Marketing IQ - Online Marketing for Trade Shows and Conferences

This Blog IS MOVING…

Jaime — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:25:53 +0000

Over the last two months I’ve been blogging about marketing and social media. What started out as an experiment in marketing to better understand the mind of the blogger, has turned into an exciting opportunity for me to participate in the conversation and share with other marketing people my ideas and opinions.

Due to the success I’ve had to date with the blog, the engagement with the community, and how much I truly enjoy the writing, I’ve decided to move the blog onto a new domain and my own hosting. If you’ve enjoyed the blog so far, please feel free to hop onto my new site and let me know what you think, share with your peers, and best of all, link to it from your own site!

Going forward, check out my conference and trade show marketing blog at www.jaimesays.com.

PS – Since I’m hosting it myself, I don’t have the email subscription option for now, so if you want to follow, connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook and you can get the updates there, or subscribe to the RSS feed. Enjoy!

What does your Brand stand for?

Jaime — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:26:40 +0000

What do your customers think about when deciding on engaging with you. How does your brand answer that question? What I find most interesting is the disparity between what companies think their brand means and how their customers define their brand.

To read the rest of this post on what your brand stands for, please visit my new conference and trade show marketing blog.

The Top Ten Rules of E-Mail

Jaime — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:09:17 +0000

Human Resources IQ, one of our sites, posted an article on email etiquette. You can read the full article on email etiquette here. I thought I would summarize the points and share with you.

Read before sending and fix your mistakes.
Ignore the mistakes of others.

To read the rest of the top ten rules of email marketing, please visit my new conference and trade show marketing blog.

Help Me Find a New Job Title Challenge

Jaime — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:42:49 +0000

So, as online and social media marketing continue to evolve, so should I and my role. I was brought into IQPC as the Director, Online Community and Portal Development. The leadership at IQPC had a vision and I was fortunate to take part in the development of this new division. In just shy of 2 years we’ve launched 8 portals and reached over 2 million people. An example of one these portals is in the customer management and call center space where we cover industry leaders such as Zappos.

But now I feel my role has evolved from launching these online portals and communities to building and fostering customer engagement.

To read the rest on my marketing job title, check out the Jaimesays.com marketing blog.

What do the RIAA and Trade Shows have in common?

Jaime — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:04:45 +0000

So yesterday, The Pirate Bay sent a message to the RIAA, a pretty loud and clear message. Regardless of how you feel about the freedom of online information, online piracy, or downloading music, the RIAA is going about this all wrong. This isn’t about piracy…it’s about offering the consumer what they want, and how companies try to control how the consumer consumes. Pre the internet, it was easy to control what the consumer consumes.

Ultimately, then and now, it’s all basic economics…Supply and Demand. The supply was limited, so demand was high. Now supply is essentially unlimited. The media industry needs to move faster to change and accommodate the needs of the consumer.

To hear more on my thoughts on what the RIAA and Trade Shows have in common, visit my trade show marketing blog.

Marketing is a Scam!

Jaime — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:11:15 +0000

At least that is what our customers think way too often, especially about our email marketing. There is always this defense mechanism that pops up when a consumer is exposed to some sort of Marketing. As a marketer, we need to quickly breakdown that wall and convey to a prospective customer the true value of what we are selling (and we’re all selling something). How do we do that? How do we build trust in a split second?

Speak to the person, not at them.
Demonstrate the value quickly. Don’t go on and on about how great you are.

To see the rest of the list on building trust in online marketing, visit my trade show and online marketing blog.

7 Ideas to Boost your Email Marketing Campaign

Jaime — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:27:07 +0000

As B2B media companies, we are pretty much the experts when it comes to direct email marketing. But over the years, we’ve seen the performance of our programs decline year over year, ever so slightly. A wise man once said, “the sign of true insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over again and expect different results.” Looking at email campaigns over the years, they look different (pictures and buttons), but are they really? The one constant on mine when I first started was Register Here! Here are 7 things you can try and not go insane!

Content - Try not selling something. Give something back. Find a relevant article, video, or podcast that made you think. I’m sure your customers might find it interesting as well.
Social Media - Kinda like content, but different in that use it more as a resource. Find interesting conversations and point your customers in that direction (and not always yours).

To see the rest of the 7 ideas to boost your email marketing campaign, visit my trade show marketing blog.

Reinventing Yourself Means Starting from Scratch

Jaime — Mon, 03 May 2010 18:22:34 +0000

It was announced that Reed Business was closing down Trade Show Week (TSW). I’m sure it was a dollar and cents decision, more money out than in. But was shutting down a necessity? Did it have to be an all or nothing decision?

It is very difficult for organizations as large as RBI to truly innovate and reinvent themselves or their brands. I’m not implying I have the answer to all publishing woes, but in this particular case, is there anything they could have done differently, yet still be profitable? Would going only online have helped, or was the business model so stuffed, that there is absolutely nothing they could have done? Chris Brogan just wrote about publishing and pricing. Would that have been the answer?

To read the rest of how to reinvent yourself and your brand, visit my marketing blog.

‘D’ is for Digital…But it’s not all about that!

Jaime — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:21:30 +0000

In a recent HBR post, they discuss the how digital marketing is evolving. One comment even goes as far as creating a Digital Marketing Officer! At my previous organization, there was a major ‘e’ initiative really driving the organization to look at online as a core marketing and operational channel. This post talks about ‘D’ for digital. What ever you prefer to call it, digital has changed the face of marketing forever. But, how much should we separate the ‘D’igital from the ‘T’raditional?

Digital is no longer about banner ads, emails, and the metrics…

To read the rest on digital marketing, check out my marketing blog.

Is Social Media replacing SEO?

Jaime — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:53:22 +0000

This Blog post has been circulated among some of my colleagues to inspire some creative thinking. They look at Google Trends and the trending of searches on Social Media and SEO. This particular post seems to be taken from an industry perspective. Now, it has me thinking – Let’s look at this from a user perspective and how that influences our marketing decisions, and how we craft our online marketing plans and initiatives.

The question for me is: Is Social Media replacing Search for individuals searching for information online? Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. As a user, and as it pertains to my customers (and prospective), a B2B user that is, Google is essentially the go to place to find information on different vertical markets (new and old), product/vendor reviews, finding new customers, new publications to read, etc. Social Media, on the other hand, currently allows users to create online networks of friends and peers. I often times leverage my social networks (yes, more than 2) to sell stuff, share exciting personal and professional news, spread the word on great job openings at my company, etc. Both mediums have very different uses. AND, people use both mediums in very different ways. Ultimately, there is some overlap (I might ask my social networks for info on work searches), but really depends on how you built and use your network.

To read the rest of why social media might replace SEO, check out my marketing and social media blog.