The Many Sides of Coastal Social

Rarely do you get the opportunity to have experts in all facets of a conference. You are either an attendee, a coordinator, or a speaker. Fortunately for us, Covalent was able to have a person in each role for this year's Coastal Social Conference hosted by Baton Rouge Social Media Association. With their different roles in the two-day conference came very different experiences and viewpoints. Our three attendees laid out what they found most interesting about their perspective at Coastal Social

Carli Thibodeaux: Administrative Chair

It always feels good when something that you’ve helped organize goes off without a hitch, especially after hours of meetings and coordination. Once the day finally comes, it always goes by too quickly. This year was the first time the Coastal Social conference was held consecutively, so the Baton Rouge Social Media Association wanted to ensure this was the best one yet. I think we overwhelmingly succeeded in offering engaging speakers and having space for thought-provoking dialogue. I watched and listened closely as attendees filed out of breakout sessions to glean their reactions and to take note of what sparked their interests. Stopping to gauge the responsiveness of attendees not only helps me plan for Costal Social 2017, but it also put a smile on my face to know people were learning and enjoying themselves (I think the GIF photo booth helped too).

Alexandra Sevier: Breakout Session Speaker

I was so honored to speak on behalf of Covalent Logic at Coastal Social this past month. I’ve given presentations to high school and college students before, but this was my first time on a panel in front of other professionals. It was so much fun to talk to the other panelists and pick their brains about campaigns they've executed and clients they work with. I loved getting to put faces to some of the names I've come to hear around town, and took advantage of the opportunity to sit in on some other sessions. Ian Dallimore's panel on advertising outside the home was really interesting and probably my favorite of the day. The photo booth wasn't bad either! Coastal social was the bomb.

Jeanette Benedetto: AttendeeThe fact that we have a social media conference available right here in Baton Rouge is a huge deal. At the pre-conference brunch, a small group of attendees and speakers toured the LSU Social Media Analysis and Creation (SMAC) lab, which has an amazing setup. The social media tracking and reporting tools really brought out the analytical nerd in me—I’d love to spend some time exploring topics and trends across the different platforms. During the conference, I networked with other social media and marketing professionals from local companies and enjoyed chatting one-on-one with the speakers. I was also able to gather new content ideas and inspiration from the fantastic workshops and presentations. The whole experience motivated me to try some new things and investigate options I hadn’t considered before.