Last week I had the pleasure of attending the first-ever nationwide Media Leaders event that took place simultaneously in seven cities: New York, Austin, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and … Raleigh?! Yes, that’s right. I was so proud to see North Carolina’s capital listed among these other major cities. I have happily lived, worked and played in the Raleigh-Durham area for several years now. Over time I have seen our area receive increased recognition across the country as a technology hub with Research Triangle Park and an education center with the many renowned colleges and universities in our midst. I am proud to see Raleigh is being recognized for its active social media scene.
From a public relations perspective, social media is a logical component of a comprehensive communications plan designed to support specific business objectives. We work with our clients to leverage new media channels to share their organization’s story with a rapidly growing audience. The beauty of new media is, well, it’s still very new, and many fields are playing a part in shaping the user-experience of these new communications channels. At Media Leaders Raleigh I met with fellow public relations colleagues as well as people from local advertising, marketing, graphic design, production and IT organizations. I really think we took down Foursquare for a short time with the amount of people checking in at Busy Bee Cafe that night. You can see the wide industry representation yourself by browsing the RSVP list for the Raleigh Media Leaders event.
If I received a dollar for the number of times I heard (or said), “I recognize you from Twitter!” I’d have left the Media Leaders event with heavy pockets. This event, among many other localized social media gatherings like Tweetup and Social Media Breakfast meetings, proves that social media will never take away from the value of in-person interactions and networking. If anything, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Foursquare increase the value of these types of gatherings.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend the Media Leaders event, add yourself to the mailing list and catch the next event. You can also view the @phonebooth photos taken during the Raleigh event (keep an eye out for the Wolfpack white board photo). You’ll quickly learn why Raleigh won the “Award for Best Social Media Community”. You can find me @khubbard on Twitter – I hope to say “I recognize you from Twitter!” during the next in-person event.
Tags: Largemouth Communications | Media Leaders | Raleigh | twitter | Local NC | NC PR | social media | public relations
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Largemouth collected toiletries, blankets, cleaning supplies and other housekeeping items that the rescue mission is regularly in need of. We probably enjoyed selecting toys to donate the most, knowing the cuddly stuffed animals, toy trucks, games, baby dolls and sports gear would help make several kiddies very happy this Christmas.
Just as the Durham Rescue Mission helps with new beginnings, the New Year brings all of us a definitive fresh start. From all of us at Largemouth, we give thanks to our customers, coworkers and peers for a great year. We send best wishes and look forward to a wonderful 2010! Happy New Year!
Tags: Local NC | Durham | north carolina | NC PR | Largemouth Communications
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Amanda shared an earlier post that described our social media discussion with Laurie Steiner and Andrea Sanchez from the communications team at the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).
During our chat Laurie and Andrea shared IFMA’s overall approach to social media but the way they engaged with their online communities for the organization’s annual trade show was particularly impressive. IFMA’s World Workplace Conference & Expo took place in early October in Orlando, Fla. this year. Laurie and Andrea said that social media is now part of any event plan for IFMA and from our discussion I know they definitely succeeded with incorporating it into the World Workplace plan.
Pre-show Prep
To prepare for World Workplace Laurie and Andrea scheduled social media strategy sessions to determine who would be able to update the content in real-time during the event, what they would need to bring , what type of information they would share, etc. A significant takeaway is that they directly involved the marketing department to make sure they had permission to leverage the social media platforms. It is always important to have internal support and approval.
IFMA has a page on the World Workplace Web site called NETworkplace that links to each social media platform IFMA is associated with: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and SlideShare. In addition to feeding their own content to these platforms, IFMA encouraged World Workplace attendees to share thoughts, photos, links and videos with the members of each social community. It’s a way for people to meet in person and engage online. The content that IFMA posted included conference updates on Twitter, photos of attendees, video clips of people networking, awards program presentations, keynote book signings and many more. They also included the event hashtag “#ww09” on the conference homepage to bolster event-related discussions on Twitter. The hashtag was a huge success considering hundreds of people used it before, during and after the actual event.
Tweet and Greet
A new endeavor that Laurie and Andrea tackled was for IFMA to host a Tweetup during the World Workplace Conference. A Tweetup is a way for Twitter users with common interests to meet and network in person. IFMA’s first one was a success with the help of a great place on the trade show floor, easy-to-read signage and a sponsor that provided food and drinks for attendees. Take a lesson from IFMA and remember, a good location, a sign and refreshments are three of the best preparations to accomplish a great Tweetup within an event. IFMA’s first social gathering attracted about 30 trade show attendees – some of which were familiar with Twitter and others who were curious. It was a great opportunity for Laurie and Andrea to personally address those with questions about social media while building and nurturing their online community.
Keep it Going
The online engagement for a conference does not end once the attendees are on their flights home and the booths are being packed away. If anything, people who attended are going to be more inclined to browse your organization’s Web site and social networking sites to see if they made it in any photos, check out comments and review video highlights. Take a look at IFMA’s Facebook page to see how well Laurie and Andrea share content, not only from World Workplace but also news items and valuable information to keep group members and potential members up-to-date.
Many thanks again to Laurie and Andrea for sharing their social media tips and techniques! If you have any additional Tweetup or tradeshow tips, share them as a comment here or reply to @largemouthpr on Twitter.
Tags: social media | twitter | trade show
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I recently attended a trade show with one of our clients to leverage its social media presence as a strategic part of its event outreach. In this instance, we wanted to share information about our client’s participation and plans for the event through the company’s Twitter account. The strategy Largemouth PR developed for the show was structured to support the launch of an industry-leading technology, as well as promote several cool features on display at the booth and encourage attendance and share highlights of presentations delivered by two company representatives.
From this process, I decided to pull together a few general tips and considerations when it comes to “live Tweeting” from an organizational perspective during an event:
Build your followers
We all know that Twitter is not just for gaining as many followers as possible—right?! Building, nurturing and communicating with your online Twitter community is an ongoing process, but prior to an event you should consider taking inventory of who is following you—who will be reading your updates?
There are ways to reach existing Tweeples that may be interested in specific event updates, and in turn realize that they are interested in your organization. If you are participating in an event with a booth or as a sponsor, you may have access to a contact database of attendees. If it is an event you have attended before, reach out to your own contact list of past attendees. In no way shape or form should you spam people to insist they follow you. Simply add it to your marketing mix with a link to your account profile and say, “We will be sharing insights from XYZ Conference. Follow us on Twitter to receive updates about the event.”
Who will be Tweeting?
Determine in advance who will actually be posting Tweets during the event. Decide if the updates will come from the company account or from an individual employee’s account. Either way, the person should attend the trade show so he/she is able to contribute in real-time with accurate information.
Internet access
This sounds pretty basic but if you don’t have Internet access, it can derail your whole Twitter update plan. Find out in advance if the expo floor or conference area will have Wi-Fi access. Do you have to purchase it in advance? Will you tote around a laptop or make updates through your mobile phone?
What will you share?
As with any approach to a social media outlet, you want to ensure you are sharing valuable content with your followers. If I were following a company to receive updates about an event and all they did was post things like, “Having a great time at XYZ Conference.” What does that tell me?
Determine what information will be important to share with your particular audience. Inform them about the keynote speaker and share takeaways from different presentations. Tell them information about your new product offering or insights from visitors to the company booth. Post photos during the event using applications such as Twitpic (if you have a Twitter account you already have a Twitpic account). Monitor for responses and reply to questions by following the event hashtag. What is a “hashtag” you ask?
Hashtags
Most tech or social media conferences are Twitter-savvy and determine a hashtag in advance. A hashtag is a way to label or codify your Tweet to make it easily searchable and associate it with a common discussion. If you’re not sure if your event has a hashtag, reach out to the event organizers and ask for it specifically. Who knows, you might even inspire the event team to create one!
Often times the information you share on Twitter during a trade show will be most helpful for those who were unable to attend. However, select conferences will have live Twitter feeds of the event hashtag on display during the show so attendees can see what people or company representatives find interesting. For a great summary and example of using a hashtag for an event, read Mitch Wagner’s post on the InformationWeek Global CIO Blog that summarized his plans to use #iw500 for the InformationWeek 500 Conference. One thing to remember, hashtags are great for real-time discussions but they don’t have a never-ending online shelf life.
These are just a handful of ways to leverage your Twitter account during a trade show or event. I’d love to hear about your personal experiences or suggestions – feel free to share a comment!
Tags: trade show | twitter | Largemouth PR | communications | social media | public relations
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This week Largemouth’s President and CEO Brandon Bryce spoke at the Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS) meeting. I am on the board as the hospitality chair and was delighted when the RPRS vice president invited Brandon to speak to our members and guests during the September lunch meeting.
The RPRS mission is to advance the art and science of public relations and to strengthen communication, understanding and cooperation among the diverse individuals, groups and institutions of the society. Its members are made up of PR and communications professionals from across North Carolina who work in various fields either internally, at a firm or as consultants.
Brandon’s presentation “Protecting Brands in a Tough Economy” addressed the current economic climate, the impact of a recession on brands, the evolving communications landscape and best practices to take control of the message. He asked the attendees, “Why protect company reputation in the first place? Shouldn’t a company be concentrating on their balance sheets and budgets during an economic downturn?” The reality is that communication is taking place no matter what the climate, and brand equity needs to be protected. Brand equity can help maintain the confidence of employees, customers and stakeholders and prevent the potential negative feedback loop that often prevents other efforts from operating efficiently.
With dwindling ad revenues, shrinking newsrooms and evolution of news consumption patterns, the communications landscape continues to change. Readers hunt for the news and information they want to read and can learn about breaking news 24 hours a day. These communication changes are impacted by the recession in the sense that there is more competition for share of voice.
Brandon emphasized the need to take control of the message and share the right story with the right audiences during tight times. It is also important to take inventory on the collateral that shares the company message and story. With the various online communities and social outlets available today, companies must actively monitor discussions taking place around their brand. Organizations that commit to reputation management today will ultimately emerge stronger when the economy takes a turn for the better.
RPRS members were actively taking notes during Brandon’s presentation. Since these were PR professionals, one audience member asked Brandon’s perspective on client adoption of social media. Brandon explained that he thought there was always going to be a learning curve, especially as the new media options continue to evolve at a rapid pace—there seems to always be a new application or online community emerging. Clients are usually more inclined to take a closer look at the benefits once presented with research of the online discussions taking place about them, about their competitors and their brand.
We were proud to have Brandon represent Largemouth and share his thoughts in front of many of our local peers and colleagues.
Tags: media | Local NC | Largemouth Communications | PR
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Last week Largemouth celebrated the company's four-year anniversary - what a milestone! Time always seems to go by quickly when you enjoy the work you're doing. We have worked together on many great accounts and are proud to contribute to our clients' business initiatives through our public relations efforts. One of the reasons I enjoy working in an agency setting is that I am able to take a deep dive into various industries. I never thought I'd learn so much about data centers, e-books, Real Time Location Systems, chronic disease management technologies and so much more!
While we work hard as a team at Largemouth, we also know when to take some time to celebrate! For our four-year anniversary, Brandon treated everyone to a great lunch at Cheesecake Factory at Southpoint Mall. We came back to the office and transformed our conference room into a Wii arena. We took a short break to challenge each other in a few Mario Olympic events - swimming, trampoline, long jump - and Playground games - wall ball, dodge ball, tether ball. Check out some of our "action" shots! In addition, we now have an official Largemouth office megaphone to continue to raise our clients' voices. Happy anniversary Largemouth Communications!
Tags: Largemouth PR | Around the Office
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