Natchez merchants, hoteliers, restaurateurs, bed and breakfast operators, and anyone else who is interested in making their way into the mainstream of electronic marketing, is invited to attend a free seminar titled “How to brand through social media,” at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Jaci Russo, senior partner of The Russo Group, a Lafayette, La., based advertising and marketing firm, has 16 years of branding experience on a national and regional level, and brings that branding experience into the social media arena.

Jaci will present a two-hour program on how to get into electronic marketing and what it can do for your business.

The most commonly known social networking platforms are MySpace and Facebook, but there are a number of others coming on strong in the social networking world. Twitter, Digg and Socializr are climbing their way up the social networking ladder, and others are coming online daily. For obvious reasons, it’s simply a great way to connect.

Social media is not advertising, nor is it about selling a product or service. It’s about conversation and connects people together to share experiences, opinions, ideas and so forth.

Through the connections you establish, ongoing relationships develop with people around the globe that become a part of your realm, that have dozens if not hundreds of people in their realm.

What this means to your business is invaluable “word of mouth” promotion.

Imagine a Facebook conversation between two women, one of whom just spent a weekend in Natchez with her husband.

She beams about the wonderful dinner they had at Monmouth and boasts about the incredible view of the river from the porch of the cottage they booked at A Sunset View Bed and Breakfast.

She goes on to talk about the fudge she bought at Darby’s and the carriage ride through the historic district. And every word is viewed by the 97 “friends” that each of them has connected to their site. And that is just a drop in the bucket of what e-marketing can do.

If you are the least bit curious about blogging, social networking, viral marketing, Web sites or branding, then we encourage you to attend this free seminar. Registration is necessary, so please call the Natchez Visitor Center at 601-446-6345 to register no later than Friday.

Space is already filling up, and if the 9:30 session fills up, there will be a second presentation Monday afternoon at 1:30 so that everyone has an opportunity to attend.

Sally Durkin is the publicity director for the Natchez Convention & Visitors Bureau.