Interruption Marketing Doesn’t Work: Less Pitching, More Learning

Ever go to a conference and feel like you just paid hundreds of dollars to see a bunch of ads? Nobody wants that — especially when it’s your conference.

That and more in today’s Social Media Roundup:

Education, Not Promotion

Are You Attracting Your Best Attendees Or Are You Repelling Them? via @jeffhurt  (opens in a new tab) http://t.co/PuAHRk24  (opens in a new tab) #eventprofs  (opens in a new tab) #eventsense  (opens in a new tab) #pcma  (opens in a new tab)

— sensov/ event mktg (@eventsense) November 27, 2012  (opens in a new tab)

As Velvet Chainsaw’s Dave Lutz puts it, if you’ve handed the reins of your event to conference marketers or vendors intent on self-promotion, you’re in real danger of scaring off your attendees. Lutz is blunt in his assessment  (opens in a new tab) of events focused more on the promotions than the attendees: “Push or interruption marketing no longer works and can really irritate your best customers,” he explains. “When you promise premium education and networking at your conference, be sure to keep the experience free from undesired promotions.” How do you balance the needs of sponsors with the needs of conference-goers? (ht @EventSense  (opens in a new tab))

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Bookmark: The Ultimate Social Media Image Size Guide http://t.co/lrpZp2v1  (opens in a new tab)

— Maddie Grant (@maddiegrant) November 27, 2012  (opens in a new tab)

The hardest part of social media might be remembering all the sizes you need for all the images you have to post on every network. While some networks make it reasonably easy to figure out—it’s pretty hard to screw up images on Google+, for example—other networks like Twitter make it a little bit of a challenge. That’s why Maddie Grant of SocialFish has reason to be excited about the infographic she just found: “The Ultimate Complete Final Social Media Sizing Cheat Sheet  (opens in a new tab),” created by Luna Metrics. “OMG. This is it; what you have been waiting for,” she exclaims. Bookmarked … until the next time Facebook redesigns.

What cool things have you bookmarked lately? Let us know all about them in the comments.

(iStockPhoto/Thinkstock)