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FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- Experts have stated that social media...like Facebook and Twitter...are essential to successful businesses.

The Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce held a "Social Media Boot Camp" on Tuesday at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center on Tuesday morning.

Mark Cohen, Founder of Colloquy Digital in Fairfield, spoke to the group about the evolving social and digital media environment.

The message on Tuesday: utilize this media to its full potential.

"Tweet what you've developed a strategy to tweet about. Post things on Facebook that are relevant to your customers, that are relevant to your followers. And it's not a matter of just another way to throw a sales pitch out there," said Brent Willett, the Executive Director of the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Small business owners, marketing managers, and entrepreneurs were among the attendees taking part in the tutorial.

"10-year-old kids can use these tools and corporate executives can use these tools. And really it's a matter of developing a strategy, a communications strategy, and understanding that these tools are part of a larger communications marketing strategy," Willett said.

He added that these social media tools and technologies are essential to master in today's rapidly expanding digital media landscape.

"There's something like 500 million users on Facebook now. Last year, more than a trillion emails across the globe...so it's obviously something that we ought to be paying attention to," Willett said.