The City of Tehachapi Economic Development and Community Engagement departments hosted a standing-room-only presentation on "Social Media for Small Business" on Nov. 19 at the Tehachapi Police Department community room.

The capacity crowd listened to the presenters speak about the necessity of social media as part of a business plan, along with demographic information pertinent to Tehachapi audiences and valuable tips to make a social media presence more engaging with potential customers and clients.

"When we decided to host this event I felt there was a need for business owners who felt overwhelmed and confused by social media [and] the large gathering certainly confirmed that," said Corey Costelloe, Economic Development Coordinator for the City of Tehachapi. "Based on conversations I had with attendees, they left feeling motivated and capable of accomplishing social media goals for their businesses after our presentation."

Additional speakers included community engagement specialist Key Budge who shared some best practices and tips that he has used while building the social media platforms for the City of Tehachapi. Budge covered topics such as post scheduling, Facebook and Instagram integration, proper content gathering and audience insights. Also on hand were Amy Langston and Eddie Rivera, owners of Johnny's Take and Bake Pizza in Tehachapi. Johnny's has been rebranded thanks to the strong social media efforts of their team in the last two years. Their posts are entertaining, educational and oftentimes absent of any mention of sale, promotion or other traditional advertising methods. Through this strategy Johnny's has built a loyal brand following.

Businesses from the City of Tehachapi, the Greater Tehachapi area and Bakersfield attended the free event. A large variety of sectors were represented including restaurants, real estate, personal fitness, retail and many more.