Bryan Paul Kelly

—————-Associations Are Sexy!—————-

8:06am EST - This morning’s early riser session is lead by Lauren Hefner from Laboratory Products Association, but the title was just a motivational tool to get people up and to the session. Content for this session—Association management is like an active dating scene: it’s all about creating an accessible, consistent, and appealing image for yourself.

8:17am EST - Determine your ideal reputation and assess your online rep using search engines for your name, affiliations, email address, and websites. Fix what is out there by deleting old accounts, asking sites to remove your info, photos, and videos—plus be sure to privatize your accounts.

8:21am EST - People do pay attention to online postings—see this example. If you don’t want your boss to see it, likely you wouldn’t want most others to see it. 37% of employers check candidates out on social media—they are checking for your personality as well as your professionalism. 

8:28am EST - Now what about your association’s online rep? Start with your elevator pitch and narrow it down to 3 seconds—this is how much time you have to grab someone’s attention online. Are your benefits actually benefits?

8:33am EST - Don’t ruin your association’s online rep—use social media to post photos and other items to present a consistent and clear image of what you are. Online testimonials can help you get a 70% higher conversion rate. Also focus on quality over quantity.

8:38am EST - Taking risks is OK, but taking dumb risks is not. Don’t endorse something just because a member created it. Know what you’re saying before you say it.

8:43am EST - In summary—for your personal online rep: keep it professional and current. For your association’s online rep: keep things visible, current, and smart.

—————-Proving the ROI of Social Media—————-

9:01am EST - Lindy Dreyer from Social Fish explores the challenges of proving social media’s ROI and how to discover social CRM practices that can help make a case. Social media is worth it, but how do you prove it? 

9:15am EST - First, we need to explore what ROI means? Return on investment and impact are two different things. Eyeballs, and traffic to your site are not ROI. ROI is financial. If you cannot tie Social Media back to a sales measure.

9:34am EST - ROI is about balancing the cost with the benefit. Cost is man hours and tech investment. Benefit is about reduced spending, reduced man hours, and making more money.

9:46am EST - How do you prove social media is worth it? Do you know the dollars you’re investing in social media? What metrics are you currently using and what are your ideals?

10:00am EST - What is Social CRM? It is “systems thinking” behind social media. Taking what you’re doing with it and integrating it through the whole organization.

10:09am EST - Know your costs, figure out the motivation behind the ROI question, select social media KPI’s for both financial return and strategic impact.

—————-General Session—————-

10:58am EST - Outstanding pioneer blogger, Chris Brogan takes the stage to discuss new insights into marketing and sales, then sets out a few potential roadmaps for 2012.

11:08am EST - Your website should be all about mobile. Mobile devices are the most ubiquitous digital tools available. Only have one call-to-action on a mobile site. Think about what your goal is: sales, membership, networking, awareness, thought leadership?

11:14am EST - The ecosystem: listening tools, social networks, email service providers, content management systems, etc.

11:31am EST - There is a difference between market and community. You want to have something to sell but not always be selling.

11:39am EST - Make your user experience as easy as ordering at Chipotle.

11:46am EST - Take aways: take an idea, make it sensible, move it to a platform, and get people to care and connect. Technology is just a tool, not something magical.

————New Ideas to Market Your Big Conference————

2:11pm EST - Charlie Bass, Jean O’Brien, and Gregg Lapin from the American Osteopathic Association present step-by-step ideas on how they launched their first conference ever with great success.

2:17pm EST - Don’t rely on one medium—use multiple touch points to reach all members where they are at.

2:25pm EST - The American Osteopathic Association offered a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee for their annual conference—no refunds requested.

2:32pm EST - Video was a valuable asset that was used, but emails had to be sent out to trigger people to view them.

2:50pm EST - Segmentation works by creating much higher open rates. The pain is worth it!

2:54pm EST - Don’t be afraid to experiment. Not all event marketing strategies will work, but it is important to learn from these.

3:05pm EST - AOE has offered some great examples and resources for conference marketing they are willing to email attendees their marketing plan, timeline, etc.

————Think Big about Member Engagement————

3:39pm EST - Higher Logic and Assoc. for Professionals in Infection Control present a case study invigorated engagement among their membership.

3:45pm EST - When pushing a new initiative, don’t forget it is ultimately about your members—member engagement is key.  

3:49pm EST - Private vs. Public social media platforms? Benefits of private network—unique identity, control over membership permissions, community is scalable, ad dollars from sponsors. 

3:57pm EST - Engage you membership by enabling members to have experiences that create a feeling of ownership. 

4:08pm EST - In order to successfully engage your membership, your employees must also be engaged.

4:28pm EST - Higher Logic wraps up the session with a run through of their solution and what they specifically did for Assoc. for Professionals in Infection Control.

——————General Opening Session——————

9:02am EST - General session is about to begin with Sarah Sladek. Conference introductions and fun facts. More than 800 attendees are in attendance, and more than 200 first timers! Expo hall is filled with over 40 exhibitors.

9:12am EST - Introducing Sarah Sladek and her accomplishments, followed by a cool video montage of images from the 1950s thru today—the End of Membership as we know it. A lot has changed in the past 50 years and we don’t know what is going to happen.

9:17am EST - The end of something is usually always the beginning of something else—something great. Declining economy, rapidly changing technology, and a massive demographic shift are contributing factors to the end of membership.

9:26am EST - Networking, information, advocacy, and ethics don’t have value anymore in associations. Start thinking about your niche. In the past the goal was to be the largest. The future is going to be about being the expert—the best.

9:31am EST - Past focus was inward. Future focus should be outward. Culture matters. Members NEED: an emotional connection, relevant and useful info, to feel appreciated and to belong.

9:33am EST - Dues are now all about ROI for members. You must prove the value of your membership. Think about becoming outcome focused rather than feature focused. It drives value and a better perception. 

9:37am EST - Avoid leading with networking as it is no longer a commodity. Nobody cares about your history. They want to know where you’re going not where you’ve been. Avoid talking about everything in Mission speak. Get content from the member’s perspective. How do you make a difference in your member’s lives?

9:39am EST - What would happen if your association closed tomorrow? Would anyone care? 

9:42am EST - Think about what your members need right now. They join to seek a solution to a problem. They renew when they believe you’re helping them solve their problem and when they feel engaged.

9:48am EST - Generations matter right now more than ever. Boomers followed in the path of previous generations—then 1965 happened. People were being told they were unique—a shift from conformity to individualism. Gen X was different and rebellious. Gen Y is the most cared for and pampered generation among these three. They expect this same care from their employers and the organizations they belong to.

9:54am EST - How can your association engage Gen X and Gen Y? They want membership that provides access and action. Remember, technology is a defining aspect of what they are looking for.

10:00am EST - Emergence of 5 membership models: customized, electronic/virtual, international, tiered, and open/free. Doubt the conventional, expect the exceptional. Session is over!

————Turning Components into Compatriots————

10:26am EST - Andrew Goldschmidt from the National Association of Counties discusses how they have created hybrid state associations and ways they’ve leveraged those groups through various key strategies.

10:42am EST - Tina Meyers from Society for Marketing Professional Services discusses their traditional, affiliated structure and how they work with 57 nationwide chapters. They’ve turned components into compatriots by understanding the commonalities between the parent organization and the chapters.

10:56am EST - Bottom line—SMPS found that they were all in this together. As simple as it, they had to build a solid relationship with their chapters. This was a challenge. Changing the culture and improving communications contributed to a sea change in the relationship. National began seeing themselves as a resource to support the chapters.

11:12am EST - Technology consultant Kiki L’Italien discusses technology and component management. Shares ways that tech has been used to mobilize and motivate people to engage.

11:22am EST - Community Managers are essential to be the glue that holds the community together and pushes the interaction forward.

11:30am EST thru 2pm EST - Exhibitor Showcase, Lunch, and Networking

8:32am MST - General Session with Carmine Gallo is about to start.

8:41am MST - ASAE reports largest great ideas conference ever. Orlando next year, back here at the Broadmoor in 2014.

8:43am MST - Carmine Gallo takes the stage. Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs is basis of this morning’s talk. What can we learn from Steve Jobs’ legacy? What would Steve do?

8:48am MST - 1. Passion - do what you love. YouTube video: Steve Jobs - Marketing is about values. People with passion can change the world. 2. Vision - it takes a lot of people to make great things happen, but it starts with a vision. Bold. Concise. Crisply communicated. A vision builds brands.

8:56am MST - Vision for Apple Retail stores. Enriches lives, changes the retail experience. What is your association’s vision? 3. Connect ideas - Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons inspired Steve Jobs for the idea behind the Apple Store. Copied the experience of the Ritz’s steps of service—word-for-word.

9:05am MST - 4. Create FUN experiences via FourSquare. People are really, really engaged on social networks such as this. They are incredibly engaged via mobile.

9:13am MST - Explore ways that are meaningful and helpful. By the way, you need to get social media basics right first.

9:18am MST - 5. Say no to 1000 things - be a highly critical editor. 6. Master the message - you can have a great idea, but you need to be able to convince people of it.

9:21am MST - 6. Create Twitter-friendly headlines for communication. Explain things in one sentence or less. What is the one thing that you want someone to know? Then apply the Rule of Three to support your headline. Think visually, but reduce the clutter in your communications. The principle of picture superiority.

9:31am MST - 7. Sell dreams, not products. How can you help your customers/members achieve their dreams? Dream bigger, and sell those ideas with passion!

—————-29 Ways to Market Like Lady Gaga—————

10:01am MST - Sheri Jacobs of Avenue M introduces herself and sets up what she’ll cover this morning. Content is King. It is the driver behind presentations, meetings, etc. Rundown of Lady Gaga stats showing evidence that she is a marketing genius. 1. Have a purpose - Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. You have to strike a chord. 2. Build a fan base - look where your potential fans might be and give them exclusive content or personal invitation to participate.

10:15am MST - 3. Quality over quantity. 4. Humility matters.

10:20am MST - 5. Have the right people on your side - Gaga has surrounded herself with a good team, both friends, employees, and ambassadors. Who are your associations internal and external champions?

10:25am MST - 6. Differentiate yourself, details matter. How can you set your experience apart from others? 7. Fake it until you make it - create a persona of what you want to be before you actually become it. Be the leader, be different. Don’t follow others. 8. Timing is everything - get people engaged through entire process, not just one-and-done. 9. Don’t be afraid to experiment - not everything will work.

10:37am MST - 10. Make it fun - gamification. 11. You can’t appeal to everyone - it you try you will not stand out and get noticed. 12. Make it easy to remember. 13. Be accessible. 14. Make things constant/consistent - it creates an audience expectation. 15. Be generous to your loyal fans/members.

10:52am MST - 16. Know your audience. 17. Be yourself. 18. Give fans a reason to visit (your website). 19. Tell a story. 20. Take advantage of trends. 21. Create a full experience.

11:05am MST - 22. Leverage partners to build new programs. 23. Continuous learning. 24. Make money. 25. Limited time offers, create urgency. 26. Create awesome/exciting programs. 27. Be original. 28. Don’t let your guard down. 29. Have fun!

————-Next Generation Learning————-

1:23pm MST - Room is filling up with folks waiting to learn about how to create customized learning experiences with Jeff Hurt and Dave Lutz.

1:32pm MST - Jeff Hurt sets up expectations for the session, which apparently he does every time. Good stuff and hilarious!

1:44pm MST - Three topics: 1. ID new informal learning concepts for conference experiences. 2. Discover how to couple tech solutions with learning principles. 3. Compare and contrast what worked, what didn’t and what needs changing.

1:50pm MST - 3 reasons for attendance: education, networking, business leads or as ASAE puts it content, community, careers. Networking is a form of informal learning. Community is a form of social learning. Formal learning is good for new members. Informal learning is good for veterans. 

1:58pm MST - talking about how the Apple Store has created a unique environment based upon the notion of experiential learning. It attracts SOOOO many people. The Apple Store is: about community, welcoming, designed to solve problems and interests, sales clerks are there to help and not push products.

2:06pm MST - PCMA Learning Lounge 2011 & 2012 Case Study is being presented. Animoto video can be found here. 

2:18pm MST - Event content focus: 1. Theme based on attendee’s problems. 2. Help attendees be strategic. 3. Discuss C-suite org problems. 4. Solution-oriented. 5. Tactical. Picking event speakers: 1. Outside industry. 2. Experts. 3. Large social networks. 4. Authors.

2:27pm MST - What works in the Apple Store is what worked for the PCMA Learning Lounge. So what worked? They ID’d the right audience. They targeted content to attract decision makers, economic buyers, ability to solve problems at C-suite, arm planners w/ strategic solutions.

2:32pm MST - ID your top three audience markets. Who are the decision makers or economic buyer?

2:46pm MST - Couple tech with learning. Really live chat rooms: Authors, Skype Recorded Videos, Edited with Camtasia, Facilitated chats.

———-Ten Social Commerce Strategies———-

3:20pm MST - Sterling Raphael from AvectraLabs explains what social commerce is. It is using social networks to facilitate commerce. Is it a fad? No, it is projected to be a $30 billion per year industry by 2015. 

3:28pm MST - Why social commerce? It is what people want, where they are at, and why they buy. Our buying decisions aren’t rational (see Blink by Malcolm Gladwell). 

3:38pm MST - 6 social commerce heuristics: Follow the Crowd. Follow the Authority. Create Scarcity. Follow those you like. Be Consistent. Repay Favors.

3:50pm MST - 10 social com strategies for associations: F-Commerce (Facebook). Flash Deals. Social Auctions, M-commerce (Mobile), Hyper-targeted Ads, Location-based commerce, Gamification, Social Learning, Pinterest & Google+, Crowd Funding.