Meeting Management: Social Media By David Nour

Take Away

Listen Louder

Still trying to figure out where your social-media efforts are getting you? It’s time to take a more strategic approach.

You’ve created a LinkedIn group, a Twitter account, aYouTube channel, and a Facebook fan page for your organizationand meetings. Are you planning your meetings and conventions more effectively or efficiently as a result? Attracting more attendees?Creating amore engagedcommu- nity? And howdo youmeasure that? If last year was about experimenting with this

shiny new toy called social networking, 2011 will be about actually getting ROI from your efforts. That begins with some clarification about what “being social” means: Social networks such as LinkedIn, Face-

book, Twitter, and YouTube are about having a presence to createawareness and marketing grav- ity for your organization and/or meeting. Social media is the platform or the vehicle;

it encompasses more than social networks. It involves being more searchable, paying for unique placement positions online, and employing conver- sion strategies to take information-buyers (your potential attendees) from being merely interested to becoming engaged. Social-market leadership is about purpose, understanding who you’re trying to “date,” and what will influence their thinking to make them decide to register for your meeting.

There is a lot of noise in the meetings industry,

with greater competition for mindshare, more ways to access content and join like-mindedcom- munities, and a plethora of ideal attendee environ- ments — destinations, hotels, and convention centers. If youwant to employ social media successful-

ly toengage your various constituents, you needto embrace a core shift in buyer behavior. Social media has empowered buyers — of products, services, and information—in awaythat previous- ly was not possible. In the past, meeting organiz-

ers educated these buyers with the medium—and at the time—of the organizers’ choosing, piquing buyers’ interest with a “save-the-date” e-mail or direct-mail piece. The search engine, however, has enabled buy-

ers to call the shots. They extensively research your event, your speakers, and their topics before ever engaging you. Buyers can check your credibility, build their own lineup of content to explore, and make a more informed decision.Whenthey show up on your online sites, you don’tknowif they are interested or available, let alone engaged. So, how do you cater to a potential attendee

who you don’t even know is interested in your agenda? Meeting professionalswhocannot man- age this transition will face a considerable head- wind when building or retaining internal and external relationships, and thus market share. Here are five tactics to help you develop social-

market leadership before, during, and after an event: 1.Developaprofile of your target information

buyers. Research them on LinkedIn, and create a personal brand they find of interest and value. 2.Think of your events as a campaign with a

focused social-media effort to create awareness for the benefit of participants. 3.Inadvanceofeachevent,proactively engage

themost influential internal and externalcommu- nication channels—e.g., newsletters, SharePoint sites, intranets, and private social networks. 4.Submit focused and relevant content (arti-

cles, videos, blog posts) one, two, or threemonths before each event, driving awareness and atten- dance to your event. 5.Leverage social networks, blogs, and your

broader influence footprint to create dialogue. Ask questions, postcomments, and stir the pot to provide a contrarian perspective. Always include links to learn more.

ON_THE_WEB: Read David Nour’s blog at www.relationshipeconomics.net/blog. 26 pcma convene January 2011 ILLUSTRATION BY GREG MABLY

David Nour is the author of Relationship Economics, Connect- Ability, and The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Raising Capital. He presents about 50 keynote sessions a year for clients such as KPMG, Siemens, Chubb, Assurant, Delta Dental, and HP, as well as leading industry associations and academic forums. He has pioneered the concept that relationships are the greatest off-the-balance- sheet asset any organi- zation — large and small, public and private — can possess.

MakeItWorth Their Time Online users spend an estimated 23 per- cent of their time on social-networking sites—twice as much as any other online activity. Consider where you and many others hear news: less fromdirect sources such as the newspaper or televi- sion broadcasts, and much more through social networks. If your potential atten- dees are already online, they will easily migrate to your social- networking sites— providing you make the experience worth their time.