• Rutherford-County Interacting
  A Local Facebook Success

• by Chris Fuller
  photo by Sunny Griffis

  
  
  A drive down US-74 in Forest City will give anyone a good idea of how big a part of our community Facebook has become. The decision to locate their data center in Rutherford County has had a huge impact. However, Facebook can benefit communities in other ways as well. A prime example of that benefit is Rutherford County Interacting.
• Launched by Bostic resident Marsha Daves, the Rutherford County Interacting page on Facebook has grown from a small beginning to boast nearly five thousand followers, with more signing on every day. Those who follow the page can post items for sale or items wanted, homes for rent, requests for information, job openings and needs, prayer requests, as well as details of upcoming community events, school functions, yard sales, and other items of community interest.
• When she started Rutherford County Interacting, Marsha had no idea that the page would become as busy as it has. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever figure this would become as big as it has,” she says. “When I started the page on June 1st, I would have been thrilled to have 300 followers. I never would have expected there would be this many.”
• Like a lot of other people, Marsha found herself traveling outside the county to do her shopping, but she would have preferred to keep her business local. “It seemed like there really was a lot to offer in Rutherford County, but a lot of people just didn’t know what was out there,” she says. “After I became a bit more involved with things going on around the county, I realized that I could have done all that shopping right here.” Marsha thought that if she didn’t know what was available, others might be in the same situation, which led her to launch Rutherford County Interacting. “I felt like there was a real need, so I decided to start this page, just to see what would become of it.”
• From what she’s seen, more people are using what they find on Rutherford County Interacting to do more of their spending locally and keep those dollars within the county. “It’s not only people changing their shopping, but also finding local entertainment for their families,” Marsha says. “For a small community, I think we have an amazing amount of activities available, and a lot of it is free or very inexpensive.”
• Local businesses who participate on the page have seen definite results, according to Marsha. “A local employment agency which posts job openings on the page has told me that a large number of their applicants said they learned about the job through Rutherford County Interacting,” she says. “Also, some of the merchants who post special offers on the page have told me that they quickly start receiving calls for more information, often within just 15-20 minutes.”

The success of Rutherford County Interacting led Marsha to organize an event to showcase local merchants and restaurants. The Rutherford County Interacting Small Business Expo will provide an opportunity for county residents to learn more about the wide variety of goods and services that are available locally. It will be held on Saturday, January 21, in the Gymnasium at Isothermal Community College in Spindale, from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM. The Expo will feature door prizes, food samples, coupons, a restaurant "Cook-Off" as well as an amateur cooking competition, performances by local groups, and displays of student art work. Best of all, admission is FREE. Attendees are asked to bring non-perishable food items, which will be donated to local food banks following the event.

 

To learn more about the Rutherford County Interacting phenomenon, visit them on Facebook, friend them, and receive periodic updates. For more information about the Rutherford County Interacting Small Business Expo, send Marsha a Facebook message via the Rutherford-County Interacting page.

 

Update

The Expo turned out to be a huge success!
Congrats Marsha!