The Southern Ohio Procurement Outreach Center hosted a social media workshop Wednesday at the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.

The purpose of the workshop was to educate owners of local businesses on how to use social networks as a marketing tool.

“This is just one piece,” Jordan Lucas, SOPOC director, said. “One way to help market your business. Social media can help raise your business’ profile in the local community.”

The workshop was lead by Melissa Carter from the Ohio Small Business Development Center. Carter stressed the importance of interaction between business owners and potential customers.

“Interaction is key,” Carter said. “Post pictures, products, offer specials or discounts. Ask for people’s opinions anything that could lead to a dialogue with your clientele or custsomer base.”

The workshop focused on the basics of building a social media presence as well as understanding the demographics of particular social media networks.

“This was just an overview,” Carter said. “We just want people to understand the basics of how to set up profiles and accounts. We also wanted people to understand that there are several forms of social media and they all have their own demographic. Twitter is your younger crowd. Facebook has moved more toward the middle-aged American.”

Carter also discussed how social media is beginning to carry more weight with consumers.

“A study just came out that said one out of every five people admit that ads or posts on a social network site influenced a purchase they made,” Carter said. “Social media marketing is a great tool to help your business be more profitable.”