DISCUSSION GROUP
Online discussion groups are a great way to market your business,
services, and events, but do know that there are etiquette rules to
follow. Web Ad.vantage offers three tips to help you avoid cross-
ing that ethical boundary:
■Understand Where You’re Posting.Don’t just presume that
you can plaster your event message all over the place once
you join a group. That is the equivalent of discussion group
spam. Instead, spend a little time belonging to the list before
posting (this is called “lurking”). By doing this, you can learn
the tone used by participants, what types of subject matter
they discuss, and any possible sore spots.
■Don’t Sound Too Commercial.Make certain your sales mes-
sage is subtle.
■Play Upon Your Expertise.If at all possible, don’t even men-
tion your event affiliation. Consider answering a question
with legitimate information that proves you are an expert in
the field. Then be sure to sign your post with your name, af-
filiation, URL, and contact information.ONLINE SURVEYS
Just as important as monitoring the Web site traffic and the num-
ber of visitors you have is knowing who your visitors are. If you
know your Web site audience and their demographics, you can
market your site more directly to the intended audience. One of
the most efficient ways to do this is by conducting surveys. What
questions you ask will be determined by what you want to know.
Do try to keep surveys short and don’t forget to ask a bit of back-
ground information, without getting too personal. The following
survey services can help create, house, and distribute online sur-
veys. The list is provided by Web Ad.vantage:
■http://www.zoomerang.com.Allows the easy creation of on-
line surveys.
■http://www.surveysite.com.Specializes in independent Web
site evaluations, online focus groups, pop-up surveys and
polls, and e-mail surveys.
■http://www.infopoll.com.Offers online survey software, en-
abling anyone to create questionnaires and collect instant
feedback.72 Chapter 3 Electronic Event Marketing Strategies