Virtual Event Success

Ian McGonnigal shared Five Powerful Ideas for Using Facebook for Events. His suggestions are excellent for those who plan events.

I like his suggestion on using Fan Pages to raise awareness about your event and to give attendees a place to connect with each other before, during and after the event. This strategy can work nicely for virtual events too, however, I recommend that you create a private Facebook group for attendees so they can post information that you don’t want the world to see (especially those who didn’t pay to access your virtual event).

Fan Pages are great because they’re indexed by search engines and you don’t have to login to Facebook to read the content. But what happens if an attendee needs the call-in details and another attendee shares it on your Facebook fan page (this happened to me, but with Twitter)? Now, anyone who didn’t pay for access to your virtual event has the connection details to get everything for free.

That’s where a Facebook group comes in. Because groups in Facebook are not indexed by search engines and can’t be found unless you login to Facebook, attendees can safely share info about your virtual event knowing that only other attendees will see.

To really make your Facebook group hidden, make sure you make this group private and choose the option for it NOT to show up in Facebook search results. That means that each person can only join your Facebook group by invitation only.

Last week my friends Nancy Marmolejo and Natasha Allrich hosted a hugely successful call The 4 Hidden Secrets to Turn Your Social Networking Visibility Into a Steady Stream of Profitability… without EVER Having to Push, Pressure, Spam or Pitch.

Did you miss the call? No worries, because Nancy and Natasha just announced an EXCLUSIVE encore call this
Wednesday August 5 at 3pm Eastern Time (New York).

Nancy and Natasha are ready to reveal even more secrets to their “Soft Selling With Social Media” strategy that is putting money in the pockets of high achieving, soul driven entrepreneurs.

Here’s what you’ll learn on this encore call:

1. The 4 keys to turn your visibility into profitability using authentic strategies you’ll love
2. Embarrassing mistakes even seasoned entrepreneurs make when trying to do business on Twitter, Facebook, etc. (they’ll have a great 1st hand confession on this one!)
3. Missing pieces that can turn a 5 figure business into a thriving 6 figure business (how much are you losing by NOT knowing these?)
4. Exactly what you need to turn your followers into loyal, ready to buy fans!

Click here to reserve your spot in this complimentary teleclass.

P.S. As you probably know (and may have experienced yourself first- hand) the hard sell approach with
social media is a huge turn off. Click here to get started on the right foot.

Hosting a virtual event is one of the best ways to make money. I have earned 5 and 6 figure paydays hosting virtual events.

Whether you hold an event over the telephone or using webinar software, you can attract leads and become a sought after leader in your niche hosting a virtual event.

Here are some of the benefits of why you should host and facilitate a virtual event for your business:

Benefit #1 – No travel
When I attend non-virtual events, I typically spend $2500 on just travel and accomodations alone (and this doesn’t include the registration fee to attend the event). With more businesses cutting back on travel, hosting a virtual event is a great way to share cutting edge information with others from the comforts of your home office.

Benefit #2 – Reach more people
If your goal is to be of service to a global market, virtual events help you do this. You will attract people from around the world because all they need to connect with you is their telephone or their computer. Hosting your own virtual event means that you’re not tied down to any location and gives you the flexibility to attract a world audience.

Benefit #3 – Time shifted learning
With a non-virtual event, attendees have to show up at a specific place and time to participate in the learning. With virtual events, you can record the content and make it available for attendees to access later on. I find that 75% of those who sign up for my virtual events do not call into the live call. If I didn’t make the recording available for download or playback, I’d be leaving a lot of money on the table.

In Part 2, I’ll share with you 3 more benefits to hosting your own virtual event. And in just a few days, I’m going to announce my most comprehensive product to date. It’s my step-by-step blueprint on how you can use virtual events to practically make 5 or 6- figures overnight. I’ve done it and I want to teach you how to do it too.

The more people who belong to your social media network, the higher the chances that you’ll attract haters – those who will find fault with everything that you do.

When you become the focus of negative comments on a blog, on Twitter or on Facebook, it can be a shot to your confidence. However, the way you handle the negative feedback in social media will determine whether you fan the flame into a bonfire or if you extinguish it right away.

Watch the 3-minute video below to find out how you can use the B.A.R. approach the next time you’re faced with negativity. I use boxing as an analogy to help you understand my 3 step process for dealing with someone’s hateful comments.

What are some of your tips for handling negativity in social media?

If you’re all thumbs when it comes to social media, I invite you to join me at my upcoming live event called:

Social Media Start Up for Newbies & Beginners

This event is being held live over the phone on April 7th @ 2:30pm ET. For those who live or work close to Toronto, I’m repeating the phone session live at a location in downtown Toronto on April 9th @ 7:30am ET. Oh, did I mention that you’ll be joining me for breakfast in Toronto?

If you consider yourself to be a social media newbie or beginner, join me at one of these 2 events by clicking here. Save $50 if you register your spot before Monday April 6, 2009.

After being named as one of the Top 10 Most Influential Women in Social Media in Canada, Dave Forde (who compiled the list based on feedback from the community), invited me to be on a panel at the Personal Branding Summit.

This event is hosted by Dave and will include my friend, Paul Copcutt, Canada’s personal branding strategist. It’ll be held in downtown Toronto at Montana’s located at 145 John Street. It starts at 6pm and the cost is $10 in advance, $20 at the door.

If you’d like to find out how to cultivate a personal brand so you stand out in this competitive and cluttered marketplace, click here to register your spot. I’ll see you there.

I recently stumbled upon a conversation thread on Twitter between one of the speakers of the 2009 Social Media Telesummit and someone who didn’t register (by his comments, I know he didn’t register for the event).

In summary, the person (who didn’t register for the Telesummit) said that delivering cutting edge information over the phone was akin to flushing money down the toilet. The exact language from his tweet was:

That flushing sound is the sound of your wasted dollars paid to “listen on the call” for the “Social Media Teleconference” -so sorry

Interesting.

There’s a reason why I chose to deliver the content over the phone. Well, maybe two:

• It’s the lowest barrier to entry. People are familiar with this technology and most people have access to it.
• It’s stable. Whether you live in Boston or Africa, you won’t have any fears of the phone cutting out on you (not unless it’s a cellphone or Skype).

The (Sometimes) Problem With Webinar Software

I’ve been to virtual conferences where webinar software was used and there’s always a small portion of your audience that just can’t connect. Maybe they’re using a MAC or Safari or Vista or something.

Or, as the presenter, your computer freezes because you’re working with the webinar tool, Powerpoint slides and your browser all at the same time. Then, attendees complain because your slides haven’t changed.

This ruins the learning experience when as a facilitator you have to stop, troubleshoot an attendee’s problem, then try to get back in the swings of things. Then repeat when another attendee goes through the very same issue.

The (Often) Problem With Slides

Also, we’ve become too reliant on slides to cover up weak content. At least with the phone format, none of the speakers can hide behind a stack of slides. Because they’re talking for 75 minutes, they’re forced to give a content rich session.

And this is not to say any of the faculty I assembled for the 2009 Social Media Telesummit would present inferior or weak content. The speakers I selected to speak at the 2009 Social Media Telesummit all have a reputation for over-delivering on the content side.

Great Content and “Forced” Social Media Participation

Webinar technology has its place and it does work. However, I want to erase any barriers to the information that I and the speakers at my 2009 Social Media Telesummit are going to deliver. Using the phone helps me create a safe environment for attendees who may already be shell shock at this whole “social media thing.”

So, my goal is to make the 2009 Social Media Telesummit a 360-degree experience. Attendees listen to the live sessions (or the recordings). Then:

1. Attendees go to the private group on Facebook and jot down your a-ha moments. This shows them the possibility of using a private, secret group on Facebook for their own clients and projects.
2. Or, they go to the Telesummit blog, login and download the recordings and handouts (if available). Again, this shows attendees the possibility of using a blog to share premium content.
3. Or, they subscribe to the Telesummit blog’s feed to get new updates through their feed reader. Attendees can get updates without ever logging into the blog and understand the effectiveness of RSS.
4. Or, they share their reaction to the event in Twitter and see how hashtags work. Again, another way attendees can see how Twitter extends the learning process, helps people network during virtual events and helps attendees see how using hashtags help to make an event a trending topic (which then encourages more sign-ups).

How the content is delivered shouldn’t be the focus. Phone, webinar, in-person, who cares. Instead, my focus is on just 2 things:

1. Delivering to attendees quality information
2. Encouraging attendees to interact with each other and the tools during and after the event

As Carrie Anderson said on Twitter:

A S[ocial] M[edia] (SM) conference via phone is a ‘safe’ environment to introduce ppl to the vastness of SM technology (being the operative word)

Update: Yet another person hating on the Telesummit and insulting the intelligence of attendees. My only feedback is this – intelligent business people who care about the success of their business and who don’t want to have their destiny decided by a 9-5 job will invest in a strategy that gives them a shortcut.

I’m heading down to Knoxville, Tennessee to do a keynote and breakout session for America Outdoors annual general meeting.

I’ll be sharing with outdoor and adventure operators how to use social media to convert leads and create an enjoyable experience with their brand online. My breakout session following my keynote will focus on specific case studies.

I’m rather excited about this event because it fits the Marketing Fit angle so nicely. I love being outdoors, I love adventures and speaking to this group is right up my alley.

If you own or operate an outdoor adventure company, join me in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you’re an outdoor adventure company using social media, I’d love to talk to you. Leave your comments and let me know how you’re using social media.