Risks & Rewards of Social Media May 19, 2009

Part of Jumpstart Week at the SBA.

Discover what online social networking can do for your business and how to manage the impact of this exposure.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs. We’re even hearing stories about them on the local news. What’s all the fuss about? What does it mean for business? What can be gained, and what should be avoided?

Social media and networking can help build your reputation, drive traffic to your site, and maybe even get you new business. At the same time, these open-ended, online conversations can expose your brand to hard-to-control, damaging commentary.

This complementary 90-minute presentation by Robbin Block, Seattle marketing consultant and sought-after speaker, and Anne Sterba, brand protection lawyer with the leading intellectual property firm Rothwell Figg, will lead you through this world in rapid presentation format. You’ll learn how to take advantage of social media, without wasting your time or exposing yourself to unnecessary risk. It's all part of Jumpstart Week at the Seattle SBA.

You'll learn:

* Nine reasons to use social media and the key elements of your social media toolkit.
* A dozen do’s and don’t of social networking, and timesaving tips.
* The best, inexpensive tools for automatically monitoring usage of your brand content online.
* How to prevent brand squatting, where individuals and companies take over very similar names to yours in the hopes of a payment.
* What to do if someone criticizes your company online, based on incorrect information.
* When it makes sense to take legal action to protect your brand.

To register, call 206-553-7310. Space is limited.