SwankMama: Connecting Bloggers & Brands Conference #Vancouver

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend the first Connecting Bloggers & Brands Conference in Vancouver. It was a chance for us local bloggers to connect with brands that love to work with us. There was an amazing turnout - bigger than I expected!

Upon arriving, I bumped into a few of my fellow Top 30 VancouverMom.ca mom bloggers, as well as other bloggers and entrepreneurs that I've either worked with or crossed paths with in the past. We quickly caught up while meeting with four of the brands in attendance - TELUS, Canadian Beef, Maple Leaf Foods and Microsoft Canada. My husband saved the day with my fabulous last-minute business cards:

After the brand meet-and-greet, breakfast and networking with other bloggers, we were ushered into the auditorium for a keynote speech from TELUS executive Jill Schnarr. And what an engaging and inspirational speaker she was! I had no idea TELUS was so heavily involved in the community - locally and internationally. Her presentation actually opened up my eyes to what their company is all about and how they pledge to continually give back to others.

TELUS currently has a Give Where We Live campaign encouraging individuals to give back to the communities they live in. Current TELUS employees not only give back to communities in Vancouver but around the world, including the Philippines and Central America, via TELUS Day of Giving which happens on the last Saturday of each May. What a great way to get the entire company involved!

The next speaker was the amazing Janice Croze of 5 Minutes For Mom where she talked about how to monetize our blogs. She was extremely animated {in a good way!} and kept us engaged the entire time with useful tips that will hopefully help SwankMama hit the big time {crossing my fingers}. Janice also touched on the importance of a media kit when working with brands and ensuring that a proper disclosure is included in any compensated posts.

Next came a question and answer session with the brands in attendance {Chicken Farmers of Canada was unable to attend in person} while we ate our brown bag lunch, followed by a second question and answer session with fellow bloggers/conference ambassadors.

All in all, my first blog conference was a great experience and it was fun to meet the brands in person rather than via social media and online correspondence. I was also able to take home a little friend for Lil J in the form of a ~~fox~~ red panda, courtesy of TELUS, which has been named "Buddy the Fox" and is now Lil J's constant companion: