TikTok Challenge to get eventprofs ready for the B2B Influencer Marketing Chat Series

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

Founder at Word of MICE & Past-President at MPI Belgium

Mariska Kesteloo

Mariska Kesteloo is an expert in B2B influencer marketing. Her goal is to use social media as a way of adding increased value to events, mostly through micro influencers. In this interview, she tells us the ins and outs of her job.

Exploit the power of social media, create valuable networks and contact the right people to increase visibility of events. Today we talk with Mariska Kesteloo, founder at Word of MICE and B2B influencer marketing expert. She offers us a detailed look at the meetings and events industry from her perspective: marketing and social media. In a frank interview, Mariska shares the lessons she’s learned on her professional journey and this new paradigm of events communications.

Tell us about your career and what drives you in your day to day work.

Ideas are born from frustration, that’s the reason why I started my company. Working as a freelance event professional for years, I visited many tradeshows and exhibitions where I talked with different hotels, venue’s and DMC’s. When I raised the question ‘Why should I organize an event in your hotel, venue or destination?’,often I received an answer like: we have 500 rooms, 10.000 square meters meeting room and we are a four-star property. These are facts and figures I can find online. Isn’t our industry all about creating amazing experiences and connecting the right people? Tell me the story of your hotel, why should I organize my upcoming event in it, and not at the neighbor’s? What is your unique selling point, how do you differentiate yourself from the others, and more importantly, what is your target audience? One size doesn’t fit all! You can’t be an expert in all fields, right? How is it possible that in the Twenty First century we still use the same methods that we’ve been using for the last thirty years, if not more? It’s time for a change!

How did you start working in B2B influencer marketing?

I had been working in the travel industry for more than ten years, with so many active bloggers and vloggers. This made me think: how about we use this medium in our B2B industry? We could use the power of experts, people with a professional experience in our sector, and let them tell their stories in a creative, fun or unique way. It’s always better to be recommended than having to promote yourself. Peer to peer recommendation is extremely powerful. It’s still word of mouth, only that we’re using the online tools called social media.

Testing the idea at IBTM in 2016, I discovered it had potential and, in 2017, I started working full-time. It’s been a huge challenge since then. One little mouse can create a huge impact in your life, so can one micro-influencer, so what if the word was spread by more mice or micro-influencers? That’s when Word of MICE was born!

It’s always better to be recommended than having to promote yourself. Peer to peer recommendation is extremely powerful. It’s word of mouth, only here we’re using the online tools called social media.

What do you find most exciting about being a leader in the meetings and events industry? What are the main challenges you face?

First, I don’t see myself as a leader to be honest. My goal is to inspire others with my knowledge and experiences, to convince them of the added value of influencer marketing, and to use it to its full potential. Our industry is not really ‘early-adaptor minded’ if I was to describe it in marketing terms.

To convince potential clients to invest in influencer marketing is like selling a different mindset. Why? Because the budget that suppliers are spending on exhibitions, folders, flyers, and other activities and events, you want them to invest it in influencer marketing. We are used to doing our sales and promotions in a certain way and I must convince the CFO/CEO to change. That’s a major shift and challenge! It’s a completely different mindset that requires time and lots of patience.

In that sense, I see myself as a disruptor, a change-maker. My drive is to make suppliers more visible in the market by telling their stories through experts and to get in touch with the right target audience.

What would be the best way to dismantle these challenges?

In Dutch we love expressions and the best one to describe it is: If one sheep leaps over the ditch, the rest will follow. The only thing they need is time. As we work on new cases we have more results and it’s easier to convince them from several proven track records. Influencer marketing is not yet common in the B2B market, but it will come, that’s for sure.

Besides, I need to keep my focus, be patient and keep on working hard to continue my mission together with my team. I like challenges, and this is a major one.

Influencer marketing is not yet common in the B2B market, but it will come, that’s for sure.

When measuring the success of an event, which are the most important KPIs to consider?

First, it depends on the strategy of the client. Influencer marketing is a part of the marketing strategy. Do you want to attract a new audience? Do you have a new service or product to sell, or are you opening a new hotel? Do you suffer from a ‘misperception’?

We start from there and investigate the client’s profile, we see what their target audience is. We start with our research, as you can read below in the overview. We set the goals and we follow-up, adjust them and modify them when needed during the campaign. At the end, we collect all the data in a report and we present the full overview.

Tell us 5 tips to pick the perfect influencer for a campaign/supplier.

• Don’t focus on the number of followers but on the quality of their network and your strategy. Therefore, every client has different needs, is looking for a different market, etc. It’s a thorough process to find and to match the right influencer with the client.
• Influencer marketing has endless options, you can measure the impact and adjust it any time you need to.
• Influencers are not those who call your hotel for a free stay and dinner! That’s typical for the B2C market, not in the B2B market.
• The MICE industry is a very particular niche industry and you must be an insider to be, or to become, an influencer. In other words, work only with experts!
• Influencer marketing is a collaboration between the influencer, the client and, in some cases, the agency. Only in this way will the campaign be a success.

Our influencers are not selected based on the size of their communities, but on the quality of their network and published content. Besides, we consider their knowledge, their background, their relationships and their contacts in the industry. It’s an intense process to find and connect with the right person, someone who can create and spread the story of a product or service in an authentic way, and I always tell this to potential clients. We prefer to avoid the word ‘influencer’, as it only creates confusion about their job -it really is! – and their credibility.

So, how does it work?

1. Identify needs: we analyze the target audience, preferred channel, timeframe and desired outcomes,
2. Scouting & selection: we cast a wide net and we search for beloved personalities and thought leaders in today’s social media platforms from in our database, based on the client’s requirements.
3. Briefing: WOM sits down with both customer and influencer(s) to align and coordinate the creative content and brand communication.
4. Planning: WOM proposes a communication plan with influencers and a strategy.
5. Marketing: the influencer broadcasts branded communication through their channel while WOM follows up closely. During the entire process, we keep our client up to date, delivering insights into the influencer’s performance during each phase.
6. Final report: after the influencer’s branded communication comes to an end, we share a final assessment with all available figures.

Which social network do you consider the greatest asset to help spread the word and broadcast an event? What other communications channels do you consider essential?

The world of social media is changing rapidly, and a lot of people get confused when selecting which channel they should use. First, you need to know what social network your current or potential audience is using. Starting from there, you don’t need to maintain all channels. Focus on one or two channels and maintain them, be consistent and professional. That’s already a lot of work.

What advice would you give someone taking their first steps in the meetings and events sector?

Networking is key, this is, getting involved in an association. For me, this has given me the opportunity to get in touch with many people in the international sector. Plus, in the mean time you have access to education. You should also get a mentor. It’s always great to have the knowledge of a senior professional, who can support you in every step of your career.  Important: questions which may seem more personal, don’t be afraid to ask them!

Looking towards 2020, where would you like to see innovation within the sector?

If I look towards my business, it would be great if suppliers used the power of social media influencers to share their stories, be visible and be online.

Next, I’m fan of sustainability and diversity in the broad sense of the word. We need to care about our planet, we only have one! I hope we can move towards a more sustainable industry, and innovation plays a huge role here. Also, although many women are working in our industry, the CEOs and GMs are usual men. We need to change that, bring more equality into the entire industry. Working with people with different backgrounds, cultures and experiences is very enriching. Only in this way will we be able to move forward in our industry.