Vanessa LaClair, CMP is vice president of communications and marketing for @mpineny, and the event coordinator for IPPNY, a trade association in Albany, N.Y. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

You mean to say I can use these social media tools for business? They aren’t just random status updates? Wait! There are customizable privacy settings? It’s true!

I have been encouraging my local Meeting Professional International Chapter Northeastern New York (NENY) to use Twitter and Facebook. Unfortunately, it’s still a hard sell. Heeding advice from a Social Media session at the June 2009 Chapter Leadership Conference (#clc09) in Fort Worth, Texas, I decided to run with it and appointed myself the official Twitter and Facebook Admin for the Chapter. (This is also the session that encouraged me to open my own Twitter account.)

So what is all the fuss about? What is MPI NENY gaining from my decision? It is my ultimate goal to reach members and non-members alike involved in the meetings industry who may ignore the million emails they receive each day and see that this particular Chapter is viable and current!

Facebook – MPI NENY’s fan page allows me to post the entire event with a link to register, separate from the emailed invite. It’s becoming quite evident that messages are being lost in the email shuffle or just blocked as spam. This is one more way we can reach our current membership and potential leads and drive people to our new Web site!

Twitter – (@vlaclair/@mpineny) Benefits of this social media tool are member promotion, event dates, site locations, press announcements, changes to membership/board, leads, etc. in 140 words or less. Quick and concise!

MPI NENY can and will get noticed by using the social media tools available today, reaching a new audience of suppliers and planners alike, who use social media to search for and participate in upcoming events.