Guesting at the Unilab Social Media Summit
A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of being one of the panelists at Unilab's Social Media Summit. The topic I participated in, along with Kris of OC Mom in Manila (who runs her own marketing consultancy firm) and Dr. Narciso Tapia of CebuMD, is blogging.
For the panel discussion – Your online BFF: Blogger Friend or Foe? Partnering with bloggers as message advocates
Unilab thought that it would be great to invite bloggers who are also in marketing and PR to get useful insights on how to work with online influencers. We were asked questions like blogger integrity, how to approach bloggers, what motivates bloggers to work with brands, and so on.
It was fun! I'm passionate about blogging and the community. No - I am in love with it. Since I first started blogging seven years ago, it has opened a lot of doors for me and it helped me become who I am now. To talk about it in front of my peers is just amazing!
Considering, when I started, no one thought bloggers would amount to anything. No one thought they would have any influence on public opinion, on spending patterns. But they do now and companies want to find an ideal situation where the bloggers, readers/consumers, and them can help each other.
I loved Unilab's Social Media Summit because it showed that the company is honestly interested in connecting with its consumers via social media. Aside from beauty products (like Asian Secrets and Myra), they also have health-centric campaigns (like Run United) that help promote a better lifestyle for the Filipino. This summit sought to increase awareness on how to better share this message using the Internet, and I really appreciate that.
I hope that I get more opportunities like this in the near future. Ultimately, I want to encourage more companies to work with bloggers who share their expertise and experience. Why? Because I think the world would be a better place if we all understood where we're coming from. :)
Thank you so much to Roch of Unilab for inviting me!
