CLAY COUNTY – The county’s tourism department is offering a one-of-a-kind marketing workshop next week free of charge to all business owners.

Marketing is an important aspect of owning a business, but it’s a facet that’s become increasingly important in light of COVID-19. Traditional marketing doesn’t work the same way it used to, and businesses have had to shift to a more pandemic-in-mind approach. This workshop was created to fill those gaps.

“One of our tourism development council members, Pat Sickles from the River Park Inn, requested that we provide a program showing businesses not only what we’re doing but how best businesses can tap into the county’s tourism efforts,” said Clay County Director of Tourism Kimberly Morgan.

That’s exactly how the upcoming marketing workshop scheduled for 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 27 at the Thrasher-Horne conference center came to be. It’s free for everyone and registration begins at 1:30 p.m. before the workshop begins at 2 p.m.

Morgan said the goal is to educate of the possible platforms available to owners.

“Marketing is kind of like alphabet soup these days…there are so many different things to think about and each of them are just as important as the next,” Morgan said. “With small businesses owners being more time-starved than ever before, digital marketing is a way to stretch their budget. The agency we contacted for this event, Evok Advertising, is going to come in and walk people through digital marketing, what it is and how to make it work for them and their specific needs.”

She said the workshop will be recorded for those who miss the workshop or aren’t yet comfortable with in-person events, although Morgan said the event will be socially-distanced and follow CDC guidelines. She said different Evok team members will be dialing in their specific specializations, be it search engine optimization, Google, social media or something else. The county’s Evok account executive, Allison Braunstein, will be at the event to present what she knows.

“They’re the people watching the trends, making sure there is a return-of-investment, and noticing when to change media focus,” Morgan said. “The goal is to pass along that knowledge to our business owners here in Clay County.”