This week Amanda interviews Kieran Comerford from Carlow County Enterprise Board about how they use social media, how they have seen it used effectively and why small businesses should be using it.
Social Media for Schools – An Interview with Simon Lewis of Carlow Educate Together
Carlow Educate Together primary school is leading the way in using Social Media for primary education.
From using a blog for their website to communicating with parents using Facebook. For bringing schools together for joint projects via Twitter by using online tools to get more communication and interaction.
I talked to Principal Simon Lewis about some of the creative things they are doing.
Drive traffic to your blog and supe it up – KLCK in Kilkenny
I believe that blogging should be the hub of your social media campaign. I’ve seen the results that blogs can bring both for driving traffic to your website and as establishing you as an expert in your field. But it can be hard to get started and even the most proficient bloggers are always learning and growing. It was for all of these reasons that earlier this year with the help of Lorna Sixsmith of Garendenny Lane Interiors I set up the KLCK (Kildare Laois Carlow Kilkenny) Bloggers network , with the aim of sharing knowledge and become better bloggers together.
Monday night was our first meeting in Kilkenny and we had two excellent speakers. Marie Ennis O’Connor whose blog ‘Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer‘ attracts massive amounts of traffic talked about how to get more people to read our blogs. There was something for everyone to learn from her presentation including me! You can view here slides by clicking here.
Ken McGuire followed on the theme from last month covering some of his favorite WordPress Plugins, a great selection that would enhance any blog, most of which I will be adding to this blog soon. You can view his presentation by clicking here.
If you would like to know more about the KLCK Bloggers Network ‘Like’ our Facebook page. You can view the blogroll of attendees here.
The meeting this month was hosted by The Pembroke Hotel in Kilkenny and we were blown away by the facilities a big thank you to everyone there for their hospitality.
The next meeting will be on the 8th of November somewhere in Kildare, speakers and venue TBC.
August KLCK Bloggers Network Attracts Nationwide Audience
Today’s blog post is slightly different as Amanda tells us about the second meeting of the KLCK Bloggers network:
It was a busy day for Spiderworking.com and the KLCK bloggers network yesterday. I was invited along with Lorna Sixsmith from Garrendenny Lane Interiors to go to the Edwina Grace show on KLCR96fm to talk about KLCK. Edwina was great and we couldn’t have felt more relaxed chatting to her.
I only just made it back to the office in time to grab my computers and head straight back out to the Talbot Hotel, the venue of the second KLCK Bloggers Network. I couldn’t believe how many people were there when I walked in the door. 22 Bloggers in total from all areas of blogging, some business bloggers, some personal bloggers and some who hadn’t started blogging yet but were keen to get going.
Participants were truly nationwide with people traveling from as far as Limerick to join in.
For those who couldn’t make it in person I livestreamed the event via webcam and Twitter, we had 4 viewers on the night, if you missed it you can view the recording by clicking here. Paula Sheridan from Candle Designs gave us some great tips on using Flickr and Ruairi Brown from Kro.ie took us through the steps to set up a WordPress hosted blog. You can download Ruairi’s presentation from his blog.
After all the formalities we retired to the bar where we did some more relaxed networking. It was a great evening and we’ve had so much good feedback that I can’t wait for the next one. Photographs from the night can be viewed on the Flickr group. If you would like to know more about the KLCK Bloggers network join our dedicated Facebook Page.
The next meeting will take place on Monday 13th of September at 7pm in Portlaoise (venue TBC). We’ll be talking about ‘Plugins’. It’s free to attend and all are welcome whether you are blogging, thinking about blogging or just want to know what a blog is.
The Inaugural Meeting – KLCK Bloggers Network
Monday saw the Inaugural meeting of the KLCK Bloggers Network, a group of like minded people living in the Kildare, Laois, Carlow, Kilkenny area who share an enthusiasm for Blogging and Internet marketing.
Amongst those who attended were those who write professionally, those with popular blogs, those who were just taking the first step in blogging and those who were on the cusp of getting started.
The aim of the group is to share knowledge, put our heads together and see what we can achieve both individually and as a group.
Meetings will continue every second Monday of the month and all are welcome to attend whether you are living in the four counties or not and whether you are already a blogger or not.
Our next meet up will be on August 9th at the Talbot Hotel Carlow. Paula Sheridan from Candle Designs will be talking about using Flickr for business and we will have a second presentation on the basics of setting up a WordPress blog and useful plugins (speaker tbc). If you’d like to come along or if you have expertise to share with the group you can RSVP on Facebook or on Linkedin or by leaving a comment on this blog post.