Tonight’s Social Media Club Columbia meeting was a complete success thanks to the musings and stylings of Anne Postic (The Shop Tart) and Shani Gilchrist (Camille Maurice). See for yourself :)

@Erinish3 Learned so much from @camillemaurice and @theshoptart tonight!

@sararentz Enjoyed listening to @camillemaurice & @theshoptart at my first @smccolumbia meeting

@willimac Had a great time listening to @camillemaurice and @theshoptart talking about #personalbranding @smccolumbia.

@mandiengram Learning @theshoptart isms at @smccolumbia. Therapy, kids and local shopping, website frustrations. Fun stuff. :)

@brookbristow I’ve almost been convinced to start a blog. @smccolumbia

@columbiacowork Listening to @theshoptart crack jokes and drop the knowledge at @smccolumbia.

@mandiengram @camillemaurice giving awesome branding info right now @smccolumbia. Follow her on Twitter!

@mimscreedgoza U mimspire me! RT @CamilleMaurice so great!!! http://yfrog.com/1yvelrj

Wisdom from Camille Maurice

Shani Gilchrist developed Camille Maurice from an old college journal. When she was spotted on the street, she knew she had a good thing going. Some advice from her journey:

• Need a tagline and a logo? Ask your PR and graphic design friends for input.
• Use your logo everywhere. It’s okay if it evolves.
• If you want to meet someone, just ask. Use your Twitter skills.
• Utilize your connections made through social media.
• Have a conversation.
• Try and blog 5 days a week. 3-5 days is the magic number.
• The ‘personal brand’ is tying in with ‘lifestyle social networking’ more than ever.

For more of the social media *stuff, check out our interview with Shani.

Tips from The Shop Tart

Anne Postic began with the idea of monetizing The Shop Tart. Initially, she hired a graphic designer, a web designer (Gene, Period Three) and an attorney to help get her brand up and running. Some advice from her journey:

• Separate yourself from your brand.
• Take advantage of connections.
• Have a business card made. (Even if you’re not working.)
• Look at logos you like and ask who designed them; heatherlahaise.com designed The Shop Tart’s logo.
• Clean sites are good. Place emphasis on visual.
• Talk to a designer about fonts. Never use Comic Sans font.
• You need to be a pretty good speller.
• Have a FAQ on your site to protect yourself; make sure it’s clear what’s paid and not paid.
• Reserving domain names are cheap and cover you in case someone misspells your brand when seeking you out.
• Do not be the brand that never listens. Be open to talking to everyone. Don’t be dormant. Talk back.

Look for “As Seen on The Shop Tart” tags in stores. BREAKING… There may be a television show in The Shop Tart’s future. Stay tuned…

For more of the social media *stuff, check out our interview with Anne.