Intrigue Media | Joanne Guidoccio

Community building.

An unexpected perk from the workshop, “Attract and Engage Customers with Social Media,” offered by Intrigue Media.

In addition to delivering an excellent presentation chock-full of information about Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, Online Marketing Specialist Vanessa Young succeeded in creating a sense of community among the four participants.

Photographer. Lawyer. Furniture Store Manager. Writer. Under normal circumstances, we would never have connected, let alone supported each other on our respective journeys. But that’s exactly what happened yesterday evening in the warm, inviting house at the corner of Westmount and Speedvale in Guelph, Ontario.

As Vanessa outlined fifteen key points to social media success, she included personal anecdotes and examples. We also shared and felt comfortable enough to ask questions and solicit advice throughout the presentation. So much so, that we went thirty minutes overtime!

My favorite nuggets…

Diversify and connect the different social media tools.
Use contests, deals and giveaways to create more buzz. Several examples were shared, among them Amazon and Starbucks gift cards, free e-readers and book donations to a charity of choice. Contests centered on creating captions and slogans were highly recommended.
Post and share relevant content, with the emphasis on quality.
Less is definitely more. Don’t annoy followers with too many posts. Vanessa recommends no more than three Facebook posts a day. Keep the messages short and sweet. Twitter has a built-in limit of 140 characters. For Facebook, keep the posts under 180 characters.
Keep the hashtags down to two per tweet.
Most important of all—Interact and engage with your friends and followers.

Driving home, so many possibilities whirled through my mind.