Chamber members who work in health and wellness, digital marketing, or education have a new avenue for networking and finding referrals, thanks to the creation of three new targeted affinity groups.

These affinity spheres, led by fellow chamber members, offer a consistent opportunity to make connections, tackle common challenges, exchange referrals and develop trusted relationships within targeted industry segments.

“With almost 1,000 chamber members, there was a need for this specialized group to host its own meetings and offer the opportunity to quickly get to know each other and their 'sweet spots’” says Kim Calvi of Boston Edits, who is co-leading the new digital marketing group along with LiveWire Collaborative’s Angela Pitter.

Launched in September, the digital marketing group meets once a month on Thursday afternoons at NewTV’s production studio on Needham Street. The exchanges allow for participating members to learn more about each other’s specialties which translates into broader industry knowledge and more meaningful referrals.

“A typical example is when a client hires a website developer, the client is also going to need content and photography for the same” explains Calvi. “A website developer who is part of this affinity group can more easily refer business to a familiar and known content developer and photographer when there is a built-in, monthly meeting, intended for exchanging business.”

“SEO (search engine optimization) is very different from social media and even content marketing” says Pitter. “During these meetings you have the opportunity to exchange knowledge about your specific domain.”

The chamber’s health and wellness group meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 8:30 a.m. at North Hill in Needham. Members represent professionals such as home health care, hospitals, senior living, health care consultants, physical therapists and wellness specialists. Every other month the group hears from a guest speaker or focuses on a targeted topic, selected by group members and their leadership. Alternating months allow for more networking time.

“The health and wellness group allows me to directly network with those within my specific industry, therefore making use of my time outside the office that much more productive” says Bob DePeron of Right at Home.“And, the alternating monthly format allows for industry educational presentations in addition to networking.”

The most recent industry segment to form an affinity sphere is education, which kicked off with an inaugural networking event at Boston Ballet School at Newton Nexus, also in September. Attendees represented after school programs, STEM and arts educators, nonprofit service providers, school administrators and tutoring services. More regular programming from this group is expected in 2020.

Additional information about each of these programs (including meeting times and group leaders) can be found by clicking here.