Posts Categorized: What’s New

kchopson

Why Email Open Rates are Unreliable

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

Email marketers love to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. From unique Emails sent to bounce-backs to click-thrus, metrics form the backbone of evaluating the success of your marketing campaign. One metric, generally considered to be very important, but actually is extremely suspect, is the metric called “Open Rate.” The rate’s goal is to track how many people opened your Email. Why it is important is obvious. Opening your Email is like opening a letter. It indicates that some or part of the message will be read and points that the reader is at least somewhat interested in what you... Read more »

kchopson

How to make your Reverse Trade Show more successful

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

Handshake Reverse Trade Show

Reverse trade shows are one of the hottest items in the meetings industry. They promise to bring more value to exhibitors by delivering high quality appointments with high closing rates. To work effectively, these shows use Appointment Scheduling software to setup meetings prior to the show. The strange thing about reverse trade shows is that while having good appointment scheduling software is important, it is even more critical that this software is setup properly in the bigger picture of the attendees’ participation in the meeting. If the attendees do not make or show up to the appointments, than the quality... Read more »

lbradford

Twitter Lists—An Underused Tool in the Event Planner’s Belt

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

Twitter

Twitter gets a lot of love in the event management world and it’s not hard to see why. With hashtags and live tweet streams, Twitter is the perfect platform for quick and powerful communication. But not enough attention is being paid to a Twitter tool with the potential to make a great impact at events—lists. Twitter lists allow you to organize groups of people so that you can follow all of them at once. This is especially useful because you do not need to follow each member of the list individually. Also, list activity will not take up space in... Read more »

kchopson

How to Safely Surf the Internet

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

Internet

Have you ever typed in an Internet link (called “URL”) you read in a magazine, ad or Email and then suddenly end up at a totally inappropriate web site? Even worse, did that site give your computer a virus which you spent an entire day fixing? I personally mistyped the URL of a web company I know very well and ended up at a site that attacked my computer. Love it or not, but surfing the web can be dangerous not only to your computer, but even to your pocketbook. Here are some basic steps you can take to make... Read more »

kchopson

Ways to Keep Presentations Alive After the Conference

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

Speakers

So you had a great conference. The attendees were rewarded with great presentations and interesting speakers. So that attendees can refer to the talks after the show, you might provide a bunch of paper handouts. However, this approach produces a tremendous waste of paper, most of which is lost or even tossed before the plane trip home. So how can you use the Internet to keep your presentations alive after the conference? Here are a couple of ideas. You should have a series of web pages that show information about the program schedule, presentations, and speakers. Users should be able... Read more »

kchopson

Ways to Make Sure People Pay Their Registration Fees

Posted by & filed under Credit Cards, Event Rebels Blog, Online Registration - Keys to Success, Onsite, What's New.

In a perfect world everybody would pay their registration online with the amount due in full and with a credit card. Unfortunately, in many cases that may not be the only way to register that you’ll be able to offer. Especially with meetings with high fees or a large number of government or international attendees, you may have to offer the choice of registering with a Purchase Order or a promise that a check or wire transfer will be issued. If your meeting is in this category, you know that this creates a ton of extra work and can hurt... Read more »

lbradford

Protecting Privacy at Events

Posted by & filed under Credit Cards, Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, Online Registration - Keys to Success, Onsite, Social Media, What's New.

Events no longer exist solely in the physical realm. With event registration forms, websites, apps, and social media accounts, a fair amount of information is being collected and shared online. How will your attendees know that you are taking the appropriate steps towards protecting their privacy? Consider writing a clear and comprehensive privacy policy. Include information about how you plan to collect, use, and disclose your registrants’ personally identifiable information. This article will examine everything you need to consider as you develop your event’s privacy plans. What is personally identifiable information? The first step to protecting personally identifiable information is... Read more »

kchopson

Use Images In Email to Increase Online Registration!

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

Email marketing is still one of the best ways to encourage people to register online for your conference or event. When used properly images can greatly complement your message and improve the success of your effort. However, when used incorrectly an image can actually destroy your hard work! Still, images sell and they can improve your registration conversion rates. It’s important to remember that today’s Internet readers scan and are very visual. A good image can be the difference between someone reading your Email or throwing it in the trash. If you follow some good practices, you are more likely... Read more »

kchopson

What is the Deal with All These Codes on My Badge?

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Onsite, QR Codes, What's New.

There has been a lot of talk in the last few years about using various codes on attendee badges to expedite the exchange of information between attendees, exhibitors, or both. These “codes” take the form of some image that has no meaning to a person but are meant to be read by a device (“machine readable.”) These codes not only differ visually, but they also function in quite different ways. Here is a break-down of the most popular codes used on badges at meetings and events. A 1D Bar Code (i.e. One Dimensional) is a simple code typically representing a... Read more »

kchopson

Five Reporting Features Your Online Registration System Should Have

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

Online registration systems can be very good at collecting data. This is a great asset to your organization. However, if you cannot manipulate the information in the manner you need, your online registration system may be creating a bunch of hidden costs by not giving you functionality that high end platforms provide. Here are some reporting features your online registration software should have. Most importantly, you need to be able to export all data to Microsoft Excel spreadsheets or CSV files. Some software platforms keep all their report data in proprietary formats in order to keep you locked into their... Read more »

lbradford

Crafting the Perfect Conference Badge

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

Without a doubt, badges are one of the most important pieces of paper at a conference. When set up properly, they can convey a lot of information in a relativey small amount of space. They can be crucial for networking and gaining access to sessions and events. Take care to create badges that work; review our list of tips and tricks for crafting the perfect conference badge below. 1. Names should be printed in a large, sans-serif font, with first and last names on separate lines. Attendees should be able to glance at a badge and immediately locate the name.... Read more »

What is Hosted Buyer and Reverse Trade Show?

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

Reverse Trade Show Discussion

They are some of the hottest phrases in the trade show world – “Hosted Buyer” and “Reverse Trade Show.” These new ways of engaging buyers and suppliers promise to give new vigor to the world of trade shows. These types of events are relatively new in North America, but have been around for years in Europe. So, what are these events and what is the difference between the two? Here are some basic working definitions. The main difference between these and the traditional trade show is how the attendee (the “buyer”) engages with the exhibitor (the “supplier”). Rather than the... Read more »

kchopson

What is Hosted Buyer and Reverse Trade Show?

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

Reverse Trade Show Discussion

They are some of the hottest phrases in the trade show world – “Hosted Buyer” and “Reverse Trade Show.” These new ways of engaging buyers and suppliers promise to give new vigor to the world of trade shows. These types of events are relatively new in North America, but have been around for years in Europe. So, what are these events and what is the difference between the two? Here are some basic working definitions. The main difference between these and the traditional trade show is how the attendee (the “buyer”) engages with the exhibitor (the “supplier”). Rather than the... Read more »

kchopson

Three Ways Technology Can Bring Attendees Together

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Onsite, QR Codes, Resources Trade Show, Social Media, What's New.

Internet

So you used all the technology tools in your arsenal to bring attendees to your meeting or event. You used email marketing , online registration, Facebook, Twitter and so on. And you did a great job! You have a record number of registrations and your show looks like its going to be a hit. So how can you make your show even better so attendees will be eager to come back next year? A great way to deliver value to your attendees is increasing their engagement with each other. This is where technology can really help you. Here are three... Read more »

lbradford

Three Reasons You Should Start Text Messaging Your Attendees

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

1.Text messages have a high open rate Text messages are simply read more often than e-mail messages. According to a Nielsen study, 97% of text messages are read within 15 minutes of being sent. Even the most successful e-mail marketing campaigns fall far short of this number. A Silverpop study reports that the top email marketing campaigns have an open rate of around 35.7%. For the average email campaign, the open rate is only 19.7%. If you have an important message to deliver to your attendees, send it through a text message. It’s much more likely to be read. 2.Text... Read more »

kchopson

Use Twitter After Your Conference To Keep It Alive

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

Twitter

In a previous article Use Twitter at Your Conference we discussed how to use Twitter to increase attendee engagement. Assuming you have created a great hashtag, the general idea is to use this Twitter hashtag to create the “go to” place to get information about the conference. Continuing this idea, the conference does not need to stop being an important resource once the show is over. In fact, you can continue your attendee engagement long after everyone has gone home. Following the principles set forth in our previous articles, here are some simple things you can do with Twitter to... Read more »

kchopson

Write a Great Email Subject Line

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

Looking for help with email? If your planning a trade show or conference don’t miss out on an outstanding email marketing tool that will make your show that much better.  We have spent a lot of time doing and helping with email marketing. Don’t overlook these simple things that will help your open rates significantly. Most composers of Email focus all their energy on writing an exciting message that will grab the attention of the reader.After the text is written, the writer develops the subject line in a matter of seconds and then sends the Email off to the awaiting... Read more »

lbradford

Which Social Media Platforms are Right for Your Event?

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

Take a look at six popular social media networks and see which are the most effective for your event’s message. Social media platforms are a powerful resource for any event planner. From marketing your event to communicating in real time with attendees, social media provides endless opportunities for interaction.  However, with hundreds of social media platforms on the internet, how do you know which to choose? Each social network comes with different capabilities and a unique set of users. It’s crucial to focus your time and effort only on the social media platforms that will work best for your event.... Read more »

lbradford

5 Tips for Writing Effective Event Survey Questions

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

5 Tips for Writing Effective Event Survey Questions

  Surveys are one of the most important tools for event planning. Without feedback, it’s impossible to gauge the success of an event. The greatest strength of surveys is their versatility. You can use surveys before, during, and after your event to measure your attendees’ interest and satisfaction. This data is incredibly valuable, but it won’t come automatically. You need good survey protocol and great survey questions to get the most out of your event attendees. In this guide, we’ll help you take the first few steps toward crafting a successful survey.  Starting Off: General Survey Recommendations  It is always... Read more »

lbradford

Providing Real-Time Reports

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

Many times as a meeting planner, your time is divided between planning the event and reporting back to your clients on the status of the event. Generating and disseminating reports can be time consuming. Having the ability to create custom reports with filtered results is useful, but can still require that you physically run and email these reports to your clients on a regular basis. To help resolve this, EventRebels has designed each custom report with a unique link that can be used to access the report without an EventRebels login. This link is perfect for sharing with those who... Read more »

kchopson

Making Sense of PayPal’s ECommerce Products

Posted by & filed under Credit Cards, Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, What's New.

PayPal

Are you thinking about how to handle payments online for things like donations and online registration? If you are new to online credit card processing, you will probably need a primer on how online credit card processing works. However, if you’ve done any amount of shopping on the Internet, the service PayPal may be the first thing you think of in terms of online credit card processing. PayPal is the leader in Internet credit card processing. However, they do offer a bewildering set of eCommerce products. One of the most common activities EventRebels staff performs is guiding customers through the... Read more »

kchopson

Simplify the Assembly of Your Conference Schedule

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

Speakers

One of the most arduous and time-consuming tasks a planner faces is putting together the conference schedule. Vast amounts of data have to be collected and processed. The data ranges from session information, speaker information and bios, travel needs, A/V needs and so forth. Ultimately, all this information needs to be organized into the conference schedule and then made available to the attendee. Traditional methods of managing speakers and the schedule have focused on dozens of huge spreadsheets and uncountable amounts of data copying. Call for Papers and Speaker Management software slashes the amount of time spent in this process... Read more »

kchopson

Afraid to use Internet Technology for Your Meeting?

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, What's New.

Internet

Do you want to use the Internet to improve and simplify your meeting planning but someone in your office (maybe your boss) thinks the Internet is too dangerous? Perhaps you live in the world of spreadsheets and that has always worked.  Maybe attendance is down and your budget is getting tighter every year, but any change seems overwhelming. If you fit any of the previous profiles, then you should know that the Internet is not dangerous! Furthermore, if used properly, Internet software will save you time, money and increase revenue and attendance.  Here are some misconceptions that cause meeting planners... Read more »

lbradford

Create Your Own Web Pages

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

Internet

Did you know that you can create custom web pages from your meeting’s Control Center? Use custom pages to share extra information about your event with your attendees. For example, create pages for hotel and travel information, schedules and agendas, or presenter bios. No HTML or CSS coding knowledge is necessary; all you will need to do is enter the content. Custom pages automatically have the same layout and style as your form. To get started, go to the Meeting Wizard “Web Site Menu” page. Here you will see a list of all of the pages currently associated with your... Read more »

kchopson

Using Twitter at Your Conference

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

In a previous article Use Twitter to Promote Your Conference we discussed how to use Twitter for generating buzz about your conference. Because Twitter posts (called a “Tweet”) are restricted to text messages of 140 characters or less, the tool is perfect for generating headlines and small news stories. While this is tremendous to promote your conference, Tweets can be used with great effectiveness to increase attendee engagement and enthusiasm at the conference itself. This, in turn, will make the meeting more memorable and help build your brand. Before reviewing techniques you can use, a couple of general issues should... Read more »