Using Social and Mobile

I was asked to consider how we could use social media better and maximize the growing benefits at our shows. First, I think “doing social” goes beyond live tweeting at a shows and rolling content from some third party to the facebook page. “Being social” is a corporate culture shift that must be embraced. Truly social businesses are already reaping the benefits: http://bit.ly/1bBmj73 Sixty-two percent of CMO respondents said their social efforts have led to better access to strategic marketing data, and 54 percent said they’re seeing a faster time to innovation as a result of using social technology.

For our purposes, what we could be doing and what we should be doing are similar. But there are some absolute shoulds that we could start with. First, I think we ought to take charge of the media and the message by promoting and “owning” a hashtag. Using either one for each show or one for all. I suggest #MFVExpo because A. it is our web domain, B. it is simple and C. it conveys the message of who we are.  Also, I think everyone should do it. Perhaps not all the time but certainly while at the shows, this creates a document of our show experiences.

I.e. “look at this cool ____ at the #MFVexpo” include a pic

Or a short video clip of someone enjoying a good sample of something at a food franchise

Or a short video clip of someone taking part in seminar

Or a 6 second “How is the show going” man in the street type interview

All this and more can be done with the device in most of our pockets. This is going to provoke more interaction with the attendees which will prompt them to engage with other perspective attendees, generating some of the elusive free buzz we all crave and provoking a positive reaction at the show.

We should also be encouraging our exhibitors to participate as well, promoting their presentations with advance twitter buzz using the hashtag from the show. They should also use this to pump up the interest by “broadcasting” images and video of their booth as things are happening, when the booth is particularly full, etc.

And we should be paying it forward after the show as well by trickling out photos from the show, and keeping the “buzz” around the hashtag vibrant in-between the events.

It also seems that crowd sourcing ideas and themes for the symposia and seminar topics would be a novel way to keep the participants engaged as well as keep the subject matter topical and current. Obviously outsourcing these duties is not conducive to an attentive adaptive social media presence. By soliciting ideas from the attendees and the exhibitors it will be possible to determine what topics are most appealing and marketable. In this way we may achieve greater attendance and reap higher admission fees.

Notes for improving performance and return on our Email campaigns; study’s have shown that maximizing open rates could be as easy as managing the schedule. More emails are opened between 3pm and 8pm on a business day that at other busier times of day.  Also it is proven that a higher percentage of messages from the educational services sector are opened than almost any other business type. The business products and services sector rank among the lowest in open rate. Adding a strong call to action in the subject line increases the likelihood of opening by a significant amount. Now, given that 44% of emails are viewed on a mobile device optimizing for this type of viewing seems key to success. In addition, based on personal experience I can say that I am far more likely to open an email that comes from a named individual before I will open one from a business name. So finding a way to personalize messages may contribute to an increased open rate. The higher the open percentage the greater of click through.

The above are the shoulds and are some things that strike me as easy to accomplish with minimal expense. Below are the coulds and are a few ideas that might be considered a bit more extravagant.

First I think we could be utilizing some of the great new mobile technology by offering an app that places the attendee’s location in the event center. This offers exhibitors the ability to push messages to attendees that have opted in by downloading the app. It also allows exhibitors the ability to zero in on the attendees that are interested in their type of franchise and help the attendee narrow their focus (thus streamlining their visit to the show and generating a positive experience) if the app requires input from the downloader.

Adding an element of gamification is a great way to engage attendees and offer another way for exhibitors to reach out to them in novel ways. Gamification techniques strive to leverage people's natural desires for competition, achievement, status, self-expression, altruism, and closure. A core gamification strategy is rewards for players who accomplish desired tasks. Types of rewards include points, achievement badges or levels, the filling of a progress bar, and providing the user with virtual currency. But studys have shown that simply providing access as a reward work quite and more than 70% of Forbes Global 2000 companies plan to use gamification for the purposes of marketing and customer retention. Making use of the promotional programs already available could be repurposed for gamification. For example, the footprints, if they were printed to include certain QR codes an attendee could “collect” the codes thus making a game of the “hunt”. Rewards could be as easy as granting “VIP” access to a given seminar.

There are many many existing and emerging technologies that could and should be used by MFV to augment the reality of the Expos and bolster the experience for the attendees and exhibitors. Add these ideas to the pantheon of available promotions offered at the shows and it will increase the attendance, garner more participation, and increase MFV’s bottom line.

Making use of programs that incorporate geo-fencing allow an administrator to set up triggers so when a device enters (or exits) the boundaries defined by the administrator, a text message or email alert is sent. We could geo-fence certain areas within the expo floor, which would allow exhibitors to pull message an attendee when they are in proximity of the booth. Picture this: Attendee comes to the show, downloads the app and “opts-in” for interest in “yogurt franchises” Exhibitor Yogurt Zone purchases geo-fencing promotion package and when said attendee passes within proximity of Yogurt Zone booth is alerted with a pull notification “you are near Yogurt Zone stop in for you free promotional give away, or sample, or swag, or what have you” At the same time the staff at the booth get an alert that “John C Do’h is within 15 feet of the booth, has X level of interest in yogurt franchises, his personal information is as follows…” At that point the staff can put out the proverbial red carpet for Mr. Do’h and offer “premier VIP treatment” being ready for him before he even walks in. This is a win win because Mr Do’h feels extra special and Yogurt Zone just strengthened their chances of securing the prospective franchisee. And both of them love MFV for providing a top level experience and both will communicate that experience to others. WIN WIN WIN WIN

Another “could” may include the use the latest augmented reality technology I have included a video that shows how the technology is being used to “collect” virtual butterflies. The user chases them around town, “captures” them and stores them for later use as a coupon in the local retail establishments. This is a great way to add an element of fun to the clipping of coupons. Adding an element of gamification is a great way to engage attendees and offer another way for exhibitors to reach out to them in novel ways. Gamification techniques strive to leverage people's natural desires for competition, achievement, status, self-expression, altruism, and closure. A core gamification strategy is rewards for players who accomplish desired tasks. Types of rewards include points, achievement badges or levels, the filling of a progress bar, and providing the user with virtual currency. But study’s have shown that simply providing access as a reward work quite and more than 70% of Forbes Global 2000 companies plan to use gamification for the purposes of marketing and customer retention.

iButterfly