I attended my first @BloggerWeek UnConference on Saturday, October 12, 2019. It was held at Trinity University, located at 125 Michigan Avenue, Washington, DC. The theme of the event was “Celebrating Multicultural Digital Media”. I really didn’t know what to expect from the event, but I was hoping to get tips on business, entrepreneurship, and social media.
While taking steps to launch my non-profit organization, Keep it Movin’ DC, I had so many questions going through my head regarding social media. With Keep it Movin’ DC, my goal is to bring awareness to a chronic disease I suffer from, which is often ignored. My goal is to educate, bring awareness, motivate, and inspire others. How would a person who’s new to social media reach others who are directly affected by the disease? What would get people interested in reading my personal blog about living with Lymphedema? Would people who don’t have Lymphedema be interested in reading my blog? I just had so many questions before starting my blog and non-profit organization.
I am a procrastinator by nature, so I had many different ideas and started writing articles, but then I just stopped.
Aside from my business, venturing into the social media world is totally new for me. I’ve never accessed Facebook or Twitter. I didn’t even have an Instagram account until a few months ago (thus far, Instagram is my favorite social media platform). I’ve been told by family and friends for years to just join social media — at least Facebook — and to be honest, I’ve never been interested at all in the social media world. I know now that in order to keep abreast of current things, from politics to new phones, just anything that’s happening — social media is a key component to being successful.
Some of the tips that I learned from presenter Nicola Mitchell of @GirlsWhoBrunchTour:
- Visibility is Key
- Be Consistent
- Be A Giver/Show-Up and Be Present
- Tell A Compelling Story
- Talk Like A Human Being
Kristy McCarley (@PureFirefly) touched on these marketing issues during her Email Marketing session:
- How to Grow Your Email List
- Strategy Lead Magnets
- Subject Theory
- Keep It Simple Stupid (use 40 characters, or 7 words or less)
I also had the honor of meeting CEO and president of Bronner Brothers Hair Empire and publisher of Upscale Magazine, Bernard Bronner (@CeoBernard). Bronner was a sponsor of @BloggerWeek UnConference 2019 and he gave key pointers in having a successful business:
- Start Small
- Start Building
- Investing
Mr. Bronner also spoke about his key principles of life:
- Keep God First
- Family
- Business
Mr. Bronner also spoke on working hard, being honest, and keeping good company around you, as well as creating and maintaining generational wealth.
Overall, my time spent at the @BloggerWeek Unconference 2019 was great. I also met some amazing women: Stephanie Toussaint (@storytimewsteph), a host/comedian; Lauren Ashley Corbett, a fashion blogger (@fashtoriouslac); and M’shai S. Dash, sci-fi writer (thetravelersdash.com) who was a presenter at the conference. Starting both my blog, keepitmovindc.com, and my nonprofit organization has kept me busy. Using social media to meet people who are interested in my story has been rewarding. Living life with a chronic illness such as Lymphedema can often make people stay in the house or be standoffish of sorts. I’m sure that I may have at times been the same way, but ironically, Lymphedema is the root cause for me joining the social media world to tell my story and share with the world my journey of living life with Lymphedema, including the ups, downs, ins, and outs. Because I am new to the social media thing, there are lots of things that I still don’t understand and I’m still learning. Social media has connected me to people locally, from different states, and even other countries. Some of whom I would have probably never met otherwise, so for that I am thankful, and hopefully using my journey and sharing some of my life will inspire others. Thank you to Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor (@bloggerweek) for a great experience.
Event sponsors included: Upscale Magazine, Bonner Brothers, and Modern Stitches Magazine.
