The first Where To Be Society Meet up was a success. Essense and I thought it would be a great idea to host a local meet up for our Facebook Group Members. It’s always great when you can put an actual face to a Facebook profile picture and know exactly who you’ve been talking to online. All the members are North Carolina Residents from all over the state and we will change the location each time we host an event. The purpose of this group initially came about because we’re very social and would attend many events, then post the recap on our blogs and Facebook Pages. Essense and I would always get questions about how we got invited to a certain event or to keep certain people in the know about upcoming events and we’d get notes on Facebook and Instagram posts. So that’s how the Where To Be Society Facebook Group was born. I also wanted to be able to share blogger opportunities within the group to fellow bloggers. Not everyone in the group is a blogger, we’re just all social butterflies that love to support like minded women however they need us to… Whether it’s a social event, supporting their business, definitely paying it forward and networking with them in mind.
What I loved about our Where To Be Society meet up is that I didn’t really know any of the attendees personally outside of Essense and my sister before our meet up. We were able to do an icebreaker by playing networking bingo which allowed us to get to know one another better. We even took it a step further by going around the table and introducing ourselves, stating what it is that we do and why we were in the group. Everyone in the group is brilliant! We have women in corporate America, entrepreneurs, bloggers and professional cheerleaders that just want to see us succeed. It’s nice to have others be there to cheer us to success! I met a videographer name Tamra that I’ll be reaching out to about shooting my follow up Music Video Parody to Sponsor. If you haven’t seen that video, just check out the YouTube channel and you’ll see me in all my silliness but, being very serious at the same time. Lol! I also am thinking about doing a commercial for my blog and services that I provide. It’s all about branding yourself! I also love that everyone in attendance was well versed about different things and we can teach and learn from one another. There were bloggers that just started blogging and others that have been blogging for as long as I have been blogging. I started this blog in 2009!
I honestly can’t wait to see how we grow and continue to coordinate events, support our fellow bloggers and socialites at their events as we continue to network with one another. I was able to make some DIY photo props for our pictures and selfies. It was a hoot to play networking bingo. I can’t wait to plan our next Where To Be Society event in a couple of months. There are definitely benefits for hosting local meet ups for virtual groups online. I’m comfortable knowing that I met some of our group members personally and when we are talking online as we continue to get to know one another these relationships will be priceless! I have to mention that Essense made me feel special on Sunday night because… we met online and I designed her blog within a very SHORT window period because she had planned a blog launch party and I needed to meet her deadline. Well, I took on the job and we’ve been rocking & rolling ever since. BUT… Essense said that there was just something about me. You never know who you’re going to connect with. Doesn’t that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy? I know I did. Lol! I have met so many people whom I consider “FRIENDS” online and it grew even more once we had that face to face time. I’ve roomed with bloggers at conferences after connecting with them on Twitter and we’re connected to this day.
Have you ever coordinated a meet up for a online group that you have started or are a part of? Did you find it beneficial for the group? What were your key takeaways from that experience?