This document summarizes a presentation about driving live attendance for events in the age of virtual options. It discusses that change is inevitable and virtual events have benefits but also drawbacks. A study found people attend virtual events for cost and time savings while live events allow for networking and interaction. The presentation provides tips for using social media strategically and offers solutions for live events like interactive content, gamification, and planned networking activities to keep events engaging.

1. In the Days of Virtual, How Do We
Compel Live Attendance?
A live presentation for the
Northern CA Chapter of PCMA
May 17, 2012 San Francisco, CA
By Stephanie Selesnick
President, International Trade Information, Inc.
Stephanie@intltradeinfo.com
@StephSelesnick
www.internationaltradeinformation.com
ITI, Inc. 2012

2. Session Outline:
 Change
 Virtual - the good, bad & ugly
 Driving Attendance from Virtual Events
 Push vs. Pull Advertising
 Social Media - the big 5
 Solutions on driving attendance to our live
events
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3. Change
is defined as:
1. To become different or undergo alteration
2. To undergo transformation or transition
3. To go from one phase to another
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4. Change
Does your organization FEAR Change or
EMBRACE it?
What Fear does to an organization:
 Blame Game
 Paralyzed Decision Making
 Unclear Thinking Fear of Failure makes it
so!
 Example: National Rifle Assn & web ads
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5. Change
What embracing CHANGE does:
 Being open to new sources of REVENUE
 Results oriented
 Nimble - can make decisions
 Other ideas?
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6. Group exercise:
 What is the best event or convention
you’ve ever attended? WHY?
 What characteristics do they share?
 What’s the worst event or convention
you’ve ever attended? WHY?
 What characteristics do they share?
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7. Virtual Examples
 What a virtual expo and conference looks like
today:
Video: http://www.virtualtradeshowhosting.com/
vshowdemo/
 Where virtual is on show site (augmented
reality):
Video:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ywMb6SeGc
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt2mf9kuzZE
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8. Virtual & Social Media
 Bottom line:
You can’t share a drink or have a
honeymoon over the internet.
 Virtual IS here to STAY.
 So how do we use it?
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9. Virtual - the good, bad &
ugly
 Bad:
Boring like a webinar with static PPTs
 Ugly:
 Links don’t work
 Poor seminar sound quality
 Un-manned booths
 No one chatting in the chat rooms - lack of
interactivity
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10. Virtual - the good, bad &
ugly
Good:
 Interactive
 Engaging
 Interesting CONTENT
 Interested, trained speakers.
 Keeps you focused on being there instead of
checking email!
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11. Study on Hybrids
 The Virtual Edge Institute (VEI) and ROI of
Engagement released a second report on
the effectiveness of hybrid events in 2011
 There were distinct differences in why a
person attended in-person or remotely.
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12. Hybrid Study
In person:
 Ability to expand their network - 43%
 Personal interaction with
presenters/and or attendees - 41%
 Learn better in person - 30%
 Build deeper relationships with
network 26%
ITI, Inc. 2012

13. Hybrid Study
For remote attendees:
 Cost savings - 56%
 Time savings - 52%
 Attend the sessions that I want - 40%
 Try a virtual event - 37%
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14. Hybrid Study
 If no virtual option was available:
 93% of virtual attendees would not attend
the in-person event
 78% of in person attendees would attend a
virtual option.
 What does this mean for YOUR events?
ITI, Inc. 2012

15. Driving Live Attendance
From Virtual Events
1. Pick a segment that is receptive to virtual
2. Procure the best speakers/thought
leaders/controversial folks in that sector to
speak
3. Offer FREE Webinars featuring the
above-mentioned folks.
4. Find new sponsors in the sector
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16. Driving Live Attendance
From Virtual Events
5. Make it easy to get content
6. Add programming for those sectors into
your annual live event(s)
7. Give first year discounts and special
networking opportunities for those who
attended the webinars or virtual sessions
ITI, Inc. 2012

17. Push Advertising vs
Pull Advertising
Push Advertising is:
The process of communicating advertising
material to an Internet user without the
user making an explicit request for the
material.
Examples: Emails & Spam
Other examples?
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18. Push Advertising vs
Pull Advertising
Pull Advertising is:
 Customers are attracted to a website by
means of non-direct communication.
 Example: Web Banner Advertising
 People search YOU out
 Examples: Blogs, Tweets, LinkedIn
discussions, Pinterest Boards
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19. Social Media:
 Use judiciously. Stop the HARASSMENT!
 Group exercise:
 What constitutes Harassment?
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20. Social Media:
 CONTENT and relevance is KING.
 Where does your audience hang out?
 Blogging: RELEVANCE!
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21. Social Media - the Big 5!
 FaceBook: business vs. personal
 How do you use it for? So does YOUR
audience!
 LinkedIn: Business to business.
 Groups
 Content!
 Twitter: Recommend Tweetchats
(#expochat, #assnchat)#eventprofs
#pcma #conventions #virtual #fun
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22. The Big 5
YouTube: A Must Use!
 60 hours of video are uploaded every minute
 (1 hour of video is uploaded to YouTube every
second)
 Over 4 billion videos are viewed daily
 Over 800 million unique users visit monthly
 313,544,041people live in the United States
 500 years of YouTube video are watched every day on
FB
 Over 700 YouTube videos per minute are shared on
Twitter
 100 million people take a social action on YouTube
(likes, shares, comments, etc) every week
ITI, Inc. 2012

23. The Big 5
 Pinterest: The New Kid
 over 100 million unique visitors.
 Example: San Francisco Omni
 http://pinterest.com/search/?q=omni+hotel+San+Fran
 Repurpose & Restate Content
 Each social media outlet requires a different
way of communicating!!!
 Never connect Twitter to LinkedIn or
Facebook!
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24. Solutions - Live:
 Content - lose the “motivational speakers”
- add controversy!
 What is your 800 lb Gorilla?
 Change up the length of your session
 does everything have to be 1.15 hours? Or 1
hour? Or 45 minutes?
 TED example: The goal of the event is to
expose the audience to a wide range of “big
ideas” that they might not be exposed to
otherwise.
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25. Solutions - Live:
 Lose the panels of talking heads with PPT’s
 Lose the “branded” PPT’s - everyone knows
where they are - YOUR EVENT
 Change up room sets - your facility will hate
you, but attendees will be engaged!
 Global Event Summit
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26. Solutions
 Stop trying to program your event 1 year in
advance.
 How can much of the content still be relevant with so
much time passing?
 Make workshops interactive.
 Gamification:
 Using games to get people to do stuff they normally
consider boring: completing surveys, shopping, filling out
tax forms, or reading web sites
 Role-play.
 If it’s crisis management, have the group manage the
crisis! Negotiation? Negotiate!
 IAEE’s walk in your exhibitors shoes
 Give people a safe place to make mistakes
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27. Solutions - Live
 Networking: How can you be better -
especially to the newbies?
 Alumni Program
 Dine-arounds
 Attendees sign up based on different kinds of
criteria: food likes, what else?
 City Tours as Scavenger Hunts
 Cooking Together
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28. Solutions
 Planned Serendipity:
 House attendees on the same floors
 Create small group/pod areas in meeting
rooms
 Train Staff and volunteers to be connectors
 (the above are via Dave Lutz, Velvet Chainsaw)
 Competitions
 Announce winners last day
 YOUR TURN!
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29. Summary
 Change is going to happen
 Virtual - the good, bad & ugly
 Recent study on Hybrids
 Driving Attendance from Virtual Events
 Push vs. Pull Advertising
 The Big 5 - great tools to drive attendance
 Solutions and Ideas
ITI, Inc. 2012

30. In the Days of Virtual, How
Can We Compel Live?
Stephanie Selesnick
International Trade Information, Inc.
Stephanie@intltradeinfo.com
@StephSelesnick
www.InternationalTradeInformation.com
ITI, Inc. 2012