Engaging your audience
Reputation & Credibility |
Marketing is all about spreading the word to the right people at the right time. There isn’t any exact formula that you can follow for that - it’s about having a sense of timing and understanding your market perfectly. Most of the credibility that event promoters or managers gain is based on their past portfolios, experiences and the grandiosity of their ideas. All of this is easier to demonstrate and show today to prospective clients because of the way the internet has evolved. Everything has become pretty much an open platform. This also means that junk content from not-so-good professionals will flood the space as well. This makes it even more important for you to be able to stand out amongst the crowd and speak in a way that reaches out to your audiences and clients alike.
I call that inspiring content. Content that makes people think, talk, discuss, comment, react, share, and learn.
Many people worry that social applications (like Facebook) only begin to help in marketing events after a critical mass is already achieved in your following. In my own experience I would agree that greater hype is built when more people are talking about it. However, having said that, the powerful thing about social media is that you can attract more people to your page without knowing them. Initially when you’re just starting out, it doesn’t matter how many people you have on your Facebook network, what matters is how you get through to the people who could potentially be interested in attending your events or buying into your launch campaign.
For example, let’s suppose your target audiences for an event are college students and frequent travellers (25-35 age-groups) in Florida. We already know that the market demographics on Facebook are skewed towards college students and professionals. So the potential of your market size is considerably huge. Theoretically, all you need to do is reach out to these people!
I’ve noticed that when events are built into fun activities, they can turn into great powerhouses for generating hype. You can build a page on the social networking applications with customized navigation to get the people involved in the pre-launch stage. You can get them to plan some elements of the event, or have competitions (e.g. poster design competition for the event). These competitions can be linked to real-life prizes like accommodation discounts, free tickets, free drinks etc. To add an additional incentive, you should also be able to show a list of other people who are attending. There has to be an incentive for people to participate and refer you to their friends.
I believe that once you have found your potential customers, they will market your event further for you. In many ways, it depends on how you are branding your event. So, to sum it up, even if you are a small shop or are planning a local club party, you can create movement and traction online if you play your moves well.
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
Today’s tip! Every marketing campaign starts with keyword research. If you’re serious about earning money online you’re first investment should be a great keyword research tool.
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Etiquettes |
It seems that people tend to misuse social media and networking sites for their marketing campaigns leaving users irritated. It is important to be careful in your social media strategies and implementation because one wrong move can defame you in seconds in the online world. Although these things may seem obvious to most people, I will still share them with you so that you can run through your plans to make sure you don’t unintentionally push the wrong nerves. As event managers or marketers, your reputation and credibility are things that need safeguarding.
I consider these an understood underlying part of my preaching, but if we’re not on the same page about them then there is a chance you may misinterpret my social media strategies and harm your events or businesses. So, here goes:
If you are leveraging social media for marketing your events, product launches or services please make sure of the following:
1- You send messages to only those people who are interested or have opted-in to hearing from you. No random catching-strangers-in-the-marketplace.
2- If you have found your demographics online (randomly), then try to build a relationship of trust with them before pushing marketing message down their throats. Make them your friends by helping them or providing them value. This is always a mutually beneficial relationship.
3- Even if you have built a relationship with prospects, make sure they are open to hearing about your event, instead of giving them attendance ultimatums. You don’t want to drive the traffic away but instead attract them.
4- To attract that traffic don’t fabricate things about your event that are not true. There is nothing worse than finding out that you have been deceived into buying tickets. Always deliver what you promise and promise what you can deliver.
5- Don’t chase prospects. Draw them into your story by elevating your overall intent. If your story represents value to others, they will find you.
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
Today’s tip! To get search engine traffic you must own software that’s capable of showing you everything the search engine spiders see.
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Speaking The Lingo |
Always remember that the people you are marketing to are part of your community. They are a community of people supporting your services, attending your events and communicating directly with you. If you want more people to contact you for services, or manage their events, or attend the events you are managing and so on, then it is important to build initial trust and credibility first.
Secondly, you need to be an active part of the community itself. Participate with the audience, ask them questions, discuss ideas, share thoughts, request feedback. This communication helps people in opening themselves up to you and become more inclined to use your services or attend your parties later on. Also, it is the best way to get a feel for audience expectations and early feedback on your events. Credibility comes from sharing insight, discussing thoughts and adding value to conversations. When people start to respect your opinion as a good one, they will become more inclined to becoming your customers.
The escalating online trends in social media, the increase in fancy new gadgets - all of these factors have paved ways for you to communicate with your market on more direct levels. This direct interaction brings you to a downright human level and potentially breaks all gaps between you and your customers. You can talk to them. You can listen to them. You can communicate with them. You can build loyalty. You can build relationships of trust. You can do so much, just by leveraging different tools to form a bridge between you and your customers.
Some people believe that if you want to be ‘accepted ‘ or ‘liked’ by a group of people online - you have to be like them. Shel Israel puts it this way: “Humans are tribal by nature. It is in our DNA. It has to do with why we are passionate about sports teams and rock bands. It has to do with why most people want to marry people of their own race or religion and it has to do with the unfortunate human tendency to mistrust or downright dislike people of apparently different tribes,” (Shel Israel http://redcouch.typepad.com)
From my perspective, however, I have seen how the boundary of the concept of tribes strips down and evolved into something much bigger and tolerant online. The subtle anonymity or behind-the-curtains-feel of being online has changed our criteria of tribalism. Instead of race or ethnicity, tribes are formed based on authority, thought leadership and recognition. For instance, experts of a certain niche group are more revered than newbies.
Understanding the dynamics and cultures of a network or group is vital for surviving in it, and the only way to show them that you are one of them is by speaking their lingo.
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
Today’s tip! If you want to source the best JV partners in your niche, you need a software that sources those selling the most product’s in your niche!
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The Line Where Quantity Meets Quality |
I think the future of the web will come down to a balance. The web is heading towards a more regional structure where the best networking opportunities will be where online opportunities meet offline to add a richer experience. The internet has grown so fast that for some people networking has become a shallow and half-baked representation of numbers, giving importance to speed connecting and link baiting without investing time into each other. Yet the simple truth of the matter is that people who are successful online through social media are those who can balance the exploitation of vast connections across space and time all the while maintaining the depth of meaningful affiliations.
We have had 200+ event marketers sign up through this method alone. Showing an interest in them, asking about them first and asking permission to send them a link rather than shoving one in their face are the manners and etiquettes that define the language of the greater online tribe. I can enter any tribe with the confidence of knowing this simple etiquette of social networking, and will be taken seriously regardless of my underlying knowledge of a tribe’s language or content base.
When people begin to understand and adopt the tribal language of mutual respect they stop at nothing to point out to people who make mistakes. A case in point is that when I am approached in chats or on walls (where other people can see it) by someone shoving a link in my face, I feel compelled to bluntly tell them how I will never be interested in their services because of their imprudent networking tactics. Doing this publicly makes them alter their strategies for future networking opportunities and positions me as someone who is somewhat of a thought-leader on social networks. Everyone who sees this becomes curious.
In short, the language of social networking and its etiquette is still young but it is universal. It’s a great way to leverage yourself into a position of being a thought leader within your niche through leading the way in paving social networking etiquette.
“The relevance of social media is that it allows us to interact in the world increasingly more like we behave in our own physical neighbourhoods.” (Shel Israel http://redcouch.typepad.com)
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
Today’s tip! If you want to source the best JV partners in your niche, you need a software that sources those selling the most product’s in your niche!
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Online Tribalism |
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a world where everyone coexists as a social tribe? That’s the internet for you. Have you ever wondered how online networks often represent the tiniest niches and topic areas that you never even thought existed? Have you ever wondered how amazing it is to be able to say something, and be heard (or read) all over the world through the internet in less than a fraction of a second?
If social commentary is about the cream rising to the top, allowing early adopters and thought leaders to lead groups who still lead their own tribes in a self-regulated filtering process. What kind of a tribal system would this be? Now, not everyone in society is web savvy enough to exploit what is already happening, so the changes social media has brought upon us may not be as apparent to some as they are to others. That will surely change a few years from now, right?
BUT I have always wondered how the future of social media will take shape. How will things turn around? What happens when the future generations that have been raised in the world of the internet and social media grow into adults and the entire population is tech savvy by nature? What implications will this have for event marketers or promoters? Should you start working on strategies of promoting virtual events on SecondLife? How will the traditional education process change? Who will we listen to? Will industries continue to become less valuable by spending per capital whilst companies who best harness new technology & their ability to process information (e.g. Google) continue to get richer?
There is a marketing strategy that is often used around us and can be incredibly effective if executed properly. First build trust, credibility and reputation with your lists of prospects using social media networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and others of their like. Blogging is also a great tool for communicating with the audiences and telling them your perspective on things. Through your blog, you can give them free content, information and tips up to a point where they feel enlightened. If you are marketing an event, you give them enough information about what to do without diving into how to do it.
When they learn something from you that they didn’t quite know about, they will invariably look up to you and follow you. Once you have their trust you can up-sell them a training seminar on the ‘how to go about it’ part. If they are sure that you are indeed someone who knows what you’re talking about, they will be less hesitant in doubting your abilities. And you should be knowledgeable in whatever it is that you’re selling - you can’t and shouldn’t ever risk losing your customers by fooling them into buying below-par material from you.
If done well, you can even get them onto an expensive subscription course or seminar that steps them through executing what needs to be done. Business is about getting the most out of your products, services or events, so why wait around? Social media is a powerful tool in our hands that shouldn’t be put to waste. Can you think of innovative ways of marketing your events online using Facebook? How about Twitter? Think about it.
There is a much talked about game recently launched in the video game industry last month called SPORE, made by the creators of SIMS. Having kids in the house, I got a chance to look at the game myself all the while thinking about how it relates so perfectly to social networks. The reason it attracted so much attention all across the online world is because of their game dynamics – you start as a tiny uni-cellular animal and evolve all the way to an entire species of people that can travel across the space and universe. During the middle stages of the game your creature realizes the importance of shared value and interests and evolves into tribes. This is so basic to human nature, since we are all essentially social animals. The instinct to associate ourselves with things that we agree to is part of our basic character. What the internet has done for us is provide a platform that transcends space and time for us to realize our need for human interaction. So even in the online world, we are inherently forming tribes, associations, languages and norms – both professionally and personally.
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
Today’s tip! If you want to source the best JV partners in your niche, you need a software that sources those selling the most product’s in your niche!
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Forums |
Forums are platforms where you can discuss ideas and thoughts regarding a certain topic. It’s a great way to form communities, have structured discussions and to communicate with like-minded folks. The shift to social networks reduced the popularity of forums, but there still are a lot people who use them. You’ll just have to check whether or not your potential customers are on forums. If they are, then you can easily join them in those conversations.
As the name suggests, forums are open places where everyone has an equal opportunity and right to leave their thoughts. Some forums require memberships some are completely open to public. Forums are built on the basis of giving and sharing. You are expected to participate and help others to be considered an active and sought-after member of the forum.
Rather than direct Q&As, forums are better suited for discussing and solving practical problems. It’s good to articulate your level of understanding in outlining the problem before asking precisely how you would like an industry expert to answer or solve your problem for you. Like-minded people who are using this for networking purposes will tend to flock together by joining the same kind of forums. So, apart from becoming a platform for solutions, it is also a platform for ganging up with people on the same mental wavelengths.
To make your presence felt. You can do this by joining different forums and groups. To market anything you have to market yourself first. You have to be proactive, take initiative, reach out to people, bond with them and win their trust. Different forums allow you to leave links to your site - use this to the utmost to generate traffic for yourself. Remember, people are more likely to visit your site if you are an active participant yourself. This way they know you, trust you and are willing to have a look at what you have to say. But participate with good quality content and give useful info if anyone asks a question. However, be careful that you are not taken for a spammer or you’ll end up with a closed forum account. Also, choose forums that are populated with a growing number of active memberships.
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
Today’s tip! The first step to being super organized is to manage all of your passwords in you’re browser. Being able to share them across your team is a bonus.
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Questions & Answers |
Sometimes a good approach to getting authoritative figures in your domain to notice you is by asking intelligent questions within platforms that support it like LinkedIn Answers, Google Answers and Yahoo Answers; and inviting experts to share their insight on them.
Participating actively in Q&A in social sites has two fold advantages. First of all, asking questions brings the thought leaders in the industry to you. Well crafted questions that give an opportunity to experts to provide articulate and well processed answers to, work like a magnet to attracting industry leaders. Once they respond you can engage them in conversation and into your sales funnel. Inviting someone to answer your question is a way of honoring them and acknowledging their expertise - they usually always answer, which acts as a great ice breaker.
The second advantage is being one of those leaders. You can do this by answering questions that others have posted in your industry, to earn credibility and to get a chance to directly communicate with others. These questions provide an intellectual and conducive environment with mutual respect. A consequence of this mutual respect is that thought leaders start to shadow each other by answering the same questions and complimenting each other’s views. Sometimes people would ask questions that they know their peers will answer as a way of counter answering. This becomes an indirect form of blogging that results in good rapport with other thought leaders in your industry, making it easy to approach each other for collaboration, promotion or partnerships.
Just to give you an example, in our launch campaign we had to identify and network with prospective promoters. Within weeks we had to get as many interested promoters to sign up as possible. We used LinkedIn and Yahoo Answers as a mean to starting conversations with people. I had already added people to my network using the TopLinked database. I then asked questions and invited people from my network to answer them. After receiving answers, I sent private replies to them asking them to fill out a survey. The survey was a doorway to one of our sales funnels that led the participants to opting onto an email list to have the survey results emailed to them. This lead opened an email campaign that finished with a link to our promoter’s (partners) tour.
In many ways, it is a tribal thing. The process of asking and answering questions is a way of sharing with other tribes in a manner that proves you speak their language, and that you speak it well.
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
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Groups |
Groups are another good way of listening to your customers. You can find relevant Google or Yahoo groups in your domain and request to become a member. As a member it is a good practice to participate in the activities of the group and learn their terminologies well. In time, you’d be in a position to directly engage your customers or prospects and hear them out.
There are groups of even the tiniest of niches. Once you have a fair idea what kind of audiences or markets you are targeting, you can look for groups that may have relevant people. Try to join those groups who have more members as they will likely be more active. These groups are like real-life clubs. You can be a member of multiple clubs at the same time; tennis club, chess masters club, wine tasting club and so on. Clubs have regular programs or schedules running and you get to network with other club members. You can hang out with like-minded people. Similarly in online groups you can network with like-minded people by joining the groups that they are members of. If you are looking for customers or clients, what better way than to be in the same clubs with them?
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
Today’s tip! If you want to source the best JV partners in your niche, you need a software that sources those selling the most product’s in your niche!
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Alerts |
Behind the tens and thousands of blog subscriptions and email sign-ups - we tend to forget how immensely useful services like Google Alert can be. It’s almost like a robot doing your routine Google searches for you.
I would recommend Google Alerts (alerts.google.com) to all of you. Go in and put a watch on events that are taking place, the latest event marketing trends and also on your competitors businesses. Google aggregates the news (blogs, sites, news sites, etc) and emails them to you. Anything that can influence your plans, event, contingencies, budgets, clients, vendors should be kept a careful watch on.
It’s a must-have for researching and event planning phases. At first I thought I would have emails flooding my account which I’ll never get around to reading and would eventually have to keep archiving them in my Gmail account as they come. To my surprise, it was just the opposite. They do not flood you. They do not intrude on you. They always get back with good results. It’s my personal research robot, and I love it.
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
Today’s tip! To succeed online you must start engaging prospects into a never ending conversation. To do this you need a world class email auto-responder system.
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