Social Media Essentials Seminar Will Raise Funds For Keiki Summer Camp

By Julie Z

Mar

6

Learn how Big Island businesses are using social media and digital marketing successfully and how you can, too!

See examples of Kona businesses using Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc, learn specifically how you can show up in search, and get some individual ideas and advice,too!

A portion of all proceeds and 100% of all donations from this seminar will go towards supporting Project Hawaii’s Summer Program for Homeless Keiki.

Seminar is March 22nd from 12:30-1:30 at the West Hawaii Association of Realtors, 74-5620 Palani Court #106. Seminar fee is $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Please RSVP by March 20th to Julie Ziemelis, Ziemelis Communications at julie@ziemelis.com or contact her for more info. Learn about the Summer Camp at www.projecthawaii.org.

Sharing Kalopa Camping With Homeless Keiki

By Julie Z

Apr

7

I was so moved by the beauty of  Kalopa State Park and how much my kids LOVED it there, that I want to be able to help other kids have a chance to experience it.

Project Hawaii is holding a Summer Camp for Keiki this July at the Kalopa State Park cabins. They are working to send 24 homeless children between the ages of 4-7 to this camp for a week. There will be nature walks, science games, arts and craft projects, and lots of teens who will help mentor these special kids.

I want to help by raising funds to pay for the costs to get the kids there and feed them nutritious meals while they enjoy days of outdoor fun.  To do this, I am holding two social media seminars in Kona. The first one is called:

The Good, Bad and Ugly-Who’s Using Social Media for Business Right and Why on the Big Island.

Thursday, April 28th at the West Hawaii Association of REALTORS located at 74-5620 Palani Court #106 in Kona from 1:00 pm-2:00 pm with 30 minutes of open Q & A.  I will share a powerpoint presentation with screen shots from various businesses using Facebook business pages, Twitter, WordPress blogs, Yelp and FourSquare. I will also be giving some marketing ideas for individual business owners who attend.

Cost of this social media seminar is $20 and 100% of the proceeds will go to Project Hawaii to help the kids at camp.

My friend, Jenn Windsor Ball, owner of MooBettah Frozen Fun , is providing Tropical Dreams ice-cream with a topping bar after the event to the attendees of the April 28th class! Thanks Jenn! (Actually-this has been changed–expect home made cookies!)

Space is limited, so if you would like to come, learn about social media, have some tasty ice cream and support homeless kids at camp, email me at julie@ziemelis.com. You can find out more about the good works Project Hawaii is doing at www.ProjectHawaii.org, too!

One of the cool species of funghi we discovered in the park..

From Writing About Kona To Teaching Social Media

By Julie Z

Feb

11

What a long and strange trip it has been! I created this blog to share thoughts, adventures, insights and photos about Kona and Keauhou. What it has also turned out to be is a learning laboratory for blogging and being consistent, passionate and creative about what I want to share with the world.

I met Guy Toyama from the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority last Fall and he invited me to be a panelist on what would become the “Social Media Boot Camp for Small Business” tour of the Big Island.  I have had the good fortune to speak in Kealekekua, Hilo and Kona with a knowledgable co-presenter, Laura Kinoshita. (we have another class slated for Feb. 24th in Waimea.) During the “tour”, I have met some very interesting and dedicated small business owners from all over the island in various walks of life. It has been very exciting to show them the social media tools to reach out and tell their story.

I have been able to use my 365 Kona blog as a learning tool to show the attendees how they can create their own blog site and start sharing their passion with others on the web.

“But is anyone actually going to do what we have suggested?” I thought.

Yes!

Today was a very good day, when one of the attendees, Jenn, a friend of mine who owns the Moo Bettah Frozen Fun shop up at the Keauhou Shopping Center, let me know she was able to implement what I taught her yesterday,,,today!

She created a Twitter account, a FourSquare account and got on WordPress.org and created a new blog! Not only did she do all that today, she also created a post about the yogurt she used to make her frozen yogurt and she incorporated my suggestions of taking pictures of her products and showcasing them on her Facebook business page. In just one day, she was able to expand her marketing reach onto the social web. Yes, I am so proud of her, that I had to write a blog post about it!

To say I am a raving fan of Jenn and her shave ice, ice cream, frozen yogurt and AWESOME customer service is an understatement. This is what fans do, they tell other people. I hope that more of my “students” are able to find the uniqueness about their small Hawaiian business and make it shine on the web. You may see more featured here!