Last night I did something I haven't done in over two years - I talked to a group of people IN PERSON about using social media to help drive their businesses forward.
The vast majority of my work over recent years has been focused on helping senior leaders in large organisations to use LinkedIn™ more effectively in a personal, professional capacity, but this session was for a group of local, freelance and small business owners, members of Newbury Co-Lab.
There were a few things that struck me:
1. The same broad principles apply to building your presence whether you're a sole trader or a senior leader. Being true to yourself and being useful and relevant to your audience trumps pretty much anything else.
2. I was reassured that my focus on pragmatism is the right one for busy people to bring focus and sustainability to their efforts. In fact, having had very little feedback on this line over the past three years, I've had three different endorsement for it in the last week alone.
3. It's amazing when you're talking to people in the same room and they are genuinely engaging with the subject. I also remembered I quite like doing these kinds of sessions every now and again. I don't mind admitting that I'm still benefiting from that feeling this morning.
And last but by no means least, how amazing is the venue in the picture?!
Melissa Richards gave me a guided tour of the Buick Mackane facilities and I loved the feel of the place. It's named after a T-Rex track, so I littered the presentation with references to Marc Bolan, much to the bemusement of the audience.
There's another room with vinyl album sleeves adorning the wall and I think I could happily spend hours staring at them. If I wasn't already wedded to The Sett - my garden office - I would be making use of this local shared office space for sure. Check it out if you're from or working in the Newbury area.