This Friday, we’re featuring @Scrantonsbdc, the Twitter handle of The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center, as our #FF. Scranton SBDC works to grow the economy of Northeastern Pennsylvania by providing entrepreneurs with the education, information and tools necessary to build successful businesses.The Scranton SBDC is one of 18 Small Business Development Centers in the state of Pennsylvania. The Center assists people in starting their business and works with existing business owners in areas where they may lack experience, such as marketing, accounting & recordkeeping, dealing with employee issues, etc. They also provide educational programming (seminars & workshops) for small business owners.We follow @Scrantonsbdc because we get some of the best Northeastern Pennsylvania updates from the SBDC handle. Much of the information that they tweet relates to the communities in and around the areas in which we drill for natural gas. Because we care about the livelihood and successes of those small communities, we support the efforts of SBDC and enjoy reading their tweets to the area.@Scrantonsbdc is great to follow if you’re looking to start a small business in the area (obviously.) We say this because they constantly update followers with articles about small business growth and start up as well as inspirational success-stories and resources for networking. We can remember when we were just a small company, and we love to see businesses thrive in these economic times.We love @Scrantonsbdc because they realize the importance of Twitter and other social media platforms in starting and growing a small business. In the past, the Center has tweeted links to videos and articles pertaining to the professional development skill that is social media management.Q & A with @ScrantonsbdcWe spoke with Keith Yurgosky, the Manager of the Internet Business at the University of Scranton Small Business Development Center. He and Lisa Hall, Director of the Center, are responsible for the Twitter content but the entire staff of small business counselors (six in all) chime in to keep those tweets rolling.Q: For how long has @scrantonsbdc been tweeting? We have been tweeting since 2009. We usually get our followers (914) by tweeting or retweeting information that is useful to small business owners or about local events in our 8 county service area of Northeastern Pennsylvania.Q: Your Twitter account says that you “provide entrepreneurs with the education, information and tools necessary to build successful businesses.” How does that statement relate to natural gas usage? Since the drilling has begun in the Marcellus Shale region, there has been a lot of small business activity as a result. We work with these businesses to start, grow and prosper. In fact we did a workshop with Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation back in October 2011 in Montrose, Pa., discussing business opportunities as a result of the Marcellus Shale drilling. Q: How do you find and manage the content that you post on Twitter? Typically we tweet information that we post on our blog and link back to it. Or we retweet info from other SBDC’s that we think is useful to our small business followers.Q: How has Twitter helped you to connect with small business owners and natural gas industry leaders? Everyone one is on Twitter these days and it is becoming very easy to reach out. Our center works with small businesses that lack a big marketing budget, so we encourage them to use Twitter as a marketing tool to spread the message of their product and services. Also, because the drilling of Marcellus Shale is a hot button issue for a lot of people it helps us to stay current on developments in the industry as well.Q: Anything else that you’d like to add? Just that our services are free and confidential. Our Center is funded by the Small Business Administration (federal), the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (State) and The University of Scranton. Visit us at www.scrantonsbdc.com.
Bill serves as an External Affairs Coordinator for Coterra Energy. He is focused on building community knowledge and support for the organization and industry at large.
Before his time with Coterra Energy, Bill was the original Field Director for Energy in Depth’s Northeast Marcellus campaign. Within this two-year position, Bill worked to engage, educate, and mobilize supporters of Marcellus Shale development across New York and Pennsylvania. Bill received his B.S. in Management, a B.A. in History, and an MBA from Misericordia University.