5 things I learned as HeyOrca’s special guest at SocialEast 2024

It was a rainy Tuesday, and I had just gotten to my office. And I was in a bad mood. I logged into my PC and saw a Slack message pop up that I couldn’t believe was real.

Hello! My name is Jenn Dixon, and I’m the social media coordinator for Landmark Abstract and HomeSale Settlement Services, based out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. Besides the social media stuff, I also help prepare insurance commitments for real estate transactions.  

Oh, about that Slack message? It was Joe Teo and Alyssa Martin of HeyOrca inviting me to SocialEast 2024, a conference for social media managers and digital marketers in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They were covering all my expenses. I was absolutely floored.

Needless to say, I did go! And I learned quite a bit. I’m going to share 5 things I learned as HeyOrca’s special guest at SocialEast 2024. Not only did I learn a TON of awesome marketing stuff, but I also learned some cool things about myself – and even HeyOrca, too.

What is a HeyOrca Stan? 

You may be wondering how I ended up in this position. I’m a HeyOrca Stan, meaning I am in the top 1% of their most engaged users. (As Joe told me, I’m in the top .001% of users, so they decided to invite me to SocialEast!) 

HeyOrca Stans help test new features, share their expertise on HeyOrca’s webinars, and meet virtually every quarter to discuss different pain points and issues in the vast and ever-changing world of social media. It’s a great community!

5 things I learned as HeyOrca’s special guest at SocialEast 2024 

Alright, friends, now is the time to learn about the 5 things I learned as HeyOrca’s special guest at SocialEast 2024. See what I learned and what you can learn, too!

1. I am capable of traveling by myself

I had never traveled by myself at this point in my life. I’ve always had a travel buddy by my side. This solo trip taught me that I am truly capable of navigating trains, public transportation, and airports on my own.  

You’ve got to ask questions if you need help with any of these modes of transportation. I asked for help a few times. Not only did I get the answers I needed, but I also got peace of mind out of it, too. Still, it’s amazing what you can do on your own if you concentrate, keep calm, and read signs!

2. It was amazing to learn directly from experts.

SocialEast had excellent speakers. Top notch. We’re talking about experts directly from Amazon, Meta, and even Canada Post. I heard talks that ranged from skill gaps that digital marketers have to how to foster your community.

Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Joe Teo and Christina Garnett from HeyOrca. Joe seriously gave me Steve Jobs vibes with how he presented himself on stage. 

I came back to my office armed with a lot of new knowledge and notes. Lots of notes and ideas on how to implement what I learned. I am ready to apply what I learned. Do you apply ideas that you learned from speakers at conferences?

3. Halifax is a beautiful and welcoming city

Halifax is an adorable harbor town. It really is! It’s clean, the people are friendly, and there’s a lot to do and see. One thing I discovered, along with HeyOrca’s Jesse Luimes, is that there are some lovely vintage and consignment stores located here. Shoutout to Shotgun Vintage! I found a Burberry scarf, naturally vintage, and I immediately, ahem, scarfed it up.

Also, Halifax is clean and inclusive. There is also a wide variety of places to eat, and restaurants are very considerate and helpful if you have a dietary requirement or restriction. Trattoria Vesso gets the gold star for this.

Speaking of the harbor, Jesse and I took a tour of Halifax on the Harbour Hopper, an amphibious vehicle that took us around the city and into the harbor. It was very cool! I had never done anything like that. It made my stay in the city more memorable.

4. It felt good to connect with fellow social media marketers

At one point, I was sitting in on one of the sessions, and thought, “Wow, I have never been in a room with so many people that also do this social marketing stuff.” 

Despite being one of the few Americans at this Canadian conference, it was surreal to be surrounded by so many people who work in this industry. We all had the same pain points, the same struggles, and the same goal: we all wanted to learn.

I discovered that I was not the only person in a real estate-related industry, too. I connected with a Realtor® who also does social media marketing. We spoke for a few moments about the real estate market – blah blah blah. What I’m trying to say is that it felt good to make a connection with a stranger.

Later that same day, HeyOrca hosted dinner at a really cool restaurant called The Wooden Monkey where other HeyOrca customers and HeyOrca newsletter subscribers joined. I got to meet another fellow Stan in person, Colleena Raynor. We both work in so-called “boring industries,” so we connected on that.

5. HeyOrca practices what they preach

HeyOrca really IS all about community! Joe and the team made me feel so welcome, and, frankly, I am humbled. They brought me to Canada as their guest for being a top-tier Stan.  I have never been a top-tier anything, and to be honored in such a way is so . . . awesome.

Let’s talk about the session Christina and Joe presented, which was all about – you guessed it – building and nurturing your social media community. The next day, Christina presented a workshop about how to create content pillars, complete with a worksheet, which I filled out. I have been referring to it in connection with other things I’ve learned.

HeyOrca also has a beautiful company culture. Truthfully, they are their own community, too! Everyone I met from the company seemed content and happy to be working for HeyOrca. That says a lot about employee morale.

Summary 

Those are the 5 things I learned from this amazing experience! Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. I highly recommend subscribing to HeyOrca’s free daily social media newsletter, too. No pressure! You get a pile of excellent and useful content in your inbox.