![\"Tweet\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/tweet1-copy.jpg\")
Hashtags are widely used in MICE tourism and event management. You can use them to keep up with happenings at various events, join in on issues that interest you, keep up with trends, or even launch your own idea or business.
\nWhat is the hashtag (#)?
\nYou can say that hashtags represent keywords that define a certain event, target group, mood, products, or campaign. They are also used for association with a certain trend or expressing feelings.
\nA hashtag can contain more than one word \u2013 you just need to write it without any spaces \u2013 and higher readability can be achieved by capitalising each word.
\nHashtags are most often seen on Twitter, where they make most sense, although it also has a role in searching or reaching a specific target audience, mood, or key moments on other social media (Instagram, Facebook).
\nWhat are hashtags for?
\nUsing these tags is the easiest way to join in on an issue, discussion, or trend \u2013 regardless of where you are or whether you are invited.
\nWhether it is a sports event or another kind of competition, you can share your impressions and observations, as well as monitor comments made by all who typed the hashtag relating to the event.
\nThe same applies to discussing a new movie or TV show, some political or economic event or a celebrity. It can mean literally anything that you\u2019re interested in.
\nFor example, while I\u2019m writing this article, one of the topics and hashtags trending on Twitter is #KalamSir. At the moment, people from all over the world who admire the late ex-President of India APJ Abdul Kalam are honouring him by using this hashtag.
\nIn the event industry, you can use hashtags to keep up with events, impressions, and comments at all congresses, meetings, or seminars that are taking place in real time, just by using the tag for the event. You can also share your own experience or impressions, if you\u2019re involved in an event.
\n![\"bigstock-Hands-Holding-Speech-Bubbles-w-82207865\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock-Hands-Holding-Speech-Bubbles-w-82207865.jpg\")
In addition, you can keep up with trends and news in MICE tourism and business travel from around the globe by monitoring the appropriate hashtags.\u00a0 More importantly, you can join in.
\nFor example, if you\u2019re interested in hotels or news and trends in MICE tourism from South-East Europe, all you need to do is to type in the search field #KongresniTurizam and you\u2019ll get a list of all postings or tweets that contain this hashtag. The search engine cannot discern capitalised and non-capitalised letters, so you won\u2019t make a mistake if you sometime type out the word differently.
\nNumbers can also be included in hashtags, and the event industry usually uses them to designate the year in which the event is taking place (#confex15, #IMEX15). However, punctuation marks are not supported, so you can forget about quotes, exclamations, or the like.
\nHashtags in event management
\nThe most common and widely spread hashtag in our industry is most certainly #eventprofs. It has wide application, and it is used in tweets that are in any way related to event management or professionals from this field.\u00a0 #meetingprofs also has a similar role.
\n#eventtech relates to all things technology in event management, be it mobile apps, event management and registration software, or promotions of the numerous brand new start-ups in this field.
\n#EventCareers is used for posting stuff about know-how for event planners, as well as recruitment and employment.
\nDid you know?
\nUsing these tags is the easiest way to join in on an issue, discussion, or trend \u2013 regardless of where you are or whether you are invited.
\n#EventJobs serves a similar purpose as the previous hashtag: it pertains to all those looking for work or employment in event management.
\n#eventdesign pertains to designing and decorating events.
\n#event is used for highlighting an event of any kind.
\n#eventplanning, of course, pertains to preparing and planning events.
\n#eventplanner is used in postings that aim to highlight the role of the event planner.
\n#EventTip is added to postings that serve as advice or new ideas for event organisers.
\n#kongresniturizam, #SEEmice, and #SEEbtm are keeping up with hotels, venues, agencies, news, trends, and studies in MICE tourism and event management in South-East Europe
\n#Eventhour, #EventPlannersTalk, and #EventBlogChat are used for chats on Twitter among industry professionals. The discussion takes place, respectively, every Monday and Wednesday from 9 to 10 p.m. BST, while #eventBlogChat is held every first Monday of the month between 9 and 10 p.m. GMT. This is a good opportunity to hear what event professionals from all over the world are talking about, as well as to join in on the conversation. Everyone\u2019s invited.
\n![\"bigstock-The-Power-Of-Hashtags-written--75620968\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock-The-Power-Of-Hashtags-written-75620968.jpg\")
Additional worthwhile items global and regional professional associations in event management. Naturally, every significant association has its own hashtag that is usually its acronym. The same goes for the most important trade fairs and gatherings. Some of these are:
\n#pcma (Professional Convention Management Association)
\n#mpi (Meeting Professionals International)
\n#ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association)
\n#asae (American Society of Association Executives)
\n#ises (International Special Events Society)
\n#gmic (Green Meetings Industry Council), #CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) include green travel and eco-events, just like #greenmeetings
\n#CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) pertains to the title of certified event organiser.
\n#ibtm, #imex designate the most important MICE trade shows, and #SEEbtmParty is used for the gathering of event management professionals from the South-East Europe region.
\nYou can see that some hashtags are written in all lower case, and some combine capital and lower case letters. The search engine cannot discern these, so you\u2019ll get it right anyway you write it.
\nSome other hashtags used in event management are also #venue, #hotel, #meeting, #networking, #tradeshow, #MICE, #EventStudents, etc. The list is never final, considering the fact that practically every day you can see a new hashtag that is important to keep up with and/or join.
\nThe post A hashtag (#) guide for MICE tourism and event management appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.
\n", "content_text": "On social media, the hashtag is the foundation of communication, signifying either presence or commentary on a certain event, an association with an issue, profession, hobby, opinion… Or simply underlining a certain mood or atmosphere.\nHashtags are widely used in MICE tourism and event management. You can use them to keep up with happenings at various events, join in on issues that interest you, keep up with trends, or even launch your own idea or business.\nWhat is the hashtag (#)?\nThe hashtag as a designation is a word or a phrase that has the hashtag symbol (#) a prefix.\nYou can say that hashtags represent keywords that define a certain event, target group, mood, products, or campaign. They are also used for association with a certain trend or expressing feelings.\nA hashtag can contain more than one word \u2013 you just need to write it without any spaces \u2013 and higher readability can be achieved by capitalising each word.\nTweet\nHashtags are most often seen on Twitter, where they make most sense, although it also has a role in searching or reaching a specific target audience, mood, or key moments on other social media (Instagram, Facebook).\nWhat are hashtags for?\nCommunicating by using hashtags represents a universal language that is not limited by countries or continents.\nUsing these tags is the easiest way to join in on an issue, discussion, or trend \u2013 regardless of where you are or whether you are invited.\nWhether it is a sports event or another kind of competition, you can share your impressions and observations, as well as monitor comments made by all who typed the hashtag relating to the event.\nThe same applies to discussing a new movie or TV show, some political or economic event or a celebrity. It can mean literally anything that you\u2019re interested in.\nFor example, while I\u2019m writing this article, one of the topics and hashtags trending on Twitter is #KalamSir. At the moment, people from all over the world who admire the late ex-President of India APJ Abdul Kalam are honouring him by using this hashtag.\nIn the event industry, you can use hashtags to keep up with events, impressions, and comments at all congresses, meetings, or seminars that are taking place in real time, just by using the tag for the event. You can also share your own experience or impressions, if you\u2019re involved in an event.\n\nIn addition, you can keep up with trends and news in MICE tourism and business travel from around the globe by monitoring the appropriate hashtags.\u00a0 More importantly, you can join in.\nFor example, if you\u2019re interested in hotels or news and trends in MICE tourism from South-East Europe, all you need to do is to type in the search field #KongresniTurizam and you\u2019ll get a list of all postings or tweets that contain this hashtag. The search engine cannot discern capitalised and non-capitalised letters, so you won\u2019t make a mistake if you sometime type out the word differently.\nNumbers can also be included in hashtags, and the event industry usually uses them to designate the year in which the event is taking place (#confex15, #IMEX15). However, punctuation marks are not supported, so you can forget about quotes, exclamations, or the like.\nHashtags in event management\nThe most common and widely spread hashtag in our industry is most certainly #eventprofs. It has wide application, and it is used in tweets that are in any way related to event management or professionals from this field.\u00a0 #meetingprofs also has a similar role.\n#eventtech relates to all things technology in event management, be it mobile apps, event management and registration software, or promotions of the numerous brand new start-ups in this field.\n#EventCareers is used for posting stuff about know-how for event planners, as well as recruitment and employment.\nDid you know?\nUsing these tags is the easiest way to join in on an issue, discussion, or trend \u2013 regardless of where you are or whether you are invited.\n#EventJobs serves a similar purpose as the previous hashtag: it pertains to all those looking for work or employment in event management.\n#eventdesign pertains to designing and decorating events.\n#event is used for highlighting an event of any kind.\n#eventplanning, of course, pertains to preparing and planning events.\n#eventplanner is used in postings that aim to highlight the role of the event planner.\n#EventTip is added to postings that serve as advice or new ideas for event organisers.\n#kongresniturizam, #SEEmice, and #SEEbtm are keeping up with hotels, venues, agencies, news, trends, and studies in MICE tourism and event management in South-East Europe\n#Eventhour, #EventPlannersTalk, and #EventBlogChat are used for chats on Twitter among industry professionals. The discussion takes place, respectively, every Monday and Wednesday from 9 to 10 p.m. BST, while #eventBlogChat is held every first Monday of the month between 9 and 10 p.m. GMT. This is a good opportunity to hear what event professionals from all over the world are talking about, as well as to join in on the conversation. Everyone\u2019s invited.\n\nAdditional worthwhile items global and regional professional associations in event management. Naturally, every significant association has its own hashtag that is usually its acronym. The same goes for the most important trade fairs and gatherings. Some of these are:\n#pcma (Professional Convention Management Association)\n#mpi (Meeting Professionals International)\n#ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association)\n#asae (American Society of Association Executives)\n#ises (International Special Events Society)\n#gmic (Green Meetings Industry Council), #CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) include green travel and eco-events, just like #greenmeetings\n#CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) pertains to the title of certified event organiser.\n#ibtm, #imex designate the most important MICE trade shows, and #SEEbtmParty is used for the gathering of event management professionals from the South-East Europe region.\nYou can see that some hashtags are written in all lower case, and some combine capital and lower case letters. The search engine cannot discern these, so you\u2019ll get it right anyway you write it.\nSome other hashtags used in event management are also #venue, #hotel, #meeting, #networking, #tradeshow, #MICE, #EventStudents, etc. The list is never final, considering the fact that practically every day you can see a new hashtag that is important to keep up with and/or join.\nThe post A hashtag (#) guide for MICE tourism and event management appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.", "date_published": "2015-10-21T10:56:16+02:00", "date_modified": "2017-12-18T12:13:23+01:00", "author": { "name": "Miona Milic", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/author/miona/", "avatar": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG-20240224-WA0003-e1728981138373.jpg" }, "image": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock-Hashtag-Torn-Paper-Concept-86376143.jpg", "tags": [ "digital communications", "event management", "hashtag", "mice industry", "social media", "twitter", "MUST READ", "Technology" ] }, { "id": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/how-venues-use-social-media-as-marketing-tools/", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/how-venues-use-social-media-as-marketing-tools/", "title": "HOW VENUES USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS MARKETING TOOLS", "content_html": "Author: Rob Davidson
\nWithin the past few years, the arsenal of marketing tools available to businesses of all kinds has expanded to include what are known as the social media.
\nPopular networks such as Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter are increasingly being used by businesses, in additional to the more traditional marketing communications tools such as advertising, public relations and direct marketing
\nMany venues have already embraced the social media as exciting new ways of reaching their customers and potential customers – meetings planners. However, very little is known about how \u2013 and how much \u2013 venues are using these tools in their marketing communications. A survey undertaken by the author in the summer of 2010 was designed to answer these questions.
\nAn online questionnaire was sent to the managers of the twelve UK venues that are members of the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC)- a worldwide industry association for professional convention and exhibition centre managers. Membership of the AIPC is open to those venues that have the capacity to host international events, defined as one \u2018having a minimum of 100 participants and which either rotates through or has significant participation from at least three countries\u2019.
\nTen venues responded to the questionnaire: Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre; ACC Liverpool; Edinburgh International Conference Centre; International Convention Centre, Birmingham; Bournemouth International Centre; Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre, Glasgow; and four London venues: Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre; Barbican Centre; Central Hall Westminster; and the Royal College of Physicians.
\n![\"Networking](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Networking_Map.jpg\" "\\"Networking")
In response to the question, \u201cHow many of the social media do you use in marketing your venue?\u201d, the venues divided into 3 distinct groups: 3 were \u2018non-users\u2019, not employing any of the social media in this way; four venues were \u2018light-users\u2019, employing 1, 2 or 3 of the social media in their marketing; and 3 venues were \u2018heavy-users\u2019, employing 5 or 6 of the social media for marketing purposes.
Regarding which social media were used most frequently by the venues, the six tools most commonly used by the UK venues were found to be: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogs, Linkedin and Flickr. Linkedin and Twitter were the most extensively-used, already used by 6 out of the 10 venues, with 2 and 1 other venues respectively considering adopting them into their marketing strategies. Facebook was found to be in use by five venues, followed by YouTube, used by three. Blogs and Flickr had been adopted by only two venues, although the former looked set to grow, with three venues reporting that they were considering using it.
\nFor venues in the UK, the use of the social media for marketing purposes appears to be a recent phenomenon. When asked how long they had been using the social media in this way, the most commonly reported period for their use was from 1 \u2013 2 years only.
\nIn terms of how much time venue marketing staff were currently spending on using the social media, there was wide variation in the responses. One venue, a heavy-user, reported that their marketing staff were spending averages of 18 hours on Facebook and 15 hours on Twitter each week, for professional purposes. However, this was atypical of the sample as a whole, and it was found that most venues in the sample were devoting approximately one half-day of manpower per week to their use of the social media as marketing tools.
\nRegarding the venues\u2019 reasons for adopting the social media in the marketing communications, the most common objectives given were to improve: (a) general public relations, (b) brand awareness and reinforcement and (c) customer acquisition and retention. Attracting visitors to the venues\u2019 websites was also given a high priority by some respondents.
\n![\"New](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock_New_Media_Vs_Old_Media.jpg\" "\\"New")
There were many examples given of how the social media were being used creatively and effectively by venue marketing staff. Some venues were posting videos on YouTube showing short testimonials from satisfied meetings planners, filmed just after their conference in the venue.
Many were \u2018tweeting\u2019 items of news about their venues. And others were systematically joining conversations and offering advice on Linkedin, as a way of keeping their venue \u2018top-of-mind\u2019, among meetings planners.
\nIt is clear, even from the small sample used for this study, that the intensity and extent of usage of social media is set to grow among venues, with most of the non-users and light-users considering expanding their use of these tools.
\nThere are, however, a number of concerns that may be expressed at this stage:
\n* Several venues appear to have been introduced to the marketing potential of social media by an individual member of staff with expertise/interest in these tools rather than any deliberate strategic decision to move into this area. The results of the survey suggested that the absence of such a \u2018champion\u2019 for social media could be a reason for a venue not expanding its marketing activities into this domain. Two venues cited the lack of staff interest/expertise as reason for non-adoption.
\n* From the human resources side, another cause for concern may be that only one venue in the sample reported recruiting a new member of staff to work with these tools, others simply moving existing staff into the role or expecting staff to absorb the use of social media into their existing workload
\n* Perhaps most importantly, very little sound evidence was produced by respondents to demonstrate successful return on investment in their use of these tools. This is indicative of a wider problem in the use of the social media in business as a whole.
\nGeneral concern over the need to be able to demonstrate the efficacy of social media used for marketing purposes has been widely highlighted. For instance, the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report (see: www.socialmediaexaminer.com) notes that \u2018One in three marketers indicated that measuring results and identifying the best practices were their top questions when marketing with social media\u2019.
\nBut despite these challenges, it would appear that the use of the social media by venues everywhere is a fast-growing and unstoppable trend. Venue managers are under increasing pressure to win new business \u2013 at a time when competition intensifies with every new conference centre that opens. In the face of such pressure, more and more of them are considering the use of the social media as marketing tools that offer significant potential. It will be interesting to monitor venue marketers\u2019 progress as they expand their adoption of these tools to connect with their markets in dramatically new ways.
\nThe post HOW VENUES USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS MARKETING TOOLS appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.
\n", "content_text": "Author: Rob Davidson\nIn order to compete successfully in the meetings market, venues must market themselves effectively, using a wide range of promotional techniques.\nWithin the past few years, the arsenal of marketing tools available to businesses of all kinds has expanded to include what are known as the social media.\nPopular networks such as Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter are increasingly being used by businesses, in additional to the more traditional marketing communications tools such as advertising, public relations and direct marketing\nMany venues have already embraced the social media as exciting new ways of reaching their customers and potential customers – meetings planners. However, very little is known about how \u2013 and how much \u2013 venues are using these tools in their marketing communications. A survey undertaken by the author in the summer of 2010 was designed to answer these questions.\nAn online questionnaire was sent to the managers of the twelve UK venues that are members of the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC)- a worldwide industry association for professional convention and exhibition centre managers. Membership of the AIPC is open to those venues that have the capacity to host international events, defined as one \u2018having a minimum of 100 participants and which either rotates through or has significant participation from at least three countries\u2019.\nTen venues responded to the questionnaire: Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre; ACC Liverpool; Edinburgh International Conference Centre; International Convention Centre, Birmingham; Bournemouth International Centre; Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre, Glasgow; and four London venues: Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre; Barbican Centre; Central Hall Westminster; and the Royal College of Physicians.\nIn response to the question, \u201cHow many of the social media do you use in marketing your venue?\u201d, the venues divided into 3 distinct groups: 3 were \u2018non-users\u2019, not employing any of the social media in this way; four venues were \u2018light-users\u2019, employing 1, 2 or 3 of the social media in their marketing; and 3 venues were \u2018heavy-users\u2019, employing 5 or 6 of the social media for marketing purposes.\nRegarding which social media were used most frequently by the venues, the six tools most commonly used by the UK venues were found to be: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogs, Linkedin and Flickr. Linkedin and Twitter were the most extensively-used, already used by 6 out of the 10 venues, with 2 and 1 other venues respectively considering adopting them into their marketing strategies. Facebook was found to be in use by five venues, followed by YouTube, used by three. Blogs and Flickr had been adopted by only two venues, although the former looked set to grow, with three venues reporting that they were considering using it.\nFor venues in the UK, the use of the social media for marketing purposes appears to be a recent phenomenon. When asked how long they had been using the social media in this way, the most commonly reported period for their use was from 1 \u2013 2 years only.\nIn terms of how much time venue marketing staff were currently spending on using the social media, there was wide variation in the responses. One venue, a heavy-user, reported that their marketing staff were spending averages of 18 hours on Facebook and 15 hours on Twitter each week, for professional purposes. However, this was atypical of the sample as a whole, and it was found that most venues in the sample were devoting approximately one half-day of manpower per week to their use of the social media as marketing tools.\nRegarding the venues\u2019 reasons for adopting the social media in the marketing communications, the most common objectives given were to improve: (a) general public relations, (b) brand awareness and reinforcement and (c) customer acquisition and retention. Attracting visitors to the venues\u2019 websites was also given a high priority by some respondents.\nThere were many examples given of how the social media were being used creatively and effectively by venue marketing staff. Some venues were posting videos on YouTube showing short testimonials from satisfied meetings planners, filmed just after their conference in the venue.\nMany were \u2018tweeting\u2019 items of news about their venues. And others were systematically joining conversations and offering advice on Linkedin, as a way of keeping their venue \u2018top-of-mind\u2019, among meetings planners.\nIt is clear, even from the small sample used for this study, that the intensity and extent of usage of social media is set to grow among venues, with most of the non-users and light-users considering expanding their use of these tools.\nThere are, however, a number of concerns that may be expressed at this stage:\n* Several venues appear to have been introduced to the marketing potential of social media by an individual member of staff with expertise/interest in these tools rather than any deliberate strategic decision to move into this area. The results of the survey suggested that the absence of such a \u2018champion\u2019 for social media could be a reason for a venue not expanding its marketing activities into this domain. Two venues cited the lack of staff interest/expertise as reason for non-adoption.\n* From the human resources side, another cause for concern may be that only one venue in the sample reported recruiting a new member of staff to work with these tools, others simply moving existing staff into the role or expecting staff to absorb the use of social media into their existing workload\n* Perhaps most importantly, very little sound evidence was produced by respondents to demonstrate successful return on investment in their use of these tools. This is indicative of a wider problem in the use of the social media in business as a whole.\nGeneral concern over the need to be able to demonstrate the efficacy of social media used for marketing purposes has been widely highlighted. For instance, the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report (see: www.socialmediaexaminer.com) notes that \u2018One in three marketers indicated that measuring results and identifying the best practices were their top questions when marketing with social media\u2019.\nBut despite these challenges, it would appear that the use of the social media by venues everywhere is a fast-growing and unstoppable trend. Venue managers are under increasing pressure to win new business \u2013 at a time when competition intensifies with every new conference centre that opens. In the face of such pressure, more and more of them are considering the use of the social media as marketing tools that offer significant potential. It will be interesting to monitor venue marketers\u2019 progress as they expand their adoption of these tools to connect with their markets in dramatically new ways.\nThe post HOW VENUES USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS MARKETING TOOLS appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.", "date_published": "2011-08-17T09:59:20+02:00", "date_modified": "2016-12-07T10:20:56+01:00", "author": { "name": "Miona Milic", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/author/miona/", "avatar": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG-20240224-WA0003-e1728981138373.jpg" }, "image": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/J7A11221.jpg", "tags": [ "rob davidson", "twitter", "VENUES", "Hot topics" ] } ] }