Our very first Blogosphere Virtual Festival! On the 27th of May 2020 we invited guests via their avatars to attend the Blogosphere Virtual Island where we hosted panels, presentations, brand exhibitions and Blogosphere magazine issue displays for the 120 attendees.
The day was split into a morning and afternoon session with presentations and panels to cover the industry’s sought after knowledge. For those that gave talks the attendees had the opportunity for q&a along with avatar-to-avatar live chat discussions to ensure all of their questions were answered.
The day was about connecting with our community in times where it is not physically possible, and sharing our collective knowledge to support and nourish our industries growth.
What happened in the morning
To start the day off we had a welcome presentation by Ruby from the Blogosphere team. In this presentation she explained we found that this virtual world offers the best sense of togetherness via an online platform and emanates the premise of a live event.
Along with tips and tricks of how to make the most of your avatar!
Linda Blacker transformed the presentation’s room into a virtual gallery of her hugely creative pieces. Some of the pieces displayed were the result of surplus time over lockdown! She divulged her top tips for exploring and developing skills on photoshop, most of which boil down to trying out all the weird and wonderful ideas you may have.
Following her inspiring presentation that was so helpful for those looking to improve their photography and online content her branded room in the main space became a hotspot of admiration and advice for the rest of the day.
Nikki Lilly and Matthew & Ryan were the guests on our first panel, hosted by Blogosphere’s founder Alice, they discussed ‘How to make the most of TikTok’. Each TikTok star had unique insights to offer that painted a picture of its incredible tool for self expression. Themes of confidence, willingness to post and being true to yourself shone through as consistent attributes for TikTok success.
The panelists uncovered the importance of keeping up with trends but adding your own personal style into video’s to ensure authenticity. We heard all about the journey of their TikTok careers and where they think the future is headed.
GBP associates then took to the stage to fill everyone in on the benefits of treating your social media accounts as a business. Many people are losing out on the monetary gains having a following on social media can provide, James Plumbly (Director of GBP associates) gave a presentation on how GBP associates are there to help the industry reap its rewards.
What happened in the afternoon
Following the welcome presentation for the new attendees, Rupa Shah from Hashtag Ad kicked off the afternoon session with, ‘An introduction to the ASA and disclosure’. During this talk she navigated through the intricacies of ASA rules and where to be extra careful. This proved to be useful for many of the attendees with a crowd of users patiently waiting for Rupa’s advice in the Hashtag Ad private room.
Our afternoon panel discussed ‘Working with brands’ with a mixture of industry professionals and creators tackling the questions posed by Alice. Jennifer Quigley-Jones, Joshua Barnett, Ana Thorsdottir and Brogan Tate offered a diverse rounded response to questions of successful briefs, the effects coronavirus is having on work on offer, what makes a great campaign etc… The advice given and the knowledge shared succinctly sums up the drive for these events.
Closing the day we had Geo West, founder of the Happy Cat Agency, presenting on the much sought after wisdom of brands ‘behind closed doors’. Coming from a business background herself, Geo explained as an influencer your techniques of approaching agencies and brands for work. Paying attention to the way that you interact with that brand over a period of time shows whether you truly are a fan of the brand or if you have a differing motive in mind, such as free merchandise.
Ongoing activities off the schedule
Leela Sule led a ‘Get up & Grow Holistic Coaching’ drop in lounge for wellbeing & business. Here she guided people on their journey to grow into the people they already are but don’t quite know it yet.
Over the course of the day attendees were encouraged to introduce themselves via the Shout Out Blogosphere Virtual Festival video as a virtual guestbook for all of those who were there. This helps to grow our community even further by putting a face to the avatar.
Guests were free to explore the space in between all of these fabulous talks, panels and drop-ins. Many of the rooms were occupied by brands offering more information on the talks they gave or the services they provide for the influencer industry. Blogosphere added exclusive memoirs of previous magazine issues.
This was our first virtual festival but it will not be our last! The best way to keep up to date with all of our events going forward is to become a community member, with this membership you will get 50% off all virtual events and one free ticket to your first event! We look forward to seeing you in the future.