The Chat Shop Launches, Providing Accelerated Online Focus Group Scenarious For Local & National Businesses

Online, January 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Business owners and entrepreneurs who are skeptical about the power of the online conversation need only "sit in" on a conversation moderated by The Chat Shop to discover how powerful it really is.

The Chat Shop held their first Twitter "Chat" titled What's the Big DEAL? on Thursday, January 13th at 9pm EST. Their sponsored guest was Sandro Ore, founder and CEO of Knowtorious Deals, a Westchester, NY-based deal-a-day site which partners with local restaurants, cultural venues, spas, and stores to offer the public compelling discounts on products or services for an abbreviated window of time. There was one week of marketing the Chat online and encouraging Tweeters to RSVP on twtvite.com. The incentive for RSVPing was eligibility to win prizes throughout the hour-long chat. Prizes included $20 gift cards to The Melting Pot in White Plains, courtesy of CPR Media Services, $50 gift certificates to Zen Blue Spa in Scarsdale, and The Shoppers Totes.

Approximately 30 highly influential "Tweeters" joined in the Chat by following the hashtag #westchat, resulting in over 500 tweets, which generated 386,958 impressions and reached an audience of 73,641 followers within a 24-hour period.

"Overall, the feedback from the hosts and the participants has been overwhelmingly positive," said Sandro of Knowtorious Deals. "The discussion was lively, a lot of new contacts were made, and I know that several follow-up business meetings have already been scheduled."

The Chat Shop is the brainchild of Maria Colaco and Sarah O'Grady, two Westchester residents with extensive experience in the online space. Maria, an influential New York metro area blogger and dance company owner, has spent the last several years being pitched to by major Fortune 500 brands to sample, stand behind, and ultimately share their products online to her vast network. Sarah, a senior level copywriter, editor and creative consultant, has worked with numerous Fortune 500 and CPG brands and businesses to explore, strategize and refresh their brand potentials online. Sarah previously founded Westchester140 as a nouveau social media networking channel whose goal was to strengthen the community and create networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and those looking for help navigating the social space. Both women hold powerful reputations in the New York metro community as tastemakers, leaders, and social media and marketing explorers with successful track records and happy clients.

"We call this 'Get in, get out, get on with your life' marketing," says Maria Colaco. "And by offering our service at a reasonable cost to businesses," adds Sarah O'Grady, "we are quickly being seen as a results-driven no-brainer."

About The Chat Shop
The Chat Shop and West Chat were founded in 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.thechatshop.wordpress.com, and follow @thechatshop and @westchat on Twitter.