Marketing expo offers business advice on social media

Social media can allow consumers to get to know a business while allowing businesses to build value.

But David Saunders, president of Richmond-based Madison + Main Advertising & New Media, cautioned business owners at tending a panel discussion yesterday at the Retail Marketing Expo not to overly rely on the new technology that includes LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

"Social media won't make you rich, won't replace other forms of marketing and won't fix broken companies," he said.

Nearly 1,000 people crowded the Greater Richmond Convention Center yesterday for the fifth annual expo, put on by the Retail Merchants Association for companies to learn more about ways to bring customers into their stores and businesses.

The panel discussion on social media attracted hundreds.

Participants of that panel included Scott Dickens, president and executive producer of Rocket Pop Media, a media production company; John N. Gaskins, a professor of marketing and retailing at Longwood University; and Nhat Pham, social media strategist for SuccessWerks.

One of the major subjects the panel discussed was how a business should use Twitter to spread its message. Twitter allows people to post messages -- called "tweets" -- that are up to 140 characters long.

"Twitter is the biggest cocktail party in the world," Pham said.

To be effective, "you have to be raw with your relationships. Raw in adding values."

To successfully use social media and all the possible platforms, Dickens said, businesses need to manage their time on the sites or run the risk of being overwhelmed.

"The trick is to be efficient," he said, saying business could set specific amounts of time to look at the sites each day.

At a breakfast meeting kicking off the expo, Hugh F. Gouldthorpe Jr. urged companies to treat employees well to ensure long-term success.

"The way you take care of your employees is the way you are going to treat your customers," said Gouldthorpe, the vice president of quality and communications at medical and surgical products distributor Owens & Minor Inc.

Gouldthorpe, who also has written motivational books about leadership, delivered the 45-minute keynote address attended by about 200 people.

Nancy Thomas, president and CEO of the local retail group, said the event featured 81 vendors. It was the biggest expo yet based on attendance and number of vendors, she said.

The event was a way for the crowd of mostly merchants to connect with marketing companies, advertising agencies and media outlets that were pitching their products and services from booths.

Exhibitors varied in size from national radio chains to local marketing companies.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or .