THE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCELERATOR is HERE!  

 Social media is quickly becoming a requirement for the way local business owners connect with customers.  If you are a Boston area business interested in learning how to leverage social media to drive awareness, growth and profitability then this event is for you! 

The Social Media Accelerator is a one day event for a selected group of 100 businesses being hosted at the beautiful Harvard iLab in Allston.  The day will be spent educating Boston businesses on how social media can be an effective tool for growth and sustaining business.  

In addition to hearing from peers and experts on social media for small business, each business will be given the opportunity to work directly, one-on-one with social media experts from some of the BEST social media companies in the Boston area who are volunteering their time for the event. 

Network with peers and hear the inspiring story of how social media has spurred the rapid growth of some local area businesses including: Otto Pizza and SA PA

The event is FREE, but attendance will be limited to 100 businesses, so be sure to Register now. 

Keynote Speaker - Alec Stern
 

Keynote Title: The 10 pillars for small business success and their social media channels and barriers.

Keynote Overview:  Small businesses are fueling our local economy and the strategic use of social media can be a powerful tool paving the way for growth and success for the Main Street business owner. Alec Stern, Vice President of Strategic Market Development for Constant Contact and one of the original founding members will cover the 10 pillars for achieving success in Small Business. Alec will also review the Social Medial channels utilized by small businesses as well as some of the barriers preventing the effective use of them.     

Bio:  Alec Stern, Vice President of Strategic Market Development for Constant Contact (Nasdaq: CTCT), is a primary member of Constant Contact's founding team as one of the original 3 in an attic.  His wide range of responsibilities has included senior roles in sales, strategic partnerships, channels and business development. Alec is responsible for the creation and development of Constant Contact’s channel partner programs that currently hold more than 10,000 partnerships promoting Constant Contact. Today he continues to spearhead strategic market development, overseeing the Franchise/Distributor and Association & Member Organizations programs and vertical industry thought leadership for the company.

Alec advises a variety of early stage companies, serves as a speaker, judge, mentor and advisor for startup accelerators TechStars and MassChallenge and startup competitions Lean Startup Challenge and Future Boston Alliance.  He has also been a judge for the Stevie Awards, Startup BLVD, RISE and the United Way Youth Venture.  Alec also is on the Board of Directors for the social media startup MarketMeSuite.

Alec has been a featured speaker and email and online marketing panel member for both national and regional small business, nonprofit and industry conferences. His active roles in the nonprofit sector currently include positions on the Board of Directors, Board of Advisors or Executive Committees for a range of nonprofits; The Better Business Bureau and The ALLY Foundation to name a few and is a founding member of two nonprofits.  Alec holds an MBA from Northeastern University and a BS from Syracuse University.

You will Hear from...

Eric Shepherd, Director of Marketing & Communications for Otto Pizza

Otto Pizza is a wildly successful pizza shop that originally opened in Portland Maine, but after producing a winning pie has expanded recently to Boston and Cambridge.  

Eric Shepherd is the Director of Marketing and Communications for Otto Pizza, and is one of the few people who have the title "Rocker" in their LinkedIn profile. 

Eric will be sharing what he has learned about leveraging social media for small restauranteurs and how he has used social media strategies to propel Otto Pizza from a single pizza joint in Portland to a growing pizza brand with 7 locations in Maine and Massachussets. 

Otto Pizza is currently a client of our event partner Socii 

Ky Nguyen, Founder of  SA PA and Kingston Station

After success with Kingston Station, entrepreneur Ky Nguyen, along with chef Dana Love, has recently launched his second vietnamese restaurant, SA PA.  

If you are a small business who struggles to fit social media into an already hectic day, Ky will be sharing the challenges and opportunities of Social Media from the perspective of a business owner who needs to juggle multiple responsibilities.  

Ky Nguen is currently a client of our event partner Privy.