Marketing Melodie

My company has been sending me to many conferences lately and I definitely can’t complain.  However it’s important to keep in mind that “working” a conference is different than just “attending”. I’ve already blogged about things to do DURING a conference to engage your Twitter followers. I’ve also blogged about post conference strategies AFTER you attend on how to turn a follow up email into a connection. But what about BEFORE the conference begins? As I prepare for PubCon I want to share  my top 10 personal conference preparation list . Read the rest of this entry »

I had the honor of attending Electronic Retail Association’s Annual D2C Convention September 13^th and 14^th in Las Vegas at the Paris Hotel. In addition to attending I was an official Vlogger for the event.  (Vlogs will be posted soon) Arriving Sunday morning, I dropped my stuff off at the Bellagio where I stayed then headed to the convention which started off with great connections at their networking lunch. I’m amazed at how much  I accomplished  during my short stay of less than 48 hours .

Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week, the 3K Interactive team packed our bags for Vegas to show the DMA08 what Internet Marketing is all about.

DMA08 Attendees Scrolling the Exhibition Hall and in search of Internet Marketing help!

I spoke to over 100 companies. Only about 5 were online/interactive companies. I know it was the “Direct Marketing” conference but I’m still perplexed by the number of traditional marketing companies present: specialty envelops, address list brokers, postcards, telemarketing companies etc. (especially since the event itself was marketed as a global event for “Integrated” marketing)

To all of the traditional marketing companies, I’d like to educate you on why you too should have an SEO campaign with 3K Interactive. If you are 1 of 50 companies who sells specialty envelops for direct mail advertisers, how are you going to stand out from all the others?

I actually asked this question to many people. Most responded with something along the lines “We’re the only company who uses soy based ink”, “We are the only eco-friendly company”, “We sell clear envelops that don’t look like junk mail.” It’s great to have a unique selling point but this does not mean potential customers will find you.

If I told you I have a way to get people who are ready to buy your service go to your website and place an order with you right away, wouldn’t you listen? Better yet I can even track it for you so you know where your customer are coming from! Sound too good to be true? Not even! This is reality with the career that I have become so passionate about, Internet Marketing!

The 3K Interactive team (missing Myles) Enjoying Las Vegas after a working hard all day at DMA08!

I will optimize your website by making it more user friendly, set it up to it easily tracks conversions, increase conversions, decrease bounce rates and so much more! Just ask and I’m happy to provide you with a free website analysis. If anything this will give you insight on what you can do to enhance your current online strategy.

I founded San Diego Speed Networking Dennis-Michael Broussard of Silk Road Productions over a year ago to create a professional networking event that overcame these obstacles:

a) Networking at loud bar with music where people are yelling over each other because they can’t hear
b) People aimlessly wandering around in an attempt to meet everyone with no formal introductions
c) The awkwardness of interrupting a conversation or leaving a conversation

Here’s how it works.
-Each company attends with TWO representatives If you only have one person at your company then attend with a friend/ referral partner/ someone you collaborate with.

-Each company receives a table top to set up marketing materials, promo items, visuals, etc. Rep 1 from the company remains at the table while Rep 2 from the company is assigned to move around to each table

-When the Speed Networking sessions begin Rep 2 moves to the table next to table and 3 minutes are alloted for each session. When time is up Rep 2 continues to move to the next table until every company has had a chance to meet every other company.

Each person will connect with everyone in the room. The speed networking session is long enough to establish a connection and short enough to move on if no connection is made. At the end there is a mixer. That’s the event in nutshell.

I’m having many challenges with my marketing campaign for the event. It’s extremely frustrating. As a Marketer I know exactly what needs to be done but don’t have the means to do it.

I don’t have access to my domain name so I can’t redirect the website currently hosted under the Silk Road Productions Website. The domain was purchased by former partner who has the password and has not disclosed it. I tried calling GoDaddy they were no help. Any SEO work I attempt will not be credited to: www.sandiegospeednetworking.com since it’s not hosted as its own entity.

I’ve also been unsuccessful in hosting a wordpress blog within the site. I’d like it embedded into my site as a page but it only links to the blog on the wordpress site. Dennis-Michael has done a great job with the site given that neither of us are developers or designers. I’ve become so discouraged with the marketing that I’m compelled to cancel the event, but we’ve already invested a lot and thus the show must go on!

If you read this entire Blog you get a $10 discount to the event. Regular price is $50 per company. My blog readers get in for $40. That’s $40 for two people. Includes hosted appetizers! Twitter followers @SDSpeedNet also get the discount! If you have any feedback for my website, marketing strategy or event in general please comment! I hope to see everyone there. Reserve your spot today space is limited!

This blog was written on April 10th, 2008

Ask this question to a variety of people involved in an event: Attendees, the Event Producer, Special Guests, Performers, Sponsors, Vendors and you’ll get a different response from each individual. Ideally, everyone will have a positive experience.

As I mentioned in my Events page, I would write a blog about Event Marketing using the Carlsbad 5000 as an example. I’d like to focus on how the Sponsors can effectively market themselves at an event and walk away from an event feeling it was a success.

If you are going to sponsor an event and be on-site (with a booth for example) there are several things to keep in mind.

1. Having presence at one event will not single handedly boost your business. The event presence will enhance your existing marketing campaign by putting yourself at the forefront of your target consumer.

2. Engage the attendees. You always see a long line at booths where the sponsor is either giving complimentary products or has an interactive element such as a game. This gives you an opportunity to talk to the attendees and explain your product/company/service. At the Carlsbad 5000, the Minute Rice booth had a huge line because they had a prize wheel to win free rice. While people were waiting in line, their employees walked up to each person passing out coupons.

3. Don’t expect to make an ROI by selling your product on-site unless it’s specifically an event for shopping. At the Carlsbad 5000 there were booths selling very expensive specialty health drinks, sunglasses, running clothes, etc. Many people at a concert, race or other event are not there to shop. They love to get free stuff though!

To be successful at an event I recommend:

1. Only sponsoring at an event where you know your target demographic will be attending.

2. If you are going to give away promo items, come up with something creative that the attendees will want to keep and use. For example, a flyer will get tossed.

3. Couponing is hard because like flyers, these will get tossed. To increase the redemption rate offer a low ticket item that’s 100% complimentary. This drives consumers to your location and hopefully they will spend $ when they’re there.

Of course each event is different and these recommendation may not apply to all, but genrally speaking event marketing is most effective when it’s one small element of a larger campaign.