How to Collect Data and Generate Leads at Events

If you have the right perspective, almost any event you attend could turn into a networking opportunity. However, it’s not enough to just be professional and poised. You also need to skillfully collect important details from the people you meet, and employ lead generation strategies.

Here’s how you can collect data and generate leads – whether you go to a local Bay Area event or one on another continent.

Create Genuine Connections With People

Giving a stranger a broad, inviting smile is a good first step, but you need to do more to make meaningful contact. Start by asking a person why he or she chose to attend this event.

That simple question can act as the gateway to a much longer and information-packed conversation that tells you things such as where the person is from, what his or her interests are and whether the services you provide may fill an existing need the individual has. Creating meaningful connections at conferences often requires stepping out of your comfort zone. Usually that’ll entail interacting with venue managers and fellow vendors, not just people who are most likely to become your next customers.

Only Request the Most Relevant Data

Filing out a contact form usually isn’t the most exciting activity, but you can make the task more pleasant for the people you meet by only asking questions related to your line of work. For example, if you run an event-planning company, you’d probably want to know someone’s address and the average size of the gatherings he or she typically hosts. However, asking for a date of birth, gender or household income information may be seen as intrusive, and could make individuals unwilling to complete the contact form.

Come to the Event Well Prepared

It’s hard to make people feel enthused about the products and services you offer if you’re not able to clearly articulate why those things are worthwhile. If you’re at a conference, realize there may be dozens of other merchants selling things that are very similar to your offerings. In that case, how do you stand out and generate leads? By presenting yourself as able to best meet a potential client’s needs.

That means doing more than perfecting your sales pitch, although that is important. Spend time thinking about the types of people who will most likely be attending this event and decide how what you’re selling could be positioned as helpful and necessary. Also, if you’ll be bringing representatives to the event who are new and not as adept at selling your products, make sure those team members are paired up with seasoned salespeople.

Offer at Least One Quick Data Collection Method

In the best-case scenario, you’d only meet people who are ready to give you their full attention and wouldn’t mind spending several minutes providing details about themselves. However, that expectation is far from realistic. The individuals who cross your path may be very interested in what you could give them, but still only have a minute of spare time before they have to dash off to panel discussions, meetings and lunch dates.

With that in mind, try to have at least one way to collect data in seconds. Perhaps you could ask for an email address, or request that a person send a text message to a certain number and then receive a link that allows them to sign up on a mailing list. There are even some apps that allow you to scan a person’s business card and quickly import the details. Remember, the fact that people have other places to be doesn’t necessarily mean they are not interested in learning more about you. However, if you don’t cater to their time-sensitive lifestyles, you might miss out on valuable leads.

Give Free Items or Hold Contests

Some people need a little encouragement before giving private details to individuals they don’t know. That gentle prodding could come in the form of a contest that gives the winner an enviable prize.

Ideally, the giveaway should relate to your business. If you specialize in planning events, the prize could be a $500 gift certificate for your services. You could also give a smaller prize such as a dinner at a notable Bay Area restaurant, plus the pleasure of your company. That dinner meeting could offer the perfect chance to explain more about your services or products and make someone want to buy them.

On the other hand, you may want to give freebies that urge people to get acquainted with what it’s like to be a client. If you run a marketing firm that charges $30 for one-hour consultations, consider giving them for free to event attendees who agree to provide contact details. When creating the contest forms, be sure to call attention to the fact that the consultations are a $30 value.

Hopefully these strategies will make you feel ready to thrive at your next event, whether it’s in the Bay Area or beyond. The key to making the most of your interactions at these gatherings lies in preparation, and the tips above should equip you to make great impressions.

Do you have top tips to share? Let us know in the comments below or find us on Facebook and Twitter!

How to Market an Event Online

You’re planning a big event — maybe it’s a party, an outing, a luncheon or a benefit. Whatever it may be, you have a list of to-do’s longer than a yardstick that you’re slowly checking off. However, the hard truth is that none of it will matter if nobody shows up to your event. No need to worry, though! There are many ways you can market your event from behind your computer screen.

Here are some tried-and-true ways to use the internet to generate buzz.

Direct Marketing

Using email or personalized electronic invitations will make it easy to get important information out to your guests, like when and where your event will be. With so much happening on devices these days, an invitation that guests can take with them anywhere is better than a paper invite. People can easily add the date to their calendar, and if they need to reference it in the future, they can just pull it up on their phones.

You’ll also want to make your email pop with visuals and colors for a higher feedback rate. Use a friendly subject line, so viewers don’t immediately think its simply junk mail.

To keep your potential guests excited as the date draws closer, send out important logistical information, updates about what to expect and any announcements about the event. This will keep the event on their minds in the weeks leading up to the big day.

Social Media

The most powerful tool you have in this decade is a social media presence. There are endless ways you can make sure your event gets noticed through social media. For example, create a unique hashtag for the event that people can use when talking about it. This makes it easy for your guests to find out who else is going and what people are excited about. It also entices them to share their experience at the event on social media.

A social media presence for your event is also important to keep in contact with your guests and any concerns they may have. You can post important directions, contact information and logistical information for easy access. Have someone monitoring the page in case anybody asks a question or needs assistance before or during the event.

Traditional Marketing

Though this may take a little more work, there’s a reason why traditional marketing continues to work after many years. Send out a press release to local radio stations, newspapers and magazines and ask them to run the story in their next issue. Be sure to include contact information and how to sign up.

You can also look for bloggers in the industry and ask them to give your event a shout-out. You may even want to try paid online advertising. With the amount of time people spend online, getting to them in as many ways as possible through the internet is always a good idea.

Keep People Interested

If people are responding positively to your invitations, you’re doing great. However, even once you get that “yes”, your marketing days are not over. You have to keep your guests interested about the event. The last thing you want is a room full of no-shows.

Keep people excited by generating buzz. Use your social media account to post teasers about the event, showing guests a little preview of what they’re going to experience. Create videos, contests, interactive material and updates to post and keep the event fresh in people’s minds.

Using the internet to reach your potential guests has never been so important. Put online marketing on your event to-do list so you’ll have a full room of happy guests!

Share your ideas about online marketing and how you use the internet to connect with your guests in the comments below or find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Behind The Scenes: SGN at GDC16

On March 14-18, 2016, developers and gamers from across the country took the Bay area by storm for this year’s Game Developers Conference. Some of the most brilliant minds in the gaming industry took to the streets of downtown San Francisco for GDC16. While other shows are about the fans, GDC determines the future of this industry: it’s the world’s largest gaming conference attended by a record breaking 27K professionals in its 30th year. Nearly half of developers here are building mobile + tablet games!

ABCey Events paired with SGN to showcase their newest game Genies and Gems, and also had a great time bringing awareness to their biggest game Cookie Jam. Between the moments that brought laughs in between sessions and the surprising and exciting moments that changed an attendees day, a powerful question was also addressed to the gaming community, #WHYDOYOUPLAY?!

TOP 5 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EVENT

THE GENIE OF SF

SGN, the fastest growing growing major mobile games studio in the U.S., has just released it’s newest match-3 puzzle game. Genies & Gems is a spellbinding adventure that takes its players on a magic ride. Famous Youtuber Jesse Wellens from Prank vs. Prank brought this game to life in downtown SF with his motorized magic carpet. For those that spotted our magic genie, they were in for a lucky surprise!

2. (REAL!) GEMS

If you’ve gotten the chance to play, then you already know Genies & Gems is a game that’s true to it’s name. As the players cross through the magical worlds they recover lost relics, collect gold bars, and are taken on a journey with their enchanted keys. To celebrate the game’s launch SGN brought the game’s realities to life! Lucky San Franciscan’s scored some major gems from our genie that included- $20/$50 bills, silver coins, silver cufflinks, and (real!) gemstone rings!

3. COOKIE JAMMERS

With more than 70 million downloads, SGN’s top grossing game Cookie Jam showed it’s followers some serious entertainment for GDC16. Rocking out in front of the Moscone Center were our very own Cookie Jammers. If the outfits didn’t scream cookies, their lyrics surely would. San Francisco’s favorite cover band Pop Rocks twisted some of your most favored songs into actual cookie-filled jams (Just Eat It, Eat It, Eat It)! These life-sized cookies fueled up GDC16 attendees as they were headed to their next session!

4. COOKIES

We couldn’t promote a cookie game without thousands of FREE cookies! SGN provided attendees with a yummy snack to keep them going throughout the day. Who doesn’t love free cookies?

5. WHY DO YOU PLAY?

GDC16 determines the future of this industry, and because of this they are capable of bringing together a global community to attend their annual conference. It was the people in attendance that play a significant role in the creation and lifespan of games, and SGN had a thought provoking question to ask attendees- Why Do You Play? We can get lost in a game, but we can forget what really motivates us to play. We interviewed hundreds of people and received a variety of answers ranging from fun, stress relief, escaping reality, and interacting with friends or family. Our favorite answer may have been to “Escape From Trump!”

So, the question we have for you today is- Why Do YOU Play? Let us know in the comments below or find us on Facebook and Twitter!

4 Ways to Enhance Your Event Using Social Media

Social media is one of the main tools event planners use to market events, distribute information, engage with guests and solicit feedback. Here are a few tips that will help keep your event buzzing from beginning to end!

1. Create pre-event buzz

Excitement is key to attracting attendees and establishing a good atmosphere at your event. You can create pre-event buzz by meaningfully posting on social media and creating a hashtag. Put the hashtag on presentations, handouts, goody bags and signage so people don’t forget to use it! You can also tease people with content to get people excited through contests, giveaways or a guest’s blog post.

2. Free Wifi

Wifi is key, so make sure it’s available and that the venue has the bandwidth to support your needs. Your digital marketing centers around your guests ability to post on social media. Guests not only share your event content, but their own generated content which helps promote your business.

3. Socialize your event

Live stream, live post, and enable the folks that are there! Post photos or short videos of what’s going on, or try Ustream to stream live video. You can also give away prizes for the most liked photo of the day or most favorited tweet to give people incentive.

It is also important to have a point person at the event responding to posts. They don’t have to respond to every single one, but there is a reason people post publicly and it is because they liked to be engaged with.

4. Post-event engagement

Keep the dialogue going post event, and keep using that hashtag! Ask for feedback from attendees, and post a slideshow or a fun time lapse video. Be sure to post a recap blog letting people about speakers key points, highlights of the event and more.

Were these tips helpful? Let us know by commenting below or on Twitter or Facebook!

Splash – The Best Event Management Platform!

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events!

We recently came across Splash, a comprehensive event management platform that helps to maximize the impact before, during, and after an event.

Splash makes it possible for you to control every aspect of your event making it easier and less stressful to organize. When using Splash, you can organize the perfect invite list – every time, maximize the impact of every touchpoint, and measure the impact to your brand and community.

Before your event, you can create a beautiful website to represent your event and that can be seen from any laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The website includes cool features that allows you to promote your event with an integrated custom design email sender list, sell tickets, and collect info you need on the perfect RSVP form!

While enjoying your event, Splash allows your attendees to share the action as it happens! The Splash On-Site Mobile App allows you to check in guests and scan their tickets. The App also has a live stream where the guests can be updated on what’s going on during the event and share the amazing moments they have just experienced.

After the event you can analyze the web traffic on your website, email performance, and more social activity. You can also create a targeted contact list with the profile information from your attendees.

Splash offers three great different packages to get you started:

The Event Marketing Package this package gets you: dedicated account management, completely flexible and customizable web design, and the full power of our CRM and email marketing tools.
The Influencer Marketing Package includes everything within the first package but with this package your community members are empowered to create their own events.
The Sampling Package extend beyond awareness with Splash software see measurable upticks of local sales, community membership in key demos and produce the type of social content that has a real viral co-efficient.

Would you use Splash to help organize your next event? Let us know by commenting below or on Facebook or Twitter.

4 Types of Content That Increase Brand Awareness

In this era of social media and online marketing, nothing is more important than valuable online content to get your brand’s name out there. Especially as event planners, we want to spread our events out the world. A wide online presence helps you reach a large audience. ABCey introduces you to the 4 types of content that increase brand awareness and help you to establish your brand in the market.

Free Content

Blogs are a great way to provide your customers with information about your service or product. They are free and give customers an idea of what you offer. It’s even better if you provide your audience with more than just information about your own brand, but include informative news about the industry you’re working in. This way, you turn your blog into a regularly visited destination for your audience. Depending on the value you provide, people might even share your blog on social media, which helps increase brand awareness.

Email Newsletters

Most people check their emails on a daily basis, which makes an email newsletter a great way to increase brand awareness. It is time efficient and cost effective! Email newsletters are a great way to promote your events as well! An informative email addressed to all people on your subscription list updates your audience about news regarding your brand, industry, or events. Reaching out to your audience illustrates your engagement and that you care about them. However, too many emails might come off as too spammy and people might unsubscribe soon. Therefore, send your email newsletters just once a week or on a bi-weekly basis.

Images

Images make your content more compelling. Whether they are on your website, in your blog, or in email newsletters – always include some relevant images! Texts without images look boring and are likely to be skipped by people. Using images also helps you create a certain atmosphere that might be relevant for your brand. Bestow your brand with a serious, funny, or playful vibe to attract potential customers. In addition, use a brand logo to establish recognition value in your industry. It is important that your logo is consistent and always looks relatively the same, otherwise your audience could get confused.

Videos

Studies have shown that customers who watch videos about a product or service, feel more confident about purchasing it. Creating videos might be a little bit more work than all of the above, but it’s worth the effort! An artistic or eye-catching video will likely be shared on social media by your customers and therefore reach a larger audience. Make your video go viral on Youtube with a strong message that helps you to increase brand awareness. If you are an event planner, why don’t you post some clips of previous events to give your customers a taste of your great work?

No matter which type of content you use, all of them demonstrate engagement with your audience. Include a “call to action” in order to establish interaction between you and your customers.

What is your advice on how to increase brand awareness? Tell us about it in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter!

StartUp Monday: Loopd, the Event Marketing Wearable

Loopd, an event marketing wearable, provides personalized data to enhance your event strategy using the Loopd badge. By simply downloading the Loopd app, everyone at your event – guests, clients, vendors, planners, and you – can receive real-time data and analytics about your guests and event on your mobile devices!

Loopd caters to everyone at your event! The event marketing wearable allows the event’s exhibitors to identify and collect leads automatically while attendees can use the app to connect with others and trade information in place of business cards. The app will remember when and where guests connected so there will never be any of those awkward re-meeting conversations again!

Why We Love Loopd: Loopd is perfect for event planners, clients and attendees! It works in real-time by measuring traffic flow throughout the event and can significantly improve marketing campaigns because it shows what guests are most interested in. Not only that, but all of its valuable insights is provided in easy-to-understand analytics. This device is well-rounded and perfect for event planners!

Would you use Loopd? For what type of events? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Best Practices in Leveraging Social Media to Expand your Network

As event planners, we are constantly interacting with large networks of professionals and meeting different influencers. If you’re a professional of any kind, you’ve likely had to walk the fine line between seeming desperate and building a healthy network. Luckily, leveraging the right social media tools will help you connect with the contacts you have made, without being intrusive. Here are some tips we’ve put together on how to best use social media to help expand your network!

1. Identify Your Target Influencers:

Try focusing on connecting with people in a profession that’s relevant to yours. This way, you won’t waste your time on people that don’t have an impact to your business anyway. You might find your target influencers on social media or industry events. so take a peek at industry publications or get recommendations from your colleagues.

2. Use Twitter:

Most accounts on Twitter are public and therefore easy to find. Look up your target influencers and send them a tweet. Fully exploit your 140 characters. The more personality you give your tweet, the more chance they reply!

3. Use Linkedin:

Linkedin is the biggest online network of professionals. Sometimes, it is not possible to “connect” directly to a person if you don’t know them personally. In this case, you can easily join a group that your target influencer is part of and participate in discussions to call to their attention. You can also send connection requests using the group, which doesn’t make you seem like a stalker!

4. Write a Personal Email:

Email addresses are often challenging to find, but if you have actually located an email address, write a message – but make sure to keep it short. Illustrate exactly what you want and get to the point quickly. Including that you like your influencers’ work or point of view is a great way to obtain their attention. This way they can see that you’re genuinely interested in them and they would be more are likely to share perspectives and advises.

Have any of these social media tactics worked for you?

Tell us about it or share other ways to connect professionally with influencers in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup 2.20.14 – 2.23.2014

With the weekend quickly approaching, we did some digging to find out how to spend our time! As usual, there are tons of events going on in the Bay Area! Let’s take a look at our favorites.

FEATURED EVENT| The San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldies Party |The Goldies stand for Guardians Outstanding Local Discovery Awards and it represents the Bay’s annual celebration of local filmmakers, dancers, choreographers, musicians, theater and visual artists who have made their mark on the Bay Area’s diverse art scene. There will be a late night happy hour and fundraiser following a private ceremony for the winners. Come support local arts and raise money for CounterPULSE, a non-profit that offers rehearsal and rental spaces for artists!

1. Integrated Marketing Communications | Thursday, February 20th – Friday, February 21st |Courtyard San Francisco Downtown | The American Marketing Association brings the Bay Area a workshop that will provide you with the essential building blocks for effective integration of traditional and inbound marketing approaches. Through case studies, exercises, and best practices, you will learn how to create an integrated marketing communications strategy and deliver an engaging brand experience that contributes to revenue generation and brand value. You will leave the workshop with an understanding of the building blocks that fuel the consumer experience path!

2. 2014 Pacific Orchid Exposition |Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavillion | Friday, February 21st – Sunday, February 23rd | The San Francisco Orchid Society invites everyone to paint the town with “Orchids and All that Jazz” at its 62nd annual Pacific Orchid Exposition. The society’s mission is to foster the culture and cultivation of orchids and to promote orchid education to its members and the public. Exhibits and displays will incorporate musical creative concepts while accompanying music is playing throughout the show. The show boasts over 150,000 beautiful orchids from across the globe.

3. That 80’s Show |Madrone Art Bar | Friday, February 21st | 9 pm | Come check out DJ Dave Paul as he breaks down the 80s and reconstructs the decade! Cabbage Patch Kids, Rubik’s Cube, leggings, and shoulder pads are just a few things that come to mind. Whether your reliving your decade or experiencing what you missed, you’re sure to have a good time!

4. Wild Quest Kick off Event | Sports Basement | Saturday, February 22nd | 10 am | The Wild Quest Institute invites you to join the Wild Quest to save the endangered species in the Bay Area! Get outside, have fun, and save the national treasures around us. Wild Quest is a yearly competition made up of 10 “quests”. To complete each quest, you must see and help save the endangered species of the month. You have the chance to win prizes and collect points towards the end of the year $1000 award. This kick off event is a great way to start your quest and learn more about the yearly competition!

5. Bach’s Hercules | St. Mark’s Lutheran Church | Sunday, February 23rd | 4pm | American Bach Soloists’s 25th Season Bach Celebration continues with the composer’s Missa Brevis in G Major, the Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major, and Herkules auf dem Scheidewege (“Hercules at the Crossroads”), a delightful cantata about the mythic Hercules. Jeffrey Thomas lead’s a virtuoso orchestra, the American Bach Choir, and four sensational vocal soloists in this program celebrating Bach’s mastery of sacred, secular, and orchestral genres. Wind down the weekend with a truly unique performance!

With lots of different events to choose from, which ones stood out to you?! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!