Sponsor’s Observation

Judging from the responses during class, this was an interested, sometimes stunned but yearning for more information, group of attendees.  Most of the time when an event is over, people get up and leave.  Some did, others stayed; there were more question after 3 hours of presentation and interaction.  That tells us they were interested in the material covered.  The makeup of the attendees varied from real estate managers and agents, small business owners, the sponsor, a commercial video company and oh, yes, Santa.  More on Santa in a moment.

Attendee Comments

Gwen Christensen with Builder’s Floor and Interiors said she was there to learn how to connect with new clients. Gwen told me today, “I really enjoyed the new aspect of Joe showing us how social media can help me connect to other people and enhance my business!”

Melissa Hayes, an avid user of FaceBook and Twitter (@melissabhayes), said she was using social media more and more to communicate with her first-time home buyers.  Melissa knows that the younger the prospective buyer or seller, the more they like to communicate using many different social media tools.  Melissa feels a keen responsibility to maintain a good knowledge base and continue to develop her skills. 

Santa.  Kenninson Kyle is a second generation Santa.   A young man following in his father’s footsteps, he is developing his own client base for this seasonal opportunity/job.  Read his quote in Entrepreneur Magazine, December 2009.   In real life he is updating his social media skills to compete in today’s box office management workforce.  Find Kenninson at Need a Santa, just in case you … need a Santa.  However, don’t wait to contact him.  Kenninson is booking now for December 2010.  Visit his site, his history and client list are worth the read. 

Oh, and for those who think this is a young person’s game and have decided to ignore social media; our oldest attendee is 70.   He’s excited and coming back for more knowledge.  Watch out GenX, GenY!  Those with an open mind and an urgency to learn will soon know all the secrets.

The Instructor

 Joe Spake is a natural social media instructor.  He will only improve as he finds out more of what people want.  He knows so much, is so friendly and easy going that you want to learn all he knows.  Alas, I’ve determined that is impossible.  I’m hoping if I stand near him for long enough, I’ll become a bit smarter.

 Joe was an early adopter of online marketing.  His real estate site Spake.com was one of the first real estate websites in Memphis and is organically first page results on Google in common searches such as “Memphis Real Estate”.  He also writes and develops a real estate blog Memphis Real Estate Buzz and comments on social media and life in Memphis on his Joe Spake Blog.  He invites anyone interested to join him on his personal FaceBook and his Memphis Real Estate FaceBook pages.  Reach Joe on twitter via @joespake. 

 Watch for more social media instructional workshops and seminars at Social Web Learning.  Send your email address to SocialWebLearning@gmail.com and we’ll add you to our notification list of upcoming events.