Tag: conferences

September 30, 2014

Looking Forward To ONTRApalooza 2014

Picture from last years Confernce

I am looking forward to attending ONTRApalooza 2014 from October 1^st-3^rd. This will be my third year at this conference. Each year has been an amazing opportunity to meet some amazing people changing the way business is run. These are thought leaders, and innovators who are using Ontraport software to change the game and grow their businesses. The best part of attending the conference is being able to sit down these leaders and take their ideas and applying them to my clients businesses.

We all know Ontraport is an amazing tool for lead generation, lead follow-up, and customer retention, but at ONTRApalooza you are able to learn even more innovative ways to use these tools to rocket your business to new levels.

Did I mention the speakers? Well here are a few I am looking forward to hearing:

Jack Canfield – Best-selling author, self-esteem expert
Shelby Larson – Found of Content Divas, SEO expert
Paul Hoffman – Musician, speaker, author and teacher
Franziska Iseli-Hall – Award winning entrepreneur

To see the rest of the list check out www.ontrapalooza.com

If you will be attending I hope to see you there. I am looking forward to learning new things, making new friends, and enjoying the Santa Barbara sun.

August 12, 2014

#Hashtag your next Event

Back in July we talked to you about How to Step Up your Hashtag Game and this week we wanted to take it one step further to teach you how to hashtag your next event.

As we’ve talked about before, hashtags are great for branding. But do you know what they are even better for? Organizing an event. Not only will it help get the word out, but it will also help you get a handle on just how much buzz has been generated. You can now track hashtags across the most significant platforms in social media. That includes: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.

It’s simple. All you have to do is come up with a #hashtag to brand your event. We recommend keeping it short and simple, something that will stick with the event’s participants and attendees.

As an example, let’s say we here at AIMS decided to throw a conference for insurance marketers. We know that we need a hashtag that isn’t already in the rotation, so we’ll go with #AIMSConference. It is specific to the event and easy to remember.

In order to get the word out to those attending our event, we start the branding process early. That means #AIMSConference is featured prominently on the event website, invitation and confirmation emails. It is also a good idea to start using it as you plan the event. That way, you can share your progress with your followers and keep the hashtag fresh in everyone’s minds.

At the conference (or whatever your event may be), there should be a reminder for everyone to hashtag their photos, tweets and videos with #AIMSConference.

When it’s all said and done, you can sit back and review your event through the eyes of the hashtag. People tend to be far more vocal on social media than they are in real life. This then, will be a great way to evaluate your event: Did people have a good time? What are the positive reviews? What are the negative reviews? What can you do next time to make the event better?

You might not always like the answers you get, but at least you’ve developed a baseline and can better develop your event in the future. Or, the outcome will be positive and you can bask in a job well done! Odds are the truth will lie somewhere in between.

Photo – © zakokor – Fotolia.com

May 14, 2014

Conferences Spur Great Ideas

As an internet marketer, I spend a lot of time online. A LOT. Which means I tend to jump on any opportunity to disconnect. Conferences for one are a great way to step away from the computer and make a new kind of connection, the kind that seems to have been devalued in the tech age, human connection, or networking.

Sometimes I attend conferences special to those in the insurance industry; sometimes I go to a WordPress camp; other times I’ll hit up a Rotary conference. And you know what? I truly look forward to each of my visits with these wonderful organizations.

New people means new ideas, and to be quite on honest, in this industry, you’ll take any helpful advice you can get.

A new strategy for content marketing? Great, let me hear it.
Tips for getting OfficeAutoPilot to work better for me? Go on.
Tricks for updating my WordPress website? Tell. Me. Now.

What I’m getting at here is that conferences are more than just social hour; they are a hotbed of information. Often times, you’ll even meet the source of these new tips and tricks. And really, what could be better than learning from the best?

Some people shy away from conferences, but I think that they are essential to growing your business. For the insurers out there, Agency Revolution puts on a great conferences that brings together some of the best and the brightest in the insurance industry. I’ve been to the conference myself, and the exchange of ideas is phenomenal!

A few of my clients work in the fitness industry, and I can tell you that, as a group, they are some of the most open to exploring new ideas for training, or even drawing in more customers to their gyms. For them, attending conferences is a no brainer.

No matter what your market, odds are it is competitive, so why not cozy up to the competition and see how they do it? You just might learn something.

If you are going to Ontrapalooza this year I will see you there!