It used to be that to know someone we’d have to spend time to develop the relationship in person or over the phone. But now there are copious amounts of information online for suppliers to know more about their market. Want to know more about a particular meeting planner’s background? Check it out on LinkedIn. Want to know what planners are talking about now? Look up the chatter on Twitter.
But if you want deeper insight
about what matters to planners, what keeps them up at night, find out what
thought leaders in the field are blogging about. Here is a round-up of 10 event professionals
whose blogs and tweets I follow regularly to keep a finger on the pulse of the
meetings industry:
Cara Tracy
/ @cjtracy: Cara’s posts should
be on every hotel or CVB salesperson’s reading list. She gives frank advice on to best get her
attention as a meeting planner. And she
understands suppliers because she used to be one herself!
Tahira Endean
/ @TahiraCreates: Tahira is
Director, Creative and Production, for Cantrav Services, a DMC in Vancouver,
but this blog is her own (Cantrav also has a greatblog featuring other writers). As
she says, she is, “passionate about my family, friends, events and
experiences.” (Note: heartfelt thanks to Tahira who
shared with me her list of favourite blogs a few months ago. Many are included in this list as well)
Jeff Hurt / @JeffHurt: Jeff is
a prolific writer and I often retweet his posts on audience engagement and
making meetings more relevant. Being
aware of the challenges that planners face in demonstrating the value of their
meeting programs I believe makes any supplier better prepared to meet to their
clients’ needs.
Jenise Fryatt / @JeniseFryatt: Jenise is uber-connected in the meetings industry
and her blog often features interviews with planner and other meetings industry
influencers from around the world. She
also writes insightful pieces about difficult issues – one such post is:
AlarmBells are Ringing, But Is the Event Industry Listening?
Judy Kucharuk / @judylaine: I met Judy at the Green Meetings
Industry Council Conference in Montreal in 2012 and instantly liked her
outgoing and giving personality. She’s
an independent planner with a passion for sustainable events and a great sense
of humour.
ShawnaMcKinley / @S_McKinley: By
her own admission, Shawna has, “made a career walking in the space between event planning,
travel and tourism, environmental education and sustainable business
consulting.” Great blog with lots of
ideas and resources and a links to even more.
Mariela McIlwraith & Elizabeth Henderson / @MeetingChange: This blog started with a bent on sustainability, but it has morphed into a very insightful resource for planners. Some of my favourite posts include: It’s Time for Associations to Transform and Gamification Framework for Meetings.
Liz King / @LizKingEvents: Liz is a New York
City-based independent planner with a love for technology and social media, but
she and her guest bloggers touch on a wide range of meetings industry topics,
from CSR to branding and crisis communication.
Julius Solaris / @tojulius: Julius and a host of guest bloggers provide a great perspective
on events (with many from Europe), regarding event marketing (a.k.a. “heads in
beds” and filling room blocks!), technology, trends and lots more.
My hope with this list is that you find some great insights – and possibly
some “meeting intelligence” – for the next time you’re looking to connect with
a meeting planner.
Now are there any blogs or folks you follow that we should add to
the list?
