A standing-room-only crowd received a crash course yesterday from a former retailer on how to have "the mindset" to effectively use social media.

Gunnar Simonsen, former general manager of the Christian Supply Centers in the Pacific Northwest and now a social media consultant who has helped CBA take an active role in educating retailers on the technological trend, led the workshop called "New Marketing: Using Social Media to Market Your Store."

"I want to bring you up to speed on the different social media platforms," said Simonsen, who took a photograph of the crowd with his cell phone before the start of the workshop for his daughter in Oregon to see on Twitter, the wildly popular micro-blogging site. "It's really a mindset how you use social media, and how you can use these platforms effectively to impact your customers."

Besides Twitter, Simonsen presented an overview, statistics and pointers for effectively utilizing sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Wordpress. He encouraged retailers to start their own YouTube channel.

"I want you to go to all the (YouTube) channels of the (Christian) publishers and artists and sign up," said Simonsen, who also urged retailers to launch a Facebook site for their stores-besides a personal page. "Anytime they upload a video you'll be notified, and you can upload them on your store's Facebook page. ... It's great dialogue for your Facebook page. It's a resource that's not tapped at all."

Andrea Lovvorn, co-owner of New Covenant Christian Bookstore in Shelbyville, Tenn., attended the workshop with her daughters, Rebekah, 16, and Hannah, 19-who started a Facebook site for the store a few months ago.

"It wasn't overwhelming," she said. "I learned a lot, but it scares me because I don't have the time to spend (on social media). But we need to reach people. I plan to learn how to use Facebook."

Hannah, who noted that New Covenant now has 180 Facebook friends, added: "This workshop was really helpful for retailers like my mom."

Nate Richards, manager of Dickson's Bible & Book Store in Highland Park, Mich., a Detroit suburb, agreed. "This seminar was key for me," he said. "Since Mother's Day, our traffic has slowed, and I can't put my finger on it. I've got to figure out how to engage my customers. It costs me 40 to 50 cents to send (customers) a catalog, but social media can be free. Social media is a real solution to a traffic issue."

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