By now there are hundreds of podcasts, live streams, and talk shows borne out of the pandemic lockdown. A few months ago, I organized an international, time-zone hopping, online radio station reunion for me and my colleagues at the now-defunct and still beloved Manila-based rock radio station NU 107. The first NU 107 reunion was such a hit that I organized a second reunion and a third one was held organized by someone else. What a trip!
Since then I’ve hosted other live streams and recorded interviews with other personalities. Encouraged by audience response and this sense of nineties nostalgia, I have launched a series of interviews with Filipino rock musicians. The series is called “Midnight Sessions” because they interviews are recorded either at midnight Manila time or midnight Pacific Standard Time. We start each interview with some reminiscing but eventually talk about current projects and sometimes deeper thoughts, but always, at some point, my guest performs a song.
For the most part I use the Be.Live platform to create the Midnight Sessions shows but when this is not possible, I create a Zoom recording.
For Episode 1 of the Midnight Sessions, I recorded an interview with former radio DJ and The Breed frontman Charlie Y, via Zoom. I then streamed LIVE on Facebook using Be. Live and played the Zoom recording. I am joined live by another DJ Tabitha. This video is a recording of the Facebook Livestream on YouTube.
For Episode 2 of the Midnight Sessions, I interviewed Blue Jean Junkies singer Nino Mendoza using the Be. Live platform. It was recorded at midnight, Manila time and then premiered days later on Facebook.
I plan to produce a season of 8 interviews for the Midnight Sessions. You can watch them premiere on Facebook.com/marcietaylormedia Saturdays at midnight, Manila Time, which would be Saturdays at 9 AM, Los Angeles time/ PST.
As a social media marketer for live events ranging from theater performances to community festivals, our current world-wide health crisis has hit me hard. With lockdowns taking effect mid-March and events getting cancelled one after the other, coming up with a Plan B has been essential. There’s nothing like a LIVE event. It’s that feeling of being a part of something bigger than yourself; it’s standing there next to other people sharing your experience; it’s the smells, the sounds (and in the case of a food event, the tastes), it’s a whole multi-sensory communal experience. As I helped organizers navigate this new world without gatherings, I realized that there is no reason that the communal experience aspect of live events could not still take place. From the safety of our homes, we can still experience the joys of watching a concert, a show and even a festival!
Last March, I was psyched to be a part of what was to be the first ever Filipina Festival in celebration of Women’s History Month in San Pedro, CA. We had performers lined up, volunteers on the ready, food vendors on hand. Alas just two weeks before the event, stay at home orders were enforced. We watched as the world changed overnight and social gatherings became off limits. Just when we thought our epic event would not happen, the clever organizers “Reimagined the event– ONLINE.” And thus, the first Virtual #FilipinaFest took place. I was fortunate to have been selected as one of the event hosts. In person – this would’ve meant going on stage, microphone in hand and facing a crowd which could be nerve-wracking for me; but online, this just meant I had to be in front of my computer, camera ready. I think choosing four hosts to divide the segments was a good idea. That made the festival feel like an organized program rather than a really long telethon.
Next, we had to contact the performers and check to see who could still perform given the new technical requirements. Was their number something they could do on camera? Did they have the tech to pull it off?
Then came the next decision: what platform would be used to broadcast the festival. I personally recommended a variety of ways ranging from the crude and basic i.e. taking turns taking over the Instagram account to meeting up at a studio one at a time keeping the proper social distance. In the end, our talented producer selected the be.live platform– this meant that there was a level of control that doing a purely Facebook LIVE video did not have. Our producer/main host was able to control who got to be onscreen, when and for how long. She was also able to add graphics, crawling text, and video when needed. Best of all, the entire stream could be downloaded for later use and posting to other channels. Our be.live stream was broadcast on Facebook LIVE. Two members of the team updated the Instagram channel in real-time as well – sharing what was going on in the FB live stream.
The first part of the festival garnered over 10,000 views and the second part received 14,700 views.
The event was a massive success – as we reached people who would not have made it to the in-person event otherwise. The scope of the guests and attendees went beyond Southern California! While there were a few technical issues like sound not working etc., overall that “communal experience” came through.
Here are things that YOU can do to make your virtual event a success:
Make a Plan
Once the decision has been made to take your in-person event online, you will need to make a plan.
First, decide what your goal is for doing your event virtually. While an online event will never replace the excitement of being in a crowd and experiencing the atmosphere in person, doing an event online has its advantages foremost of which is reaching an even larger audience worldwide.
Next, decide if you want the event to be free or paid, who will be involved in the production etc. and plan accordingly. There are many tools that will help you stage your virtual event successfully.
Choose Your Platform
You can directly stream to Facebook, Instagram Live, and YouTube Live. However, if you want to get creative with graphics and text, you can try out platforms like Be.Live (For Facebook and YouTube) or Streamyard. For multiple guests, you can always try Zoom or even Skype. By the way, Be.live and Streamyard can also accommodate multiple people.
You can coordinate with your guests to come in LIVE based on a schedule.
You can also edit together LIVE video with a mix of Pre-Recorded video. Like they did for the recent Global Citizen Livestream curated by Lady Gaga and the Sondheim Birthday Tribute.
After the pre-show and show proper Livestream, the performance videos were released individually on YouTube. This is a moving collaboration of “The Prayer” by Lady Gaga, Andrea Bocelli, Lang Lang, and Celine Dion.
This livestream broadcast was shorter than the Global Citizen show but you MUST watch this epic moment featuring Meryl Streep, Audra Day and Christine Baranski.
Now Promote
Create social media graphics.
Post your event on online calendars and send out a press release as you would a live in-person event.
Ask key players to promote their participation.
Ask community groups to host Watch Parties of the actual event
Release teaser videos
Mobilize the Community
In these days of isolation, now more than ever, we seek connection. Use this virtual event as an opportunity to connect with people before, during and after the event.
The teaser videos and promo graphics will help fuel discussion before the events. Ask people to sign up for email reminders for the LIVE VIRTUAL EVENT.
Send an email blast out to remind people of the LIVE event. And invite people to host watch parties to build excitement for the event.
Post recorded video of the live event to YouTube and social media channels for those who miss the live event or for those who just want to re-watch it.
Final Thoughts
It may be a while until we have large-scale live events again due to the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. So why not make use of the available tools to reach wider audiences virtually – at least for now.
UPDATE: The day Lara Spencer apologized on Good Morning America for making fun of a young prince and his study of ballet, an amazing thing happened outside their New York studios. Watch here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1oVOlTBNad/
By Friday morning, the ballet pages I manage were abuzz with activity and outrage. I found out it was because on the TV program “Good Morning America,” host Lara Spencer seemingly mocked a little boy who was interested in ballet.
To me, it definitely looked like Lara and the others on the show laughed when they found out that young Prince George (yes, Future King of England!) was going to take ballet lessons. It was ignorant, insulting and straight-up mean. If they could make fun of a prince wanting to dance ballet, what would they do to other children who expressed an interest in the centuries-old art? There was nothing even funny about the news report. If anything, it was impressive – I mean, how many six-year-olds do YOU know who are studying the following subjects: “religious studies, computer programming, poetry, and ballet?”
In response to the news, I posted up images and videos of
danseurs that had just performed at Festival Ballet Theatre’s recent gala.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1g58pHgGmO/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1g9oJMAIqB/
On my personal page, I cut together this video highlighting
some very talented boys/men who do ballet!
Meanwhile, the internet was on fire, and #princegeorge #ballet4boys was trending. Dancers from around the world, young and old, celebrities and non-celebrities shared their stories:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1gjmZTBCxW/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1hehsahFFw/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1hK8gwnu4s/
Everyone is demanding a real apology.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1g7BbQl2DE/
Not like this lame apology.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1gzsy_D7-L/
In the words of the iconic Debbie Allen: “Lara Spencer and Good Morning America. you owe the Royal Family and the dance world an apology. “
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1hDs_Rhi2l/
UPDATE!
Lara Spencer of Good Morning America apologized on camera for the comments she made about Prince George studying ballet. She sat down with dancers Travis Wall, Robbie Fairchild, and Fabrice Calmels. It seemed heartfelt enough and the dance community is a forgiving lot. So all’s well that ends well.
In my opinion, the whole situation just highlighted the ignorance of many people and the low regard our culture has not only for dance but for arts as a whole. This Washington Post article goes into it deeper. Here’s an excerpt: “It’s admirable that the future king of England gets to study ballet as part of his schooling, and that should be valued, said former New York City Ballet principal Philip Neal in an interview with The Washington Post. As a victim of bullying who found life-changing solace in the dance studio, he was disturbed by Spencer’s attack on arts education.”
Not 5 years ago, the influencer landscape was different, it
was when moms ruled the blogosphere and back then I had “klout.” The influence
sort of just came along with blogging territory. Obviously, if people read,
interacted and commented on your blog, surely you carried some influence with
them. Right?
To further the perception of influence, mom bloggers were
all early adopters of social platforms – so they (we!) were the first to be on
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and much later, Instagram!
The smart PR people realized this and built relationships,
offered swag, goods, services in exchange for our “influence.” But unlike the
way it is now, when a company or PR person “gave” you something, there wasn’t
the expectation that you would make a sales pitch for them and endorse what
they gave you. It wasn’t so much an expectation as it was a hope. Old school PR
style – I’ll pitch ya a story and if you think it interests you, go write about
it. If you write a review, make it an honest one.
Then things started to change and mutual expectations began
to rise – companies expected bloggers/influencers to churn out content, views
and traffic; while bloggers/influencers started expecting compensation both in
cash and kind.
And then something curious happened, you didn’t even need a
blog to be insta-famous anymore – you just needed followers.
And that’s where I got lost.
These days I find myself on the other side of the table,
preferring to work with clients. I am no longer considered an “influencer” with
my small numbers. Apparently, I am a
“microinfluencer.” When “hosted” at an event or given “swag,” I have to
remember to hashtag-ad #ad and no, #spon (short for sponsored) is not
acceptable.
One last thought – if everyone becomes an influencer, who are
we influencing?
Oh yeah we have someone doing social for us, a potential
client tells me. Is she your marketing person I ask. “Ah well, she’s an office
girl here and does a bit of everything,” comes the reply. “And she really
understands our business,” he adds. Yes, but does she understand social media
marketing? He changes topic – “I have someone who does our website too, and
someone else that does SEO…. And then well like I said,” this girl does social,
he reiterates.
At this point, I am confused as to why I’ve been called in,
to be honest. I am a marketing consultant, specializing in social media, after
all. I suggest that I’d be open to maybe taking a look at what they have in
place and giving suggestions for how to integrate social media with the rest of
their marketing efforts. No that’s okay, he says, this girl DOES our social.
So I give up. Apparently, I am to consult on influencer
marketing. This is going to be tough since influencer marketing is so
integrated into social media. Hmmm… this will be a challenge.
Our meeting ends on a high note and handshakes so it’s all good. In the end, I am to help with the influencer program for now. We’ll see how that goes, hopefully, office girl will understand how to amplify the influencers’ posts or at least be open to my suggestions.
As a social media consultant, I have often been asked about best practices. I do hesitate to just give out advice about specific strategies because in this ever-changing world of social media, a strategy or practice that was effective for one brand, may not work on another. Furthermore, a social media tactic that works today may not work tomorrow, due to changing algorithms and platforms.
So when asked about best practices, I go back even further, looking at core practices that will work regardless of platform or medium.
Below are THREE CORE PRACTICES that you could implement on your brand, no matter what social media platform you are using.
To start, you must remember this:
The followers and supporters you have on social media are there because they believe in the work that you do, share your values and appreciate your brand or organization’s mission. The social media landscape changes every day. Platforms remove and add features constantly. And algorithms are altered continuously.
You can reach new audiences and strengthen relationships with existing supporters, regardless of the changes that happen in social media. Here’s how:
1. Use Storytelling Techniques in Your Posts
It’s always about the story. By incorporating narrative techniques into your content, whether through text and photos or even better – video, you can trigger emotions and engagement.
EXAMPLE
American Cancer Society on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanCancerSociety/videos/355208295048573
The story of Velma Dunn, a cancer survivor, is told in her own words via video.
Here’s what the post looks like on the Facebook feed:
Tom’s Shoes
The story here is about Tom’s campaign to “End Gun Violence,” and of course, what better way to tell the story than to have Tom’s Shoes Founder Blake Mycoskie relate the story in his own words, via video. https://www.facebook.com/toms/videos/253542505317470/
More Examples!
Barks of Love on Instagram – In thoughtful #pupoftheweek posts, Barks of Love tells the story of ONE pup at a time.
A Walk on Water on Instagram – Again, another effective storytelling post, tagging the appropriate partners.
2. Understand your audience. Each platform has a unique audience, so posting the same image or video or text across all platforms is ineffective.
Use Instagram to share snapshots of people, volunteers (if you are a non-profit), customers, event attendees, your products being made, etc. Remember to direct them to your Facebook page or website for more information. (Note: at this time, hyperlinks in Instagram do not work, instead direct them to a “link in bio,” which is clickable.)
Use Facebook to post longer stories, campaign information, event promotions.
In this example, you will see the same post with a slight difference for each channel – the hyperlink, also see how it is tagged on Instagram. Note the same content posted on different days per channel
Charity:Water on Facebook
Charity: Water on Instagram
3. Leverage social media to achieve a concrete goal: promote an event, get donations, recruit volunteers. Remember to link signup or event pages on your website.
Ex. Alzheimer’s Association
These examples show how the Alzheimer’s Association promotes its Walk for Alzheimer’s accross platforms -note the size changes but the same look and info.
So what now? As you enter the new year, remember these three things when creating your social media strategy. Tell a story, know your audience, and remember that social media tools are just the means to an end and not the end itself.
I stumbled upon what I thought was just a nice afternoon show celebrating Filipina women artists but ended up in the what turned out to be an activists’ meeting. I should’ve gotten a hint from the title of the show, of course – “Pinay Uprising.” But it wasn’t just some generic feminist gathering, in fact, it honed in on something super specific – the Philippines. The event was meant to foster “empowerment in the Filipino community and advocate for women’s rights.” The organizers of the event were Malaya: a US Movement Against Killings and Dictatorship and for Democracy in the Philippines. According to the organizers, the name “MALAYA” (Filipino for “free”) seeks not only to broaden opposition from the U.S. to fascism but also to broaden U.S.-based support for the cause of freedom and democracy in the Philippines.
Performers at “Pinay Uprising” included: Giselle “G” Tongi, Arianna Basco, Minerva Vier, and Ruby Ibarra.
Each speaker opened my eyes to the plight of my kababayans (countrymen) and it was shocking. During the Q&A portion, I couldn’t help but reveal “I am a real Orange County housewife and I didn’t even know “this” (extrajudicial kilings etc) was happening.” It made me sad and mad, it made me feel helpless, as well, being so far away. But there is always something we can do to help. Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/joinmalaya
Have you noticed a wave of creative breakfast meetings, retreats and conferences? It’s like the bigger, more expensive trade show-type conferences have given way to more intimate, often free to attend, gatherings. It is almost as if, in this plugged in, digital world of ours, people are craving a more personal, IRL connection.
Can you feel it?
Recently, I attended a Connecting Things event in Irvine, which was a screening of the documentary “Love and Bananas.” I had attended another event of theirs over a year ago, when the guest speaker was filmmaker Bayan Joonam from Soul Pancake. There was not much interaction at that one. There was a big turnout and though you were encouraged to network, people mainly came to listen and learn. Everyone seemed friendly enough and oh yes, there was pizza, Pie-Not and Kombucha!
By the way, “Love and Bananas: An Elephant Story” is a beautiful documentary about saving Asian elephants, but that’s an article for another time.
Then there’s Creative Mornings, which I have yet to attend. It is a breakfast lecture series for the creative community and they hold them in cities around the world. I’ve also been seeing a surge in women-only events like Create Cultivate.
So what does this have to with me? Well, I’ve been working on something but it’s still in its infancy. I want to announce it with a big bang, or maybe just slip into things quietly. I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll do both. Or maybe I’ll just blog about it here and share our progress.
Alright, are you ready? Here we go.
About half a year ago, I started hosting social media breakfasts as a way to meet fellow content creators. We shared tips and tricks with anyone who needed any social media and marketing help. We learned from each other. Some of my breakfast-mates I had already worked with and some I wanted to work with. Those were good times. When the social media breakfasts went on hiatus, my cohorts and I found ourselves missing each other, missing the exchange of ideas and really missing being able to collaborate.
What collaboration looked like during that first meeting. Portola Coffee, Birdie Bowl, SOCO and the OC Mix flyers. Posted as an Instagram story by Suzanne Moshenko.
Fast forward to today. Five of these brunch buddies and I have come together to form our own creative collective. We are writers, photographers, public relations professionals, and social media managers. In a word, we are storytellers. And we’ve formed a company that I call c3komunity which stands for “connect, create, and collaborate.”
Like I said, we’re just starting out and I invite you to check out our website that I’ve been working on. Basically, you hire us to create content and we create a social media strategy for you and you can take it on yourself and use the content as you see fit. Explaining this process to a prospective client is our biggest challenge right now. But see it’s like this: Let’s say you have a product to launch, you’d hire a photographer, writer, social media person, and publicist separately paying $$$. Or you could go through a big agency and pay even more $$$$. The process would take months to come up with creatives, get approval and finally launch.
Well, here’s where we come in. We’re a one-stop shop, all the creative and production work done by our c3komuniy, with a reasonably fast turnaround time too.
Is that something you’d be interested in?
“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence, something throbs, and gleams…”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
We headed out to Indian Wells on a Saturday afternoon. It had been a hectic morning, and the sun was blazing, the traffic, late star, hectic morning made for a grumpy crew. The short 2-hour ride from OC felt longer.
When we arrived at Miramonte Indian Wells Resort and Spa, bathed in the familiar desert heat, we switched to vacation mode. Lying at the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains, Miramonte immediately puts one in a relaxed state. All around the property are bougainvillea flowers, fragrant citrus trees, olive trees and… We stayed at one of the newly-renovated villas and found the accommodations absolutely perfect.
The resort has three swimming pools with cabanas, luxury lounge chairs, and daybeds. Since it was 114 degrees, we made sure we had a cabana. They even had a movie (E.T.) showing by the pool! It was part of their summer promo called “Starlight Sip and Swim,” which includes cabana rentals, a new poolside menu, and cocktails!
When the kids took a break from the movie and pool, they headed out to the lawn to play giant connect-four, Jenga, ladder ball and other outdoor lawn games.
Later they would discover a function room in the main building, near the reception, which has been converted into a game room. It was just some old school pinball machines and Pac-Man but my boys were all over it!
I met with Chef Paul Hancock, who showed me his garden and excitedly shared the dishes he made with the herbs and produce grown right there on the property. There are two restaurants at Miramonte: Citrus and Palm and The Tavern at Citrus and Palm.
THE WELL SPA
Perhaps the thing I looked forward to the most at Miramonte was a visit to their award-winning Well Spa.
The Well Spa is right next to the pool and has its own building. It has nine indoor treatment rooms and three outdoor relaxation spaces. It has a home-y feel that made me feel, well, at home. I experienced a Tailor Made massage that began with a stone that said “Trust.” My therapist was cool and very skilled. I was so relaxed.
Some of their signature treatments are the Himalayan Salt Stone Mineral Massage and Rain Massage. They also have an array of facial, waxing and nail services as well as other body treatments. One other thing I hope to experience in the future is a Body Canvas Party! Imagine painting you and your partner or girlfriends with therapeutic and colorful muds on the body, ending with a relaxing massage! Sounds like fun and definitely, a reason to come back.
If you’re looking for a relaxing escape to the desert, consider Miramonte Resort and Spa in Indian Wells. Learn more at miramonteresort.com Just under 2 hours from Orange County, Miramonte Resort and Spa in Indian Wells is an ideal staycation location for the family and it’s pet-friendly too!
DISCLOSURE:
I paid discounted media rates for my stay at Miramonte Resort and Spa.
First off, let me tell you that I love baked goods! So a year ago when someone asked if I’d be interested in crafting a media release about a brand new bakery in town, I was all over it. I was dying to try out their malasadas and ensaymadas, the latter which has a special place in my heart being a Filipino confection.
Turns out, I knew one of the founders, Davion Tran, through our close-knit Orange County social media circles. But wait, wasn’t he a personal trainer? This made the store even more intriguing. A month before Paderia Bakehouse’s opening, the buzz was already building and Instagram foodies all over OC and beyond anxiously awaited the opening. On the menu, just three items: Malasadas, Ensaymadas and Cookies!
Flash Forward a year later. Paderia is a hit! They often run out of their baked goods and there are lines out the door. They have added other delicious items to the menu as well and are contemplating expanding their operations. I did a short interview with Davion about Entrepreneurship and I am happy to share his answers with you.
MARCIE TAYLOR (MT) Tell me about yourself and what you did before opening your business, Paderia Bakehouse?
DAVION TRAN (DT) I’m a 30 years old entrepreneur and have been operating my own businesses for 10 years and counting. Before Paderia Bakehouse, I ran a fitness training business for 9 years. I started both businesses from the ground up.
MT: What challenges do you face as a small business owner and how do you overcome them?
DT: There are many challenges as a small business owner. It’s hard to name just a few, but some of the top ones include staying innovative, acquiring new customers, and how to continue growth.
Staying innovative requires a lot of constant market analysis and research. The key is to never settle and always hold a high standard for the concept and values. Acquiring customers comes down to making tough decisions when it comes to marketing and how much to spend and when to scale that spending. You don’t want to go all out without gaining a good ROI from the investment. As for continual growth, it requires cultivating the right team members and trusting them to be able to handle daily operations. That allows for us, the owners, to step back and focus on things to develop the business further.
MT: What are you excited about in the near future, in your industry and in the future of Paderia?
DT: The industry is always evolving and new concepts are always popping up which keeps it exciting in itself. What I’m most excited about Paderia is our plans to continue growing the brand and seeing what the future has in store for us. There’s a lot of potential and opportunities. We’ll have to wait and see which path we take as a company.
Follow Paderia on Instagram @paderiabakehouse and visit paderiabakehouse.com
Paderia is located at 18279 Brookhurst St Suite 1, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
