Meeting Planners Still In Business

It's true, the meetings and conventions market has taken a hit worldwide. But, nothing lasts forever. Planners are still researching facilities for when the economy rebounds - and smaller meetings are still taking place - with planners looking for unusual venues.

Here's something to consider. .... Do you have a local manufacturing company that would be willing to rent out its board room - or give a demonstration on how their product is made? Tied together with a catered meal, you could have a new venue for a small committee meeting. It's a hook to build relationships - and to increase business down the road. The silver lining is that the manufacturing company can realize a new revenue stream.

MARKETING TIP: Look outside your typical list of industry partners to create a new meeting venue - and then promote it!

Media and Facebook: True Story

I'm working on an event and posted a sidebar to it on my Facebook page. In less than 30 seconds, I had a reporter wanting more information.

Yes, I had connected with reporters and editors through Facebook on stories, but never had received a response so fast.

MARKETING TIP: Utilize social networking sites for story tips and ideas. You never know when a reporter in a newsroom will pick up on it.

Where in the world are you?

As I look at Websites, one thing comes to mind pretty quickly - where are you? Just because I'm on your site doesn't mean I know where you're located.

Many sites, including those in the tourism industry, may not have on their home page, the name of their city, state or country. How many Sidney's are there? I can think of 2 - Australia and Canada. How many Lexington's are there? In the United States alone, there are 28. How many Statesville's are there? At least 2.

MARKETING TIP: Help your Website visitor out by putting in a prominent location on your home page the name of your city, state and country. Besides, it will help search engines find you, too.

Highly-successful event folds

Festivals worldwide are feeling the pinch - even those which are highly successful. Check out this story.

Communities have to recognize that festivals have a life cycle. Ideas can grow into highly-successful and profitable events. However, as the demographics, attitudes, leadership and lifestyle of residents change, some popular events can go by the wayside.

So it's important to review events - and be honest. How profitable is your event? What percentage of the local residents and businesses participate or support it? Is there a change in sponsorship opportunities? Is your community seeing record unemployment? Are new people moving in with new ideas?

MARKETING TIP: Festival organizers should consider keeping an honest, open eye on their local community. It can tip the scales of a really good event - to none at all.

Capture Your Event on Video

It's worth spending a few dollars to hire a professional to shoot some raw footage of your event. You can keep the video on hand for times when you want to produce a commercial - or just post some of it on You Tube or your Website. Your local tourism, chamber or economic development offices may want to use some of it, too.

I advise you not to hire someone who specializes in doing weddings, as they may or may not have an understanding about commercial sales and promotion. Ideally, you'll choose someone who has a background in producing television commercials or shooting news. There is a world of difference in shooting for commercial use than for shooting a wedding.

MARKETING TIP: Capture your festival or event this year on video so you'll have something to use next year for promotional purposes.

Want Volunteers?

A good way to promote your festival or event is to put out a public plea for volunteers. But, when you do, be sure to include information that prospective volunteers would find appealing. For instance, instead of just saying "We're looking for help," provide a list of skill sets, duties, times and locations. Do a press release. That message will not only generate you some free help, but perhaps also land a sponsor and increase ticket sales.

If you can, interview a volunteer who has helped you in the past. Volunteers can better ask for free help than you can.

MARKETING TIP: If you need volunteers, write and distribute a press release. Include pertinant information.

Got a Christmas event coming up? Now is the time to start sending out information to editors so they can put it in their futures files. Additionally, many publications have a 3-4 month deadline. The trend is for you to enter your information on their Website, not send a press release.

And, be sure to post your event on Facebook and Twitter. Develop a following. This will allow you time to get vendors and sponsors, too.

MARKETING TIP: Plan your event early so you can send out information in a timely fashion.

Use Twitter Effectively

Twitter and Facebook are two social networking sites that allow you to 1) reach new potential customers for free and 2) share information quickly.

And they're fun - addicting -yet beneficial if used correctly. For instance, Tweet often, during business hours, create an effective bio, ask questions, link to suitable sites, weed out bad or questionable followers, etc.

MARKETING TIP: Incorporate Twitter and Facebook into your marketing and communication strategies.

Get Creative With Your Sponsors

When Las Vegas has tourism troubles, so goes the world. Manufacturing and production were the first hit by the bad economy. Tourism started to go downhill a bit later. We're really feeling the crunch now.

Check this out - one of the world's largest casino and hotel companies posted a 91 percent drop in revenues from last year. So Las Vegas is slashing prices.

What can festivals, events, attractions and venues glean from this disturbing news? Well, not only do you have to tighten up, but you have to really watch how you spend your advertising dollars. Your sponsors are looking for additional benefits from giving you money. One way to satisfy them - and to keep your name visible - is to sit down and discuss ways you can create a newsworthy story. How can you tie what you're doing with your sponsor? Dig deep into discussion to see how you can both gain positive newsworthy publicity.

No, your release to the media isn't going to say Company A is sponsoring Festival ABC. Instead, look deep inside both entities to see if there is a connection. Then build upon that.

MARKETING TIP: Be creative with your sponsors. Find a newsworthy connection between them and your event, attraction, venue. You'll both benefit.

Tourism People - Please Don't Hire a Wedding Photographer!

I'm pulling my hair out because of festival organizers and tourism promotional agencies who hire local wedding photographers.

WRONG!

They typically have never shot for publication or for news and are clueless on what editors seek in a photo. They don't realize that a photo is a sales tool. They're not trained to shoot action news - and tourism offices and festival organizers need someone who is.

True, some of them shoot very artistic shots. However, that's not what an editor is seeking. They want a photo that not only looks great, but also tells a story.

MARKETING TIP: When you hire a photographer, ask what kind of background he/she has in shooting for publication and news. Base your decision on that response.

A Personal Invitation to Your Event

Have you thought about inviting people to your event online? You don't need to spend a lot of money on this project. Find someone with a video camera and record an invitation. Post it on You Tube - and then put that link on your Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites.

And you don't have to limit your invitation to just one! If you've got a band, craft person or local policeman that are great spokesmen, have them do the same thing. Include your mayor and next door neighbor. Have each one talk about the festival or event for a couple of minutes or less - what do they like best about it?

Then have those people post the link to their social networking sites. You see how this goes....

MARKETING TIP: Search engines love video. Use it to promote your festival or event. This is free advertising!

Is the Economy Affecting Your Festival?

If so, here's an idea -- create a fundraiser based around the theme of your event. The Fun Fourth Festival in Greensboro, N.C. did just that. Organizers capitalized upon Flag Day to sell flags, encouraging people not only to buy them, but to display them proudly.

Not only did the fundraiser get publicity, but so did the upcoming Fun Fourth Festival -- and the plea went out for financial donors.

MARKETING TIP: Be creative with your fundraising efforts and tie them into your overall theme.

The difference between roses

About a month ago, I finally planted two roses in the garden. I still have 3 more to get out of the pot and into the dirt.

The bright red Mr. Lincoln has such a wonderful aroma. It's truly a real rose smell. The flower opens beautifully, showcasing elegance and style.

Well, then there's the lavendar Barbra Streisand. Whoever named this flower must have done it in jest. Petals are tightly woven. When relaxed and opened, it has a sour citrus smell to it. Oh, but it's perfect....

MARKETING TIP: If you're an attraction or hotel and you want to plant a beautiful rose garden, do some research to find out which varieties work best.

Just when I'm saying sign up for Twitter and start using it to promote your events, researchers have found it may not be working as planned. Why? Some organizations don't have a real plan for social networking and that lack of focus is showing up in the numbers. Research indicates people are tired of getting meaningless tweets.

Check out this link http://www.goseetell.com/blog/2009/06/dmo-ranking-on-twitter-may-09/

MARKETING TIP: Establish strategies, goals and objectives with your social marketing efforts. Include them in your marketing plan. Constantly review to see if they're working for you. Make sure your Tweet message has substance. And, dedicate a member or two of your staff to monitor all sites.

Do You Have a Church List?

Churches around the world have someone in their midst who plans trips for members of the congregation. They may go out of town on a day trip or stay a few days. They may go across your country - or overseas.

And the group leader may not even go to that church. She or he may go to the one down the road, but actually help several churches in the area plan trips.

Despite the downturn in the economy, churches still plan trips. They have cut back on the number of people participating and the overall cost, but they're still traveling.

How do you contact them? One way is to purchase a mailing list. American Church Lists is one such company. You can network and find out main offices. Ask your local churches how to distribute information to others. Build a database and work it.

MARKETING TIP: Do your homework to build a client base of church group leaders.

Blogs Promote Fresh Produce

Retailers of all kinds can use blogs. You can show your products, tell a little about them and give directions to your shop. And so can farmers. Check out what Chloe G. Tuttle, owner of the Big Mill B&B in Williamston, North Carolina has done with her blog. She's showing lots of photos of lucious, sweet, big red strawberries. Her photos make you want to just bite into your monitor!

Search Engines Like ...

What do search engines like? Fresh content, photos, videos, good writing styles, good grammar, correct spelling, links with governmental and educational institutions and blogs - as they drive traffic to your Website.

But most of all - search engines love fresh content.

MARKETING TIP: Keep changing your content on your Website - even if it's just a paragraph. Keep it current and fresh.

Distributing Your Press Release

Do you write press releases about your festival or event? If so, do you send them to your local media, regional media, area newsletters, local governmental officials, civic organizations, niche media, potential customers and sponsors?

If you do, give yourself an A+. If not, get an intern to develop the email and fax lists for you. And remember, just because you send out a release doesn't mean it reaches your intended target. Be specific in your communication - not necessarily to a general mailbox.

MARKETING TIP: Press releases aren't just for the media. Be creative in how you distribute them.

Utilize Your Signature

How many emails do you send in the course of a day? Do you use a signature? If so, then add your event - the name and date. And be sure to include your email address in your signature.

Marketing Tip: Always promote - even in the most unsuspecting places.

Seeking Promotional Advice?

Are you seeking input on new ways to promote your festival or event? Why not ask the pros - post a question on LinkedIn.

It's a free online social networking site that allows you to ask questions of professionals - graphic artists, photographers, event promoters, public relations experts - and other festival organizers. Face it. In this day and time, we need to get input from outside our office,

MARKETING TIP: Seek professional advice for free on LinkedIn. Get new ideas or suggestions to resolve problems.