Tonight I hung out at Whole Foods.
(And didn’t buy a thing!)
In the club.
(The Wellness Club, at the Tribeca Whole Foods.)
It was Everyday Health’s first blogger meetup. (If you’re not familiar with EH, they’re a site that empowers users to take control of their own health. How much do I love them? I interviewed there for a job last summer.)
I walked into this crowded room and didn’t know a soul. I’m generally pretty good at introducing myself to people, but a huge wave of shyness suddenly came over me, and taking pictures of food sounded less intimidating.
LIke these chocolate balls rolled in cinnamon. Amazing.
Or this sushi.
Or this mushroom on pizza crust!
Fruit at a healthy blogger meetup. Shocking, I know.
After some mingling, they moved us to a little classroom area, where we heard from a few speakers.
Everyday Health invited us here because they want to work more with bloggers–they know bloggers live and breathe what’s going on in the online health community and know what readers are looking for online.
We heard from:
Joanna Breen, VP of video at Everyday Health. YouTube’s been attempting to move beyond grainy videos of your cat in your basement, and Breen, a former ABC producer heads up Everyday Health’s YouTube channel and on-site video. Bloggers, take note: Breen said that videos are 53 TIMES MORE LIKELY to reach the top in search than a typical text post. (Photos also perform better than text in search.
Soraya Darabi, founder of Foodspotting and a social media adviser to many companies. (Including, apparently, Everyday Health.) Piggybacking on the video discussion, she recommended videos of no longer than 2 minutes in length, with a clear beginning, middle and end, like a high school essay. I didn’t know the two-minute guideline, but it makes sense. Who really wants to watch a long YouTube video?
Giovanna Miller, who runs the Wellness Club at Whole Foods. Which sounds really cool. It offers cooking and nutrition classes to help support a healthier lifestyle. Apparently it costs $40-50 a month, and you get access to unlimited classes and a 10% discount at Whole Foods. While it sounds cool, and certainly cheaper than other cooking classes, I can’t ever see myself joining something like this, especially since Whole Foods also offers some free cooking classes.
Ju-Don Roberts, editor-in-chief of Everyday Health. She also offered some tips for bloggers: use the same handle across all platforms, make sure you can be recognized from site to site (having the same or similar pics), and distribute–use as many social media tools at your disposal as possible. Another point she made, which I totally agree with, is that it’s so easy to be found on the Internet, so make sure you’re really comfortable with what you’re putting online before you put it out there. I’ve always blogged as if my boss or a potential future employer were reading.
And, Mike Keriakos, one of the founders.
I thought the meet-up was really well-organized–I liked the format of mingling and then quick presentations. To be honest, when we sat down, I got a little nervous we might hear long, drawn-out presentations, but they were great. I hope Everyday Health continues these meet-ups! We also got a certificate for a free cooking class, which I can’t wait to try.
I also met Amber of ExSoyCise, a fellow FitFluential Ambassador.
What’s your favorite health site? And would you pay for something like the Wellness Club?
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So bummed I couldn't make it to this one! Sounds like it was a worthwhile event though which is good to know for me since I'm an hour outside NYC (on a good day). Thanks for the recap!
I had such a great time tonight, the meet-up was super informative! It was so great to get to know you and the other girls a little. Maybe we can all go back to the free cooking class together and have another little meet-up :) Our picture came out really nice btw!
Sounds like a fun evening! Thanks for sharing those tips.
Interesting about the videos. Did they have any stats about how often videos are actually watched? I virtually never watch videos on blogs because I'm usually reading on my phone (or at work...), but I feel like I might be an outlier.
hi,
just stopping by to say that I really love your blog. I discovered it a few months ago and really enjoy your views on healthy living and professional life. there are not that may single girls in the media/pr business in the blog world – I a magazine editor in austria who loves running & yoga, so you're speaking my language!
xx
It was a fun event. I am always terrified to go to events if I don't know anyone. Wallflower would be a generous way to describe me. There was definitely some great info! And free cooking class holla!
I'm bummed that I wasn't able to make this event, but your recap is great! I'll have to give some serious thought to making a blog video....
Aw, bummed I didn't get to see you then! I told the lady I might have a glass of wine and THEN try making a video. I have like 10 unpublished videos on my computer...
That's my local Whole Foods! How fun!
I'd have the wave of shyness too...but mine wouldn't be sudden. It'd be more than expected. i'm working on that!
I'd be interested in hearing more about videos and seeing how you would incorporate them into your blog. I feel like I'd be too awkward if I made one of just me talking to the camera. Super interesting though!