Welcome to the next generation of meetings & trade shows!
Social Media ... Web 2.0 ... YouTube ... How many of these tools are you using for your meetings?
If your answer is "none", then perhaps you need to think again. Interactive online tools are exploding in popularity, and it only makes sense to incorporate them into your meeting planning tool kit. This lens will teach about what technology is available and how to get started using and creating tools to expand the experiential reach of your meeting.
Whether you want to create communities of attendees, let them collaborate with each other (or your planning team), or simply need tools for your team to co-create content for your meeting, you can find solutions here.
Note: This material was developed as a breakout session for the 2008 KCMPI Professional Education Conference. (KCMPI is short for the Kansas City Chapter of Meeting Professionals International.) Marlys is available to present this workshop for associations and other organizations who want to learn how to use Web 2.0 marketing and communications tools. Please visit http://www.imagespecialist.com/ts_wkshps.html for details.
If your answer is "none", then perhaps you need to think again. Interactive online tools are exploding in popularity, and it only makes sense to incorporate them into your meeting planning tool kit. This lens will teach about what technology is available and how to get started using and creating tools to expand the experiential reach of your meeting.
Whether you want to create communities of attendees, let them collaborate with each other (or your planning team), or simply need tools for your team to co-create content for your meeting, you can find solutions here.
Note: This material was developed as a breakout session for the 2008 KCMPI Professional Education Conference. (KCMPI is short for the Kansas City Chapter of Meeting Professionals International.) Marlys is available to present this workshop for associations and other organizations who want to learn how to use Web 2.0 marketing and communications tools. Please visit http://www.imagespecialist.com/ts_wkshps.html for details.
Table of Contents
Solution: Social Media
When your goal is to inform & entertain
Blogs and their close cousin podcasts are the common delivery methods in this category. Both tools are similar, using RSS feeds (which stands for "Really Simple Syndication") to allow users to track when new items appear. The main difference is that blogs are text-based and podcasts include either audio or video files.
For meeting planners, these tools should be a no-brainer. Create a podcast or blog to build anticipation for your event, as well as extend its life long after the meeting closes.
For meeting planners, these tools should be a no-brainer. Create a podcast or blog to build anticipation for your event, as well as extend its life long after the meeting closes.
- Blogger
- Blogger is possibly the easiest way to get started blogging. Best of all, it's free to use.
- WordPress
- WordPress is another good free site for setting up your blog. There are lots of templates you can choose from to customize the look of your blog. Paid upgrades are also available.
- TypePad
- TypePad is a paid service designed for more advanced blogging projects.
- Example: National Stationery Show Girls blog
- The National Stationery Show does a good job of tying exhibitors' products in with timely happenings. This site is hosted on Blogger.
- Example: Face2Face MeetingsNet
- This blog is written by Sue Pelletier, editor of Association Meetings magazine. Sometimes it's a great tidbit on a meetings industry topic ... other times it's a "just for fun" post.
- Example: BookExpoCast
- Check out the official podcast of Book Expo America, featuring interviews with authors and publishers, as well as snippets from the show floor.
- Example: New Media Expo podcast
- Of course the New Media Expo has a podcast! Who better to model your meeting or event's podcast after than the expo for online media creators?
- Example: EXPO Magazine podcast
- EXPO Magazine comes to life each week with their Monday morning podcast episodes.
- Example: Trade Show Insights podcast
- Trade Show Insights is one of the first podcasts for people in the trade show industry ... hosted by yours truly! (Check out the two-part discussion of Trade Shows 2.0.)
- Alltop
- This site functions as an index for all the top (thus, Alltop) blogs in most any topic. Here's the list for event planning. It's a great one-stop-shop to stay on top of hot topics.
- Known as a micro-blog, Twitter is a tool that allows short (140-character) updates on whatever you want to share at that moment. It could be what you're currently doing, a link you recommend, or a product or event announcement. Users "follow" each other's posts, which are called "tweets." If you want to follow me on Twitter, my username is ImageSpecialist.
Solution: Social Bookmarking
When your goal is to inspire community & build platform
If you work on multiple computers, or are on the road a lot (and in the meetings/trade show biz, aren't we all), then you may find social bookmarks handy as a personal tool. These tools allow you to store, organize and search bookmarks, either privately or share with others.
So ... how about creating a bookmark list that relates to your company/organization/event, then putting a link to that page out to your list of attendees and prospects? Or you could use the service as a research tool to see who else has linked to the same things as you, then view their list to see if they have other links that tie in with your topic or interest.
So ... how about creating a bookmark list that relates to your company/organization/event, then putting a link to that page out to your list of attendees and prospects? Or you could use the service as a research tool to see who else has linked to the same things as you, then view their list to see if they have other links that tie in with your topic or interest.
- Delicious
- Delicious is the most popular bookmarking site on the Web. Some people use it just to have their bookmarks handy wherever they go (and no matter what computer they use). Others use it to share bookmarks with friends, or to discover what links are popular on any given topic.
- Digg
- Digg is a content-sharing site, where users submit links and the community votes (or "diggs") to raise each item in the rankings. The top-rated sites appear on the home page of Digg.
- StumbleUpon
- This bookmarking site uses what you mark to recommend other sites based on your interests.
- Kaboodle
- While originally designed as a shopping list site, Kaboodle is capable of so much more. It goes beyond simple bookmarking by including photos from the selected Web sites. You could use it to make a list of items as you research various products or venues. (Here's a quick list I put together of ideas for trade show exhibitors.)
- Squidoo
- Okay, so you're already using Squidoo by viewing this page. But have you thought about creating a "lens" of your own? Lensmasters can create a page for any topic of their choice. (Here's another lens I created as a resource for trade show exhibitors.) So why not create a lens related to your event?
Solution: Social Networking/Online Communities
When your goal is to inspire community & build platform
Meetings and trade shows are great places to create community, but why not enhance the relationship building online? While the most famous site in this category may be MySpace, it's certainly not the best networking site for business! Instead, here are some more appropriate alternatives to help you expand connections both before and after your event.
- LinkedIn was designed for business people. You can search for people within your network, as well as post questions on a topic and let people submit answers. Click here to view my profile.
- Although Facebook started as a networking tool for college students, it has now become a favorite of the business crowd. In addition to creating your own personal profile, you can also create groups and corporate pages, as well as post events. (Many of these tools are located within the Facebook Business Solutions section.) Here's a link to the page I created for "fans" of my book, Build a Better Trade Show Image. Once you've created a Facebook profile, you can promote it with a badge on your own Web site. (For KCMPI members, be sure to check out the KCMPI group!)
- Ning
- If you want to go beyond basic networking and create a special network just for your meeting or association members, you might want to check out Ning. Here you can create a fully customized social network that allows members to interact, upload photos or videos, and view each other's profiles.
- Example: Social Networking for Hand Surgeons
- Check out this article from Medical Meetings magazine on how one medical conference took advantage of social networking.
- VisualCV
- This site isn't exactly a social network, but it does have the capability to connect you with potential clients and employers. Essentially it's a multimedia resume. Check out my VisualCV as an example (plus there are many other samples on the site).
Solution: Photo & Video Sharing
When your goal is to allow user-generated content
It may sound like a bad thing, but viral videos can really be a very good thing for meetings and trade shows. You can invite content before, during and after your event and let attendees upload their own photos or videos. Then send the link out to not only those who attended, but also to those who couldn't make it this year.
- YouTube
- This is the grandaddy of all online video sites. Videos posted here can spread like wildfire, sometimes even making it into the mainstream media. In addition to uploading individual videos, you can create your own "channel" where you can host a collection of videos relating to your event. (See examples of our KCMPI channel or my personal channel.)
- Google video
- Since Google bought YouTube, there really isn't much benefit to doing Google video, but you might still want to post both places for the extra coverage. (Here's a link to one of my videos.)
- Revver
- Revver is a video-sharing site with a twist -- they attach ads to the videos and split the profits with video owners.
- Flickr
- Flickr is for photos what YouTube is for videos. The key here is tagging photos with keywords that make finding exactly what you want much easier. So it would be possible to create a tag with the name of your event so users could look up relevant photos from all attendees.
- If you have a Facebook account, and have created a group for your event, it's easy to accumulate related photos, as well as videos, within the group page. (For example, I added a video to my "fan" page for the new Image@Work Club.)
Solution: Online Software Tools
When your goal is to enhance productivity
Whether you're looking for a way to share files among far-flung staff members or simply want basic tools to get your own work done there are a myriad of solutions available online for project management, document sharing, and organizing your schedule or to-do lists.
- Google Docs/Google Calendar
- Did you know you can create word processing documents, spreadsheets or presentations within Google? These programs look and feel like the ones you're used to, perhaps minus some of the high-end bells and whistles. But it does make collaborative editing among staff members a breeze. You can also create group calendars through Google, like we did for KCMPI. Attendees can even download and save events into their own calendar program.
- Basecamp/Backpack
- 37 Signals is a company that provides very slick tools for project management, file sharing, and calendar organizing. Basecamp is the project management product, and Backpack is the calendar/organizer. Each of these has multiple versions of their memberships (from free to $100+ per month), depending on how many users you have and how much storage space you need. They also offer a free list-making service called Ta-Da.
- Vitalist
- Vitalist offers multiple monthly plans (from free to $10) that let you track projects, tasks, and contacts.
- Remember the Milk
- Okay, so it's a funny name, but it works great! This is my personal favorite for task management because it makes everything so simple. Not only can you add tasks by typing them in, you can also add a handy bookmarking tool that will add any date you highlight on a Web page. Found a meeting you need to attend? Just highlight the date and time, then click on your handy bookmarking tool. Remember the Milk will automatically add it to your to-do list.
- NetVibes
- So now that you have all these great online tools, how can you keep track of them all? NetVibes functions as an all-in-one dashboard to organize your online life. You can also set up news feeds from major print and TV sites, as well as any other RSS feed that you've subscribed to.
- iContact
- Looking to stay connected to your customers and prospects? With iContact, you can easily create and broadcast e-mail newsletters or surveys from any computer. In addition you can track subscriptions, know who opens the e-mails, and stay updated on any bounced addresses.
Solution: Mass Collaboration
When your goal is to host a community-created knowledge base
To some degree, wikis combine elements of all the solutions discussed above. You can create knowledge libraries, as well as share comments, files and more. The word "wiki" is Hawaiian for "fast," and wikis are a fast way for people to add and edit individual Web pages. Within the meetings and trade show industry, MPI is creating a member-generated wiki.
- Wetpaint
- Want to create your own internal wiki? Here's a site that will help you do it. It's the one used to create the MPI-PEC09 Program Wiki to submit ideas for the Professional Education Conference in Atlanta in 2009.
- PBwiki
- Besides basic text editing features, this wiki-hosting site allows for file sharing, chat, and more. It also offers the ability to make your wiki password-protected so it's not open to everyone who stumbles onto it.
- Example: Wikipedia
- Even if you're not sure what a wiki is, you've probably been to Wikipedia, the world's online encyclopedia. You can find entries on almost any topic, including Meeting Professionals International and Kansas City. So ... is your group/association/meeting listed?
- Example: WikiHow
- Here's the wiki version of a how-to manual on most any topic you can imagine.
For further reading
Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine in October 2008 featured a great article on Web 2.0 tools for planners and why your meeting better get on board ... NOW!
Here's a list of articles by meetings industry tech guru James Spellos.
Want to learn how to tap into the online world of your most enthusiastic "passionistas" to create buzz? Check out this article from Chief Marketer.
EXPO Magazine had a good article called "The Wizardry of Web 2.0" in their October 2007 issue, with profiles of shows that are using these various tools.
Here's a list of articles by meetings industry tech guru James Spellos.
Want to learn how to tap into the online world of your most enthusiastic "passionistas" to create buzz? Check out this article from Chief Marketer.
EXPO Magazine had a good article called "The Wizardry of Web 2.0" in their October 2007 issue, with profiles of shows that are using these various tools.
by MarlysKA
Having been both an exhibitor and trade show organizer, Marlys Arnold now educates exhibitors. She is an active member of the Kansas City Chapter of M... (more)
