Guest post by Nadia Rubtsova – Associations Space emcee and Helsinki MICE Ambassador
We started the #AssociationsSpace on Twitter Spaces in May 2021 with the goal to engage with associations on a different level. During the pandemic, a lot of associations were going through difficult times on different levels.
We wanted to connect and to maintain the relationships with associations. A place where they can share their knowledge and insights, and not to forget to a place where they can learn and interact with other associations. Because many associations were facing similar challenges. A simple tool, a place with easy acces and conversations which are short, engaging and snappy. The ones that everyone could listen to on a break or when having a walk. And more over, a virtual safe place to meet and to connect.
What are Twitter Spaces and how do they work?
The audio format of Twitter Spaces gave us the perfect solution for a 20 minute chat for this particular audience. Easy to use for the participants, no subscriptions, no camera. With one click you can join the conversation and with one click you can leave the conversation without disturbing the audience. These chats are the equivalent of a networking break at an event, where you exchange ideas and pick each other’s brains.
The three roles in Twitter Spaces for participants in the audio of the Twitter event. Each participant has different options:
- Host – Has the highest level of privilege. The administrator starts and ends the session in the room and has the ability to speak independently. Additionally, it can add new participants, mute and even remove participants.
- Speaker – You can add up to 10 speakers at the same time in your spaces. Of course, it is not recommended that everyone talks at the same time. To become a speaker in a room, the administrator can invite you, which you can approve or reject. Second opportunity to speak, you can request a role that the Twitter room host must approve or reject.
- Listener – a guest who may listen to the speaker and respond by sending emoji. Currently, there are no restrictions on the number of listeners.
One competitive advantage of Twitter Spaces over Clubhouse is that Twitter offers an opportunity to continue the conversation after the talk ends. Anyone attending can also tweet, share a link, or chat, and you can invite anyone to join as a listener.
If you already have a Twitter community, it’s easy to promote your talks on Twitter Spaces and invite participants to various conversations. It’s a winning tool to use for the destinations and event professionals to position themselves as knowledge experts and leaders in the market.
The future of associations
My top key learnings from my conversations with various associations representatives on Twitter Spaces are:
- We received insights from the associations that we would have never received otherwise, such as how virtual events have transformed the associations’ engagement with their members.
- Associations will play an even bigger role in the near future if they manage to keep up with the digital transformation and add value for their members through various activities.
- Building a community of engaged members has the central focus. People don’t want to lay bricks, they want to build a cathedral. They want to create or be part of the legacy of the association.
- Destinations are ready to host safe events and the associations are planning hybrid or in-person events for Q4 2021 and 2022 onwards.
- Sustainability in events will be the NEXT big thing that everyone will focus on and will talk about. This will be a must-have not good to have. Sustainability will become the cornerstone of the association’s strategy and its events (online and offline).
Eventprofs and destinations on Twitter Spaces
Me and the speakers, industry experts and association executives, absolutely loved the format of the #AssociationsSpace. Along the way, I also learnt a thing or two about how to moderate them in the best possible way and how to keep the conversation going in a very natural way.
A piece of advice I can share: prepare your notes and schedule conversations upfront with your speakers, but give it a natural flow. Addressing a spontaneous question or sharing your own thoughts would only foster the discussion and it will be easier for people to listen.
I was extremely concerned about the audio experience that our listeners would have. Making sure that there are no long pauses, that thoughts are expressed in a clear way is key as people don’t see you and they rely entirely on one sense- their hearing.
We were promoting the series every week on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. The best response was through the target channels, which are Twitter and LinkedIn. We could see how easy it was to create a community of followers, and some of them joined us every week.
Additionally, we could pre-schedule the Twiter Spaces beforehand which made it even easier for people to tune in. We kept the conversation going in the tweets section after the session.
By running the #AssociationsSpace,I managed to grow my Twitter account. This tool is amazing for cross-promotion and to grow your online presence. On LinkedIn, thanks to the initiative, I built stronger relationships with the associations who were engaging, which is the main purpose.
?️ Thank you all for joining #AssociationsSpace talks every Wednesday with @NadiaRubtsova & her special guests?️ @antti_lumi @cgoradesky @BlomsterPaula @iamronlim @healthandthings @charlottejotten @MayKingTea & Paulus Torkki
➡️ https://t.co/emWWbgk89P… #eventprofs #associations pic.twitter.com/0hLyjbftJi— wordofmice (@wordofmice) July 30, 2021
As we were collaborating with Helsinki Marketing, we managed to boost visibility and created tremendous exposure for the city of Helsinki in a different and unique way, positioning it as one of the most sustainable MICE destinations. This format helped to stay in touch and engage with the target audience in a very authentic way.
All in all, I’ve received many messages from our listeners saying that it was a great initiative and a niceexperience. To be continued…
About the author
This blog post has been written by Nadia Rubtsova, the creator of the Business & Events Academy, an online platform for personal and professional education for event professionals. Nadia has more than 10 years of experience in the events industry and for the past years she was working for the European Health Management Association as the Events & Partnerships Manager. Nadia is 2021 Helsinki MICE Ambassador.
How to value your working experience as a freelance event planner?
I don’t need you to say that it’s been a huge challenge to remain positive in these unprecedented times. And moreover how to generate a continuous stream of revenue? Let us be straight forward, and perhaps I can say this being a Dutch, as we are known for our straightforward opinion, but it’s true right? Let’s face the reality. Let me inspire you sharing some tips you haven’t thought
Have you thought of going to the next level with your experience? And to become an industry expert and to value your knowledge and network?
Tell me more
Let me start with the beginning
Suppliers are struggling to get in touch with their target audience, people like you, event planners. In these very dynamic times it’s not easy to find the way, how to communicate, what is appropriate and what not? Which channels and which message? And in this complicated landscape in which the overall rules and regulations for our industry change continuously in each country.
And moreover to get through the noise of online messages and to find trustworthy messages, who are authentic and coming from true persons.
Suppliers are looking for support from you, event professionals who are experts in their field, passionate about organising events and who are close and daily in touch with their audience.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to get paid to do your passion? Yes, this is possible.
Let’s start with the definition B2B influencer marketing.
B2B influencer marketing is part of your marketing strategy by using industry experts who represent your target audience to get in touch or to stay in touch with your desired audience and bring insightful perspectives to the forefront, and build brand trust and credibility.
*Source TopRank Marketing
Therefore we need people like you!
What is the next step?
Let me be clear, you need to be an insider of the industry with at least 5 years working experience in the field. If you don’t have any working experience, you probably don’t have the right followers and moreover you are not trustworthy to share your opinion about an industry topic.
Next, the meetings & events industry is broad; we have all sorts of niches like incentives, corporate events, large conferences, events dedicated for small international associations. What I would like to say is, choose your niche and stick to it. Whatever you do, you are the expert in your field. And that’s how to create your authority, your unique followers and building up your community.
What can you do?
Much more than you think. First of all you know what event professionals, the organisers need, what makes you decide to read the article or to fill in a poll? On which channels are you active and what do you see as trends and evolving in your community? Next, are you active in an industry association? Perhaps you could share your experiences in a blog, or live during an event or take part in a panel discussion during an industry event.
Next, you are daily in touch with your audience, you know their needs, pain points and challenges. Perhaps you could propose to do a trial with one of the new upcoming features? And don’t forget the upcoming trends for 2022, social audio, sustainability and hybrid events are here to stay.
Strategy is key
We see that strategy is sometimes an obstacle, how to create and to write a strategy for a potential client or collaboration. Let me be honest, it’s a challenge for everyone nowadays as it’s very difficult to predict what’s going to happen.
But if you write a proposal, you need to replace yourself in the minds of the clients. What do they need, what are their expectations? Do research and dive into the world of the world wide web where you can find lots of interesting insights about your client. And the more indepth you do your research, or perhaps you know the client, the better you can write a proposal. Or just ask for more details and information.
And it’s not from one day to another that magic will happen, therefore B2B influencer marketing is a combination of online and offline activities supporting the strategy of the client. Which is in alignment with your values and vision.
We have a bridge to gap
What I have noticed is that industry experts come up with the most exciting ideas but that’s not always a fit for the client, despite it will do good or they might need it. Sometimes it’s just a bridge too far. Therefore do your research, are you working with a corporate client with a commercial purpose or a convention bureau fully supported by the government? These are two worlds apart.
Compensation
Always a challenge but try to be reasonable. How much time does it take to create a post, to publish it, and to analyze and to collect the data? And don’t forget to include the calls with your client and follow-up emails. Count the hours that you need to accomplish these tasks. Don’t underprize yourself, try to be reasonable.
More inspiration and information you can find it here https://www.wordofmice.com/influencer-marketing-proposal-brands
Good luck and see you soon!
MICE regards,
Mariska
Generation Z is ready to change the MICE industry
Generation Z and MICE industry
Mariska: Sometimes I have a feeling that the MICE industry is running behind and we miss opportunities. And I think also now with TikTok so it would be great to see in the future that also destinations, technology partners, suppliers, trade shows, anyone who’s active within the industry, also the event planners, they will also focus more on the next Generation Z.
I think that we’re still missing that, for example if you go to a regular trade show. If IBTM was there now, on a normal way, then the average age I think it would be around 35 or older that you would see in Barcelona. You don’t see many young people normallyon events like these. So I think, one to embrace the next generation and want to feel them welcome. GenZ people approach is different, the way how they work is different. I think it’s very important to be on and at least watch TikTok and other social media platforms where young people are active.
Our guest, Nyomi Rose, talks about the next generation Z and MICE industry. She is very passionate about it. I think there’s also, and not only within our industry, a huge gap between the difference in generations. Nyomi, how do you see that evolving? Because you’ve mentioned a very funny example. You went for a job interview, and you got some standard questions, which I found really embarrassing from the person who did the interviews in the past. I think there’s again, same like TikTok, a lot of misconception and misperceptions about Generation Z.
Nyomi: I’m a young event professional, a lot of people don’t know how young I am. I’m 20 years old, turned 20 in August. I’ve done enough to really build a lot of my learning and development and skills through social media, which has really helped me. And especially when, like you were saying, I went to a job interview, and people usually don’t realise how young I am, and feel, then that I’m not very capable, because of my age, but then they bring me into the interviews, thinking how experienced I am.
You know, there’s still lots of different misconceptions about young people and the MICE industry. And I really just feel like, people need to embrace, meet embracing people. And I feel like it really starts with representation. If you really want to be forward thinking destination or event really bringing a wide audience andputting people on the panel speakers, you need to be open minded.
We are talking a lot about the future of the events industry. There’s no young people on the panel discussions on many events. I will say even more, there’s not a lot of young people who are signing up for the MICE industry trade shows tickets. People have got to realise why is that happening. Because we’re not being included? How do you communicate with Generation Z on social media? I hate to say it, but maybe you are doing boring content?
Mariska: It’s true. I’m a Dutch, so I am allowed to say it. I’m talking now in general. And like I said, it’s not adapted towards your generation, also that we still sense that and also the way how we reach out to you. And like you said, you don’t call and you prefer to speak with a chatbot or perhaps via Instagram chat function or messenger. And but it’s often not used in the regular communication from events and meeting planners.
Trade shows and events fitted to Generation Z
Jaro: Is your generation actually interested in trade shows and events in the MICE industry?
Nyomi: I feel like we can make people interested in anything, if we understand that generation. Sso for example, we have trade shows, if you go for example on TikTok, you can see that there’s a trending hashtag at the moment where people are showing the cars, trips, places, their makeup and so many different other topics. It’s such a variety and there’s trade show that are out discussing different things like that. And so I feel like it’s important that people really understand that we are interested if you make us interested, so instead of using content that is usually used for old, don’t want to say older, but you know from my experience, my experience generation.
Sorry, guys, but my experience generation I feel like they have their different type of content. They’re targeted differently, because that’s what interests them, that’s what brings them and you can’t then use that same type of content and then expecting people to then be interested. You’ve got to think creatively, you know, TikTok is all about inspiration, entertainment and education. It’s all in an authentic wat, where I feel like we can really see a lot of people who are trying to sell stuff.
You know, a lot of companies, for example in the UK, we’ve had a lot of discussion about the supermarkets who all came together for Christmas to share the hashtag, which was stand against racism. But the thing that they did with that is that they didn’t put any actual actionable things behind that campaign, they didn’t really actually engage with anybody, they just expected to put it out there. And for a lot of love to go, their way, and it didn’t necessarily go their way, because it was performative. You can’t expect to put things on them, people just go across and a lot of the younger generation are more analytical, we can really pick things apart.
We’re very good at looking back at the history of these companies finding out who was working in these companies, and really, dig deep into understanding who these people are. And I feel like, when we are creating content, we really got to make sure that it’s not just bare content, if we’re really wanting to bring young people in, really talk to them, offer them opportunities, embrace them into the actual event design, embrace them into the schedule, and go to work where they usually hang out, which is places like TikTok and Instagram, and which is doing a lot of video content.
And I feel like that is how we can make people interested. But like I said, you’ve got to make interesting content the way you actually understand. And like I mentioned at the beginning, if you’re saying, send me an email, and let’s book a session, I can tell you categorically that young people will not email you to be interested. Like we’re saying chat boxes, simple forums, where you don’t really necessarily have to talk to anybody. And that sounds like we’re a generation who don’t want to have human contact where we’re all about that. But we’re all about automation and things being simple, and not having to take the long way so I feel like that has really got to be understood as well.
Less is more
Jaroslaw: You mentioned that you’re overwhelmed by Facebook, right? There are so many features and options on Facebook. Do you look for more simple solutions in consuming content?
Nyomi: Yes, I was just gonna say that I completely agree. In fact, Facebook and a lot of other social media platforms are trying to be everyone and everything at the moment. But things like Facebook, the reason that then I feel that they’re not able to grow, it’s because they’re trying to do two things at once. And also the whole user design is just not appealing. Personally, I find it very confusing, there’s things at the bottom, things at the top and things splash in the middle of the screen, things pop up from the left to the right. And on Facebook nothing is very simple.
Whereas if you look on the TikTok platform interface, it’s got none of this sort of banners at the bottom, the video is actually the background for the whole time. There’s not much advertisement on TikTok (for now). You just got to follow ,like, comment, and share. And you can just swipe. How simple is that. And that’s why a lot of people love TikTok, because its simplicity.
MICE industry and social media in the era of COVID-19
Mariska: There’s a huge potential out there for TikTok and influencer marketing in the MICE industry. How do you see that evolving specifically for our industry, because the meetings and events industry is not so active. And we talked most about diversity inclusion, which is also of course, a hot topic in our industry. And how do you see that? Well, in your ideal world, what are your predictions? Or how do you see TikTok and events industry evolving? Would love to hear your opinion about that.
Nyomi: I feel like before COVID happened there was a lot of interest and MICE event professionals were actually really using social media and actually understanding it. And this was before TikTok the platform that we see it is now. And but the content that you can create on the Tik Tok platform, it’s so crucial just to actually, and that younger generation, because as much as we can say, you know, if we’ve got an event, and it’s for something that might not necessarily target the audience.
The younger audience can still learn from that. And then from those event professionals see behind the scenes we have, that they put together an incredible show, you know, meet industry speakers, that I feel like that the MICE industry is going to have to, it’s just, I feel like it, there’s not two ways about it, I feel like it’s going to have to use TikTok. And the way that the MICE industry is going to be able to do that is by opening the doors to younger people. People who know TikTok to come in and say, ‘Look, let me show you how to use this platform, and let me show you how this can work’.
I feel like that’s how the MICE industry can really start leveraging themselves. But I think it’s really important that when the mass industry just come on conferences, that they’re not creating content or creating advertisements, because like I was saying, TikTok is for Generation Z and the young people have so much content, and so much advertisement shown to everybody and think every action. Everybody can agree that every time you go on to all these other social media apps, or even when you just look at Google Search, you’ve got Facebook ads popping up, you’ve got Google Ads popping up, people trying to sell you stuff. You want to watch a YouTube video, and you’ve got an advertisement.
The importance of data
Mariska: I also like to TikTok because I’m Dutch, very straight to the point and we like very practical, easy to use tools. I want to mention something that you highlight is about data. And I think we need to have another conversation about data because we think we need 30 or 45 minutes to cover that topic. It’s really interesting that you do a research upfront with who you’re going to see and that you can see what kind of content the company even a person that you would speak within the company that you will say okay, over three years ago, he worked for another company which did not perform well or that company had a scandal or a claim or whatever. So it’s very interesting that you searched those data. And I think that’s still a very underestimated value within he MICE industry.
And like the younger generation, you grown up with social media, with the importance of those data and analytics. And I think that our generation is now with the digital world and being forced to be online, we’re now getting used to work with the data and analytics, but it’s still not at the forefront, and especially from meetings and event industry. I think that’s also perhaps one of the reasons why I’m not sure why they’re perhaps scared to use online platforms, or social media platforms like TikTok.
Nyomi: Yeah, and I feel like it’s very interesting, especially with the use of data, I feel like people are saying in the comments as well that a lot of the MICE industry are using traditional methods methods, like print media, emails and banners and things like that. And that sort of data, it can’t necessarily be as predictive, I can’t be as analytical as social media and digital media is, but in terms of TikTok`s algorithm, so there are data analytics, you know, if you create your TikTok account for a professional reasons, you can then see all your analytics and see, really, who’s watching when, when’s the best time to post etc.
But in terms of the general events industry, trying to use data more. I feel like, we’ve really got to make sure that we’re actually empowering our employees first, to really get them to understand the importance of data. So instead of just, putting out surveys, or things like that, we’ve got to be more creative with how we’re going to try and feed that data. And instead of asking simple questions, getting to know those people a lot more and connecting with them, is how you can really create, better data for you to then analyse, but then also using data, after your event to really help you with improvements.
And really just growing, as growning as a company or as an event, it’s really important that you actually look and analyse that data, you really manipulate it to understand why are people acting like this, or why people are interested in this, or that it’s really important that you can then look at that data to recognise there’s not a lot of young people here.
Now, why is this, is it because of these reasons xxx, and it’s important that you then create that data and then share it with people, too many people are keeping data to themselves. And people don’t realise that data is meant to be shared, obviously, with them legally. And but that data is meant to be shared to your community. And if you are sharing data that’s saying, ‘look where we recognise the gap here, like you know, come on community, let’s bring this, like, let’s go this new direction’. That’s what it’s supposed to be used first to help you improve and continually develop, but a lot of people don’t necessarily know how to do that. So that’s where it’s important that we are empowering people to use data, and not for it to be such a thing where it’s oh my gosh, like numbers and numbers, etc. It can be a lot, it can be a lot simpler than a lot of people usually make out to be.
New opportunities
Mariska: I think in general, it has a lot of opportunities. So hopefully now with the push of the younger generation, we’re able to share experiences and to see also how important our industry is. Because that’s actually also what it’s about, and why are so many impact on local economy, because so many suppliers and supply chain is involved in the entire industry. And it’s indeed by bringing people together.
We need to be an example. We need to be that inspiration for others also to follow us. I think sometimes we need to be not saying that leader but sometimes you need to take the lead.
Nyomi: Yeah, the importance that we’re all here to help the MICE industry grow. You know, we really need to make sure that the 2021 plan is to grow the industry and to make sure that we come back even stronger. And the only way we can do that is by bringing more people together. And not excluding different generations, but embracing each other, all of our different thoughts, ideas and experiences. I feel like that’s just so important for 2021. But also, I was gonna say, check out the Word of MICE TikTok Challenge, because we put out some really great advice and on how you can create that content on TiTok, and I believe you have to see change because we will have something coming out in the new year. So if you do want to understand how to Tik Tok, go look through that blog, and you can really sense that your tiktok journey, but I’m always here to help out.
How to set up a successful B2B influencer marketing campaign
Word of MICE founder Mariska Kesteloo and Alessia di Raimondo discuss all about destination marketing.
Introduction
Mariska: Welcome to the first edition of the B2B Influencer Marketing Chat series, I’m very proud to launch this new series of chats, which you can listen to every week on our podcast channel. I’m not doing this alone. I’m together with Alessia Di Raimondo. Welcome. She’s our regular host every week. Alessia, welcome.
Alessia: Thank you, Mariska. Hello, everybody. My name is Alessia Di Raimondo. I`ve teamed up with Mariska from Word of MICE. I’m a freelance marketing and sales consultant for destinations, planners and suppliers, professionals in the meeting industry and I’m also the vice president of communication at the Italian Chapter of MPI.
Mariska: Thank you very much for the introduction that reminds me that I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Mariska Kesteloo and I’m the founder of Word of MICE. We create B2B influencer marketing campaigns for hotels, destinations, venues and many other suppliers in the meetings and events industry.
This is our first edition and the first edition is all about destination marketing. I would say a very current topic because due to Covid-19, a lot of destinations and other suppliers, but mainly destinations are, of course, struggling. How do you stay in touch with your audience, but also what is the right tone of voice and with all the uncertainties that might still come up. We don’t know how to proceed.
Challenges for a destination in Covid-19 era
I’m happy to talk about this particular topic with Alessia because you have worked actually for a convention bureau in Sicily in the past. Could you describe what are the biggest challenges for a destination in these challenging times?
Alessia: Nowadays the biggest challenge for a destination is keeping clients’ attention high, save and replacing their wish lists and priorities and what will be, of course, to start again our business and to travel again and go back to our normal life and work. They have to save their brand protection and do not lose competitive advantage, even online on the site.
We are all online these days. I mean, those destinations which are creative as well as honest transparent with its communication, and they are communicating weekly or even daily with followers. They are getting lots of exposure, especially now. Many are working on building up trust, increasing the attention, creating and delivering spontaneous confidence by using their team members which have time nowadays and they don’t need any budget to produce to create such type of content. So why don’t you do it. For a destination as well for the companies in the supply chain the biggest challenge is to keep the staff motivated and involve the employees to collaborate all together to generate ideas and create new content. Not copying competitors, but being original.
Find the right tone of communication
Mariska: It’s easier said than done because it’s not easy to find the right tone of voice. What can we post, what not, what is appropriate. Some destinations are owned by the governments or some people are not allowed to work, even they would love to work. Despite that, they would love to continue with the communication, so I think that’s also a huge challenge.
Alessia: Some people think that being silent is sort of a way to show respect, considering the challenges we are facing together. But actually, it’s not because this creates a distance between the brand and the company, of course, on the users and suppliers on the other side. So there’s a way to continue communicating also in these times, but in a soft way, with the right approach. You just have to find what is the right message you want to share with your users and you will find the proper way to do it.
Maintaining relationships with your audience
Mariska: If you talk about the proper way we cannot talk about sales or promotion. You mentioned already earlier in one of your comments that you’re saying it’s about trust. Indeed, it’s like a marriage you also don’t stop communicating from one until the other day you keep the relationship, to keep it open and ongoing. So I think a lot of people think stopping is better than pulling out content. That is not right. But I totally agree with you. You need to maintain your relationship with your followers, despite it’s not easy to find the right content or the right topics. There are many things in our industry we can write about.
Alessia: The most important thing is to talk about authentic things at work, about the values which represent your brand. There are some destinations that are doing a great job. They are producing videos, wonderful videos, so very unconventional content as well. But if you don’t have the budget to work on a video, you can also use bottom-up content coming from your employees and use those contents on your channels – a website, blog, the social media to reach your users. They will be in the city as well as an original and fantastic campaign, which maybe would cost much more, but you don’t need to invest in it now.
Mariska: I think you already mentioned engaging your employees. That’s also a great way to create more exposure without using external influencers or external people to create content.
LinkedIn – personal profile and company page
Mariska: We’re talking about tips and suggestions you already mentioned. What else destinations can do? You mentioned already continue being out there to remain top of mind. Can you give us concrete steps that are on a low budget, of course, or with the possibilities of the convention bureau?
Alessia: A good idea and a good strategy would be to invest in your LinkedIn personal profile and company page. Why? LinkedIn, especially for the B2B market, is a very useful channel. They are improving the platform. There are many new features and also ads on LinkedIn work very well. You can work on the digital PR and on your personal branding and also your branding as an employee of a specific company, at no cost. Why don’t you invest your time in your profile, on your company page, on LinkedIn, on a group, on a LinkedIn community? We have time to do it now. We don’t need anybody to do it and that this is a different channel to reach the target audience.
Mariska: I think LinkedIn is a must for every company, especially if you work B2B. I mean, I’m a huge fan of LinkedIn, which I have been using for many, many years. LinkedIn still remains the number one platform to do business and to get in touch with people.
Alessia: The engagement on LinkedIn is very high. You have to consider also a KPI to choose the channel to work on. I would like to ask you Mariska if you can explain why influencer marketing now is more important than ever.
Influencer Marketing in B2B
Mariska: When I talk about B2B influencer marketing in general, I would say to stay and to remain top of mind amongst your target audience, that is for me the best description, what influencer marketing is. Why now?
We’re all in lockdown or some people might not be in lockdown yet, but we’re all restricted to travel. We are at home. This is the ideal time to reach out to influencers, even if it’s your employees. People who are from the same industry, you have the passion, the knowledge, the experience and more importantly, the followers to reach out and to remain top of mind. Because you cannot talk about sales, you cannot talk about promotion because no one knows how long it will take or it will last. Therefore it is important to remain top of mind and to be there online and like you said, and to continue also that communication.
A negative perception of Influencer Marketing
And a lot of people underestimate the value of B2B influencer marketing because they have a negative perception because they think it’s only the millennials. You don’t go to your neighbour if you have pain in your tooth. I mean, you go to dentists because they have the expertise. That’s the same with the influencer. Unfortunately, the bad perception that we have can be caused by the “Fire Festival”, a lot of campaigns managed wrong or used the wrong influencer. Because of that a lot of people have also the wrong perception in our industry. In the MICE industry, it’s more about the experience, about the knowledge that people have, and less on the number of followers.
The second thing is we do campaigns for the long term, six months, a year or even longer to connect with the specific sort of audience. I prefer to use the word ambassador, content creator, expert, or a mix of all those things. It is our role to find the right tone of voice and to remain in touch with the audience.
Planning Influencer campaigns
Alessia: You talk about influencer marketing campaigns. How to set up a good influencer campaign? What are the most important elements to think about and to include in your project?
Mariska: If we do a campaign, first of all, I think it stands and falls with a good briefing.
- What is your target audience?
- What would you like to get out of the campaign?
- And of course, if you have a budget, if you don’t have a budget, let us know as well because we are living in challenging times, people are willing to do something for free.
- What is the time frame?
- Which channel would you like to focus on?
If you find an influencer who’s focusing on LinkedIn and doesn’t mean that he or she is an expert or has the same followers on Twitter or on Instagram. So a good briefing about the company, about what would you like to get out of it?
What are your values? Because it’s not just someone picked on expertise and on the right followers, but also if he or she respects the values, the philosophy of the company. So I always call it’s more like a dating agency what we do. We need to find the right match, the person that respects your company and also the values, but also on a professional level. That is the first thing.
The second thing is that you have a clear briefing. As soon as you work together that the influencer receives a contract, knows what I’m allowed to do and I’m not allowed to do. Working towards an outcome and that is can be really challenging in these times or you need to modify or adapt. It’s constant collaboration, constantly in touch with the influencer of what can we do, or can’t do.
We planned the video for two or three weeks’ time and perhaps we need to change the content or it’s not appropriate anymore. It’s outdated already. So it’s constant communication, collaboration.
Please don’t forget the leverage, the experience, the knowledge that influences have. You work with the influencer because he or she knows her followers, he or she has the creativity and passion. So use it and ask the input. And don’t say you need to do this or need to do that. Now, it’s a collaboration and I say creating content together.
So I think those are the most important elements. And remind yourself that you will create a collaboration that will last hopefully not only during the campaign but even after the campaign.
B2B Influencer campaigns case studies
Alessia: Thank you Mariska. Do we have some best practices of clients who are already working with influencers and they are doing a great job, according to you?
Mariska: I think on a B2B level, specifically for our industry, it’s quite rare and we’re quite new, I would say. There are some interesting examples. I mean, you could also, as you said, you could also use your employees as your influencers without using or calculating a huge budget. There are great examples.
International Women’s Day
National Geographic did a fantastic campaign on International Women’s Day. It was not about sales, not about promotion. It was just about awareness. How can we motivate women and young ladies and girls to choose a profession in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Taking pictures of women working in these different professions all around the world and launching that on International Women’s Day was a major campaign. Just by creating awareness because we know that we will have a lack of women and a lack of workforce in the specific sectors. So that was a very interesting B2B marketing campaign and even some of the ladies were asked to do a presentation and talk about their professions offline.
Microsoft or National Geographic didn’t gain leads or bookings out of it. So this is actually a very strong example of how to work on awareness. And also for a long term goal. So how to motivate, how to change a certain perception or the changes in behavior.
I think that is also why it is a great example, especially now, because we can’t sell anything we can’t say come to my destination or join the fam trip because people are not eager to travel, and which I totally understand. Including myself, I’m also not eager to travel now. We need to find a campaign where I would say awareness is the focus. I mean many are hopefully during this crisis, many inspiring examples will come up. I think you can do a lot with a very I would say a very small or shoestring budget.
How to choose the right influencer?
Alessia: We talk about the employees as the first influencers we could involve for an influencer marketing campaign with no budget. But if we need to choose a professional influencer for a dedicated campaign, what are the things we have to consider when choosing the influencer to work with.
Mariska: Choosing the right influence is one of the biggest challenges for companies. With whom are we going to work, how do we select the criteria, etc. I think you have two ways.
Of course, you can choose your employees, but you also need to find someone who is active on social media, who is already perhaps creating or is a fan of graphic design or perhaps has his own website. I mean, there are many people who have side projects or perhaps have a side business where they already write a blog post or get involved in perhaps any charity or a good cause as a volunteer. I think there is a huge potential as far as being an employer, but you might not have discovered that yet. So I think you should first look inward in your own company what is the potential over there.
And I think now more than ever, everybody is eager to keep their job and hopefully, we can say going through this pandemic together. I think before you will recruit someone, an external person was not able to travel, was not able to come to your product or doesn’t know your product or is not familiar with it.
Internal or external influencer?
I would prefer to work with someone who is trustworthy because that’s what it’s all about now. An employee is already familiar with your product or service. Even an ex-employee could also be interesting or someone else related to your company or stakeholders or partners or board members and your advisory board you might have. So there is a lot of potential, not only within your expertise, but I would say also your circle around your company that you have and without using the budget and starting with an influencers campaign.
I hope the companies do have a dedicated influencer marketing budget. I can only imagine that you make now different choices and you hope you can keep all your employees. So why don’t you involve and engage them more and perhaps their perception would also change their product and by doing them something different within the company. So I think it’s an underestimated part of influence and marketing employees, partners, speakers, anyone who is related to your company.
Alessia: Thank you for this overview, which is actually an introduction to enter into the world of the influence of marketing, especially in the B2B and in the MICE industry.
Mariska: You are absolutely right. In the next episodes, we are going to talk more about different topics related with B2B influencer marketing, laws, about regulations. We’re going to talk with influencers themselves and we’re going to talk with Julius Solaris as one of the major influencers in the events industry. Many more interesting episodes are coming up. Thank you all so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed listening to our podcast. Thank you so much for being our host Alessia and see you next week.
Alessia: Thank you. Bye, bye
Welcome to the B2B Influencer Marketing chat series where we talk about B2B influencer marketing in the world of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events). We speak with people from all around the globe about the role, the meaning, impact and possibilities of B2B influencer marketing. Hosts: Mariska Kesteloo & Alessia di Raimondo.
You can listen to us and our guests on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.
The second season of B2B Chat Series
We launch the second season of B2B Influencer Marketing chat series in November 2020. Follow us on Eventbrite and signup for coming chats with influencers, CVB`s representatives and many other interesting guests from the MICE industry and Social Media world. We start the second season with Instagram Influencer – Phil Gonzalez.
