When I started my social media marketing agency 5 years ago, I did it for a variety of reasons.
- I didn’t have a job. I had just been laid off from the magazine that I worked for when a larger publishing company bought it out. They were in OH, I was in NC, we didn’t know each other, and I was easy to cut.
- I have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to technology. In early 2000s, I made President’s Club when I was in sales because I was the first to do email blasts. A few years later, I started the concept of selling Webinars to my advertisers at the magazine.
- I started my blog in 2003 – I was a “mom” blogger before most moms even had email. I was on LinkedIn the first year; I was on Facebook when there were less than 800,000 people and so on.
- I’m BIG on customer service and helping people succeed.
- I’m very social. I like to meet people.
One of the BEST parts of social media is getting to know people. I have met some amazing people that I would never have had the opportunity to meet were it not for social media. I met my friend and mentor, Mark Schaefer because of Twitter. I don’t know what tweet it was that he saw, but he reached out to me and offered a half hour of his time to “mentor” me. I was floored and giddy all at the same time. Whether he liked it or not, he had a follower for life. I wouldn’t meet him in real life for at least another year and that was when he came to be the keynote speaker for me at ConvergeSouth. He came to speak because of our relationship that we had built online.
Meet Whom You Tweet
You can build amazing relationships with people online but at some point, you REALLY want to meet them in person. To put a face to a Twitter handle or avatar is the best feeling in the world. That’s why I go to conferences.. it’s not to learn (added bonus if I do!) but rather to MEET WHO I TWEET!
I think it’s so important to find these opportunities to connect in person that I started a group affectionately called the #BWTs.. Broads Who Tweet. My point is getting to meet my online friends makes me happy for days. The energy I get from our BWT weekends will feed my soul for weeks. I just love taking those online relationships to the next level.
BWT is a group of tech-savvy women who I had gotten to know over the course of time and we had built such great online relationships that we wanted to get together in person. We have a hoot when we’re together.. we laugh, we support each other and we talk non-stop. After a few lunches, I thought…Hey! Why don’t we go on a retreat! We can get away from the family for a few days, drink copious amounts of coffee and wine and learn from each other.
And just like that, the #BWT Beach ReTweet was born.
We’ve done two of these retreats, and I’m in the process of planning the third. These relationships began on social media. We’ve carried them into real life and formed real friendships. I know that I can call on any one of these women to help me with something and they will be there in a flash. And they know that they can ask the same of me. It was because of this group that I joined forces with my friend Adrienne and together we created a new, bigger and better social media agency. It doesn’t get much better than that, friends.
You never know where you will find your next friend or your next tribe. Some last, some don’t. I’m grateful that I have them and all of you. Every chance I get to grow my social media circle, I do it because you never know where it may lead.
About The Author
Kristen Daukas is the Director of Social Media for Atlantic Webworks. When she’s not creating magic for clients, she’s busy trying to keep her sanity as she navigates the water of raising three teen and tween daughters. She also enjoys long walks on the beach in the moonlight with her husband. And she thinks she’s really funny. Come share a tweet and circle her at Google+!
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Great blog post! The concept of connecting in person is so similar at its core with the good old times of radio amateurism! It was like Twitter on radio waves! We used to make virtual friends all over the country and abroad and sometimes we had the joy of meeting these friends in person. The bond was almost instantaneous. This proves that communication and the social principles are basically the same, just the tools change. This blog post brought up many good memories… Thank you Kristen !
Antonel Neculai Antonel! Might you draft a post for this series about exactly that topic? Sounds like you might have some memories from the lane to share here! I’d be delighted to have you! Thanks for sharing here!
Antonel Neculai Thanks!! I remember that my grandfather was an avid Ham Radio operator and I was mesmerized by his “on air” friendships. Whenever something major happened in the world, it was to the Ham Radio he went – the same way we hit Twitter or the interwebz! I vaguely recall being at their house for one such event.. Mt Saint Helen’s erupting, perhaps?
I have written the blog post about Ham radio – Twitter on radio waves over the weekend: https://blog.stylestrandmedia.com/2013/05/radio-amateurism-twitter-on-radio-waves/
But I have some other ideas for the Happy Friday series, a little more in line with the “happy” concept, if the invitation still stands
Antonel Neculai Oh my YES! Please!