- Room with a view. #13ntc http://instagram.com/p/X-hMkvkl_Z/ kl_Z/
- ThursdayI arrived Thursday afternoon, just in time to check into the hotel, visit the "Science Fair" (vendor fair) and then head to the Feeding America meet-up.
- Science Fair: The vendor fair, dubbed "Science Fair," hosted tables with tons of nonprofit techie companies. Since I am not really in the market for new CMS or website designer, I went about evaluating marketing. There was an overwhelming amount of terrible marketing, it was hard to keep track of the awfulness. I was really shocked that so many well-funded tech companies would have such a terrible marketing presence. Here are my recommendations for improvement for vendors:1) Paper collateral: So much paper. SO MUCH PAPER. This is a technology conference, why don't bother with killing trees when you could have an interactive way to market and connect with prospective clients. When I got my bag full of collateral, I tossed everything, literally wasting the money of vendors. This is not a good use of resources: its a waste of trees and a waste of vendor money. The only person winning here was the printer who made money printing all the paper I threw away.2) Booths: It seems some folks really had trouble with the basics of tabling, like "never put candy on your table." Why? Because people walk by and try to take your candy (or goodies) as quickly as possibly without wanting to talk to you. If you can catch them before they depart, you're so busy trying to inundate them with information, you don't notice that they are edging away from you slowly. Don't do this to yourself or others. Open up your booth area by setting the table back and creating a space for interested parties to enter. The goal isn't to talk to everyone; many leads does not mean good leads.While there was plenty of bad, there was lots of good as well. My top picks for good marketing include Sage Software, Blackbaud, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and an honorable mention for Wire Media for cute collateral.
Still tweeting #13ntc photos: Sage booth. One of my picks for best marketing. pic.twitter.com/FtFMfcQrmOQrmO- Sage's booth was the only one I wanted to visit after reading their simply flyer, printed with only their logo and an invitation to visit booth 59.
Still tweeting #13ntc photos: Blackbaud booth. One of my picks for best marketing. pic.twitter.com/DUX0HMmJpamJpa- BlackBaud's booth was great (a little over staffed and crowded) but well designed and lovely to look at.
Still tweeting #13ntc photos: @Philanthropy booth. One of my picks for best marketing. pic.twitter.com/F3gn5hp2RFp2RF- Chronicle of Philanthropy's Booth was the best of all booths. The used the space expertly, had great, simple takeaway pieces, and even had an ingenious way to capture leads (photo below).
Still tweeting #13ntc photos: @Philanthropy creatively gathers leads. pic.twitter.com/uQkzSqdy5Ydy5Y
Still tweeting #13ntc photos: Wire Media collateral. One of my picks for best marketing. pic.twitter.com/UrGQx9dUzFdUzF- WireMedia gets an honorable mention for great collateral. It was well designed and tailored for their different audiences and created an interactive opportunity to engage with participants. Simple, low tech and low cost. Genius.
- Feeding America Meet-Up: Amelia and I had the chance to visit with some representatives from the Feeding America team and our fellow food bank friends. I had the chance to meet Dan Michel from Feeding America, Ruby Martinez with the RGV Food Bank, Micheal Hetrick with the East Texas Food Bank, and more.
- RT @sarafperalta: #13ntc: Making new food bank homies at the @FeedingAmerica happy hour. With @Michael_Hetrick http://instagram.com/p/X-3f3PEl9a/ El9a/
- Friday: I attended three sessions. Check out the notes below.
#13NTC: Search for Success: Understanding the Basics of Online Paid Search and Display Ad Campaigns #13NTCpaid
Amy Bridges of the Nature Conservancy leads a conversation on the world of paid search in this Nonprofit Technology Conference session.
Breaking Through Language Barriers with Technology http://storify.com/sarafperalta/breaking-through-language-barriers-with-technology- What Public Radio Can Teach Nonprofits About Effective Storytelling #13NTCradioWill Coley, nonprofit dude turned public radio evangelist, Minnesota Public Radio reporter Sasha Aslanian and interviewee Valencia lead t...
- Saturday: I organized a Food Bank staff breakfast and attended two sessions on the last day of the conference. Check out my notes below.
MT @sarafperalta: Impromptu #13NTC #foodbank meetup 8am Saturday at Hell's Kitchen @foodbankrgv @allisonyoung @dpmichel- Session notes:
From Empathy to Innovation: Design Thinking for Nonprofits Edutopia's Betty Ray and museum web strategist Dana Mitroff Silver facilitate a crash course in design thinking to develop solutions to c...
How can we have a brand voice without good internal communication?Feeding America's Dan Michel and The Cara Program's Steve Heyes explain how their large nonprofits maintain and promote brand integrity w...- Reflections: Scheduling apps, wi-fi and diversity.
#13NTC: Summary of the 2013 Nonprofit Technology Conference
My thoughts and notes on my first Nonprofit Technology Conference, including the good and the bad. Good: excellent speakers and networking. Bad: poor event infrastructure, sad vendor fair (with a few notable exceptions) and an overall lack of diversity.
Jill FarrowSara, thank you for your recap of your thoughts and experiences at 13NTC. Sustainability practices at conferences are coming along, albeit more slowly than some...more2013-04-28T15:10:03.959Z
Embed
Show Templates
