Events and multimedia communication: How I think the ISPA did with promoting their 2013 expo

The International Spa Association hosted their 2013 ISPA Conference and Expo on Oct. 21-23 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here's how I think they did with digitally promoting their event -- before, during and after.

Before the expo

The ISPA did a great job blogging up until the event. They posted helpful items like Packing 101 for the ISPA Conference and Expo and Prepare Like a Pro for the ISPA Expo ahead of the event. Posts like these say "This event is coming up and here's how to get ready for it" without obnoxiously shouting "Come to our event! Now!" But the organization could have also kept up the blogging during and after the event. They could still be telling interesting stories about the people or products at the expo or the history of the event or a company -- something to keep people talking about the expo. The blog posts during the event could have even been shorter, including photos from the expo, to make posting more manageable. Then they could have written up a wrap-up post after the expo concluded -- a "we had fun; hope to see you next year!" kind of post. There are surely people out there who couldn't attend the event this year who are interested in how it went. Also, the ISPA could have used such blog posts to attract people to future expos and push them out to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The ISPA pinned these blog posts, as well as several YouTube videos, to their Pinterest page in the days leading up to the expo. However, their Pinterest account has been dead since then. If they had done those blog posts during and after the expo, they would have had more material to pin.

On their YouTube channel, the ISPA has one recent video, "Insights into the Consumer Snapshot - Volume IV," which doesn't exactly pertain to the expo but does offer valuable background information to those in or interested in the business. The ISPA definitely missed an easy opportunity to video the crowd, the booths and the speakers at the expo. Posting short snippets from speakers -- the most inspirational parts, of course -- accompanied by crowd and booth footage could encourage their YouTube viewers to make coming to the expo a priority next year. Arm the team with Flip cameras or smartphones and go get that video! This also would have given the ISPA more content to share on Pinterest, as well as Facebook and Twitter.

On Instagram, the ISPA posted several photos of the set-up, which provides followers with a fun behind-the-scenes look at getting ready for the expo.

During the expo

I think the ISPA did a fairly good job updating their social media during their expo. The ISPA used the hashtags #ISPA2013 and, in some cases, #GrowYourWorld most of the time; however, they could have been much more consistent with their use. Potential future attendees would have definitely missed out on parts of the conversation from the expo if they had been following #ISPA2013 on Twitter or Facebook. The ISPA shared lots of photos on Instagram of the goings-on at the expo, and the photos showed a variety of subjects -- closeups of signs or food as wells as group shots of attendees. They updated Facebook and Twitter frequently with reminders/teasers about speakers, meals and other events.

My biggest criticism for their Facebook and Twitter accounts' activity during the expo is I think they should have shared more photos. When reminding followers about a speaker coming up, share a photo of that speaker -- a snapshot from the event or even a professional headshot. When inviting people to join you at dinner, share a photo of the place all set up; or if it's not all set up yet, share a closeup of one of the place settings or the chef preparing the food. According to Hubspot, 40 percent of people respond better to visuals than text alone.

How much more engaging would this post be if it had a photo of Lawrence Biscontini? Not only would it be more likely to catch your eye, it would also give the people at the expo an idea of who they're looking for at 6 a.m.



And how easy would it have been to attach a photo to this tweet of everyone gathering for lunch?



Also, neither of those examples has the event's hashtag. Womp, womp. However, overall, it seems the ISPA had the most interaction going on Twitter.

After the expo

The ISPA posted several times on Facebook after the expo ended, thanking sponsors and inviting people to share what they had gained from attending.

It's nice that they remembered to thank their sponsors on social media, but they could have taken the extra step on this post of tagging the sponsors. Unless the sponsors are closely following the ISPA's Facebook page, they could have easily missed this thank you. Tagging them could have gotten more engagement on this post, not to mention that it would make this a more adequate thank-you.



Here, they could have asked people to briefly share how they grew at the expo in the comments under this post -- in addition to asking people interested in being featured on the blog to email Christine. But because this post only directs people to email, the post got zero comments.



On Twitter, ISPA retweeted people as they posted their farewell messages and thanks, which is good engagement with those talking about the event. They also tweeted the same two Facebook items mentioned above, and my criticisms remain the same. They should have mentioned sponsors who are on Twitter and asked for people to briefly share how they grew at the expo using a hashtag.

Facebook and Twitter are really the only places you see any activity after the expo ended, and as I mentioned above, I think they easily could have done blog posts and videos during and after the show. This would have given them fresh content to share on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to remind the attendees how much fun they had and to entice more people to join them for the fun next year.