Disney on the Road: Social Media Moms Celebration NYC edition

Last week, I was invited to attend The Disney Social Media Moms on the Road. The half day event, took the content from the official Celebration in Orlando and made it more accessible for women all over the country. NYC was their first stop on their multi-city tour. For the content of this post, I'm going to borrow the keynote speaker and CEO of Cotton Babies, Jennifer Labit's metaphor. Lots of "balls of information" were thrown our way throughout the multiple presentations and I'm going to tell you about the ones I "caught" that really resonated with me. 

Maria Bailey, Gary B and Jennifer Labit

First off, as a blogger, your blog is your business. It's your brand. If you're not already looking at it that way, you really should start. I took all the information from the day and related it that way. The biggest messages that I got were the following:

Having a solid foundation. Once you get your idea (for a business/blog/whatnot), you need look through and plan. What do you want to get out of this? What kind of mark do you want to make? and most importantly, what's your exit strategy? For now to be blogging/ starting a business about whatever you're interested in at the moment is awesome, but what happens later down the road when your business goes public or your interests change? Make your goals but also think about what's next once you reach them.

How much is enough? Being present is such a big key topic lately with so many social media outlets. When do you draw the line to be present in what you're doing instead of worrying about what's going on via the internet? Social media has turned into such a driving force nowadays, but as a person, you really need to know when it's time to be in the moment. Balance is key.

The mompreneur panel was a great insight on starting your own business and building your brand. There is so much that goes into coming up with a product and getting it created. One of the big key messages I got was you have to know your limits and when it gets to be too much, it's time to build it into the contract what your actual duties are. This really hit home for me, especially when doing freelance graphic design work. Kudos to these women for being rockstars and then sharing their experiences with us!

Sulley is always ready for his close up with the media!

Michelle Stepney, a contributor of the Disney Parks blogs, had a great presentation regarding dealing with the media. It was full of great information and the most important takeaway would be, once you agree to speak to the media, it's never off the record- especially with controversial topics. A good interviewer wants to tell your story, but your story should always have a hook for it to be newsworthy.

Representing Team #runDisney with Kimberly!

And it wouldn't be a Disney celebration without the announcements of the awesome new things going on in the parks! Gary B told us all about the new attractions for both coasts, including New Fantasyland additions on the east coast and the New Fantasy Faire on the west. We even got to see a glimpse of the Monstrous Summer kickoff; the 24 hour event in under 60 seconds!

Maria Bailey was an amazing host and panel mediator, offering tidbits of her experiences. She is extremely inspiring and very personable. It was great getting to meet so many inspiring women and bloggers. There were so many really good insights that really made me sit back and take it all in.

The event was a great experience for moms, and women in general, trying to juggle all aspects of life. I feel extremely blessed for the opportunity. Thanks again, Disney Social Media Moms and safe travels as you continue your tour. If you're going to a future event, have a blast! 

Disclaimer: I was invited to this event. I was not required to write about it, but I wanted to share what I learned because it was awesome!