8:23pm | Some say social media is the way of the future, and local small businesses that refuse to hop onto this virtual bandwagon could very well find themselves left behind in a cloud of dust.

But not if Downtown Long Beach Associates has anything to do with it.

The DLBA will continue offering small business seminars beginning next Tuesday with a new, three-part series designed to help local entrepreneurs improve and integrate their use of social media platforms for business promotions and marketing, according to information provided by the business association’s marketing and special events manager, Steve Sheldon.

Hosted at Rock Bottom Brewery on March 29, April 19 and May 17 from 8:30 – 10 a.m., the seminars will be facilitated by Laura Roeder, a renowned social media expert who was recently named among the top 10 social media consultants for small businesses in the Los Angeles area by The Expert List.

Over the past two years, more than 400 business representatives have participated in the DLBA’s seminar series, Sheldon said. The series has featured sessions on topics including low-cost marketing solutions, social media marketing, building customer loyalty and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance issues. 

“The feedback from participants in these seminars has been phenomenal,” said Tony Shooshani, owner of the CityPlace Shopping Center and chair of the DLBA’s Economic Development Task Force, in a prepared statement. “The upcoming series will help small businesses take their social media marketing to the next level and demonstrate how successfully the medium can be used to help drive sales.”

Holding the social media seminar on three separate dates will allow for more in-depth coverage of each topic. The schedule is as follows:

  • March 29 – Creating Fame: How to be the “Go-to” person in your field
  • April 19 – Your Website: It’s the welcome mat of your business – How to get clients to walk through the door and buy
  • May 17 – Mobile Marketing: 4Square, Facebook & Twitter – How to use mobile marketing to boost your sales

The cost for each seminar is $10, or $25 for all three if paid in advance, for downtown Long Beach-based businesses. The cost for all other businesses is $15 for each seminar or $35 for all three if paid in advance.

Coffee and tea service will be provided. Each seminar will be held in the Banquet Room at Rock Bottom Brewery located at 1 Pine Ave. in downtown Long Beach. Validated parking (90-minute/two hour) will be available in the Landmark Square parking structure (entrances off of Pine and Pacific Avenue just north of Ocean Boulevard).

Space is limited and will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, contact Vanessa McCollum by calling 562-436-4259, sending an e-mail to [email protected] or visiting www.dlba.org/seminar.