The Bullet List Show

The last few weeks has seen some big event tech companies gain new owners, in particular Hyve, Tarsus and Cvent. The acquisition of Cvent by Blackstone has been valued at approximately $4.6 billion. Informa has acquired Tarsus for $940m, and Providence Equity Partners agreed to a buyout deal for Hyve, valuing the international conference organiser at £481m. Big numbers indeed! In this episode, your hosts discuss these events and debate what it all means. Links to where you can find out more about the topics discussed.. UK events company Hyve Group sold to US private equity firm Informa Buys Tarsus: Exclusive Interview By Dan Assor With Doug Emslie It’s Been A Big Week For Cvent & Reggie Aggarwal

At the recent Confex show in London, I had the pleasure of discussing ChatGPT and AI with 2 of my favourite people - Francesca Balit, event marketer and podcast host of The Events Cast and Merijin Van Buuren, virtual and hybrid platforms expert behind Event Mender. We talked about whether the event industry should be using ChatGPT for marketing automation and for content generation. There are pro's and con's on both sides of the argument. However, it's still relatively new to the events industry and the debate on why you should use it and how, will go one for some time. If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a comment, give a like or follow the podcast on your preferred podcast platform. Your feedback is really important to us. Don't forget you can follow the podcast on Twitter and LinkedIn.

When event professionals attend industry events, for example the upcoming Confex 2023, they can find it difficult to think like an attendee. That's why in this episode, we talk about the things an event professional should keep in mind. We're not sharing anything new, just reminding you of what you already know. Make sure you listen to the end for a bonus tip!

Would you pay $96 a day for a simple HDMI cable? That is a typical charge made by in-house AV at venues and hotels for the daily rental of a $7 cable. Outrageous?  Yes, very! One of the many problems is that those costs are deemed acceptable - especially when compared to the overall budget for an event, meeting or conference, that can run in to 5 or 6 figures. Will this end up effecting attendee ticket costs? We discuss the current state of affairs, with real examples, and share some money saving tips.

Are you using TikTok for promoting your meetings and events? Michelle Bergstein of Beat Creative Marketing is back for another episode, and she thinks you should be! Along with our discussion on the benefits of TikTok, we explore the world of filters and templates. Michelle also talks about the benefits of designing your own effects and how they can impact your marketing campaigns. So join us for fact filled episode and find out more about Ollie The Ox!

Good data doesn’t lie. And that’s important when it comes to demonstrating the ROI of events. We discuss this with Luke Bukley, head of sales at VenuIQ.  Along with the importance of setting goals and what you should be measuring, we also explore what event profs, exhibitors and sponsors should do with the data.

In our first episode for 2023, we start big! We chat with Anca Trifan, podcaster, AV specialist and advocate for women in event production. We talk mental and physical health, role models and the difficulties women face in the male dominated world of the event industry. Where to find out more about Anca... Treefan Events Events Demystified Podcast LinkedIn profile Health and female role models are very important topics that we are looking to explore further. If you would like to be a future guest and explore these topics with us then please get in touch.

How do you make your virtual events better? This is a question that I posed to 7 leading event professionals while I was at the recent Event Tech Live Show in London. Each one shared a brief but actionable tip that you can put in to practice. The people taking part and sharing their top tips are... Michelle Bruno - Dahlia Plus Abi Cannons - Grip Events Francesca Balit - The Events Cast Chitra Ram - Totem Luke Buckley - VenuIQ Stuart Mitchell - Catch The Mice Ramin Rezai - MeetYoo More information and links are available on the Bullet List Show Blog

We talk with Ben Gutkovich of Superlinked, a privacy-first social recommendation engine. We discover how to make your event app irresistibly relevant and the best way to understand your users and give them exactly what they want. We also discuss how virtual events are losing the competition for attendee attention with low attendance and even lower engagement. It's negatively impacting sponsor satisfaction and revenues. No wonder event planners are excited about the return of IRL events!

Where do you start when it comes to great movie soundtracks? There are just so many movies that you watch over and over just for the music! In this episode of the Meeting Planner Music Club, we are joined by our regular guest Stuart Mitchel of Catch The Mice. We share our top pics, memories and more. Our choices include... 🎶 Charlie's Angels 🎶 Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2 🎶 Tank Girl The live recording of this episode can be found on our YouTube channel. 

The big news from the last week or so is that Elon Musk has bought Twitter. There is still plenty of speculation on what he's going to do. There are plans for layoffs, changes to the verification blue tick pricing and a proposal to allow the return of banned users. There is also talk that Vine, which was discontinued in 2016, may come back and be integrated in to the Twitter app. The question we discuss is, how will this affect event industry marketing? I'm sure you have your own opinions on Elon Musk and the plans he has for Twitter, so join us on our Facebook group and tell us what you think.

Podcasts are the topic for this episode of The Bullet List Show podcast. We chat about the things that event industry podcasters are getting right, and what they seem to be getting wrong. We’ve noticed a lot of good and bad things while we were building our latest project – Phizzpod. The event industry’s only site that aggregates podcasts. There are plenty of things that are being done right. For example, when it comes to a podcasts's home page on the site they are using to host their episodes… ✔ Links to the associated website ✔ Social Media Links ✔ Show notes that are to the point and encourage listening. We had a lot to say about podcasts, I bet you do too! Let us know what you think in our Facebook Group.

Join Bob Toovey of Event Planner News and Keith Johnston of Plannerwire as they sit down with Stuart Mitchell of Catch the Mice to chat about their Favourite Amazing Women of Rock!! 

Twitter is an important and pervasive social network. It has proved to be an essential tool for event and meeting planners. However, there are things you need to do to get the best out of it. In this episode, originally recorded as part of our 31 days of August, Keith and I share some top tips that you really need to know. We also mention tools like Canva, Buffer and the image resource site Pixabay. Great resources that can help your tweets get more interest when it comes to using images. We have not been sponsored for any tools or resources mentioned, all recommendations are based on our experiences and personal preferences.

If your association or conference doesn't have an associated podcast, then it's about time it did! In this episode, originally recorded as part of our 31 Days Of August Challenge, we talk with Mike McAllen of Podcasting 4 Associations. We discuss podcasting and how it can help associations reach their members and even generate new revenue streams.

Wordpress lets you get a website up and running in no time at all. With the right plugins, you can create an event registration system that suits your needs. In this podcast episode, we highlight our favourite plugins that let you get the job done. We also discuss GDPR requirements, whether SEO is really important and who should be looking after the website. The Wordpress plugins mentioned include, Gravity Forms Elementor WP Table Builder Fathom Analytics Yoast for SEO MailPoet Don’t forget to come and visit us in our Facebook group, where you can share your thoughts on on this episode

When it comes to publishing your website content for events, conferences and meetings, which platform will you choose? In this episode we chat about Wordpress and why you should consider it for your website. There are plenty of advantages, not just because 43.2% of all websites on the internet use it or that it's a free download. There's more to it than that. Here's three amazing statistics that we mention in this episode... There are almost 60,000 free plugins in the official WordPress plugin directory Over 9,000 free themes in the official WordPress theme repository There are over 31,000 WordPress themes in total, including premium options.

In Episode 22, we talked with Laura Jelinek and Francesca Rodriguez Balit about accessibility for venues and websites. In this episode, we continue to explore accessibility but this time we take a look at virtual events. Helping us to examine this important topic is  returning guest Stas Zaslavsky of Vii Events. The points discussed include, supporting the attendee's experience going beyond what your platform already includes testing that you are meeting the needs of all attendee's One very interesting item that is brought up during our conversation, is how the law in Israel forces companies to ensure accessibility needs are met. Could be a model that the rest of the world should follow...

We’ve been thinking about going live on Facebook for quite some time. But what would we talk about and how would it fit it to our normal  episodes? After much thought, discussion and a little bit of planning, we did a test. On Thursday 31st May, went live to our Facebook group just to see what it takes when using a third party platform. In our test we used Restream, which makes this sort of thing fairly easy. The test went very well, so well that while we were there, we recorded an episode!

You well be wondering what ‘managed travel’ is and why you need it. In this episode we are joined by Elliot McNamee, director of product marketing at AmTrav.  We discuss what managed travel is and how AmTrav can make life easier  when trying to get attendees booked in to the right place. We also talk about AmTrav’s latest product, Gather. Their new tool provides expert help and time saving services for anyone booking travel for meetings and events.

As an event planner, are you doing enough to evaluate potential  venues for accessibility? Do you test your event website to ensure that  it meets the requirements for those with impairments? Just how inclusive  is your event? Joining us to discuss these questions and how the event industry is  dealing with accessibility, are Laura Jelinek and returning guest, Francesca Rodriguez Balit. We explore the issues facing event planners, venues and website designers. This is the first in a series of episodes that will look deeper in to accessibility.

It can be really tough when it comes to choosing a suitable virtual event platform. Do you go for a customised package or use an 'off the shelf' solution? How much support will you need and just how much will it cost? Our guest, Merijn van Buuren of Event Mender, shares his top tips on how to select a platform that suits your needs. He also talks about how Event Mender will make life a lot easier for event planners.

What is the current of state social media, with regards to the event industry? In this episode, Tess Vismale from iSocial Execution joins us to discuss the various social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. We also talk about Elon Musk, the benefits of Facebook Groups and our favourite social media platforms. "Tess Vismale is a creative visionary and the Chief Event Executioner for iSocialExecution, Inc. She is also a proud Tech Evangelist on the DAHLIA+ team. She is the former Senior Event Lead for Atlanta Botanical Gardens, a Tech Evangelist with The Meeting Pool, as well as the Conference Center Manager at Atlanta Technical College, where she served on the President's Leadership Team. Tess is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Digital Event Strategist (DES)."

Event planning can be really stressful, especially when trying to get  everyone involved in an event on the same page. How can you ensure  everyone has the most up to date information? We talk with Rob Vass, co-founder of Joi.events about how his platform can make an event planners life a lot easier. Topics include how spreadsheets can be counter productive, best ways to ensure everyone has the latest information and how to simplify the gathering of content from clients and speakers.

In this episode, we chat with Tim Flors, SVP & Chief Customer Officer at Groups360.  Tim talks about the back-story to the platform, what it has to offer  event planners and along with current and future integrations.

Things don't always go right at an event, you might be missing a cable or two, not enough power sockets or even a squeaky door to ruin a presentation! We discuss the essential items you need to carry to your events for when those small disasters strike. We discuss... Flashlights Batteries Power strips and cables USB cables and connectors Door stops and a few items that may surprise you! Don’t forget to come and visit us in our Facebook group, where you can discuss this episode and share your essential items that you carry in your kit. We would love to hear your suggestions!

In this episode we talk about Event & Association Websites with Francesca Rodriguez Balit of BBR Web Management. Francesca's company is a personal web management boutique for event organisers. We discuss websites, social media and some of the mistakes that can spoil a visitors experience. Topics in this episode include... Website design and redesign mistakes on event & association websites Deciding between a stand alone site or one that is integrated in an existing website Which features should a website have when it comes to marketing an event or association website? Is there a social media platform that's more suited to promoting an event or association website Up coming trends in event & association websites Don’t forget to come and visit us in our Facebook group, where you can discuss this episode and share your thoughts on the topics mentioned. If you would like to take part in a future podcast episode then please get in touch.

In this episode we talk with Lisa Schulteis, an experienced organiser of live and virtual events. She is the founder of Your Event Market Place, the market place for event professionals. She started working on her new project during the various Covid lockdowns of 2020 and launched the business in 2021. In our conversation we discuss how and why she got started, about the service itself and the various challenges she faced in getting established. Don’t forget to come and visit us in our Facebook group, where you can discuss this episode and share your thoughts on the topics mentioned. If you would like to take part in our podcast then please get in touch.

In this episode, we discuss the Metaverse with Stas Zaslavsky Of Vii Events and Stuart Mitchell of Catch The Mice.  We ask questions like, what exactly is the Metaverse and what can you do when you get there? We also talk about the differences between what Facebook thinks the Metaverse is and what everyone else imagines it to be. Stas is the co-founder and CEO of VII-Events, an All-in-One 3D 360° Metaverse Platform. Stuart has many talents including, director at Catch the MICE Limited, event industry connector, speaker and general dispeller of darkness!

In this episode we talk with Michelle Bruno of Event Tech Brief. We chat about what she's been up to, the great event tech implosion and the current state of event tech.  "Michelle Bruno is a writer, blogger, and technology journalist. At Bruno Group Signature Services, she develops content and content strategies for technology companies specializing in the live-event industry." Thanks to Mike Kavanagh for the intro voice over - 

In this episode, we talk with Mike Kavanagh about his experiences of  becoming a public speaker. We also discuss how he works with teams  within businesses to aid performance and well-being. Mike’s expertise  lays mainly with product development and strategy, but over the last 20  years he has branched out to coaching leaders in Fortune 1000 companies. About Mike Mike  Kavanagh has 17 years of experience as an advisor to C-level leaders of  Fortune 1000 companies and as a C-level corporate executive leading  large teams and organizations in product development, strategy, and  business development. During this time, he made a name for himself by  helping some of the most well-known names in business develop their  strategies, launch new businesses, and build an army of high potential  leaders capable of driving significant growth for their companies. In  parallel, Kavanagh has spent two decades cultivating an entirely  different skill-set – training and coaching people on a range of  practices for enhancing personal well-being and performance. You can find out more about the services Mike provides on his website. Don’t forget to come and visit us in our Facebook group,  where you can discuss this episode and share your thoughts on the  topics mentioned. If you would like to take part in our podcast then please get in touch.

In this episode, we talk about Facebook and the decline of Page reach. Our conversation is based around a video that was recently published by Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner. He details the experiments they carried out to increase reach, and the solution they eventually arrive at. Don't forget to come and visit us in our Facebook group, where you can discuss this episode and share your top tips for Facebook.

In this episode, our guest is Michelle Bergstein-Fontanez of Beat Creative Marketing. We discuss event marketing and the art of engagement. Our conversation includes, how to keep engagement going when an event  has to be postponed, how to make best use of Facebook groups and the  resurgence of local TV advertising. Michelle shares plenty of great tips  based on her experience as an event planner and marketeer. In this episode, we mention the following Ocoee Music Festival Blip Billboards Vibe CTV & OTT Ad platform Don’t forget to come and visit us in our Facebook group, where you can discuss this episode and share your top tips for marketing.

In this episode, Keith and I discuss the recent PCMA show in Las Vegas where Keith was in attendance. It was held at Caesars Forum and Harrahs Hotel, 10th – 12th January 2022. Audio goes here Keith goes through his list of hits and misses for the event, overall  though, his experience of the PCMA was very positive. During our  conversation, we discuss transport to the show (Taxi’s and Uber), the  lack of knives and the music played to attendees. We also chat about  toilets and a slight problem with our episode numbering! Companies mentioned in this episode include… Dahlia+ (check out our recent episode with Dahlia El Gazzar) Juno Live Hublio Allseated InEvent Don’t forget to come and visit us in our Facebook group, where you can discuss this episode and other things related to the event industry.

In this episode, our guest is the fabulous Dahlia El Gazzar from Dahlia Plus Agency.  We have a great conversation about the impact of Covid and how upcoming  events are being affected by Omicron. We also discuss the Metaverse and  much more ! audio code goes here so don’t copy this bit! The following links were mention in the episode… PCMA Convening Leaders Trends by Hustle Event Tech Live Las Vegas Allseated If you have any views on this episode or want to discuss further the points mentioned then come join us on our Facebook group.

In this episode we diverge from the usual format, mainly because the topic of poster sessions was worth discussing at length. Our guest is Tamsin Treasure-Jones, co-founder of Kubify. We talk  about how terrible poster sessions were and how Kubify is changing how  it’s done. Co-host Keith has plenty experience of poster sessions, as  you will hear, and so can relate to how Kubify made a difference. Kubify is a software-as-a-service company that was founded in 2018.  Their flagship product is Learning Toolbox, an award-winning mobile  platform with a growing international user base. Many of their clients  come either from the conference and meetings sector or are companies and  institutions delivering training. Here are the links that were mentioned in the episode… Learning Toolbox for ePosters Page Example Showcase (explore some real ePosters) Main website

In this episode, Bob and Keith talk about dealing with illness and discuss their own recent downtime due to ill health. The Shortlist Facebook – time to say good bye to the ailing platform? Zoom Events The Bullet List, Coping With Illness As An Event Professional Clients & co-workers will understand if you need to take time to recover from illness. Business insurance, do your research before you become ill Communication is the key, will help you to retain clients during down time Returning to work, ease yourself back in – don’t over do it. Thanks to Stuart Mitchel of Catch The Mice for the intro voice over and to Olly for the between segment voice overs. During this episode, we discussed mental health. If you need any help then Eventwell has plenty of information and many very useful services.

In this episode, we are joined by Stuart Mitchell, who is encouraging  businesses to explore virtual events. You can find out more by checking  out the website Catch The Mice and by following Stuart and his team on Twitter. The Shortlist Return of events, Confex 2021 London ExCel and the implecations of any covid infections after. England set to introduce vaccine passports for large venue Value of UK events sector down by £57 billion due to Covid The Bullet List – Why You Should Be Dipping Your Toes In Virtual Events For this episode, Stuart Mitchell shares his list on why businesses should be exploring online events. Virtual – a new weapon in your Events Armoury. Virtual and will run along-side in person events Global Audience: Increased audience, increased reach & increased customer base. Commercial Saving: Travel – COST and TIME saving. For productivity, this will be the new priority. Sustainability – Board members flying to NY for a meeting? Events don’t need to cost the EARTH! Work / Life balance. Travel Time away from family, avoiding burn out & taking care of mental health In this episode, the following websites were mentioned… EventWell – the event industry mental health charity Intelligo – a flexible web-based platform for delivering virtual experiences online. Vii Events – an all-in-one 3D 360° virtual events platform Thanks again to Stuart Mitchell for taking part. If you have a top tip you would like us to share then please get in touch. Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast RSS feed so you don’t miss an episode!

Hybrid Events Hybrid events are not going away. They are now another great tool event planners can use. Join us as we discuss why they are going to stay. The Short List iOS Changes to upend email marketing – Future updates to iOS will restrict tracking of opened emails. CES Requiring vaccine to attend – The Consumer Technology Association has announced proof of vaccination is required for in-person attendees of CES 2022. Google Tables for Teams – Currently in Google Labs and will be a product next year This episodes Bullet List – Hybrid Events ROI of hybrid events - We discuss the 'return of investment'. Better for sponsors - Exposure is not limited to in-person attendees. Exhibitors can be come sponsors and be part of the online experience. People are still not travelling! - There are still problems with travelling and hotels are still suffering from staff shortages. Recorded content lives longer - Splice up the video in smaller segments for sharing. Segments with big value can be turned in to blog posts. Take the audio from small segments to create podcast episodes. Inclusivity - Many attendees can't make a real life event and disability is a huge reason why. Whether you've attended in person or not, everyone can be part of the 'after show' community. In this episode, the intro voice-over is by Abbie Thoms, our guest from episode 3. The voice-over that comes between segments is by Olly Court. We highly recommend him for any voice over or announcer work. If you have a top tip you would like us to share then please get in touch. Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast RSS feed so you don’t miss an episode!

When it comes to crafting the perfect website, sometimes things can  be overlooked. In this episode, we share our thoughts on what we  consider to be important. To help the discussion we are joined by a  guest, the award winning website designer and creator, Abbie Thoms of Polyspiral. The short list Pop-ups – those awful things that get in the way. An informal Linked survey showed that… The T-Mobile hack – let that inspire you to protect your event and client data! The Bullet List – The things your website needs! A fixed footer – make sure it’s informative and stays where it is! Social media links – make them big and bold and obvious Make sure you have the essential pages – at least an about page & contact page Does it work with mobile? – a mobile/responsive design is more important than ever Text size, colour and contrast – make sure it’s easy to read and doesn’t strain the eye

In episode 2 of the Bullet List Podcast, we discuss collaborative  apps! We’ve selected 5 of the ones that we’ve tried out and discuss  their pro’s and con’s. [Insert anchor code here…] This episode starts with our short list, where we discuss… Intrado buys Hubb, as we spin down the hole of consolidation in the industry. QR Codes narrowly escape a digital death, they’ve not gone away but they are being talked about again. Restream now offers streaming to guests’ channels! The Bullet List – Collaborative apps we’ve tested and used When embarking on a team project, like putting together a podcast  episode, you need to be able to co-ordinate work and make sure you are  all heading in the right direction. For this weeks bullet list, here’s  the top 5 apps we’ve used and tested. Rock – If Evernote and Slack had a baby Evernote – the gold standard? Smartsheet Better than spreadsheets or forms Slack – group chat on steriods – essential for team communications though Brandy – Probably the easiest way to share a brands images, logo’s and colours. This week, our intro now has a voice over. So a big thank you to my Mum for letting me record her! If you have a top tip you would like us to share then please get in touch.

This is the very first episode of the Bullet List podcast, so it’s  rough, not that organised and there’s a few sound problems too. But  we’re learning as we go, it will get better as we get more comfortable  in our new roles as podcasters. We enjoyed making it, we hope you enjoy  listening to it! The short list We start this episode with a few news items that peaked our interest… The Delta Variant / National Association of Manufacturers Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement for Staff – Labor Shortages. LinkedIn Ads – Native Video Meeting Option, Facilitating Enhanced Connection in the App. Microsoft Acquires Video Streaming Company PEER5 To Improve Teams The Bullet List – Getting started with Twitter This is what this podcast is all about, our favourite top tips. For  this inaugural episode, we discuss our thoughts on getting started with  Twitter. Turn up – if you haven’t already, make an account and start tweeting! Tweet often – best way to attract new followers and show them you are serious. Be consistent – set up a routine and stick to it. Use hashtags – use around 3 and make sure they are relevant and in use. Mention others – if you are sharing a link or retweeting, credit the original author. Also mentioned in this episode is Hashtagify, a great way of finding trending hashtags on Twitter, and a tweet from the Royal National Institute for the Blind – explains why you should capitalise words in hashtags. If you have a top tip you would like us to share then please get in touch.