Posts Tagged ‘events’

This year, I am finally getting to attend two conferences I have wanted to attend for a very long time – Blogworld in October and PubCon in November.

Even more exciting? I will be speaking at PubCon on a panel – November 10th – Navigating The Complex Social Media Marketing World. I will be discussing the different key social media tools and the best ways to get the most from them – and which tools to use depending on your industry. I will be on a panel with some brilliant minds and am very excited to be a part of this event! If you’re coming to the event – I really hope to see you at my panel!

I am still waiting to hear if I will be speaking at Blogworld…but should know soon. *Update: I will not be speaking but will still be there…*

Either way, since I’m very Type A -  even 3 months out, I am already putting together my “must do, must see and must meet” list for both events!

1. For Blogworld, I am attending with @Vetlovingpetshb and staying at THEhotel, flying in the day before and leaving the day after. Have you been to this hotel before? Recommendations of places to eat/shop visit?
2. For Pubcon, I am not sure where I will be staying – that one is left to be determined. So if you have connections for this one, let me know
3. If you have been before to either event – what are the must see and do’s? I want to know what events are the best, which areas of the expo I can’t miss and if there are any other secrets I should know!
4. Are you going this year? If so, let me know so that I can plan time to meet as many people as possible. My readers are on the top of my list. Just add a comment and let me know which event you are attending

Finally, I am still looking for a sponsor for the hotel/flight for each event – so if you are interested in talking with me about what that means, send me an email and we can chat

snapping pictures at the Sanyo & Social Rewards event last week

Social media has made parties and party planning so much easier…which means there has been an explosion of events that are planned, promoted and talked about just through these channels. Almost everytime I turn around, I see a new twtvite shooting by, or am getting a facebook invitation.

For consumer businesses, being part of one of these events can really help you to get your name out there. But, a business doesn’t just have to host an event to get heir name out there – sometimes all it takes is participating and helping in an event. Even if you can’t participate in a donation or the planning – you still should try and go to as many events as possible. There is no downside to meeting lots of new people.

For restaurants, nightclubs and hotels, offering your venue to host an event can often help fill you up on busy nights and help spread the word about what amazing things you can offer. Small events allow you to feature new recipes, drinks and your venue and have a fun event that people will be talking about for a long time.

This year, I have attended more than my fair share of tweetups, launch parties and networking events. Some have been awesome, others have been okay, and some have been seriously disappointing. The good news is there are a few ways to help make sure that your next event is as good as it can be:

1. Pick a venue that is easy to get to.
2. Plan it at least two weeks in advance for a small tweetup.
3. Plan at least a month in advance for large events.
4. Get a few big name people on board.
5. Ask for help promoting the event from your friends.
6. Provide food and drinks either free or at a discount.
7. Make sure there are plenty of places to sit down.
8. Have an awesome speaker or giveaway.
9. Make it easy for people to tweet while there.
10. Have a photographer (or a few) to share the awesomeness.
11. Make it easy for people to exchange their information after the event.
12. Have a list of all attendees so you can send them thank you notes.
13. Share the twitter and facebook name of the venue so people can share it.
14. Set up an easy to remember hashtag for the event.

What other tips can you share about hosting a great event? Have you been to one that did something really spectacular or awful? Share it!

With Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogging, it can feel like all you need to network is the internet. This is definitely not true. Just like 50 years ago, the best way to connect with new people is to meet them in person – social media just makes these connections a bit easier.

Every area has their own events, and usually just asking some of your friends on twitter or facebook will help you find the groups. If you are in Orange County/Southern California, I’ve done the leg work for you. Here are the top 4 networking groups in Orange County, who hold great events and I definitely recommend joining!

1. LinkedOC (all business types)
2. WAOC (all business types)
3. Blog Crush (for bloggers)
4. Ladies1st (women only)

Plus, you can always search twitvite for events that twitter users have created! These are usually smaller and more intimate gatherings, but can be a lot of fun.

Also, If you can provide links for your local area, please do so below (make sure to include where you live)!

Last year, I wanted to go to Blogworld so badly, but just couldn’t figure out the logistics of getting there or how to afford the weekend of events and staying in Vegas. This year, however, I am going no matter what and am very excited about starting to plan the trip (yes, I know it is 6 months out…it’s the type-A in me).

Anyway, last week, I was thinking about the wine tasting event I had with the girls last month, and how much more we were able to learn about each other in the 3 1/2 hours worth of limo time, and how much more effectively we are able to help each other in business because of the stronger connections – which led me to think about Blogworld, and how one of the most important pieces of a trip like this is building stronger networking. There are tons of people from the Southern California area that are attending Blogworld – some will fly, some will carpool but very few will get to network with each other until they get to the event. So, I am thinking about fixing this problem, by organizing a limo tweetup trip from Southern California to Vegas! This would give a group of 25-50 people (depending on the limo size) a chance to network, connect and learn more about each other prior to arriving in Vegas.

But, as with any big plan, there are a lot of things to consider:

1. Who would even be interested in an event like this? Am I the only one who thinks it would be fun?
2. We would have to leave on Wednesday evening, 10/13, so that we can all get checked in before the conference starts on 10/14 – but what about people who are only coming for the weekend events? What would they do/could they still come?
3. Where would we leave from? I want LA County, Orange County, Riverside County and San Diego County people to be able to come on the trip – so logistically, leaving from Orange County would make the most sense (in the middle), but Riverside County is on the way out to Vegas, so then the limo time would be shorter…
4. What would the cost be per person? The trip would be between 4-5 hours, depending on where we left from and how many stops we had – so pricing it out, we’re looking at probably $150/person for the big limos. Is this a reasonable cost?
5. What about getting a limo sponsor/partial sponsor that we could promote to help eliminate costs? Or a sponsor that has nothing to do with the limo but still could benefit from a large group – wireless cards? Cell phone provider (we’ll be tweeting from the limo’s)? Food?
6. Can we expand it so more people can come? The largest Limo (I don’t want to do a shuttle bus..those are no fun) I found fit 44 people…but we could do multiple Limo’s and have a train headed out, that way we could get as many people as we wanted!
7. Has there ever been something done like this before? Would it be an expandable idea that other cities could do as well?
8. How would everyone get back to California? Would we want to do limos back or would people fly home? And then if they flew home, how would they get their cars from where the limo picked them up?

As you’ll notice, I have a lot of unanswered questions – which is where all my readers come in! I want your thoughts on the idea, would it be something you would be interested in? What about helping to make it happen? Any ideas of sponsors or how to turn this into a reality? And of course, I want to know who would want to come so I can see if the interest is there for the trip…

Let’s get talking!

This past Saturday, 15 of the top women in Orange County on twitter took a trip to Temecula for a phenomenal wine tasting trip. It included a limo ride out, stops at three wineries, over 200 tweets, pics and FB updates and finally, a whole lot of wonderful pictures and memories. It was also entirely planned through the use of social media, with companies who wanted social media exposure, and were willing to work with our group to make it happen.

The planning of the event started almost 5 months ago, as a tweet between a few of the women who attended, mentioning that it would be fun to do a wine tasting trip out to Temecula. I loved that idea, and started doing some research on how to make it happen. There are over 15 wineries in Temecula, most of which were on twitter. Unfortunately, most of the accounts weren’t managed well. Of those that were, I started sending tweets, talking about our idea of a wine tasting trip. A few of them immediately brushed it off, worried about what we might tweet or how their winery would ‘look’. But, three wineries did pay attention, and were willing to take the risk, @leonessecellars, @robertrenzoni & @oakmountainwine. They all offered half price wine tastings, and Joel Reese of @winehostTV who works with Leonesse Cellars gave us a behind the scenes, amazing tour, of the winery.

In addition to recruiting the wineries through twitter and later, through facebook, the rest of the event was also planned through social media.

The limo (ULC Limos) was recommended through twitter and has now been convinced to start an account soon.

All the messages to organize the trip were sent via facebook or twitter. This made it simple to track, and easy to follow

Almost everyone who attended originally met through twitter, social media networking events or blogging events.

Everything that happened on Saturday was sent via tweets, status updates, whrrl stories and twitpic.

Anyone who didn’t attend could track our tweets, photos and conversations via the hashtag #twwt.

The minute we all got home, we uploaded photos to facebook, became fans of the wineries on facebook, promoted them to our friends, and made sure we were following them all on twitter.

So, how can our wine tasting help your business? Because this type of event will happen again! And next time, your business could take advantage of it. Small twitter networking events are popping up all over the place, and it doesn’t take a big hoopla to make them happen. This event was only 15 women, but the hashtag was followed online, and the conversation spread to over 100 in just short moments. Your business can plan the next small event with just a few simple steps:

1. Pick a date that works well for your audience. Our group was a lot of mom’s and small business owners, so we needed a weekend event.

2. Find an easy way for the attendees to get there. We chose a limo because 15 women + 3 wineries = bad idea for driving. It also kept us all together, so we tweeted more and shared more pictures.

3. Make it fun! We were not met with sales pitches and business strategy, we just enjoyed the wineries and had a blast with each other. This meant we were much happier to tweet about our experiences and were actually having fun!

4. Remember you can’t control the conversation. There was no way for the wineries to know what we would tweet, so they made sure to show us a great time so that our tweets would be positive.

So the big question is…will your business take advantage of an event like this?

Or will you be like @scwinery, who told us we couldn’t visit because they were concerned what we would tweet?

Hey everyone! It was wonderful to see you all last night @CafeMozart. I decided to share the list this way so that not only can you click to follow whomever you like, but we can also have a chance to re-introduce ouselves so we can remember who everyone is. So, in the comments, please tell us:

• Your Twitter Name
• Your Real Name
• And a bit about who you are and what you do

For example:

• I am @kirstenwright
• Real name: Kirsten Wright
• I do blog management, copywriting and wordpress design for small to mid-size businesses.

Also, if you wanted to get one of the awesome twitter badges – contact @RicDizon. They are $12 each and take about a week.

(the full list of attendees – in alphabetical order by twitter name)

@alanhaft
@ArnesonLock
@BikingBrian
@BillMGodwin
@bloomsandkisses
@BryanTepus
@carinazimmer
@cfleury
@CostaMesaBlog
@daNanner
@DeanSoto
@dianedevore
@DrapesGirl
@elecsecurityguy
@expocall
@fitcarrot
@GlitterfulFelt
@guitarmansoxfan
@hbdan
@HealthOC
@hensel
@jaimegochez
@jenlklein
@JoelTanner
@JaunaAnderson
@jwalery
@KamaainaInOC
@Karbutler
@kathyklingaman
@KathyTillotson
@kirstenwright
@KKsWebs2
@Kphamsmiles
@kspangenthal
@lorennason
@lukemysse
@lyn_cox
@marensutton
@MarkGundlach
@maryannewendt
@melissakeyes
@MichaelHsiung
@michaeltdoan
@modlandUSA
@monicaholbrook
@myshinysoul
@NealSchaffer
@OCMomActivities
@OCRealtress
@OC_Monica
@Pamela_Dizon
@PaulTTran
@pcam
@peYloan
@PhoenixHouseOC
@ReidTFSM
@RicDizon
@RobertMoranLA
@ShannyMay
@Shelley_Rae
@somfan
@SvenJohnston
@tanyaahedo
@thepixelmom
@TravelCostaMesa
@UncleVicDeals
@VeggieGrill
@vetlovingpetshb
@wellsuited
@zzztimbo

Last month at the Peppino’s Tweetup, @JGPR (the PR team behind Style Week OC) invited OC tweeters to attend the event as media. There were limited passes, and those who were really wanting to go would be able to get passes. So why was this so important?

First, the fact that Stacey Ellis of Style Week OC listened to the PR team and was willing to take a risk by allowing access to social media (which means live coverage, no control over what is being said, and always wondering what is being talked about). Second, this is the first event that I know of in Orange County that has considered twitter users as media. This is such a shift in ‘traditional marketing’ and shows the power that social media is really taking on. Not only did they invite us, but we were given special passes at the event. The passes were laminated, and were obviously done with care and a purpose. When I first saw it, I assumed that every media person had their own passes, but after walking through, I realized that in fact, they had done this just for us – so that the designers and companies there would know who we were and would want to talk to us.

And talk to us they did!

My first stop when I got in was to Got2b, the hair sponsors for the event. I have been to quite a few ‘sponsor events’ and usually see just a booth and maybe a couple people chatting about their products. But not this event. Got2b had at least 5 people there, handing out samples to people after finding out exactly what type of hair they had! This was not “just check us out:, this was a well thought out marketing strategy to make sure that when people left with samples, they would have samples that were perfect for them. And therefore more likely to be happy with their products. In addition, they had stylists on site, using their products and tools to show off how incredible they really worked. They gave me stuff to protect it when blow-drying and straight ironing it (since I have naturally curly hair, but like to wear it straight too).

The line I fell in love with? The new fashions from The Closet.

After chatting with them, I wandered around the rest of the event, and was pleasantly surprised that every vendor that was at the event was just as talkative and involved as Got2b had been. My first stop was to The Closet‘s rack. I had heard of the brand, but had never checked them out before. I was so excited to get to look at the line, and chat with one of the owners/managers about who they are and what they stand for. Not only is the line totally California Couture (as their branding states) but the people that are running the line are wonderful.

At this point, I was starving, so I headed to grab some food. Rubio’s (the food sponsor) offered free chips and salsa and either chicken or shrimp tacos. The food was awesome, and the Rubio’s staff was chatting about new menu items and changes to come in the restaurants (trust me, they are worth checking out!).

At the end of the night, I was so excited to see that not only did each person make it a goal to tell me about their product line, where I could go to see it, and about how it was created, they seemed genuinely interested in chatting. The normal reception I get when I talk about my involvement in social media is only a little warmer than a cold shoulder. Not last night. Last night, they understood the power that the bloggers and tweeters really have and were more than happy to talk with us. I wrapped up the night with an interview, talking twitter, blogging and fashion.

I can only hope that this is a trend that continues, as I am happy to write about companies who understand the power of social media.

A few other great photos from the event:

Me, Julie and Stacey(@JGPR and @StyleWeek_OC)

the hubby and I at the event

Me, April and Erin (the ladies of Boutiquing)

Last night, I attended my 4th Blog Crush meetup, and each one keeps getting better. The group is managed by Suzanne Broughton, the brilliant photographer and writer behind Alive in Wonderland. This time, the event was hosted at A’s Restaurant (what used to be the Arches) in Newport Beach. They were so welcoming and actually let us get behind the bar and make some drinks. Jeff Sipper of Sipper Photography and I were a great bar-tending team (and may have been a bit heavy handed )!

*Updated with pictures from Sipper Photo!*

The attendance was awesome and it was so fabulous to see some of my favorite bloggers and meet some of the ones I had been wanting to meet for awhile….I’d love to link to all of  you, but honestly, there are just so darn many of you!! So, add a comment at the end of the post with your url, introduce yourself to the crowd and let me know where you’d like to see the next event, so I can pass it on to Suz!

All the big players in the blog world are getting sponsors to go to BlogWorld and New Media Expo 2009 – or in other words, a company is paying for their trip/hotel/etc so that they will get press and someone talking about them the whole trip.

I like to talk. I have a blog. I am interesting and would promote a product well.

But, I am not a superstar blogger yet. I don’t have 100k readers, and so the sponsors don’t have a huge reason to want to pay for my trip to BlogWorld. Although, if they gave me 10 minutes, I could convince them…but most won’t even do that!

Catch-22 strikes again: They want to sponsor someone who has a following, but you gain a following by being able to attend events like this and learn to promote yourself better. It is hard to attend these events if you are a just starting out blogger who owns their own business, it is financially too difficult. So you can’t afford to go, which means you can’t learn all the great information and network to grow your blog, which means you can’t get a sponsor.

But what about passion? What about the fact that I would be so excited to be sponsored by someone that I would probably work twice as hard as a ‘power blogger’ to promote my sponsor before the event, at the event and after the event? I think thelostjacket.com‘s post on why companies can benefit from up and coming bloggers really hits the point home. Finding someone up and coming is the future…

So, I figured the best way to find a company was to ask those who already read my work – and know me a little, to help me with my marketing of myself! So here is my request:

If your company, or you know a company that is looking for a representative at blogworld, and would be interested in sponsoring me (even partially), please send them either the link to this blog, or contact me at kirsten(at)wrightcreativity.com:

Thanks for all your help and support!