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Monthly Archives: April 2009

Event Marketing-PR: 10 Keys to Selling Out in Less than 24 hours

Posted on April 8, 2009

When Problogger gave the assignment list to come up with a list post for the 31 days to a build a better blog project, the first topic that popped into my mind was: how to sell out an event in less than 24 hours.

Yesterday, we opened up 300 spots for Social Media Club Chicago’s Open Mic Night event. All 300 were gone in about 18 hours. So . . . what’s so cool about that? This is the fourth time we’ve sold out. On twitter, people were calling this, “The hottest event in town.”

With event registrations down all over the country, I’ve been researching what’s drawing people into rooms.

In a word: people.

There’s huge shift from wanting to learn to desiring to network. As one event planner told me, once people find their group, they just want to know when and where to meet and they’ll show up.

If you’re planning an event, be sure to allow – and promote! – time for networking. What would happen if you asked each speaker to build in a networking activity for every event?

Event Marketing: 10 Keys to Selling All Seats Fast

1. Date – send out a save the date notice before you open registration

2. Venue – recruit a sponsor to host the event in exchange for promotion

3. Speaker – engage real sparklers who have a ready-made fan base

4. List – build or borrow a list

5. Limit – start with a low capacity with plans to announce more openings

6. Free – need I say more? okay – get sponsors to underwrite the event

7. System – communicate across all multiple channels

8. Plug in – connect and route your invitation through all systems

9. Partner – pair up with another group or companion event

10. Wait – open up an overflow list and host a dual party for these folks, too

 

0 Comments - Posted in Events, Seminars

Social Media Marketing Profiles: Puritan, Moderate, Liberal, Aggressor

Posted on April 8, 2009

Polarity has it’s place. It grounds both ends. Such is the case with social media.

Where are you on the sliding social media marketing scale? Which seat would sit in on this fictitious social media panel? 

  Puritan Moderate Liberal Aggressor
Twitter DMs N-E-V-E-R Accepting Send them over Is there any other way?
Social Media is for Listening Conversing Getting things done Pushing sales messages
Best blog platform WordPress WordPress or Typepad Whatever works for you Whatever sells the most
Making money Not here Okay for me Why not? Is there any other way?
Being a friend I love you I like you Hey guys Why you talkin’ to me?
Known for personality information resource sales
Fish fresh water rainbow trout farm-raised salmon dolphin shark
Your Category
Here		        

Who do you think makes the most money? And, is that important?

Looking for a social media panelist? Contact me to talk about speaking at your event.

0 Comments - Posted in Marketing, Social Media

Open Branding: How and Why to be Completely Accessible

Posted on April 5, 2009

“I can see you’re an open networker,” someone told me last week. “You make it easy to reach you via phone and email.”

Yes, that’s true and if you’re looking, look no further: my email is connect[at]corywestmedia.com and you can call or text me at 630.207.7530.

Some of you reading this are shaking in your seats. What about privacy? What about time?

When I first put my phone number in every single email that went out [and on every social networking profile], a few internet marketing friends expressed a mix of surprise, admiration and caution. While they would never allow that kind of access, they were wildly curious about what happens when you give away your phone number.

In two words: not much.

At first, I expected to have to be choosy about which calls to answer. Perhaps I would set phone in hours to manage the calls. But, why should people call when they can message on Facebook, twitter or LinkedIn? Today, you don’t need an email address or a phone number IF you can find someone on a social networking site.

With so many communication routes to choose from, dialing the phone is the path of last resort.

Open Branding: How and Why to be Completely Accessible

Want to track your social networking email communication? 

Open up a free gmail account for social networking purposes only.

Want to give out a phone number and route access?

Get an 800 number for under $10 per month that rings on any or every phone in your system. 

Record a voicemail that tells people where to find you online.

Then, set up a voicemail service with YouMail that greets your callers by name, lets you record greetings for callers and emails you when you have a new voicemail so you can listen to it online. This way, you can manage all of your voicemail in one online box. “Barbara, you’re freaking me out with this answering system. How does it know my name?,” one Chicago media personality reported in their message, which was totally worth it for this free service.

I decided to write this post after I looked for a friend’s number in my Facebook phone book. Theirs was unlisted, but if I wanted to, I could’ve reached a number of social media superstars who freely give their numbers – and are ready to make connections.

What do you think about being accessible? How open are you to free access?

0 Comments - Posted in Branding, Social Media

How do You Take Your Social Media?

Posted on April 3, 2009

It’s almost ceremonious.

Sitting at a meeting, I watched Dave fix his coffee. He opens and pours in a packet of sweetener. Stirs. Opens and pours in a container of hazlenut creamer. Stirs. Folds up the sweetener packet. Inserts it into the creamer container. Opens and pours in sweetener packet two. Stirs. Opens and pours in a container of half and half. Folds up the sweetener packet. Inserts it into the creamer container. Stirs. Drinks.

My way? Pour in some milk first, then coffee. Drink.

Everyone has their own way of fixing coffee. Dave’s approach is almost a ceremony. Mine is quick, fast and simple.

I’m finding that just like coffee, everyone has a preference for the way they like to take their social media.

How do you take your social media?

A bigger question: What kind of social media tastes good to you?

While Dave’s coffee wouldn’t taste good to me, my coffee wouldn’t taste good to Dave. Yet, we both like it and fix it the way we want it.

Here’s a collection of recent social media observations, each tweaked a bit to be almost real. How does each one “taste” to you?

Preserving High School on Facebook

Setting: Cell phone store

Situation: Getting sons cell phones, which took too long.

Conversation: While Missy explained how the phones worked to the boys, her co-worker, Greg, showed me his Facebook notifications on his cell phone. “I have over 200 friends on Facebook. Almost all of them graduated with me. Here’s a prom picture somebody put up today. I remember that night. Doesn’t it look like we were having fun? Oh, look – the comments are coming in.”  Missy starts complaining about how her mother lives on Facebook. I think about how my high school past isn’t present on my Facebook, yet for my kids Facebook is an always-on high school connector.

Reaction: Did Greg’s class graduate or are they still stuck in high school? Son two is standing behind Greg making funny gestures. Son one is asking if he can update his own Facebook on his phone. Is Missy friends with her mom?

Pre-programming twitter

Setting: Phone conversation

Situation: Meeting Kim, exchanging information and networking –  in checking out their online persona while we’re on the phone, their twitter stream is mostly automatically generated promos with link to one site

Conversation:  “I know they want you to be live on twitter, but I don’t have time for that. So I programmed updates in for every two hours.” Kim tells me.

Reaction: Are you a robot?

Giving Your Keys Away

Setting: Marketing mixer

Situation: Tom’s talking about how he manages social media interactions

Conversation: “I found a virtual assistant who finds articles and updates the links so that it looks like I’m sharing good information –what a time saver!”

Reaction: What do you think?

Being Real About Not Being Real

Setting: twitter

Situation: a thank you, from me via a reply on twitter results in this direct message: Hi! I’m just a feed from the ______ group – if you want to talk to real people then join us here: linktogroup

Conversation: hmmm . . .

Reaction:  Feeling funny about talking to a “feed.” How would you feel?

What does your social media taste like? Instant, fresh-ground, sweet, bold, bright, on the rocks?

What I love about social media is: you can make it be whatever you want.

Here’s the caution: social media is what you make it.

Carrying on the Conversation: Your Turn

How would or do people engage with you? Do you listen to people who talk at you? My favorite: do you have a body – do you know who’s in it?

2 Comments - Posted in PR Tagged with: ,

Branding by Being Who You Are: Right Now

Posted on April 3, 2009

Last night I watched “And in the end,” the final episode of “ER.”

When the show first came out, I watched it religiously. It was more relevant to my life then.

Why? My work revolved around hospitals, home health care, residency programs, organ and bone marrow transplants, and heart disease. My business really took off when I contacted every Chicago health care organization communications contact and asked them if they would like to receive my quarterly newsletter.

Business crossed over into real life.

In the midst of a project to train pharmaceutical reps on how to sell a cardiovascular drug, my father become seriously ill with congestive heart failure. When I got to the hospital and started asking questions, the medical team wanted to know if I was a cardiologist. To borrow a line from one of my writing friends, I said, “I don’t do heart surgery, but I write about it.”

Drama, hope and trauma – three things that go together in the medical world.

That’s why watching”ER” was so important to me. The show reflected my world and I wanted to be part of it. But, I quit watching it when my client mix changed.

Today, we don’t have any health care clients in our mix. That chapter closed about ten years ago. Then, retail opened followed by non-profit and government. Now, I’m moving in more of a pure leadership strategy direction while managing teams to write and produce projects.

Do I miss medical marketing? I miss hearing [and telling] the stories about what really goes on in real life – especially from a home health care perspective, but that’s what I grew up with. Every Sunday my two aunts would talk about our town’s medical events of the week: one managed a floor at our local hospital and the other commanded the control room/reception area for one of the busiest doctor’s office in town.

Watching the show last night was nostalgic. I thought about how “ER” was filming at the same hotel where I hosted a sold-out web writing conference for writers in 2002. I never saw the actors that day, but I did mention the show in the conference introduction.

Today, I’m still writing on the web and thinking about watching the last “ER” episode online one more time.

 

 

Where were you then and what do you need to be watching now?

 

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