I have been talking to my Dad for a while now about how I can’t understand why every one of our local Chambers of Commerce hasn’t jumped in to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as a way to add value to their members and help promote businesses in the community, as well as the Chamber itself. It upsets me that the value of these tools aren’t recognized and capitalized on by more small businesses.

In fact, ironically, last week we were part of a marketing committee meeting for our local Chamber and we were discussing the implementation of a blog on the Chamber’s website and the potential that could have for local businesses and the community. We formulated a new communications plan for the Chamber, which includes not only the blog but also helping the Chamber get started on Twitter and Facebook. We decided that we would recruit a small group of “regulars” from the local business community to write for the blog as a way to get it started. I think we all walked away from that meeting excited to get to work and recognizing the added value this would bring to existing and new members.

Even more ironically, my Dad and I were having this conversation again yesterday at the multi-chamber Business-to-Business Expo. Barcelona Creative was an exhibitor at the Expo, but I was also a speaker for one of their breakout sessions and I was co-presenting with Brian Tomkins on social media for business. Part of my presentation was about blogging – not only the benefits of blogging, but the need for businesses to use this form of communication.

This afternoon I came back from a meeting and on my desk I found an article (of course my Dad left it for me) written by Brian entitled “Social media helps chambers of commerce connect.” I read the article, which of course touched on all of the benefits I have been touting for months now, and suddenly I found myself angry for not writing that article myself. I spent the rest of the day thinking “I should have written that,” then I realized I could have written an article like that ANY time – on BCG’s blog!

[Let me add quickly that I am not trying to bash Brian in any way, in fact, I am congratulating him on his article and taking the step that I didn't take. Brian is great, presenting with him was an awesome experience and I hope we have a chance to work together again. At the very least I have a new friend and colleague now. Follow Brian at twitter.com/briantomkins.]

Shame On Me – Why I haven’t taken advantage of BrandTalk to put these thoughts out to the world are unknown to me. After all, isn’t part of what I do every day using my thoughts and ideas to help my community and my clients grow their businesses? I guess seeing thoughts that I’ve had in print, written by someone else, is enough to make me wake up and recognize the tools that are right in front of me – waiting for me to use them. Rest assured, I’ve learned my lesson.

The reality is, this is a perfect reason for a business to have a blog on their website. Not only can you express your thoughts and ideas and help your customers and your community, but you don’t have to wait for the paper to publish those thoughts. You can post your own helpful information and share that with your clients and colleagues on your own time. All you have to do is write your story and hit “publish.” Can it get any easier?

So, now I ask you – are you missing out on opportunities to add value for your customers? Are you struggling with seeing the value of engaging in conversations, by using social media tools, that may bring you new contacts and new business? Isn’t it time you reaped the benefits of these tools to grow your business? If you find yourself answering yes to one or more of these questions, maybe it’s time you gave Barcelona Creative Group a call. We’re here for you and we want to help!