I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I definitely find it fascinating: the way we’re connected to everybody now, the way our perception of people changes when we see these manufactured bits of insight into each other’s lives. And I find it incredibly useful, too — social media was the affordable (ahem, free) medium we needed to help build Church Street Coffee & Books into the successful shop it is today, and it was social media that helped me fund, write, publish and go on tour with The Localist book.
But I’m the first to admit that social media can be overwhelming. It changes so quickly that it feels impossible to pin down (that’s a little Pinterest joke, for those of you paying attention), and it’s hard to know just how to present yourself on social media.
I speak a lot about social media. I talk about it with my clients, and I talk about it with fellow business owners and freelancers. I do a lot of presentations at conferences and groups around town, and most of those talks are at least in part about social media. Just last week, I had a great time speaking at The Secret’s Out conference. The topic? How to use social media to build a following that not only likes your photos, but also pays for your products and services. (Hint: Those aren’t always the same people.)
Every time I do a short talk at a conference, though, I have trouble narrowing down my talking points. There’s so much to share that’s helpful, and it’s hard to do that in limited time. So I’m really excited that I’m able to start offering my Pop-Up Workshop again — it’s a whole day of social media goodness packed into one Saturday. The topic is Social Media for Small Business and Personal Branding, and I basically teach you everything I know about using social media to sell stuff, whether that stuff is physical products that get rung up at your cash register or freelance work.
This workshop isn’t for everyone — if you’re checking your Analytics every day and scheduling posts and paying a lot of attention to metrics, it might be too basic. (Then again, if those metrics aren’t making you happy, maybe it’s a good idea to revisit your messaging.) But the workshop is designed for people trying to transition from personal social media to marketing-based social media. It’s also good for anybody who doesn’t know the first thing about social media. Seriously, the point for me is to break this stuff down to be so manageable that anybody can handle it. Because really, social media shouldn’t be that complicated. And anyone who says differently — well, they’re probably trying to sell you something.
I’m selling something, too, of course — a ticket to the workshop is $100. But I really believe it’s worth the money, and according to the feedback I’ve gotten from doing this workshop in the past (this will be the fifth time I’ve taught it), it’s actually a bargain because it really pays off.
The workshop will be at Innovation Depot on September 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lunch is included (thanks to our sponsors at Infomedia), and if you’re not completely satisfied … well, I’m not giving you your money back. But I will teach you how to write for Twitter, so you can say really bad stuff about me and put it all over the Internet.
You can find more details on the Pop-Up Workshop here. Oh, and tell your friends — it’s nice to have a conference buddy, and I’ll give you back 10% of your purchase price when you refer someone who buys a ticket.
Carrie Rollwagen is author of The Localist: Think Independent, Buy Local and Reclaim the American Dream, creator of 30 Days of Local Praise and co-founder of Church Street Coffee & Books. Find her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @crollwagen.