Every company, no matter the size, relies on the support and goodwill of its customers to survive in today’s market – doubly so in an online world, where hundreds of competitors are literally just a click away. But the harsh reality is that some are better than others at learning to engage and interact with these individuals through inbound marketing and content marketing strategy, all of whom share a very important common interest: Your business and brand. Those who fall…
Social Media & Technology
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Six great iPhone/iPad apps for event planners
Three years have flown by since, excited by my immediate purchase of the original iPad, I shared 13 great iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch apps for event planners. I am still a big fan of five of these apps (Simplenote, DropBox, Square, Evernote, and GoodReader) while the remainder have been discontinued (WifiTrak and, sadly, TweetDeck), or superseded in my affections (Adobe Ideas, Beat the Traffic, Box.net, Instapaper, iTalk, and WeatherBug) by other apps. My original iPad is now in my…
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Five ways to enhance your marketing with online video
Online video consumption continues to explode in popularity, with over 189 million users having viewed over 49 billion clips in October 2013, according to comScore. Alone, the top distribution channels, such as YouTube, Facebook, and Yahoo!’s and Microsoft’s respective networks can provide a powerful platform for branding your business or events. However, it bears remembering that the numbers can tell a confusing tale. While several clients we consult with boast online channels featuring seven-figure play counts, many still struggle to…
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Deciding between mobile apps or text messaging for your next event
By Rick O’Connor According to Pew Research Center, (report here) 56 per cent of adults in the US own smartphones and can download an app, but only 50 per cent choose to do so. My math tells me that 50 per cent of 56 per cent is 28 per cent. That means about 28 per cent of your event attendees might download an event app. The same report states that 81 per cent of adults send and receive text messages…
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How ‘experience design’ can grab your audience on an emotional level
By Brad Friesen Today’s event professionals are constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation and creativity to create memorable event experiences. While talent and intuition go far, utilizing an experience design (XD) methodology is a valuable way to take something we have always cared about and apply tools and processes to make it happen. XD as a principle is more about design thinking then it is about pure event design. Like all good design, XD starts with establishing a deep understanding…
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Five social media myths debunked
Social media has literally changed the face of marketing and hiring for businesses of every size. Small businesses benefit from its $0 price tag and see it as an easy way to participate in industry conversations and stay in front of clients. Big businesses are well aware of the benefits too, and according to research by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research, 73 per cent of Fortune 500 companies were active on social media long before it…
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When social media feels like work: Networking with an over-stimulated audience
“It feels like work.” Those were the words spoken by a twenty something university student in response to the question, “How active are you on social media?” “Jane” went on to explain that the insidious nature of social media has taken all of the fun out of it and that it now has become an expectation. As a result, she has abandoned Facebook. She rarely tweets. “How do you network?” I ask, completely flummoxed by the conversation. “Over coffee or…
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Top five technology trends for meeting and event planners
Over 3,700 buyers and exhibitors recently attended AIBTM 2013 in Chicago, where over 30 hours of content programming were devoted to the theme of “Defining the Future of Meetings… Together.” Having had the pleasure of serving as a keynote speaker on the topic of innovation and change in the meetings, incentives and business travel industries at the tradeshow’s CEO Summit, one thing quickly became clear. After speaking with several top industry leaders, it’s obvious that even if we had 300…
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Top meeting mistakes: Five items you may be forgetting
Frantic as CMPs and corporate meeting specialists often find themselves planning engaging programs and plotting event logistics, it’s all too easy to overlook simple value-adds that can radically enhance any gathering’s impact. But if properly leveraged, these cost-affordable and easily-implemented initiatives can help maximize attendance, boost audience learning and takeaway, and dramatically improve return on investment. Following are several ways to get more from your conferences and executive summits, none of which require huge added expenditures, yet all of which…
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Why gamification will amaze at your next meeting or event
Plato said that we learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation. If you believe there is inherent value in this statement, then you are possibly already including game mechanics in your meeting planning. If you understand the opposite of play is not work, but the opposite of play is depression, then you will begin to understand the importance of including gamification in your meetings. As human beings, we want to feel challenged;…
