Pat Larose of BoostMe Marketing gave an engaging presentation at the Breakfast Connections South Dundas meeting on how to make social media work for you. Tinkess Photo

MORRISBURG – Breakfast Connections, the popular networking and learning opportunity hosted by the Cornwall-SDG Business Enterprise Centre, returned to South Dundas, and the McIntosh Inn on Thurs., Sept. 4.

As has been the case in previous events, local politicians, administrators, and small business owners from throughout SDG took the opportunity to enjoy a sumptuous meal and interact with others who share a common purpose.

The morning was kicked off by Mirelle Lemire, business advisor at the Business Enterprise Centre, who introduced South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad, who welcomed everyone to South Dundas. “We certainly appreciate all the work that the Cornwall and SDG Business Enterprise group do for us,” said Mayor Broad. “I know there’s quite a few of our residents and business owners have taken advantage of the programming they do run, so not only can you learn a lot today from our speaker but taking advantage of the great work that the group does do here. Pick up their card, make sure you engage with them, they’re great at helping us.”

Next to speak was Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry MP Eric Duncan, who spoke of how successful Breakfast Connections has been. “The turnout itself is proof that these sessions are valuable and are being well received,” said MP Duncan. “And it’s great to see.

“Things are not easy right now,” he continued. “Not to say too much about politics, it’s a tough environment out there, but it gives me a lot of hope, when I see the business owners that are out in our community that strive, day in, day out, to make things go and make it work. We have our challenges, but we also have our opportunities as well. I’m looking forward to the presentation this morning and hearing what has to be said as I get back to Parliament Hill in a couple weeks to earn my keep. Enjoy the morning and thanks for being here.”

Randy North, President of the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce spoke briefly about a new imitative the Chamber had undertaken. “In addition to helping new and existing businesses in the area, we opened a dialog recently with St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce too,” said North. “We attended event there two weeks ago, which has been successful. We’re trying to encourage a little bit more cross border traffic, cross border shopping, despite what’s going on in the United States right now.”

The floor was then turned over to the keynote speaker, Patrick Larose from BoostMe Marketing, who shared valuable insights on how businesses can increase visibility, generate leads, and drive meaningful engagement through the proper use of digital and social media marketing.

Larose brought up several key points as well as misconceptions many have on how social media actually works. He stressed that it was more important what you posted, than how much. “Please don’t compare yourself to a competitor, because they have a few more followers and you think that they’re going to get more reach than you,” said Larose. “That’s not how the algorithm works, and I’m going to tell you how it works.

“A lot of businesses I talk to still believe that if they have 5000 followers, that’s how many people see their posts. The way the algorithm actually works is, and we’ll use Facebook as an example, but they all work in the same way. They want users staying on their platform. And how do they connect? By constantly making sure that you get relevant, interesting information in front of you to keep you on that platform. So, if you leave, that’s not good for them, and that’s not good for the business. What they do is they deliver your content to, on average, less than one per cent of your following. It’s called a test market. If that market starts to engage with your content, then they start to deliver to more of your followers, and then so on and so on. This is where content becomes a really important component.”

In other words, you must give your audience a reason to want to listen to what you have to say, give them valuable information (educate them) or give them something that they enjoy watching or reading (entertain them).

Another key point Larose made was regarding AI (artificial intelligence.) “Am I educating people? Am I sharing information that they feel is interesting or am I just saying what I want to say to them,” asked Larose. “Putting a little bit of a strategy in place is going to help you in the long run, and I see it day in, day out, people just posting, just pushing stuff, and if you’re using AI to create images, I’m going to kick you on the way out.

“Do not use AI to create your images, because here’s what’s happening. Maybe some of you have already noticed this; organic, authentic content will win, hands down. I see businesses using AI to create content for them and there are spelling errors, they even use their image, and the AI has buffed their beard out of their face, and it looks awful, and right there, you’re jeopardizing the integrity of your business. Not taking enough time to actually create something, even if it’s a video, then how can I trust that you’re going to put the effort into whatever it is that you do?”

The topic was obviously something that the small business community was engaged with, and several questions were asked and answered during the Q and A at the end of the presentation.

With a full stomach and lots of things to consider, the meeting concluded, and Breakfast Connections once again proved its value in what it offers to the small business community.

For further information on Patrick Larose and BoostMe Marketing, you can visit their website at boostme.ca.