Another year, another award

For four years running Chamber Executive Director Daisy Scheske Freeman has brought home numerous awards as it pertains to Texas and state Chamber of Commerce recognition. All four of those years she has brought home first place in Social Media Campaigns from the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives (TCCE) Annual Excellence Awards.

Freeman has had an interest in social media since its debut.

"I have been fortunate enough to have been involved from the beginning," she said. "Facebook and Myspace evolved during my college years. I found it fascinating that I could reconnect and connect to people I knew so easily."

Since her college days, more social media programs have been created and Freeman has quickly learned the ins and outs of each new platform or application.

"I knew from the very beginning that social media would drastically change how we communicated. Whether it is from a casual conversation, news source or shopping, social media rules all," Freeman said.

It was once said in the chamber office, during a Come and Take It Committee meeting, "You know that Snapchat, that all the kids are on?" to which someone replied, "You mean, all the kids – and Daisy."

According to Freeman, social media is a 24/7 job.

"I kid you not, people are constantly interacting at different levels on different apps" Freeman said. "You have to constantly stay on top of what trends are going on and where they are going."

Freeman stays at the top of her social media campaign game through interaction and staying up to date on trends.

"If you are not interacting with your followers, they will not stick around," she said. “Many organizations or businesses will create a social media page and never use it. This actually does more harm than good."

Freeman's strategy for the coming year is the same as in years past: keeping up with the popular trends, interacting with followers, and networking with other social media gurus, like her colleague Ponce Duran, who works for Grapevine Chamber of Commerce

"He is one of many that I network with about social media trends and how to better what we currently have to promote our members,” Freeman noted. “Like I said before, with things constantly changing, you have to stay on top of it."

If you did not already know, by exhibit of excellence, Freeman loves her job and the collaborative environment she gets to experience every day with a diverse group. She enjoys being around positive people who are positive about the Gonzales Chamber and what the chamber is doing.

"My job is always changing and always evolving and I get a front row seat watching the process of a simple idea come to fruition," she said. "Every day is different and it is a constant adventure."