Generate Revenue From Your Event Marketing

Submitted by Kate Crockett on Fri, 02/25/2011 - 11:25am
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By: Barbara Kay, President 

The much-anticipated new year has arrived — and although it would seem the economy is not rebounding as quickly as we had hoped, there are some encouraging signs that indicate things are improving.

In particular, we see that in the trade show industry there is clearly strengthening. The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) just released its fourth quarter 2010 results of its annual index report and the numbers are trending upwards. The reports indicate attendance and exhibiting companies were up over the same period in 2009. This is good news for meeting planners and any company or organization where annual gatherings/meetings are essential to maintaining optimum engagement from constituents and momentum within the organization.

As 2011 kicks off, events in quarter one continue to reflect those same positive indicators. The recent International Stroke Conference held in Los Angeles saw an increase in attendance over last year. Likewise, the recent Dallas Home & Gift Market had the strongest opening day it has seen in the past 40 gift and home markets — with a near double-digit percentage gain in attendance, The winter   2011 New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) had three consecutive days of record-breaking attendance.

So how does one leverage — even increase — this momentum and the spirit of community among attendees and exhibitors? A very necessary and fundamental component for accomplishing this is communication before, during and after the event. More and more, show organizers are challenged with how to cover the expense of keeping people informed and connected.

Show organizers’ budgets have been slashed and like so many of us, they are challenged with having to do more with less. Frequently we see the in-house staff that once produced important and valuable event communications has been downsized or eliminated. Too, with ever-evolving technology and changing attendee demographics and preferences – the need to deliver content across multiple platforms — print, digital and mobile — is essential. Most in-house staff does not have the expertise or bandwidth to accomplish this. So, what is a meeting organizer to do?

Many are utilizing the services of custom publishers who can effectively create, produce and deliver content across an expanse of platforms and also sell advertising to cover the costs. Yes, advertising options folded within these content vehicles often can cover the expense of producing them. Some organizations have the in-house skill-set to sell advertising successfully — but most do not. So more and more groups are turning to custom publishers who can provide that service.  

Better yet, not only are there many examples of custom publishers providing the service of creating, producing and delivering content across all platforms while covering the expense through ad sales — but in some cases, the ad sales effort can turn into a revenue stream for the organization after the costs have been covered. A revenue stream is born.

This turnkey model allows the organization’s staff to focus on and leverage their core strengths, yet reap the benefit of having an experienced content provider serve their constituents with effective marketing and communications across multiple platforms, all while driving a revenue stream.

We welcome the new year — and although economic challenges remain, it would seem the positive indicators and creative options for managing costs and driving revenue have given new life to many meeting planners’ strategies for 2011.

How are you finding creative ways to generate additional revenue?

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7 Reasons Your Association Needs A Print Magazine

Submitted by Kate Crockett on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 12:10pm
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By: Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Evangelist

Online marketing, social media and mobile marketing are all the rage these days, and rightfully so. According to IDC, smartphones recently outsold PCs for the first time, meaning that nearly everyone in the world has a social media and information machine in their pocket or purse at all times. 

And by the end of this post, I’m going to get you thinking about print magazines. Yes, print.

Jeff Jarvis recently wrote about how companies need to ignore print, citing that the sheer cost of printing and production “are killing.”

He’s right, if you are a media company. But if you are an association, nonprofit, small brand or large multinational, there is an opportunity in print custom magazines right here, right now. Here’s why.

1. Getting attention: Have you noticed how many fewer magazines and print newsletters you are getting in the mail these days? I don’t know about you, but I definitely pay more attention to my print mail. There’s just less mail, so more attention is paid to each piece. Opportunity? Fewer traditional publishers are printing magazines today, which leaves opportunities for nonmedia companies.

2. The focus on customer retention: In a recent content marketing research study from Junta42/MarketingProfs, customer retention was the most important goal for marketers when it came to content marketing outside of basic brand awareness. Historically, the reason why custom print magazines and newsletters were developed by brands was for customer retention purposes. We have a winner!

3. No audience-development costs: Publishers expend huge amounts of time and money qualifying subscribers to send out their magazines. Many times, publishers need to invest multiple dollars per subscriber per year for auditing purposes (They send direct mail, they call, they call again so that the magazine can say their subscribers have requested the magazine. This is true for controlled (free) trade magazines).

So let’s say, a publisher’s cost per subscriber per year is $2 and their distribution is 100,000. That’s $200,000 per year for audience development.

That’s a cost that marketers don’t have to worry about. If association and brand marketers want to distribute a magazine to their members or customers, they just use their mailing list. That’s a big advantage.

4. What’s old is new again: Social media, online content and iPad applications are all part of the marketing mix today. Still, what excites marketers and media buyers is what is not being done. They want to do something different, something new. It’s hard to believe, but I’ve heard many marketers recently talk about leveraging print as something "new" in their marketing mix. Unbelievable.

5. Customers still need to ask questions: We love the Internet because buyers can find answers to almost anything. But where do we go to think about what questions we should be asking? I talked to a publisher recently who said this:

“The web is where we go to get answers, but print is where we go to ask questions.”

The print vehicle is still the best medium on the planet for thinking outside the box and asking yourself tough questions based on what you read. It’s lean-back versus lean-forward. If you want to challenge your customers (like Harvard Business Review does), print is a viable option.

6. Print still excites people: I talked to a journalist recently who said it’s harder and harder to get people to agree to an interview for an online story. But mention that it will be a printed feature and executives rearrange their schedule. The printed word is still perceived by many as more credible than web content. It goes to the old adage, “If someone invested enough to print and mail it, it must be important.”

Whether that’s true or not, it is still a widely held perception.

7. Unplug: More and more people are actively choosing to unplug — or disconnect themselves — from digital media. I’m doing this more myself. I’m finding myself turning off my phone and email more to engage with printed material. A year ago I didn’t see this coming.  Today, I relish the opportunities when I can’t be reached for comment.

If I’m right, many of your customers (especially busy executives) are feeling the same. Your print communication may be just what they need.

Online content marketing is definitely here to stay. Yes to social media, apps and the rest of it, but don’t forget that print still can play an important role in your overall content marketing mix.

And, if you still don’t believe me, here’s more on why print and digital are secretly married. Good luck!\

 

Joe Pulizzi is CEO of Z Squared Media LLC, whose brands include Junta 42, the Content Marketing Institute and SocialTract. Joe also speaks around the world about content marketing and sometimes promotes his book, Get Content Get Customers, called THE handbook for content marketing. You can reach him at joe@junta42.com.

Building Blocks of a Successful Mobile App

Submitted by Kate Crockett on Thu, 02/10/2011 - 11:35am
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By: Scott Harold, Director of eMedia

I thought for this blog entry I would describe some of the steps you will go through as you look to deliver your first mobile app. For the purposes of this discussion we shall assume that you have already selected your app provider. The following breakdown of events can span anywhere from 8 weeks to 4-6 months. It will all depend on your provider and your internal ability to deliver content, graphics and marketing. 

1. Define Your Content

Here is where, in partnership with your app provider, you will define what content you wish to deliver via your new mobile app. This content will range from news articles, images, video, etc. You will want to make sure you highlight content that would be deemed valuable to your customers.

2. Create Your Branding Graphics for the Mobile App

Your app should have the capacity for displaying branding in several ways. You will want to design the appropriate graphics to take full advantage of each opportunity.

  • Splash page (this is the initial screen that comes up as the application is loading)
  • Typical banner ad spots throughout the application
  • Overall use of colors, icons and other imagery that supports your branding
3. Establish Marketing Strategy

Once you have an app that is available for download you will need a strategy to market and promote it. You should look to make use of such channels as websites, email marketing, text messaging and print material. Each avenue will bring a different segment of your customer base in touch with your new mobile app

4. Establish method for delivering content to your mobile vendor

This will be driven, in large part, by your app vendor. You will find this can take many different forms. Here is a list of just a few you will find.

  • RSS Feeds
  • Web Service
  • HTTP Posts
  • Excel Spreadsheets

The more often your content is updated the more users will come back to your app day after day or week after week. In the end, content is what will define your app.

5. Test your app across supported platforms

This part of the process will generally be performed by your app vendor. Once your app is developed, it must be tested on a variety of different makes and models of phones and via various service providers. This phase becomes crucial if your application is being delivered across multiple operating systems (i.e. iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, WAP). This part of the process can take several weeks.

6. Submit your app to the appropriate App Stores

This part of the process is fairly easy. The one important element here is to not under estimate the amount of time that will be spent. Once submitted, it may take 2-3 weeks for your application to show up in the various app stores. Apple will typically take 1-2 weeks to approve an application. Blackberry has been known to take up to 3 weeks. Just make sure you allocate the appropriate time for this part of the process.

7. Update content and app maintenance

The launching of an app is really just the beginning.  Now you enter the maintenance phase of an app life cycle. You must continue to feed content to your app to allow it to continue to grow.  Remember, the value users will place on your app revolves around the content. It must be timely, valuable and accessible.

What steps have you taken to make sure your app is consistently fresh?

Content Needs Constant Engagement Just Like…Spinning Dishes

Submitted by Kate Crockett on Thu, 02/03/2011 - 11:00am
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Content Marketing

By: Rhonda Wickham, Director of Content

I love circus acts in which performers spin plates on pinpoint pedestals and candelabras. These skilled performers add plates, all the while running back to the earlier candidates to give them another spin on their perches. It clearly is challenging — something for which you have to look backward, look forward, but stay focused on the current plate. Otherwise, a plate somewhere along the line crashes to the floor, breaks your concentration and leads to others falling.

Balancing your communications between print, digital, social and mobile is a similar feat. You have to feed content into all of your channels in order to effectively serve the readers who look to each to feed their informational needs whether they are at your event, at home, in their offices or in travel mode.

Yet, there are associations that line up the four plates ands get them spinning, only to ignore one channel for an event cycle or otherwise disengage. For example, one association created a wonderful website that featured all sorts of content and functionality. In its premiere event season, its performance metrics were stellar. Yet in its second season, it didn’t support the website with links from eBlasts or other efforts to drive traffic. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the once record-breaking metrics plummeted.

Although this example focuses on digital, all of your communication channels need ample attention. A print product such as a daily or directory may have a limited distribution for only those attendees on-site. This distribution plan should include multiple distribution points throughout the site venue. Empty bins or missed hotel-room drops equate to dropped plates.

These print products also should feed information to the digital and mobile products such as websites and eBlasts. These products have a much broader reach. Just as print feeds digital, your websites, eBlasts and mobile should drive traffic deeper into the association’s offerings and encourage more clicks and time spent.

Social media is yet another channel that requires care and feeding. Most of our associations actively support and populate Twitter for their events, with promotion of their LinkedIn and/or Facebook in related literature and digital pushes. Some even push Flickr and Delicious. Yet, it means nothing to feature and link those icons if you are not going to provide meaningful posts. Only meaningful posts will encourage participation from the audience. As associations keep this social media plate spinning, their audiences then can lend a hand to keep it from getting wobbly.

Clearly, content-driven communication products do not thrive with a “build it and they will come” mentality. They need new and refreshed content. They require comprehensive audience development and distribution plans that effectively tie all of the products together.

The real excitement of spinning plates comes as all of the plates spin in concert with one another. The watchful performer moves fluidly from plate to plate adding another spin or two, and perhaps another plate. And the real payoff is an audience that rewards the performance efforts by staying engaged.

What tactics are you using to make sure your "plates" are spinning in unison?