The Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce’s new education program, “Moving Beyond the Marketing Monologue: The Conversation of Social Media,” will be held Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room at Miles Memorial Hospital.

Christine Henson, Marketing and Communications Officer at Lincoln County Healthcare, will discuss how to incorporate social media into your marketing strategy. Properly leveraged, today’s social media landscape has the potential to host the most intimate (and public) conversations a company can have with its existing and potential customers. This presentation will cover how to use tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other Internet vehicles to manage this impact strategically for intended results.

This program will explore how social media can both supercharge and re-define traditional approaches in advertising, public relations, customer service and quality management when combined with “good old fashioned” practices like quick response, transparent promotion, and customer endorsement. The concept of storytelling to define brand will be paramount to the discussion. Key concepts for successful social engagement, active listening, and measuring results will also be covered.

Henson is a graduate of the Maine College of Art with high honors where she was awarded the Payson Merit Scholarship in 1994. She has worked for several major corporations in a variety of industries to deliver both traditional and online marketing strategies and visual branding solutions that move businesses forward with defined style and effective communication.

The focus of her career has been to empower companies to clearly realize their brand objectives and create communication pieces that extend those defined goals for both internal and external audiences. A recipient of the 2001 Women in Technology Award, Staffing Division, Henson has led corporate engagements with Microsoft and other solution providers to identify opportunity and drive strategic change in the businesses she has worked for.

Raised in Vermont and educated in Maine, Henson recently moved back to the Damariscotta region after living in New York for the majority of her career. She now lives in Bremen, and enjoys the outdoors, gardening, cooking and handcrafts.

“We are so pleased to be able to bring business-focused education programming to the Damariscotta Region,” Chamber President Marva Nesbit said. “This was the number one topic requested when we surveyed our members last year, so we are confident this will meet a real business need in our communities.”

Thanks to the generous support of sponsor Lincoln County Healthcare, this education program will be free to members of the Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce; the fee for non-members is $35. Due to space limitations, advanced registration is required.

To register or for further information, contact the Chamber office at 207-563-8340 or info@damariscottaregion.com.