Posts By: K.C. Hopson

kchopson

Bringing Your Event and Marketing Data Together

Posted by & filed under Data Analysis, Event Apps, Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, QR Codes, What's New.

Until recent years, there has been a one-way relationship between marketers and event planners. Namely, the marketing department would do their work to promote an event, but little help traveled back from the event planners back to the marketing team. Much event data, especially the onsite experience, was considered a black hole of information with little to glean for future marketing efforts. Fortunately, the rise of great event technology and mobile event apps are now providing a rich set of data that can be used to better promote events as well as providing valuable information to the marketing department on... Read more »

kchopson

How to get started with Conference Management Software: Part Seven – Managing Exhibitors

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Resources Trade Show, Trade Show, What's New.

Trade Show Exhibitors

As we have seen earlier in this series, we have been reviewing how event technology can be employed at various points in the lifecycle of an association’s annual conference. A key step in this process is opening your trade show sales. However, this is just the beginning of how great trade show and exhibitor management software can automate much of the work needed to handle your exhibitors and sponsors. Your event technology is probably lacking if you are unable to perform basic exhibitor management activities. Here are some of the essentials you should expect. View the status of your booth... Read more »

kchopson

Thoughts on MPI’s WEC 2017

Posted by & filed under Event Design, Event Rebels Blog, Meetings, What's New.

The 2017 World Education Congress (WEC) , the annual conference of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) , was held recently at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. WEC’s primary value is education and is a quick way to earn credits for certifications such as the CMP. The conference includes over 70 education sessions and focuses on the best and leading edge practices of the meetings industry. The thousands of attendees include both corporate, non-profit, and association planners as well as suppliers of all kinds from destinations and venues to technology. The theme of this year’s WEC was “Stop Designing Meetings and... Read more »

kchopson

How Event Professionals Can Think About “Reality” Technologies: Part Two – 3D Video

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, What's New.

virtual reality

There has been a lot of press lately about how technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Technology (AR) are going to change events. To best know how to utilize these technologies in a cost-effective manner it is best to understand that these tools are in a continuum ranging from the relatively simple and inexpensive to the complex and costly. To simplify this continuum, it might be helpful to look at these emerging “reality” and “3D” technologies in four different ways. This week we look at 3D video. You probably have experienced 3D in the movie theaters. In fact, 3D... Read more »

kchopson

How to get started with Conference Management Software: Part Six – Successful Event Email Marketing

Posted by & filed under Email - How to Use Effectively, Event Marketing, Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, What's New.

This series has been reviewing how event technology can be employed at various points in the lifecycle of an association’s annual conference. After you have opened online registration and your online trade show sales, you can now start using event technology to drive revenue. In particular, targeted Email communications still remains one of the best ways to get companies and individuals to sign up for your conference. Event technology can help you communicate with potential attendees in a number of different ways: Scheduled Email Campaigns. Great event management software will let you plan out your marketing campaigns in advance through... Read more »

kchopson

How to Use Registration Data to Boost Conference Attendance

Posted by & filed under Data Analysis, Event Rebels Blog, Meetings, Meetings Technology, Online Registration - Keys to Success, What's New.

Reports

Did you know that your registration database of past meetings can be a goldmine of information that can increase your marketing efficiency and boost attendance at your next conference? If you have been using great online registration software to record your attendee data, you may have the keys to catapulting your registration numbers to the next level. Here are some ways you can use your registration data to reach your goals.Week over Week reports. It is common practice to see how your show is trending compared to previous years. Week over Week reports comparing factors like total registrations and revenue... Read more »

kchopson

How to get started with Conference Management Software: Part Five – Developing Your Conference Program Schedule

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Speakers, What's New.

Conference Campfire Session

Event technology can provide a bewildering range of choices for the meeting planner. A good place to start making sense of the range of options is to look at how software can be utilized at the various stages of the event lifecycle. This series has been looking at the the lifecycle from the point of view of an association’s annual conference. We are now at the point of looking at tools that can help you in your day-to-day work in the months leading up to the conference. About the time of your previous annual conference, you may have already opened... Read more »

kchopson

How Event Professionals Can Think About “Reality” Technologies: Part One – 360-Degree Video

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, What's New.

virtual reality

There has been a lot of press lately about how technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Technology (AR) are going to change events. To best know how to utilize these technologies in a cost-effective manner it is best to understand that these tools are in a continuum ranging from the relatively simple and inexpensive to the complex and costly. To simplify this continuum, it might be helpful to look at these emerging “reality” and “3D” technologies in four different ways. This week we look at the low-hanging fruit of reality technology – 360-degree video. What is 360-degree video? 360-degree... Read more »

kchopson

How Verifying Your Conference Attendees Can Help Your Bottom Line

Posted by & filed under Event Marketing, Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Online Registration - Keys to Success, QR Codes, Trade Show, What's New.

Conference Attendees

In the mad rush to get ready for a conference, it is easy to ignore one of the most important metrics of show – namely, who actually attended. Planners often overlook this metric because the registration revenue is already in the bank so, in their overworked mind, it is not particularly important knowing who actually showed up. This is a major mistake because knowing your attendees from your no-shows is very important for your planning, marketing and bottom line. There are two things you should take into account when getting ready to verify your attendees. Know the difference between Attendance... Read more »

kchopson

Organizations on Twitter that Meeting Professionals Need to Follow

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Social Media, What's New.

Twitter has positioned itself as the social media place to go for meetings and events. Last time we looked at a number of the top meeting professionals you should follow. In addition, many of the industry’s top organizations and media companies have also latched on to Twitter as a great place to deliver their message. These companies have proven that if you follow them, they will keep you on top of the breaking trends. @BizBash BizBash is the place to go to get cool ideas for your events. @EventMB The Event Manager Blog is a standard of event industry news.... Read more »