My name is Lara and I’m an SEO dummy. There…I said it. But I’ve found my saviour and I want to share it with you too.

First, for those of you not so familiar with what SEO means…it’s an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization. It’s the practice of constructing web pages and entire sites so that they can be discovered, analyzed, and then indexed by a wide variety of search engines (like Google and Bing). Good SEO, simply put, can help the right people discover your website. It’s an absolute necessity. If you’re not using SEO practices, you may just be your industry’s best kept secret (and that’s not a good thing).

But let’s face it – SEO is a science and the rules are changing all the time. It’s overwhelming and I don’t have time to stay on top of it. A little over a month ago I found Scribe: SEO Copywriting Made Simple for my Wordpress blog. It assesses every single blog post after you’ve written it for search engine optimization using analytics I don’t profess to understand. Most other SEO tools will ask for a keyword then have you build copy around it. The problem with this method is that you end up creating copy that concentrates more on keywords than good writing. Scribe doesn’t hinder the creative writing process. Also, In layman’s terms Scribe tells me specifically what to do to improve my SEO score. It also lets me know what keywords have the highest probability of being indexed (among many other great tools).

I signed up for the PRO account since I copywrite for a number of my social media clients, but for as little as $27 USD a month (no long-term contract) you can set up Scribe for your Wordpress blog and be well on your way to a higher ranked site.

I really like Scribe, so I decided to sign up for their affiliate program. If you’ve read my blog over the last 3 years you know that I’ve never endorsed any product before. This is how strongly I feel about it and I hope you enjoy it too. Please let me know what you think!

To find out more click here: Scribe: SEO Copywriting Made Simple

Until I saw this video, I’ll admit I knew nothing about Sylvester Stallone. Let’s put it this way, if we were playing Sylvester Stallone trivia, the extent of my answers would include, “he was in Rocky”, “he speaks funny” aaaaaand “he has a psychic Mother”. That’s it.

Unbeknownst to me, he’s got a killer story. One that should inspire. It shows us all that if you want something you have to climb, claw and sweat to get it. I hope you enjoy this presentation by Tony Robbins…

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been to New Orleans, Trinidad, New York and in the coming weeks I’ll be adding Las Vegas and Boracay, Philippines to the list. My name is Lara and I’m a frequent flyer. For those of you who also live out of a suitcase, this one’s for you. Meet 3floz.com. Touted as a site ‘for those who travel, those who are curious, and those who can’t commit’, the site is overflowing with TSA-friendly health & beauty products for men and women..and is getting a lot of buzz.

As with many great new business ideas, 3floz.com was born out of an untapped customer need. Let me share Alexi & Kate’s (the founders) story…

Kate wasn’t willing to give up her daily beauty regime and carried her full- sized beauty products everywhere she travelled. She couldn’t be bothered spending hours shopping multiple locations searching for the TSA approved size products. Alexi was willing to spend hours going store to store buying her beauty products in TSA approved sizes so she could carry on her luggage. In addition to her anxiety about lost luggage Alexi had a fear of commitment, so buying full sized products put her into a full panic; travel sized products were the perfect solution.
Alexi stopped shopping for her TSA approved beauty products and started using Kate’s full- sized products when they were traveling together. This did not work for two reasons- Kate HATED sharing her beauty products and Alexi was SICK of waiting for her at the airport while she checked her luggage.

The Compromise: Alexi and Kate created 3floz.com, as a one stop shop for all of your favorite TSA friendly beauty products.

How’s this for convenience? When you purchase, you have the option of having your purchases shipped directly to you or your hotel. Frequent flyers, you can now breathe a sigh of relief.

You don’t know what you’re using it for.

Social media is often the subject of ’shiny object syndrome’. People gravitate to its newness, its promises of success and its buzz. Problem is most of these people don’t get the results they’re looking for. A recent study by Network Solutions and the University of Maryland reports that social media adoption by U.S. small businesses doubled from 12% in 2008 to 24% in 2009. However, over one-quarter (26%) of users say it has fallen short of expectations. One-half (50%) of small business users say it has used up more time than expected. Some 17% say it has resulted in allowing people to criticize their business. All of these challenges can be addressed by having a strategy. A strategy ensures you know what you’re looking to achieve, who you’re looking to speak to and where and how they spend their time online, what potential risks are and how you can mitigate them.

You believe it’s a ‘marketing thing’.

The word ‘media‘ is misleading as it’s associated with instruments of mass advertising (i.e. television, newspapers, magazines), considered marketing channels. In fact, social media touches virtually every department of an organization. People use social media to talk about what they love, hate, desire, what they’re experiencing, reading, watching (etc). Customers interact with your business on many different levels – they call in and speak with your receptionist, they receive invoices from your accounting department, they interact with your installation crew, and so on. None of these fall under marketing. Yet, these may be the very things your customers talk about when they mention your business online. From IT to CEO to PR, everyone in the organization needs to be ready for social media.

Yipee! It’s free!!

Alright, if you screamed in delight at the thought of moving your advertising budget over to social media and saving your business tens of thousands, think again. Yes, it can cost nothing to be successful in social media. Heck, Blendtec went viral with an initial investment of $50. But time + resources = money (and you need both to be successful).

You haven’t quite gotten around to discussing it with Senior Management.

In order for social media to be successful in an organization, it has to be readily embraced by the organization’s leaders. Social media is a mindset, it’s a cultural shift…it’s more than just an activity. Ensure executives not only know what social media is, but what it needs to be successful, that it’s a long-term initiative, that it requires investment of time and resources and that it will likely require their contribution.

You can’t wait to try out a new channel that will let you tell everyone about your company.

Go directly to jail. If you’re looking for a new tool to provide updates about your company, social media is not for you. Unlike ‘traditional’ forms of media – television, newspaper, magazine, radio, billboard, etc – which interrupt consumers, social media is opt-in. People choose whether or not to connect with you. That means that the only way you can reach a consumer is to offer something of value that they want to hear. The moment you continually spam people with you-centric information is the moment people stop listening. Social media harkens a new age of communications. One that requires…gasp…dialogue.

You’re still banning your employees from using Facebook at work.

This is a controversial point. There are an overwhelming number of companies that still ban their employees from using Facebook and other sites at work. Their fears – that employees will waste away the day playing with their friends and that, while representing work, they will say something inappropriate about work. Organizations need to clearly outline social media policies. Just like you have policies for dress code, ethics and interactions with other employees, social media requires guidelines and expectations. Another consideration is training. Many successful company incorporate social media in their employee training processes. Setting a tone of trust with a framework is necessary to encourage positive social media interactions.

You have no plans for feedback implementation.

Social media is one of the best ways to gather customer insights. By participating, you’re inviting feedback – positive, negative and everything in between. This is a tremendous opportunity for businesses to understand why their customers buy from them, why prospective customers don’t and what problems and solutions sets your business apart from the crowd. Why flounder this opportunity by not preparing your business to listen to and implement changes from feedback? I encourage companies to go back to point #2 and involve all facets of the organization in social media preparedness. Feedback should be collected and reviewed with an open mind. Two companies who are the gold standard in feedback implementation are Starbucks and Comcast.

Along with an estimated 3 billion other people, I watched the 2010 Vancouver Olympics’ Opening Ceremonies. And, sadly, last night I watched the games come to an official end. But my viewership was not without some great learnings from this epic event that proudly took place in my home country.

It’s OK to make mistakes, especially if you can laugh at them

We all watched the opening ceremonies #fail when the fourth pillar of the cauldron would not raise. With one eye I was watching the live footage of the event and with the other monitoring the #olympics #van2010 Twitter feed. Event planners from around the world were tweeting their dismay and sympathy…because we’ve all been there. Days, weeks or months of planning come down to a live event. And if something can go wrong, it usually will. Well, it did. And, on a massive scale. But rather than bury his head in the sand, the event producer embraced the mistake and with typical Canadian humor poked fun at it (and in a way, himself). It was quite refreshing to laugh it off. And it sent a wonderful message to our global friends that we got it, we own up to it, we laughed and we moved on.

It’s critical to own a hashtag

Why, oh why did VANOC not embrace an official hashtag? I tried, with all my might, to stay on top of the Twitter conversations surrounding the games. They brought a whole new dimension to my television experience. I heard from spectators on the ground, critics, proud Canadians as well as people from all over the globe. Problem? There were many viewer generated hashtags: #olympics, #van2010, #vancouver, etc – and although Vancouver 2010 did have their own Twitter account, there wasn’t a clear hashtag to use for the games.

Have a clear event essence

As a brand strategist and a Canadian, I have often been asked what is Canada’s identity. Canada is young, just 143 years old. Outside of the people who populated our country well before the first ‘explorer’ landed, many of us are 1st and 2nd generation immigrants. Canada is expansive, at 9,093,507 square Kilometers we’re the 2nd largest country in the world. Yet, Canada has a small population, with approximately 34M people we have less people than the state of California. We’ve always been seen as the US’ (very) little brother. All of these factors have led to a country that doesn’t take itself too seriously, is open minded, friendly and, as Sherri Shepherd of The View says, “knows how to throw a good party” (after all, what else are you going to do when it’s -30 outside). I was delighted to see that the essence of our country was beautifully captured in both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. I do believe that, even if you didn’t get our Canadian humor, not one person could walk away not knowing who were are.

So what did you think? Did you enjoy the ceremonies? What were some lessons you took away?

Will you be attending the Event Solutions Conference 2010 in Las Vegas, March 8-10th? If so, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. A birdie told me that there will be a Tweetup on Tuesday, March 9th @ 6:30pm at Bally’s Indigo Lounge.

What’s a tweetup, you say? Why only the most fantastic way to meet all of the people you’ve been developing relationships with online. It’s basically a meetup that’s planned from Twitter – and this one started with a tweet from Deb Roth of Pink Inc.

Many people attend conferences and tradeshows for the networking opportunities – a chance to meet new people and hopefully trade business cards. The mountain they climb is standing out from the throngs of other (just as worthy) people trying to do the same thing. The opportunity for those of us who have been conversing and adding value online is that we’re not ‘just another guy trying to sell me something’. We’re friends, thought leaders, change agents, mentors, proteges and everything in between. In other words we’ve had the opportunity to blast past the awkward introductions and are already on our way to building great relationships. This tweetup will finally give us the chance to meet face-to-face. If history dictates future, there’ll be a lot of business card trading going on.

Even if you haven’t been networking online, I encourage you to come out to the tweetup to meet a great group of professionals and industry leaders. Grab a name tag and tell us how we can help you get started in social networking. You may just find yourself rushing back to your hotel room to start up a Twitter account.

I really hope to see you there. Feel free to email me (see the Contact page) and let me know you’ll be coming so I can look out for you. Tweet you later!

For event planners who are constantly searching for what’s new and unique, Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. is the epitome of mind-blowing entertainment. Using a unique mixture of holographic projection, beatboxing and wicked spinning and drumming skills, there’s no doubt their goal is to entertain.

Below is a video produced by Chris Cairns from a live show with Beardyman, an infamous British musician well known for his beatbox performances, with assistance from Musion (who did the holographics).

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. also produced this totally incredible video that’s sure to put a spring in your step today.

Event planners, where do you go to find your entertainment inspiration? What do you think of this group?

Credits: Thanks to Black Yogurt for introducing me to this group.

On March 8, 2010 event planners from around the world will descend on Las Vagas for the 2010 Event Solutions Conference & Tradeshow. The event will start with a bang…on the evening of the 8th, the Mandarin Oriental Ballroom will roll out the red carpet for the 2010 Spotlight/CATIE Awards (in association with ICA and Event Solutions Magazine). Yes, Vegas has seen its share of Trekkies, Adult Film Stars and Gadget Geeks, but they’ve never seen the likes of this bunch.

With my smartphone and my social media applications, yours truly will be reporting from the awards celebration along with Alan Smithson of Star Productions Inc, Brent Prockert of All Seasons Catering and the fabulous Ruth Moyte of Red Dandelion Creative (one of my blog sponsors – yay!). I’m very excited seeing as Ryan Hanson of Beevents (who will be producing the event), Event Solutions and many of the event sponsors have readily embraced social media and will be introducing some amazing social ideas leading up to the event and on the evening of the awards.

Crowdsourcing at its finest

Over the next week and a half, the 2010 Spotlight/CATIE Awards will be asking its attendees to help shape their event using social media. In their first of three question to all of you, they ask: Which centrepiece would you like to see grace the dinner tables of this 60s themed event? Cast your vote here!

Get in the know

If you haven’t already, make sure you follow the conference twitter hashtag: #ESCS10. You’ll hear event stakeholders leak cool information about the event, attendees build relationships with one another and social media reporters weighing in on their event experiences.

Come & see me speak

I’ll be delivering 3 sessions at the conference & I hope to see you there. Please introduce yourself – I always love to meet my social media friends in the flesh!

MONDAY • MARCH 8 10:30am – Noon .   State of the Industry: Where We are Now and Where We’re Headed

Moderator: Laura Schwartz, Principal, White House Strategies, Chicago, IL

Panelists: Branden Chapman of The Recording Academy, Steve Kemble of Steve Kemble Event Design, Lara McCulloch-Carter of READY2SPARK, Kevin Dana of CORT and Craig Bullock of TBA Global

From the A.I.G. effect to blacklisted destinations to the Great recession, the events industry has faced many significant challenges in the past year that have changed it forever. this March, join your peers and a panel of industry leaders to discuss all that we have faced as an industry and the way ahead. Leaders from diverse sectors of the event world will present their vision for the future of the industry; the top-line trends you need to be aware of; and how our industry will look one, five and 10 years from now. Whether you’re an independent, association, corporate, or nonprofit planner or a supplier, this must-attend session will give you the big picture you need to strategize your business or career for today and tomorrow. Stay tuned to learn more about the top event industry voices who will convene for this one-of-a-kind featured session!

MONDAY • MARCH 8 3:00pm – 4:15pm .  Business Development: How to Turn Customers into Evangelists

Attracting and retaining customers is the age-old challenge for all business owners. In this session, explore how to find new customers, and more importantly, how to keep the ones you already have. In this ever-changing and significantly more sophisticated business environment, your relationships with your clients is vitally important to your company’s survival. You will leave with an accomplishable “to do list” for meeting your clients’ needs and having them shout from the roof tops about how great you are!

TUESDAY • MARCH 9 9:00am – 10:15am .  Socialize With a Purpose: Building a Social Media Strategy For Success

Social media offers an excellent tool for business owners and marketers to expand their communities and their brand recognition – but just because it’s free doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a strategy behind it. The key to success is a clearly thought-out plan. This session will give you the tools you need to craft an effective strategy to achieve measurable results for your company.

Register

Click here to access the conference program & event information.

I speak at a variety of amazing conferences around the world on the topic of Social Media. And although these conferences have recognized the need to educate their attendees on the topic of web 2.0, some have been slow to leverage social media for their own event. I wanted to pull together this eBook to help stimulate ideas for ‘old conferences’ to think in a new way.

I will stress, however, that before moving forward with any of these tactics, a few things need to take place:

1. Make sure you have an event worth talking about. If you garden you know that making sure you have great soil before planting is key. The same is true about have a great product or service before marketing it.

2. Make sure you’re organization is ready for social media. Culture clash is one of the most common reasons for social media upstart failure. Understanding the fundamental shifts in culture needed to make social media work is critical before starting.

3. Make sure you know what you’re looking to achieve and how you plan to measure success. Social media without a strategy is a lot like pots and pans in the hands of a baby. You can spend countless hours playing. If you take the same pots and pans and give them to a chef, they can create an amazing dish. Same tools – two totally different outcomes. Knowing how to use the tools, what you’re looking to do with them and how to course correct if you’re off track is imperative.

I hope that I’ve provided some good thought starters. I know I’ve only scratched the surface, so I welcome you to weigh in with any additional ideas on this post. How have you used social media to meet your conference objectives?

If you missed our last free ebook “Social Media in Events 2010“, feel free to download.

Event planners should be aware of QR codes. Why? Imagine something that looks kind of like a pixelated bar code that can be printed and applied virtually anywhere. With a smart phone and a reader application your attendees and prospective attendees can scan the QR code directly from their cell phones. When scanned, readers can be taken to a website URL, sent a text SMS, sent a phone number or provided with additional text. The WOW is that attendees can get more information about anything that interests them about your event…anytime and anywhere from the convenience of their cell phones.

QR codes were originally created by Denso-Wave (a Japanese firm) back in 1994. The idea was to create a code that contained more data than the standard 10-digit bar code yet could also be decoded at very high speed. Although QR codes have been around for quite some time, they’re re-gaining a lot of buzz in large part because of mobile technology.

8 ideas for event planners

Build a better print ad – Why not include a QR code in your event’s print ad? This way people who are on-the-go can simply scan your code from their cell phone to be taken directly to your event registration page.

Create a contest – At Mobile World Congress, Neustar will be pairing up with Visa to showcase the power of QR codes. Using their smart phones, event attendees are encouraged to download a barcode reader application. As part of their Welcome Packets, attendees will receive a faux Visa gift card, and will be invited to scan the QR barcode on the back each day to enter a contest to win a €50 gift card. One gift card will be given away every 30 minutes between 10am and 4pm on each day of the show.

Make networking easier – UK Museums recognized the challenge with sharing business cards at events. They’re annoying to carry around, they require you to write on them to ensure you remember who gave you the card, and once you get back to the office, you have to re-key in all the information. To help their conference attendees overcome these annoyances, they added QR codes into registration badges. Attendees could scan their contact’s badge QR code with their cell phone and download their contact information. To learn more about how UK Museums did this, click here.

Get people discovering - Google IO employed QR codes at their Developer Conference by encouraging attendees to scan everything in sight. They scattered various types of codes all around the conference facility and every time a QR code was scanned, the attendee would rack up points. The top 3 highest scorers at the end of the conference got to take home some swanky Google swag from the event.

Make learning about sponsors easier – Sure, we recognize sponsors with prominent signage. But think of how much more valuable sponsorship could be if attendees could scan a QR code on their cell phone and be connected with sponsor websites, exclusive deals or more information on the company.

Make registration a breeze - Check out this fantastic idea over at Nofont on How to Build a Better Conference Experience. In it Jaan Orvet writes about how QR codes could make registration lines obsolete, allow attendees to get ahold of the presentation copies they’re looking for and make getting around a foreign city much easier for the attendee.

A new take on the Scavenger Hunt – Instead of paper clues, have participants search for QR codes. When they scan one, they’re sent a text with their next clue.

Info-rich T-shirts – Have conference employees walking around with t-shirts that say things like: Tickets to the gala almost sold out (with a QR code that will take attendees to the registration page on the back of the shirt), Want to know where the bathrooms are? (with a QR code that will take attendees to washroom directions), Vote for your favorite tradeshow booth (with a QR code that will take attendees to a voting page), etc.

Build a better presentation – How many times as a presenter have you been asked to share or repeat a website URL? Make it easy for attendees to simply scan a QR code from your presentation to be taken to the website directly.

Temporary tattoos – Want to get people networking? Create temporary QR code tattoos for attendees. Let them know that 1 other person in the room shares an identical code and have them find their matching partner.

Get your QR Code

Generate your own QR codes using Kaywa (or Google search “Generate QR Codes” for a ton of options)

Download a reader like ScanLife on your smartphone