#MRCCSocial: 22 Livestreaming ideas with Robert C. Stern

I first met "Social Leader" Robert C. Stern when he graciously extended an invitation to fellow #MRCCSocial presenters to participate in a Facebook Live broadcast on his page promoting the event. I was a guest along with the incredible Karen Yankovich, who I'd met at the previous year's Social Media Day. Technical glitches aside, it was a great time, and I look forward to sharing a livestream with Robert again sometime soon (Karen too!) (future Social guests, for sure!)

Like myself, livestreaming is Robert's "thing." So many people and businesses know it's an increasing part of the social media landscape, yet few know how they can take advantage of it. "What do I livestream about?" Well, Robert knows what you can livestream about. And he's a generous guy, so he shares.

As any good content marketer knows, when you have a good piece of content, it's best to get as much mileage out of it as you possibly can. Robert created a blog out of 22 Ideas for Video Content months ago. He then created a more engaging post a few months later by adding video to the original content and reposting. This caught the eye of MRCC's conference planners, and Robert was able to adapt that same premise into this presentation at Social Media Day. Brilliant!
(And now, I suppose, it's still rolling, as certain conference attendees are getting their own mileage out of it by sharing their tweets from his presentation and blogging about them!)

#MRCCSocial: Content Marketing with Ramon Ray

Ramon Ray is a powerhouse.

The founder of SmartHustle.com wears many hats: entrepreneur, global speaker, best-selling author, White House presenter (and Obama-interviewer), Congressional witness, FBI Citizens Academy graduate, former United Nations employee - and new Christine Gritmon fan! ;)

Now, I'll tell you this: it was HARD live-tweeting Ramon's presentation. This guy moves a mile a minute. But he knew how to keep us along for the ride. And he'll teach you how to keep your audience along for the ride, too, with his key tips for content marketing.

I cannot WAIT to have Ramon as a guest on Social at some point in the future. No idea what I'll have him on to discuss - the options are pretty endless with him! - but I'm sure we'll think of something. Stay tuned!

#MRCCSocial: Media Panel

As many of you know, I was a journalist before I started Christine Gritmon Inc.

In fact, a former boss, Ed Forbes, was supposed to be on the #MRCCSocial media panel. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it, but instead I got to meet his NorthJersey.com colleague Elyse Toribio, who was lovely.

Journalism and social media are more closely tied than I think most people realize. It's become a vital tool in the gathering, telling, and distribution of stories in a world where information - both important and trivial - is coming at us 24/7. In an era where everyone's documenting their every waking moment, how does actual journalism stand out amidst the noise? And how do you get the attention of the news media (still a very important force; just ask anyone in PR) when it seems like everyone has something to share?

The lively and informative panel was moderated by Sandra Fathi of Affect. In addition to Elyse, panelists included Wayne Cabot of WCBS 880; Anjalee Khemlani of NJBIZ, and Joan Verdon of NorthJersey.com.

#MRCCSocial: email marketing with Susana Fonticoba

I'm pretty new to email marketing. As in, I haven't done it at all yet.

You see, for a long time, I was coming from a place of, "I don't want to market my own stuff; I want to market other people's." I didn't want a content strategy. I wanted to stay behind the scenes, helping promote the great stuff other people were doing/creating.

As you may have noticed, I've changed my tune in recent months. I realized how much I enjoyed sharing information and tips about social media with others. I also realized that my relative comfort on camera was a big advantage in our current video-centric climate.

So. I've got the content. Now how do I tell people about it, ideally in a way that draws some of them into my "funnel"?

Enter Susana Fonticoba of Right Click Advantage, an affiliate of Constant Contact (confession: I'm using MailChimp) and email marketing expert. She explained the etiquette (Don't email more than a few times per month, if that! Offer something of value! And NEVER BUY LISTS!), as well as the importance, of adding email to your marketing mix.

(Reports of email's death have been greatly exaggerated, btw, in case you weren't already aware.)

#MRCCSocial: Pattie Simone keynote

As you've probably figured out by now if you follow me, well, ANYWHERE, I had a pretty amazing time at last week's Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce Social Media Day. And, as I tend to do, I live-Tweeted the crap out of every session I attended. I even won a prize for top usage of the #MRCCSocial conference hashtag!

Now, live-Tweets can get messy. I couldn't even navigate any of my observations when I wanted to discuss them on Social last Friday. So, as I also do, I put them into Storify threads, which I'll be rolling out throughout the week.

First up: conference organizer & opening keynote speaker Pattie Simone of WomanCentric discusses WHY and HOW we need to use social media.

Social - the scoop from #MRCCSocial!

Happy Friday! Today we had an awesome episode of Social with the amazing Karen Accavello of Human Touch Media, LLC & my intern Jaylene Kessler (#InternJaylene) discussing our experience and learnings from yesterday’s Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce Social Media Day (#MRCCSocial)!

(ICYMI, I did a workshop called Rock your Personal Brand - see full presentation & materials here - and live tweeted from the conference – my Storify threads will be released on the blog next week, since I need to give you all a rest from my content for two seconds!)

Here are some of the key takeaways from this morning’s conversation at Jane:

- Everyone is distracted. There is so much going on in every consumer’s life, so you have to make it your goal to truly capture their attention and give them a reason to actually be interested in what you’re saying. Your goal is to cause the consumer to call to action, whether that means purchasing your product or just checking out your website. Set attainable goals, and have a plan to draw the consumer in!

- Engage, don’t sell! Offer something to the consumer, don’t just try to sell them your product or service. Don’t keep your information to yourself! Offer something of value (example: how to video, DIY, etc.), which in return will cause consumers to trust and like you because you have given them this knowledge for free!

- Don’t try to force consumers to sign up for an email marketing list until you tell them everything your emails will offer them. Without a benefit for THEM, they will not give anything to YOU! Keep everything short, sweet, engaging, and professional!

-Build a TRIBE, don’t just try to generate sales. Quantity is not as important as QUALITY! Your following isn’t as important as the loyalty they give to you and they trust you build with them!

-Keep your email subjects short, to the point, and as vital as they truly are. Don’t tell someone your email is URGENT, when it actually isn’t at all... this will break trust between you and the recipient as well as make your future emails extremely invaluable.

We all learned so much, and got to network with so many amazing people – can’t wait for Social Media Day 2018! (Pattie, FYI, I definitely want to come back as a speaker!)

Rock Your Personal Brand workshop at #MRCCSocial

I attended the first ever Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce Social Media Day in June 2016, shortly after launching my own social media business. It was the first time I had been in a room full of people who geeked out about social media as much as I did (if not more!). I learned some incredible lessons that I use - and quote! - on a near-daily basis, with full awareness of where I got them from. And I made some great connections that I've kept up...some of which resulted in my spot as a presenter at THIS year's Social Media Day conference!

I submitted several abstracts, and the one that the organizers chose was "Rock Your Personal Brand." While this was the one I was shakiest on, it's also a topic I'd already been conceiving an ecourse about, so this was a great opportunity to strengthen some of those concepts and see what needed more work. Consider it a rehearsal for the intro section of the course, which I plan to develop and release this summer. And of COURSE I live-streamed it. ;)

Social - Vassar Reunion Edition!

What's a girl to do when her college reunion overlaps with her weekly Facebook Live show? Find a fellow alum to chat with, of course!

Bruce Mendelsohn of The Hired Pen and I discussed brand storytelling, social media, PR, building your email list, social media contests, and excessive lighting woes, all from the stunning Rose Parlor at Vassar College (i.e. where I spent half of my time from 1998-2002, rehearsing 6-7 hours a week with The Night Owls, with whom I'll be singing this weekend!).

Getting Started with Pinterest for Business webinar

I'm admittedly not a big Pinterest user, myself - but they've been upping their business and advertising tools to a point where they absolutely cannot be ignored as a serious digital marketing tool. Pinterest for Business recently announced a series of four webinars on how to make the most of your Business profile. I wasn't able to attend the first one (they're sending it); this was the second, and the third and fourth will be on June 13th and 20th.

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!

Get Seen, Be Heard webinar

Do I live-tweet and then Storify basically every educational talk I attend?

Practically.

I first met Karen Yankovich last year at Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce's Social Media Day (I'll be giving a workshop on personal branding at this year's event, on June 15) and we stayed in touch via social media. I took her free LinkedIn webinar last year, knowing full well that it would end with a sales pitch for the paid course. And you know what? I learned so much in that free hour that I went for it. And I've used the specific knowledge I gained in that longer webinar to make at least ten times what the webinar cost me, in less than a year.

Karen's been working with PR pro Christina Daves on their Get Seen, Be Heard program, which is all about the potent 1-2 punch of social media + PR. One of my professional goals right now is to establish industry expertise and become a more in-demand speaker. The time for this was right for me. Yet I still somehow entered today's free webinar expecting to just do the freebie, see how those lessons worked for me for a little while, and then maybe do the paid course this fall or something. But a) they may not be offering it in the fall, because this isn't a pre-recorded course, it's live, so it's happening when it's happening; and b) they're masters of making it sound so good that you just can't not. And I do believe that I will once again turn my soon-to-be-learned knowledge around into a more-than-tenfold profit.

Anyway. Here are some jewels from this afternoon's freebie. I expect I'll be getting plenty of blog fodder out of the full course, too (though don't worry, Karen & Christina, I won't give away all your secrets!).

Social - Live from the Little Blue Bus!

Katie Marchese and her husband Mario (aka Mario the Magician) have been in the full-time magic biz for a decade - and have nurtured an engaged community of fans. Broadcast live from their Little Blue Bus (parked at their home in their Nyack, NY), Katie discusses her approach to social media, personal branding, and online community.

Key takeaways from Katie:

• "In the beginning, we thought we had to do everything... the 'brand' started when we started to really focus."
• "Community...that's what's been more valuable to us than anything."
• "We started getting more feedback when we started giving more of ourselves."
• "Facebook is great for really getting people in on a storyline, and then people will continue to follow it."
• "It doesn't matter if you have 10,000 followers or 300 followers; it's the quality of what you're feeding them."
• "Nobody wants to feel like they're being sold to."
• "If we're going to do the social media thing, let's have it be SOCIAL, 'cause that's what it's supposed to be."
• "What we post is very curated, so you're seeing what we want you to see."
• "We're sharing our beliefs and inviting people to be a part of the stuff that we're doing, and it's super fulfilling."
• "People expect a certain style from you, and then they're more interested to follow it because there's something that's continuing from photo to photo."
• "Through the photos we want people to feel that, even if they're not seeing a snippet of the actual show, we want them to get that vibe."

• "Instagram is unique because you can really go out there in the community and get new relationships... it's a great way to build a community organically based on things that you're really drawn to and interested in."
• "Pick the mediums that you really enjoy, and do that the most; it'll be more interesting to you, and you'll get the most feedback. For us, Facebook & Instagram are our two faves."
• "It's totally changed things for us that we don't have to send flyers to Boulder, Colorado or wherever we're going; we can use targeted advertising and sell our tickets that way, and it feels like we've created a community before we've even arrived in these cities...it feels like more of a relationship than us just showing up somewhere, doing a show & then leaving."
• "Definitely Facebook Live is where it's at right now... it's a way that people are engaging right now, at the moment...I think that's what people crave right now."
• "I feel like when people see a moving image, they're more engaged; I get a lot more feedback from those posts than just a static post."
• "You can't get too invested in one strategy, because it's going to change in a few months or in a year, so you kind of have to be flexible and just keep figuring it out...my advice is just to play around, keep trying new things."

Check out Mario & Katie's YouTube series, My Magic Family, below!

Avanti Entrepreneur Podcast with David Mammano!

Way back in January (JANUARY!), I was honored to be a guest on David Mammano's Avanti Entrepreneur podcast series. The episode is finally out now and I'm so proud to share it with you (even if I do ramble on a bit)!

Check out David's full series; he brings on a wide variety of guests, and all of them have great insights that are applicable to any entrepreneur.

Working from Home

I don't normally work from home.

I've been a freelancer - but I had fewer children then, and a home office that had not yet become the junk room of the house. And, oh yeah - I also had a sporadic work ethic, which dovetailed nicely with my sporadic work.

When I started the adventure that is Christine Gritmon Inc., I made two decisions early on:

• I would incorporate, so that I'd be less inclined to feel like a freelancer and more inclined to take building my company seriously.
• And I would not work from home.

When you're home, there are numerous demands on your attention. The laundry that's been piling up, which takes just a few minutes to toss into the washer (then just a minute to toss into the dryer, then just a minute to toss back into the laundry basket and take back up again). The dishes, which take just a few minutes to put away, then just a few more minutes to transfer from the sink to the newly-empty dishwasher. The clutter, which takes just a few minutes to organize.

Those minutes add up. Especially when you're distracted. The presence of a comfortable couch and a snoring dog can also serve as sirens, reminding you that self-care is important, and you're at a point of diminishing returns anyway if you're working tired, and you can set your alarm for just a short nap...

Let's not even get into Netflix.

But today? Today, I am tired after a weekend full of work, and some congestion that seems to have returned. But I am also motivated and determined. So today, I am working from home. I am plowing through my to-do list. I am using the housework (and this blog!) as a regular break every 90 minutes or so, when my brain starts to wander - and limiting it. (I only dealt with dishes during the time it took for the very-necessary additional pot of coffee to brew. I'm only dealing with the laundry - one load, just one load! - later, after I've sent out these two new client quotes and organized asset folders for two websites. I'm not even touching the clutter, because that's a trap.)

And today I am very much in need of this comfy couch. And I have brewed more coffee in order to avoid napping with the dog. And I miss having a real home office that is not covered in stuff, but soon. Soon, I will deal with that room. But not today.

Because today, I really need to work.

Do you work from home? What are your best concentration tips?

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!

Facebook Boost your Business event

I was happy to attend today's Facebook Boost Your Business event, hosted by the Englewood Chamber of Commerce. Of course I was live-Tweeting key insights the whole time! See my Storify thread below for some of today's tidbits.

Social - Brian Tietje of LinkedIn

Thanks so much to Brian Tietje, global client director for LinkedIn, for appearing on this week's edition of Social with Christine Gritmon! Great conversation about engaging with your network, how different social media platforms have influenced each other, and new developments for LinkedIn (both recent and upcoming).

Rochelle Carrington's sales training tips

On May 10, RBWN had the pleasure of learning Sandler Sales Training techniques from Rochelle Carrington, a trainer with Second Wind in Armonk. Here's a Storify thread of my live-tweets from Rochelle's presentation.

Episode 3 of Social – guest Maria Colaco

Thanks so much to social media creative & content creator Maria Colaco of The New York Mom (among other pursuits) for a great conversation on Instagram Stories, influencer marketing, streaming TV and more!

Social 4/27/17: Live at HuffPost!

Thank you so much to Abigail Williams of HuffPost for being part of Episode 2 of Social!