Blogapalooza’s ‘connecteD’ 2018: Finding Value & Elevating Influencers

Bringing together various influencers, bloggers, vloggers, and social media personalities under one roof has never been this interesting. It was a beautiful exchange of ideas and a day filled with insight and inspiration. Aside from the value that one can get during the day, one thing stood true—Blogapalooza was an avenue for connection and making lasting relationships with Pinoy creatives.

Blogapalooza’s connecteD event happened last Saturday, October 27, at City of Dreams Manila. It’s an annual gathering of Bloggers and Influencers from all over the country and a hub for all things that would make them all hone their craft and ignite their passion for digital media. But what made the Pilipinas Popcorn crew’s first time easily worthwhile was more than just the stuff we learned along the way—it was the opportunity to connect and forge new friendships.

Engaging Panels and Value-Driving Talks at Blogapalooza 2018

While YouTube—not to mention the art of vlogging—is becoming harder and harder to break ground in, the first panel’s guests made sure to encourage everyone at Blogapalooza to try it out and find their niche. Power YouTube couple Jamill, “Pinoy Oppa” Emman Nimedez, and Viy Cortez gave an engaging panel discussion on how one can successfully start a vlog in the midst of oversaturation, and how to monetize their content on YouTube.

Expert Marketer and David & Golyat Co-Founder Miko David taught us there is to know about how you can use data, machine learning, and content planning to help propel one’s business or digital platform to success. This is where my geek tendencies for data and user metrics were satisfied beyond measure.

Celebrities Rommel Padilla, Erika Padilla, and Nadia Montenegro wowed the Blogapalooza crowd with useful techniques and tips on how one can engage Gen X-ers. After all, millennials wouldn’t be around if not for them, right? Though it appears as if most marketing models and social media platforms are mainly geared towards millennials, the Generation X-ers still play a key role in driving sales, profits, and social media engagement.

Social Media Academy’s Nix Eniego baffled us with his secrets to growing your Instagram following and dominating the platform with good content and proper IG etiquette (and we thought only Reddit employed these rules!). Engagement measurement and hashtag practices were also shared, so we’re pretty confident at this point.

Former TV host Christine Bersola-Babao also shared how she made the transition from traditional media to blogging and vlogging. She’s relatively new to the industry but offered up her insights as a newbie nonetheless. Before, we used to think that we can only learn from those who’ve been dabbling in the craft for a long time. But since this is the digital era, it doesn’t matter where you are in terms of seniority and experience. Everyone is bound to learn something fresh from newbies and pros alike.

Capping the event was a fun panel discussion with “The Queens of Digital Media,” Rui Mariano, Matmat Centino, and Francine Garcia. They talked about LGBTQIA+ representation, their humble beginnings in gay pageants, and how their life was in the midst of discrimination and bigotry. The three also gave tips on how they handled bashers and maintaining a proper social media brand.

The talks did more than just supply us with the necessary knowledge and tools that we need to navigate through the blogosphere. The best thing we got from these was the overwhelming amount of value and inspiration to push through, even when the creative juices run out.

Connecting Minds and Making New Relationships

Every year, the Blogapalooza community sees to it that bloggers and influencers from all over the Philippines have a place to convene and reconnect. Pilipinas Popcorn’s first time at the conference, though, feels as if it wasn’t the first time we’ve stepped into the venue. The familial vibe and constant friendliness of everyone around made the experience very familiar. We were introduced and welcomed into the large family of the Norte Bloggers, Bloggers of Tuguegarao, Iligan Bloggers society, CDO bloggers, Cebu Bloggers Society Inc., and SOX (Socsksargen) bloggers.

Despite the large group, it wasn’t hard for us to remember them individually. From the first breakfast table that we all shared, until Saturday night’s “Fast Talk” sessions, we knew that the relationship we found with them will last for a long time and will continue to grow every year.

It was one hell of a weekend for us. The biggest takeaway, though, is that no matter who you are and what you do, you’ll always be connected at Blogapalooza.

There’s always a place for you to grow.

We also wrote a feature for City of Dreams Manila! Check it out here.