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Chamber Blog

Keeping our members informed on the region, best business practices, and marketing. The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce is now accepting articles from members to post as blogs on the Chamber’s website. These should contain useful information relevant to your industry and might solve a problem member companies may be having or alert members to and describe a new trend. You will get by-line credit for writing the article and we encourage you to include a brief bio about yourself and your business or organization. These are not intended to be a sales pitch. All articles must be approved by the Chamber staff before they are posted to the website. Depending on the number of submissions, we reserve the right to schedule articles for later postings. If you have questions or would like to submit an article contact Nick Sharps at nick@garrettchamber.com or (301) 387-5237.
Monday, October 2, 2023
A Solid Tip for Getting More Bang for Your Marketing Buck

Do you have a limited marketing budget? Do you think what you can accomplish with your budget is less than ideal because you don’t have the money of a large company? While that may seem true, there is one thing you can do to really move the dial and maximize your small marketing budget. Sure, there are many ways to get “free” marketing through social media and growing your referral network but using funds in a targeted way can have a huge impact on obtaining more customers and showing the community who you

Christina R. Metcalf

Monday, September 11, 2023
20 Reasons Why Chamber Membership Is One of the Best Business Investments Out There

Have you ever attended a chamber event? If you’re not a member, you’re missing out. Before you think you don’t have the time to attend events, it’s important you know chamber life is not just mixers and ribbon cuttings. Chamber membership is one of the best-kept secrets for free or nearly free business resources like webinars, lunch & learns, and written collateral. Plus, a whole lot more. Chamber membership is one of the best business investments you can make for the money and return. Is Chamber Membership

Christina R. Metcalf

Monday, July 10, 2023
Is Threads Right for Your Business? (If you’re on Instagram, the answer is probably. And it’s easy to do)

Facebook err…Meta does it again. We have yet another social media platform to consider. Usually when advising businesses on whether they should participate on a social media platform, I ask them who their ideal client is and then we go by demographics. If your ideal customer is on the platform, go for it. If not, skip it—unless you just really enjoy being overextended in your posts and social media attention. But threads isn’t exactly a new platform. Well, it is technically. But if you have Instagram, it

Christina R. Metcalf

Monday, June 12, 2023
Gen Z Is Ditching the Traditional Search Engine. Is Your Business Ready?

Search is evolving and if your business targets Gen Z, paying to rank for certain keywords is about to lose some forward momentum. We’ll see this impact first among changing search patterns with early adopters, but AI is so easy to use, it will quickly catch up to the rest of the generations.

Christina R. Metcalf

Monday, November 21, 2022
US Chamber Advice for Small Businesses This Holiday Season

A new report from Intuit Quickbooks shows a unique opportunity for small businesses during Small Business Season. Based on survey results from 5,500 consumers and 1,500 businesses, consumers are planning to spend “over 40% of their holiday shopping budget at small businesses” — an estimated total of $88 billion! Because of this, the US Chamber suggests, “it’s the perfect time for small businesses to lean heavily into their holiday marketing campaigns and possibly even launch a new product in time for the

Christina Metcalf

Monday, September 12, 2022
Is It Time to Join Forces with Another Business?

As a child of the 80s, I remember the excitement when the Wonder Twins would join forces and utter those magical words “Wonder Twin powers activate!” Sure, there were often comical results but both characters used their strengths to save the day. The same is happening with business these days. We’re seeing a lot of it among big brands, unlikely partnerships to sell additional products or services. Some of them are umbrella situations where the companies are owned by the same parent organization, but others

Christina Metcalf

Monday, August 15, 2022
What’s Your Biggest Marketing Challenge?

When a business operator finally decides they need someone focused on their marketing, and they resolve to hire for the position, it usually goes something like this: “This position will be in charge of posting to our social media channels.” But if that’s all you’re doing, you can put that in the hands of the nearest thirteen-year-old. If you’re contemplating stepping up your business marketing, you need more than a scheduler. You need someone who understands the different kinds of marketing, your audience,

Christina Metcalf

Monday, May 16, 2022
6 Ways to Make Your Business Stand Out During a Local Event

Does your town host a Wine Walk, Holiday Stroll, First Friday, or other downtown event where they close off streets and encourage people to get out and support business? If so, you may know that those events often bring the crowds but also bring “tire kickers,” people who are just out for a stroll, not really interested in what you sell. They’re just going into each business, poking around, and usually leaving empty handed. The hard part of that is that you likely brought in full staff to ensure you had

Christina R. Metcalf

Monday, April 25, 2022
20 Ways to Celebrate National Holidays

All in, there are almost 2000 national days and holidays in the US. In May, for example there are days celebrating: orange juice, truffles, nurses, shrimp, wine, walnuts, hamburgers, paper airplanes, paperclips, and more! If you’re like me, you may find them hard to keep up with, but they can be a great source of engagement for your business. You just have to know how to use them for maximum return and get a little creative. Celebrating these days serves to connect your audience with your business so make

Christina R. Metcalf and Nick Sharps

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