Hoyer Attends Workshop Hosted by Yelp and the Maryland Small Business Technology and Development Center

Press Release

Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) attended a Success With Online Reviews workshop hosted by Yelp and the Maryland Small Business Technology and Development Center (SBTDC) at the College of Southern Maryland, Prince Frederick Campus. Experts from Yelp were on hand to show business owners how to successfully navigate Yelp's website and improve their business's online presence. This is the third event Congressman Hoyer has attended to help businesses grow their online presence. He previously attended small business workshops hosted by Facebook in La Plata and Google in Largo.

"I was pleased to see so many Fifth District business owners attend today's workshop to hear from one of Silicon Valley's most innovative businesses on how to help their business grow right here in Maryland," stated Congressman Hoyer. "Yelp representatives spoke about how businesses can use their service to solicit reviews from customers, advertize locally, and grow their brand and reputation to attract more business. Yelp has become a successful tool for businesses because many Americans already use it and know they can trust Yelp reviews from their friends and neighbors."

"As the internet becomes more and more central to commerce, businesses large and small will have to adapt and keep up with the latest in tech trends in order to compete," continued Congressman Hoyer. "I want to make sure that Southern Maryland businesses have the tools they need to do so. That's why I've been working to connect our local businesses with online resources, including Google and Facebook, to help them make use of new technologies and expand their customer base. An astonishing 97% of internet users look online to find local products and services -- but here in Maryland, fewer than half of local businesses have an online presence. Companies like Yelp can assist in raising that number, which is critical, since small businesses are the number one driver of local economies."

Yelp, which was founded in 2004, assists consumers with finding quality, reliable small businesses by providing users with authentic, informative customer reviews. Since its founding, Yelp has grown from a tiny start-up to a multi-national public company with 2,000 employees. They currently average 138 million monthly unique visitors who have written over 61 million local reviews.

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