The Power of Social Media: Making it Work for WEC Attendees (part 2)

“Act as a spokesperson for social media to the members attending WEC.” This short directive from MPI on our “jobs” as Social Media Gurus can really be interpreted in so many different ways. I’m currently having trouble focusing on what it expected of me. I am all for promoting MPI and WEC— I do so on a daily basis. But is that really all there is to it? As the week progresses, I will be working with MPI to flesh out the details and see which direction they need me to face. Here are few examples of our upcoming social media promotions. The Big Deal The powers that be have asked each Guru to use our social media power to promote The Big Deal. The Big Deal is a poker tournament presented by MPI Foundation and brought to you by Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment, Hilton Worldwide and Encore Productions. The Big Deal is a big deal – it’s a free, exclusive event for the first 1,000 registered attendees of WEC. One lucky tournament player will win a trip for two to Las Vegas and a $10,000 seat at the 2011 World Series of Poker® Main Event – the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world! The social media promotion effort will include a Twitter FAQ and Facebook conversation on MPI’s fan page for WEC attendees about both card playing and the benefits of the Foundation. For example:

Favorite poker memory?
How has the Foundation helped your career?
How can I optimize my networking during a Casino type event?
If you were a playing card, which one would you be?

This type of promotion is right up my alley. Throwing out questions to the #WEC10 audience via Twitter always drums up interest. I love being creative with Tweets like these:

Biggest win at the poker table?
Has your MPI Chapter ever applied for a Foundation Grant? (if so, what for?)
Are you waiting for the ace of hearts on the river to complete your flush draw? It’s the big deal at #WEC10
Are you playing full tilt at the big deal? Visit the Big Deal sponsors at #WEC10 tradeshow & enter BIG prize drawing.
Take a turn on 4th Street and sit by the River at the Big Deal

Guess You Do Gotta Know When to Hold ‘Em I didn’t get many retweets (RT) on Twitter when I tried these promotions. Could it be that they didn’t understand my poker terminology? Or maybe I didn’t send the message at the right time to catch the eye of interested attendees? Or perhaps they just aren’t interested? The Twitterverse can be pretty fickle at times, and not every message gets the attention it might deserve; which only means I’ll be resending my message again! In the social media world, we understand people may be listening and not talking… and that’s okay. Even though I’m still working on engaging people to talk about the Big Deal, I discovered that attendees right now are interested in travel arrangements, shuttle service and the shoe check-in. We also want to know where others are staying, if someone else will be jogging/walking at 6 AM, if we have Wi-Fi availability and whether or not our cell phones will have service. I suppose as event professionals, we need these details right now more than whether or not we’ll be at the poker tournament RISE Awards MPI Public Relations Specialist Kristen Kouk is currently in the process of editing a podcast with David Rich, Senior Vice President of George P. Johnson Experience Marketing for his thought leadership and substantial contributions to the meetings and events industry. David won the Meeting Industry Leadership award and will be presented with his award during WEC. MPIHQ is asking for our help in promoting this event within certain channels we believe are relevant, like LinkedIn. In addition, one of us will get the chance to interview David at WEC. Other Promotions

Shuttle Service MPI will be offering regular shuttle services throughout the congress, to and from the hotels that are not within a comfortable walking distance from the convention center and also to and from the opening and closing reception locations.
Shoe Check-In Wear your walking shoes to the convention center and check them at the door to change into your dressy kicks.
Career Center – Job Fair Held in the WEC Career Center each day of the conference, the Career Connections Job Fair will be the place where job seekers, employers and recruiters meet face-to-face and virtually. WEC attendees can sign up prior to their arrival as a job seeker or job recruiter. http://www.mpiweb.org/Events/WEC2010/Information/CareerConnections.aspx

My Latest Results I didn’t get many retweets (RT) on Twitter. Could it be that they didn’t understand my poker terminology? Or maybe I didn’t send the message at the right time to catch the eye of interested attendees? Or perhaps they just aren’t interested? The twitterverse can be pretty fickle at times, and not every message gets the attention it might deserve; which only means I’ll be resending my message again tomorrow!

And in the social media world, we understand people may be listening and not talking… and that’s okay. I did find though, that attendees right now (2 weeks out) are interested in travel arrangements, shuttle service and the shoe check-in. We also want to know where others are staying, if you’ll be jogging/walking at 6:00 AM, Wi-Fi availability and whether or not our cell phones will have service. (Pathable Community) I suppose as event professionals, we need these details right now more than whether or not we’ll be at the poker tournament – A key takeaway for those using social media to engage attendees.

Considering that the meetings and event industry is made up primarily of women, I thought is poker just for men? Then I read this statistic online: Women are playing as often as men, but they are more interested in the social and fun aspects of the game than men (82 percent of women versus 65% of men). Thirty five percent of the men reported they like to play for money, versus just 18 percent of women who like to wager money when playing poker. Women like to play the game, but need the social aspect – sounds like this is right up the WEC attendee alley! I’ll see you there!

Stay Tuned for More Adventures of a Social Media Guru

This is the second blog of a series of my trials and tribulations of a social media guru and how you can learn from our team’s success.

Part 1: Harnessing the Power of Social Media Leaders: MPI’s Social Media Guru Program
Part 2: The Power of Social Media: Making it Work for WEC Attendees
Part 3: Being an MPI Social Media Guru Isn’t Without Its Challenges
Part 4: Guru on Deck at Vancouver – Scrolling on a Trackwheel
Part 5: A Social Media Guru Farewell for WEC 2010

About MPI’s Social Media Guru Program MPI recently came to the conclusion that traditional media and social media had some significant similarities: both groups attended events and covered important issues for attending and non-attending public alike – and social media representatives even became a part of the event. This revelation led MPI Public Relations Specialist Kristen Kouk to create a Social Media Guru program to empower members of the industry to lead their social media efforts and help engage members around the World Education Congress (WEC) in Vancouver this year.

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