Ok so for those of you that have come here via my twitter account may realise that have slightly fibbed last night, in my defence it was quite late. Anyway, once again its interview time. Today I have managed to pin down Mark Roberts. Mark was kind enough to talk to me about social media and (here comes the lie) networking. I met Mark last November at a Young Peoples networking event, where he was helping at the YENA stand. Enough from me, here's Mark:
Q: Let’s start off with a bit of an introduction for our
readers. What’s your name and what do you do?
My name is Mark Roberts and I am
a story teller, I work in communications and that covers social media, PR and
everything in the middle. I also have a role as an ambassador for the Young
Entrepreneur Network Association and I will be launching events in Nottingham
and Manchester in the next few months. I am also an active humanist, vegan and
revolutionist and write part time for various publications for business and
politics.
Q: And would you say you've been to/run a lot of business
events? (ie. conferences, seminars, trade shows, networking
mornings/evenings etc.)
It depends on your definition of
a lot? I have a background in corporate events in the leisure industry,
organising events for anywhere between 200 and 2000 people. I have been to more
networking events than I care to remember, lots of different times, venues and
lay outs. One of my clients for Seraph Social Media was a networking company so
it was interesting to see how we were able to add to their overall market
presence through social media. How could we get what happens in those 4 walls
outside to the wider public without losing the integrity of the room. At the
moment my event based work is for YENA, this is quite unique as it involves
booking speakers that I think will help inspire the attendees and this is new
to me.
Q: How do you think social media has impacted businesses as
a whole and business events?
Social media has made a huge
impact on the world of business. Put simply it has given the opportunity for
businesses to engage with a lot more people. As a business owner getting market
position and brand awareness are the ultimate goals for your marketing team and
social media offers that opportunity like nothing else now. For events it is
particularly exciting because it gives a unique way to engage with attendees
before, during and after. With clever campaigns and a well thought out strategy
events are able to very easily engage their target audience and deliver them
outstanding service that will undoubtedly lead to greater sales.
Q: Why do you think it's important for businesses to have a
good social media presence?
Communication is key, if you
want someone to make a purchase from you then you need to be able to
communicate with them easily and effectively. Social media allows you to just
that. How many times does your phone ring from an unknown number and you just
hang it up, almost a bit pissed off that someone is trying to ring and sell you
something you have now already decided that you don’t want to buy? How many
times do you get emails from Groupon or similar and now just hit delete and not
bother to unsubscribe because it would take too long? That’s because in this
ever increasing world of the internet, the most previous commodity to ourselves
is our time. We don’t want people wasting it and we want to be more independent
as a consumer. Social media has led to the ‘social sell’ where you build
relationships with your fans and followers, making sure you stay on top of
conversations and provide them with top quality content you know they will find
relevant. Social media has helped the sale become a two way process, if you
aren’t willing to give your time and effort why on earth should we, the
consumers, give you any of ours? Long gone are the days of the phone call that
leads to an instant purchase.
Q: Finally, where do you think social media and technology
as a whole is going within business events? Will it continue to grow in significance
or slowly start to lose it appeal?
I think technology is heading in
a exciting direction. I think the key thing to realise is that Social Media is
great for businesses to get in touch with their potential customers but I don’t
think that will always be the case. The internet of things is just a hugely
exciting thing. I was having a conversation with a peer last week discussing
that it won’t be too long before our fridge will see that it is a Friday, it’s
sunny, you’re low on wine and place an order for you. For the events world it
will be about getting rid of the annoying bag people you get hit by when you
walk in - no one wants that. No one reads it, its a waste of paper, time and
any resource that goes into it. What would be much more effective would be a
smart way to use NFC (near field communication) to log in, utilise Siri or
whatever it might be then and help you make an informed personal decision about
the brands and stalls that matter to you. For marketeers and sales people it is
all about thinking outside the box and the event industry will have to change
the same as everything else. Social Media integration will be another big
aspect, utilising hashtags and tweet walls are already in use but events will
have to start to look at how to grab social data through pixel conversions and
the like to start building their own online communities. Too many people walk
in to an event, disappear and only engage at the next one, 365 engagement has
to be the aim for events.
If you want to talk to Mark, or find out a bit more about him and his plans for the future follow him on Twitter @MarkyBobs86, his website www.markybobs.com and follow his writings on www.medium.com/@MarkyBobs86
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