Social Media Shepherds is our local meetup in the Twin Cities. The group has been meeting consistently for a few years now and gaining traction (we shared a sampling of the meetup a couple months back when yours truly happened to be speaking). With all kinds of big events happening with big names, it’s fair to ask why you should get together with a few local folks. Here’s why: Ideas spread.
Greg Swan, who founded Social Media Shepherds and works at a local PR agency, has been helping his church through a major re-branding process. They’re doing the whole deal: new name, new logo, new everything. As they slowly roll things out, Greg was looking for a way to help the congregation experience the logo unveil beyond staring at the new mark on a projection screen on Sunday morning.
Then at a Social Media Shepherds gathering the idea came. The conversation was about handouts and giveaways with church logos, items to help people connect with and remember their church. Someone suggested bookmarks. It was a perfect fit for what Greg was doing and he printed them up.
“The bookmarks made the new logo and URL tangible to our members,” Greg said. “We debuted the logo, handed out the bookmarks, people stuck them in their Bibles and took them home. It was perfect. And I’m seeing them in-action every week. It seems simple, but who knew a bookmark could have so much impact?”
Something as simple as conversation with your local peers can help deliver the idea you need. You don’t even have to book a hotel or listen to a big name speaker. Find a local meetup in your area. If one doesn’t exist, start it. If it’s floundering, offer to take it over. Even if it’s just coffee with one other communicators, that’s all it takes to spread ideas.
And if you’re in the Twin Cities, join us for the next Social Media Shepherds event.
