ActiveEdge Hits the Airwaves with “The Chamber Report”

Diane Vautier
May 27, 2010

On May 13th, 2010 Diane Vautier of ActiveEdge hit the local airwaves along with Leslie Posten of Uptown Uncorked and Casey Cheshire of Transparent Language for “The Chamber Report Radio Show“.

The Topic:  Social Media – How it’s Affecting Business in Southern NH.

The AM news and talk radio show is a relatively new program organized by the the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce to share interesting topics with the local business community.   It airs every Thursday from 11 AM – Noon on WSMN 1590 News and Talk Radio Nashua.   Each week, well known radio show host Ed Lecius, and producer George Papoulias help the Nashua Chamber bring the relevant business topics to the listeners.

Click the audio clip above to listen in.  Due to file size, the clip is edited down to Diane Vautier’s segment only, but if you’re interested in listening to the full show, it’s available online from the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce Radio Show page.

Social Media Breakfast Comes to Nashua

Diane Vautier
May 25, 2010

On Friday, May 21, 2010 The Social Media Breakfast New Hampshire made it’s debut at Millyard Technology Park in Nashua, NH where roughly 85-90 attendees gathered to listen in on the conversation surrounding the burgeoning topic of Social Media.  ActiveEdge was fortunate to be able to sponsor the event along with DimDim’s Kevin Micalizzi.

Although the nationally organized Social Media Breakfast has been around for a few years, 3 to be exact, New Hampshire has more recently started joining in.  The Nashua event marked the 12th of it’s kind in New Hampshire, thanks to Leslie Poston of Uptown Uncorked in Portsmouth, NH who brought the event to the area.

So what is the Social Media Breakfast? Their own web site says it best:

“The Social Media Breakfast was founded by Bryan Person in August 2007 as an event where social media experts and newbies alike come together to eat, meet, share, and learn. Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend.

The breakfast series began in Boston and has now spread to 40 cities throughout the United States and around the world.”

Pretty impressive for a Beantown local, and a winning combination for the various business communities, like Nashua, who are reaping the benefits of local experts sharing how they do it, what works, and what they’re still struggling with.  It’s a great learning venue for those interested in finding out more of what Social Media is and how it works.

If you missed this Social Media Breakfast, don’t worry.  The next one in Nashua is scheduled for September. But if you just can’t wait til fall, check out other Social Media Breakfast events throughout the state at SMBNH.org, or follow ActiveEdge on Twitter, we post about them.  See you all at the next one.

Should Your Small Business Be Using Social Media?

Diane Vautier
April 20, 2010

If you’re a small business, you’ve no doubt been bombarded with requests to participate in various Social Media platforms on both personal and business levels.  And quite frankly, you may think it’s all just a bunch of hoopla; another way of distracting you from dealing with the ‘real things to do’ that need your attention every day at the office.

If that’s you, then here’s some good news and some bad news.

First the bad news. You’re about to be hit by a tsunami of shifting communication styles that is changing the face of how you interact with your customer base.  Not easy to hear, but better to know now than in 6 months or a year from now, when the wave is crashing on top of you and you’re clinging to a tree branch, searching the skies for the rescue helicopter. A bit dramatic, I know, but you get the idea.

Ok, so now the good news. There is hope.  Small businesses just like yours are flocking to Social Media in hoards and are satisfied with the results.

eMarketer reports that according to “The State of Small Business Report” by Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland, social media usage increased to 24% from 12% the year before, doubling its adoption rate.  The majority of those (75%) have a company page on social media websites like Facebook or LinkedIn or post status updates or articles to those sites (69%).
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