Your Conference: Fresh Oxygen Or Carbon Dioxide? October 24, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Take a deep breath. Now hold it. How long can you hold it before you have to exhale? You cannot be content with what you’re simply holding in your lungs. Your fresh breath suddenly becomes carbon dioxide and needs to be exhaled. It’s a natural part of breathing. Inhale oxygen. Then exhale carbon dioxide. If … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Innovation, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
6 Barriers That Impede Conference Attendee Attention October 20, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Everyday our brains make a payment of their precious resources. We try to pay attention. We attempt to listen, read or work on a single task for as long as we can. Our visual and auditory systems strive to lock into the work at hand. Can I Have Your Attention? To pay attention, we have … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attention, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conferences, presentation best practices
A Stagnant Economy, The Big Shift, The Great Disruption And The Meetings Industry October 17, 2011 by Jeff Hurt “There’s something happening here,” says author Thomas Friedman referring to the spontaneous protests from Tel Aviv to Wall Street. According to Friedman, we are witnessing seismic changes from two overarching narratives: The Big Shift and The Great Disruption. That coupled with the systemic challenges of our stagnant economy for the next decade could have a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences, economy, Great Recession, meeting predictions, meeting professionals, recession
Three Conference Mindsets (And More Research You Need To Know) October 13, 2011 by Jeff Hurt People’s behaviors, needs and preferences online reflect their offline actions. Understanding some of their online human activity can help conference organizers understand and connect with their onsite conference attendees. Ultimately, securing the right kind of conference content is exactly what your attendees seek. The Research In Spring 2011, About. com partnered with Latitude to examine … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, attracting attendees, conference best practices, conferences, content, content marketing, meeting planning best practices
Using Social Media To Generate Conference Attendee Registration October 12, 2011 by Jeff Hurt “This year we are going to start engaging with more people via social media,” your boss says at the staff meeting. “We’re going to have a conference blog, a Twitter feed, a conference Facebook page and a Linkedin event. And I need each of you to contribute some weekly content.” Hearts drop. Eyes roll. Some … [Read more…] Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , attendee growth, attracting attendees, conference best practices, conferences, event, social media for events, social technology for events
Are You Attracting The Right Customer For Your Conference? October 11, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Who are the customers for your conference? Yes, I said customers – plural. You have more than one customer. Most of us think of our conference customers as the paid registrants. Instead, we need to think of our customers as anyone who can say no. Who’s Your Daddy Customer? So who are the customers of … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing, Business Model Tagged With: , attendee growth, attracting attendees, conference best practices, conference revenue models, conferences, market segmentation, meeting planning best practices
Innovative Conferences Are Led By Innovative Leaders October 7, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Innovation. It’s the heartbeat and lifeblood of today’s economy. Innovation. It’s a strategic priority for most executives around the world. Innovation and creativity. 15,000 CEOs identified it as the number 1 “Leadership Competency” of the future. (IBM, CEO Study, 2010) Innovation. It’s where you as a conference organizer need to focus your attention, time and … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Innovation, meeting planning best practices
Top Seven Conference Functions Easily Leveraged By Social Media October 6, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Your conference’s social media presence is worthless unless you do something with it. It isn’t enough to have a conference blog, an event Facebook page, a conference YouTube channel, an event Twitter profile, a LinkedIn event or a multiplicity of other outposts in social media. Ok, perhaps it’s better than not having a presence at … [Read more…] Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , conferences, event, social media for events, social technology for events
Four Conference Model Options October 5, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Once upon a time, many, many moons ago, in the days of old, in the rooms of the Inn, in the city of yonder, the time-honored, habitually-replicated, customary conference experience was basically always the same. It was one-directional, from organizers to attendees. Today, meeting professionals can select from a variety of conference models to customize … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Conference Education Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference models, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting planning best practices
The Mirage Of Conference Information Tsunami October 4, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Your attendees rate the learning impact of “massing” as superior at your event. Massing in the education world is defined as receiving large blocks of information in condensed amounts of time. Attendees feel that the more information they can receive, the higher their performance. Unfortunately, the conference information tsunami is a mirage. It is a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conference education, conference tips, conferences, meeting industry trends, meeting planning best practices
