Tuvel Communications Blog: May 2010 Archives

May 26, 2010

Finding Your Rock Stars: Why a Community Outreach Program is Important

Finding Your Rock Stars with Community Outreach
Photo credit: DavidDMuir

How do you use PR to reach your buyers? Do you issue press releases and pitch to your media list of journalists, hoping to get a write-up or some sort of media exposure? Or do you reach out directly to the people who are actively buying and evangelizing your products or services and influencing hundreds or thousands (hundreds of thousands, even) other buyers via blogs, forums, social networks, news sites, podcasts, and other consumer communities – your rock stars?

Let me ask you another question: which one of these methods just mentioned do you think is more effective?

OK, I didn't mean to lead you on this, because even if you're using the former method (press releases to a media list), you may be getting the results you want – and that's excellent. I'm not trying to say that there's a right answer and a wrong answer, but I am telling you that in the last 5 years, outreach has become so much more than simply media outreach. The PR landscape has shifted to community outreach. According to David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR (an excellent book I highly recommend, by the way), "The Internet has made public relations public again, after years of almost exclusive focus on media."

What is community outreach? It's about generating positive word-of-mouth and building relationships with your influential customers in order to drive conversions (whether that's buying a product, attending a conference, subscribing to a publication, getting donations or another action taken). It's also about finding, as I mentioned before, your rock stars. These are actual customers who are bloggers, forum admins, list owners, group leaders, or other thought leaders who are actively talking about your products and spreading the good word about your company to other buyers like them; but, most importantly, they are influencers within your customer community. When they talk, people listen.

So, if a press clip and media exposure is what you want, then the media is who you reach out to. If you want buyers, though, you find and reach out to your rock stars. This is why community outreach is so crucial to both your PR and marketing efforts. Besides, if you don’t find the influencers, you can be sure that the competition (or even your "coop-etition" – a cross between a competitor and someone with which you're in cooperation/partnership) will!

But you don't just pitch to them like you would a media list of journos – you have to build relationships by following these principles:

Offer value. Tune your radio to WIIFM (What's In It For Me) and listen to what this person needs and/or wants from your products, then offer them something that addresses those needs and wants. Make your communication benefit-driven, rather than feature-driven.

Be authentic. Introduce yourself. Tell them who you represent and why you're reaching out. Don’t hide behind a corporate brand or misrepresent yourself. Don’t overhype or speak in too much marketing jargon. Put on your buyer's cap.

Be personal. Call them by name. Talk about their site and a post in particular that you found of particular interest. Make the connection between their site and your company/products so they see that your paying attention and not just pitching blindly.

Be relevant. Reach out to those individuals and groups that will be interested in what you have to offer. Your chances of building a relationship are much greater if those to which you're reaching out understand why you are making contact.

In my next post, I’ll talk about how to find your rock stars for a community outreach program. Stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: online communications community outreach blogger outreach social media social networking wom marketing word of mouth marketing community building

Posted by Kari Rippetoe at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May 21, 2010

7 Not-to-Miss Twitter Chats for Association, Non-Profit, Event and B2B Marketers

#nabchat transcript1.jpg

We here at Tuvel LOVE Twitter chats! We host and moderate Twitter chats for clients (like the NAB Show and Share Our Strength) to help generate interest in a cause or event - resulting in donations, registrations, and overall awareness. We also participate in quite a few Twitter chats, and I'd like to share a few where you might find @TuvelComms, Mitch (@mitcharno) and me (@KariRippetoe) joining the conversation.

In case you're not sure what a Twitter chat is, here are some tips for participating in a Twitter chat. Also, here's a pretty comprehensive list of other Twitter chats covering a wide variety of topics and interests.

The following are chats that focus on marketing and communications, particularly for B2B, event, non-profit and association marketers. I hope to see you at one (or more) of these chats sometime (and be sure to say that Tuvel sent you!).

#engage365: Hosted by the Engage 365, the online community for using social media for events, this chat takes place every Friday at 1pm ET.

#assnchat: This chat takes place every Tuesday at 2pm ET and focuses on hot topics in the association world.

#assnchat

#npchat: Non-profit profs share ideas for mobilizing supporters, generating awareness, and increasing donations every Wednesday at 3pm ET.

#b2bchat: Participants talk about B2B marketing topics of all kinds, from social to search to email and everything in between. Takes place every Thursday evening at 8pm ET.

#imcchat: Looking for ideas on creating integrated marcomm strategies? Join the the Integrated Marketing Communications Chat every Wednesday evening at 8pm ET.

#eventprofs: Chat for event professionals about event marketing strategies - online and offline. It takes place on different days and times, so check out this schedule for the next one.

#archat: This is a chat for marketers and business profs from all walks of life focusing on "influencer relations" - Analyst Relations (AR), Public Relations (PR), Investor Relations (IR). Takes place every Monday at 1pm ET.

What are your favorite marketing Twitter chats? Leave a comment and let us know!

Technorati Tags: Twitter marketing event marketing association marketing B2B marketing social media tweetchat Twitter chats #assnchat #engage365 #b2bchat #imcchat #eventprofs #archat

Posted by Kari Rippetoe at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May 19, 2010

HOW TO: Use Foursquare for a Conference (or an Exhibit Booth)

Tuvel Communications is the online PR firm for the NAB Show, and in addition to being the "voice" behind the show's social media outposts (Twitter, Facebook pages, LinkedIn group), we also devised and implemented creative pre-show and on-site social media promotions to engage attendees, drive registrations and generate excitement.

This year Foursquare became a major player in the social media game, and although we did not implement a full-scale location-based program, we did monitor how people were using Foursquare at the show, plus we came up with a last minute on-site contest that utilized the geo-location social network. What we learned was quite interesting and makes all of us here at Tuvel very excited about the possibilities Foursquare presents for the event marketing and conference business(s).

What did we do?

We created a Foursquare page for the NAB Show using the address of the Las Vegas Convention Center, where it takes place every year. Here's how to do this:

Log in to Foursquare, or create an account if you don’t have one already. If you don’t have a smartphone, that’s OK – you can still create an account without it.

Set your location to the city where the event is taking place.

Click on Add Things at the top of the page.

Click on Add a New Venue.

We came up with a last-minute contest to drive traffic to a particular session (namely, a session called "In Conversation With: Stan Lee", moderated by comedian and G4 Channel personality Chris Hardwick). We wanted attendees to check in to the session for a chance to win a copy of "The Amazing Spider-Man" comic book, autographed by creator Stan Lee himself. So, we created a Foursquare page by following the steps above and including all the pertinent details for the session (session name, event name, room number) in the Name field. We then promoted the contest the morning of the session via Twitter, Facebook and a post on the official NAB Show Blog.

Foursquare Page - NAB Show Stan Lee Session

What did we learn?

I mentioned earlier that throughout the show, we were monitoring how attendees were using Foursquare on-site. We found that in addition to people checking in through the show page we created, others were creating their own NAB Show pages on Foursquare and checking in through those. We also found that some exhibitors had created Foursquare pages for their own booths, using the same method outlined above (they used their company names and booth numbers in the Name fields).

I recently talked about our use of Foursquare in a discussion on the Engage 365 Community, and a great comment was made by John Barber that "the more event Foursquare pages that are added by your method, the longer becomes the flat list of places that all come up at the venue's main geo-location." This is a great point, and I would certainly not say our implementation method was in any way foolproof. This, however, is more attributable to the limits of the tool itself. When it comes to Foursquare's use at conferences, it's definitely not ready for prime time (although I hope to see that change soon).

As for our Stan Lee session contest, we garnered a grand total of 15 check-ins. Considering that it was a last-minute guerilla marketing tactic with literally a morning's worth of marketing to promote it and where we were basically experimenting with Foursquare's use at an individual conference session, I would say it worked pretty well.

Have you ever seen Foursquare used (or used it yourself) for event marketing? What were the results and how did you gauge them?

Technorati Tags: Foursquare social media NAB Show geo-location location-based social networks event marketing

Posted by Kari Rippetoe at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

May 18, 2010

ANNOUNCING: Tuvel Communications on Twitter!

Tuvel Communications on Twitter

Just a quick announcement: Tuvel Communications is now on Twitter! Follow @TuvelComms for tweets (and retweets) on social media and online communications strategy for businesses, associations, non-profits and events, from Managing Director Mitch Arnowitz (@mitcharno) and Social Media & Community Outreach Manager Kari Rippetoe (@KariRippetoe).

Have questions about any of the above-mentioned topics or just want to start a conversation? Tweet us up - we're happy to chat and help out!

Technorati Tags: Twitter Tuvel Communications social media

Posted by Kari Rippetoe at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May 10, 2010

11 Lessons Learned: Social Media & Event Marketing

Here at Tuvel Communications, we have executed conference and expo social media programs for clients like the NAB Show and 1105 Government Information Group. We've learned several lessons along the way, and I thought it would be useful to get these thoughts down on digital paper to share with you so can be better prepared when it comes to social media marketing at events.

Start early. It takes time to build a relationship. You don't want the first communication from your event to be about passing a promo code along! We always try to keep in mind the old Internet adage to give and then take. We typically like to begin outreach efforts 6 months prior to an event.

Create excitement! Content doesn't create excitement, people do. We were recently charged with driving attendees to an expo. People love to win, so we created Twitter raffles and contests. People got really excited about winning a conference ticket. We also ran a recent Facebook promotion where 'likes' (aka: fans) were asked to post photos from past shows. People got excited about posting and seeing each others photos (especially the ones from shows 15 or more years ago).

Don't underestimate the power of face-to-face. This is really a lesson learned from Netpreneur/Coffee & DoughNets days. Developing an online relationship can be cemented by a face-to-face meeting. Nothing beats the interaction we see at client events. Strong online community building and networking done prior to the show complement offline meetings. Even better is if attendees are located in the same market as the event and you can bring them together before and after the show.

Feedback and buzz are huge! Our company is metrics focused. Whether it's 'ROI', attendee increases or exhibitor traffic, we look to the numbers to partially determine our success. Other program metrics include size of the communities and how well they're engaged, profile traction, website analytics, and promo code tracking.

Having said all of that, don't underestimate the importance of feedback from conference organizers, attendees and exhibitors. It's easy to feel excitement in the air when you hear comments like "you guys are doing something different this year" or "there really is a lot of activity, I notice it."

Think through, take a deep breath and consider implications before acting. We recently identified a potential conflict when an attendee at a client event set up a blog that was inadvertently being mistaken for the 'official' show blog. We took a very deliberate 'honey vs. vinegar' approach of not reacting in a negative or aggressive fashion. Instead, we began building a relationship that eventually led to shared traffic. It would have been fool-hardy on our part to do anything else.

Don't be afraid to try new things (or, you never know unless you try). At a recent client event, show organizers were nice enough to offer us a vacant booth, which we turned into a Social Media Suite. We got some perplexed expressions and strange questions for sure. Traffic was light, so on day two of the conference, we made a CVS run, dressed up the booth and held a Tweetup. We produced a Twitter chat for another client, unsure if anyone would even show up for the party. We ended up doubling registrations as a result of the hour-long chat.

Beware of technology (or, the best laid plans...). We had a great on-site social media plan for a recent event, only to find out that lack of stable wifi prohibited us from uploading any photos, tweeting or posting. On another occasion, we were all set up for a Twitter chat only to have chat tools slow down to a screeching halt. Moral of the story: don't be surprised when inevitabilities of technology happen.

Be patient. It takes time to get traction. We 're big on momentum and were dismayed when a couple of recent promotions didn't get off to a quick start. It took time for the word to spread and traffic to build up. But, we soldiered on and both promotions ended up going well. Thankfully, we didn't pull the plug before they took off.

Always follow best practices. This goes without saying, but I figure it's worth repeating. Following best practices in terms of transparency and communication isn't only the right thing to do-- it's just good business.

Its not just the numbers, it's who they are and where they're doing it that also count. We'd trade larger groups of passive readers for a handful of passionate supporters any day.

Ask for referrals. We execute word-of-mouse campaigns. As soon as someone posts or passes our message along, we ask for referrals - bloggers, moderators, social networkers and list owners in their network. These folks might be interested in our communication and nothing beats an introduction!

What lessons have you learned from your event social media marketing efforts?

Technorati Tags: event marketing social media marketing social media for conferences outreach word-of-mouth marketing

Posted by Mitch at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

May 07, 2010

HOW TO: Geo-Target Your Press Release Distribution

We were recently approached by a non-profit who wanted some quick advice on how to target the distribution of their press release to a specific city (known as "geo-targeting"). This is a great question, because there are so many press release distribution services that boast national exposure to major outlets; but what if national distribution isn't what you want? What if you just want local coverage of your news?

Now, it should be pointed out that before you think about distribution, you should think about how to geo-target the content of the press release itself by using city- or region-specific keywords. There was a fantastic suggestion we received via LinkedIn: “Lots and lots of freelancers and journos cover areas in which they aren't located physically. You wouldn't want to miss coverage by focusing the actual distribution of the message on a specific area.” With this in mind, you may want to consider national distribution.

We set out looking for the best tools and methods for local distribution of press releases, and we came up with some very interesting solutions that are simple and either no-cost or low-cost.

No cost:

PRLog.org – allows you to select specific geographic areas where you want to target the distribution of your press release.

Send to local AP bureau – Yes, you can fax or email your press release directly to your local AP bureau. It’s surprisingly effective in getting local coverage. You can find contact info for your local bureau here.

Research and compile a list of local online and print pubs, along with contact info (reporter/editor name, email address, fax number), and send your press release straight to them.

Your blog – look for local blog directories (i.e. outside.in) and add your blog to them. You can then post your press release directly to your blog and geotag your posts so they will show up in these directories.