Tag Archives: Social Media

A Picture is Worth 140 Characters

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With shorter attentions spans, the ubiquity of high-quality cameras in our phones, and multiple platforms to share images, photos are becoming a critical marketing tactic for events. Images can convey the mood of an event with more authenticity than any carefully worded tweet. The images taken at an event show what is really happening and hopefully make people want to be a part of it. While it's not critical that images be National Geographic quality, some thought should go into how photos from your event will look. Create an environment that encourages and enables great photos.[Tweet "Images can convey the mood of an event with more authenticity. #GovEventsBlog"]

We've pulled together a couple photo-centric considerations to add into the event planning mix. Continue reading →

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over: What To Do After The Event

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Return on Investment (ROI). It's a huge priority in buying technology and services. We ask, "How will this solution help us do our jobs faster and more efficiently?" We look for calculations around long-term savings based on an initial outlay of cash. While we are methodical in our ROI calculations for technology development, we're less inclined to look at ROI when it comes to our own professional development. With training oftentimes a volatile line item in budgets, it is important to show the value of these events to employers who are paying for your attendance. Even if you are footing the bill yourself, it's good to know if the money was well spent.

We've written before about how exhibitors can get the most out of their tradeshow investment, but how do attendees ensure they get ROI? We've come up with a couple tips to use as you head into the wave of springtime events.[Tweet "Tips for getting the best ROI as an event attendee. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Battling Short Attention Spans

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A 2015 study conducted by Microsoft found that the average attention span is about eight seconds. This gives us about five more seconds to keep your attention.

Still with us? Keep reading to learn how to do the same with your attendees.

Getting people to your event is only the first step. Once they arrive, you have to battle for their attention. Work-related emails, text messages from home, social media check-ins, and even the quest for the next level in Candy Crush all threaten to steal the focus of attendees. We've pulled together a couple of ideas to put to work as you battle to make it past the eight second mark.[Tweet "Once they arrive at your event, you have to battle for their attention. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Lessons Learned from Tailgating

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With college football season in full swing, we've gotten inspired by the age-old tradition of tailgating.  Tailgating is closely tied to college football, but looking at the history, the first tailgates had nothing to do with sport.[Tweet "College football season is in full swing, take a look at the tradition of tailgating. #GovEventsBlog"] The first recorded tailgate in the U.S. may have occurred in mid-summer of 1861 in Manassas, Virginia, before Confederate forces and Union soldiers met in the First Battle of Bull Run. Civilians arrived at the battlefield in wagons loaded with wine, whiskey, and food. This is not unlike the party atmosphere that surrounded the late 18th century French guillotine executions during which people gathered to eat in the square near the scaffolds while the list of people to be executed was read.

Today's tailgates may take place before less gory events, but the idea remains the same: people with a common interest gather together to share food and drink and talk about the event they are about to witness.  While there may be many "I'll never do that again" personal lessons learned from tailgating, there are other things a successful tailgate can teach us about holding a fun and engaging event.[Tweet "Things a successful tailgate party can teach us about event planning. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

I Want My Streaming Video

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We've written before about how to create video for events, but today's post takes a deeper dive into a video medium that has quickly catapulted into everyday use - video streaming. Driven in great part by the wide release of Facebook Live, streaming video is becoming a key tool for marketing and citizen journalism. Recent use of Facebook Live to communicate not just marketing messages, but also news, has served to legitimize streaming video as a channel to reach the masses. According to a Cisco report, by 2019 video will account for 80 percent of global internet traffic.[Tweet "Streaming video is becoming a key tool for marketing. #GovEventsBlog"]

While there are many ways to capture and broadcast streaming video, Facebook, by essence of its popularity and reach, is driving the streaming revolution. With a reported 1.71 billion users on the Facebook social platform, you no longer have to entice people to watch your video on another site; you can meet them where they already are.

Facebook Live allows up to 90 minutes of broadcast content. Filming can be done directly from a smartphone with no additional equipment needed. After the broadcast ends, the video remains accessible in your page's feed and can be adjusted to allow different viewing permissions.  In general, Facebook's algorithms favor video as a way to keep people on the site longer. By creating a live stream and promoting the video, it can increase your Facebook page appearance and organic reach in your audience's feeds.[Tweet "Creating a live stream and promoting the video can increase your organic reach. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →