Looking to travel this spring? Hunting through different travel sites for convenient hotels and cheap flights can give you a headache. Event planners are on the move, whether it’s for conventions, galas, or fun. This is why we tried Wanderfly, a travel recommendation engine that goes beyond flights and hotels.  Users tailor the settings to fit their budgets and interests, and the site uses your social networks and other travel search engines to give suggestions.

ABCey is planning an event in Washington, D.C. this spring for a company attending the International Trademark Association’s Annual Meeting, so we decided to let Wanderfly help with our travel itinerary.

We set the specifications for San Francisco to Washington DC, $600 per person, early May, and for 4 days. The coolest part of this site is that you can add your interests.  For this trip we decided that our interests were: landmarks (can’t miss those in DC), food (event planners have to eat), and outdoors (May is lovely).  When we hit the “Get Going” button, we were transported to the front steps of the White House…well, not really, but it gave us everything that we needed to get there.

The first thing we did is check out the flight and hotel options.  Wanderfly uses content from travel sites such as Orbitz, Hotels.com, Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp, and Mashable.  We found flight options and hotels with reviews and tips right on the page. The activities suggestions are really what makes the service unique.  For us, it recommended highly reviewed restuarants, hiking trails, and all of the important monuments. If you log into Facebook through the site, it accesses your network’s knowledge and allows you to post a question asking for advice.  

Interested yet? Even if you don’t know where you want to go on vacation, Wanderfly will make recomendations for you based on your interests and budget.  We suggest that you try them out! It is free and easy to plan vacations, even if they’re imaginary. Have you ever used Wanderfly? What travel services do you generally use? Let us know in the comments or find us on Twitter!

What do long lines and slow check-ins have in common? Angry clients! Never fear; help is here. No more standing at the door, flipping through ten pages of names. New iPad and iPhone apps offer efficiency and professionalism for guest check-in. We’ve taken a good look at the latest options and reviewed them for you. From basic spreadsheet uploads to full-on social media integration, these apps are at the front of the line. Each of these applications caters to slightly different needs and they vary in cost, but they all look like they’re worth a try!

  1. My Guest List is the world’s first app allowing event managers to sync guestlists and function enquires from your website, Facebook, or spreadsheets to an ipad ready for hosts or door staff to use at the beginning of your event. This clever app is great for guest management- tap guests off as they arrive and track arrival times, VIPs, and walk-ins. All of the night’s data is translated to reporting and statistics- logging the total number of people who attended your event and the performance of your promoter. Finally, the most important feature, social media integration- allowing your database to have both Facebook and the iPad working in sync. This enables complete guest profiling, including how often they frequent a venue, what they like to drink and how much social influence they have.  The service starts at $25 dollars a month.

2. CheckInEasy is a great iPad/iPhone app which was recently used for the Google holiday party to check in over 2500 guests! This app is great because guests can either be looked up by name or using boarding pass style barcodes.  Also, if you want to be notified when a special guest arrives, you can choose to receive a text message or email. CheckInEasy has really emphasized their attention to data security so that customers can feel confident about protecting their guests’ information. The app is only $1.99 and the starter package, up to 500 check-ins, is $99.00.

3. Eventbrite is a leading ticketing service that has created an app called Entry Manager. This app allows you to log into your Eventbrite account and pull up guestlists from all of the events that you are planning. Attendees can be checked in by name, or by scanning invitation barcodes that guests can print out or pull up right on their iPhones.  The list automatically syncs with other devices being used to check people in.   All of your attendance data will be stored on the server and accessible in your Eventbrite account for further analysis. An Eventbrite account is necessary, and the app is free!

 4. Event Farm has a mobile guest check-in app for the iPad and iPhone. It is sleek, stylish and full of features. It allows you to customize the background of the app to promote your brand and to keep up with the real time analytics for the event.  Also, guests can leave tickets behind for the rest of their party if they happen to arrive separately.  Use it in conjunction with the fully-featured web-based Event Farm Ticketing System, or create your own list by downloading their Excel guest list template.  The cost starts at $0.50 per guest that you upload, with no extra fee for the app.

5. Venue Driver Mobile Check-In is a web based venue management system. This software is ideal for nightclubs and bars that hold events regularly which require guest check-in, VIP table reservations, or ticket distribution. The software can be used on an iPad/iPhone, and the data can be viewed online. It is a great solution for both the venue and the guests, since guests can sign up for events on their mobile devices, and managers can easily keep track of the consumer database, making it easier to plan for future events. The management system requires a subscription, but the app comes at no extra cost.

6. MyBanquet is a great iPad app for events that require seating assignments.  It was created for weddings, awards banquets, and gala dinners.  Guests can be uploaded from facebook, a text document, or manually.  Then, you can design the layout of your event, organize table assignments, and easily email reports to important people every step of the way. You can add notes to people’s table assignments if special arrangements need to be made for their dinner or accessibility.  RSVP’s can be handled manually or by connecting to facebook.   It is only $3.99 in the App Store and doesn’t require a subscription.

 7. Guest List Manager is an app developed by Hilton Worldwide, ensuring event managers have the ability to coordinate guest lists with room bookings. This app is great for managing the small details of your event through key features like viewing the current guest list and reservation status regardless of how the guest’s reservation was booked, viewing the group’s room count, and searching for attendee cancellations. This application is extremely effective and makes booking the Hilton as your next event venue so worthwhile! Guest List Manager is convienently available on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.     

I’m sitting here at my desk in this New Year trying to get organized like most others. For a business owner, and for those who rely on social media marketing to draw new customers and gain recognition, it gets a bit more tricky as you have to organize all of your social networks as well. First, I made a list of all the sites I needed to update my company information on. There have been many new platforms that have popped up as of late, and if we don’t keep up we’ll be left in the dust. Others, we may have just neglected as we tend to focus on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In. Then there’s Pinterest, Quora, YouTube, Stumbleupon, G+, Tumblr, etc. I then took a look at my Klout score to measure how much influence my posts and social actions are having around the web. I scored a 49 out of 100, which is probably not terrible but not as great as I’d like.

In the past, people mainly relied on radio announcements, TV hosts and more traditional media to get their information and news. Today, you are able to connect with people all over the world using social media and can voice your opinion as often as you’d like. Klout says that “Social media has democratized influence” and it’s very true! Influence is the ability to drive action.

Klout uses data from your social networks to measure your influence. Anywhere you have an online presence, you have the opportunity to influence people by creating or sharing content that inspires actions such as likes, retweets, comments and more. The more engagement your posts receive, the more influential you are. Klout uses this information to provide you with a Klout Score that measures your overall influence and also explains how you are influenced by the world around you. Klout can also be used to help open the door for new opportunities, such as using your networks to find a new job.

Have you gotten your latest Klout score? We noticed that Guy Kawasaki is at 81 so that’s going to be tough to beat. I wonder what it takes to get a perfect score and if anyone has one? ABCey would love to hear how much influence you have, so please leave us a comment or email us at events@abcey.com. Happy Klouting!

Do you ever find yourself coming across beautiful things on the web and not knowing what to do with them? Trying to remember everything you see can be difficult, and remembering to share them with your loved ones can be even more difficult.  That is why we fell in love with Pinterest!  Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you organize and share all of the beautiful things you find around the web.  According to Lauren Drell, this invite-only social platform, launched in March 2010, has the mission to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting”. People can pin and organize items to help them plan their weddings, decorate their home, organize recipes, and sort their favorite images. Images are shown in a bulletin board format with links to the original URL of the item and the user who posted it first, so you know where it came from if you are in need of more details.  To add to the excitement, you can browse other people’s pinboards to discover new things and get inspiration from other people who share similar interests. This wonderful invention comes from designer, Evan Sharp. Below is a recap of an interview Mashable conducted with Sharp. We hope you find it interesting and take the initiative to join Pinterest!

Backstory of Pinterest- How the idea came about…

Sharp grew up printing images off the web and collecting them in a folder.  He and two friends wanted to create a place where you can go to upload or collect things on the web and simply organize it the way you want to.

Why the Bulletin Board-Style Aesthetic?

They wanted a style that felt personal but also the feel of a collection of a variety of different images.

Where Does the Inspiration for the Design Come From?

Sharpe’s inspiration arises a lot from physical spaces of discovery like: museums, libraries, or retail spaces.  ”If you think about how things are presented and laid out, you start to realize that the entire space is organized to allow you to discover all the things the store is selling”, said Sharpe.

What Was Sharpe’s Original Vision of the Target Audience for Pinterest?

Although Pinterest is huge with the ladies in planning for weddings and decorating their homes, Sharpe originally envisioned it being popular with architects and designers.  He is happy with the way it has turned out though!

Pintrests Growth Has Trickled Up — why is that?

They didn’t spend a lot of time trying to get tech coverage.  ”We didn’t build this company to build a really hot tech startup; what we wanted to do was build a product — and also a company — that we wanted to work on for the next five or ten years.”

How Does Having a Background in Architecture Help When it Comes to Web Design? 

Architecture is difficult and takes a long time to master the “third dimension”.  Sharpe explains that he worked hard to master this tough process and,  ”a lot of [the process] is about technique and spending the time designing, but there’s such a rich history of architecture and a great body of theory and knowledge, and an enjoyable part of [moving to web design] was learning to take abstract ideas and concepts and then solve them tangibly.”  This explains why Pinterest runs so smoothly.

Lessons Brought from Facebook to Pinterest:

Having worked at Facebook prior to his invention of Pinterest, he explains that learning how Facebook operated was very valuable for Pinterest’s success as a design product.

What Does Sharpe Pin?

He pins stuff he finds interesting and inspirational about architecture.  Star Wars fans follow him, because he pins stuff about Star Wars as well!

Judging From the Userbase and the Pageviews and Anecdotal Evidence- why is there an obsession with Pinterest?

Sharpe think it’s twofold — at a basic level, it’s just a great place to go to see things that are interesting to you. Every time you go, you should see 50 to 100 things that hopefully are relevant or interesting to you. But the flipside of that — and something [he] didn’t expect when [they] built the product — is that there are are tons of people using the pictures to find things that impact their everyday life. People doing crafts projects, planning birthday parties, designing a home on the cheap. There are all sorts of life tips that come out of Pinterest. So now, not only are you finding stuff that’s interesting, but you’re also getting off Pinterest to do the things you’re finding on the site. What that means is that, at the end of the day, Pinterest can really complement your life instead of being a timesuck.

In “Pin Etiquette,” it says that Pinterest is not a Place for Self-Promotion. How, then, can Pinterest best be used by brands as a marketing tool?

A lot of brands are using Pinterest to promote and share more about their brand.  The idea behind the brand makes sense on Pinterest.

What is the Company Culture Like at Pinterest?

Filled with exciting people who want to work, love the product, and everyone has real interests and passions outside of Pinterest.  People who are generally interested in the world is what makes it a very fun environment to work for.

ABCey Events just can’t get enough of Pinterest! Make sure to check out the website, get an invitation, and start your pinning! We look forward to following your pins soon!

Social media has clearly become a main medium for many businesses. Therefore, it is highly important to stay on track and avoid mistakes.  At ABCey Events, we are always using social media to connect with our clients and community, and to share our local knowledge. Brian Solis, tech guru and social media connoisseur, offers some great tips that we think are very helpful.  Here is a quick recap of what he shares with us.

1. Showing Up Isn’t Enough: While it is important you have a social medium and make a name for yourself, it is most important to learn how to engage with your followers.  Whether it be through Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other social medium, make sure you really engage in conversation to attract potential consumers.
2. You Can’t be Everywhere, Nor Should You: With the extensive new up and comings of technology and new social mediums, you may be really excited to try everything. Don’t.  Be where your followers are and excel within that medium.
3. Authenticity and Transparency are Nothing Without a Connection: Authenticity and transparency are the two very important aspects to social media.  They act as a “guiding light” more so than an effective form of engagement.   Therefore, it is most important to make sure you add value and content to your social media, and in return, authenticity and transparency will support your content.
4. Talking to People Isn’t a Business Strategy: Make sure you have a purpose before you engage in conversation! It is important you engage in conversation and make people who don’t know about you, find out about you.  You want the people to start talking about your brand, so engage, engage, engage!
5. Keep Your Customers Tuned in: Adding one video is not going to make you go viral.  According to Solis, “Companies believe that uploading a video to Youtube is the key to anything going viral. What they don’t know is, 48 Hours of video is uploaded every minute to Youtube. The chance of your video going viral naturally is basically nil”.  So if you want to go viral and you are sure that going viral will help your company, seek out people that will help you share and make yourself known.  ”If it creates lift, leaves an imprint or if it drives action or outcomes, that’s when you’re going viral. “

What other common mistakes have you made as part of your social media strategy?

We recently saw the launch of a new lifestyle brand, HelloBrit.com which aims to find helpful, yet creative new ways for busy people to live more simply, beautifully and imaginatively. Brit Morin (wife to Dave Morin, the founder of Path) has been working in the tech world for several years now and was a former Apple and Google employee. She is already being touted as the Martha Stewart of Silicon Valley and has recently been featured in The LA Times, Huffington Post, and TechCrunch. Brit gives new ideas and tips to live a more simple and creative life whether it be through technology, food, style, health that she either created or curated from scouring the web, something that is becoming very popular! Brit says “The ideas should come to you, and they should come through a channel whose expertise and taste you trust.”

Her site is looking like a cross between Real Simple and Wired Magazines with videos showing you how to make Christmas tree cheese appetizers, how to use electrical tape to make candy cane cups, DIY Holiday welcome mats, wearable dinner party napkins, and more. She recently featured a great gift guide for the holidays and showcases 20 of her favorite products and apps. Thanks Brit!

The brand’s first offering is a wedding app called Weduary, which was inspired by the process that Morin and her husband used in planning their own ”Pixel Cowboy”- themed wedding this summer. This will be a new service for brides and grooms, and will hopefully make for a more interesting experience for guests online and off. Make sure to sign up on the website to be notified when the new site arrives! There will be some other apps launched in the future which will likely be centered around ways to be creative around the home and novel ways to perform everyday activities like cooking, decorating and shopping.

We hope you enjoy and use Hello Brit for a little inspiration into your own creativity! We know that at ABCey, we will be keeping up Brit’s innovative ideas and using them for inspiration of our own, especially this holiday season.

Do you ever spend hours in a store or shopping online, trying to find the perfect gift for someone, but just can’t quite figure out what to get them? Well, now your days have become much easier, and just in time for the holidays!  Givvy is an “open community that let’s you participate in shaping the next gift-giving trend”. Whether it’s for a birthday, holiday present, housewarming party or a little something for yourself, our community of curators makes it easy to discover trendy new gifts that will inspire you and delight your friends and family.  You can also keep track of your most important occasions and social events with a personalized calendar and gift reminder service.

Givvy is uniquely designed for use inside Facebook—so you can discover gifts and share occasions while staying connected to the friends you love most. Givvy is an open community that let’s you participate in shaping the next gift-giving trend. Simply share your favorite gift ideas with friends and earn points as your influence gains in popularity. The members with the most influence earn exclusive rewards and join our community of Curators.

Your Holiday season of gift giving has now become much easier.  Make sure to check out Givvy’s Facebook page for great ideas for the perfect gift.

ABCey Events would like to thank Larry Rubin, one of Givvy’s founder’s for making our gift-giving days much easier!

We all know that in this day and age, websites are extremely crucial for companies.  That being said, it wasn’t t until the past couple years that Typography for the web has become important.  We, at ABCey Events, are currently updating our brand and website, and we want to choose the right typography.  Here are some helpful tips that Kelli Shaver, has outlined for us:

• Readability:  Make sure that the typography you choose is readable! There is no point in having a font if no one can read it.  Therefore, sometimes sticking to default fonts for your body might be your best bet.  Although, it can be “boring”, it is easy to read and gets the point across.  So, keep it simple, stick to around 13px, and keep the font at a medium weight.  If you want to make your headline fancy, go ahead, but keep the rule of thumb: make sure it’s readable.
• Mood and Message:  Fonts illustrate the mood and message of your website.  Bold fonts can portray strength and it immediately grabs the attention of the reader, whereas lightweight fonts can portray a freedom to read and think as you wish.  Just like you shouldn’t have a variety of different font types, make sure you don’t have too many font weights as well. Pick a style and stick with it.

Google has finally made it possible for Google+ to have brand pages so businesses can merge and communicate with Google’s social network. Rather than having a Google+ profile, it will be much easier for companies to promote themselves via their own page. This will make it easier for followers to interact with the company and hopefully will increase the brand’s followers.  Users can choose to follow brands, such as specific, news, games, or restaurants, and be able to interact with that specific brand.  Ben Parr states that “when users add a brand to their circles, it increases that brand’s follower count”.  Hopefully this will be beneficial to businesses! This is very similar to Facebook and we are curious to see how and if it will affect Facebook’s brand pages.

Zeny Huang, Emerging Media Strategist at JWT New York, thinks that Google+ will be better and more successful than Facebook for four reasons:

1. Better Search Opportunities: There must be better search benefits for Google+ users because of Google.com domain.
2. More Customization: Google+ users will be able to use the excess white space on the sides of the profile for custom skinning of the brand page as well as space for advertisements.
3. Better Analytics: Google Analytics will help guide brands in organizing and specifying content on their page to direct towards their followers.  Also Google Analytics will allow advertisers have space for media placement that and will create more interaction between their followers and media spending.
4. Google Can Learn from Facebook: Google can learn from Facebook’s advantages and weaknesses and make Google+ better.

Customers will use social media to give compliments or complaints about a company, regardless of whether that company uses social media itself.  Therefore, it is important for a business to use social media to give their customers an environment to share their thoughts. Dave Toliver, Director of Corporate Marketing at Angel, gives seven ways to create a memorable customer experience with social media.

• Give Your Customers a Place to Talk:  If you don’t have a place for your customers to talk openly, they will do it behind your backs and you may never know what customers don’t like. Therefore, having a place for customers to freely give compliments or complaints, allows you to know what you are doing well or need to resolve.
• Integrate Social Media Into Your Customer Service:  Giving a place for customers to voice their complaints allows for you to find a way to fix them, but be prepared to have resolutions for the complaints.  Likewise, if a customer compliments you, make sure to give them thanks or even coupons and rewards.
• Activate Your Existing Customer Base:  Many businesses have more customers than they do Facebook or Twitter followers.  Reach out to the current customers to start building your social media fan base. Then use the social media to reach new customers and perhaps promotions to sell your product.
• Be Proactive:  Interact with customers. Engaging in conversations will make you noticeable and customers happy.
• Reward Influencers:  If you reward customers, they will most likely be advocates for your business.
• Create Compelling Content:  Give your customers something they can admire on your page.  Remember, they are following you, so you want to make them feel special and exclusive.
• Stand Out From the Crowd:  The majority of social media is done by text. Be different and make yourself stand out. Use pictures, voice applications, or even music, to engage with the customers and make yourself memorable.