Inspiration Hub

Even before we started taking the necessary steps of social distancing by fully telecommuting, work was trending virtual. Zoom meetings were commonplace and webinars occurred regularly, but the current state of things has resulted in an even fuller reliance on digital methods of communication.

Audiovisual services are technically challenging and sometimes a bit mysterious, so it’s nice to lean on your partners for support. But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Understanding the basics of event sound, video, and lighting technology will help you know what’s available and how those options align with your goals when you meet with AV providers.

Wi-Fi is an intangible meeting requirement that can be the Fairy Godmother of your event—enabling attendees to use your app, participate in polling, and download educational materials. It can also be an evil spirit, causing complaints from guests who can’t check their email and disruption for presentations requiring an internet connection or access to audience devices.

Mobile devices are making us feel lonelier–at least according to one-third (33%) of Americans who reported feeling that way in a recent survey of 2,020 U.S. adults (conducted by the Harris Poll* on behalf of Eventbrite). Even major tech companies are aware of the negative side effects of constant screen time and are building features to help recalibrate user behavior. But beyond yearning for social connection, most of us also count on our phones for productivity, entertainment, or just a surefire way to zone out – and it’s starting to take a toll.

Worried about re-posting content, getting the best lighting for you selfies or what hashtag to use for your business Instagram? Sheryl Shelton, manager of B2B marketing and social media for Hilton Hotels & Resorts shared tips for engaging attendees through Instagram in a Smart Meetings webinar. She was joined by professional food photographer and cookbook author Justin Fox Burks who gave expert advice on lighting, styling and editing photos.

From enhanced guest experiences to the power of reserving your parking spot in advance, smart technology is becoming more common in the hospitality industry. Apps that anticipate guests’ needs help hotels and planners design events that deliver more of what people really want.

It seems like Instagram has been the talk of the social media world lately. But is it really a good fit for your organization? Or, is it like Snapchat in the sense that it might be a “nice to have,” but only if 1) a majority of your members are using it, and 2) you have the resources (staff, content, etc.) to make it work? Well, let us start by saying when it comes to social media success, you get out what you put in. Regardless of platform, you have to put in some time and thought to see results. And while every organization and industry is different, overall, Instagram is worth putting some time and thought into. 

Digital images displayed on digital displays open up a new world of changeable and moving images. When it comes to selecting digital displays, exhibitors are faced with a staggering choice of options – from small tablets to mid-sized TV screens and multi-panel digital walls. If there is video input, virtually any display screen can be adapted for use at an exhibit. But to help you pick the optimum hardware for your budget, venue, and expected audience, we’ve broken down the features, benefits, and strategies to mitigate risks of each type of display. In this article I will cover, Tablets, Kiosks, and TVs. In part 2 of this article, computer monitors, projectors and video walls will be discussed.

This is just one of the top problems Teneo Hospitality Group found in its recent 2019 survey, comprised of responses from 150 meeting planners and hoteliers. The results continue to follow the trends; keeping up with technology is still crucial for successful events, while creativity cannot be lacking if you hope to have an interesting and engaging meeting.

The board of directors for the Las Vegas Convention Center has approved a recommendation to enter into exclusive negotiations with Elon Musk’s Boring Company to construct a proposed loop of underground tunnels with high-speed electric people carriers to whisk convention attendees and workers around the facility. 

You already know the ins and outs of planning an event, but how can you enhance your attendees’ experience and ensure that you’re engaging them before, during, and after the fact?

One answer is to more deeply leverage today’s meeting technologies. While event management software tools offer a smoother and more efficient meeting planning process, they can also improve engagement, build your brand, and provide attendee insights.

I was at an educational forum recently where the keynote presenter spoke with passion regarding the success of completely virtual meetings in building communities using tools such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Skype. The inference was that this digital disruption would cause face-to-face meetings to eventually fade away. While I am in absolute agreement that these virtual communities allow powerful sharing of ideas, I am also a firm believer that there still is nothing that replaces interactions and relationship building at face-to-face meetings. 

Unless you are living under a rock, you’ve heard of voice assistants such as Amazon Echo or Google Assistant, but have you thought about how to use voice assistants at events? We have to make sure as an industry we are always thinking about the purpose of the event and not just adding technology because it’s new and shiny. Could voice assistants really be a replacement for chatbots? What are the benefits of implementing voice assistants at events? Or do they have no place at all being at events? We will be covering all this and more.

Doing social but not doing video? Then you’re missing a huge opportunity to promote your events to a wider audience. According to our recent Pulse Report, video is the most effective social promotion tactic of all. Only 3% of those who used video to promote their events last year didn’t find it effective as a promotional solution. If you’ve not produced video content before, it can certainly seem daunting. However, it needn’t mean giving up masses of time and money – you can produce effective content in minutes, utilising free or low-cost tools.

While I generally recommend that planners look holistically at an event to see where video can play the most effective role, there's one spot where video makes sense most of the time: at the end of the event. Specifically, that general session where you bid everyone goodbye and good luck—and want to charge them up with excitement one last time, in a way that burns an overarching message into their memory.

Blockchain ticketing is set to change the way event professionals sell tickets works for good. Yet the meaning of blockchain for the event industry is still obscure. The buzzword around it and poor coverage from industry media is making event professionals even more confused. So what is blockchain? Why will blockchain ticketing have an impact on the way we sell tickets? Most of all... Why should you bother and what’s in it for you, event planners? We are bringing the answers to your most burning questions about the use of blockchain in ticketing and events.

You’ve set up the Facebook event page, you’re regularly tweeting and you’re posting about your event on Instagram. You might think you’ve covered all your bases. But you’re missing an important piece: an event website. It might seem difficult and unnecessary, but websites are still key for promoting an event and drawing in attendees. Taking the time to create one can be daunting, but plenty of host sites are making it easier than ever to create a site quickly and in a straightforward, clean manner.

Two news stories this week gave a conflicting vision of the use of AI robots as hotel staff. A Reuters’ story on Alibaba Future Hotel Management’s FlyZoo hotel in Hangzhou, China, describes sleek little robots delivering towels and cocktails, which, according to the story, Alibaba claims cuts labor costs and eliminates the need for guests to interact with people.

Investors and developers see the meetings and events technology space as ripe for disruption, and over the past four years have invested in or launched nearly 400 event solutions. The reasons for this momentous interest in emerging event technologies are many. (See my previous article “The Current State of Meetings Technology”).  What are the impacts of so many new disruptive technologies: the pros and cons for event participants, end-user organizations, and meeting planning intermediaries? With at least 20 new solution types now available (see below), I will only focus on general trends in this article, but in future articles will look at specifics of particular solution types.

Believe it or not, your website acts as a sort of membership salesperson. In fact, it’s probably the best “employee” you have! It never complains, and it always lets you know what’s going on. How does your website tell you anything? You can learn a LOT about what kind of information your visitors (aka, potential members) are looking for through website analytics, and therefore be equipped to give them the information they need to join.

The annual CES tech expo with 182,000 attendees and more than 4,400 exhibitors, has just wrapped in Las Vegas. Alongside some of the stranger contributions to humanity on display, including Internet-connected diapers and a $7,000 smart toilet, were a few new products that will definitely make meeting planner’s lives easier.

Nowadays, it seems like everything is going digital - including events. More and more companies and organizations are hosting virtual events and more and more people seem to be attending those events. But does that mean your organization should move from a traditional in-person conference to a virtual one?

The Social Media Trends for Events survey found that marketing was the number-one use for social media among event professionals, with 96 percent of respondents using it for outreach. More than 75 percent of respondents also used social media for customer engagement, news, and community building.  

Will 2019 be the year you leverage social media to make your events safer, more compelling and downright fun? A new survey shows that planners are missing opportunities to connect, sell sponsorships and build community.

The personal touch attendees expect from meetings is now largely being delivered with the help of machines. Yes, the event business has officially entered the realm of high-tech. From smart apps to the Internet of Things (IoT), event professionals must either master programming along with spreadsheets and CRM database building—or hire someone who does. Smart Meetings covered all the must-have tech advances this year to help you stay at the top of your game.