Thank you, event planners and marketing managers who provided feedback on our Best Practices in Online Community Management whitepaper. It’s has been very gratifying to hear:

“[the whitepaper] did a great job of breaking down simple steps we could take to make our launch go smoothly.”
- T.R.

“Great writing! Loved the tips and tricks!”
- A.P.

Savvy marketers like you know you can extend the lifetime of an event by offering their attendees an online community, but which tricks of the trade lead to healthy communities (and which pitfalls can hurt your brand) aren’t so obvious. So we’ve revised and updated the whitepaper for 2013, adding new sections and ideas.

Download the Best Practices in Online Event Community Management Whitepaper	View the Attendee Business Intelligence Webinar On Demand

We also received an avalanche of praise of praise for our recent “Attendee Business Intelligence” webinar , which took a psychological eye to analyzing attendee data to uncover hidden attitudes and trends. But egads! We offered this one right before the winter holidays, so less than half of the over 400 people who signed up tuned in live! Fortunately, we recorded the whole webinar, and are making it available for free on-demand viewing!

Please, click on the links above to help yourself to these two free pieces of educational material with our compliments.

Happy Spring!

On June 29, 2007, at 6:00 pm Pacific Time, the iPhone went on sale to the public. That moment marked the beginning of the Mobile Age, and event planners across the globe woke to the realization that they had to have a mobile app for their event. What wasn’t always clear was WHY?

There are many great reasons for a mobile event app: it’s a paperless, green conference agenda and map that can be updated after the show has already begun!

But if all you’re thinking is “I need mobile”, you may forget about all the things mobile alone can’t do:

• Start networking months before the event begins
• Engage in real conversations that don’t involve the words “LOL” or “ROFL”
• Book private, one-on-one meetings with a full calendar available to see free-busy time, reserve tables or rooms in advance
• Stay connected and continue the engagement months after the event is wrapped up

Pathable offers mobile for events…plus a full, web-based community that goes live months before a mobile app is installed and continues long after the mobile app is gone.

If you want your attendees to build a personalized agenda, schedule private meetings and have meaningful conversations and connections, don’t ask them to squint at a tiny screen, poking messages with their fingertips. Give them tools to build their agenda and connections online, then use mobile for what it’s best for: quick access to information on the go.

Find out more!

You may be surprised to learn you can have a complete event web site, with online community and mobile solution for less than you’d pay for many mobile apps alone.

The bloom of mobile applications for events has been blessing for event logistics: paperless programs, last minute schedule changes, interactive tradeshow floor maps and more.

There’s a problem though: if they don’t (or can’t) install the application, it doesn’t work.

That’s precisely why Pathable has introduced SMS Text Messaging to Conference Attendees integrated completely into our existing online event community and scheduling platform. Now you can:

• Broadcast room change, transportation updates and other important logistical announcements to your attendees in real-time
• Pre-schedule exhibitor and sponsor messages (e.g., “Next 50 visitors to the Acme Booth get a free widget” at precisely 2:45 pm on Tuesday)
• Promote meet-ups and birds of a feather gatherings

It works in the United States and internationally and, of course, whether you’re using RegOnline, Cvent, EventBrite, eTouches or your own custom registration services, we integrate directly to ensure we reach attendees at their proper phone numbers.

Because no smartphone is required for the attendees, your ability to reach your attendees with real-time updates is higher than it would be through any other solution.

Request more information and we’ll get back to you immediately (existing Pathable customers, contact your account manager for pricing details).

Yes, it sounds heretical for an online community, where event attendees fill out profiles (kind of like Facebook), make business contacts (kind of like LinkedIn) and find out what each other are up to (kind of like Twitter) to declare itself “not social media.” But Pathable isn’t social media and here’s why.

Social media is fundamentally “media,” and media is about broadcasting from one to many. Sure, the “social” part of this can transform a TV-like consumption experience into a conversational experience, but the goals, means and outcomes are rooted in you and your brand trying to reach people.

Pathable provides tools and means for event attendees to get to know each other, schedule meetings and plan their attendance at an event. It’s a structured networking solution, not a social media toy.

Maybe some examples  of each of these will help:

• Increasing your brand’s “friends” on Facebook: Social Media
• Booking a meeting at 1 pm with a new customer: Structured Networking
• Tweeting a discount to your followers: Social Media
• Searching for a supplier from your region to fill a critical company need: Structured Networking
• Blasting LinkedIn contact requests to everyone with “buyer” in their title: Social Media
• Discussing industry critical topics in a private forum of your peers: Structured Networking

The point is that “social media” is about you promoting your brand to existing and potential customers. Structured networking is about your attendees completing the mechanics of a successful business meeting: finding the right people, making contact, booking the meeting and continuing to nurture that relationship.

Social media tools like Facebook have changed the way we play and do business. You do need a social media plan, but don’t forget that long before there was social media, people were meeting each other at events. We can help. (Let us show you how.)

Junk email is taking over inboxes everywhere. We’ve all been on the receiving end of a time-wasting sales pitch for carefully mis-spelled medicines and get-rich-quick schemes.

We all hate getting it, so be sure you’re not sending it! If you’re sending your attendees nothing but promotional, marketing materials about your event: STOP. Because if that’s all you’re doing, I promise that your audience is going to stop listening.

Luckily, spamming and over-promotion is a problem that can easily be avoided. Here are our top 3 email suggestions for conference and event planners:

1. Plan your menu. As you’re planning your event, make a schedule for all of your email communications. Focus on: Who are the emails targeting (attendees, exhibitors, speakers)? What information are you sharing? What is the recipient’s action item? What’s the frequency and rhythm you’ll use to send?
2. Include nutrition. Are all of the emails just about registration, buying tickets and hotel room blocks? If so, your audience might tune out quickly. Create emails provide real value for attendees. Help them navigate your city. Educate them about your keynote speakers. Talk to them about who they can network with at your event. Ask them for feedback. Promotional emails are really just talking about you and your event. Your audience wants to feel heard and know what’s in it for them.
3. Taste test. You won’t know what types of messages, subject lines and calls to action are most relevant to your audience unless you test. Fortunately, most modern mailing tools (we use MailChimp) allow you to send different versions of the same mail to different people, then compare the results: which version caused more people to open the email? Which got more click-throughs?Here are some good ideas for testing: Subject lines (funny? personalized? descriptive?), first sentence of your email, the email’s call to action, button colors, and images. Each audience will react differently, so there’s no one-size-fits-all right answer. For some great reading on the ins and outs of A/B testing, check out this article from Wired.com

The bottom line is: If you’re “feeding” your audience a healthy, balanced diet of email content, they will keep engaging, listening and responding. Tastes good, right?

“The best road to progress is freedom’s road.”
- John F. Kennedy

I’m here to let you in on a little secret, one that’s going to set you free this 4th of July week, so read on.

We Americans love our national holiday, where we wave sparklers, gorge ourselves on hot dogs and speculate about the wigs of our forefathers.

We’re all busy people, those of us working in, with or on conferences and events. Ours is a fast paced, dynamic environment, and we’re usually juggling multiple projects. Some hold this belief, this hope, that there’s one right answer that will make all of the planning and coordination easier.

Are you ready for the secret to freedom? There is no right answer.

You heard it here first, folks. Every event, each organization, has unique needs. And finding the “right” answer for you comes from goal setting, strategy and measurement, not any one-size fits all tool or approach.

The sooner you embrace that concept (and understand that the first steps will take a little hard work and brain power), the sooner you’ll start meeting your goals. Whether you’re focusing on social media, an online community, marketing or increasing revenue, once you’ve worked backwards from your goals and measurements, you’ll have determined the best fit for your event.

Sweet freedom. Isn’t it glorious? Have a happy and safe holiday.

(If you need some tips to get you started on an attendee engagement strategy, take a look at this article I wrote on the Active Network blog.)

Puff Daddy definitely knew what he was talking about. When it comes to events, the bottom line for many planners is revenue. How much revenue are your events currently bringing in, and how can you increase those numbers?

Pathable recently partnered with Ed Jones, President of Constellation Communications, to bring you a webinar full of practical strategies to help get your event’s ROI well into the green – “Plan & Measure Your Events to Deliver Profit Improvement.”

There’s no exact science to event ROI, but there are certainly ways to make ROI easy to understand, measure and increase. We’ve certainly got you covered here. This webinar is available on-demand, and you can follow along at home with the slides to boot. Get started with our event ROI webinar now!

Pathable is committed to bringing you educational webinars like this on a monthly basis. On Thursday, June 21, join us for “Delivering Value for Event Sponsors.” Guest speaker Howard Givner, Executive Director of the Event Leadership Institute, will help you understand how sponsors define value while offering tips to woo and wow sponsors for your next event or conference.

Seats are filling up fast, so register now!

At Pathable, we’re committed to bringing you not only the best product in the industry, but the best resources, tips and tricks as well.

We host monthly webinars designed to give our audience the event and association information you need to make decisions, manage your time and resources and feel more confident in doing your job.

Last month we brought you “Best Practices in Online Community Management.” You can’t just build an online community and hope your attendees will know what to do. Successful communities take strategy, diligent management and promotion, but it can be overwhelming to know where to begin.

You can access the “Best Practices” webinar recording and slides any time, to read and watch at your leisure. Put your feet up, grab your beverage of choice and take a look now!

If you want to stay in the know about our monthly webinars, sign up for our mailing list. You’ll get invitations sent straight to your inbox, along with that witty Pathable banter you’ve come to know and love.

While you’re at it, sign up now for this month’s webinar on event ROI, “Plan & Measure Your Events to Deliver Profit Improvement.” Presented by Ed Jones, President of Constellation Communications Corp., this webinar on May 24 is not to be missed if you care about your event’s return on investment.

We’re always looking for dynamic speakers and relevant, forward-thinking topics. If you’re interested in sharing your expertise through a Pathable webinar, drop us a line today!

…And these moves can only be seen live. Do you want a chance to see an in-the-flesh demo of Pathable’s online communities for events? Are you an event professional looking for new and exciting event technology solutions? Pathable is hitting the road and coming to a city near you (if you’re in the Eastern time zone, that is.)

Come and see our CEO Jordan Schwartz at D.C.’s Meetings Technology Expo on May 21! His 30-minute demo was nominated for an award at Sundance this year! (OK, not really.)

Jordan will be showcasing Pathable’s tools and latest exciting product updates from 2:30-3:00 pm. During the rest of the day, stop by and see him at booth #606. Pathable is powering MTE’s event community, so if you register for the event, you can connect directly with Jordan (as well as other exhibitors and attendees) before, during and after MTE.

Attendees who reach out to Jordan via the MTE online community or stop by and see him at our booth will get $500 off of a Pathable event community in 2012. Not only that, but you’ll get the chance to pick Jordan’s brain on social media, psychology and beekeeping.

MTE is  a great event for education across a broad range of technology topics and is geared for the corporate, association, independent and trade show planner. Come join us!

Are you a government meeting professional attending SGMP’s 2012 National Education Conference? Catch Pathable in New Orleans before we head to the East Coast. Mark your calendars for May 17 at 10:30 am, because you won’t want to miss Jordan’s dynamic session on how web 2.0 can build a community for your conference.

Pathable will also be making an appearance at PlannerTech NYC on May 15. While I (Tara Barnes, Marketing Manager) won’t be attending in person, attendees can see my 4-minute demo virtually.

PlannerTech is an event technology showcase designed to highlight technologies in quick, energetic demos, so if you’ll be in New York, get yourself registered! We hope to see you online and in the PlannerTech Pathable community.

Given the chance, everyone at Pathable would love to talk about our product and how it increases the value of events. We also think that creating new business relationships is just as fantastic. We hope to be shaking your hand (or giving you a high five, if that’s your preference) soon.

Building community is critical: with our neighbors, friends and family. Given how obvious some of these communities are, it’s easy to forget that professional communities can be nurtured, too.

How often do you pursue co-marketing opportunities with your customers or partners? One of our clients, Corelytics, is organizing the Small Business Tour. We’ve connected on Twitter, and are creating blog content throwing high fives in one another’s direction. It’s an easy and valuable way to build visibility on both sides.

More important, though, we’re collaborating, sharing ideas and creating general feelings of goodwill.

You may have sat in on one of our monthly webinars that we’ve hosted with our partners like Eventbrite and etouches. Yes, these webinars are fantastic ways to provide rich, valuable content to our audience, and that’s certainly our first priority. But the brainstorming, collaboration and camaraderie that happens before, during and after these webinars deepen and personalize our companies’ business relationship. That pays off in a myriad ways.

Here are some easy tips to strengthen and build your existing professional communities:

• Keep Communication Lines Open – It’s really awkward when you realize that you need to ask someone for a favor or input and you haven’t spoken to them in a year. Create calendar reminders for at least every 3 months to reach out to people. Block off a few hours of time and send out simple “How are you? What’s new in your world?” emails. Call your contacts simply to check in, not because you need something. Keeping in touch means that not only will you stay informed on what your contacts are working on, but you can also feel comfortable broaching them with favors or collaborative projects because it won’t be out of thin air.
• Scratch Each Other’s Back – Odd analogy in a professional context, but you get my point. I touched on this above, but we collaborate with partners to benefit our audience and build rapport. Identify projects you want to tackle this year, and see who in your professional network would bring value to and get value from being involved. You’ll get the benefit of having more great minds involved, and your contacts will think of you next time they’re working on something.
• In-Person Meetings – Here it is again, but having face-to-face interactions is vital to the health of relationships of all types. Make it a point to schedule in-person meetings with your partners at least a few times a year. If you’re traveling for work, see who in your business community lives/works in the area, and arrange a time to grab a cup of coffee or a pint of beer. Taking time out of your schedule to meet with people helps them feel appreciated, and you both get the benefit of seeing eye to eye (pun intended).

So, what are you waiting for? Stop reading this post and go make some phone calls already. We bet you’ll make some magic.