Hello again Mark,

Frank here.

As promised, I'm back to reveal a story that caused a stir at my chamber.

Our chamber was the smallest of eight in our region. We were operating on a shoestring budget and the board said they wanted me to grow our membership.

A potential solution to our problem came in an unexpected way, a new thing called social media. This was back in 2008.

With the idea of using Facebook, Twitter, and blogging on my mind, I eagerly presented my plan to use social media at our chamber.

They hated the idea.

They thought social media was simply a fad, a joke, and a distraction.

I passionately laid out my vision, how these platforms could help us tell our chamber’s story, extend our reach within and beyond our local community, and attract and retain new members.

But my enthusiasm was met with skepticism and fierce resistance to trying something new. The board was hesitant to take a risk, to innovate, to change.

Phrases like “We already have a website, you'll dilute our brand,” and “Are we a media company now?” echoed around the room. One board member even scoffed, “You'll waste your time playing online all day!”

Their reluctance to innovate was like a punch in the gut. They were unwilling to step outside their comfort zone.

However, our Chair of the Board was a risk taker. He recognized the value of innovation and changing with the times. His backing convinced the board to gamble on my proposal.

And the outcome?

Within 18 months, we doubled the membership and budget of our 45-year-old chamber!

Throughout this period, we learned valuable lessons about the do's and don'ts of leveraging social media for chambers.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's email. I'll be unveiling how you can harness the power of social media to attract new members, increase your retention rate, and bring in more non-dues revenue.

Look for an email with the subject: "What We Discovered..."

Until then,

Frank

P.S. As a token of my appreciation, I'd like to share a chamber-specific resource with you, "10 Steps to Increase Facebook Engagement." Click here to download it as a complimentary PDF.