Synch-Up: The GetSynchronicity Blog

We don’t usually promote any one company or concept on Synch-Up, but today we’re going to do just that. Unisfair, the leading provider of virtual events, recently announced the release of version 9 of its platform, enabling customers to create a virtual event in an hour and effectively changing the game for the virtual events industry.

Until now, building virtual events required considerable time, expertise, and support. Production times were measured in weeks and months. Today, it’s as easy as setting up a Google Adwords account because Unisfair’s advanced communications platform simplifies the steps in creating virtual events.

The Unisfair Virtual Business Center offers the industry’s only three-tier data model. Organizers can leverage content and design across multiple events in multiple venues. Previously, each event was a silo and customers had to start from scratch when they produced a new virtual event. In addition, attendees can now register just once and keep their profile and briefcase content throughout all events of the host company. Navigation is supported in 16 different languages and adjusts to the attendee’s time zone and language preferences automatically. The platform translates live chat in 50 languages, removing language barriers in global events. Today’s technology is making it easy to host multiple virtual events and communicate with geographically dispersed prospects, customers, employees, and partners.

In the past, virtual event providers needed a “freeze period” of weeks before a live event because the process to build a venue was cumbersome. Now with a WYSIWYG interface and real-time changes, the Unisfair Venue Builder is raising the bar for virtual event platforms. A gallery of high resolution templates offers compelling imagery of real-world venues. All locations can be easily configured to reflect a company’s brand and event theme.

The Unisfair Webcasting Studio lets companies produce their own webcasts — easily and cost-effectively. What previously required a studio of expensive staff and equipment can now be done from the office. The studio supports self-recording of audio and video directly from the desktop, with video sources ranging from a simple webcam to high definition camera input. Unisfair lets the host or speaker upload content, including slide decks, polls, links and media files. The host can pass camera, microphone and slide control to any speaker at any time during the recording or broadcast, which enables multiple presenters during a single webcast. Unisfair’s Q&A management includes tagging and prioritization of questions, allowing speakers to focus on their answers.

Unisfair Smart Reports help sales teams gather rich customer intelligence from virtual event activities – across all venues and events – from a single, web-based dashboard. Smart Reports track each individual participant’s demographics, activities and interests, allowing the organizer to gain unprecedented understanding of their audience.

Unisfair continuously aggregates registrant activities into a single metric – the Unisfair Engagement Index. Each attendee is assigned a numerical rank, indicating the level of engagement over time. The Engagement Index can be customized by the organizer or sponsors to reflect a model of the ideal participant. Leads sent to the sales team now include a clear indication of their maturation level and interest, effectively putting an end to dead-end leads. The index can also be used to track engagement in training or recruiting events.

Interested in learning more? Be sure to check this week’s GetSynch eTip, where you can order your complimentary copy of the Unisfair Virtual Event ROI Kit.

The MobileX conference hit Chicago a few weeks ago. One of our favorite sessions was a fascinating discussion about Text Message Marketing provided by our friends at Recess Mobile. (www.recessmobile.com/blog, or follow them on Twitter at @recessapp.)

Text messaging is one of the most popular, and least understood, of all new media platforms. Its technical name, SMS (Short Message System), is an international standard for conveying short form data up to 160 characters in length. Today, it’s as much a part of phone technology as voice ever was. Here are five concepts every marketer should know to get up to speed on SMS.

SMS is Everywhere

Currently, 98% of all cellular phones in the USA can handle SMS messaging. Industry experts expect that number to rise to 100% by 2013. These hefty adoption rates exceed radio, television, and home video. By comparison, even with all the buzz around smartphone technology like the Apple App Store, their use lags behind. Only 10% percent of SMS enabled phones are smartphones; even less in suburban and rural areas.

SMS is a Great Return on Investment

SMS packages are among the most economical of all media buys, typically starting in the hundreds of dollars range. Consumers, too, see texting as a bargain. Even in the most basic of cellular plans, a text costs only cents. With such low barriers to entry, text messages deliver incredible returns to both sides. It’s not unusual for SMS campaigns to ring in return rates over 40% – extraordinary by either print or digital standards.

SMS is Truly International

As ubiquitous as text messaging is in the U.S., we still lag behind most industrialized nations in mobile technology adoption. In developing nations, SMS is a lifeline for communication and commerce. Development of phone infrastructure proceeds at a far more rapid pace in these countries than it does here. Imagine one cellular tower providing constant contact for miles. There are countries that may never know the sound of a dial tone.

SMS is Personal

Most Americans now carry with them three basic essentials – a wallet, keys, and a phone. How would you feel if a marketer could materialize coupons inside your wallet? Imagine looking down to discover someone has added tags to your key ring! The privacy element of SMS is a vital. Build campaigns with quick opt-in and opt-out technology. Remember that texting is most commonly used for personal communication between friends and family. Don’t spam!

SMS is Versatile

With new platforms being developed every day, the next generation of SMS technology is at hand. Charity: texting relief to Haiti has become part of our national conscience and has raised funds in the millions of dollars. Convenience: services like AntiTow send SMS reminders inform car owners when street sweepers are approaching their parking space, providing advance notice to move a car and avoid a tow. Health: third world countries now use SMS verification systems to confirm the authenticity of pharmaceutical drugs, defeating counterfeits and saving lives.

SMS is limited only by developer’s imaginations, and, of course, 160 characters.

If you’ve been following Synch-Up, you know we’re fans of using social media for event marketing. Recently, we reflected on lessons learned while integrating Twitter into a trade show marketing campaign. Here are some useful tips to make your next Twitter promotion a viral success:

• Choose a Goal, Then Stick To It

Twitter campaigns are designed to be light and efficient. The more steps and aspects to a project, the easier to lose focus on the goals you seek to accomplish. Remember, there’s only 140 characters to explain the entire operation! A retweet, page link, or call to action should be the ceiling for complexity. If there is more than can comfortably fit in a single tweet, do the right thing and direct your followers to a web page instead.

• Tweet With Purpose

The technical aspects of a technology based campaign are important, but content is still the beast that must be served. The most successful campaigns go viral because they contain compelling information that excites the user, who then shares the content with friends. Or maybe you pull your followers into an activity of interest, such as a contest or charity donation. Ask yourself if you’re guilty of pushing information at your followers. If you are, now is the time to develop a hook.

• Use Your Resources

A stand alone Twitter campaign reaches your immediate followers – a good start. But what about your email, Facebook, LinkedIn, and direct mailing lists? You can draw attention from casual users who don’t check Twitter frequently, and draw new followers, by using your other avenues of contact. Treat Twitter as just one element of your event marketing strategy. Combine it with other resources to optimize reach and create greater success.

• Drum Up Hype

Launch a Twitter campaign to promote your Twitter campaign. Sound redundant? Not when you consider that people who follow this type of marketing want it to be FUN. So, rather than starting your campaign cold, add some intriguing tweets about a week before the campaign to build suspense and anticipation among your followers. Try incorporating ideas like daily countdowns, quizzes and reminders. Most importantly, give yourself enough time to let the campaign flourish – a week before your event will feel rushed, and your followers may notice.

• Shoot High!

The best case and the worst case for a Twitter campaign are one and the same. Many marketers worry that if the campaign is too successful, they’ll be challenged to keep track of replies and retweets. But hang on! What about the flip side? If not successful enough, the campaign doesn’t generate enough interest to support the project. Either way, your goals aren’t being accomplished. Worry about making your campaign successful before second-guessing the dangers of ‘too much success’!

Sure, it’s hard to achieve viral success. Twitter campaigns, like any other successful promotion, require a combination of skill and good fortune. But with a little focused effort, worthwhile content, some creativity and a clear sense of fun, you CAN make it sticky.

HIMSS 2010, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference and Exhibition, took Atlanta by storm last week. The GetSynchronicity team was on its toes throughout the week, with five clients spread across two separate halls.

How did HIMSS 2010 compare with past years? Here’s what GetSynchronicity noticed during our week at the GWCC:

• The show floor buzzed with a tangible, positive energy. Was it the expanded presence of a few key exhibitors? Attendee need for clarity around meaningful use incentives? Relief that it’s no longer 2009? Our take: this was the vibe of an expanding industry, something we haven’t felt since the heady tech days of the 90s.
• Show management reported attendance comparable to last year but we noticed a slightly expanded exhibitor presence. This small but confident growth likely signals the influence that ARRA/HITECH is having on the medical technology sector.
• Live presentations ruled. Whether delivered by a hired professional or an internal expert, presentations clearly scored with attendees who feasted on the wealth of information being shared. In an age of social media, bluetooth, and text message campaigns, it’s interesting to note that some of the best success still comes from face-to-face communication.
• Medical has begun to embrace the “wow” factor. We saw race cars, basketballs courts, sports bars and DeLoreans on display. Exhibitors who reached out to attendees with experiential activities reaped the rewards of increased traffic and staff engagements.
• Social media campaigns abounded. Results of those campaigns appear to be mixed as marketers learn where, when and how to best use Twitter and other social networking tools.
• Overall, HIMSS felt alive and kicking, in a way that belied its conservative history. Does this signal a trend towards fresh energy in live events and tradeshows? Or just a fortunate coincidence?

Let’s hear your thoughts!

“10,000 years ago, civilization forked. Farming was invented and the way many people spent their time was changed forever.”

That’s the opening of Seth Godin’s blog of Wednesday, Feb 3. Seth went on to make the point that marketers seldom differentiate between Hunter type personalities and Farmers. A sentence way down at the bottom, very close to the end of the post, caught my eye: “Trade shows are designed to entrance hunters, yet all too often, the booths are staffed with farmers.”

Seth sure nailed that one.

There is a need, of course, to include the shy technical expert and the reluctant research specialist among the exhibit staff, but not many event marketers count on those types to open relationships. What about the legions of account managers and product managers that I see in exhibits? These are highly socialized men and women. Most of them are accomplished professionals. Many even have extroverted personalities. Yet they generally hang back and wait to be approached. Coaching and training definitely help, but no amount of coaching will transform a farmer into a hunter.
I think Seth is on to something. Why spend thousands of dollars on floor space, exhibitry, sponsorships, signage and promotions, only to put the wrong people in the booth? Next show, ask yourself: “Who are the hunters in our organization.” Try staffing a booth only with people who are trained to scan and pounce. Then compare outcomes with a prior show. Do hunters make better trade show staffers? Let me know.

February 2nd. Ground Hog Day and exactly one month since I began my New Year resolution of being a better networker. Punxsutawney Phil’s results? He saw his shadow and we have six more weeks of winter. My results? Almost as depressing.

I haven’t updated my LinkedIn profile. I haven’t commented on any blogs or retweeted any worthwhile posts. Not only have I not responded to any of the discussion threads for the online groups I belong to, I haven’t even read the threads. Worse than all of that, I’ve been deleting from my calendar the dedicated networking hour that I schedule for every Monday morning.

In my defense, we have had a strong start to the year and I’ve been busy taking care of customers. I also spent three days at a face-to-face networking event, something I’ve never done before. Maybe this is one step forward and two steps back.

It’s only February. We still have 11 months to go in 2010 and that leaves plenty of time for self-improvement. I’m going to move that scheduled block of networking time to Tuesday afternoons, which tends to be a more forgiving time slot. Maybe by the time spring emerges my networking skills will have started to blossom. I’ll let you know.

Today we announced a partnership with Unisfair, the leader in virtual events and virtual environments for business.

Are we abandoning the live events market and our loyal conference and trade show customers? Reacting to the shrill warnings about the impending death of face to face events? Hoping to get in on the ground floor of the latest trend?

None of the above.

Virtual events aren’t likely to ever replace the face-to-face experience. They do offer accessibility to geographically dispersed audiences that might otherwise not be able to participate in a live event. They represent an alternative for budget challenged event managers. They offer opportunities to extend and expand the lifespan of existing events. Looked at through those filters, virtual environments provide a natural complement and enhancement to an established events portfolio.

Yesterday, in the middle of a weekly conference call, a client team unexpectedly exploded with a burst of creative ideas. We had been confirming strategy for a social media campaign. Suddenly the dam broke loose and ideas began flooding the room. Everyone had ideas about something new or different to try.

That’s one of the benefits of adding a social media component to traditional marketing campaigns. It opens new dimensions that fire the imagination and stoke the creative engine. This team was on fire.

Sadly, the time for brainstorming had passed. There’s a moment in the creative process when we stop generating new ideas and we begin to develop the idea or ideas that will best help us reach our goal. None of the new suggestions supported the original project objectives. It was up to me to throw some cold water on the fire. I politely suggested that these were great ideas to hold onto for another project at another time because they weren’t going to further our efforts on the current campaign.

It all reminded of the social media study GetSynchronicity recently co-authored with Exhibitor Magazine. (Click here to view the report) In it, fully 66% of respondents who had used social media in a marketing program indicated that they had not set measurable objectives for their campaign. At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, that’s ignoring rule #1 in Marketing 101.

Fortunately, the client lead saw it the same way. We decided to proceed with the original concept. The one based on solid business strategy tied to measurable objectives.

Are you among the thirty-one percent of industry respondents who have incorporated social media into their exhibit marketing efforts? What are the most popular social media tools being used in B2B events? What kind of metrics are being tracked and how successful are social media marketing efforts?

GetSynchronicity, in conjunction with Exhibitor Media Group, conducted a survey to establish benchmark data for the use of Social Media Marketing in exhibit and event-marketing campaigns. The data is in and Synch-Up readers can click here to view a copy of the full survey report. Selected data points from the study will also appear in the January 2010 issue of EXHIBITOR magazine and the Spring 2010 issue of Corporate EVENT magazine.

See what your fellow event marketers are doing and let me know about your marketing experiences with social media.

I like what I see happening around me.

For too long, too many of us in brand marketing have been focusing on the moment. The economic downturn has tamed that.

Today customers are demanding programs that stimulate sales and build relationships that last. Impact is great, they say. So are wow factor and buzz. But let’s make sure that this solution produces life-long evangelists who move more product.

Isn’t that what experience marketing was supposed to be about in the first place?