Business-to-business communications will be the topic of the July 28 Social Media Club Des Moines event, the newly formed nonprofit organization’s president said.

Mike Templeton, a Catchfire Media LLC analyst who helped form a local chapter of San Francisco-based Social Media Club Inc., said he’d like to see C-level executives get more involved in social media.

As more individuals and businesses latch on to applications such as Twitter and Facebook in an effort to build their brands and boost their bottom lines, Templeton said the objective is “to push the boundaries of what the Social Media Club is doing and to reach those types of people.”

The Des Moines chapter officially formed in March, with the installation of a nine-member board of directors that works to promote social media literacy, encourage ethical behavior and pool the resources of its approximately 300 members.

To that end, the chapter stages events aimed at helping people understand how emerging media are changing the way in which people communicate and how that evolution relates to doing business.

The club’s diversity plays an important role in getting the message out.

“We have more than just a bunch of marketers or journalists or public relations folks,” Templeton said. “We have a very diverse range of experience or connections we can draw on.”

Katie Ketelsen is the chapter’s production director.

“My role is to coordinate sites where we have events,” said Ketelsen, a landscape designer with Earlham-based TimberPine Nursery who also leads that company’s foray into social media marketing.

“I don’t know how I got the gumption to do it,” Ketelsen said of her commitment to the club. “I really wanted to get involved,” she said, noting that she knew social media was “up and coming,” and she was looking for an opportunity to meet new people.

Ketelsen said when searching for venues in which to hold club events, she leans toward companies that understand the relevance of social media. The chapter also reaches out to businesses that aren’t completely sold on the potential of social media, but are at least trying to find the value of its use, she said.

Suzanne Hull, the club’s treasurer, said her involvement meshes well with her role in Des Moines.

Hull, founder of Contemporary Business Solutions, discovered the power of social media last year while starting her blog, Unemployed in Des Moines, which helps connect people with networking and job opportunities.

“When I had a chance to take an ownership role in the club, I thought that was a great fit,” she said.

Templeton recalled one of his initial experiences with Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells, who in 2006 founded the international organization, which has grown to include chapters all over the world. Los Angeles, New York, Miami and London were among the first cities to jump on board.

“To me, that was pretty mind blowing to actually talk to those people,” Templeton said, noting that their accessibility reflects three major tenets of social media: transparency, accountability and availability.

Templeton said his chapter’s No. 1 objective is “to be the community resource for social media.”

On July 28, Christian Renaud, president and CEO of Palisade Systems Inc., will talk about how social media has helped his business, at an event scheduled to take place at Jasper Winery.

Templeton said companies such as Palisade, which specializes in providing data loss prevention solutions, are starting to realize the power of social media in a business-to-business setting, and he wants to convince executives that there is a potential return on investment.