04 Jan - Review - Social Media - New Face of Entrepreneurship
Global Entrepreneur Week - London
Gathered in the top floor of a Covent Garden Salon, the buzz and electricity in the room as we got started was fairly deafening. It was Global Entrepreneur Week, a week programmed with talks and workshops focusing on how-tos and personal stories of entrepreneurial journey - and it was abundantly clear to me that we had an audience armed with questions, full of anticipation and a strong desire to learn from the people on stage. The perfect setting then to hold a conversation about growing a following online, learning from some of New Zealand’s best: Celeste Wong from The Girl In The Cafe, Rebecca Page from RebeccaPage.com and Jacqueline Gilbert of c1209.The conversation began with each speaker sharing their story,
as I asked them how they got started and to share the unexpected challenges and breakthroughs along the way. The common theme was resilience, tenacity and vision. Not giving up. As we spoke each speaker's perspective shone through, connecting with the audience through background, industry - or even chosen social media platform. Celeste was the instagram expert, sharing insights she has learnt along the way in founding and growing the reach of her personal brand The Girl In The Cafe.
Rebecca shared impressive data expertise, welding Facebook analytics powerfully to gain real impact. Jacqueline displayed a real understanding of her audiences nuances and the need to be smart about where to put your online ad spend, choosing incredibly targeted niche influencers over influencers with millions of followers.With the audience hanging on every word, the Q&A at the end was unsurprisingly fast and furious. It was impressive to see an event where speaker and audience could be so connected, and share so directly. I have no doubt this talk inspired many in the audience to push further into their own projects with more efficacy than before.
Certainly the smiles that blanketed the room as we closed up the event were an good metric of a great night out.
