Friday Fun – How do you manage social media?

Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, get-to-know-us question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.

QUESTION: I recently asked NYT Best Selling author Chris Bohjalian how he managed social media. Beside corralling it to early morning and evening (after he completed his writing goals for the day), he also said that he posts 40 to 50 comments/tweets a day (which he said takes about 30 minutes.) “If I can’t give my readers 30 minutes a day then I’m a despicable person,” he said.

We all struggle with social media – what’s too much, what’s not enough. Let’s take a look at how our writers handle this raging bull.

Wendy Thomas: I’ll be the first to admit that I spend far too much time on social media. I try to answer as many comments and tweets as I can. The thought of setting a limit, quite honestly, has never occurred to me. I typically keep my social media windows open at all times and when I hear the siren cry of that beep indicating I have an interaction – well I just have to stop what I’m doing to check it out (and there is never any “just checking it out” I always come up many minutes later wondering where the time has gone.)

I’m using Freedom (and it now has an updated feature (you pay for this)  where you can schedule uninterrupted time.) I’ve tried to schedule my own time, but it doesn’t seem to work. I need a strict guard to the internet telling me “not right now, later, but not right now.” Social media is an ongoing problem that I continue to try and manage.

Jamie Wallace: I’m afraid that I’m guilty of the same crimes Wendy confessed. Though I know that I should relegate social media (in my case: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, responding to comments here, and reading/sharing other blogs) to certain times of the day, I can’t quite seem to bring myself to cut off my 24/7 access to the digital conversation. Like Wendy, I almost always have tabs open in my browser to my social media pages, and I tend to “visit” there more often than I should.

That said, I have put some order to the madness by doing *most* of my blog reading at night during an otherwise unproductive time and queuing up tweets via Buffer (my most favorite social media tool for scheduling social media updates). I also try to batch process the bulk of my comment responses. Though this often means carving out a whole hour (or more), I believe it’s more efficient than posting ad hoc responses in real time.

I am always trying to assess the value or “ROI” (return on investment, in my case an investment of time) of my social media activities. At the moment, since I’m not actively promoting anything specific, it’s hard to measure whether or not my time is being well spent. I continue playing in these spaces (and organically building my communities there) so that – hopefully – when I do have something to promote, I’ll have an existing audience to talk to. I’ll get back to you once I see how that works out. 😉

 

Friday Fun – Why do you blog (and is it worth the effort)?

Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, get-to-know-us question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.

QUESTION: Earlier this week, Deborah posted about her blogging experience and whether she has found the effort to be worth the results. It’s an interesting question that often has very individual and personal answers, so we thought it would be a good one to pose to the group. So, writers, let’s talk about why we blog, what our expectations were when we started, what the reality is, and whether we think the whole thing is worth it. 

Lisa J. Jackson: I blog here because I want to share my writing passion with others. I find the time I spend blogging here very worthwhile. It’s been my most consistent blogging experience and I grow from each new post – coming up with the topic, designing how I want the post to read, selecting or creating images for it (still lots of room for improvement there!), to hearing from readers on the post. It’s definitely worth the time and effort and I look forward to continuing it, and building my own blog in 2016.

Wendy Thomas: I am a big on blogging. I even teach a college level course on starting and promoting a blog. Most of my writing is for my personal blog; Lessons Learned from the Flock where I talk about  flock issues (avian and human.)  On occasion I also blog for Mother Earth News, Grit, and Community Chickens. As a result I am part of a large community where ideas are shared and noticed. Writing in my personal blog makes me feel like I’m connecting with friends – it’s not a chore, it’s a joy.

My blog is where I created and promoted my platform (and yes, if you try to get a book published, they will ask you if you blog, what your platform is, and if you are active on Social Media.)

To agents, It’s not so much that a writer has a blog, it’s that that writer knows what to do with that material in order to grow their audience. Is the blog based on a good idea? Is it focused?  Is the writing tight? Do you have a voice? Are you providing value? Are you using Social Media to promote your blog? and Does it fully represent you and your work?

Let’s face it, a blog done right, gets you noticed. And as a writer, if you are noticed then you get work (and sometimes even a book deal.)

Diane MacKinnon: I love my life coaching blog, Healing Choices. I write about things that interest me and I hope what I write is useful to others. I definitely don’t think of it as analytically as Wendy mentions above, but I started it as a way to promote my business and as a way to connect with others. Writing here on Write To Live has been an amazing experience. I enjoy writing, thinking about writing, and writing about writing, and I especially enjoy interacting with the readers here on the blog. I don’t respond to comments right away but my goal is always to respond to all the comments I receive–eventually. It’s like an ongoing conversation that you tune into when you can best appreciate it.

I don’t pay much attention to the statistics, because whatever they are, I feel I get more out of blogging than I put into it, so I’m going to keep doing it.

M. Shafer, Photo

Deborah Lee Luskin: The replies I received to Tuesday’s post were so varied and informative, but mostly they helped realized how connected I am to a community here, and that matters – especially in this often lonely business of writing. Readers’ comments also helped me acknowledge how disciplined and productive I am as a result of posting on topic, to deadline. And one of the best things about this blog, in particular, is being part of this cohort of writers!

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.Julie Hennrikus/Julianne Holmes: My own blog is more of website for my books/writing life. I don’t blog there often. As Deborah mentioned, blog posts take time, and writing energy. I have little of both these days. I LOVE being part of this blog–the group posts are fun, and the demand on my time is limited. I also blog with the Wicked Cozy Authors. We are six friends who all got publishing contracts for cozy series around the same time. I was the last to get a contract, and the last published. Some of the Wickeds have two, and in one case three, series. We seem to be building up a following, which is great. And, again, sharing the blogging load makes life much easier.

Writing a blog – freedom of speech, controversy, and social media

This is the last week of teaching my college online course on writing and marketing a blog. Here are some more of my notes from the class.

Freedom of speech vs. what’s inappropriate (and possibly punishable)

We all know that in America we have freedom of speech. But we also have a few protections from some people’s outrageous speech. People are not allowed to say things that aren’t true, especially if it hurts someone’s “standing in the community.” If someone says something that defames (injures a reputation) of another person – then that is considered slander and it is punishable in a civil court.

“Slander involves the oral “publication” of a defamatory remark that is heard by another, which injures the subject’s reputation or character. Slander can occur through the use of a hand gesture or verbal communication that is not recorded. Libel, on the other hand, is the written “publication” of a defamatory remark that has the tendency to injure another’s reputation or character. Libel also includes a publication on radio, audio or video. Even though this would be considered oral, or verbal, communication to someone it is actually considered to be libel because it is published in a transfixed form.”

Libel is what you have to be very careful about in your blogs. You are always allowed to have an opinion. “She acted like she was suicidal” but you are not allowed to state a fact that is untrue “she is suicidal.” Most of you will probably not have to worry about it, but you need to know that nothing disappears on the internet. Ever. If you say something about your boss or your work, it will eventually be found and it will live on forever to haunt you.

The simple solution is to not post that kind of information in the first place.

My general rule is to write “happy” things. It’s simplistic but it works. I don’t bring up hot topics (religion, guns, abortion) in any of my posts and I am very careful to make sure that if I am stating an opinion, I preface it with something like “in my opinion. “ or “I believe …”

Controversial Topics

So what do you do if you’ve said something controversial that has hit a raw nerve and people are responding in a negative fashion?

Easy, you ignore them. Remember that even bad publicity is good publicity. I have had occasional negative remarks on my blog and I just let them roll off my back like water off a duck. (But remember that my blog topics – “children and chickens” – don’t tend to draw out the negative people – what are they going to say? Chickens are dumb??) Don’t try to fight a negative remark some people (trolls) just put them up there for sport and trying to fight them is the proverbial throwing of gasoline onto a fire.

If you think there is a clear misunderstanding, go ahead and attempt to explain your point, but if the comments just return with more negativity – drop the discussion. Try to remember that a negative remark on a post is *not* a negative remark about *you.* (I know, sometimes that’s easier said than done, it can really hurt when people say nasty things about you.)

If someone is vulgar or leaves a particularly nasty comment, feel free to delete it. This is your blog after all, just as you would pick up some garbage thrown in your front yard by a stranger; feel free to clean your blog of garbage that may be left by others.

Facebook, Twitter, and Google+

For the most part, these are the quick differences between these social media platforms:

• Facebook posts share a graphic and tell a short story or they tell why you should follow a link to read another story.
• Twitter tweets immediately grab attention and divert you to somewhere – think of those exciting headlines we talked about. They are also used to make comments on someone’s posts. But remember that space is limited so you really only get to “talk” in bites.
• Google+ posts are shorter than Facebook but longer than Twitter, these posts include graphics and the audience tends to be a little more high-tech. Google+ tried, but it never really gained traction (but you should still use it to get your blog posts out to another audience.)

As an exercise, take a blog post you’ve already written and then create a post for Facebook, Twitter and then Google+

***

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com) She writes about her chickens for GRIT, Backyard Poultry, Chicken Community, and Mother Earth News.

Need Help with Social Media or WordPress? Meet Barb Drozdowich

If you’re in need of help getting started with promotion through social media, and/or help in setting up a WordPress author page, I’d like you to meet Barb Drozdowich, a social media and WordPress consultant who *loves* working with and helping writers at whatever stage they are at in creating their writer’s platform.

You can meet her at a free online event this Sunday night.

Barb has taught at colleges and universities, trained technical personnel in the banking industry and, most recently, used her expertise to help authors develop the social media platform needed to succeed in today’s fast evolving publishing world.

Barb owns Bakerview Consulting and manages the popular romance book blog, Sugarbeat’s Books.

Her Building Blocks to Author Success series, currently containing 6 books, was born out of her work with authors once she realized there weren’t a lot of non-technical how-to books slanted towards the needs of authors.

 

 

 

 

 

She also has several free WordPress and blogger-related tutorials on her Website you can check out.

 

You are quite welcome to stop in for the live chat and conversation with Barb this Sunday night, April 26, from 7-9pm EST at The Writer’s Chatroom: http://writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm. No password or registration is needed. I’ll be moderating. We’ll even have virtual drinks of all kinds, chocolate, and other goodies.

–>During the chat, Barb will be raffling off a free 1-hour consultation on any of the topics covered by her books or her blogs.

If you have questions for Barb in advance of the chat, feel free to send them to me at lisa@writerschatroom.com, and I’ll make sure they get asked and answered!

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

A Blog of My Own: Living in Place

Roefire Farm photo credit: deborahleeluskin.com

In Planning A Blog, I knew I was looking for a web designer who would help me build a new site, start a blog, link to social media, and develop enough skills to use and edit it all with confidence. Part of me hoped no such person would materialize, and I could stay in my somewhat uncomfortable but familiar state of technophobia, like the proverbial ostrich with her head in the sand.

I wrote the post to illustrate the steps leading up to launching a blog. And while I’ll deny believing in magic, I did hope an angel would knock on my door and say, “I’m here to help.” I never guessed the angel would be my neighbor.

But in the magic that is cyberspace – that vast galaxy of mysterious connections – a friend who read the post recommended Codewryter, a woman I knew vaguely, the way one knows everyone within a ten-mile radius when one lives in sparsely-populated country. I had no idea she was a web designer, let alone a kind, non-judgmental one who would help me reach my goals.

Some people might call this kismet; others, good luck. I’m currently working my way through The Artist’s Way, and Julia Cameron would call it synchronicity, which is what happens when one opens oneself to the good orderly direction of creative energy that powers the universe. By any name, I’m tremendously grateful.

For several years, now, I’ve had a plan to join Twitter, to rebrand my Facebook page, to become more usefully engaged in social media. As long as it was a plan, I could conveniently keep putting it off. But once I signed on with Codewryter, I had to own up.

At our first meeting, she helped me open a Twitter account. I’m still fuzzy about how to use it, but I’m there – and you can find me at @debluskin. (My full name is one character too long for a handle.) I’m in the process of making my personal Facebook page just that – personal. I’ll be changing my privacy settings by the end of the year and rebranding my professional page from Into The Wilderness to Deborah Lee Luskin. It turns out that such name changes take an Act of Facebook when you have more than two hundred followers, so I’m waiting for the Powers That Be to give me the okay. (I had to prove I was a real business with a copy of my electricity bill.)

Migration takes time, which I’m using to learn about different social media platforms, including which ones are right for

Writing Studio, Summer photo by deborahleeluskin.com

me, and how to manage them and still have time to write. Not incidentally, I’m learning that I’m not completely hopeless at navigating in this brave new world.

For readers under a certain age, technophobia may seem foreign and quaint. But to those of us who are Digital Immigrants and remember when the portable electric typewriter and push-button phones were cutting-edge innovations, learning how to navigate in the electronic age is as life-changing to me as it is was a hundred years ago for my grandparents to leave Europe by boat.

I’m glad my grandparents made that journey. And in that spirit of adventure, fear and survival, I’m heading out into new territory with a blog of my own: Living In Place.

I hope you’ll visit me there.

photo: M. Shafer

 

Deborah Lee Luskin lives and writes in Southern Vermont.

 

Conference Burn Out

Last week I shared tips about managing the excitement of attending conferences and that I had four conferences to attend in an 8-day period.

One conference was 3 days, the other 3 conferences were single days, but back-to-back. I wouldn’t recommend doing it and I knew I shouldn’t have attempted to for several reasons:

• It’s too much time to be “on” – mixing and mingling with people, trying to forge new relationships, trying to absorb all the information.
• It’s too much time away from the office – the work doesn’t stop coming in, nor do I ever want it to, and even with an assistant there is always going to be the game of “catch up” once back in the office.
• It’s physically exhausting – with a multi-day conference there’s a good chance of finding quiet space (preferably a room for a nap), but with a single-day conference there isn’t any downtime. If you aren’t in a session, you have a break and breaks are where the networking happens. There is the travel to and from the conference and depending on distance, this could mean getting up early and driving more than an hour. It all contributes to ‘too much.’

These were 4 conferences I wanted to attend, and had attended in the past — it just happened this year that they were scheduled within the same week of November.

Two had the livestream “digital pass” availability and next year I’ll use those options.

I’ve found it’s just as time consuming to attend a conference virtually and just as, or even more engaging, since social media is usually involved (networking is done through Tweets and Chats), but at least there are the benefits of no commute, attending in comfy clothes, and taking bathroom breaks without waiting in line, and no line for lunch either!

Have you ever attended multiple conferences in the same week?

Have you experienced attending a conference virtually, yet?

I ended up attending the full 3-day conference; I left the 1st 1-day conference early; I stayed for the entire second 1-day conference; I didn’t attend the third 1-day conference at all – I started to attend virtually, but my brain had had too much 15 minutes into the first speaker. I’ll be able to watch all of that last conference at any point in the future, though.

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with Lisa on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.

A Day as a Social Media Maven

Last Friday I had the wonderful experience of posting to a company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts for a day.

The company, actually an airport, had their 5th Customer Appreciation Day. This was my second year assisting with their social media activities. And, honestly, it was so much fun I can’t wait until next year.

Social media mavens early in the day

These are my 3 big business-related takeaways:

• Even if your company is equally active on Facebook and Twitter, a one-day event may not result in equal activity on each platform.

For the most part, we posted to Facebook and Twitter at similar times and with similar calls-to-action. We quickly realized Facebook users interacted with us the most. (Last year it was a 50/50 split). So, even if you have a Plan Of Action for the day based on past experience, one platform may leap ahead of the other. (this can apply to any social media platforms, of course).

• The more you interact with those who reply to you, the more interaction you will get.

It was easy early on to post a question and reply to each person who gave feedback (on both platforms), but as the day progressed and more people became involved, well, you can imagine, it was difficult to keep up. But replying to customers who take time to talk to you is critical to running your business. They need to know you’re there and that you’re listening. And in social media, your public reply to one person is magnified when seen by that person’s connections.

• If you ask the right question at the right time, feedback can explode!

As the day came to an end, we posed the question “How can we serve you better?” On Facebook, most of our posts during the day averaged 250 ‘people reached’. This one question is still receiving comments and has exceeded 11,100 ‘people reached’. Even without knowing the intricacies of Facebook’s algorithms, this is significant. Ask your customers what they want, and they will tell you.

And I have to add a personal takeaway:

• Sit properly and get up from the chair now and then.

I literally sat on the edge of my seat all day instead of firmly planted in it and using the back rest. At the end of the day, had a stiffness from the left side of my neck down to my lower back. I did get up on occasion for bathroom and food breaks, but apparently sat twisted on the edge of the chair looking down to the left (at my notes) for too long. Note to self: You need to step away from the keyboard, stretch, breath, and hydrate — even during social media binges. It’s so easy to get caught up in the speed of live interactions on social media!

>>>What social media platform gives you (and your company) the best results?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.

Let’s Get Back to Real Interactions: Commenting vs. ‘Like’-ing on Facebook

Of all the social media platforms, Facebook is the one I’m on the most. I can get drawn in by cute cat videos, spectacular b&w photography images, fun with puns, and the variety of posts my friends share.

I admit to being a bit heavy-handed when it comes to clicking the ‘Like’ button. I sign on, start scrolling through posts, when I see something, I like it, I click ‘Like’ to let folks know I was there, and move on.

But now that has changed.

The other day, a friend posted an interesting article that has led to this post.

The article is “I Quit Liking Things on Facebook for Two Weeks. Here’s How It Changed My View of Humanity.” I hope you’ll read through it.

The first item that jumped out at me was that each ‘Like’ becomes part of an algorithm that will throw certain posts in my feed. That’s annoying. I like thinking for myself, thankyouverymuch!

The  second item, the one that got me thinking was about building relationships. I’ve clicked ‘Like’ to let friends know I saw their post, was happy for what was posted, that I truly liked what was posted, that I simply saw the post and was acknowledging it…basic things.

But after reading the article, I see the value in comments more than Likes, although sometimes there are just times to click the Like – such as when someone comments on a post I’ve made – clicking the Like for that response can sometimes be enough. Otherwise, there might be a battle to who is going to comment last, right?

After sharing the post on my wall, I had a few comments, but also had some private messages. And Wow! Private messages are ‘real’ conversations with real people in real time! How great! It felt strange, too. I mean, social media is fast-moving – you click, scroll, keep moving – who has time for an in-the-moment conversation any more?

I found that I did and I enjoyed it. I’m trying to limit my ‘Like’-ing now on Facebook and commenting on posts that catch my attention instead.

Of course commenting does take more time out of the day than a fast click of the ‘Like’ button, but overall, I feel I’ll be more satisfied with the result.

If you’re on Facebook, what do you think about ‘Like’-ing versus commenting, emailing, and messaging?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She likes a lot of things on Facebook, but is going to give commenting (instead of hitting the Like button) a chance. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.

Thanksgiving Orange Triangles

A huge part of being a writer is social media. You have to constantly engage your audience by posting clever pictures, comments, and interesting information. Many people think this is a drag. I, on the other hand, love the challenge.

“But I’m not good at that,” is a whine I often hear from writers.

You don’t have to be “good” at social media, but you do have to think outside of the box. You also have to be genuinely interested in what other people think and you have to know how to create stories that are delivered in segments.

As an example, a recent Facebook post (not mine) ran this photo and challenged readers to figure out what was wrong with it.

 

The expected answer was that the Charlie Brown gang was discriminating against Franklin (the black child) by making him sit all by himself on one side of the table.

I reposted the picture on my page with the following comment:

Oh for God’s sake. What I saw was that 40 years ago, a cartoonist was insightful enough to include a black child (as well as an arguably young lesbian) in a group of friends that played, worked, worshiped, and broke bread with each other.

Some people have too much time on their hands.

This started a discussion about Charlie Brown and the entire gang. Some people saw discrimination, others saw an innocent and happier time.

The direction of the comments took a turn (as they usually do when many people join in the conversation) and my readers started a discussion about the food on the table in particular that mysterious orange triangle on each plate.

Some people thought it was food, others thought it was a folded napkin. I was in the food category.

I challenged my readers to come up with a recipe for “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Orange Triangles” And to post the results the next day.

This is what went up on my page the following afternoon:

I know that everyone has been patiently waiting for this and so I give you:

“Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Orange Triangles”

otherwise known as stuffing mixed with mashed potatoes and rolled in crushed Doritos (definitely Doritos)

A bit later, I posted this:

And this is a picture of my daughter taste-testing the final product.

I had a few readers who had actually been waiting to see what I would make (they knew that if I said I was going to do something, then I would.) There were also a few who were carrying over some jokes from post to post – that’s what you want to see, that’s the sign of an engaged audience.

The point is that you don’t have to be “good” at social media in order to be good at it. Use a little creativity, have fun, give honest opinions that you’re willing to support (positive opinions generally work better than negative ones) and be interested in what your readers are saying and doing.

Also, use a little bit of your story structure training in your posts. If you notice that a particular post has gotten a lot of attention then use that to your advantage. Post about the topic again (in a new way, don’t be repetitive.)

If people started making jokes in the comments, then pull those out and figure out how to display or highlight them. People love to see witty remarks.

Just like you would in a story, create tension, delay your punchline. Keep them coming back for more.

For example, one of my readers had suggested that the triangle was Brioche. That comment was so out in left field that I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read it. It was a brilliant response and an answer like that deserved to be recognized. So I commented on it and said how I could definitely see the Brioche in those triangles. I even thought about how I could make a Brioche orange triangle but decided to go with my stuffing and mashed potato one instead.

You might be thinking that this is all horribly calculated and fake, but I assure you it’s not. I love interacting with my readers (in fact I love doing it so much, sometimes I have to block Facebook and Twitter in order to get my work done.) Simply put – storytellers love to tell stories.

I don’t see and have never seen social media as a chore, instead I see it as a wonderful opportunity to creatively flex my storytelling muscles while playing in the same sandbox as my audience.

***

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com) She writes about her chickens for GRIT, Backyard Poultry, Chicken Community, and Mother Earth News.

 

Face to Face Social Media

I spend a lot of time behind my keyboard, but in real life, I’m a people person. I love to socialize and meet new people. I used to be an event planner, so I intrinsically understand the value of connecting people face to face. Still, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a conference. I’ve got an itch to meet people.

I know several NHWN writers are looking forward to the New England Crime Bake November 8th & 9th. I’m looking forward to 2014 because there are two conferences coming up for romance writers, the NECRWA Conference and a New Hampshire event that hasn’t been publicly announced yet (I’ll share the details as soon as I can). I’ve also been searching for some professional development events to expand my business as well. I thought I’d share what I found. Right on the heels of Jamie’s post  Social Media and Marketing for Writers: A Crucial First Step, I present to you an incomplete list of conferences on Social Media.

Blogher Pro October 22 & 23, Redwood City, CA. From the website.

BlogHer PRO is a multi-track conference for professionally-minded bloggers looking to take their business, marketing, and technical skills to the next level. Improve your knowledge and hone your skills on everything from personal brand to personal finance to personal privacy.

Time is short, but it’s not too late to register.

The Vermont Web Marketing Summit November 14, 2013 – Burlington, VT From the website

The Vermont Web Marketing Summit is a leading digital marketing conference, held in Burlington, VT, every Fall.

The conference serves as a platform for online marketers and digital marketing experts to keep up to date with the latest trends, benchmark their current digital activities & share challenges and successes with their peers.

Started in 2010 with only 80 attendees, it drew more than 250 attendees from all over New England and beyond in 2012!

A-Ha Social Business Summit November 15, 2013 – Manchester, NH and Online. From the web site

The “A-Ha!” Social Business Summit is a full-throttle experience designed to help you discover, align, and EVOLVE your social media, marketing, and success mojo and paradigms. Join us in person at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH, or online via Digital Pass from anywhere in the world. This award-winning conference, now in its fifth year, is Friday 11/15 from 9am-4pm.

I know we have readers from all over the world, so if none of these venues work for you, take a look at Social Media Breakfast. SMB was started in Boston in 2007 and has spread around the U.S. and the world. Gatherings are typically hyperlocal and inexpensive. For more information and locations visit their web site.

How about you? What events have you attended or will you be attending in the foreseeable future? Please share in the comments.  Who knows we might just meet in person!

Lee Laughlin is a writer, wife, and mom, frequently all of those things at once. She blogs at Livefearlesslee.com. Her words have appeared in a broad range of publications from community newspapers to the Boston Globe. She is currently a freelance marketing communications writer and at work on her first romantic fiction novel.