The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce is kicking off its annual Business Institute on Thursday, May 1. The two-hour programs run monthly through August.
The goal is to help business owners or employees learn new techniques and processes to run their business.
“Because some businesses, it’s really just one person running the show, and they have to wear lots of hats, and so this is an opportunity at a low cost for them to get at least something that they can use,” Ivana Beckworth, the Chamber’s Programs and Events Director, explained for ABD. “It’s geared towards all of our businesses, but I know a lot of our smaller businesses would probably benefit, because it is a quick session. Plus, you get that time with the speaker for questions and answers after their presentation.”
The first session will focus on AI Strategies for social media. It will be led by Sharon Martin, CEO of Managed Nerds. She told ABD she will start with a 30-minute module within the two-hour class to focus on learning the best ways to prompt AI to get the desired outcome.
“Prompts to use with ChatGPT to get your business social media profile filled out with the information it should have to get people interested in your business,” she said. “A lot of folks don’t have their business profile completed. They haven’t gone in and filled out their summary subjects. And it’s even worse when you get to the Google business profile, because there are a lot of areas that most businesses don’t even know they can populate with information.”
Martin said that while she believes AI is becoming an integral skill for all businesses, she understands some people remain leery of the technology. She said the most important thing to do is to choose a reputable AI product from the start.
“I always recommend the business subscription as well when you’re using AI,” she added. ChatGPT has one that promises extra data protections. Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini are some other good options that are known as reputable companies that respect data protection. Don’t use the AI of the week or even the AI of the month. Avoid AI is where you don’t know where the data is hosted.”
Martin believes that gaining proficiency with AI and other growing technologies that are available helps businesses to stay fresh with their message and presentation to prospective customers.
“It’s becoming more and more important for businesses, especially those who serve customers in person, but even your service area businesses, to have a good Google business profile, because that affects your rankings within the local area for your service. That’s how you get seen when people search for carpet cleaning or when they search for coffee shops.”
Beckworth said the classes offer more than just learning from the presentation. Attendees get tips from each other.
“It often happens where they talk about, ‘I also struggle with that thing.’ Or ‘Have you ever tried this? Because this is what helped us with that.’ So, we definitely expect there to be opportunities to network, or just to be encouraged and to see that the business community really is supposed to be a community that helps each other move forward or handle the needs that they have,” she said.
Attendees are welcome to bring their personal laptops or smartphones to practice during the class, but it is not necessary.
The sessions run from 8 – 10 a.m. The May and June sessions will be held in the Junior Achievement Discovery Center on River Watch Parkway. The topic for the June program is First Class Hospitality = Customer Retention. Topics and locations for July and August will be announced in the future.
For more information and to register, go to www.columbiacountychamber.com/business-institute-series/
