10 Things I Learned from Social Media Day
As you may have heard, Saturday was Social Media Day. In Burlington, we celebrated Thursday evening and all day on Friday. Each year, marketer, web designer and social media wonderwoman Lara Dickson (Deep Dish Creative) gathers a team and coordinates all the local festivities. Burlington Social Media Day (#BTVSMD) rocked again this year, with tweet-ups, classes, an Instagram scavenger hunt and the crowning of local social media royalty. It was a great opportunity to re-connect with local marketers, meet those new to the local social media community and learn from some of the best in the area. Here are 10 things I learned from BTVSMD 2012: (I would have written this earlier, but it took me the weekend to catch up on work/life/other blogs!) 1. When it comes to public voting, surprises happen. Sometimes, campaigning works. And sometimes the best campaign is just being helpful and humble every day. 2. The view at the Community Sailing Center at 8 am on a hot summer day is amazing. 3. Parents should begin talking to kids about their activities online when they are as young as 4 years old. When children are about 8, parents should begin asking them how they feel about the photos and information that is being shared, and whether it is ok to post certain images. (Hmmm….I should probably make sure my son (age 9) know what photos of him I have up on Facebook, and my VT Mommies blog. I guess he’s old enough to begin making decisions about his own online identity.) 4. It is important to think about your social media ecosystem, and to really develop a plan for how all the networks you use work together to support your strategy. 5. Participating in social media is not a strategy, it is a tactic. The strategy is about the mission – the situation. Think bigger than the channels. 6. The turkey bacon on marble rye from Handy’s Lunch is freakin’ amazing. I’m so glad I saw it on Twitter, or I might never have tried it! 7. For non-profits, social media is for sharing the story. Email is for the ask. (What a great, and simple way to direct your messages and tone of voice!) 8. Social media success can only be measured against goals. Engagement matters only if it supports those goals. 9. Live blogging is easy to set up, difficult to do well. It’s challenging to capture what is being said and have time to comment – especially if you’re trying to tweet from multiple accounts at the same time. (I could, however, see its use at speaker events – particularly if you’ve been able to get your hands on the material and formulate some thoughts ahead of time.) 10. Burlington is full of social media marketing talent – brilliant, passionate, enthusiastic people who are happy to connect and share their knowledge with everyone – even us social amateurs. And for that, I am incredibly grateful. Thank you to everyone who attended, helped out, sponsored, taught, organized and shared. And most of all, thank you, Lara.
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