THE BEDFORD BANNER  
                                                                                       February 2019

In This Issue
Annual Dinner & Celebration
Raising Your Profile
Women in Business Round Table
Marketing For Your Small Business
Leadership Luncheon
From the Chamber Office
Top 5 Instagram Marketing Trends for 2019
Who Wants to Be on TV?
Chamber Calendar
Follow us on Facebook
Join Us Our Annual Dinner
 & Celebration of the
Chamber Award Winners
The Bedford Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner & Celebration
February 13, 2019
Doubletree Bedford Glen Hotel
 
6-9- PM
 
$60.00 per person
 
Business of the Year
Instrumentation Laboratory
 
Business Person of the Year
Julie McCay Turner - The Bedford Citizen
 
Diversity Award
Callahan's  Karate
 
Outstanding Service to the Chamber
Josh Franklin - Merrill Lynch
 
Outstanding Service to the Community
Jeff Hoyland
 
Ray of Hope
Miriana Bianco-Spencer
 
 
Guest Speaker
Massachusetts Superior Court Judge
William Barrett

  
     Are you interested in raising your profile 
around town?

 Getting involved with the Chamber is a great way to show your customers and clients that you are committed to the community. We can always use help on our events and committees, including:
  • Vision Committee - help set the direction of the Chamber 
  • Flavors of Bedford - our signature food-tasting event
  • Membership - share the value of the Chamber with others
  • Summer or Winter Walkabout - increasing participation every year by residents and businesses
  • Advocacy - help give businesses a voice with the Planning Board, the Selectmen and the town's Economic Development team
  • Bedford Community Partnership - attend this once-a-month meeting of organizations and departments from around town to know what's going on



Women In Business Round Table
Location:
Aloft Hotel
727 Marrett Road
Lexington, MA  02421
Date/Time Information:
February 12, 2019
8:00- 9:00 AM
Fees/Admission:
Free for Members
Non-Members $10

The Lexington & Bedford Chamber of Commerce with the generous support of Lester E. Savage/Berkshire Hathaway & Aloft/Elements Hotel present the Women-in-Business Series.  This event series includes a segment of around-the-table introductions followed by a featured guest speaker.  In addition to facilitated professional networking, the series places a particular emphasis on learning from one another and sharing work experiences in a friendly, open environment. This event will include admission, light breakfast and coffee.
 
At the February 12th event, we will hear remarks from Shira Springer, Sports and Society Reporter. 
Shira covers stories at the intersection of sports and society. Since joining WBUR in 2016, she has focused on features where the sports world overlaps with politics, culture, business, medicine, gender and race.
As a Boston Globe staff writer for almost 20 years, Shira reported on all four major Boston professional teams, the NBA Finals, the World Series, the Olympics and the Boston Marathon. She served as the Globe's Celtics beat writer for seven years, then worked as an investigative/enterprise reporter, Olympic columnist and women's sports columnist. At the Globe, she won national awards for investigative sports journalism and feature writing.

Shira wrote about the 1936 Berlin Olympics for the New York Times bestseller "Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History" (2018, Twelve/Hachette Book Group). She also contributed to the essay collection "Our Boston: Writers Celebrate the City They Love" (2013, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). She currently writes regular columns on women's sports for the Globe and the SportsBusiness Journal.

Shira graduated from Harvard with honors and ran for the school's cross-country and track teams.

 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Marketing for Your Small Business
 

 
Check out our Small Business Marketing classes!
 
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Optimize Your Business Website
  • Digital Media Marketing
  • Entrepreneurship: Practical Steps for Starting a Small Business
  • Creating Marketing Materials for Your Business
  • Strategic Branding
  • Social Media Certificate
  • Intro to WordPress
 
Enrolling Now! Classes run February - May
Middlesex Community College | 1-800-818-3434 | Contact Us | 

 

Leadership Luncheon 
  THE IDEA OF YOU: A framework for CLARITY of self
Our Leadership Lunch brings unique value to business owners and managers by providing a speaker each and a round-table discussion This round-table series will provide the environment to do so with our monthly educational talks, and the ability for your to learn from your peers.
 
Format for the meeting is:
brief networking
lunch/seminar at the same time

 March 20
Waxy O'Connors
94 Hartwell Road
Lexington, MA
Date/Time Information:
11:30-1:00 PM

 THE IDEA OF YOU: A framework for CLARITY of self

Do you know what you want? Do you know where you are going? Many times we struggle with our current situation and yet we do not know how to change it. Why? We simply don't know what we want, let alone how to get there. The IDEA OF YOU is a framework that guides you, layer by layer, through the exploration of who you TRULY are, what you are uniquely designed to do in this world, and how to design the life and work you desire.

Speaker: Dolores Hirschmann, ACC, CPCC is an internationally recognized strategist, coach, speaker,T TEDxOrganizer, and author.
 
She has over 20 years experience in helping clients realize their potential through clarifying their vision, message, and market to design the strategies and road maps needed to succeed. Utilizing her extensive background in strategic planning, pitch and message design, marketing and communications, executive coaching, event planning and speaker coaching-- Dolores founded Masters in Clarity, a Strategy & Coaching boutique practice where she and her team work with CEOs, Founders, Thought Leaders, Speakers, and Entrepreneurs by guiding them through the Clarity of vision,message and market and developing the strategies and initiatives needed for their next level of growth.

Registration is $20 which includes lunch provided by Waxy O'Connor's Irish Pub!  
Register today by clicking here

From the Chamber Office
 

Is your Business looking for volunteer opportunities for your employees?

Click HERE  for a list of organizations that need help, Certificates of Achievements are provided to all Chamber business members along with photo ops and social media outreach. An optional short video showing your employees doing the volunteer work can be added.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Executive Director Maureen Sullivan took a vacation to Bonita Springs in January and visited the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce.  President & CEO Tiffany Esposito shared some insight into what makes their Chamber tick.  Representing two counties, they have a staff of 6 who manage over 100 events a years and service 800 members. Needless to say, they are lot bigger than our Chamber but as Sullivan said "Chambers are all in it together and what works there- works here and vice versa. It's all about promoting your businesses and connecting people."







             Top 5 Instagram Marketing Trends for 2019

By Taylor Loren
W ondering what the big Instagram marketing trends for 2019 will be?
From Instagram Stories stickers to "nano-influencers," these predictions will help you know what to focus on in 2019, where the industry is headed, and how you can improve your Instagram skills for the year ahead.
#1: Instagram Engagement Moves from Likes to Stickers
There's one thing every business on Instagram has in common: the desire to increase Instagram engagement.  The combination of  Instagram users following more accounts, watching more stories, and the Instagram algorithm prioritizing personal content has meant that regular Instagram feed posts simply aren't getting seen as much as they used to.  And when you get less impressions on your posts, you're likely to see a decrease in engagement too. Engagement on Instagram feed posts has been steadily declining  for a couple years now, and in 2019   it's time to change your definition of "Instagram engagement" and focus on engaging with your followers through Instagram Stories instead of just your regular feed posts.
 #2: In fluencers Get More Authentic
Expect "authenticity" to become a big Instagram marketing "trend" in 2019. The days of perfectly posed Instagram posts, overly edited photos, and Instagram bot comments are over, making way for more genuine experiences and authentic relationships. 
2018 saw the rise of a new breed of Instagram influencers focused on authenticity, like the body positive 
Jenna Kutcher who  gained over half a million followers in one year , growing from 166k to 700k+ without ever paying for a single follower.   Kutcher's authentic approach to Instagram marketing includes sharing her fertility struggles, personal finance figures, and yes, even posting photos of herself in her underwear (she recently became an Aerie model, after all!).
 #3: It's All About Micro Influencers (and Micro Brands)
Bigger isn't always better when it comes to Instagram marketing, a reality that many popular influencers face now that brands are preferring to work with micro-influencers  (accounts that have less than 100,000 followers).  Nowadays, it seems like everyone (including kids)  wants to be an influencer, and in 2019 you might get your chance.  "Nano-influencers"  are on the rise,  as brands are choosing to work with average use rs,  with as little as 1000 followers, on sponsored posts and brand campaigns.
#4: Tracking ROI From Instagram
The biggest Instagram trend of 2019 isn't the sexiest, but it is the most useful (and potentially controversial). Last year, we saw a huge change at Instagram as the founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger left the company.  You may not have always agreed with their vision for Instagram, but they did have a very specific vision for what they wanted Instagram to be for the world: simple.  In 2019, the simplicity of Instagram will fade away as it inevitably becomes more like Facebook . The new Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri was formerly Facebook's VP of Product, and we're sure to see major changes that will help businesses market and sell products easier.
 #5: The Rise of Dark Social & Instagram Direct
"Dark Social" may sound like an ominous villain, but in reality it's just referring to social media that we can't track because it's private, like links or posts shared in direct messages. In  2018, we saw a huge improvement to Instagram Direct, with the addition of gifs and video chat, and the app has transformed from simple one-on-one texting to a robust group chat platform. Now it seems like people are not only actually using the feature, but it's becoming a popular alternative to Messenger and WhatsApp, too.

Taylor Loren is the Head of Marketing at Later. She was named a LinkedIn Top Voice for social media marketing, and you can follow her on Instagram at @taylor.loren for more Instagram tips.

WHO WANTS TO BE ON TV? 


We are so excited to offer our members       a monthly show called CHAMBER CONNECTIONS .  In addition to promoting our events/activities, Chamber members will be interviewed providing great exposure for their business. The show will be broadcast on Public channel and also through their website.  Contact the Chamber if you are interested in learning more.
 

Check out your fellow Chamber members  
 
Yoga Nova
 
Bedford Pediatrics 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
_________________________________________________________________
CHAMBER CALENDAR

February 9
Let it Go!
Shred It Day
3 Isabella lane
Bedford. MA
9:00 AM - Noon



February 12
Women In Business
Aloft Hotel
727 Marrett Road
Lexington, MA
8:00 AM


February 13
Chamber Annual Dinner & Celebration
DoubleTree Bedford
Glen Hotel
44 Middlesex Turnpike
Bedford, MA 01730
6:00 PM
Guest Speaker
Judge William Barrett


February 14
Board of Directors Meeting
Town Center Shawsheen Room
7:30 AM

March 1 & 2
Fire & Ice
Doubletree Bedford Glen Hotel
44 Middlesex Tpke
Bedford, MA
6:00 PM
$20.00 per person

March 20
Leadership Luncheon
THE IDEA OF YOU: A framework for CLARITY of self
Waxy O'Connors
Hartwell Road
Lexington, MA
11:30 AM
$20.00
includes lunch
 
Welcome to New Members

19A Crosby Drive
Suite 100
Bedford, MA, 01730
(781) 315-6700
 
Law Office of Rebecca G. Neale
133 Great Rd  
Suite 201
Bedford, MA  
(781) 499-2016

 
2019 CHAMBER
MEMBERS

 
AFC Urgent Care
AMETEK INC.
Atlantic Capital
Baldwin Insurance
Barre 3
Barrett Sotherby's Realty
Baudanza Electric
Bedford Car Wash
Bedford Childrens Center
Bedford Citizen
Bedford Dental Associates
Bedford Family Connection
Bedford Florist
Bedford Funeral Home

Bedford Historical Society
Bedford Pediatrics
Bedford Research Foundation
Bernardo Faria Academy
Bernstein Development LLC

Brightview  Concord River
Brown & Brown, P.C.

Buono Pest Control
Callahan's Karate Studio
Cambridge Savings Bank
Carlton & Duran, CPAs
Carlton Willard Village
Chestnut Dental
CouponSurfer.com
Daydreamers Consulting
Design 1 Kitchen & Bath
Diane Bridgeman, DDS
Davidson Law
Dsousa Electric
Doyon's
DSA Printing
EDCO Collaborative
Edward Jones Investments
EMD Millipore
Enterprise Bank

Express Pizza
First Parish Church
Formulatrix, Inc.

Fujifilm Microdisks
Great Meadow Dental
Great Road Gallery & Framing
Hanscom Federal Credit Union
Harold Nichols Insurance
Holi
Huntington Tax Partners
Instrumentation Labs
Ken's NY Deli
Leary Auto
L exington Symphony
Live Life Well
Mead Brothers
Merrill Lynch
Middlesex Community College
Middlesex Savings Bank
Organix Spa
New England Nurseries
Primrose School
Red Heat Tavern
Salem Five
Salon OZ
Sean Tierney Construction
St. Michael's Parish Center
Suzanne & Co.
TD Banknorth
Techex
The Armed Forces Retirees
The Goddard School
The Spencer Group
Yoga Nova
 

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