Blogging, dashboard classes offered: Business owners can learn to maximize social media tools

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Business owners and their staff will have the opportunity to partake in two social media classes in Hilo during October to learn how to grow their online and social media presence.

Business owners and their staff will have the opportunity to partake in two social media classes in Hilo during October to learn how to grow their online and social media presence.

“Introduction to Blogging” will be offered Oct. 10 and “Dashboard Management 101,” how to effectively manage multiple social media accounts at the same time, is scheduled for Oct. 26. Both classes are from 10 a.m.-noon at the Hawaii Innovation Center, 117 Kiawe St. in Hilo.

“Blogging is an excellent way for business owners to showcase their expertise in their respective field, as well as educate new and existing customers,” said instructor Denise Laitinen, owner of DLC Hawaii Media. “For instance, Realtors can blog about living in certain parts of the island or a wedding photographer can share tips on making the most of their wedding photography.”

Many business owners know that blogging in today’s online-oriented world can help grow their business, yet many entrepreneurs don’t know where to start or what to do when it comes to blogging.

During the “Introduction to Blogging” class, Laitinen will show how to create an editorial calendar based on a specific market and target audience. What’s more, she’ll take a single blog post and demonstrate how to turn it into five different Facebook posts and tweets, thereby enabling entrepreneurs to receive additional social media coverage for their company.

Another area where business owners have difficulty with social media is finding the time to post to multiple different social media accounts. It seems like there is never enough time in the day to post, tweet, and share on top of the daily demands of managing a business.

There are several different free online tools, called dashboard management programs, that enable people to write and schedule social media posts to multiple different platforms at the same time. Using such tools enables business owners and their staff to streamline their online business presence and spend less time posting and more time growing their business’ bottom line.

A seasoned public speaker, social media trainer and writer, Laitinen has taught dozens of social media classes throughout Hawaii Island at the university level and for corporate clients, providing practical, easy to understand steps to business owners looking to grow their business online.

A member of the Social Media Club Hawaii board of directors, she’s organized more than 12 community social media events islandwide and is often a featured speaker talking about social media at conferences and events.

Each class cost is $35. The deadline to register for the blogging class is Monday, Oct. 9; the deadline to register for the dashboard class is Oct. 25.

To register for the class, visit Eventbrite. For more information, email Denise@DeniseLaitinen.com or call 281-3497.