Social Business Blogger Seeks to Provide Better Access to Mentorship, Education and Outreach via Local Bloggers Group

Mayra Ruiz-McPherson, longtime social business blogger and founder of Ruiz McPherson Communications (RMC) —  a Dulles, Virginia-based interactive marketing and digital PR communications service catering to small and medium-sized companies in the Washington DC metropolitan area — leads a local bloggers Meetup® group where she often shares tips, advice and resources to the group’s members.

Six months after taking the reins over from the Meetup group’s previous owner, Ruiz-McPherson has grown the local group of bloggers to approximately 50. “My immediate goal is to gradually build a strong community of hyper-local bloggers. I hope to attract professional and amateur bloggers who blog about a variety of topics and subjects and who reside in the Northern Virginia area,” says Ruiz-McPherson who recently renamed the group from “Fairfax County Local Bloggers” to “Fairfax and Loudoun County Bloggers” in order to expand the geographic base of bloggers and to attract bloggers from both neighboring counties.

Ruiz-McPherson has also re-branded the group in hopes that creating a new identity will help to establish a credible, active Meetup group serious about blogging as both a profession or a hobby in our area.

According to Ruiz-McPherson, this local bloggers group serves numerous purposes, including:

• creation of a collaborative group of local bloggers for idea exchange and networking
• ability to provide localized education and mentorship for area bloggers in the following topics:
  • Blogger outreach
  • Creating blog “editorial calendars”
  • Generating advertising revenue from a blo
  • Maximizing WordPress, Blogger and other blogging platforms
  • Attracting more readers and subscribers
• establish genuine relationships with hyper-local bloggers that may be interested in participating in future outreach events

Ruiz-McPherson sought to create a blogger-specific group based out of Northern Virginia versus Washington DC in order to help create a strong hyper-local flavor while avoiding commutes into the metro area.

Presently, Ruiz-McPherson regularly posts information for bloggers seeking paid blogging opportunities, blogger contests and other blogging-specific educational resources. “Ultimately, I would like to tap the group to find ways for providing blogger education opportunities with possible guest speakers,” says Ruiz-McPherson. “Blogs are the heartbeat of most social media communications and outreach programs. Ongoing education and support in this arena is generally lacking outside industry conferences and events. I aspire to help fill some of that void via this Meetup group … at least locally!”

The group’s first official meetup under Ruiz-McPherson’s stead is presently scheduled for Thursday, January 26, 2012 from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm. A $10 fee is required to attend and includes light refreshments and hors d’oeuvres.

To register for the Thursday, January 26 meetup or join Fairfax and Loudoun County Bloggers, click here.