Nate Riggs: Social Business Strategies; communication, social web strategies, & passion in Columbus, Ohio.

I was humbled when Michael Bowers asked me to be a part of this year’s Ohio Growth Summit.  I like sharing ideas and I especially like getting to build and moderate panel discussions.  Expert panels.  balance different perspectives on the same subject and are much more conversational.  When the discussion is focused on how small business owners can use social media to communicate, it’s important to have a variety of different stories to tell.

I’m proud to introduce to you some of Columbus Ohio’s most talented thought leaders in social media communication.  What’s most important is that these folks are all practitioners and entrepreneurs, using these tools to achieve their business objectives. Their stories are inspiring, and hopefully hearing them will help you spark ideas on how you can use new media tools to drive your business.

Angela Siefer envisions a world in which all members of society have the tools and the resources to use the Internet for the betterment of themselves and their communities. Angela’s MA in Sociology, her geeky interest in technology and her tendency toward overachieving make for one empire building social networking entrepreneur.  I wanted Angela to be on this panel because she has built her business using social media tools to communicate with her clients, partners and prospects.  We have a lot to learn from her story.

Lewis Howes is the co-author of LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Professional Networking Website, and the author of the online newsletter, Sports Networker, where he draws from his experience, knowledge and contacts as a professional football player.  I met Lewis in 2008 through our mutual friend, Jim Coe.  Lewis has done some amazing things in terms of using social media to draw thousands of people to networking events across the country. He and Frank Agin launch their new book.

Cheryl Harrison is a Marketing and Public Relations Specialist at Sync Creative and a recent graduate of Capital University with a B.A. in Public Relations, minors in Political Science and Journalism.  I met Cheryl through Twitter while looking for interns to work with People To My Site. I knew this young shining star was going to make an impact in the social media culture of Columbus.  Cheryl has been using social media tools to build her professional network, find everything from internships to customers to jobs. She used her blog and Twitter to develop her “Fast Friends” concept, which is in my mind is a genius B-to-B application of social technology.

The first time I met Alaina Sheer in person, she tossed me the keys to her Ford Fiesta and said “Here, you want to take it for a spin?”.  (Alaina used social media to grab one of the 50 agent spots in the Ford Fiesta Movement).  When she started her blog about being a dating single mother in September of 2007 Alaina Sheer had no idea her words would soon be read by over 20,000 unique visitors a month. Her blog, Ms. Single Mama: Musings on Dating, Life, Love & Motherhood, was recently listed as one of the Top 100 Must Read Blogs By Women by Blogtrepreneur.com and is now one of the most popular single mom blogs out there. She achieved all of this without spending a penny on advertising, and Alaina is a wonderful example finding success through blogging about your passion.

I’m grateful that all of these fine people will take time on Wednesday to join in our discussion.  Will you join too?