I recently had the good fortune to attend an incredible all-day seminar by internet marketing guru Patrick Schwerdtfeger on, “Social Media Victories: Real Businesses, Real Campaigns, Real Results.” Patrick, who is the author of “Webify Your Business,” offered tons of great information – in fact, more than I could process in one day. It’s been a couple of weeks since I attended the seminar and I’m still working my way through my notes!
One of the tips I decided to try right away was his recommendation to be a participant on LinkedIn. He encouraged everyone to “join the conversation,” by answering questions, posting comments and chiming in on a discussion. When you answer questions, Patrick says, “the only people who will find it, will by the people looking for the information.” Sounded like good advice to me.
A few days after the seminar, I noticed a question posted on LinkedIn by Andrew Ballenthin, who is currently writing a book about social media successes. He sent out a request for examples of success stories, so I wrote a short paragraph about the work I did over the summer as the Facebook page administrator for a two-month fund-raising drive for Pleasanton schools. (The Facebook page was one part of an all-electronic communications that also included two websites, an email newsletter and frequent emails. Our collective efforts helped raise $463,000 in donations.)
Andrew posted my story on his blog and that day, I received a couple of inquiries, including one from David Prior of Social Magnet in Manchester, England. He asked to interview me for his blog and forwarded several questions for me to answer. By the next morning, his blog article about the schools’ fundraising campaign was online.
Who knew Patrick’s recommendation to join the conversation could result in international attention! Count me as a believer.
Tags: Facebook page, fundraising campaign, Pleasanton schools, social media victories
This is tremendous. Congratulations! I’m thrilled your contributions on LinkedIn turned into so much so fast. It’s a great story. Thanks for sharing and keep it up!!