COVID-19 - What You Need to Know TODAY April 14, 2020
Recent Updates that May Affect YOUR Business
IMPORTANT UPDATES
There has been a great deal of emphasis on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that is being administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA), and there should be. This program will be extremely helpful to our business community. There is another program that could be equally as helpful, it is administered through the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and it is called the Shared Work Program.

The Shared Work Program allows employers to supplement their employees’ lost wages due to reduced work hours with partial unemployment benefits. If an employer is forced to reduce normal weekly hours for employees in an affected unit by at least 10%, but not more than 40%, they may qualify. The reduction must affect at least 10% of the employees in that unit. For more information or to find out if you qualify, please CLICK HERE .

FEDERAL & STATE UPDATES FOR BUSINESS
Yesterday, Governor Greg Abbott announced small business support throughout the state. It’s a partnership with Goldman Sachs and its 10,000 Small Business program and LiftFund for $50 million in loans to small businesses impacted by COVID-19. These loans will be made through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). LiftFund, alongside other community development financial institutions will administer the funding to qualified small businesses. To learn more about this program, CLICK HERE .

WILLIAMSON COUNTY UPDATES
Williamson County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) initiated a pilot program called WilCo Wellness Check . This is designed to check-in on a family member, friend, acquaintance and/or any person who relies on another for support. WSCO has set up an email for those who may need a deputy to attempt to contact your loved ones or those you care for if you are unable to. For more information on this program, please CLICK HERE .

CITY OF CEDAR PARK
Have you had a chance to look at some of the local information on the City of Cedar Park’s COVID-19 website? It has recent updates, resources, general information and much more. To learn more about what is happening on a community level, CLICK HERE .
 
COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) EMERGENCY LOANS
The Cedar Park Small Business Assistance Program is designed to help our local small businesses during these uncertain economic times. The Cedar Park Chamber and City of Cedar Park have partnered on a robust program.  CEDAR PARK SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM CLICK HERE!

To learn more about SBA Loans - The U.S. Chamber has several guides available to you to help guide you through the decision-making process of your next steps. Please take a moment to look these over as you continue to make these tough decisions. All of these links and many more are available on the Chamber Website .
·          U.S. Chamber Guide to the Paycheck Protection Program
·          U.S. Chamber Guide to the Employee Retention Tax Credit
·          U.S. Chamber Guide to the SBA’s Economic Injury and Disaster Loan

IN CLOSING
Continue to inform yourself with good information. Whether you go to the Cedar Park Chamber website, or use one of the other trusted websites like the CDC’s, State of Texas Department of State Health Services, Williamson County or City of Cedar Park; utilize these sources to be well informed about what is happening in your community.

You can forward this newsletter to anybody you think would find value in this. They can sign up for the daily newsletter as well on our website. Please know we are here to help you. We are YOUR business advocate. Stay safe and let us know how we can help!



Tony Moline, IOM, PCED
President & CEO
Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce
SBA Loan Update with Mike Litton, Executive Vice President and Director of SBA Lending for R Bank
Mayor Corbin Van Arsdale
Addresses Cedar Park Businesses
State Representative John Bucy's
COVID-19 Message
You MUST register for this meeting! CLICK HERE to register
Digital Marketing Strategies
Top Twitter Tips and Tricks

This week are going to dive into Twitter and learn some tips and tricks about this social media platform. Many people do not use Twitter as much as they should but, it’s a great FREE tool that allows you share and promote your brand in seconds. Right now Twitter has 330 Million active monthly users and 145 million daily active users. As we have talked about multiple times in this series, know your demographic! Right now 63 % of Twitter users worldwide are actually between 35 and 65 years old. Also, Twitter is definitely used more by males, they clock in at 66% of twitter users.

1.Host a Twitter Chat!
Twitter Chat or TweetChats are a great way to engage followers, discuss a topic, and create a sense of community. It also is a great way to ask your audience for their opinions or input on something you’re working on. To host a Twitter Chat, you will need to choose a date, time, topic, and the most important part of the situation, create a hashtag for the chat. When doing this make sure to blast this information wherever you can, facebook, Instagram, website, and of course Twitter. This will help people follow along, respond, ask questions, and comment regarding your top of choice by searching for that unique hashtag. Twitter Chats promote interaction and engagement to your profile and get people talking about your brand. It also creates a personal experience between you and your audience.

2.Advertise on Twitter
Advertising with Twitter is great because this will make your tweet easily discoverable by thousands of people, helping you increase your influence and following. There are two different types of advertising through Twitter, Promoted Tweets and Twitter Ads.
  • Promoted Tweets: This function makes your tweet appear in the Twitter streams or search results of specific targeted users. This is a great option for you if you are looking to get a more people on a specific webpage.
  • Twitter Ads: This is a great option if you are using multiple tweets to achieve the same goal for your business. This is for growing your base following and brand awareness.