In the darkest days of COVID, event organizers had no choice but to take their gatherings online. A host of new virtual event platforms arose, and there were questions as to whether anyone would ever go back to in-person events. However this year we saw a resurgence in live events that exceeded all expectations. It seems event organizers, and attendees too, can’t wait to get back to meeting in-person. Late in 2021 we saw trailblazers like Salesforce host their…
by Victoria Alves Bob Burg, author of Endless Referrals, famously said, “All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust.” Although these words were first said in 1994, with the dawn of social media and the ever-increasing amount of people spending their time and posting their lives online, these words ring true more now than ever. So how do we get people to know, like, and trust us? We…
2022 is ramping up with many eager to see a return to in-person events. Most are also leveraging the widespread improvements in technology and increased digital dexterity on the attendee side. This new digital confidence is unlocking the potential for wider reach, stronger networks and longer, more meaningful conversations. It’s also helping the events industry feel positive about its future and building confidence in creating impactful and measurable hybrid experiences. Many have taken on the challenge of merging digital…
Even before the pandemic and the monumental shift to virtual, digital and now hybrid events, the role of event technologist has been a key part of making events a success. Having a dedicated event technologist on board gives event organizers a chance to focus on what they do best. By doing so, event technologists can facilitate their career advancement, improve ROI and create better meeting experiences for all concerned. For planners seeking strategic, higher level roles within their organizations,…
In 2020, during the meetings’ industry’s largest crisis to date, LinkedIn saw a massive spike in new users, and content creation on LinkedIn rose 60 per cent. This social and professional media platform is not only growing in popularity for job seekers, but it’s become one of the best platforms for you to project your personal brand and share your thought leadership. If you are a corporate meeting professional, there’s no better social media platform than LinkedIn to connect with…
A recently published study by EventMB found an overwhelming majority of event organizers (81 per cent) believe they have to design and execute separate, dedicated experiences for in-person and remote audiences when hosting a hybrid event. Fortunately, with the right production technology and expertise, you don’t have to plan two separate events when going hybrid. Here’s how. Focus on Content Hybrid formats allow you to produce one event with two outputs. Take Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The five-day event…
Mobile event apps are almost expected today and will become even more important as face-to-face exhibitions resume. But with so many offering similar features, how do you decide which is the best one? While research shows cost is the biggest determining factor for organizers when selecting an event app, it shouldn’t be the only one. Here’s what you need to consider. 1. Functionality. Establish what you require and then find out if the app provides it. What you need will…
This is the first of three articles exploring changing landscape of technology and the corporate meetings and events industry. The iconic line from the 1960s Bob Dylan song “The times they are a changing” seems to be a common refrain every decade or so, and in the intervening half-century since that song was composed, the times have thoroughly changed. We have seen generations of technology race by. We went from records to cassettes to CDs to iPods to music streaming…
It’s the age of the influencer. Social media marketing has created a strata of social media users that leverage their online followings — some as small as 1,000, with others in the hundreds of millions — to strike deals with brands and organizations to not just promote their products, but to lend them some VIP verve and spark a conversation. It’s the celebrity endorsement evolved, and it’s marketing that’s tailor-made to engage audiences and follow through on brand awareness, the…
I was introduced to live polling in my first year of university during Psychology 101. Sitting in a lecture hall with 300 people, I responded to questions the professor put to the class by answering on a small remote, which immediately registered my response along with everyone else’s on a screen at the front of the hall. Polling was a quick way to engage us, and it encouraged us to pay attention. It’s a two-way street, too: He often used…
