As a meetings and events planning professional, you are no stranger to networking. Connecting people face-to-face in social settings is what you do.
But how do you network with your other planners and how to you encourage your attendees to interact before and after the events you plan?

Certain has put together a short list of the best social networking sites for meetings and events planners.

MPI GROUPSPACE
Meeting Professionals International has created the MPI Groupspace as a fantastic to for industry professionals to set up  their own networks around the topics and interests that matter to them. Each group that is created has a blog, message board, wiki library, document library and space for customizing their group homepage. Professionals can explore existing communities and create new ones.

FACEBOOK
Well known to anyone who has been online in the last few years, Facebook bills itself as “a social utility that connects you with the people around you.” Facebook is not only a great place to connect with friends, classmates and coworkers, its “Groups” and “Become a Fan of” features enable you to connect with other meetings and events industry professionals and organizations who have a presence on Facebook.

EVENT CROWD
Event Crowd is the international online community for everyone working in the world of exhibitions, events and live marketing. Event Crowd creates contacts, makes introductions and delivers business. Visitors to the site can view an activity feed of posts by users, browse best practices and view media.

CROWDVINE
Creating a community around your events is now possible with CrowdVine for Conferences. This professional networking tool helps attendees build their professional relationships and networks pre and post-event.

CERTAIN
Certain Registration is an online software available to meetings and events planners on-demand. It is designed to leverage dynamic, custom registration websites to help planners bring  people of similar interests together to meet face-to-face. As a supplement to its core product line, Certain also brings meeting and event planners best practices on everything from green meetings to credit card security via blog, white papers, articles and media accessible from its main website.

I recently read a very interesting article about the importance of human capital to businesses in the “knowledge era.” The premise was that companies who are able to maintain high employee retention rates are generally more successful. Employee retention effects customer satisfaction which in turn impacts customer retention and ultimately the business’s bottom line.

The best employees are seeking learning and growth opportunities from their employers. Employers can demonstrate their commitment to employee development by offering skills training for people in new positions as well as training to help employees make it to the next step. Similarly, a company who offers tuition reimbursement or generally encourages their employees to pursue professional development gives an employee less reason to move elsewhere.

When an organization fails to understand the importance of their human resources, it will not thrive. If your best employees leave, they take with them a wealth of institutional knowledge, experience, successful relationships with customers, etc. The cost of replacing an employee includes not only advertising, screening, interviewing, reference checks, training, but also the variable costs of damaged employee morale and lost business.

 According to a Gallup survey, employees who have an above-average attitude toward their work will generate 38 percent higher customer satisfaction scores, 22 percent higher productivity, and 27 percent higher profits for their companies. The benefits of employee job satisfaction are clear. If an organization is serious about attracting and retaining the best employees, as well as building a successful business, it must invest in employee development.

Six Tips for Increasing Employee Retention

Evaluating Your Employee Retention Program

Online registration forms can go way beyond just getting people to attend your meetings, events or conferences, they can become useful tools for capturing any kind of information at any time.

Online registration can be applied to so much more than meetings•

• Replace virtually any paper form for any purpose with an online registration website that is available 24/7
• Post applications to be completed online by job seekers, new members or volunteers
• Send surveys via email that can be completed by target groups
• Register professional licenses or other credentials
• Collect artist submissions for museum or gallery exhibitions
• Sign up interested customers for rewards programs

Enhanced Access Permissions. Sounds a little boring, right? I would rather be thinking about the really fun event planner stuff like whether I should choose the Moroccan-French or the Pacific Rim Fusion catering menu for the symposium luncheon.

But as a meeting and event planner, you know too well that all the fun stuff runs even smoother when you have control over every detail from the beginning, including getting the right groups of attendees to register for those fantastic events you are planning.



With the latest release of Certain Registration software, Version 4.15, event planners can gain further control over who can access a registration form within an event by taking advantage of new Enhanced Access Permission options. The options include OPEN and INVITATION ONLY in addition to RESTRICTED BY REGISTRATION STATUS option.

• OPEN allows anyone to access your registration form regardless of registration status, without a password. OPEN permission allows your attendees to register, create a profile and add guests if the form is setup to allow additional registrations. This is particularly great if you have a broad attendee base to promote your events to and a diverse program offering to attract large groups of people with varied interests.

• INVITATION ONLY allows you to make registration forms accessible only to attendees who have been specifically invited. This Enhanced Access Permission option works well for a much targeted event that will be attended by people with specific interests or professional credentials. Training program coordinators will also like this option, as it helps manage what programs people can register for as they progress through their training paths.

• RESTRICTED BY REGISTRATION STATUS allows you to limit registration form accessibility to specified status levels of attendees within a particular event. When you have even more complex attendee types in for incentive based events or extensive training programs, this Enhanced Access Permission option is essential.

All new registration forms created in Certain Registration will default to OPEN, while existing forms set to RESTRICTED BY REGISTRATION STATUS will retain those permissions.

Email has become the standard tool for event planners to communicate meeting, event and conference details with their attendees. It is quick, convenient and even green. With Certain Registration's high degree of customization the possibilities for creating dynamic email communications are great, but first email messages have to be optimized to make it through SPAM filters and get read by recipients.

Here are some best practices passed on from savvy business-to-business email marketers and some sound off from Certain Registration Chief Software Evangelist, Dr. Rick Borry.

1 - Get to the point.
Keep messages short as people typically skim emails to decide if they want to read deeper.

2 - Avoid big images or attachments.
Messages with large images or attachments often do not make it past spam filters.

3 - Stand out.
Make sure your subject line is compelling. Personalize your subject lines. This could make or break your chances of ending up being deleted. (For example, “Cindy, registration is now open for the 2008 Miami Tech Conference” as opposed to something vague like,“Tech Conference Registration.”)

4 - Personalize emails.
Connect with each addressee by personalizing greetings and content.

5 - Test before sending.
Send yourself and another colleague test emails to proof how content and formatting will look to your recipients.

6 - Pay attention to timing.
The best times to send email communications are Tuesday through Thursday. If you send on a Monday when people are sorting through emails from the weekend, yours may get lost in the shuffle.

7 - Plan ahead.
Plan all your communications strategically – sending too often may annoy, while too infrequent may leave you forgotten.

8 - Always include “Opt Out” instructions.
Not having an option for people remove themselves from your mailing lists is illegal.

9 - Avoid spamming.
Make sure your communications are up to date with the current CAN-SPAM ACT. Information can be found on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website.

10 - Learn from the results.
Track and review the results of your email communications to improve on what is working and what is not.

Dr. Rick Borry of Certain Software, Inc. discusses email communications and online registration webistes.....

When it comes to creating software simulation and training, I’ve found Adobe Captivate is easy to use and makes polished video tutorials. Not only can you demonstrate how a software application works, but you can also create interactive simulations for learners to practice using the application. In addition to screen captures, Captivate also provides quiz and survey features and is flexible enough to allow you to import images, audio, Powerpoint slides, and Flash files.

I've seen training videos produced using TechSmith’s Camtasia, but it doesn’t offer the simulation component that helps make for a more active learning experience. As a learner myself, I find simple demonstrations fall short of effective instruction. If you are mainly interested in recording a presentation, then Camtasia might work well for you.

As an online registration technology provider, Certain Registration is committed to giving customers the tools and solutions you need to manage events successfully. That’s why we’re developing on-demand training videos to help your registration specialists and meeting planners get up to speed quickly on our application. Look for our videos online later this spring!

If you are cooking for your 7-year old son’s birthday party or dinner for your boss and his wife, are you likely to prepare the same dishes? The same sorts of considerations that go into planning a meal for these different groups also apply to meeting planning and trainings. The point is, don’t underestimate the importance of knowing your audience.

When you are preparing a training or presentation, consider the age, skill level, and backgrounds of your audience. How much do they already know about your topic? How will this new information be of use to them? Is the terminology going to be over their heads? What do the participants have in common with each other? Learning the answers to questions like these in advance will help you develop curriculum that meets the needs of your particular audience.

Recently, an acquaintance who frequently presents to groups of public school teachers lamented how tough an audience of teachers can be. As a former high school teacher, I knew exactly what she was talking about. Whether it was a faculty meeting or professional development workshop, the presenters competed for our attention with the looming pressures of papers to grade, lessons to create, parents to contact, etc.  Knowing this about the audience makes it all the more important to communicate immediately how your information or training will be of value to them.

If you’re interested in tips for how to get your audience’s attention, you might want to check out this article:

Creative Presentation Openers

Or if you know your audience may be hostile, here’s an article with strategies for defusing the tension and managing attendee experience:

Defusing a Hostile Audience

I enjoy being a Supplier member of The Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) and associating with meeting planners from federal, state, and local government as well as other providers of meeting services and facilities.  

Through the Annual Education Conference and Tradeshow, monthly Chapter Meetings, and Special Events, planners and suppliers come together to review the latest trends in meetings management.  It is very rewarding to help meeting planners improve the quality and cost effectiveness of their meetings.

On February 5, I participated in “Achieving Gold” the goal for this year’s National Capital (NATCAP) Chapter‘s 11th Annual Winter Meeting & Tradeshow.  The event included a selection of sessions designed to keep planners and suppliers on top of current issues.

Sessions included “What is Sarbanes Oxley?” an explanation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX ) and how meeting professionals must comply with this law from an ethical standpoint.  For instance, disclosing information that might provide one potential contractor an edge that others do not have; or bundling meeting services such as morning and afternoon breaks, internet fees, gratuities or perhaps even registration fees.  The bottom line is accountability.  Are we as meeting planners and service providers putting ourselves and our partners at risk of an ethical violation of SOX? Read more.    

A very hot and chic session topic was the “Greening” of Government Meetings.  This session demonstrated how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is leading the way by making environmental responsibility a common business practice.  Did I mention the government has an acronym for anything and everything?  EPA is changing their contract acquisition rules to give preference to meeting services and facilities that consume less and manage resources in environmentally positive ways.  These topics were a perfect segue into the Trade Show.  I enthusiastically talked with attendees about the immediate benefits of using Certain Registration to “Go Green”.  Read more.

Mission accomplished.  I Achieved Gold!



David Dzergoski and Jeff Wilson from Certain talk with an attendee about "Going Green."

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Whether you work in sales, training, product design, or another functional area, you’ve probably led or participated in webinars or web conferences. The webinar is a widely used method for communication and training these days. Although everyone’s using web conferencing technology and meetings are easy to setup, we mustn’t forget that it’s a real event. As a meeting or event planner, you’re probably concerned about managing your attendee experience. It’s worth it to do some planning and preparation in advance. Here are a handful of best practices I recommend:

·        Login 10 -15 minutes early to set things up and start on time

·        Ask participants to login 5 minutes early for similar reasons

·        Recommend participants mute their phone lines unless they have questions

·        Provide an agenda and/or key objectives to focus participants

·        Use presentation materials that are clear and concise

·        Pace your speech and content delivery

·        Avoid fast or unnecessary mouse scrolling

·        Check-in periodically with participants to see if they have questions

·        Pose questions to participants to encourage active participation

·        If possible, have a partner with you that can attend to any technical problems

These are just a few quick tips for delivering successful webinars. Here are a couple of more detailed resources you might want to check out:

Ken Molay's Blog on Webinars

National Service Resources : webinar how-to guide

While researching what Youtube clips exist out there on the meeting and event planning industry right now, I chanced upon this retro gem. From the looks of the hairstyles and clunky, old-school computer monitors, I am guessing this is from right around the early 1990's. Not too, too long ago, but definitely the pre-online registration days when things were still done manually with a huge paper trail, a simplistic desktop event management software program and shipments of slick marketing brochures.


 

Fast forward to the glorious digitized world of meeting and events planning in 2008 where business and communication are driven by the powerful engine of the internet. The hard way - manual processes, paper forms and printed collateral - have been replaced by convenient online registration websites that are hard at work for you 24/7.

These days, when you start planning a meeting, event, conference, convention or training program, you have to build a website first. And in this Web 2.0 era with so many great developments in sophisticated web design, social networking and back-end functionality, planners can't just publish rudimentary websites anymore. Your online registration website has to be creative, interactive, secure and.....in short, awesome.

WEB 2.0 FOR AWESOME ONLINE REGISTRATION WEBSITES

According to IBM social-networking analyst, Dario de Judicibus, as quoted from Wikipedia's Web 2.0 section:

"Web 2.0 is a knowledge-oriented environment where human interactions generate content that is published, managed and used through network applications in a service-oriented architecture."

This can be applied to create more appealing, effective, relevant and secure online registration websites.

TIP 1 - Custom design your websites

Even the least design savvy of people have grown accustomed to sleek, professional web design, so making your online registration websites have an engaging and sophisticated look & feel is just becoming a given. As a meeting and events planner, you are either creating a unique buzz around a specific special event or you are trying to conform to your client or organization's corporate branding standards. Good Web 2.0 online registration site design does not mean you need an art school or marketing degree, just access to an application that allows you to customize every element.

The number one guideline for Web 2.0 and beyond design is calculated simplicity. Make it readable, use clean typography. Use sophisticated color palates. Layout all the elements within a planned grid that makes them visible in the browser without scrolling down. Choose high aesthetic value, quality graphics.

If you aren't doing all this yourself, choose an online registration provider who offers event build services so you can engage a highly skilled web design professional with meetings and events industry experience to design the project to your specifications.

TIP 2 - Incorporate new media elements and relevant links

Well done Flash and video elements can deliver messages to potential registrants. A visionary address from the Board Chairman can put a face on an association and encourage old and new members to participate. A quick tour of a conference destination's amenities could entice more attendees to register. Increase program attendance by offering dynamic thumbnail previews or links to guest presenters' websites.

If you do not have the resources to create original pieces, look for ready-made media elements to incorporate from your host city's visitors bureau, hotel, conference venue or guest speakers.

TIP 3 - Optimize your websites for search engines

Optimizing websites to pop to the top of the list when people are searching on Google, Yahoo or other search engines is key, and even online registration websites can be search engine optimized. Determine what top keywords apply to the meetings, events, conferences or training programs you are marketing. Optimize every registration site by incorporating those keywords into the URL, web page titles, content and metatags. Because URL's are the very first part of any website that get crawled by Google, Yahoo and the other search engines, the ability to customize your online registration website URL is also incredibly huge, and not all software providers offer this capability.

TIP 4- Find ways to incorporate social networking and interactivity

In a sense, online registration is a social networking tool that is designed to bring people of similar interests together to meet face-to-face. But before that in-person meeting, you could offer ways for attendees to network with each other online before and after events. Create a Facebook page for the event, a Google group or a blog where attendees can have conversations with each other on specific topics. While these may exist independently of your online registration websites, offering them as "Meet Other Attendees" links within in your sites or in your email communications could be highly effective.

TIP 5 - Use hosted technology providers

One of the greatest things about how sophisticated meetings and events planning technology is today in the Web 2.0 era is that it is hosted. Unlike the days of paper and desktop applications, the availability of hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions brings meetings and events planning professionals many more advantages. You gain the flexibility of on-demand technology that allows people to register 24/7 and you to track registrations up to the minute from anywhere. Because online registration websites capture so much personal data including credit cards information, hosted solutions offer a higher degree of security as well.