Lindsay Fultz has been an integral member of the #eventprofs community as many of you know. In an attempt to get to know Lindsay better, I asked if she would mind if I "interviewed" her and she graciously accepted. Please see her insightful interview below and feel free to connect with her and Grosh Backdrops. They are doing amazing work and Lindsay is always reliable for when you need a tweet to brighten your day or provide some great insight! Lindsay has some great points here about social media and how we as event planners can help set up our suppliers for success. Enjoy!
Question #1: Social media is obviously a large part of your job at Grosh. How has social media impacted your job in ways that you did NOT expect? What has surprised you?
Well I started off as one of two sales assistants at Grosh and I've always been the type of person that no matter what I do, I am going to do it with purpose, pride and passion. I also get bored easily so I was always looking for ways to make the consultants I assisted jobs easier and when I saw that they needed sales and the phones weren't ringing from the print advertising that Grosh had in place I saw a void and looked to fill it. I did three social media proposals and was finally given the green light.
From all my research I knew there was a lot of potential in social media but had no clue how quickly it would take off. Since I was learning for the first time as I was incorporating social networks on a business level, honestly it was just easier and less stressful for me to just be me, personality and all. I definitely did not expect to form such wonderful, true friendships with people that I have never met, I did not expect to get promoted three times in the process and from what I've read, I definitely did not expect to see a real solid financial ROI for Grosh Backdrops but I did and we have. Sometimes I think I just got lucky, other times I think it's because of all the effort I put into my work...but then again it really doesn't seem like work when you truly love what you do. I am fortunate to have a great supportive staff at Grosh. They trust me and give me the freedom to create and implement marketing campaigns and promotions as I so choose and I am not monitored or censored in social media. It's pretty sweet.
Question #2: When it comes to working with event planners, what are your pet peeves? What are the complications you find yourself confronting the most?
On a mid level, hands down, discounts and donations. Every week my inbox is flooded with donation requests. Based on inventory availability I will approve a handful every quarter. Just a heads up, if you are an event planner looking for a donation first and foremost what I look are win/win outcomes for all parties involved. The other major things I take into consideration is the charity/cause, length of the event and location.
On the upper level of the events industry I would say my biggest pet peeve is sponsorships for trade shows and events. Again, I look for the win/win scenarios and outcomes when considering being a sponsor. I just don't think that spending $5k, $7500k to upwards of $10k + is worth a 1/2 page black and white ad, my company name on a lanyard and a shout out over the PA. When considering the cost of the booth, carpeting, lead retrieval, internet, flight, hotel, staff per diem, giveaways etc, there is only one person who wins in this deal and it is not the exhibitor. Especially with all of the social media platforms at our fingertips...I just don't get why they don't offer more mutually beneficial sponsorship packages. I would much rather put that kind of money back into the community and industries that help Grosh Backdrops is a part of.
Question #3: In terms of social media networking and advertising, is there such thing as “too much of a good thing” – can a company overextend itself on too many platforms? Or is all social media presence good social media presence?
I don't think there is such a thing as over extending SO LONG AS, the person(s) running the social media campaigns are able to actively engage ALL the communities they are apart of on a regular basis. Every social media platform has a different audience with different wants and needs. I think once a person starts finding that "auto post" and "select all" button and updating all their social networks at once, that's a red flag and they need to reevaluate their priorities and go back to the basics...which is actively listening. I do get very frustrated when I see one sided profiles no matter what medium it is. Why on earth someone would sync all their Twitter updates with their LinkedIn profile is beyond me. To me that is like calling a company and getting an automated operator...I don't know about you but when I hear those messages, I just keep punching ZERO over and over again and frustratingly saying representative into the speaker before eventually hanging up and never doing business with them again.
My advice, always go with Quality over Quantity. It's the quality of your friends, fans and followers NOT the quantity that will create mutually beneficial relationships and ultimately create win/win outcomes. By focusing on the Quality of your social networks NOT the Quantity of your social platforms it is easier to actively engage and it is fun!
Question #4: What do you perceive may be the most significant change in the event planning industry in the next 10 years?
I think the events industry is going to start seeing more and more active "day players" so to speak take more control over the industry by creating more engaging mutually beneficial events, whether it be hybrid or virtual. I wouldn't be surprised if Second Life (http://education.secondlife.com/resources/) becomes the norm in corporate meetings, conference education and recruiting. I think #eventprofs are doing a great job on self educating and teaching and I truly believe that the future success of the events industry relies on the pro-activeness of the mid level. My hopes for sooner than later, I would LOVE to see event sponsorships become more in tune with the needs of the exhibitors and embrace social media because it's community and target market clearly have. The last trade show I attended, one of the key people running it, had no clue what Twitter or Foursquare was...Makes you wonder.
Lindsay Fultz, is the obsessive compulsive Manager of Sales and New Media Marketing at Grosh Backdrops, strict vegetarian/vegan, H.S Track and CC coach and addict of many many things. For the record...she lives the majority of her life off the record.
Tags: #eventprofs, event planner, event planners, events
Hi Liz
Fantastic that you pinned Lindsay down. I agree with her especially in the area of campaigns that help both parties. Where is the trust if you feel you are being conned.
Other than that I just wanted to say the #EIR #eventprofs community is still amazing to me especially when you meet people like you both along the way.
Looking forward to working with you both now and for a long time.
Thank you so much Liz for the opportunity to be featured on your WONDERFUL events industry blog. You really do lead by example and are truly such an inspiration and Queen of branding!
@Paul, I am continuously amazed by the warmth and open arms of the #Eventprofs community. The events industry will succeed and thrive like never before because of the mutually beneficial relationships being created right before our eyes in SM and then enhanced by F2F tweet ups and events. This is a very exciting time for our industry and I am so excited to have a front row seat!
Some great potatoes here from one of the best examples of marketing leadership in our industry.
“Every social media platform has a different audience with different wants and needs.” – Spot on and brilliant. So many individuals try to dip their toes in every social pool without 1) understanding WHY or IF they should be there and 2) dividing their TIME between the platforms properly. This is where your auto tweets and status updates come in and reveal a brand that is stretched thin and not evaluating these things.
Lindsay, keep empowering this community with your wisdom. Your leadership by example is a powerful blueprint for others and one that I’ll continue to be thankful for.
Thank you so much Eric again for you support. To me the #Eventprofs community is a powerful blueprint of successful social media and beautiful mutually beneficial relationships. Knowing that I have a wonderful network of unselfish professionals and mentors that I can rely on for advice, guidance, support and friendship has been the most rewarding aspect of my job to date. Thank you.