Archive for the ‘social media’ category

Grow locally before growing globally

January 8th, 2010

To often social media is looked at as solely as marketing and business development tool for growing your exposure among those who have never, ever, heard of a product. It is seen as an avenue that will cut down the all the noise and bring in the new.

The same ideas have been applied to meetings, and tradeshows with many organizations these tools in an effort to boost the attendance from new prospects.

However, if that is all Social Media is being used for then a major benefit is being missed.

The greatest power of Social Media technologies lies in the ability to increase your current communities interaction with your product and service. It is a tool for increasing that engagement and increasing incremental spend and use. If you were to grow the value of each of your current customers by 10%, what would that mean for your business and event?


Social Media has the ability to grow your current customers infatuation with your product by providing information that is valuable. The more valuable they find your information, the more likely they are to use your product or service. And all events are essentially a product and a service. Get it?

As you increase their engagement, you are working to elevate their level of fandom. The more they love you, and see value in your product, the more likely there are to recommend you to their friends, family, co-workers and strangers in the line at the grocery store. Word of Mouth is still the best and cheapest for of marketing available and this is an incredible tool for harnessing that form of marketing.

Work to engage your core community: Give these users and fans information of value and you will see a return. Spend your time thinking of how you can get your database to subscribe to your blog and then link to you through Facebook and Twitter. Think about what information would provide the biggest benefit, or even better, ask your customers. Make them feel as if they are a part of the process and let them know how much they mean to you.

Create a plan: The most under-utilized strategy of a business launching a Social Media Strategy is the initial announcement to their current database. An announcement that explains what the current customers can expect from the interaction and invites them to become a part of your success. It’s a great time to ask for feedback and let your core group of consumers know that you welcome their ideas and input.

Spend some time before you launch this and identify the core topics you are going to be discussing. Make this a focus point of this announcement and make sure it is clear what you can be counted on to share. This will help you more easily create content and will help your customer understand when they should turn to you.

Create Measurement: As your new Social Media Community grows, you need to know how and why. You need to understand what is influencing the growth so that you can be flexible and course correct along the way. Identify your top users and work with them to become even greater fans. Be sure and thank all of the community for their input and do so often.

It’s not an easy road and it will not yield immediate results. if you do see them…..count your blessings and be thankful. You are one of the lucky few. Social Media is not a quick fix, it’s a long term strategy and a commitment to your customers to make their lives better and easier. Approach it with a full heart and a focus on giving back and you will increase your business.

What do you think?


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Posted in Event Management, Main, social media

Beginners Guide to Social Media

December 22nd, 2009

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Are you unsure what do with social media? You’re not alone. Many meeting professionals  feel overwhelmed by the idea of establishing a presence in the social media world.

Social Media Marketing is on the tip of everyones tongue these days. Most though are unsure how to use these new mediums and struggle with understanding where to get started.

Fortunately, it’s easier than you think.

Meeting professionals that want to increase engagement, share excitement and better execute their events need to adapt and incorporate social media opportunities into their event strategies.

Social media marketing is being used to find and engage new attendees, provide core details and customer support, understand the needs/wants of attendees and  increase brand awareness and publicity. However, one of the greatest advantages of using social media is it’s ability to bring together loyal fans and let them share their stories.


Here are 5 quick tips to help you get started.

Listen

Search for your company and key words that relate to your specific kind of events on social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to see what attendees and the public at large like and dislike. You can learn a huge amount by just listening to the comments people share. If you are going to jump into the conversation, remember to do so with an inquisitive tone. Like a cocktail party, the hard sell does not work here. Be positive and let attendees know you are listening.

Poke Around

Check out other events and your competition before beginning your own social media campaign. Look for elements that speak to you. Maybe it’s a style of writing or simply the way they designed their profiles. See what they are doing and how they are doing it. If it works for them, it could work for you!

Be Open

Approach online conversations about your events in an open manner and then engage your attendees in conversations with full disclosure. Let them behind the curtain and you will have an opportunity to engage them in a conversation that rarely happens. They become raving fans by feeling as if they are a greater part of the event. Ask what they think about the event, you might be surprised by the responses and ideas.What they are looking for are details, exceptional service and real‐life connections.

Share

Start creating your social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and with a blog. Then create links for these platforms on your Web site’s homepage, in your signature block and even on your business card. Initially you will have to do the legwork in building your community. As you explore the Social Media space, look for opportunities to comment and give back. When you do, include your Twitter Username, or a link your blog or Facebook. This helps people to track back and be introduced to your presence.

Daily Check up

So…..you’ve done the legwork, got the whole thing set up, now spend 30 minutes per‐day updating each platform. The key is to focus on sharing information, links, images and whatever else you can. The goal is to keep it all focused on content that is VALUABLE to your attendees. Be sure to keep your content fresh and look for opportunities to interact with your attendees.


Beyond that, it’s important to spend time learning each day. Spend a few minutes and search the web for articles about Social Media Marketing. Add the blogs of Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuck, Michael McCurry, Jeff Hurt and Lara McCulloch-Carter to your favorites. And if you are still not sure about where to look for guidance on what constitutes good social media, turn to the experts and keep listening until you are comfortable diving in yourself.

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Posted in How To's, social media

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New Technology changing the Face to Face Meeting

December 1st, 2009

face to face meeting

One of the great joys of our business is the development of new technologies that transform and enhance the landscape of our industry. The development of FaceTime was one such technology.

From it’s inception for our own use at the Elite Meetings Alliance through the most recent IT&ME, we have seen it change the way that suppliers and buyers interact. It has provided a space for more open communication and more effective use of time. The key qualities that technology has promised.

What spurred this post though was recent letter we received praising the system.

“We had a great experience with using the Elite Meetings International (EMI) FaceTime appointment scheduling technology at the 2009 Motivation Show and plan to continue its use in the 2010 Hosted Buyer Program next October”, said Pete Erickson, Managing Director of The Motivation Show (IT&ME).

“As we expand our Hosted Buyer Program in 2010, it’s critical that we provide a streamlined technology tool for helping buyers and exhibitors manage their appointments at showtime. FaceTime makes the process of requesting, confirming and managing appointments in real time as simple as possible. And the additional features for printing schedules and receiving alerts makes FaceTime the most effective appointment planning tool available today.”

Like a proud parent we shared the praise among the team and in the process discovered a pretty interesting fact.

We were helping to build the case for Face to Face meetings by providing a technology that makes them more effective. By enhancing the process by which people meet and helping them to be better prepared, we were justifying and fortifying the belief that it is important to meet with those you do business with.

In todays economy, everyone should be tighter with their dollars and more focused on results. We must also not lose sight that business is personal and that trust is still a foundation to successful partnerships.

By embracing technologies that help us effectively manage our time and resources, we are proactively taking charge of the situation, building a better network and defining the future of meetings and events.

Thanks for letting us be a part of that.


If you want to learn more about Elite Meetings, SpeedRFP, FaceTime and all that we offer, check out the Elite Meetings website at www.elitemeetings.com.

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Posted in Event Management, Main, New Technology, social media

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5 Reasons every hotel should adopt FourSquare

November 30th, 2009

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When asked about FourSquare, Dennis Crowley (a founding member), described it by saying “What we wanted to do is turn life into a video game. You should be rewarded for going out more times than your friends, and hanging out with new people and going to new restaurants and going to new bars–just experiencing things that you wouldn’t normally do.”

Having just read that statement, you’re probably now wondering. “Why should I adopt a social video game to promote my hotel and restaurant?”.

I say, why not?

If the medium is attracting new users, promoting venues, providing additional exposure, free and gaining momentum….why wouldn’t you want to to be involved.


Four Square is one of the newest and fastest growing Social Networks available today. It was recently featured on the front page of the New York Times, but my favorite article came from the New York Observer back in March. Both provide excellent background on the technology and concept.

It is at once a city guide for explorers and a game that drives locals to fight for their favorite establishments. However, it is the adoption by travelers who are looking for insights that should peak your interest.

It is described as a social experiment, grass roots marketing and real life video game to name a few descriptives. But remains to be largely an untapped market by the hospitality industry…outside of the bar scene. Funnily, it greatest success will most likely lie in our willingness to adopt it as a tool for promotion.

Which is why I’d like to present five reasons you should adopt a FourSquare strategy today.

  • It’s easy to set up – this may seem simple, but in age of overcomplicated technology, simplicity is the key to success. Log on to FourSquare, set up an account, search for your hotel/restaurants and add them if they are not there. For Bonus points, add some fun tips that make you sound exciting and engaging!

  • Supports Special Offers vs. Advertising - Once you have your hotel/restaurants loaded, contact FourSquare about setting up promotions. In todays world of non stop advertising, the vast majority of us are turned off by traditional messages. FourSquare battles that with promotions that are directed at those who check in to locations in your area,Potentially drawing business away from your competitors.

  • Supports a sense of Fanaticism – A key aspect of FourSquare is the ability to own a location you frequent often. From a business traveller to a meeting planner, or a barfly to a restauranteur, all have the ability to become the mayor of their favorite location by checking in there more often than the next. A simple search of Twitter will show the growing fanaticism people are feeling over their mayorship.

  • Crosses multiple Social Platforms easily - This is not only important for time, but also exposure and search-ability. FourSquare links with Twitter and Facebook, prompting users to update their networks with their latest activity. This provides maximum exposure for your hotel and amenities.

  • it’s interactive - By offering promotions, sharing tips and recommendations you are creating a conversation with your most loyal guests who are using the platform. You are also opening yourself to a new selection of potential customers. I regularly use the program when I travel to source restaurants, pubs and hotels. Since the program links to Yelp and Google maps, I can also look outside of the tips users have left and get additional information. FourSquare targets locations within a close proximity and gives me a better insight into what the location offers. If someone is proud enough to own it….well, thats gotta say somethin!

As technology and social mediums continue to grow and evolve it will remain important for the hospitality industry to look for ways to adopt new technologies. We should not be standing by and waiting for them to come to us. The survivors will discover the ways to help the technology adapt to us.

What do you think?

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Posted in Main, New Technology, social media

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Tomorrow’s Tools

November 11th, 2009

“You can’t expect to meet the challenges of today with yesterday’s tools and expect to be in business tomorrow.”

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As Meeting and Event professionals it is easy to get caught up in the world that we know. We spend a great deal of time managing, or better yet, taming, the chaos of the group mind. The process of planning an event is time consuming and challenges us to be creative on a far larger level than many of the attendees ever realize. In many ways it makes perfect sense for us to continue to plan and execute our events the same way we have in the past.

Or we can challenge ourselves to learn something new and be involved in the future of our industry. It is possible for the two worlds of technology and face to face meetings to co-exist and it is our responsibility to find the ways to help our compatriots and our attendees to embrace the new media available. It is our job as meeting and event professionals to embrace new technologies and use them as tools for increasing engagement and excitement, which ultimately drives more interest to our face to face events.

This is the true power of New Media! It builds excitement and engages our attendees in ways we could never have imagined.

With that said, here are four specific arenas that all Meeting and Event professionals work in daily and small collection of tomorrows tools for each. I invite you to look into them further and see how you can involve them in your event planning and execution. You may be surprised by the benefits you experience.

Collaboration

GoogleWave: GoogleWave invites are becoming more prolific and will continue to grow as the “go to” tool for collaboration. It is “a personal communication and collaboration tool” that is a web based. It is designed to merge e-mail, instant messaging and social networking. It is the strong collaborative and real time focus that allows a user to share documents with a wider group of people. Imagine your brochures, lists and registration materials being created and developed live.

Box.net: Where Google wave is about creation, Box.net is about sharing. Putting all of your materials into some of your favorite Social Networking applications and making it easy to track what was downloaded, when and by whom. it further promotes environmentally friendly practices by making all your materials easy to access.

Sourcing

Elite Meetings.com: a one stop shop for those looking to find a high end property for their next meeting or event. The site is comprised of property descriptions for over a 1000 properties across North America. It provides an in depth look at the available properties, detailing the most commonly requested information on hotels and resorts.

SpeedRFP: Keep an eye out for this one. We’re building a better mousetrap and you can be sure this thing is going to revolutionize the electronic RFP process by making it easy to use and reliable.

Promotion

Video: YouTube, Vimeo and U-Stream are all great examples of mediums that you can use to share video. If a picture is worth a thousand words then video is easily worth a million. It captures the emotion and excitement of your event through the people that are involved. Get creative and use Video’s to drive new attendees and build excitement among those who are committed.

Blog: It’s free and very easy to set up. From Wordpress to TypePad or Blogger, you can use a blog to post content about the event and share updates with those who are involved. Post photos, provide tips, updates and whatever else you can imagine. It’s easy to draw people into your work and make them a part of the community when you are using a blog.

Engagement

Social Networks: There is no doubt that Social Networks are changing our industry at a break neck pace. Use Facebook, Twitter, linkedIn and i-Meet to create a feeling of community and deliver the content you have created on your blog and the videos your are broadcasting. These are quickly becoming the “go to” channels for updating attendees while at events because they are available to everyone via mobile devices. Look for the opportunities to build a basic platform and identify your standards of communication.

Live Feedback: Keep attendees engaged through the event by using live feedback tools like Twtpoll and Polldaddy. They provide instant feedback on sessions, speakers, dinner or whatever you decide to get feedback on. Again, they are easily accessed through social networks and provide unbiased feedback that you can use to refine your events.

Tomorrows Tools are available today and will continue to evolve. They are exciting, engaging and fun to use. It is up to us to bring these tools into our industry and look for the ways they can re-define what we do.

What do you think?

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Posted in Event Management, New Technology, Uncategorized, social media

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