Community Corner

Social Media Panel Draws Crowd

Experts shared best practices, and also a sense of community.

Hagedorn meeting room was nearly packed to capacity Wednesday afternoon for a panel discussion on social media, and community.

The event brought a lively discussion, almost immediately.

"I enjoyed the panel because it turned into a real conversation between the panelists and the audience, just like social media should be a real conversation between various parties," said Beth Granger, one of the panelists, who is a board member of Social Media Club of Long Island.

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Also on the panel were social media guru Dave Kerpen, CEO of Likeable Media; Sharon Maier-Kennelly, executive director of ; Jonathan Welch, social media coordinator for the ; and Vikram Rajan, author and founder of PracticeMarketingAdvisors.com. 

Panelists emphasized the power of Twitter, and the increasing prevalance of smart phones to connect.

Find out what's happening in Port Washingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kerpen, for instance, had already broadcasted the event to his 21,107 followers with this tweet:

"Speaking at the #portwashington library now about #SocialMedia. Hometown fun!"

And when mentioned the May 19 re-opening of , Kerpen immediately created a Foursquare location for the site

"I've been on multiple panels and I have to say this was the most interactive of any of them," Granger noted. "The audience asked really great questions. There was a sharing of ideas between the panelists and the audience, and the panelists with each other."

Fielding audience questions, the experts agreed that organizations need to  be responsive to posts on social media sites, and to think of social media as a tool to engage an audience, build awareness, gain marketshare and more.

"Many people find social media overwhelming for many reasons such as the number of platforms, the transparency required, the time or money required, the knowledge required, or a host of other reasons," Granger said. "At panel discussions like the one we had people can learn from the panelists, and each other, as their questions are answered and concerns addressed."

For those who want to learn more, Granger recommends these sites: 
hubspot.com/social-media-marketing-kitblog.tweetsmarter.com/mashable.com/social-media/ and Dave Kerpen's site. She also recommended a list of twitter chats, available at .

She also recommends joining the Social Media Club of Long Island, noting that those who want to receive the group's newsletter can find her on Twitter.

Noting that the event's large turnout on a weekday afternoon, Blumenfeld, a library trustee, said he hoped to see another event like this one in the evening at the library's Lapham meeting room, to accommodate an even bigger crowd. 

Moderated by Adina Genn, editor of Port Washington Patch, the event was co-sponored by the library's Jobs & Careers Information Center.  


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