Mary’s Dinner Club goes work (shop)

So on Saturday, dinner was turned into lunch – and soo much more. Dining tables were turned into office tables and assigned seat numbers replaced by assigned electric outlets.

Mary’s Dinner Club was the venue for a ‘Facebook Mastery Workshop’ by social media specialist Lydia Kyriakidou from Attraction Marketing http://www.facebook.com/attractionmarketingstrategies?ref=ts. Lydia is a journalist by profession who has worked in the field of social media for the last 3 years and participated in extensive training by some of the great names in the area.

The idea for the workshop was one of the many good ones ‘born’ at a business gathering where guests usually put on their thinking/networking hats to see how they can work together/help each other.

With facebook being one of the driving forces behind the dinner club and the business gatherings, combining Lydia’s expertise and Mary’s food and connections seemed only natural – and a fantastic combination it was. Some of the participants knew each other from ‘before’ and most did know each other from facebook. They came from fields as varied as finance, education, nutrition, wine sales, event management and holistic therapy – all looking for more exposure via facebook, wanting to learn about the great marketing possibilities facebook offers.

It was an all-day workshop from 9:00 to 5:00 so we started off with coffee and introductions and then ‘dived right in’ with all our computers connected and obviously logged into facebook. It was a real hands-on experience with lots of insightful information on facebook and on marketing/selling in general.

The different ‘technical’ questions and user issues were handled most efficiently. Lots of learning, trying, note taking, showing….

Participants enjoyed a coffee break with (more) coffee and banana bread and later a buffet lunch on the balcony. Besides large bowls of salad, baby potatoes and different breads there was a choice of chili, a blue cheese-red cabbage sauce, a chicken-peanut butter dish, a potato spread and vegetable sticks.

As so common at Mary’s, lots of people talked business, exchanged cards…. in addition to being connected on facebook. After lunch there were several very useful ‘real life’ activities including the sharing of why we are an ideal selling point, mentioning each other in posts... Obviously pictures were uploaded and people tagged all the while, applying the new little ‘tricks’ we’d just learned.

It was a great learning experience and people walked away with their heads buzzing with new knowledge, insights and ideas. Lydia has kindly offered one-to-one follow-up session to each participants ad plans for an ‘advanced workshop’ are already in the making – signs of great progress and enthusiasm.

To find out more about future workshops at all levels, please contact Lydia Kyriakidou at 96 5233 65 or marketing.lydia@gmail.com or obviously... via facebook http://www.facebook.com/attractionmarketingstrategies

And while busy applying all those new facebook skills, I will also remain in the ‘real world’ where you can join a Thai Diner and Ann Summers lingerie party on Saturday, August 4th. For more information contact me as usual at maryanglbe@hotmail.com, via facebook or at 96 58 90 22.