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.
Influencer Marketing on TikTok – the interview with Nyomi Rose
Welcome to the second edition of the B2B influencer marketing chat series. Today our guest is Nyomi Rose.
Who is Nyomi Rose?
Nyomi Rose is a final year Events Management student who has flourished during this COVID-19 era through leveraging her social media skills and to spread positivity, passion and love for the events industry. In six months Nyomi has transformed her skillset and developed a status as a young professional woman within the world of events, becoming a prominent figure in the pursuit of diversity, sustainability, social media optimisation and youth empowerment through her Instagram and LinkedIn pages.
Nyomi Rose empowers and provides impactful insight to individuals and SMEs to optimise their social media and marketing strategy. Nyomi is a Tech, AI and Data enthusiast and aims to bridge the digital gap through sharing her knowledge and insights.
We talked with with Nyomi about :
- TikTok from personal account to professional influencer
- Numbers, influencers, demographics and terminology used on TikTok
- The voice of the young generation (Generation Z, also called GenZ)
- Misunderstanding of TikTok
- Is the MICE industry ready for tiktokers collaborations and B2B influencer marketing campaigns?
- TikTok B2B influencer campaigns
- How to use TikTok in the era of Covid-19?
n case you missed our live session with Nyomi Rose, tune in on your favourite podcast channel:
Do you prefer reading over listening? You can read most of our conversation with Gen Z in the MICE industry – Nyomi Rose below. Enjoy listening and reading. Read the full blog post below.
Global pandemic as an opportunity for the MICE industry
Nyomi: Hello, everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today, I’m really excited to talk about TikTok, it is something that I absolutely love. When lockdown first happened, and all the way back in March, I can’t exactly remember the month, it seems to be a bit of a blur. And I started using social media to grow my personal brand, and to really reach out and get into the events industry, because so many opportunities were closing initially. And I thought, why not try and get my own opportunities and use social media to help me do that. And so I really focused heavily on becoming aware of the sort of virtual hybrid elements and also how to ditch the market myself.
And within about two months of really focusing on social media, building my personal brand, I was then able to have opportunity to speak at events like this (webinars, podcasts, online events, Instagram Live). And also, and really get opportunities I really want. Being able to work with some incredible clients, and specifically on TikTok campaigns, and also on social media campaigns as well as both digital and events.
So it’s been an incredible journey to say the least, and TikTok has definitely influenced my journey as well. And just in terms of understanding a completely new platform, with an incredible amount of young people that just something I am most definitely passionate about, which is empowering people to get into the events industry, and talk and have such a large majority of young people and. But it’s growing with other people like Mariska Kesteloo and Jaroslaw Marciuk. Tiktok is an aging platform, which is great to see.
How to start on TikTok
Mariska: Okay, well, thank you Nyomi so much for joining our B2B Influencer Marketing Chat Series. The lockdown had a huge impact on the way you were using TikTok and now even get collaborations out of it. Can you remember when you put your first post out on TikTok, when was that?
Nyomi: Yeah, so my first post on TikTok was literally when lockdown just happened. And it was still when the platform was quite young. But it still had millions of people on that, but not as much as it does now. I was exploring my journey of who actually am, and participating in a show organized by Irina Graf. And there have been pioneers talk conference. There was a conference in which pioneers spoke about one of their challenges. Originally I just used TikTok as a personal account, where I just honestly I did some really shabby dances, and just have a mock about with my friends. And I didn’t really see the true value of how important the platform, to show your personal brand, but also to really showcase your knowledge, your expression, and different insights as well.
And then I think I did a couple of cooking ones. And this was first back when I went onto TikTok, but then obviously it’s completely evolved and changed during the last couple of months. So that’s how I really started my TikTok journey.
But it was mostly when Instagram added Reels as their new feature. And it kicked me and I started thinking, gosh. People are trying to be like TikTok and but I feel like a lot of other platforms couldn’t properly imitate how TikTok was. And I don’t really feel like Instagram Reels really has its full potential yet whereas TikTok has been able to completely overwhelm the younger generation. So it’s continually growing. And yeah, that’s how I really started when I saw the true potential of TikTok.
Should eventprofs consider to use TikTok?
Mariska: We are talking about the true potential. This was part of the collaboration Word of MICE TikTok Challenge for eventprofs. And to be honest, I was also not a huge fan of this new platform, but I never explored all the opportunities of TikTok. And I started using TikTok thanks to you Nyomi, because of your posts. You shared with us how to create first posts on TikTok. So me as a middle or older person, I also created my first TikTok.
Now I understand why TikTok is so addictive, fun, and why it’s so growing and so popular. I must say it showed me also the misunderstanding that parents might have when their children are all day on TikTok. So there’s a lot of misunderstandings about TikTok. I know you also educate a lot of other people about TikTok. What’s your opinion about this, because it’s a very educative platform as well.
Nyomi: I’m using testimony we did in our challenge as the lead up to this session. And the actual dare to challenge was for people to share their misconceptions about TikTok. And that’s originally what I thought the whole platform was, you know, just dancing all the time. And then people like Sammy, she also shared that it was you know, more than just make-up, lips, and those sort of things. Irina Graf also shared her thoughts as well, so that people were showing all of their different misconceptions.It shows how many people haven’t really actually understood taking the time to look through the platform and see what the potential actually is a platform, and Michael was saying it, people think TikTok is for dancing.
TikTok is not only for dancers and singers
Nyomi: Sometimes, well, it’s a great platform to dance. And people forget that, as event professionals, we get a lot of entertainment to come to our events, we bring in dancers, musicians, artists, we bring in everything to really create that whole event experience. So when I hear a lot people saying: “Oh, TikTok is just for dancing” or “TikTok app is just for singing” you can bring all those different elements together for an event.
So I always think, try TikTok before you’re going to give those misconceptions. When you go onto the platform you’ll see all the different types of content created by young, creative people that’s on there. And even when you go into the Discover page on TikTok, and you have the opportunity to look through all of these different brands who are all wanting to reach out and to get young people to understand that they are a future forward-thinking company. And you can really see that how even these brands also are trying to fight those misconceptions as well on that platform.
So I always say to people, try the platform, have a look through, engage as well with TikTokers. It’s really easy, just scroll through, here they are. See whole TikTok platform, the way it’s all designed. The more you interact, the more you’re engaged, the more you like, and TikTok algorithm will send content that you are interested in, which is not what a lot of other social media platforms have been able.
It’s Day 2 for the #wordofmicetiktokers… a TikTok Challenge to share your misunderstandings of TikTok! Join in with @MariskaKesteloo, @JaroslawMarciuk and I, this is your time #eventprofs to show your creativity & inspire the #NextGen… watch the VIDEO & get involved? pic.twitter.com/CduR0TnoTz
— Nyomi Rose? (@whatnyomidoes) December 8, 2020
Use TikTok to educate
Mariska: I didn’t I even didn’t know that. But it also has apparently also an educating part, which Irina put on during the TikTok Challenge. She even said there’s education part, which I was also not aware of, to be honest.
Nyomi: Even when I go for job interviews, or even when I’m trying to bring on a new client, I actually search on TikTok how to bring in clients, how to do an interview. And all content from all these other professionals is also on there as well. We can actually go on there and learn a kind of like LinkedIn learning, but actual in-house learning that you can do on TikTok is phenomenal. You know, it’s absolutely crazy, the things you can learn.
TikTok`s dictionary and facts for beginners
Jaro: Could you share some tips with us and people who would like to start using TikTok? Please tell us about facts, numbers from the platform, and some special terminology used on TikTok.
Nyomi: I think facts and statistics are really important for people to understand TikTok, especially if you are wanting to go on and build your brand, whether that’s your personal brand, or your company’s brand, 14% of the TikTokers is between the ages of 16 and 24. And I feel like that’s obviously really important stat. Because obviously, it’s a really great demographic, you understand the age groups, and that percentage of people who are on that. But it’s also important when people create TikToks, especially when I see people saying, who are trying to share their brand where it’s, you know, email me, give me a call and let’s book a session. 16 to 24 year olds are probably not going to send you an email, they’re probably not going to give you a call. You know, that’s just not the way Generation Z works. We like everything to be automated, we like chat boxes. That’s how we work as younger people.
So that’s a really interesting if you are thinking of wanting to go on that and how are you going to really make sure that you create that content, specifically for that demographic. But even things like people, go onto the actual minimum amount of time that people on TikTok is 52 minutes a day. And I can definitely come down to two minutes. And I know for sure that I spent more time on TikTok.
What actually that means is when people are going live, or when and they’re showing ads, that there’s even possibilities for you to even actually make money off TikTok. Actually TikTok is reaching out to a young, more niche and tik tokers as well to help them grow their platform. So their user time spending is just rapidly increasing because more brands and more people creating content that they want to find more niche so they can, you know, go into different markets as well,
Demographics
I also think is a really interesting statistic. And it’s from 150 markets, 75 languages, 50% of the TikTok audience is global, and they’re all under 35 years of age. And I find that so incredible, because what a lot of other platforms haven’t been able to do is make their content diverse or inclusive by a variety of languages.
You can scroll on TikTok, and you don’t necessarily have to understand what they’re saying. But you can relate because of the music, or the facial expressions are even the filters that have been used, whereas a lot of other platforms such as Facebook, that they really can’t get into that audience. And things like even like Instagram, if you really wanted to build yourself on Instagram, you’ve really got to master the art of hashtags and consistency. Whereas on TikTok that’s just something that isn’t necessarily needed. So I find those sort of statistics really important, especially for when you’re trying to leverage yourself on the platform as well.
Engagement
Another sort of interesting point is that there’s 29% engagement rate on TikTok, which I find is really interesting when you look at things like Twitter, where their engagement rate is way below 10%, even Instagram engagement I think it’s something like 14%. So all these other social media platforms, they haven’t been able to specifically target that content to that particular use. Whereas the TikTok algorithm works I mentioned before. The more you go on the platform, the more you use it, the more you like that content it will target that content towards you, which is why that engagement rate is so high. That’s why people, you always hear these huge stories of people being able to blow up on TikTok, and they’ve became well known people or even millionaires. That’s the way that they’ve interacted on their platform as well.
How to use TikTok in a professional way
Nyomi: What I would definitely say is you need to make sure that your account is a professional account so that you can really see like was saying before the optimal times of posting understand who’s watching what, when you can find out if your content is interesting, if it’s got low engagement, there’s a reason for that. And if it’s got high engagement, there’s a reason for that as well. And but then even trying to film your tik toks as well.
We’ve got to make sure that all our tiktoks are vertical. The whole reason that the platform is so gorgeous, it takes up the full space of your phone. There’s not a lot of chance for you to look at, you can’t even see that the time and everything you know, in the top bar, your actual phone, it completely covers everything. So definitely, I’m adopting the vertical PDF formats as well. And it’s important that if you are going to be using this as a professional count, that I’m actually it was interesting before this, I am diverging from the question. But we were saying before everybody joined that, and Jaro doesn’t really want to necessarily use tik tok to show his face, he wants to kind of show some of your architecture.
Authencity and influence
That’s just not the way that Tik Tok works, the way that you can really create good content on Tik tok, and really showcase that content, is by making it look as least advertising as possible. It’s got to be so authentic, it doesn’t need to be professional, you know, it doesn’t need to be this high quality production team standard video. It really, honestly, it really doesn’t, the more that your videos look like tiktoks than advertisements, the more that you’re going to be able to grow on that. And the more that people are going to be able to see the huge impact that the MICE industry has on the entire economy, you know, and I feel like that’s how important it is for the MICE industry to get on there.
But in terms of predictions, I feel like people are talking about the misconceptions, people just need to realize that maybe we can’t do everything. So let’s open the doors to people who can do this. And who can put our brand out there. I feel like that is really important. I can say you just give it a go and not get so caught up with the misconceptions. Because this is a growing platform that young people are using.
And even if TikTok dies next year, they’re be something else, that will be coming up. But the key thing is that you’ve missed that key demographic way of being able to create content for them. And for them to get to know who your brand is, get to understand your event, how you put it all together, you as an event professional, and that’s what people will miss. We put in like event description at the younger people who will become a business partners that require employees, require customers, they’ll become competitors. It’s important that we recognise that and we adapt to it.
I don`t want to show my face on TikTok
Nyomi: Lots of people still don’t really want to show their face on TikTok, which is completely fine. And that’s where you can be a lot more creative, where you can even use photos that you’ve taken from an event. And if you go on the event you can create a post, and you go into templates, there’s already 50 plus templates that are already up there, we can use images to share and to create sort of photo reels, and kind of show transformational journeys as well.
Define your strategy
Nyomi: I would really like to say that, if you’re wanting to become Tiktoker and use TikTok, you’ve really got to be authentic with yourself, you’ve really got to understand why you’re going to share on TikTok. Your business or personal profile is to inspire others, to be entertaining. So you’ve got to understand your ‘why’ and have a clear strategy. Make sure that your content is all coming off different aspects of that. Because what is really sometimes difficult is that people just kind of try and do everything. And sometimes that can even be more confusing, as well for the audience, whe you are creating different types of content.
The whole importance of TikTok is your niche. So when you’re creating content, it’s specifically for event education, you know, you’re trying to get people to get into the industry, or you’re trying to get people to be more aware of your business, you got to make sure that content is all around that because all those hashtags that you’ll be using all the people that have been watching, they’ll be pushing more of your content to your directed audience. So it’s important that you choose your niche.
Mariska: Good point, it also has to do with a good strategy actually. So finding your niche, finding your why and then focus like you’re using any other social media platforms is creating a good strategy, and posting in a consistent and professional way and analyse your data.
Jaro: What I like about Tik Tok is the thing that it is in it`s starting point. I remember when I started my Instagram 10 years ago. At the beginning, all people were asking me what is this thing, Instagram? Now Instagram has become a major social media platform. So I think you should at least try and check TikTok. Who knows what is going to happen in five years time.
@whatnyomidoesHow I grew myself as a ##youngproffesional ##GenZ ##millennials ##trending ##mystory ##NextGen ##wordofmicetiktokers♬ Mood (feat. iann dior) – 24KGoldn
Is TikTok a good platform for B2B Marketing?
Jaro: TikTok has been already by future employers to look for employees to check their activities ans passions online. HR agencies verify future employees on social media. TikTok and other emerging Gen Z platforms could be interesting tools not only for theses companies to commincate, and not only for B2C market, but also for B2B.
Nyom: TikTok is already a B2B platform, but people may be potentially haven’t had a chance to have a look at that opportunity. TikTok`s feature called create Marketplace where you can find lots of different creators who are selling their businesses, who are on there. Obviously TikTok brings great leads, so it is a B2B. But when we’re trying to understand that B2B environment is really part of that, and that content that we’re creating, on that b2b, on tik tok, that it’s inspiring, it’s not traditional, it’s not traditional things that usually talk about, you know, if you’re going to go on there, and you know, say ‘this is what we sell, you know, we do this, we do that, etc’, people probably not going to be likely to engage. So there’s, that’s why I’m saying there’s different ways that you can create that content by, you know, saying, Oh, we got a podcast where we talked about this, you know, like, you know, sign up now, check the link in the bio and stuff. There’s different ways that you can interact and build that b2b audience.
Mariska: I think we can talk for hours about TikTok, Generation Z, eventprofs and data. I think we need to invite you for another session. Well, I would say first of all, thank you so much for the participants for joining. And if you have any questions for Nyomi Rose, let us know.
Huge thank you to Nyomi (WhatNyomiDoes), thank you for sharing your passion because you’re definitely passionate about TikTok and I will continue on my personal and professional brand to make some great videos on TikTok. You can also follow Nyomi on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok of course.
Social Audio trend that has become a reality
Online events have become one way for the MICE industry to survive the pandemic. And for this reason, last year undoubtedly belonged to applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Clickmeeting and others. To communicate and organise events, mainly in the virtual world we had to adapt to the new tools.
Unfortunately, the MICE industry has not returned to business as usual yet and we still cannot meet for all kinds of events. Many of these online applications will stay with us helping participants join the conversation and to maintain the relationships. This is also why I enjoy using such platforms as Hopin, Swapcard and Hubilo during online events. Why? because also you can’t travel but still keep in touch with your audience, grow your network from a distance and learn and exchange experiences.
During different types of video meetings, the behaviour of the participants was different. It seems to me that the longer we have to work from home, the more often there have been situations where a participant has not turned on the camera during such events, even though others have activated this feature.
This can be more comfortable AND convenient as you don’t have to worry about the look and background in the frame. But are you sure this is polite? However, in my opinion, when taking part in a webinar or broadcast with an online discussion, you should show your face. When delivering online training myself, I rely on interaction rather than speaking to black screens.
Clubhouse found its niche
However, people want to engage with each other, especially if they have similar interests or want to know more about a particular topic. Why is Clubhouse popular, because you don’t show your face. Easy to connect, and interact, wherever you are. This has contributed to the popularity of the Clubhouse app, which admittedly has been around since early 2020, but It became more popular towards the end of last year.
Podcasts that we can listen to at any time have been popular for many years. But Clubhouse works a little differently, setting the standard for the whole Social Audio trend.What is Social Audio? It’s like a radio station that is co-created with the listeners.
In so-called rooms, the organiser can give voice to participants, who are only visible as profile icons. There is no video, no pictures, no texts, just the sound itself. Clubhouse gave its users the feeling of authentic conversations and a return to interpersonal relationships from before the pandemic.
Clubouse set the standard for the whole Social Audio trend.
In its initial phase, the application also gained popularity thanks to the effect of inaccessibility. To be able to create a profile, you need to have an invitation to join from another use.
Clubhouse used FOMO to attract users, a smart move. Conversations can’t be recorded, you have to join live like the radio. In January and February this year I spent a lot of time listening to and participating in various talks given by people in our MICE industry.
Clubhouse can be seen as an extra medium. The app is only available for Apple devices which undoubtedly limits its growth. The Clubhouse app has been downloaded by 13 million people worldwide. In December 2020 they had just 600.000 downloads.
Clubhouse for eventprofs
Is it worth investing time in acquiring knowledge and creating a profile in Clubhouse? The first destinations and MICE industry representatives have already created their profile on Clubhouse and take part in discussions, organise meetings and conversations with interesting guests. Some examples are:
- Ljubljana Talks by Conventa and Ljubljana Convention Bureau
- EventMB
- Inluencers from the MICE industry
? Top 10 Tech Trends for 2022 with @MariskaKesteloo at Knowledge Theatre @IBTMevents #IBTMWorld today.
? Would you like to know more? Send us a DM.#InfluencerMarketing #eventprofs #contentcreators #b2bmarketing #ibtm21 #ibtm pic.twitter.com/tpPJTDg7ZJ— wordofmice (@wordofmice) December 1, 2021
What is the future of Social Audio?
The app is constantly evolving and introducing new features for users. Clubhouse launched in October the ability to record and replay conversations. And what’s more? You are able now to download shareable 30-second clips.
I don’t know what the future of Clubhouse will be, but without a doubt social audio in general is already one of the most important trend in marketing 2021. The avalanche has started and nearly 30 startups have already used this concept.
Of course, the other platforms are following the trend: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (Microsoft). They are creating their own versions and plan to add new functionalities for their users. They are creating their own versions and plan to add new functionalities for their users:
- Twitter Spaces launched in spring 2021 – find out more about Associations Space on Twitter Spaces
- Facebook launched its own podcasts and such novelties as Soundbites, Live Audio Room or Sound Studio. Find out more.
- Spotify launched Greenroom
Facebook, Twitter and Spotify have the Clubhouse advantage in the form of existing users of the services, they will simply roll out additional functionality, it will be available on iOS and Android mobile devices.
Keep an eye on the market and see what happens in 2022 and how social audio will evolve. Jaroslaw Marciuk
The second season of the B2B Influencer Marketing Chat Series
What are the B2B Influencer Marketing chat series?
Welcome to our LIVE interviews 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, the impact and the possibilities of B2B Influencer Marketing on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. Facebook, Youtube, TikTok and other social media and networking platforms. We share case studies, discuss influencer marketing campaigns for destinations and other suppliers from our industry and beyond.
Our hosts for the first series of 10 episodes Mariska Kesteloo and Alessia di Raimondo (S01). And for the second series of 10 episodes Jaroslaw Marciuk and Mariska Kesteloo (S02).
How to join the B2B Influencer Marketing chat series?
Join us every Thursday at 1 pm CEST /12 pm GMT LIVE on Zoom. You can participate and ask questions to our special guests. This is the most engaging way to be part of our series of interviews.
Follow us on Eventbrite and sign up for the next live interview with influencers, entrepreneurs, and many other interesting guests from the MICE industry and beyond. You can register and participate for free.
World of MICE – events on Eventbrite – free registration.
What if you missed a live episode?
In case you missed our live session, listen to our conversation on your favorite podcast channel. We upload the whole interview to the following podcast channels: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Radio Public.
Blog posts
Do you prefer reading over listening? You can read the entire conversation from each interview on our website.
The second season of B2B chat series
We started the second season in November 2020 with Instagram Influencer, Phil Gonzalez and our new regular host – Jaroslaw Marciuk. Enjoy watching, listening, and reading the B2B influencer marketing chat series.
1. Phil Gonzalez – Influencer marketing on Instagram
Phil Gonzalez, besides being a dynamic person, he got involved in the internet and social media from the early start. He saw the evolution of influencers and influencer marketing, before it received its official name. Besides he’s a huge fan and passionate about Instagram and with his community (Instagramers Network) and followers he reaches thousands of people.
During this episode with Phil Gonzalez we will cover the following topics:
- The role of Instagram
- How Instagram has changed over 10 years
- The evolution of influencers
- Instagramers (Igers) and mobile photographers community on Instagram
- How do you become an influencer on Instagram?
- How does the future look like for Instagram? (Reels, Shopping, videos)
- Is it too late to start your Instagram profile?
You can read two blog posts: Influencer Marketing on Instagram and The future and trends on Instagram in 2021
2. Tim Williams – Measuring impact of influencers
Tim Williams is the CEO of Onalytica, an Influencer Marketing company that provides Influencer Relationship Management software and supporting professional services. Established in 2009, Onalytica helps brands to run their influencer programs to increase brand awareness, improve brand reputation and drive lead generation or consideration in the early part of the buying process.
During the episode with the Tim Williams we will talk about:
- The outcome of the Onalytica report: The Current State & Future of B2B influencer marketing
- The impact of B2B influencer marketing
- The underestimated role of data in the world of influencer marketing
3. Anna Gorska – The role of marketing in the world of international associations
Anna Gorska has been involved in the meetings industry for over 20 years. Since May 2019 she is part of the Advisory Board in the leading Polish association called PCO Symposium Cracoviense, where she is responsible for relations with the international associations. In March 2019 Anna became the Vice President of the SKKP Polish Conference & Congress Association. She is a passionate lecturer at universities promoting the importance of the meetings industry to the young generation. In October 2020 she was elected as a Board member for ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association). She was also chairing the ICCA Central European Chapter for 6 years.
We will talk with Anna Gorska about:
- News from the World; an initiative that was created during the lockdown to keep in touch with associations. And now this initiative is on the list for an award
- The ICCA conference that was held in November 2020 and had more than 1500 participants online
- The role of the different social media channels; why Facebook is more popular in Poland than LinkedIn for associations?
4. Nyomi Rose – Influencer marketing on TikTok and Generation Z
Nyomi Rose is a final year Events Management Student who has flourished during this COVID-19 era through leveraging her social media skills and to spread positivity, passion and love for the events industry. In six months Nyomi has transformed her skillset and developed a status as a young professional woman within the world of events, becoming a prominent figure in the pursuit of diversity, sustainability, social media optimisation and youth empowerment through her Instagram and LinkedIn pages.
Nyomi Rose empowers and provides impactful insight to individuals and SMEs to optimise their social media and marketing strategy. Nyomi is a Tech, AI and Data enthusiast and aims to bridge the digital gap through sharing her knowledge and insights.
We will discuss with Nyomi:
- TikTok from a personal account to professional influencer
- Numbers, influencers, demographics, terminology and
- The voice of the young generation and misunderstanding of TikTok
- Is the MICE industry ready for TikTokers collaborations and campaigns?
- TikTok B2B influencer campaigns – case studies
- How to use TikTok in the era of Covid-19?
Join Eventprofs TikTok Challenge created by Nyomi
5. Horacio Caamano – Influencer marketing in South America
Horacio Camaano is a Director of Global Accounts Latin America at ConferenceDirect in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ConferenceDirect is a full-service meeting solutions company specializing in site selection/contract negotiation, conference management, housing and registration. It provides expertise to 1,600 corporations and associations worldwide through 350 Associates and regional offices. Horacio is passionate about the meetings & events industry and of course marketing.
He created his home studio during the lockdown and decided to dedicate his time to learn new skills. During the episode with Horacio we will cover the following topics:
- Insights from a MICE influencer; how is life nowadays in South America
- How to become an influencer in Argentina and South America?
- The untouched potential of influencer marketing in South America
- The future of the MICE industry in South America
- The role of B2B Influencer Marketing
6. Helen Moon – The role of wellbeing in the MICE industry
Helen Moon founded Event Wellbeing Week and EventWell Ltd in 2017, the event industry’s first charitable social enterprise and resource dedicated solely to offering wellbeing advice, knowledge and support to event professionals to keep them well.
She has more than 20 years of experience in the world of marketing and events and she believes passionately in the value of live events and the power of the communications that all marketers create and deliver. She loves what she does, and believes that every individual should be given the freedom and opportunity to find their passion in life.
During the episode with Helen Moon we will cover the following topics:
- The role of wellbeing in the MICE industry
- How Helen Moon got passionate about wellbeing and started her company Eventwell in 2017?
- The role of marketing for her company; sharing best practices from Eventwell
- Sharing practical tips on how to disconnect for eventprofs (especially going offline) in a very connected world
7. Maris Kuklis – Airlines marketing in the era of Covid-19
Maris Kuklis is a curious, adventurous and enthusiastic relationship marketing team player who is always keen to learn, develop and share knowledge. Result-driven, passionate and creative guy with solid business acumen and a comprehensive skill-set underpinned by extensive experience in hospitality, events, airline and destination sales as well as marketing.
Within Etihad Airways, Maris is responsible for developing the MICE market for Etihad’s global network, long-term value and profitability.
During the episode with Maris we will cover the following topics:
- What were the most important steps that Etihad Airways has taken on the level of safety and security of the passengers?
- What has Etihad Airways done to remain in touch with its clients?
- The future of Etihad Airways; new initiatives and what are the plans for 2021 and beyond
8. Robert Szulc – How to build a community on Social Media
Robert Szulc is the CEO of Boomerang, an incentive company based in Warsaw, Poland. The company has specialised in travel for corporate clients for 20 years. Experience, passion and creativity are their three main strengths. They organise incentive and corporate trips abroad, like motivational company trips, conferences, congresses and fairs.
The aim of all projects is to strive for excellence in providing participants with unforgettable experiences. A network of contractors around the world and travel experiences allow them to create unique and unconventional incentive programmes. They are avid travelers with great knowledge of the countries they travel to.
During our chat episode with Robert Szulc live from Ecuador we will cover the following topics:
- How you can create a community on Social Media by sharing your passion and personal ideas
- How his community contributed to the growth of his incentive company
- Sharing his dream journey that he started in January 2021 and will visit 4 continents in 4 months #worldinstages_4continents
- Latest news about the new normal in travel and incentives – airlines, airports, hotels, MICE industry and destinations in Europe and South America
9. Carina Bauer – The future of exhibitions
Carina Bauer began her career in retail and catering, before entering the meetings industry in 2002 as the Marketing and Operations Director for IMEX in Frankfurt, as part of the original launch team for the exhibition. Following the expansion of the IMEX brand into America in 2009, Carina was appointed CEO of the IMEX Group. In her role, Carina is responsible for all aspects of the business.
We are all sad that the IMEX 2021 edition in Frankfurt is cancelled, what will happen? The following topics will be covered with Carina Bauer:
- We will talk about how IMEX adapts to the current changes. More details about the decision-making process will be shared in our conversation
- IMEX has a strong community and loyal visitors who come every year to Frankfurt and/or Las Vegas. We will talk about how F2F communities were fragmented by Covid and what that means for IMEX and for others
- Marketing & social media. IMEX always has been very active on social media and Carina will share insights about the tools and strategies they have used
10. Antti Lumiainen & Nadja Rubtsova – B2B influencer marketing campaign
Antti Lumiainen is an event enthusiast with over 10 years of industry experience and a strong believer of face to face and the power of events. Having a diverse background in associations, exhibitions and event management, Antti is now working with Helsinki Marketing, promoting Helsinki as a meetings and events destination. He has been active for several years in the local chapter of Meeting Professionals International and currently holds the position of President Elect. He is passionate about giving back to the industry that has created so many possibilities for his career.
Nadja Rubtsova has more than 10 years of experience in the meetings industry. Before starting her own business in 2020, Nadia has worked in 4 different countries as well on the suppliers’ side as from the client’s side. Nadia specialises in business development, sales and negotiations.
During this episode we will cover the following topics together with Nadja Rubtsova and Antti Lumiainen:
- Why has Helsinki chosen to put influencer marketing for the meetings & events industry on their agenda?
- How do you select the right influencer for your city?
- Based on which criteria did Helsinki choose for Nadia to work together?
- How do you create a relevant content calendar in these challenging times for our industry?
- What are the tasks of the influencer during the campaign?
Jois us
If you have an inspiring story and/or experience which could be relevant for our audience, please contact us: mariska@wordofmice.com
Meet Word of MICE
Word of MICE is the first and only global influencer community for the MICE industry. We inspire hotels, venues, destinations and other suppliers to employ Social Media Influencers as an integral part of their brand strategy and explore the true potential of influencer marketing. We create unique creative, tailor-made campaigns for all suppliers in the MICE industry over the globe.
Our B2B clients appreciate our years of experience in the MICE industry combined with an innovative product to bring their brand awareness to the next level.