i was really fortunate to have scored an invite to the recently concluded Professional Blogging Summit organized by Janette Toral and Jeoff Solas. It happened last October 18, 2014 at A.Venue Mall, Makati and was co-presented by A.Venue Mall, Salad Box, Island Rose, and Profriends (Property Company of Friends).
the half-day event targeted bloggers, social media specialists, entrepreneurs, digital marketers, etc. so they could learn and discuss how to turn blogging into a sustainable profession.
i was really excited to attend the event, it’s my dream to become a professional blogger. it’s the only item in my passion list i’m willing to do full time because it excites me a lot!
i came with my friend and former colleague tina and we came in late because we were so lost! coming all the way from the north, we didn’t expect the EDSA traffic (srsly, who doesn’t expect EDSA traffic?! our bad!) so we had to find a different route. with the help of waze (our new found love), and some guts too, we were able to navigate through the downtowns and reached makati after one and a half hour! when we were finally near, we were literally flailing over the sight of makati city hall like “OMG!!! there’s the city hall! we’re almost there!” (but nonetheless still late).
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| New blogger friends! Leo, Donna, Dianne, Me, Tina, Shane, and Vic 🙂 |
anyway… here are my takeaways from the event. i learned a lot, made friends, and realized that the summit didn’t only cover blogging per se, but its entire impact in the business industry as well.
1. do not build contacts, build relationships
this is how i see a “contact”:
for a good while i only considered the people i worked with as contacts. people i interact with everyday in a professional manner should be segregated from my so called friends. i simply didn’t want anyone from my workplace to meddle into my personal life, if that’s what having a relationship with them meant.
and i was wrong.
if i was to do blogging as a profession and kept everyone i worked with as a blogger in this category called “Contacts”, sure that’s kindof valid… after all, they’re contacts naman talaga. but then they’ll be forever boxed with my concept of a contact which is: just someone i know… with a number on my phone.
listening to the speakers i was reminded that in order to really succeed in what you’re doing, you have to build relationships. and that meant getting to know the person deeper, not just as a blogger but as a person as well.
it’s kindof challenging if you ask me cos i’m not really a friendly person, but since i’m running a personal blog… i want to be as personal as possible to everything i’ve accounted here so far, even the brands i promote, and the people i work with. it’s really haaard. HAHA but i’m positive about it! >XD
here’s to making relationships!
so… how are you? (err, that was an awkward start)
2. avoid bashing online
and this applies not just to people or celebrities, but also to bad service we get from some establishments. we read a lot of this online, from a worm in one’s soup, to a cockroach poop in someone glass of iced tea, yadda, yadda, yadda.
i must admit, i have a short temper and i get easily pissed with bad service. when i’m greeted with something displeasing from a store i patronize, i just want to take pictures all over in a manner that will tell everyone looking that “this is going online. beware.”
as blogger, i was made to realize that we have great power (yeahh, no matter how small-time you think your blog is!). and you know what’s next, responsibility! haha! >XD how do you want your power to be used? do you want it to close down businesses? or to help them improve? instead of ranting online, why not take that feedback form and write down your concern? talk to the manager, and discuss things over. don’t make a public spectacle of someone’s mistake. businesses are run by humans too, so let’s be kind and responsible as bloggers. 🙂
3. the beauty of social media strategies and target marketing
apparently, not just because you have a large facebook following means you’ll get instantly considered to promote this and that brand. it’s not that simple. if you were the social media strategist of that brand, you’ll have to consider your target market, where they lurk most at online (it’s not always facebook, i tell you!), and what they do. then build from there. if you were targeting kids, would you always want to lead them to a blog or a website with lots of text? or would you want to contain them to just a photo on your facebook page with all the information laid out in a creative manner?
i’m not a marketing person so the technicalities involved with brand promotion is something that amazes me a lot. apparently it’s not as simple as having a fashion blogger promote your store, and waiting for the horde of customers to come in. haha
this business is crazy and exciting at the same time!
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that’s it for me! it was one very informative day! imagine if we came in earlier! aaargh! it only fueled up my passion for blogging more! grabe, someday talaga i’m going to turn this into my 9-5! hahaha! i’m glad that i was able to meet new blogger friends too! 😀 i came in inspired and came out more motivated than ever!
so…let’s start with my ever growing backlog. hahaha