Community Social Media Influencers At Work:The Iloilo Bloggers Experience

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ILOILO BLOGGERS INC.SEC Company Reg. No.: CN201027519

Email: contact@iloilobloggers.comWebsite: http://www.iloilobloggers.comFacebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/iloilobloggers/

• United online and towards one goal, Ilonggo bloggers founded the group Iloilo Bloggers Inc. in 2008.

• We are the main organization of bloggers in Iloilo aiming to contribute to the development of Iloilo by utilizing the power of its member’s blogs and uniting Ilonggos everywhere.

• We took on measures for bloggers to be recognized in Iloilo.

• In January 2010 the Iloilo Bloggers Inc. became a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered non-stock, non-profit organization.

• We organized the first ever Visayas Blogging Summit and the 2nd Philippine Blog Awards – Visayas in 2010.

• First event of its kind to be hosted in Iloilo.

• Gathered more than 250 bloggers from all over Visayas, invited guests from Luzon and expert speakers from different fields.

Visayas Blogging Summit

• The goal of the VBS was to gather ideas and explore the potential impact of blogging in society, business and politics.

• The 2nd Philippine Blog Awards – Visayas, on the other hand, recognized notable Visayan-owned and Visayan-related blogs in their respective niches.

Photos by Gerry Ruiz

The Iloilo Bloggers helped by organizing a donation drive. We sent some of the relief goods to our blogger friends in CDO while used clothing were given to a local TV network’s foundation who also shipped them to CDO and Iligan.

Donation Drive for Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Typhoon Sendong Victims

• Held last October 2012. • We organized this event for 2 months only.

• This was our second major event as an organization next to VBS.

Iloilo Zombie Run

• The Iloilo Zombie Run is the FIRST ZOMBIE RUN OUTSIDE Manila and the THIRD in the whole PHILIPPINES.

• It was an obstacle course within a race. Runners navigated through rough terrain and obstacles while trying to escape zombies and come out of the race alive.

• We organized the IZR to raise funds for the org and a portion of the proceeds was donated to the SPECIAL OLYMPICS PHILIPPINES Iloilo Chapter.

• They went to represent our country in the Special Olympics games in Macau where they garnered a lot of medals.

Iloilo Zombie RunFacebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/IloiloZombieRun/

Part of the proceeds of the Iloilo zombie Run went to our beneficiaries – the SPED Special Olympics Athletes.

Media Coverage

• In all our events we used social media to help plan, promote, and build excitement.

• Our goal is to get as many people as possible interested in our events, and social media is a perfect compliment for spreading the word to our core base of target attendees, sponsors, and beyond.

How Did We Do It?

• What we did is continually promote through social media with frequent posts.

• We recommend at least an 80/20 ratio for all your social media efforts, with 80 percent of your updates focused on informational and non-sales posts, and 20 percent on straight sales and promotion.

• Because if all you do is promote your event, your “Likers” and followers will tune you out and may stop following you all together.

• Build interest through scarcity. What we did is we announced when there are only a limited number of seats left (if that’s actually the case). “Only 5 registrations forms remain. Get yours now …”

• Fill last minute cancellations. Use social media posts to let people know there are a few last-minute registrations forms available for those who still want to attend but may have originally missed out on them.

• Promote what attendees can expect. Post short updates to give prospective attendees a glimpse at what you have planned for the event. It can go a long way when it comes to generating buzz for the event. • Brand your event with an event hashtag.

After the event ends, social media can help extend the buzz and—if it’s a recurring event like the Iloilo Zombie Run—help promote the next installment. So what we did was:

1. Upload pictures of the event.2. Upload videos from the event.3. Leverage our blogs with posts about the event.4. Thank attendees for coming through our social media channels.

• We utilized social media to communicate with each other and our participants.

• It helped broaden the participation of our Facebook Likers, and they voluntarily shared information.

• Social media helped us create media buzz and engage our participants.

• One thing is clear: social media and blogging has revolutionized events. If done right, any event can become a global experience.

http://maryjanecabrera.com/

Thank You!