What the #%@& is Social Media?! (Part 2)

Article originally published in the October 2009 issue of the Meetings Professionals International Southern California Chapter Intercom newsletter. It as been edited for clarity.

In this monthly column, we will explore how the events industry is using social media to its advantage. Social media encompasses anything where the content is generated by the users, from blogs to social networks. Last month we explored the ever-popular Twitter platform and how planners are using it to connect. But what about the suppliers? Where are they in this brave new world? And how do they get their message out without sounding too “sales-y” or—worse yet—like spam?

Take for example two local entities using Twitter: the iconic Westin Bonaventure hotel and entertainment district L.A. Live, both located in downtown Los Angeles (or #DTLA, in Twitter parlance). They tweet not only about happenings at their respective properties, but also about the local community.

The Bonaventure (@thebonaventure) recently launched a promotion where they used Twitter to announce free rooms. In this economy, everyone likes free! The stunt paid off in a 1000% jump in the booking of rooms, even though it was free rooms that drew people to the property in the first place. GM Michael Czarcinski tweets in partnership with a Melanie Boyer, a publicist from Daly Gray PR. They even have a little fun with their “twitter personality” wherein Mike doesn’t use proper punctuation, but Melanie does. And despite Melanie being located in Washington, DC, the tweets are always relevant to local Los Angeles, such as using the recent NBA championship games to bring publicity to their 34th floor lounge. During games four and five of the playoffs, which were held in Orlando, followers were encouraged to come up to the lounge and enjoy the games on the numerous flat screens—and that they could almost see Orlando from the top floor. It was cute, engaging, and impossible to tell whether it was Melanie or Mike behind the humor. Also, the brand was clearly being “sold” without feeling like it was being forced on the followers.

The L.A. Live (@LA_LIVE) account is handled singlehandedly by marketing director Tammy Billings. Tammy’s approach to tweeting is to send info relevant to the downtown community (like show information and promotions for downtown residents) but also provide updates to the events as they happen. For example, if there is an accident on the 110 freeway on the night of a big show, Tammy will try to let you know, and suggest alternate routes. She admits that having world-renowned NBA champions living right next door does a lot to bring attention to the new complex, but she knows they can’t rely on that for the necessary foot traffic. After all, the Lakers don’t play during the summer! Like The Bonaventure, L.A. LIVE will also tweet about free tickets to events, which helps fill seats in an otherwise less-than-optimally-full venue. But the stream is never just about sales or promos, it’s about engaging DTLA denizens.

So where do the planners and suppliers come together, how can they “converse” in this medium? Welcome to Twitter chats: real-time conversation streams filtered by hashtags (a hashtag is any short phrase prepended by a pound sign/hash tag, such as #DTLA mentioned earlier). Of all the recurring chats for caterers, speakers, associations, the most influential in the industry is #eventprofs which takes place twice weekly. This forum allows real-time exchanges between suppliers and planners around timely topics like ROI and networking. Started in February 2009 by Lara McCulloch-Carter (@ready2spark) of Ready2Spark, the chat has grown in popularity and is recognized as the preeminent social media discussion by event professionals on Twitter. For more information on the chat or to see the archives, go to www.eventprofs.pbworks.com. You can also join the Facebook group (or become a fan) to receive updates there.

Participating in the chat is easy, simply add “#eventprofs” to your tweets. But to interact with the conversation as it takes place, use a client like Tweetdeck, Twhirl, Tweetgrid or Tweetchat to auto-filter any tweets with that hashtag. These tools allow real-time exchanges unlike the static Twitter webpage which requires constant refreshing. Tweetdeck and Twhirl are third-party downloadable apps to use on your computer, while Tweetgrid and Tweetchat are web-based tools that do not require any downloading. Or, you can simply use the Twitter search function to seek out the #eventprofs tweets.

Ready to get started? See you on Twitter! Still have questions? Follow me at @pfont and let's chat!