The personal ROI of social media

It was about 5 years ago that I left my career to join the events industry. Still wet behind the ears and no idea what a 60 round was, I had the good fortune of sitting down with a group of very powerful career veterans over dinner. In between bites of balsamic glazed salad and cluckings of gossip, they asked me what my plans were. Delighted to finally have the opportunity to contribute to the conversation (and to be rid of the highly spirited conversations about people I didn’t know), I told them that I had started a blog. You see, I knew very few people in the industry…and more importantly, no one knew me. My goal was to build my personal brand and to share my unique perspectives with the industry (or at least the 5 people who were following me at the time).

I waited in eager anticipation for the barrage of questions that would follow. What is a blog? Oh, how exciting…tell me more. But my reality was sideways glances at one another, one outright chuckle and a few rolled eyes. It appeared that blogs were not in favor. My proclamation actually launched them into another tirade, this time about ‘that new generation’. They didn’t get it. Some of them still don’t get it. And I’m OK with that.

Today, I have a forum to share ideas. I have an opportunity to learn from my peers. I have new friends I feel I’ve known for years. I have my own successful business and outside of its first month, I haven’t made one sales call. I travel the world. I feel connected to a greater sense of community than I ever have before. I have support. I have a constant source of learning and inspiration. I have been challenged to think in new ways. I have new doors opening every day. I have grown as a person and as a professional.

Thank you to Amber Naslund of Brass Tack Thinking who recently wrote The Personal ROI of Social Media which inspired me to write this post.

What do you have as a result of social media?