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Archive For: Exhibiting
Your Delegates Want More (and so they should!)
How to Put Video in Front of Slides in Zoom
Zoom has released version 5.2
It has some great stuff like adjusting camera lighting and sound filtering. It has some fluffy stuff like filters. But it also has a cracking new feature.
You can now download your presentation and have the video footage of you broadcast over the top of the slides. (See the video for the visual.)
BUT
There are some caveats. Your audience MUST be running 5.2 to be able to see it. Your computer must be powerful enough to run virtual backgrounds.
So if you have an older computer or a low processing power one like a Mac Book Air, then you may struggle. See Zoom support page for their requirements.
So check out this 4 minutes of fun on how you can do it and what it looks like.
Reach out if you have any questions.
Hybrid Events – Panacea or Pandora’s Box?
Are Hybrid events the panacea that they are being made out to be?
How do you get the best from the Hybrid format and avoid the pitfalls?
This is the Get Events Online Live Stream where we talk all about Hybrid Events.
With the world going into lock down, are hybrid events the answer to all of our problems or do they just add more?
Watch and find out more. Skip to the 5 minute mark to miss the intro video and get to the good stuff!
Exhibiting in the Age of the Corona Virus
What happens when the Expo or Tradeshow you are supposed to be at is still happening but you can’t fly?
How can you have a presence at the Expo when you can’t be present?
What can you do to show your product but not show your face?
There are plenty of options, and most of them do not include Holograms!
With many governments banning visitors from China, South Korea, Italy, Singapore and other countries, it can be a challenge to represent your brand and your company and the events that are still happening.
Sometimes, it is not the government banning the flights. Maybe it is your company, your family or you just aren’t willing to travel because you feel the risks are too high.
If you have already paid for exhibiting space, how do you take advantage of it all while not being on site?
Here are a few ideas:
1 – A Virtual Delegate
While you may not be able to get a robot or drone to carry around a table and be you at the event, it is very likely you could hire a local person to be virtually you. Have them wear a large name tag and image of you and carry the tablet around as you direct. You could then see the sessions, have the conversations and almost be there. All from the comfort and safety of your home or office.
2 A Virtual Product
Arrange with the expo or event organisers to have a smart tv or tv and tablet at your stand. You can show video, interactive website, 3D imagery of your product or service. Some remote printed posters or documentation can easily represent you.
3 A Virtual Presence
This is a combination of the first two. Set up your virtual product (or actual product if it is available locally) and then have your virtual representative on site to give the tablet to interested people so you can have decent conversations. As you are having conversations with people on the tablet, your virtual person can be booking further appointments.
4 Hybrid Convention Presence
With a Hybrid Convention, you can combine the Virtual Presence with the conference software and have meetings in break out room. Even delegate some of your teams to take the hybrid meetings while you do the live one.
5 Something Else
No doubt there are a plethora of other options available to you. These were some that came up in discussion today. Naturally each of these options is scalable. All you need is to add more members of your team or more onsite representatives with tablets to represent you.
What’s Next?
There is no doubt that face to face meetings are superior to virtual meetings. But the events industry is being disrupted by forces beyond our control. It is a great time to get creative and work WITH and AROUND our physical limitations.
If you are looking for some alternatives for your next event, expo or conference, get in touch and let’s talk about what may be possible.
What to Do When Your Event Cancels
Covid-19/The Corona Virus has disrupted the events sector when it wasn’t quite ready for it. Not just the corporate event industry either. Cancellations are happening all over the world.
Quickbooks 2020 in London was cancelled with very little notice. One of my speaker colleagues had flow all the way there from Australia only to be cancelled the day before.
Japan has shut most schools for a month. Some say it is to stabilise the outbreak as much as possible prior to the olympics.
Universities are rapidly looking for ways to reach out to their students without having them on campus. What was going to be future technology implementations have become urgent projects.
And most recently, Italy has shut down. Minimal movement EVERYWHERE!
So how do you continue to engage your team, marketplace, suppliers, associations, and all those in your circle of influence under the global influence of COVID-19?
Virtual Presentations For Virtual and Hybrid Events.
Never has it been easier or more affordable to present to large number of people using the technology you already possess. While you can upgrade to professional AV equipment, in most instances your phone or your computer has you covered.
Here are some key tips for presenting online:
- No dead air. From my time on radio, nothing kills you like dead air. If the audience don’t know what is going on they tune out. You have to be talking with them at all times. Pauses are great, but dead air is a killer.
- You are On Before You Are On. If you are running a session, get a host to come on 5 minutes before start time to start chatting with people. Some people will always be early. They can warm up the crowd for you and start to build their energy.
- Don’t Do It Alone. Having a second person to look at the chat comments, do the intro, put up polls, change the visuals allows you to focus on your message. After awhile you may build the skill for a solo effort but don’t start that way. A tech team or someone like me can really help here.
- Talk WITH Them and not TO Them. It is easier for you to stand there and spout your message. But the audience will be asleep or looking at emails (or even FaceBook). Get them doing something. Ask for suggestions, feedback, thoughts, polls, coffee orders – anything so that they are part of the session. This is more important virtually than face to face as they will not get the synergy from the people around them. They need you to connect them.
- Give the audience something. Having some form of collateral will help them stay engaged and follow along. This is more than copies of your slides. It may be key points, summaries, an infographic, polling info, statistics, reference material or a pdf with space for them to write their notes on what’s next.
- Start Now. Too many people are waiting until they HAVE to do virtual presentations. Like all skills, practice makes perfect. The sooner you start, the more practice you will have at it and the better you will get. So start now.
Virtual presentations are here to stay. For a place as geographically dispersed population like Australia, it can’t come quick enough. With the rise and rise of video popularity and consumption, you have to embrace this and get better FAST!
So whether you call it remote presenting, virtual presenting, online presenting, hybrid conference or a virtual event, the key question is the same, how do I keep my online audience engaged throughout my presentation. The tips above are a good place to start!
Warwick is running a 30 minute power session on Powerful Presentations Online on Thursday 19 March 2020.
Find out the details here.
Are You Focussed On Your Target Market?
I love a well thought out piece of marketing in the right market. This Techbox is particularly awesome.
Last week I was hosting COBA2019 trades how floor at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and right outside the main doors was this Tech Box. If you look closer you will see Hi Vis Vests, Gaffer Tape, Power Boards (that have been tested and tagged), phone chargers, USB Adapters, thumb drives, extension cords… all the things you need at an expo but can often forget. All at a reasonable price (for the convenience).
They know their market well, they know their price points well, and they are offering a fantastic service with low operating costs. There were also a few people at this Expo happily purchasing things from it!
How well do you know your target market and how well do you position your products and services?
Why Your Event or Conference needs a Professional MC
Andrea Edwards, The Digital Conversationalist, interviewed me recently regarding MCs at conferences.
Based in Thailand, she speaks regularly around Asia Pacific (and further) at many conferences and events. One of the things that annoys her is how the event is not held together well when internal or amateur MCs are used.
So, we had a chat. We talked all things MC, events and conference.
If you are an event professional or run conferences, events or simply an internal meeting, it is worth the 10 minutes to discover how a professional MC makes a difference.
Let’s Get Trending
At several recent conferences, we were able to get the event #Hashtag trending. Oh and it is DEFINITELY a WE and not ME. It is nigh impossible to do this on your own.
But several #Eventprofs and conference organisers have reached out to me to ask what we did to make that happen. For some smaller events, again it is a real challenge (I won’t say impossible but you can see if from there!) Even for large events, there are no guarantees!
But there are some key things you can do to lift the interest in your events. This increases the interest for people AT the events and those who are simply watching online.
Some people ask me, why would you even bother. “The conference is sold out – just enjoy it!” But here’s the thing, you, your company, your delegates, your sponsors and your partners have spent a lot of time, effort and money to make this event a huge success. Being able to share it, and increase traction on it makes that success last and even influences next years success.
It also builds a sense of achievement and re-enforces the sense of “made the right decision to be here” among your delegates. And to be honest, it does not take a great deal of extra effort to make it work for you.
So Wed 25th Sept at 8:30am Melbourne time, I will be running a quick power session on how to make your event trend. In 30 mins, learn the tips, tricks and techniques your event needs to become known. Even if you can’t join us, register and I will send you the recording.
The Best Thing to Do With Your Conference App
I am fresh back from AIME2019. The events for events. It was interesting to say the least.
I was particularly interested in Conference Apps. There is so much to offer with Conference Apps in 2019 and there are many options.
Some of the well known ones in Australia are CrowdCompass, DoubleDutch, Entegy, Whova, EventsAir, and Cvent. Some events still create their own apps as well.
But I can’t help think that something is missing with the majority of conference and event apps.
Ah yes… the delegates!
I continue to see delegates ignore the conference app and rely on a printout of the program or refer to banners listing events around the conference. It would be hard to justify the $5k+ investment in an app for your event if the majority of your delegates don’t use it or get value from it.
Yes it is “cool”, yes it can do “amazing things”, yes it keeps us interconnected but we need to keep in mind that a conference app is like fire. It is a brilliant tool but a poor master.
So what is the best thing to do with your Conference or Event App?
The very best thing to do is … turn it off! Not permanently, but for now, turn it off, put it to one side and get the key element of your app sorted. That key element is the Strategy.
Here are some important considerations as you put your App and Event Strategy together:
Old Mature People
Yes the work force is starting to add Digital Natives and they are welcomed with open arms. But don’t forget not all people aged 45 and over (myself included) are as comfortable putting everything on our phones. Also, our eyesight is not as good as it used to be and we haven’t worked out how to make the font bigger yet. Plus we also think it is rude to be on your phone all the time rather than it being “normal”.
So how are you going to encourage us to fight our instincts and actually adopt this technology?
In general, people don’t like change and we have been getting a printed copy of the program for years so why can’t I have one now?
Oh and why does everyone start sending me messages now that I have it set up? I have enough email already!
(Can you see their inner grump come out?)
No compelling reason to use
I get it. The app can be fun. There is a competition and you can win things. Not sure how but ok I can do that. Yes I can see the program and the sponsors and exhibitors but what else?
Most apps need to have the delegates download the app, register and then create a profile, Without a compelling reason to use the app, these three steps are your first hurdle.
Add to that, most delegates can be quite protective of their contact information so they don’t fully complete the profile information leaving it challenging the show the value if the data is incomplete.
What is a compelling reason to have delegates take these three steps? An early adopter reward is great but delivering great value is better. What is yours?
Look for longevity
Most Apps are used a little prior to the event, just post event and that is it. How can you make it worthwhile to get extra longevity out of the app? Most people download the app and then just leave it on their phone (I know I do). Why couldn’t you use it for some post event messaging, encouraging people to connect and talk about their conference success stories, or even promote next years event?
Continue to add value to app and delegates
Too often the app is considered because of it’s value to the organiser. The ability to save on printing costs, direct and immediate messages to delegates, and promotion of sponsors and exhibitors. As you continue to use your app, look at adding value to delegates. Can you direct link to social media channels, enable connections with senior managers on site, link delegates to exhibitors they are interested in, have “how to videos” on popular products, behind the scenes interviews with speakers, chances to win high value, industry related services/products?
Make it easy
Too many apps are painful to use. It has to be made intuitive and simple. One conference I hosted decided that each day they would change the order of the icons on the screen so that delegates would be more likely to try some ones they hadn’t. All it did was confuse the delegates and they reduced their usage of the app.
In the initial notification of the app, maybe have a simple How To video and Easy Starter guide. Have App Gurus with big App Guru names badges/t-shirt walking around and supporting the delegates. The easier you make it, the more they will use it this year and from now on.
Make it meaningful/Deliver Value
While the gamification of conferences is an important step, it can’t only be about the games. There has to be meaning to the app. Having an app just to say, “we have a conference app” is not enough.
We need to have an app that makes people love using it and those who haven’t downloaded it yet ask there friends how to get it. So what can you do so that people who don’t have the app ask their friends to help them set it up?
Pay for the free event Wifi
This is particularly true for Australia and for events held in the bowels of buildings.
While speaking at an event in the USA, they had no internet access in the dining/trade show area. You know, that area where people talk and ask about what they have seen and what should they see and what is coming up next. With only the app to guide them and it being reliant on the internet, it was a big fail.
Australian hotels/convention centres free wifi always seems quite limited. I am happy to blame the NBN for some of it but part of it is that the “included” free wifi is usually pretty low speed.
Check your budget, get a sponsor if you have to but have a solid wifi connection across the event.
Get Your Strategy Right
This is THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE.
Your strategy has to be more than “We should have a conference app.” Your ROI, ROO, and ROE (Returns on Investment, Objectives and Energy) will only be as good as your strategy.
At the very least, you may want to consider the following:
- What will you do to ensure early engagement?
- How will you ensure longevity?
- How will you encourage the late adopters?
- How can you level the playing field in the gamification areas so that late comes still have a chance to win?
- What value will it offer the delegates, sponsors and speakers?
- How will you stop it from being a blatant “sell” when talking about exhibitors?
- How can you make it more that simply a digital program?
- How will you measure it’s success?
- Do you need GPS tracking recording to measure tradeshow movements?
- Can you include beacons for the tradeshow floor?
- What will make the delegates LOVE it?
- What fun things can you include?
Conference Apps are here to stay. But we MUST do more to make them of significant value to the delegates.
If I can help with your approach, please get in touch.
How to Answer the Burning Question, “Was it worth it?”
As I have mentioned many times, my gorgeous wife and I have a small farmlet about 90 minutes away.
We were there again this weekend and I spent a couple of hours foofing around with some fencing that needed the box stay restrained, the droppers re-aligned, some significant wire repairs and most of the wires re-tensioned. During the process, it started raining heavily (of course!)
Was it Worth it?
To do all of this work, I had bought some equipment: 1.5km of medium tensile wire, a wire spinning jenny, wire strainers, gripple strainers, gripples, staples, fencing ties and some other gadgets as well. I am sure it was over $500 worth of stuff (most of which will last a long time and be used for many fencing jobs).
Was it Worth it?
My wife and her friend were sitting in front of the fire, enjoying drinks, cheese and nibbles on a gorgeous, relaxing Saturday afternoon while I was out there with Winston the Wonder Poodle accidentally putting to much strain on an old wire, struggling with high and medium tensile wire, trying to tie knots that will last for years and getting harassed by horses.
BUT WAS IT WORTH IT?
When it comes to measuring success of any venture, you need to consider the three R’s. ROI, ROO and ROE. Specifically Return on Investment, Return on Objective and Return on Energy.
ROI – Financially, it probably wasn’t worth it. I could have paid a handyman $100 and they could have done the work. But longer term, the financial side of of the equation will pay off. There is a lot more fencing to be replaced and a bit to repair. Having our own gear gives us the freedom and flexibility to do it when we want and cheaper than getting someone else to do it.
ROO – It was certainly a worthwhile objective. The big hole in the fence meant that cows from next door were coming to and fro as if they owned the place. Now that fence is fairly solid and I have a lot more confidence. My objective to have it animal proof (except for the Kangaroos) has been achieved. It also looks a lot tidier.
ROE – No doubt I could have hung out in front of the fire just relaxing. But the sense of achievement I got from tapping into some skills I hadn’t used since I was a teenager was fantastic. Knowing I have made the fence animal proof once again means I no longer have to wonder about how to get the animals back and what sort of impact they may have on our property or the horses.
So Was It Worth It? Definitely.
Here’s the thing. So often we do things, socially, around the house, at work, for others and we don’t consider “Was it worth it?” In my experience, this is particularly true for businesses who sponsor events or want to exhibit at trade shows. Often this is because we don’t know WHY we are doing it. So how can we tell if it is worthwhile if we don’t know why?
It is important that we take the time to calculate if our effort was worth it and if we got the results we were after. If we didn’t consider why not and what we can do differently next time.
That way, you can always answer the burning question, was it worth it.
PS If you are considering Sponsorship or Exhibiting, join me on a free online session on How to Get the Foundation Factors of Sponsorship Right.
Click here for more information on the session or to register.
How You Can Tell If Your Event Is A Success
Too often we focus on the cash flow or the ROI of an event when we are measuring success and not the ROO and ROE. Whether this event is a corporate conference, a party with friends or your child’s next birthday party, the intent of this is the same.
Don’t get me wrong, a financial analysis (Return on Investment ROI) of your event is imperative, but it is not the only thing. You have to look at your Return on Objectives (ROO) and Return on Energy (ROE) as well.
ROO is important as once we know our objectives, it will change the focus of the event and what we do at it and with our attendees.
ROE is so important as we only have a certain amount of energy to contribute so we want to put that energy in the right spots.
The problem with this is that most events do not have well considered Objectives or they are not measured appropriately. All too often people write of the cost as a “Branding effort” without even attempting to measure how it impacts the brand.
For your next event you need to ask yourself some key questions:
- How will we determine if this event is successful?
- How will we measure it?
- What systems do we need to put in place today to help measure it?
Sometimes your measure of success is long term and you can be willing to make a financial loss in the short term for a much greater return down the track.
Whatever you decide, you have to measure it. As the old saying goes, “What get’s measured, get’s improved.”
What Could You Do With A Million Bubbles?
I am thrilled to be working with Peter Merrett from the House of Wonderful to bring together a fantastic EXPERIENCE in Sydney.
Now this is where a usual post would bang on with sales copy and get you to sign up. Let me approach it differently.
If you are after an amazing interactive experience in Sydney on Thursday September 13th, then click on the image above to find out more and get your ticket. It will be an experience you will talk about for ages!
OK – no more sales.
Let me quickly chat about why this event and this opportunity stood out for me and how you may shift your events because of it.
The event is focussed on customer experience and I think as someone who has hosted and attended many events, the experience is beginning to feel the same. Have you ever been shopping and wondered, “am I in Myer, David Jones or Kmart?” Yes the venues are a little different but the EXPERIENCE is all the same.
How many events have you been too that are along this line:
- Welcome
- CEO Welcome
- Amazing Speaker 1
- Inhouse Speaker 1
- Morning Tea
- Breakout sessions
- Lunch
- Amazing Speaker 2
- Afternoon Tea
- Inhouse Speaker 2
- Inhouse Speaker 3
- Closing
- Drinks
They are barely memorable.
It is a balance between Education and Entertainment. We are now of the age that if we are not entertained, we will whip out our mobile phone to check emails, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp or eBay. We are still paying attention (sort of) but if we are not entertained, or inspired our brain moves on.
With the hosting work I am doing, this has had me continuing to raise the bar. From turning the delegates into a choir (sounds good when there are 500 people singing and laughing), to connecting with the delegates by making up some funny jokes with and about them on the spot, to getting ideas from the audience and turning it into poetry as a bit of a poetry slam – it is amazing the things that can happen. For one client we turned their IT briefing to their clients into a Graham Norton style interview panel. I must confess that one went from Boring to Boinnnggg quite well.
Now some people think that if it is too much fun then the delegates or audience are not learning. That is simply not true. Laughter opens the mind, keeps people focussed and makes the experience more memorable.
So Dear Reader how are your events?
As an attendee or organiser, what are you doing to fire them up?
How can you get a Million Idea Bubbles popping for your clients and delegates?
If you are looking for ideas, join us in Sydney so we can show you what to do with a million bubbles. (Oooops… a final sell!!)
Head to A Million Bubbles for more information and to register.
See you there!
Plan Backwards
Image: Shutterstock
The year has started and no doubt you have some plans in mind. You may have even done some formal planning. I have found the best way to make your plans actually happen is to plan backwards.
This method applies whether you are planning an event, a project, a sales target, or simply planning to by a house.
Dr Stephen Covey has as one of the seven habits of highly effective people to “Begin with the End In Mind.”
For us this means looking at what do we want to achieve and by when. For example, maybe you want to achieve $200,000 in sales this year. That is the goal, the target, the thing that keeps you inspired. I would be using language about that. “Project 200k”, tracking for 200k or something to ensure it keeps top of mind.
The next step is to work backwards. If you are wanting $200k this year then how much is that per month? Let’s face it, Jan and Dec are hard to get anything done (well Jan has already gone!) so you are looking at $20k of sales each month.
So let’s break that down even further by continuing to work backwards.
- What is your average sale size?
- How many proposals do you need to make a sale?
- How many meetings do you need to get a request for proposal?
- How many sales calls do you need for a meeting?
This will then set your daily plan for you and you will always know what to do.
For example, let’s assuming the following.
Your average sales size is $5,000. You historically send out three proposals to make a sale. You need two meetings to get a request for a proposal and make five sales calls to get a meeting request.
Working backwards, to reach $200,000 you need 40 sales of $5,000. Based on ten months this is four sales a month.
Each sale need three proposals, so that is 12 proposals a month or 3 a week. To get a proposal request, you need two meetings so that is six meetings a week. Each meeting takes five sales calls so that is 30 sales calls a week or six calls a day.
What this means is that to reach $200,000 you need to consistently make six phone calls a day.
This process works for all kinds of planning. If you are yet to plan your goals for the year, I strongly suggest you plan them backwards. If you do that, you can almost guarantee you will achieve the outcome you are after.
Grabbing Attention
I was at the Integrate Trade Show in Melbourne this week. A show all about Audio Visual for conferences, corporates and large areas.
So many exhibitors had spend huge money on their stands showing off their latest and greatest technology. Some of the big brands built two story exhibitions with screens and logos everywhere.
It was a huge waste of money.
These same brands looked like they spent very little money on creating an atmosphere for the visitor or training their staff on how to approach and interact with the visitors.
Create LED had a different approach.
They had a much smaller presence. A simple black cloth background. A different display using one unique product, their Air Magic Box and staff who smiled, engaged with people who walked past and created a pleasant experience.
Their return on investment would have been significantly greater than that of the big name, multi-storied booth exhibitors. Mainly because they focussed on what counts, the Visitor and not themselves.
Grabbing the attention of a visitor is not all about you. It is mainly about the visitor. What is something new and unusual for them that will get their attention and start a conversation about their interests and needs?
This works not only at trade shows, but also in one on one conversations at networking events, presenting at conferences or your traditional marketing pieces.
How do you get their attention?
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