any chamber director thinking of implementing a social media strategy – high-tech marketing guru Geoffrey Moore offers time tested insights into the problems and dangers facing (growing software companies), and a blueprint for survival and many of the same widely accepted ideas in this “bible for bringing cutting-edge products to progressively larger markets” holds true for social media adoption.
The key points in his book are:
A market is defined as a set of actual or potential customers
for a given set of products or services who have a common set of needs or wants, and who reference each other when making a buying decision
And Moore makes another very important point, “the notion that part of what defines a (high-tech) market is the tendency of its members to reference each other when
making buying decisions– is absolutely key to successful (high-tech) marketing.”
And this is where the Adoption Life Cycle and the smooth bell curve comes into perspective, progressing from adoption of social media by:
- Innovators – people such as Nancy and some chambers that are already engaged in using social media to network, market and sell.
- Early Adopters – people that are educated and encouraged to get on board social media use – by people such as Nancy and those chambers that continue to engage in the promotion and education, and consistent use of social media tools to educate and show members how chambers are adapting to improve networking and opportunities for members and chambers
- Early Majority, Late Majority, and finally Laggards – as Moore says, “the way to develop a market is to work the curve from left to right, progressively winning each group of users, using each “captured” group as a reference for the next.
We must remember – it takes time for markets to evolve and while many of us would like it to happen in a week or a month – it will take years for the full adoption cycle of social media to evolve.
It is yet to be seen how many chambers will try to make it across this chasm. But for chambers to evolve, they have to engage and become innovators and Early Adopters – the rare breed of visionaries “who have the insight to match an emerging technology to a strategic opportunity,… driven by a ‘dream’.
Moore says, “The core dream is a business goal, not a technology goal, and it involves taking a quantum leap
forward in how business is conducted in their industry or by their customers… Visionaries drive the high-tech industry because they see the potential for an ‘order-
of-magnitude’ return on investment and willingly take high risks to pursue that goal.
Chambers that become visionaries will get the enthusiasts and early adopters on board … Hencethe chasm.
Four fundamental characteristics of visionaries that alienate pragmatists:
1. Lack of respect for colleagues’ experiences.
2. Taking greater interest in technology than in their industry.
3. Failing to recognize the importance of existing product infrastructure.
4. Overall disruptiveness
Let’s see where this discussion leads to next December 2010?
Randy McCallum
ChamberVoice.com