Nothing is the way it used to be. Little is the same. Not much is a sure thing. The convergence of the economy, society and technology has turned the old ways of doing things upside down. The old rules for success have changed. Your ability to learn new things and adapt mean the difference between success and failure. Today, a new set of principles drive your event success. You won't find these new tenets in the professional meeting handbook. Yet you need to know these new guidelines to … [Read more...]
I Can’t Get No [Conference] Satisfaction
I can't get no conference satisfaction, I can't get no conference satisfaction, 'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try. I can't get no, I can't get no. When I'm sittin' in your session and a man comes on the stage he's tellin' me more and more about some useless information supposed to fire my imagination. I can't get no, oh no no no. Hey hey hey, that's what I say. I can't get no conference satisfaction, I can't get no conference satisfaction, 'Cause I pay and I pay and I pay and I pay. I … [Read more...]
Do You Want Satisfied Conference Attendees Or Loyal Attendees?
Do you want a satisfied spouse or a loyal spouse? Think about that. Which one is it? I don't know about you but I want a satisfied and loyal spouse! Now, do you want satisfied customers or loyal customers? Ok, committed relationships and marriages are not the best analogy for business relationships. Marriages are one-to-one relationships. Most business relationships are probably not one-to-one relationships. Yet some of the interactions needed to sustain relationships are the same. One thing … [Read more...]
Twitter For Events: Eye-Opening Data From Ten 2010 Events
Social media is, at its most basic sense, a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It is a fusion of sociology and technology transforming monologues (one to many) and dialogues (one to one) into polylogues (many to many). Paraphrase, Brian Solis. How are conference participants using social media to engage in monologues, dialogues and polylogues? What type of behavior do Twitter users exhibit from conferences and events? Here are the top findings from a … [Read more...]
35 Tips To Successfully Use Twitter For Your Event
You've decided to take the plunge and create a Twitter profile for your event. So what's next? Where do you start? What should you do? Here are 35 tips to help you manage your Twitter event profile and experience. 1. When setting up your Twitter account, use the full name of the conference or event in the name field, not conference's user name. This way people can easily find the event profile by searching for the event's name. 2. Your event Twitter profile bio is your elevator pitch. You … [Read more...]
7 Annual Meeting Improvement Tactics During Tough Economies
In a down economy, an organization's worst survival tactic is to make budget or staff cuts. A weak economy should provide the impetus for us to work smarter and pull the trigger on those initiatives that may not have gone over well even in better times. Organizations that make the right moves will rule the day over their competitors. Here are a few ideas that will help give your conferences and events an edge: 1. Retention before attraction The economy will make it more difficult to … [Read more...]
Connecting: A Radical New Vision For Conferences And Events
Connections. As important as the plug is to the outlet so the electricity can flow. As important as the computer programming is to the wireless cell tower so our cell phones work. As important as the water faucet is to the plumbing so we can have fresh water. As important as the heart pumping blood to the brain. As important as human touch is to a newborn child. I've been having some fuzzy thinking in the corners of my mind lately about conferences, community and connections. Those … [Read more...]
The American Idol Strategy Of Picking Conference Speakers
America has a love-hate-relationship with American Idol. We boo the negative naysayer and painfully honest founder and judge Simon Cowell. Although we often secretly agree with what he has to say. We applaud the effervescent Ellen DeGeneres when she says she likes a finalist and compares them to an unripe banana. Although we know she is struggling to find something positive to say when a singer does a poor job. The entire process of finding the next American Idol is very similar to the … [Read more...]
