Matt Astafin is a local Social Media Guru, and teaches people about conducting Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter campaigns for marketing purposes. I heard very positive things about him through two of my friends, so I sat in one of his complimentary Webinars. He was very down to earth and taught us some tricks of the trade. Matt cautioned us not to post anything that we don’t want out there. He also suggests that if you want to have a facebook campaign, create a fan page and ask people to “LIKE” with a specific benefit. When you have enough fans, advertise to these fans for a product; always direct people to the landing page. Only 7 out of 100 fans will come back to your page. You must get their email addresses.
Tools to use:
1. Hootsuite
2. Bufferapp
3. Timely.is helps you figure out the schedule to send out marketing material based on your fan’s activities
4. Fiver.com makes videos for $5
Make your marketing material FUN and allow participation, encourage sharing, give them benefits for referral, turn it into a game. Remember that Social Media deepens the relationship between you and your fan base that over time turns into a sale, as long as you provide value. If you want to learn more, visit www.webfriendly.ca

It happened on a Saturday, a gorgeous sunny summer afternoon at the UBC botanical garden, with the cutest flower girls, and a generous white tent stocked with delectable fare and free champagne. I jumped in and helped the hired “event co-ordinator” who was busting his ass serving the 200 wedding attendees with their drink orders. The champagne was placed in the big cooler which I carried while in high heels. Of course the drama happened earlier, when I got rear-ended while on my way there; and I went to the Japanese Garden instead of the botanical garden, making me 1 hour late…. But all’s well as the photo shooting was late and I got to be in the “friends” group photo.

It donned on me that five of my friends were getting married this year. I guess it’s just that time. I’m thrilled for them and enjoy this joyous festivity. Although, sometimes I think it’s a bit much, with the stagette, bridal shower and wedding…. it’s a lot of parties in a short period of time, never mind expenses. Weddings always make me cry, but I do enjoy learning about the different cultures’ way of celebration and rituals. At this particular wedding, the groom was Jewish, so I learned about the significance of stepping on the wine glass underneath the canopy. It is to remind us that even in happy times, life also has misery.


I was invited by a friend of mine who is a fellow event producer to check out a 2-day weekend intensive workshop. It was lead by the legendary Dov Simens, who has taught Queen Latifah, Will Smith, and a group of famous Hollywood actors and directors. I learned that when we read that certain movies cost multimillions of dollars to make, sometimes it isn’t true; and if the storyline involves fewer locations, the cheaper it costs and faster you can wrap up filming. He was very adamant that if you want to make a movie, you need to understand the business, including crowd funding and talking to investors – if you want to express your art more then go and just make a film. Movie is a product that is designed for entertaining the mass, so make sure it appeals to the moviegoers. The reason Vancouver was considered as North Hollywood for a long time is due to the steep government subsidies filmmakers receive, as well as the tax breaks, and also the US/Canadian parity. Dov has an unique teaching style where he spitfires information at you in a logical order, as he goes through the Hollywood Formula, Direction, Screenwriting, Budget, Schedule and Shoot, Festivals, Reps and Agents, Distributors, Financing, Foreign Sales and Markets, Movie Profits and Windows. You’ll be dazzled by the number of movies, documentaries and shorts that are made each year that do not make it to the public awareness! As 50% of the budget of these blockbuster movies is promotion/publicity, Tinsel town is always putting on a ritzy party, as a reason to promote the next upcoming movie!

Dov kept telling everyone that screenwriting can be done in a week. If someone has taken 3 years to write a script and is still not finished, he/she will never finish it. Most successful movies follow a pattern of positive beginning, twist, rescue, second twist, and climax where everyone lives happily ever after, unless it has a sequel, then it’s a cliff hanger. Dov also pounded again and again into our consciousness, that movie making is not rocket science. I have always loved movies as a platform for storytelling as it weaves music, sight and sometimes sound to evoke an experience, awaken our primal fear, and sear our memory of those quintessential human experiences, be it falling in love, friendship, loss, betrayal, revenge, losing one’s sanity. You can find out more about Dov Simens at
http://www.dovsimens.com/