Social: Brian Wallace on #LinkedInLocal

Have you been to a #LinkedInLocal event near you yet?

It’s a grassroots movement - blessed, but not RUN, by LinkedIn - of networking events taking place all over the world.

I first met Rockland native (and current Midwesterner) Brian Wallace of NowSourcing at a #LinkedInLocal event in NYC, and he later brought me into an event closer to me in Spring Valley. In anticipation of my friend Pasquale Palumbo and me hosting our own first #LinkedInLocal White Plains event on Monday, April 1 (with more such events to hopefully follow), I asked for Brian’s take on the LinkedInLocal concept, as well as his top tips for ensuring a great #LinkedInLocal event.

Here are some of Brian’s top tips for throwing your own #LinkedInLocal event:

1 - Get A Great Venue:

Make sure it has good acoustics, spots to network, take pics, video, etc. 
Should have enough space for the size you plan on doing

2 - Have A Great Team:

Helping get speakers / moderators / MC / event space / food / social
Organize the team - make sure they all know their roles and what to say

3 - have enough time to promote:

At least 1 month
Use Eventbrite, but also promote on Linkedin through #linkedinlocal hashtag
Lots of the global linkedinlocal movement will also help - over 800 cities!

4 - deliver value to the audience:

This shouldn't be a crappy leadgen / sales pitch
Know how to explain the value of your LinkedIn network from a social / soft skills side as well as the latest and greatest tech / content trends happening on the platform.

5 - work together:

LinkedInlLocal is a grassroots movement and sometimes there may be multiple groups of people / personalities / locations.  It doesn't have to be a turf battle - work it out and make it the best that can be!

Social: a live video about live video!

I actually met Robert C. Stern (aka The Social Leader) on a livestream - his, where we (along with mutual friend Karen Yankovich) were promoting MRCC Social Media Day, at which we were all going to be presenting. His presentation at the actual event was about 22 ideas for how to use video, a presentation spun off from a popular blog post of his. So who better to come on and talk live video ideas?

Top tips from our chat today:
- Don't be afraid! The camera is not your enemy.
- Be yourself! Connect with people the same way you would in real life.
- What to talk about? Anything! Business. Your life. Your community. Your charity work. Whatever you know how to talk about.

Social: How To Make Great Videos!

My friends The Nerdy Duo Productions - aka Melissa & Erin - know how to make great videos.
They also know why other people keep making crappy videos. They gave us some of their best tips on today's #cgsocial.

PLANNING

Whether you're using professional equipment or doing a basic Facebook Live with your iPhone, know where your video's going (and the best aspect ratio for it) and what you're using to film it. You can also manually adjust the settings on your phone or computer camera in advance of your broadcast.

If you can't plan beforehand, plan afterwards: take stock of what you did, what worked, and what you can improve for next time.

LIGHTING

From cheap clamp lights from Home Depot bounced off a dollar store car windshield shade, to a full lighting setup, remember: in video, if they can't see you, what's the point?

SOUND

Don't trust the microphone on your phone or computer. Better microphones are cheap and easy.

SUPPORT

Don't hold your camera; your hands aren't as steady as you think they are. Tripods are inexpensive, and some can even fit in your purse!

I put together a whole wonderful, juicy set of equipment links - and then Squarespace decided to delete it. So... that sounds like a new post for Monday! I will post about it, I promise!

Social: A Family that Means Business! Special Guest Robin Hayes and Eva Hayes of Lucky Bug Clothing!

Today on Social - Special guest Robin Hayes and Eva Hayes of Lucky Bug Clothing! 

This family truly means business, and today on Social we got to discuss their marketing efforts, how they established their adorable brand, as well as how they implement ethical and sustainable business practices! 

Lucky Bug clothing is a transparent brand who cares about your family, and knows how their customers minds work! From 75% of their sales being gifts, they have to know how to directly target every form of consumer, not just mothers! I can't wait for you to watch this weeks Social and learn about how this small business strategizes Facebook, Instagram, and even their Pinterest!

Watch it below! 

Social - Cheftini and I "Shazam" our food

My guest for this week's episode of Social, my Facebook Live show, was Tina DiLeo of Cheftini! We played with Pinterest's new Food Lens feature and talked about why Instagram is the very best platform for #foodies (the key word is ENGAGEMENT!).

Download Tina's eBook full of holiday recipes - all proceeds benefit Food Bank for Westchester!

Social - C'mon, get Snappy!

Today's episode of Social with Christine Gritmon featured special guest (and fellow Nyack digital marketer) Michael Berean of Grace Innovation!
We discussed all the latest Snapchat news: sponsored world lenses and new geofilters that target local businesses, perpetual Snaps and new editing tools, and of course how one can get in on the Snapchat advertising game. Check it out!