Last week, half of the Rep Cap team — Mary Ellen Slayter, Lee Price, Mike Redaelli and I — packed up, grabbed our favorite photographer, Frank McMains, and headed off for five days in Las Vegas to take part in one of the city’s biggest industries: business conferences. Yes, while other travelers were going to gamble, drink, dine and engage in various forms of debauchery, we were there for the conference double header of HRevolution and HR Tech doing one of our favorite things: creating great content from live events.
We believe conferences and other events are full of valuable information just waiting to be turned into killer content in the form of blog posts, videos, photos and social media posts. We’re frequently disappointed by how few organizations, companies and individuals take advantage of the opportunities to create content events present. We’re on a mission to change that.
Event Coverage: Live from #HRevolution
Our Vegas adventure started with the one-day HRevolution “unconference,” where presenters, panelists and participants networked and engaged in sessions where everyone contributed to the conversation. Mary Ellen even tried her hand at acting and played the role of a job candidate in a session about interviewing tactics.
While we participated and networked ourselves, we also tweeted and took notes on what everyone was saying and turned those conversations into a series of posts for the HRevolution blog:
Are You Following Your Passion?
HRevolution 2013: Why Companies Need to Take HR Global
HRevolution 2013: The Challenges of Global HR
Party Hosting: Bayou Bash
That night, we hosted a party for HRevolution and HR Tech attendees at the House of Blues. With the help of our co-sponsors Technomedia and Blogging4Jobs, we brought a little bit of Louisiana to our guests — a list that included old and new friends, current clients and prospects.
When parties are well planned and executed, they’re a great way to generate content, add contacts to your email list, and build a connection between your brand and your audience.
Content
Hosting a party provides a lot of natural opportunities to share content. We used email, social media and our website to spread the word and encourage people to RSVP.
At the party, Frank set up a corner as a photo booth where party-goers could play with fun props and pose for silly pictures, which we posted on our Facebook page. In a post-party thank-you email, we invited guests to visit the page and tag themselves in the photos. It generated a lot of traffic, “liking” and sharing.
And, the party got other people creating content about us. There were tweets, Facebook posts and other mentions of our party going around before, during and after our time in Vegas.
Branding
The party was also a chance for us to show off Rep Cap Creative Director Mike Redaelli’s design work and give people an idea of the work we can do for their brands. Mike created the party logo you see above, snazzy event communication, signage, a loop of branded images that played on all of the venue’s TV screens and a party essential: Rep Cap-branded coozies.
We also showed off our Louisiana roots through the party’s theme, complete with custom cocktails designed by Rep Cap friend and Baton Rouge food and beverage blogger Jay D. Ducote. Our guests had their pick from a bar menu that included a Sazerac, Brandy Milk Punch and the Louisiana standby, a Hurricane — each with a Rep Cap twist.
Contacts
Parties can be a quick way to grow your email list. Everyone who signed up to attend the Bayou Bash gave us their email address, adding 135 new contacts to our email list.
We’re looking forward to staying in touch with our new friends. If you want to do the same after a party, make sure you clearly tell attendees they’ll receive email from you — and give them a clear way to opt out. Sending unwelcome emails is a post-party buzzkill.
Live Blogging: #HRTechConf Content
When HR Tech started up, we were on the job for our clients. Many of our clients are vendors in the HR technology industry. But, at events like HR Tech, they’re busy running their trade show booths and meeting with their own customers. So, our clients count on us to attend the best conference sessions and share the information on their blogs and social media. We were busy finding, listening to and reporting on the conference’s valuable industry content, so they were free to attend to business.
Are you on a mission to create content at your next event? Watch our webinar on “Creating Killer Event Content” with Curtis Midkiff, Sarah Atkinson and Laurie Ruettimann or download our latest white paper:
Reputation Capital Media Services is a Baton Rouge marketing agency that helps B2B companies and their marketing agencies produce high-quality digital content, including blog posts, e-mail newsletters, white papers and multimedia. Our editors and writers are experts in their fields, which include HR technology, employee benefits, and financial services and accounting. Contact us for a free 30-minute consultation to find out how great content can help you attract and retain your customers.
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