Baby girl is 4 weeks old now, so it is time to get back to work – right?!
No, I’m gratefully kidding.  I was very lucky that my husband was rostered off today and that my mother is still visiting from the USA… so I had lots of help to get ready for and be at the ProBlogger Training Event in Brisbane.  We definitely needed three adults this morning to get the boys to school, juggle the various contractors who were starting repairs on our roof after December’s hail storm, and bath the baby before the event in the hopes she would sleep well!  LOL.
(I wanted to start with that disclaimer – because several people expressed that they were impressed I was “out and about” with such a young baby.  I am still adjusting to having three kids, and don’t think I will feel sane or totally awake any time soon!  And I don’t think I would have made it today without the extra hands to help!) đ
Now that is said…
I was honoured to be involved in the Blogger Panel at today’s event with Cas and Donna who were amazing speakers!
Briefly reviewing my short presentation…
I spoke about improving your relationship with Facebook, so that there is less stress around goal setting (and frustration about not meeting goals that one has very little control over… such as number of likes on your page or reach of your status updates).
When you actually go behind the scenes with other bloggers, you will see that Facebook numbers are not necessarily equivalent to “success” of a blog (success being defined as engagement with your blog content).  Some bloggers with massive Facebook pages can actually have smaller pageviews than bloggers with more conservative Facebook followings.
Being overly concerned with the “numbers” (whether that’s growth of our fans, reach, or engagement with specific posts) can easily spark frustration, because we don’t have control over most of this. Therefore I offered three non-numerical goals to consider when using Facebook:
1. Complement your blog’s brand
You are most likely very particular about what you post on your blog because you want it to be in line with your brand.  Your Facebook page is an extension of your blog.  If it consistent with your blog’s voice and content, you will more likely attract your “ideal” reader/follower.
Exercise: Check out the last 10 posts on your Facebook page. Â Do they accurately represent your brand?
2. Create connections
Not only with readers, but other bloggers. Â Join groups, share content, and create those enjoyable relationships.
Exercise: List the bloggers you have meaningful relationships with on Facebook and consider how you could help each other more. Â List bloggers you want to create a relationship with, and get to know them via commenting, tagging, and groups.
3. Share content effectively
It can take a lot of time to find and schedule content for your page… and it doesn’t always feel like you are getting results equal to the time you are putting in.  Make it easy for yourself by creating “interest lists” on Facebook.
Exercise: Check out the left side of your Facebook dashboard and find “interests.” Â Create a new interest list with blogs you want to regularly share from. Â You may even like to create a list for each category on your blog (i.e. food, interior decorating, parenting, etc). Â This makes it so much easier to find and share content!
Most important point to take away: It’s not all about the numbers! Â Feel good about what you have on Facebook, and create goals that will be enjoyable to work towards.
After the lunch where I met some lovely people, I really enjoyed the Olympus photography workshop.  You may remember one of my goals for 2015 was to learn more about taking pictures, so it was perfect timing for me to attend this class.  It was actually a great review of my recent workshop with Jess from Essence Images (highly recommend her class for those wanting to learn more about manual settings!).
Hubby had to leave to do school pick-up, but I was oh so pleasantly surprised by my daughter who was amazingly quiet or sleeping during the entire 2 hour workshop!  Good job sweety!  For those who didn’t take a peak, here she is (she was my subject during the Olympus workshop, hehe).
Thank you to Darren, Laney, and the rest of the ProBlogger Team for a wonderful event!  I am looking forward to more Brisbane-based ProBlogger events in the future.
Hello, lovely to meet you. Thanks for your inspiration, though I have more of a hate relationship with FB, your tips have been helpful and I’m motivated to turn it around. Mostly, thank you for rocking an Ergo to a ProBlogger session and showing us that you can do it all. xo Rene
Hi Rene so great to meet you too, and I look forward to following your blog! My sister-in-law made that carrier, isn’t she talented?! I will have to share her business on Instagram when she gets it up and running, she makes beautiful stuff đ And YAY for improving your relationship with FB… it can be tricky, but it’s possible if you keep yourself aware of the unneeded stress đ
You both did so good! Was lovely to meet you ever so briefly Chelsea đ And I’ll TRY & improve my FB love I promise đ
Amber. x
http://www.TheBeautifulLens.com
Thank you – I was honestly very surprised at how agreeable she was all day! We had two appointments today and they didnt go nearly as well, so I know I was lucky yesterday hehe đ Best wishes with FB!!
I had a fabulous day yesterday at my first ever ProBlogger event! I so enjoyed listening to you and the other panelists speak and learnt so much that I can now use to help me progress with my blog and get out of my current rut! You are incredible, even with the help of your mother and husband, to have got yourself into the city (looking fab I might add!!) and to speak so eloquently when you have a 4 week old bub! Go you! đ x
What an encouraging comment, thank you!! I’m so glad if anything I said may help you… this blogging thing can be overwhelming at times so it’s definitely nice to get out of our own houses and find out what is working for other people. Looking forward to staying in touch. x
You did so well yesterday Chelsea! It was lovely to meet you and learn from you! Thanks so much for this blog post! Brings back memories of carting my lot around as babies!
Thanks Cas, I loved YOUR presentation! Very inspirational đ
Sometimes it’s not until someone points something out that you notice how obvious it is. Point 1 is a great example of this. I’m definitely going to keep that in mind when I post on Facebook – does this represent my brand. Thanks for sharing your top tips at my first ever ProBlogger event. And like everyone else has said, your baby girl is adorable.
Thanks Amanda I’m so glad that tip was helpful! I definitely agree that it’s easy to overlook the “obvious.” ProBlogger is great at reminding us of these things!
You spoke brilliantly. I’m jealous that you had a lovely little bubby to photograph. I was only photographing my notebook! I think I’m going to have to explore creating interest lists a bit more.
Aw thanks Caitlin!
Thank you for the wrap-up! I loved the tip about making sure recent posts reflect the brand and that’s something I’ve become very aware of when posting to all social media accounts.
Hi Vanessa, I’m glad that point was helpful for you! I still have to remind myself of it often… as our blogs are not really a FULL representation of us as people (well, most likely anyway, if we aren’t totally personal bloggers) so it can be tricky sometimes whether to post some things on social media or not. I admit I do find myself wondering how much of “me” to put into social media at times. đ