The City of Turlock joined forces with the Valley Sierra Small Business Development Center on Monday to host the first ever Small Business Social Media Summit at the Carnegie Arts Center. The three-hour event gave local business owners opportunities to network and expand their social media and online marketing skills.

Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak was in attendance and welcomed participants to the workshop.

“Turlock cares about our businesses,” she said. “We want you to thrive and we want to make sure that whatever you need, you get… I hope you all get a ton out of this.”

In her opening remarks, Bublak also stressed the fact that the summit, along with the other workshops planned for the future, can be beneficial for individuals at all levels of business, whether they are just starting out or if they have decades of experience.

“This isn’t to say that you’re a bad businessperson, this is saying ‘We want you to even better.’ Work on those things that you may say, ‘Oh, I can get by,’ Bublak said. “This is free to you because we made sure to put over $1.5 million into the community already. We are invested in you, we want you to make it, and we want to make sure you keep working towards a better business.”

Over 100 business owners from Turlock and the surrounding area received tips from fellow business owners and media experts Tiffany Phillips and Claudia Newcorn on how to use specific online platforms, balance time between business and social media management, identify online trends and implement marketing strategies.

The City of Turlock will look to continue hosting similar workshops in the future using additional funds granted to the city through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). In an interview last month, Turlock Economic Development Director Anthony Sims explained that the goal is to have at least three more workshops in the month of September.