CORBIN, KY – Social media and digital marketing are changing the way the world does business. That’s why Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation’s Be Boss Online (BBO) was developed, and that’s why it’s a success. Just ask the entrepreneurs and small business owners who’ve completed the most recently offered 12-hour course.
Twelve men and women completed the course offered at Corbin City Hall last month. Their reasons for attending varied but the results they walked away with were unanimous: a better understanding of social media platforms and how they can help market a business online.
Knox County native William Tal Jones took the class, as a representative of Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Innovation. He called it “essential business knowledge.”
“I am much more aware of applications and the entirety of digital marketing,” he said. “I feel totally comfortable recommending this class to a business. If a business owner is not willing to engage and use this evolving modern-day marketing, their competitors will. Their business, without these tools, will die a faster death than the dinosaurs.”
Jessica Bray said it helped her develop and feel more confident about the content she shares on the websites and social media she manages. She attended representing Kentucky Country Music and Lakeside Arena. “I learned a lot more useful tools to help with my websites,” she said.
The other Corbin BBO graduates include: Heather Parker, LongRider Leather; Melissa Conn, Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation; Myrissa Christy, Bark Camp Pottery; Sylvia Hibbard, Goat Milk Country Soaps; Anne Bays, Moonlight Meat Processing; Teresa Bracken, Williamsburg Hampton Inn; Ana Hamblin, Williamsburg Hampton Inn; Bobby Clark, SB Ventures; Marsha Hurst, Sydney Adams Music and Bill Schutters.
During BBO training, clients master: Google business search and services, Google and Facebook advertising, building a simple website, understanding analytics and using social media.
SKED Small Business Training Director Amanda Kelly describes BBO as: An always current, turn-key digital marketing curriculum that allows you to help clients grow their bottom line by owning their presence on the internet.
“Our simple, innovative and comprehensive curriculum will help business owners feel as confident about using the internet and social media as marketing tools as they are about managing their business,” she said.
The BBO curriculum is customizable and includes four courses, each three hours long, packed with valuable digital marketing how-to information that will produce results for small businesses. But clients are not limited to that lineup: The curriculum modules can be separated into one-hour lunch-and-learn sessions, or even two-hour specialty courses on social media. It’s completely customizable to meet each client’s needs.
“We want to put East Kentucky small business owners on the same “playing field” as businesses across the country,” Kelly added. Be Boss Online has the potential to give our small business owners the same growth potential as others in more populated areas, because we’re teaching them the tools to market their products and services in ways they once could only dream of.”
A second Corbin Be Boss Online class is currently being offered in Corbin, Ky.
For more information about BBO, contact Kelly at Amanda@bebossonline.com, by phone at (606) 677-6119 or visit the website: www.bebossonline.com.
