April 2010
Rentals and Staging

In This Issue:

AV Discount for MIC Conference Attendees
Social Networking in the Meeting Industry - LinkedIn
MPIRMC/RMPCMA Golf Tournament Coming Soon!
Denver Meeting and Events Industry - Upcoming Events
Become a Facebook Fan of the Denver Meeting and Events Industry!
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Series: Social Networking in the Meeting Industry
Part #3: LinkedIn

A recent industry survey* found that 58 percent of meeting planners belong to LinkedIn, which is no surprise since the popular professional networking site is rapidly growing, along with Twitter and Facebook. LinkedIn differs from the other social networking sites in that it is primarily for professional use, meaning that you won’t find photos from last weekend’s barbeque on it. If you are concerned with maintaining the fine line between your personal life and your professional life, LinkedIn is a good option for professional networking. Image Audiovisuals has compiled a few tips for meeting planners using LinkedIn:

Connections: It is important to get as many connections with trusted colleagues as possible on LinkedIn. Building connections is key to success, since your connections have full access to your profile information and will be constantly updated on all aspects of your professional life. You will also be "connected" to their connections up to the third degree.

Groups: There are many groups for our industry on LinkedIn. The following are a few LinkedIn groups that we recommend joining:

Meeting Professionals International (MPI)
Event Management
Event Peeps: For Live Event Industry Professionals
Meeting & Conference Planners International
Pharmaceutical Meeting Planners

Recommendations: Personal recommendations are crucial in the meeting and events industry. LinkedIn’s recommendations tool is a great method to manage and showcase recommendations by a variety of colleagues, including managers, clients, peers, and even subordinates. There are two ways to increase your number of recommendations on LinkedIn. Odds are that if you write a thoughtful recommendation for a colleague, someone will do the same for you in the future. Or, if you want to take a more brazen approach, you can use the “ask to be endorsed” link in your profile, where you can solicit recommendations from selected connections.

Status Update: It is important to update your status update on LinkedIn on a regular basis. You can list specific events that you are working on, new certifications that you have earned, etc. You can also set-up an automatic feed from your Twitter account to your LinkedIn account that will automatically fill in your status update. You can also automatically import blog entries or Facebook posts to your LinkedIn page.

Events: LinkedIn has a great events section for your meetings. You can use LinkedIn to post event details and even to manage RSVPs.

Contact Information:  If you are using LinkedIn to build business, be sure and include your contact information in your profile. This way, someone can contact you if they aren’t connected to you, or even a member of LinkedIn. You can also contact any LinkedIn member by sending a message through "InMail."

We want to hear from you!

What is the most valuable social networking tool for businesses?

How do you use LinkedIn as a meeting tool?

Please e-mail your responses to Dan Carrese at dcarrese@imageav.com, and we will include them in our May newsletter.

*Pre-conference survey of attendees by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), which will host its annual HSMAI Affordable Meetings West conference on June 10-11, 2009 in San Jose, Calif.

Part #1: Twitter in the Meeting Industry
Part #2: Facebook in the Meeting Industry
Become a Facebook fan of the Denver Meeting and Events Industry
Become a Facebook fan of Image Audiovisuals

Dan Carrese
Director of Sales
Rental and Staging
Image Audiovisuals, Inc.
2130 S. Dahlia Street
Denver, CO 80222
303-758-1818
dcarrese@imageav.com

Scott Collinsworth
Director of Sales
Colorado Convention Center
Image Audiovisuals, Inc.
700 14th Street
Denver, CO 80202
303-228-8047
scollinsworth@imageav.com

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