Heeeeeeere we come! Lots of you have been asking about when we’re meeting next and here we go. A new year. A new venue. A new Board of Directors. Lots of good things happening at SMCHI and we want to help you kick off your 2013 with some professional insight useful to everyone – not only social media geeks.

Our first event for 2013 is sure to be a hit with professionals of all types.

LinkedIn is one of  the most actively used social network for busy professionals and one of its most powerful tools is LinkedIn Groups. Perhaps that is why there is over 1.5 Million LinkedIn Groups.

From managing a LinkedIn Group for a business or profession, or using LinkedIn Groups to further your career, our panel will present ways in which businesses and professionals can capitalize on LinkedIn Groups for their unique goals.

Matt DiGeronimo: Community Manager for Hawaii Business Magazine Network LinkedIn Group. With over 1,200 members since its inception in November 2010, this LinkedIn Group features professional discussions surrounding topics of interest to the Hawaii Business Magazine community of business owners, entreprenuers and senior-level professionals. Matt will provide insight into why a business would want to create a LinkedIn Group and how they’ve grown it over the last 3 years.

Sylvia Dahlby:   If you spend anytime on LinkedIn groups in Hawaii, you’ve probably run across Sylvia’s name. She’s a LinkedIn Group power member. Sylvia is a member of 45 LinkedIn Groups. She’ll share why she invests so much time in LinkedIn Groups and give tips and tricks for using LinkedIn Groups as a professional.

Dan Beeman Since starting in 2008, the Sponsorship Insights LinkedIn Group has grown to over 11,000 members from around the country. This group is an independent, community developed by Dan. Dan will discuss why he started his group and how he has managed to grow it so successfuly over the last 5 years.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you of the Social Media Club of Hawaii’s two LinkedIn Groups. We have an open group for everyone, ask questions, share insights and get information on the changing world of social media! Our SMCHI Public Group is here . We also have a Professionals-Only group for our paying members of SMCHI. We collaborate, share and discuss social media trends, stories and best practices in this space. If you’re a Small Business, Professional, Government or Student Member, join us here!

We’re looking forward to seeing you online AND in real life in 2013!