GALA Blog

Last year, I presented an overview on marketing to language service providers at GALA 2009. We covered an array of topics, including differentiating yourself in a commodity industry and using simple public relations tactics to stand apart.

We touched on social media, and I was surprised by the response. While there was some excitement about the possibilities, there was also general reticence and uncertainty in the room. I heard many justifications for avoiding social media altogether, from the argument that it wastes time to the fear that there is too much risk and employees will misrepresent the company, so better not to be involved with it all.

Now that we are well into 2010, I believe some of those opinions have been changed. But the GALA 2009 workshop made it clear that I needed to provide a lot more details and information on the topic. This year at GALA 2010, my presentation will focus completely on social media, particularly the value of a social media program, the costs and time associated with a program, and the nuts and bolts, including which networks and media make the most sense.

Importantly, I will dispel myths of social media. It is not all-consuming and, in most cases, it is actually the easiest point of entry to marketing. Even those who cannot afford a true marketing team, or a design or videographer team, can do some social media outreach. And not all social media is created equal. LinkedIn is great for professional networking, but not for search engine optimization. Video is wonderful for SEO, but not for clarity of message.

In preparing for the presentation, I will be drawing from my experience in social media over the past two years, as well as my many, many years of work in public relations and marketing. But I’m also hoping to hear stories from other social marketers. If you have an anecdote you’d like to share, please comment here or email me at rpetras@gala-global.org. Alternatively, you can come join me for the session (12 May, GALA 2010 Conference, Prague) and tell your story then. I’m looking forward to a lively and relevant discussion.

One of the biggest complaints about industry conferences that I hear from LSPs is the small number of client participants.  But that dynamic can be corrected easily–and can make a huge difference to the value you get from a conference. 

Here is what I did at GALA 2009 to bring more client participants and to increase the chance of winning their trust.  It worked for me…and, as I explain, I am doing even more for GALA 2010.  I truly enjoyed the  GALA conference in Cancun and am looking forward to Prague.  The locations are great, the content excellent, I see friends in the industry, and I meet new people, too.  But this strategy of bringing in prospects also provides direct benefit back to my company, TOIN, and makes the entire conference even more valuable. 

My simple program is to invite prospects to the conference where they can get beneficial information, and we can build a trusting relationship.  For GALA 2009, I invited four prospects. One of them became our client. All of them told me that it was one of the best industry conferences they had attended. They also told me that GALA did a great job bringing mature vendors, who don’t hover around the client people.

Through this experience, I learned that the GALA conference is beneficial for our clients. So for GALA 2010, I have invited 50 clients/prospects, so far. I am getting a few ‘thank you’ responses. It’s good to know that I can bring some good information to my clients and prospects. TOIN is sending invitations to around 100 more prospects.

I hope all GALA members come to GALA 2010 and invite their clients and prospects because I believe it will raise their credibility to their clients and prospects. I certainly benefited from the last conference.

I look forward to seeing you all in Prague!

P.S. For those who are attending GALA 2010, please send me a Linked In message. Let’s have pre-conference discussions to warm ourselves up. We can e-meet before actually meeting in Prague.