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Speaking at the Charlotte Health & Fitness Expo

I was so honored to be asked to be a featured speaker at the Greater Charlotte Health & Fitness Expo this year!

This is a fantastic and well-attended annual event, now in its third year. It is two days packed with activities, including fitness classes, cooking demonstrations, seminars and aisles of vendor booths.

My presentation was at the Seminar Stage on Sunday afternoon. I spoke on, “Five Simple Secrets for Starting–and Sticking to–a Workout Program,” revealing the five things I did differently that enabled me to finally succeed in my own weight loss and fitness journey after decades of failure. After my talk, I enjoyed answering questions and chatting with the audience.

I had such a great time, and really look forward to the opportunity to do something like this again!

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© Michelle Rogers, Inc.

Five professional highlights from the past year

The past year was filled with behind-the-scenes hard work, expanding on my current knowledge and building my online brand. Here are a few highlights from 2014.

1. Attending two blogging conferences. In October, I was invited to Fitness Magazine’s Blogger Meet and Tweet in New York City, and in May I went to Fitbloggin ’14 in Savannah. Both of these events offered excellent opportunities to learn at breakout sessions, to network with bloggers from around the country, and to connect with brands in person.

2. Explosive social media growth. I worked every day to grow my presence on social media, and was especially active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. As a result, my followers on Twitter nearly tripled this year, Facebook doubled and Instagram quadrupled.

3. Developing a media kit and working with brands. The growth of my healthy living blog now attracts brands interested in partnering with me on promotions such as reviews, giveaways and advertising. This year I really delved into that aspect of professional blogging, and have enjoyed the experience. I also created a media kit with information about me and the website, such as how much traffic the site receives and the services I offer. I send this to brands who request information, and to those I’m pitching. Please contact me if you’d like to receive it, and I’ll send you one with my latest stats.

4. Welcoming new clients. I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Jennifer Swanberg of the University of Maryland, and created an outstanding website promoting her research. She was so pleased with my work that she referred me to a colleague at the University of Kentucky, and I’m currently working on a new site for their research project.

5. Presenting. I was asked twice this year to be a guest lecturer in classes at UNC, one of them an undergraduate public relations class and the other a master’s level class. I spoke on using social media and blogs strategically to promote your organization. I was also thrilled and honored to be asked to present at the upcoming Charlotte Fitness and Health Expo in January. I’ll be speaking on, “Five Simple Secrets for Starting–and Sticking to–a Workout Program,” a very timely topic for those whose New Year’s resolution is to lose weight and get in shape. I’m busy working on that presentation now, and am so excited about this opportunity!

2015 will no doubt be another busy year, and I’m excited about the new adventures to come.

© Michelle Rogers, Inc.

Using social media and blogs strategically to promote your organization

This week I was a guest speaker at two University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill classes. One was an undergraduate class of about 27 senior public relations students at the School of Journalism. The other was a master’s level class of about 17 enrolled in a marketing for nonprofits course at the School of Social Work.

I presented on “Using Social Media and Blogs Strategically to Promote Your Organization,” and drew from my experiences as a director of communications at UNC as well as with my clients and my healthy lifestyle blog.

First, I showed them all of the social media channels and online communication vehicles we are using at the School of Social Work, including blogs, our e-newsletter, and our Contact Magazine news site. Then I relayed the ways that we are using social media and blogging together to increase our readership and to bring visitors to our website. I also explained some of the benefits of having a WordPress-based blog, and encouraged them to establish their own site and use social media to drive traffic to it, rather than rely on a Facebook page to be their organization’s site.

In a section I called “The Art and Science of Social Media,” I explained that being successful in social media requires using both sides of your brain — the analytical, and the creative.

I emphasized the importance of defining your target audience, and how to use Google Analytics and other tools to learn more about your site’s visitors, such as where they are located, when they are online, and what content they respond to. For example, it’s important to take time zones into account with social media if you have a national or international audience.

I also offered some dos and don’ts, strategies for increasing your followers, and tips on using Facebook and Twitter to grab attention, encourage engagement, and drive traffic to your site.

We also discussed style, voice, and the use of storytelling and visuals in creating compelling content.

They were both outstanding groups, and asked a lot of wonderful questions. I enjoyed this experience so much, and love being able to share what I’ve learned and discuss strategy. I can’t wait until the next time!

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