Paul Norland of A Think Tank recently spoke at an Oakland Merchants' Leadership Summit and Oakland Grown Party.  The event showcased a variety of speakers from the local community, followed by a mixer with district leaders and other local economic and community leaders.  The speakers discussed strategies for strengthening local businesses through communication and collaboration. 

As an Oakland business owner and expert in social media, Paul was asked to head up a discussion on the value of social media as a community builder and local marketing tool.  With Facebook and Twitter leading the pack in the modern social media race, his talk covered all the important pathways to success when developing a social media plan.  Paul discussed the Facebook "Fan Page" as a great way to get started building an online presence and rapport with customers.  Twitter was also highlighted as a lively and effective method to share business news, specials, and events with the community.