Posts

Long Term Networking

Sexy Tree

This didn’t happen overnight. Give your contacts time to grow and develop.

For many people conferences are an important part of our business networking. They are a way we can keep up with the industry changes, technology, and new people. It is the best way to make real life relationships with people and take your conversation off the computer.

This week 2 big conferences are back to back. Internext is the 15th-17th and AEE is the 18th-21st. There will be many important people from the adult entertainment community at one, if not both, of these conferences.

A lot of people go to these shows with unrealistic expectations. They think they will meet people and as soon as they get home they will have a treasure chest of opportunity. Well, in some ways they are right. The networking is incredible. If you make the right connections you might have a treasure chest of opportunity. To mix my metaphors, that doesn’t mean that they will fruit over night.

When you go to a show be prepared to nurse those relationships. The show is just the first step, though a very important first step. Now you need to follow up. You need to keep in touch. Over time you will be surprised at what can come from these contact. Sometimes direct businesses, sometimes referrals…sometimes both!

Occasionally an opportunity will convert immediately after a show, but often time they have  a several month gestation. So go to the shows but give it time to develop.

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5 Tips for Live Tweeting

Adult Trading Card Diamond Kitty

Feature Friday Photo: They sexy & voluptuous Diamond Kitty.

I am totally tweeting this

Live tweeting is nothing more than tweeting about an event as it is happening.  But it can be a great tool to share your experience and report from an event and about an event.

Events and conferences are the perfect place to tweet live. It is a great way to share your experiences with your followers and get people more involved with what you are doing. Live tweeting also shows that you are relevant and active in current events, and not someone who only tweets in retrospect. Additionally, it is good way to network with other people at the conference.

  1. Hashtags– Most events will have a hashtag associated with the event. Make sure that you use that tag and tag all your tweets from the event with the tag.  This will let people know what you are tweeting about, and where you are tweeting from. Plus other people from the conference will be able to see your tweets and you might be able to set up some networking opportunities.
  2. Tell People– Let people know that you will be live tweeting.  Anyone who is interested in the show, but not there, will be likely to follow your tweets to get a first hand account of what is happening.
  3. Share you pics!– Take pics of the show. Remember a picture says 1000 words and twitter is limited to 140 character tweets.  Pics are a great way to share your experiences from the conference.  Tools like TwitPic are great for posting your pics on Twitter.
  4. Archive your tweets– You can keep a copy of all your tweets from the event by archiving the hashtag.  A great app for this is Twapper Keeper they will track a hashtag for you and create an archive that you can access later. This is great for blogging or being able to go over all the convo’s happening from the show when you have more time to look at what other people were saying.
  5. Live in the now– Don’t get so caught up in tweeting that you take yourself away from what is happening.  Use tools like speech to text to help you type. But mainly, make sure that you are enjoying with is happening right now, because as great a live tweeting is. You can always write about it later!

Diamond Kitty is this weeks Feature Friday Photo.  The Adult Trading Card of her on the beach seemed fitting as we are gearing up for Exxotica Miami. Make sure that you follow her on Twitter @DiamondKittyXXX and ask her for a card!  Also follow @ATCCompany to see who has their own new sexy ATC card!…and they are a lot of fun to tweet with.

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The Phoenix Forum and the Importance of Conferences

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Feature Friday Photo: Ruby Violence

Friday Feature Photo: Coquettish and fetish, all wrapped into one; the exquisite Ruby Violence.  

Next week I am heading to Arizona for The Phoenix Forum, a networking and educational business event for the Adult Industry.  Though I was hoping to speak at the event, I will have to settle for simply attending (well, that’s what happens when you ask too late).  It should be a great opportunity to have some in-depth discussions on business trends and social media.

I really enjoy going to conferences. They are an excellent way to network, make some great business connections, make new friends, learn about up-and-coming trends in the industry and get your face in front of people. As a social media strategist, I spend most of my time behind a computer screen, so being able to get my face in front of people really helps! Plus, I love opportunities to talk to people about what they are doing and have some off-the-cuff social media discussions.

This weekend is Adultcon. I wish I were able to go to this conference as well. One of the challenges is deciding which conferences you are going to attend – they can be expensive, time-consuming and energy-consuming.  It is not possible to attend all of them, unless you are a professional conference-goer. Most of us still have to work when we are not conferencing (and even when we are), so balancing the work and travel can be challenging.

How to Evaluate a Conference

  1. How important is it? Some conferences are really big and significant to the industry. These should be priority.
  2. Is it important to you? Some conferences might be really important to fans and stars, but not to businesses. Make sure you know why you are going; attend the conferences that meet your needs.
  3. How much time and money can you can invest? Like I said, conferencing is expensive. We would all love it if someone were paying all our expenses, but that is not usually the case.  Take a look at how much time you can afford to be away from your daily life, because when you are conferencing you are not doing your regular business. Then take a look at how much you can afford to spend. The costs add up quickly: registration, travel, hotel, car rental, food, entertainment: what seemed like a nice $300 trip just cost you $2000.
  4. Are the business connections important? Sometimes you choose to go to a conference not because of the content it is offering, but because of what its attendees are offering.  Take a look at who is going and if there are people important to your business or brand then you might want to make an appearance. Conferences are about networking, so make sure the networking is valuable.

I decided that The Phoenix Forum is crucial for me, mainly for the networking. I already have some important meetings set up and am looking forward to the new connections I will make.

While I am there I will also take advantage of what the conference is offering. Some of the seminars I am thinking of attending are:

  • Frenemies- Learning from your competition or arch-rivals
  • Technology and Monetization: A 2 Way Street
  • Listening to the consumer Are your price models effective? Learning from consumer spending habits.
  • Head in the Cloud- integrating cloud computing
  • Dot XXX How is .XXX affecting your business?

I am also planning on going to the YNot Grand Prix. This will be my first Grand Prix, so I am pretty excited. Remember, networking is as much about being social as it is about talking business. So make sure you go to social events, but don’t burn yourself out. Ultimately you are there for your business, brand or personal promotion. Don’t let the parties get in the way of your goals.

I’ll head out to Phoenix on Wednesday and will dive into networking and conferencing first thing on Thursday. I already have some great meetings on my schedule, but am looking forward to those that will come up spontaneously . If you’ll be at the forum next week and would like to meet, make sure you email or tweet me.

I will be blogging about the conference and will be live tweeting the entire time. Hopefully, I’ll have some great information to share. I will keep you posted!

Friday Feature Photo: Ruby ViolenceThe fabulous Ruby Violence is the Feature Friday Photo.  Ruby and I met through Twitter when I tweeted about her being on the cover of the new DVD, Girlfiends #9. An avid tweeter, @rubyviolence is a great person to tweet with, quick to respond and a good conversationalist. Her website has a lot of  content, from videos to pictures, and a great blog that gives you tantalizing previews of her site.  Ruby’s blog not only previews sexy vids and pics, but she shares insights about her photo and video shoots. Her philosophy is “Violently Sexy”, which says that women can be beautiful and sexy without being ‘sluts’ or ‘whores’; they can be sweet and pure and still be strong. This ethos is captured in her photos and her demeanor.

Go to her website: www.rubyviolence.com

Talk to her on Twitter: @rubyviolence

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