Story of #SocialMediaPie on Pi Day Ep78

My mom and the Michigan State Fair is a memory baked into my heart, and it's one of the moments that transformed pie from a mere dessert into a slice of my personal brand. 

On Pi Day, join me as I recount the journey from baking with love to branding with purpose, and how pie isn't just a sweet treat but a cornerstone of my professional identity. 

We'll explore the creation of #socialmediapie and the evolution that led to my LinkedIn strategy book, "Social Media Pie: How to Enjoy a Bigger Slice of LinkedIn," infusing the essence of pie into every my business, and gain inspiration for YOUR business through the process. 

As we celebrate the delicious dualities of pie and branding, we'll also shine a spotlight on the clever marketing collaborations that Pi Day stirs up in the Metro Detroit area. A slice of pie at Achatz bakery and a complementary coffee from Biggby Coffee aren't just treats for your palate but a masterclass in synergistic promotions. 

This episode is a fusion of nostalgia, strategy, and entrepreneurial spirit that's sure to inspire – whether you're a pie aficionado, a branding enthusiast, or just in search of a sweet slice of inspiration.

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My name is Brenda Meller. I'm a LinkedIn coach, consultant, speaker, and author. My company is Meller Marketing and I help business professionals get a bigger slice of the LinkedIn pie.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Today is Pi Day.
Yep, that's right, it's March14th, 2024 as I'm recording this
, but Pi Day is an amazing eventthat happens every year.
Now, I say amazing because I ama huge fan of Pi and Pi is part
of my personal brand.
Hey, my friend, in this episodeof today's podcast, I wanna

(00:21):
talk to you a bit about my loveof Pi and how you might start to
think about creating somethingthat is non-related to your
business and building it intoyour personal brand.
I wanna start by talking a bitabout the backstory behind me
and my love of Pi.
It actually started back when Iwas younger.
When I was growing up, my momused to bake for the Michigan

(00:42):
State Fair for those of youwho've been in the area for a
while, you know what I'm talkingabout and every year she would
submit pre-made cookies thatwe'd also would participate in
some live competitions.
And one year I think it was inhigh school, maybe middle school
or high school at the timethere was a mother-daughter pie
baking contest, and I rememberthis distinctly.
She wore a black jacket andwhite pants and I wore a white

(01:03):
jacket and black pants.
We were quite a coordinatingand we did some type of an apple
pie that we baked together forthe contest.
We didn't win that day, butthat was one of my very
cherished memories, not onlybecause I love the Michigan
State Fair growing up, butbecause I had a chance to bake
with my mom and she has sensepants away from cancer, and it's
a nice way to pay in honor andtribute and keep her memory

(01:26):
alive.
By the way, ladies, always getyour PAPS mirror and your annual
exams.
Now, over the years, I realizedthat I was something that I
really did enjoy as a dessert.
I do like cookies and, don'tget me wrong, I love brownies,
especially the ones with nutsinside them, but I don't like
cake as much.
It feels to me a bit too sugary.
Sometimes in the frosting it'slike sugar sugar.
It's just not something that Iparticularly enjoy.

(01:48):
But put a slice of pie in frontof me and I will eat that.
My friends.
And a few years back, when I wasjust getting my business
started, I had the opportunityto change up the presentation
and I was doing social mediastrategies for small businesses
and I decided to do a pie-themedpresentation and used a hashtag
that I created that day calledhashtag social media pie, and it

(02:11):
kind of took off.
People were taking pictures andthey were posting them.
I actually brought a pie togive away that day.
I went to one of the localbakeries and bought a pie and
gave it away, and the person whowon it was like they were
winning the lottery.
So it kind of just started thatday.
It was really when it wasstarting to be born.
Fast forward, a few years later, I finally met my goal of
publishing a book, and it was aLinkedIn strategy book and it is

(02:33):
called social media pie how toenjoy a bigger slice of LinkedIn
.
And then, from that day forward, gosh pie just became a part of
my personal brand.
Now, if you also love pie, youknow that there are several
holidays throughout the yearthat commemorate pie in general.
There's actually a national pieday in January I think it's

(02:54):
January 20th and in March, whichis today March 14th 3.14, the
mathematical number for pie.
A lot of local organizationsare celebrating pie, and even
here in Metro Detroit, our localAkitz pie bakery is celebrating
pie day today, and they've beendoing promotions leading up to

(03:16):
this for weeks and months.
You walk into the store todayand you can get a slice of pie
for $3.14.
And after I did that today.
I went a few doors down toBigby Coffee and I thought this
was brilliant.
Bigby Coffee had a sign.
I didn't see it until after Iordered my coffee and the person
said okay, you're on set.
And I said, well, how much do Iowe?
And she said there's no chargebecause we're doing a promotion

(03:36):
today If you buy pie from Akitzand come into Bigby, we'll give
you a free small coffee.
And I said that's brilliant.
I love to see marketingcollaborations like that.
So I'm now starting to see morebusinesses embracing this
concept of pie if pie is relatedto their business.
Now, for me, now that you know Ilove pie, you will start to
miss my humor, my memes, fivereferences and TVs and movies

(04:01):
and books, and you'll think ofme.
And when you do, I want you tosend me a note.
I always love when I receivenotes and messages from my
connections, my clients and mycommunity, sharing how it makes
us.
It's kind of like we'reenjoying that fight together, if
you will, and what I thinkreally makes this unique is
we're making a human to humanconnection with one another.
That's not related to businessand you've all heard that

(04:24):
expression and that people dobusiness with individuals that
they know, like and trust.
I also think value is animportant part of that equation,
but that trust element issomething that we can build up
through personal relationshipsand even through things like a
love of pie.
Now, pie is my thing.
I know there's the bacon peopleout there, there's the coffee
people, there's craft brews andthere's Harley Davidson fans.

(04:47):
There's other categories ofthings out there, but I want to
challenge you to think aboutwhat's an item that you really
do enjoy, that you love, that'sbeen a part of your life, that
you would consider a part ofyour personal brand, and maybe
start including that in some ofyour LinkedIn posts and other
social media posts.
Maybe, if you've got a podcast,talk about that in an episode
of your podcast as well, and dolet me know the results that

(05:11):
you're seeing from that approach.
Now, as we wrap up today,whether it is pie day or if
you're listening to this in thefuture, I want to encourage you
to please send me messages andgifts and comics and things like
that.
If you ever see clever thingsabout pie, please send them to
me.
I take a little collection ofthese things and sometimes I'll
share these pie related thingsin presentations as well.

(05:34):
With that said, have a happypie day if you do celebrate, and
we'll look forward to seeingyou on a future episode.
Thanks for listening.