The Twitter post read – 'Location marketing, real case studies, free events Dallas, Little Rock & Indianapolis, tix available - http://ow.ly/1BHv2’.
I immediately clicked on the link and found Simon Salt. A few tweets between new followers and Simon accepted our invitation to be our Open Channel Guest Blogger. In his post below Simon shares his road show adventure and provides a provocative look at the intersection when content travels to meet up with the audience instead of the traditional content dissemination approach. Susan Radojevic
I am currently writing a book on Social Location Marketing. As part of both promotion of, and research into the information in the book, I decided to take to the road. I combined this idea with my attendance at SOBCon 2010 in Chicago. SOBCon is the conference where some of the brightest minds in Social Media come to trade ideas, best practices, and network and generally learn from each other.
I was sponsored by Chevrolet who loaned me a 2010 Chevy Camero. I set off from Austin to Chicago, with stops in Dallas, Little Rock, and finally Chicago.
The concept behind my trip was very basic. If I am going to talk about Social Location Marketing, then I should do it by changing locations. Rather than bringing the audience to me, I should go to the audience. Why? Because in doing so I was able to show them the information, make it relevant to their specific market and lower their cost of acquiring the information.
I am taking this concept a little further by bringing the SOBCon experience to my home town of Austin, Texas. Again the same principle applies, bring the relevant content to the people, don't try and get them to come to your content. With the budget constraints that everyone is facing, trying to host successful large scale events is becoming increasingly difficult. The SOBCon concept limits the number of participants; this too is a good way to create desire, of course along with the relevant content.
What I, as a presenter, got from doing this was much more relevant than I could have imagined. Certainly the feedback is much more immediate than doing one presentation to a larger group. By presenting to smaller groups the questions come thick and fast, they are from people who are listening and thinking ‘but how do I do this for me, for my company, here in this town’. What this teaches you is, you don't always have those answers, but by brainstorming with the room, everyone gets smarter.
By changing the concept of how people acquire information, you find that the audience is more receptive, and think more about how the information they are getting applies to them in their location. It also means that as a presenter you have to think differently and ensure that your content is relevant at that level.
About the Guest Blogger: Simon leads his own Marketing Communication Company - IncSlingers. A company that in less than two years of operation has gained four Fortune 500 clients as well as many smaller organizations. As a Social Media influencer, Simon has been sought out by both large brands and international PR companies. He is a sought after speaker on the topic of Social Media and has recently signed a book contract with Pearson Publishing for a book on the topic of Social Location Marketing. It will be released in late Fall 2010. Follow Simon on Twitter @incslinger.