BlogHer ’09, the annual conference organized by the influential women’s entertainment and information online community, was in Chicago last week. We couldn’t make it, so we checked in with one of our favorite bloggers, PunkRockHR’s Laurie Ruettimann, for her take on the mood at the sold-out gathering.
Did you have a goal in attending Blogher this year?
My goal was to offer career advice to the BlogHer community. There were mommy bloggers, fitness bloggers, book bloggers, and social media bloggers in attendance. Everyone has been affected by the economy, though, and I was one of the few career experts at the conference. Whenever I could, I listened to stories and tried to provide helpful tips and guidance.
What’s the coolest thing you learned at the conference?
Believe it or not, I had never eaten a kiwi before BlogHer09. Zespri kiwi had a booth, and the representative offered me a piece of the fruit. (read more…)
Hot on the heels of her Facebook guide, Meryl Evans offers up a few choice tips for businesses looking to put YouTube to work. There are three big uses for YouTube, she argues: establishing oneself as an expert, creating awareness of a product or service and engaging customers on a direct level. Evans offer several ideas in each category, suitable for YouTube novices, as well as businesses who have a toehold, but want to take the presence to the next level. For even more advice and news on a range of platforms, check out SmartBrief on Social Media‘s daily newsletter.
SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in Smartbrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues. Paul Chaney, Internet marketing director for Bizzuka and member of the SmartBrief on Social Media Advisory Board, helps create the questions and analyzes the results. We run the poll question each Wednesday in our e-newsletter and feature Paul’s analysis on this blog.
Last week’s poll question: From a business-development perspective, how important is building a personal brand in social media?
- Very important, 44%
- Somewhat important, 33%
- Personal branding is overrated, 14%
- The company’s brand is what’s important, not the personal one, 8%
“As social media expert Jason Falls has pointed out that, people prefer to connect with other people – not brands. Therefore, some element of personal branding is important. However, unless one is an independent consultant, the personal brand shouldn’t override the corporate.
“To cite another expert, Geoff Livingston: ‘Brand and reputation are not synonymous. (read more…)
Social networking may be changing the way we think about privacy, as sharing more and more of ourselves online becomes de rigueur. Experts like the University at Buffalo’s Michael Stefanone note that highly personal confessions are becoming more and more casual, particularly in environments where users have anonymity. Users say there’s a little thrill in the disclosure and maybe even a little bit of therapeutic value in clearing the air with strangers. Whatever you’re looking to share, the daily newsletter from SmartBrief on Social Media is full of information that can help you reach a wider audience.
At Buzz2009, I had the chance to chat with Wick Davis from the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA). As director of online services, Wick has some of the most interesting hands-on stories I’ve heard in the field. He has seen firsthand how effective social media can be for a charitable organization — and as a one-man department, he thinks ROI all day long. At Buzz 2009, Wick told me in passing that LFA’s Facebook strategy increased donations 790%. Come again? Definitely worth a follow-up conversation.
Tell us a little about your background. How did you end up running online and social media strategy for the Lupus Foundation of America?
I’ve been in lots of different working environments. I spent several years in corporate communications for Westinghouse. I spent a handful of years bringing authors into Barnes & Noble stores in the Washington, D.C., area. I’ve spent the past nine years in the nonprofit world — first at the American Diabetes Association and now the Lupus Foundation of America. The LFA job encompassed everything I had done at ADA, but also included social media, which was new to me. (read more…)
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