“Social media are phenomena that everyone wants to understand, many want to use and no one can escape.”, Dr. Emma Wood of the International Centre for Research in Events.
Social media application in the event industry is evolving, and meeting planners need to respond to new complex trends in multiple channels. According to MPI’s Future of Meetings report, commercial communication and user interactions are growing in importance, especially in emerging countries. Therefore, meeting planners should adapt their attitude to social media and establish new connections with and among users around the world.
Social media are becoming more fragmented, channels are growing in numbers, and as a result, the online environment is more dynamic than ever. Connectivity is no longer the issue, it is the longevity of information online that meeting planners need to consider.
How do event planners react to these trends? Some meeting organisers create online platforms and forums for current events in order to facilitate communication between participants. Others make use of new network features such as event calendars and geo-locators for smartphones and tablets. These tools allow people to build a tighter interactive network based on their interests and location. On the other hand, companies are able to offer relevant events and enhance the visibility of their meetings.
New classification of social media
Generally, users behave differently according to demographic elements, such as regions, gender or age. But they perform differently on different platforms. Marketing experts Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein classify platforms based on the amount of personal information they contain and the level of interactivity of the medium.
Source: MPI, 2012
Media richness is more important for companies according to Dr. Bruce Weinberg and Dr. Paul Berger of Bentley University. Along with richness, how long can a new posted information exist is another main consideration for companies. For example, blog and web communities are long-lasting, while FaceBook and Twitter are relatively short-lived. The difference also warns meeting planners to choose the right social media platforms. The challenge here is to use different techniques in order to capture audiences and inspire advocates in different channels.
So far, many businesses have treated social media as a tribune in stead of a community. To build successful relationships with people, they should not be treated as users, they should be encouraged to be proactive and creative. Thus, businesses can benefit from customers’ ideas, recommendations as well as criticisms. It is important to simultaneously nurture such forums on multiple channels and learn how to adapt branding and product offering.
A new approach to social media
To get the satisfying results, MPI recommends the following steps:
“1. Join in but don’t own. Experiment with social media as a person before jumping in as a company spokesperson.
2. Create when you’re ready. Format your organizational network as you would your social network. Start by thinking who you can help rather than what you can gain.
3. Segment on social media use. Don’t assume everyone will use each platform in the same way (if at all). Identify real friends and nurture them.
4. Develop strategic, targeted, device agnostic strategies. Technology may change rapidly, so have a strategy that works regardless of the platform
5. Monetize online access. As social media becomes a vital part of the meetings product, consider ways to monetize it, but only if it provides real value.
6. Personalize by serving. Online communities of shared interest are new market segments. Identify, join, nurture and serve.
7. Build social media into your marketing mix. Integrate them into communication, product, value, accessibility and convenience.
8. Humanize the company voice. Participate as a contributor and not a marketer.
9. Don’t forget the internal customer. Social media are increasingly used within organizations to create better satisfaction, collaboration, creativity and trust.
10. Use features as they become the norm. Don’t rush into each new development; do recognize the new normal when it lands.”
One question remains unanswered: are social media a threat to the event industry?
Even though social media have proved to be an indispensable tool for online communication and marketing, some event planners fear that one day they may phase out traditional face-to-face meetings. There are others who are optimistic that virtual communication increases the need to develop virtual relationships into real-life social experiences. Still others believe that social media are already an integral part of the meeting itself. They are being used before, during and after events.
It seems unlikely that events will go entirely digital, at least not anytime soon. However, it cannot be denied that technology is already the main driver of most societies.
Key words: meeting industry, technology, social media, future of meetings
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Written by STOILOVA Lilyana & OUYANG Xiaozhao
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