If you read this blog regularly, then you know that I rarely deviate from the business topic of social media.

But, there’s a first time for everything.

Recently, I was approached to help with a social media campaign called the Blue Key Campaign (#bluekey). You might have seen my tweets about the campaign, its a true grassroots social campaign. Since joining I’ve been spending a lot of time counting my blessings. The Blue Key Campaign is a show of support to those who work with some of the 43.7 Million people in the world who are considered refugees.  Just think about that number for a moment. To put it into perspective of topics that dominate the American conversation right now:

There are about 8.9 Million Unemployed workers in the USA (source: National Alliance to End Homelessness)

42 Million people in the USA received retirement benefits from Social Security (2009)

There are about 38 Million Immigrants in the USA (source: Wikipedia.com)

This is an international humanitarian problem that dwarfs so many others, but we rarely hear about it. Why? These people have no voice other than the UNHCR, who has over 6,000 staffers working with and for refugees around the world. So let me repeat: there are over 43 MILLION people in the world who have been displaced from their homes due to political upheaval or war and almost 49% of them are women and children.  People in countries like Somalia, Congo, Afghanistan where life is hard enough when you have a an actual roof over your head. And being a refugee in these places can go on for years, over 7 Million refugees have been so for over 5 years. I’ve started a list of things that I am grateful for that I have because I am a refugee:

Unlike so many causes, a small donation to their efforts can make a huge difference. I’ve shown my support by purchasing a BlueKey which I have on my key ring, I also made an additional donation which will help make the lives of these refugees more livable. It will provide them with tents for shelter, fresh water and a small sense of normality.

I’m asking you to consider purchasing a $5 BlueKey as well. When you do, if you comment on this post, let me know that you’ve purchased your key and let me know what YOU are grateful for because you aren’t a refugee and you’ll be entered to win a random drawing for your choice of one of the following three items:

1) 1-hour consulting FREE on any social media topic of choice.

2) Free ticket to the Mari Smith event in Honolulu Oct. 20th, 2011

3) $35 Amazon Gift Card.

You’re choice. If you make an additional donation to the cause, you’ll get two entries into the drawing. For my Hawaii readers, let’s show the world that Aloha is contagious. Here in Hawaii, we give more to most causes than most. Let’s add this to our list. We live in paradise – these people literally live in hell.

Thank you in advance for your generosity. I truly appreciate it!

P.S.: I’ll do the drawing on Oct. 11, 2011 so don’t delay!

More information:

Flickr

Facebook

So I’m taking a little liberty with Tool Tuesday today – I’m going to talk about a tool. But the tool itself is so simple, that instead of talking about the “likes” and “dislikes” I’m going to talk about ways to use it.

TweetChat is a deceptively simple tool. Not a lot of bells and whistles, but what it does, it does well.When I am monitoring hashtags (say for example, #h50 during the Hawaii 5-0 episode each week), I like to use TweetChat because it eliminates distractions. That’s all. That’s the reason I use it. I can also eliminate RT or block certain participants.

BUT – what does this mean to you?

Most people don’t spend A LOT of time monitoring hashtags, but they often DO participate in Tweet Chats and this tool also allows you to HOST a Tweet Chat in a simple & smart way. Here are 5 hints for establishing a Tweet Chat with your brand.

Participate before you Moderate:

If you haven’t already done so, participate in a couple of Tweet Chats, it will give you an idea of what its like to be on the other side. Hosting a Tweet Chat isn’t an easy  task, so you’re likely to see the good, the bad and the ugly. Learn from the experience..and remember, even the best moderators can have an “off” night.

You can view a pretty comprehensive list of TweetChats here. Its independently updated, so feel free to add your own chat after you’re ready to launch. You can thank Twitter user, Robert Swanwick under (@twchat) for starting that list. Its pretty amazing-talk about Twitter Karma!

If you decide that you aren’t up for hosting a TweetChat, don’t forget that many TweetChats accept sponsors. Again, you can use the list above to find chats that are relevant to your brand. Listen in for awhile and I bet the marketing wheels will start to spin!

#Hashtag Hottie:

Using a #hashtag specifically for your TweetChat is fine, but what’s even better is if your #hashtag so well reflects your brand that it can be used throughout the day with your followers. It helps give visibility to your hosted chat, your brand and gives your followers something to rally behind.

Identify Your Most Passionate Followers:

Getting buy-in from passionate and engaged followers will help create some energy and buzz behind your chat. If they have their own following, don’t be afraid to give the chat over to them for a night or two.

Devil is in the Details

Consider your audience. Have questions and answers prepared (but not pre-loaded). Give your audience some guidelines about the discussion so they can stay on topic too. Be smart about which Tweets you answer and which you allow your participants to respond to.  Don’t be afraid to do a give-away or some other promotion during your TweetChat.

Hosted Tweet Chat App

Be Ready for Success:

From the beginning, archive your TweetChats. While there is no way to “download” the tweets, you can copy and paste. Use your TweetChat as a blog post (great SEO), which also reminds your blog readers of your TweetChat. You’ll likely be glad that you kept the transcripts at some point. Along those lines, don’t hesitate to cross promote your TweetChats in other mediums such as email, Facebook and/or LinkedIn.

If your TweetChats really take off, consider a format like #socialmedia uses for its TweetChats, they keep the conversation live on their site and have a nice, clean way for participants to engage.

RESOURCES:

Tweet Chat Listings:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhisaMy5TGiwcnVhejNHWnZlT3NvWFVPT3Q4NkIzQVE&hl=en#gid=0

http://gnosisarts.com/home/Tweetchat_Wiki

Social media and events have so much in common: they bring people together, they have the potential to inspire and most importantly, both have story-telling potential. Really these two forms of marketing are long-lost cousins.

A recent study by Ad-ology shows some surprising (to me) results: event marketers specifically, exhibition managers, aren’t utilizing social media to its full potential, although its showing promise, I’m still surprised at the reliance of traditional media.  I’ve noticed this too in conferences I’ve been or registered for. I still get direct mail for a conference I last went to over 5 years ago (talk about barrel scraping), yet the conferences that I show the most interest in, aren’t aware of it yet, even through I tweet, blog and generally promote topics relevant to the conference, because I am not on their mailing list. Event marketers state that email is one of its most effective tools; not surprising, but what IS surprising is that they don’t appear to be integrating their email activities with their social media activities.

Event marketers are using social media, but not to its fullest potential. The Ad-ology findings show that:

Before an event takes place, the top online promotional activities include email marketing (39%), online advertising (45%) and Google ad words (36%). During the event, the strategy shifts and marketers use online games (43%) and SMS mobility. Looking to extend impact, marketers then turn to audio downloads or podcasts (40%) following the event.

This group of marketers indicates that social media is best employed as a strategy to extend the reach of marketing efforts (49%) and engage the target audience (25%). Far fewer, 9%, use the format to generate leads.

As far as pre-event marketing, I find this interesting since social media is a rich place to mine for event attendees, depending on the event. But most industries have an influential group of people using social media; listening and engaging will reveal these people quickly.  Apparently some event marketers are still scoffing at the “I’m BIG on Twitter” crowd, but event marketers are really missing the opportunity to create evangelists for their brand by not engaging these folks. Identifying influencials and bloggers are also a potentially key component for event marketers. Find people who have an audience and invite them to be involved and watch how they endorse the event and therefore, bring others along. Also really surprising to me is that the relationship between sponsorship and social media just doesn’t seem to be taking off.

When it comes to adding value for sponsors. I can think of plenty of ways to add value for a sponsor through social media, in particular Twitter and Influencials like bloggers (again) but event marketers apparently aren’t there yet. Sponsor shout-outs before the event are a no-brainer, but having them host tweet chats or other interactive pre-event conversations (about a relevant topic-be careful that this isn’t approached as one long commercial) on Facebook are great ways to raise the profile of sponsors. The use of hashtags during the event can create a fun, interactive campaign for sponsors and attendees alike.

Post event opportunities abound:  extending the reach of an event is definitely important and downloads and podcasts are great tools for that (still less than half employ this technique, again, why create content if you don’t want others to see it?!)  but why not hold tweet chats in the weeks following your event with your speakers and give attendees one last chance to engage? What about asking your attendees through social media outlets for feedback or recommendations for next year? Since engagement is the goal with both events and social media, be looking for ways to involve them both.

Finally, as with all social media programs, event marketers really need to be thinking of ways to integrate social media into all their pre, during and post event efforts.

Recently, there has been much discussion by me and other marketing folks about the importance of content within a social media campaign.

I can’t help but think of events as the ultimate in content with social media. After all, what is more social than actually meeting face to face? Interactive is where its at. That’s why events and social media continue to grow despite a lagging economy. Over and over again, I see missed opportunities for extending the reach of events utilizing social media. If more people were thinking about events AS content they’d really be maximizing both marketing avenues. Here’s a couple of ways to view your event as content:

Flickr. A blogger’s dream photo site. Picassa gets all the attention, but Flickr is really the social media answer.  Make it easy for your blog and others to be part of your Flickr stream by letting them know what tags to utilize. But did you know you can add a Flickr tab to your Facebook page? This allows those who didn’t get to attend the event to see photos in your Flickr stream.

Facebook. Everyone knows to put the event on their page and utilize it as an RSVP tool. But using Facebook to engage and invite participation for the event takes some, eh-hem, engagement. Asking attendees and participants to host discussions or engage one another via Facebook is a great start to any event.

Hashtags. Identifying and utilizing hashtags throughout an event allows an ongoing conversation during and post-event. Particularly for on-going events, this can be a powerful tool for engagement. Encourage your attendees during the event to Tweet about it by making sure they know the #hashtag.

Twitpics. And other similar applications make it easy to upload photos to your Twitter stream while people are at an event. A great way to get attendees to do this is to feature tweets with your #hashtag and photos at a gathering location throughout the event.

Blogs. You’re probably aware that blogs are a powerful social marketing tool – but do you use them for your events as well? If your exhibiting or hosting events, blogs are your best friend. They invite opportunities for speakers and attendees alike to engage (on YOUR site) before and after the event. What opportunities can you offer sponsors via your blogs? What about your speakers?

WordPress in particular has lots of plug-ins to maximize community around your events. I could (and probably should) write an entire other post on plug-ins for events.

LinkedIn. If your using LinkedIn (and really, who isn’t?), you’ve probably already noticed the ability to “host” an event. But using LinkedIn groups has the potential to offer attendees ongoing engagement in a professional atmosphere. I’d love to see more B2B events (in particular) offer off-line conversations that can help shape future events, and review past ones.

Scribd. Encouraging speakers to post their Powerpoints on Scribd is a great way for your speakers to get more visibility and also for your event to receive more interest. Most of us know that a powerpoint doesn’t tell the WHOLE story and thus may create opportunities for engagement outside of the actual event.  Combining this with your Facebook Page and Twitter is an outstanding way to engage. Featuring a session for review using Scribd invites discussion – and if that discussion is hosted by the speaker, all the better.

Those are just a couple of tools for combining your events and social media. Events: the ultimate in social media content.

Social media and event marketing are the two most effective ways to engage customers. They create passionate brand advocates. Customers who identify themselves by the owners of a particular brand. They give marketers a chance to listen to customers instead of just pushing information.

A new Forbes Insights study shows that businesses understand the value of engagement:

Overwhelmingly, the priority group to engage is customers  with 91% of businesses wishing to engage customers (with employees ranking second at 61%). Yet few businesses have a specific strategy or create marketing budgets consistent with engagement tactics.

What this suggests is that marketers are confused about what tools create engagement and that they often return to the old “faithful” of advertising.

More and more, I find myself reminding clients that while advertising is easy, it still remains expensive and that the more effective techniques are events and social media, the combination of which can be very powerful. The above charts show that both areas have room for growth. What I find ironic is that so many businesses indicate that economics is the main inhibitor to customer engagement.

There seems to be a disconnect here. Event marketing can be less expensive than traditional advertising (especially in larger markets) and social media tools remain free. I think the real problem is that these two tactics require (wo)man power and companies are reluctant to take chances on labor intensive practices in this economy. And the second most cited inhibitor was competition, which is baffling to me as well. Either your creating relationships with your customers or you aren’t. If you aren’t then your competition likely is creating relationships, which brings us back to engagement techniques.

My definition of engagement means a conversation exists: listening and interacting.  Yet the graph below shows that a full 27% of those polled in this Forbes Insight study believe that Direct Mail is an engaging marketing technique.

No it isn’t. You might get a RESPONSE from direct mail, but it isn’t an engagement technique.

Let’s be clear on that. Print ads are not an engagement technique.

If your marketing priority is engaging customers, no matter whether you are a B2B, B2C, national, regional or local business the only two marketing techniques that actually create interaction are social media and event marketing. Sponsorship is more effective (because of the event marketing benefits) than advertising. You should really be reviewing your budget and where you spend your marketing dollars.

Yes, relationships take work. Yes, relationships take attention. But the only way to create a relationship is to start a conversation. Almost no conversation starts with a static print or radio ad.

Instead of using print and radio as the primary message delivery systems, and social media and events as the support techniques,  businesses (large and small) need to start thinking about social media and events as the conversation starter and advertising as the support tool.

If your really looking to make the most of this time, then social media and events should be your go-to techniques. Period.

(all charts used in this blog are from Forbes Insights research)

Even in a crummy economy, sponsorship remains strong. Why is this?

Well, there are several reasons. For one, sponsorship “bundles” media which means you can have a very rounded out, smart program with a single purchase, which means alot of the heavy marketing lifting (buying media, designing programs, etc.) is done for you. All that’s left for the sponsor to do is come up with a brilliant activation program (easier said than done).

Where I live (Oahu) there was an article in the PacBizNews about the strength of sponsorships in Hawaii. It specifically addressed the upcoming Sony Open and Hawaii University sponsorships. Despite the recent Tiger Woods hoopla, the Sony Open is holding its own with sponsorships. Mainlander’s reading that article will note the aggressive rates for sponsorship here, particularly for the Sony Open where there is national media exposure. If you buy sponsorships in golf, take a look at the Sony Open, talk about value! It is ironic because as several testimonials note, Hawaii businesses “get” the value of relationships that sponsorships offer, yet our sponsorship rates here are quite low.  In general, businesses in Hawaii understand relationships in a way that mainland businesses miss. Sometimes, corporate America – especially in a recession – forgets the value of meet with people face-to-face, in a relaxed and fun environment. Shared experiences create relationships, period. A phone call does not create a relationship. An email does not create a relationship. Going to an event together does. Hawaii businesses don’t need lessons in creating relationships, for the most part, their business IS relationships. Which is one reason why sponsorship remains strong in this market.

Hopefully Hawaii’s smaller businesses (85% of the business community in Hawaii) will take note of some of these opportunities. Whether you choose to be affiliated with a highly visible national event or a highly targeted local event, there are sponsorship opportunities out there. There are some great Honolulu networking events and Hawaii is a destination for several other high profile sporting events that really make for some interesting niche market opportunities.

If you aren’t sure what a good sponsorship opportunity for your company would be, or how to pursue or negotiate a sponsorship,  or if you are a mainlander and would like to sponsor events in Hawaii, call me. I’ve sold and packaged sponsorships so I know what to look for and how to negotiate them.  I can help you find and activate a program that is suited to your budget and your objectives.

Who says its hard to do business in Hawaii? Pssshaw. Who says that there is always someone who ruins the party? Naaaaah.

Well, at least not in the fantasy world I live in. But, apparently, in the paradise I live it, marketing and fun are illegal….or at least by one group’s interpretation. Outdoor Circle (who I won’t give kudos to by linking) has decided that there is nothing better to do than denounce the Weiner Mobile’s tour through Hawaii.

Outdoor Circle is local nonprofit who over a century ago, was responsible for banning billboards in Hawaii in an effort to ensure that Hawaii’s outdoor splendor isn’t marred by intrusive advertising.  Hawaii is one of 4 states that ban billboard advertising. Nobel goal indeed (preserving the beauty of Hawaii). Their mission thus full-filled over a 100 years ago, they set about ensuring that the good folks at Outdoor Circle always have jobs…and today the good people at Outdoor Circle spend their days finding reasons to justify their existence

Not only do they seek to enforce the law in an over-reaching way, but perhaps more sadly they do so in a threatening manner. Outdoor Circle wouldn’t know Aloha if it hit them over the head with a billboard…but no threat of that happening anytime soon.

Its a good thing that Outdoor Circle doesn’t have plans to expand to the mainland anytime soon, or Hawaii’s highly successful national bus tour would be banned too!

Like I always say: “If you can mar-ket here, you can market annnnnywhere….”

Read about it here: Pacific Biz Journal

Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Meier Weiner….” I guess even knowing that song dates me, but I can live with that. As a child, I never got sick of that song…and even today, I remember it when strolling down the aisles of the grocery. Who says ad dollars aren’t worth every penny?!

The Oscar Myer Weinermobile makes an appearance in Hawaii this week. Hawaii is celebrating its 50th year as a state this year, the Weiner mobile started in 1936, making the Weinermobile the older of the two. Put it in perspective. Oscar Meyer’s stunt is perhaps the oldest and longest running mobile marketing campaign in the country.

The Weinermobile is big news for bloggers in the Aloha State and Oahu specifically as moms and Hawaii residents and tourists alike love to see it and write about it. And the tour in Hawaii will last over July 4th and into the following weeks. Surely hosting this American icon over such a venerable holiday is an honor.

Kraft is smart about their event marketing campaign, its integrates nicely with their website, they have a blog and them seem to focus on  cities in the DMA 50-100 range. Smart. In these markets, they get more visability from TV, radio, newspapers and even bloggers.  With 8 mobiles + the new mini Weiner mobile, cruising throughout the country hitting county fairs and grocery stores, its no wonder this continues to be a favorite with communities. Personally, I am surprised that the marketing department at Kraft missed the chance to make an appearance at the Little League tournaments later in July, given that the world Little League champs are in Waipio, Hawaii. Maybe the Hawaii Little League didn’t want to share the spotlight? I doubt it.

Besides the business wisdom of the Weinermobile campaign, its easy to appreciate a hot dog on wheels that jams out to “I wish I had an Oscar Meyer Weiner” in different genres, including dance music. Oh, I might need to get a Weinerwhistle too…. have a good summer! Here’s to hoping all event marketing campains are as successful and impact a brand so successfully!

Twitter. Everyone is doing it. Social media has reached the masses.

Does anyone else think its interesting that Twitter, the hottest social media network today, is generating events? Ah, events. They just won’t go away, despite the trendiness of the web.

Prediction: tomorrow’s event, event marketing and sponsorship opportunity is with “Tweet-ups” where like-minded Twitter-peeps meet up to meet each other in person.

While these “Tweet-Ups” are excited when 100 people show up, here’s the rub: its a group of like-minded connected people who share what they know with others, meaning for each of the people who you reach at a Tweet-Up, your really reaching at least another 50 – and maybe thousands. While these Tweet-ups are small and before they reach critical mass, now is the time to get involved and start sponsoring. Here’s the great thing: by their very nature, Twitter-peeps share something in common, making it a very powerful marketing tool. You can’t sponsor Twitter – but you can sponsor Twitter-ups. The NHL is already using this Twitter extension to connect its brand with fans.

When will tradeshows start hosting Tweet-ups around the country to build momentum for their events? Will brands start holding Tweet-ups for their followers that are sponsored?

I think so. Its just a matter of time. This is just one of the new bright and shiny business opportunities in the gray economy.

Here’s a couple of interesting Twitter-Up resources:

http://tweetups.org/

http://tweetups.org/

Don’t forget: when you Twitter about this, use hashtag: #tweetup

Although the economic crisis is having a critical impact on tourism and travel, Marriott and its Hawaiian business partners aren’t letting it stop them from one very successful marketing campaign. The campaign, a road tour, dubbed the “Spirit of Aloha” includes Hawaiian travel and tourism executives, 3 dancers & 2 musicians on loan from the Polynesian Cultural Center as well as Maui’s Camile Velasco of American Idol fame.

The group got lots of together time as they moved along middle America on a 45-foot bus. The cost of the campaign was approximately $350,000 with Marriott covering hotel expenses and partner Hawaiian airlines covering flights. Once the team was on the mainland, it was “all bus, all day” as the caucus went from early morning local shows to day-time meetings with travel and tourism promoters bringing Aloha and sunshine at each stop. One of the more colorful venues included a bowl-a-thon with Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) members. To stir up interest with the consumer side of things, stops along the way included Costco to hand out shell leis.

Originally, the plan included visits along the California coast (where many of Hawaii’s domestic U.S. visitors originate from) including San Diego and San Francisco, but the results were so immediate the tour was extended to a total of 6 1/2 weeks and included stops across the country including Chicago and Washington, D.C.; it wrapped up February 26th.

Along the way, Spirit of Aloha gathered such interest, they started a blog, to keep everyone up to date. The entire program generated much interest in tourism circles.

The result? Marriott Hawaii bookings are up 40%. Maybe travel and tourism will will be the next segment to utilize the power of event marketing.

P.S. The bus is already onto it’s next adventure: a NASCAR driver is using it.