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Social Media Breakfast Red Deer celebrates golden milestone

May 18, 2017 | 12:22 PM

It started out as a small gathering among friends and has grown to become one of the most popular monthly events in our city.

Social Media Breakfast Red Deer held its 50th event Thursday morning at The Scott Block Theatre, a milestone that seemed like somewhat of a pipedream when it started in November 2012.

“When we started out, we went from having like 20 to 30 people to attend; it was super hard to get sponsors, super hard to get speakers,” remembered Brenda Sargeant, Team Lead for Social Media Breakfast Red Deer. “Then it just grew and grew and we got different team members helping out and planning it. Now we’re up to today, we had 150 people.”

Sargeant admitted there were times where she had doubt over the future of the event.

“Looking back at the pictures of where we were, so many times I wanted to shut it down because I thought ‘Oh, we’re never going to make it.’ Now I feel like we’ve made it,” she proclaimed.

The breakfasts, which take place on the third Thursday of every month in Red Deer, are more than just about getting together and playing around on Twitter or Instagram, Sargeant said.

“It’s awesome because people get to pick up tips. We have a lot of entrepreneurs here, a lot of small business owners. It’s an opportunity for them to learn how to market their business better. It’s also been crazy awesome for the networks and collaborations that have been made by the people who attend. We hear that often and that’s our key goal is the networking.”

Mike Morrison, a popular Calgary-based blogger, spoke at Thursday’s breakfast about the growing popularity of “Influence Marketing.”

“What’s really great about it is it can happen anywhere,” he explained. “It’s not really about being in the biggest cities in North America or the world anymore. Cities like Red Deer or even smaller cities have influencers and have ways of helping businesses do a cross-promotion of cool ideas.”

Morrison said the popularity of Influence Marketing comes from the fact it can appeal to everyone.

“We trust what our friends post on social media. So when people post about a company, brand or event, there’s already that inclination of trust,” he added. “Those people are posting trustworthy content. There’s a huge benefit to everyone involved.”

Sargeant revealed they have a fun time when deciding on a topic for an upcoming event.

“We get feedback from our attendees and go with what’s hot at the time. What’s getting a lot of attention on social [media], and [we] like to rotate through the different things. Sometimes it’s on a specific platform; sometimes it’s more on marketing in general,” she said.

After humble beginnings four-and-a-half years ago, Sargeant feels Social Media Breakfast Red Deer has found the perfect niche.

“I kind of like this size. When we used to have 60 people, [they] networked a little bit better. Now that we’ve gotten bigger, it’s losing that a little bit. So I’d like to keep it at this number.” 

The event has grown to other communities. Social Media Breakfast Lacombe holds events every second month, with the next one coming up in July.