The International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) will feature several social-media sessions later this month. CBA's marquee summer event will be held June 23-26 at the America's Center Convention Complex in St. Louis.

In the workshop "Marketing: Technology Tools and Trends," presenters Gunnar Simonsen and Chris Rainey will help retailers learn what technologies and social media their customers are using so that they can connect with consumers effectively. Simonsen, director of Potizo Solutions, and Rainey, formerly Kerusso's vice president of marketing, will share how smartphones, social media, e-marketing and store experience can come together to make stores stand out from the crowd. The workshop will be held 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 25.

Simonsen—formerly general manager of the Christian Supply Centers in the Pacific Northwest—is also conducting five social-media roundtables in the hospitality suite of Bridgestone Multimedia Group (BMG), in room #122 of the convention complex. Each free-of-charge roundtable will only have eight spots available.

The roundtables include: "Turn Your Smart Phone Into an Effective Marketing Tool," 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Monday, June 24; "Understanding Twitter (Unlocking Frozen Perceptions, Unlocking the Potential)," 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Monday, June 24 and 9 a.m.-10 a.m. Wednesday, June 26; and "Driving Facebook (Content, Community, Adspend)," 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday, June 24 and 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 26.

"I definitely think and hope these smaller roundtables can help connect retailers in a whole new way," Simonsen told Christian Retailing. "The seats are extremely limited, but it will give it a nice ratio of people to connect with. If two retailers came to this and walked away being better connected with each other, not based on common challenges, but rather common opportunities, that would be awesome."

Simonsen recently wrote an e-book called Strategistics: How to Architect Your Message for Viral Success.

"I believe to best drive success online, one must nurture relationships offline," he said. "If we can help that happen amidst whatever topics we plan to discuss, then I would very happy. Remember without the social in social media, media is just a monologue."

Visit gobmgsocialmedia.eventbrite.com for more information on the roundtables.

For more information on simonsen, visit www.GunnarSpeaks.com.

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