• Extending and growing your brand
• Social media tools
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ocial media communities enable com- panies to connect to their customers in an impactful way. They are a global phenomenon happening in all markets and almost all indus-
tries. Show and event planners should keep in mind that by allowing exhibitors and attendees to interact with your brand, the opportunity for growth and engagement is tremendous. In the event industry, social media initiates organizations to
build relationships, favorably position their brand and allow for the possibility of an engaged, exciting experience with their custom- ers. These include social networks, micro-blogs, blogs, podcasts, forums, social review sites, photo/video sharing, widgets and RSS feeds. Forty-eight percent of adults have a MySpace®
or Facebook®
account page and over the past few months, approximately five million people joined Twitter™ each month. The number of adult Twitter™ users is projected to grow from 12.1 million in 2009 to 18.1 million in 2010. Additionally, women 55+ is the fastest grow- ing demographic for Facebook®
, reinforcing that it is not just Gen-
erations X and Y benefiting from social media usage.
Importance of a Listening Strategy
Utilizing a social medium correctly and effectively offers a sig-
nificant opportunity for show management organizations to com- municate with their exhibitors and attendees where they are and
where the greatest opportu- nities for engagement exist. An impactful social media plan should always include
a listening strategy. In the social media world, listening is just as important as speak- ing. It is critical to know what
is being said about your brand and who is saying it to develop a smart way to respond. There are several social media listening tools that aggregate the data you receive and help you make better sense of it. Some include Google® Lexicon®
being discussed on Twitter™ and Facebook®
alerts, Twendz™, Technorati™ and
that allow you to observe how much your key word is , as well as monitoring
rising links and top blogs. “Companies and associations are increasingly losing control of
their brands. If you are providing goods or services, people will be blogging, tweeting and otherwise commenting about your brand online. Your brand may become what others are saying about you, not what you are saying about yourself. This raw, unvarnished cus- tomer feedback may be a threat to some, but to companies and as- sociations confident in their offering, it will be a great opportunity to listen to customers, engage with them and improve their product
MIDWEST MEETINGS SPRING 2010
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