An event sponsored by the North Augusta and Aiken Chambers of Commerce gave nearly 100 people their first glimpse of what to expect when one of the top five internet companies is operational in Aiken County.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, is building a data center in the Sage Mill Industrial Park. On March 21, a seminar at Aiken Technical College, led by a Meta certified lead trainer, marked the first public event since the Sept. 2024 announcement.
“If we’re going to take up space in a community, and I’m not a Meta employee, but they’re a partner of mine, if we as businesses are going to be present in a local community, then we kind of have a bit of a social responsibility to give back to that community in any way that we can,” Darlenne Helena told ABD. “I really appreciate the way that Meta does it, because when you empower a group of small business owners to be able to promote their own business, we’re talking about growing and stimulating every business that’s around it as well.”
The seminar taught techniques for creative optimization for Facebook and Instagram using tools in the Meta Business Suite. The goal was to empower attendees, including businesses, to increase awareness with posts, stories, reels, and live videos.
“Content online is ever-changing, and it’s important to stay ahead of it,” said Heather Johnson, Marketing Director for Southpaw Roofing. “And what better way to learn than a local organization like Meta that’s in it 24/7? Learn some new content, ideas, and ways to separate Southpaw Roofing online. Sometimes we get in the habit of doing the same information over and over again. It’s always good to freshen that up.”
Helena has partnered with Meta since 2021 to help share digital marketing techniques at more than 50 events. She is also the CEO of Helena Media Group.
“I’m someone who’s extremely passionate about empowering people with the tools to communicate and spread their own messages. I think we’ve probably got a lot of Einsteins and Mozarts somewhere in a corner who just need the tools to be able to share their art, share their inventions, share their ideas, and that’s why I love social media,” she said.
Meta will be the topic of discussion at the North Augusta Chamber’s Power Lunch on April 17 at the Palmetto Terrace Ballroom in the North Augusta Municipal Building. For more information and to register go to https://northaugustachamber.chambermaster.com/events/details/power-lunch-building-the-future-meta-s-new-aiken-data-center-12644
The Aiken Data Center, under construction in Sage Mill, represents an $800 million investment by Meta in Aiken County. The 715,000-square-foot data center is being built on a 500-acre site. According to county online records, the purchase price of the property was more than $19 million.
When up and running, the center will create 100 jobs supporting Meta’s artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.
It is expected to be fully operational in 2027.
You can follow the progress on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AikenDataCenter
