The Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore (FACES) has announced the launch of Get Social Delmarva, a new marketing training conference for artists, crafters, and makers of all types. The conference will take place on Friday, April 27th at Chesapeake College.
Get Social Delmarva will present social media and digital marketing training specifically designed to help artists launch or grow a creative business. Although familiarity with social media will be helpful, the conference is intended to help small business owners who have little or no experience using social platforms for business purposes. All instruction will be provided at an introductory level.
“Our goal is to empower artists and crafters to grow their business using affordable marketing tools and strategies,” said Marina Dowdall, Executive Director of the Caroline County Council of Arts, the parent organization of FACES. She said that most artists and small business owners do not have the resources to hire a marketing agency. “With today’s technology, artists can ‘DIY’ their own marketing, which allows them to grow their business more quickly and reach customers all over the world.”
Get Social Delmarva will include a keynote address on Marketing 101, which will cover the fundamentals of developing a cohesive and effective marketing strategy. The address will include an interview with Steve Konopelski and Rob Griffith, owners of Turnbridge Point, a bed and breakfast and custom bakery in Denton. The couple will share insights about what they’ve learned about growing their business using digital marketing tools.
The conference will then break out into workshops on a variety of topics. The workshops are categorized in three tracks, though attendees do not have to stay within a single track. Tracks include Facebook for Business, Visual Media, and Web Presence. Examples of workshop topics include Facebook Advertising, Selling on Etsy, and Introduction to Instagram for Business.
Conference attendance has been limited to 100 people to ensure smaller class sizes in the workshops. Attendees will also have the opportunity to eat lunch with instructors and ask them questions in a small group setting.
FACES has received grant funding from Rural Maryland Council to help launch Get Social Delmarva. Rural Maryland Council supports projects that foster economic growth in the rural areas of the state. The arts are a key component of the tourism and downtown development strategies for small towns throughout the Eastern Shore and broader Delmarva region. The headline sponsor of Get Social Delmarva is Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area, an organization that promotes the heritage and unique communities of the Mid-Shore.
Registration for Get Social Delmarva is now open at GetSocialDelmarva.com. Tickets are $79 per person. There is a 20% discount for FACES members.
