Social Networking - Facebook & Twitter

[acar]

International Vision Expo just launched a social networking campaign to keep you connected to the global vision community year-round. There's exclusive show updates and discounts. Plus, interesting industry and professional updates.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Vision-Expo-Official-Page/79271205893

Twitter: http://twitter.com/visionexpo

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/intlvisionexpo

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1997190&trk=anet_ug_hm&goback=%2Eanh_199719 0

Social media (done right) delivers new eyeballs and a unique ROI other marketing channels can’t touch. Two new sessions are offered at the show to untangle the new media network.

Social Networking 101 — What the Tweet Is Facebook?

Course 34-701-V Angela Pendergrass
Learn the absolute basics of Facebook and Twitter, including what these applications are, how to create a profile and, most importantly, an easy-to-understand walk through of the different features.

Cracking the Social Networking Code To Generate New Business

Course 13-805-V Daniel Abramson
The purpose of this course is to show participants how to harness emerging social networking technologies like Linkedin and Facebook to build business and solidify customer relationships.

[Barry Santini]

International Vision Expo just launched a social networking campaign to keep you connected to the global vision community year-round.

Hey, I've got this already!

It's called OPTIBOARD!

Barry

[Johns]

International Vision Expo just launched a social networking campaign to keep you connected to the global vision community year-round.

No offense, but it keeping "you connected to the global vision community year-round." is akin to the spam I get from all the VE vendors prior and immediately following the expo, I'll pass.

It's nice to have a go-to place to get info (Optiboard) without it coming to you.

Then again, I'm not a tweetler, twittler, or any of those other "ers", so I guess my vote doesn't count anyway...

[acar]

I can understand reservations over new networking sites, including ones from Vision Expo so hopefully I can clear the air on a few items.

1. No doubt OptiBoard acts as a similar community and we didn't create our sites to move participants away from OptiBoard.
2. Our social networking sites aren't open for advertising to & from vendors. We don't promote the sites to vendors, and watch them every day to ensure they aren't used for advertising/sales activity.

Vision Expo hosts over 27,000 ECPs to its shows each year and we wanted to create a way for our visitors to interact, get industry info and general updates about the show. We also have thousands of people from around the world who attend, but can't make it every year. This is our way to keep the International Vision Expo community thriving year round. With millions of people already using these platforms, Vision Expo, like many other optical organizations, created groups to interact within these platforms.

For Facebook, we update content about once a day so it's not overwhelming. Past updates include information about Vision Expo. However, we make a point to keep the updates balanced so we also speak about the community at large, including announcements about professional award recipients, research and trend info, and free marketing material websites for ECPs.

Here's a sample of the past "tweets" we've done. I'll be the first to admit either you tweet or you don't. It's a world unto itself. We set it up so people who tweet have an active community to engage in. Attendees at AOA's recent meeting tweeted non-stop, including the AOA itself.

I look forward to any other comments or questions. It's what makes forums like OptiBoard and other networking sites thrive. At the end of the day we all appreciate that we're part of a larger community determined to stay connected.

Past tweet samples...

• Want to see where some of Vision Expo's proceeds go? View Public Service Announcements on YouTube
• Twitter Fans! Special offer….free exhibit hall registration to International Vision Expo West 2009: Use www.visionexpowest.com/twitter
• Hotel rates in Vegas are low. Take advantage & attend Expo West Oct 1-3. Harrah's low as $49; Treasure Island $152 if you book by July 30th.
• Plan to tweet during our Las Vegas show? Use #visionexpo - Be part of the convo & receive updates live from the show floor this Oct 1-3.
• Opticians Association of America (OAA) is accepting nominations at www.oaa.org for its Board of Dir. Deadline is this Friday, July 10th
• Did you know…International Vision Expo has welcomed more than 319,381 eyecare professionals since it began in 1986?
• Ocular Surface Society of Optometry (OSSO) debuts exclusive course at Expo West - comprehensive dry eye diagnosis & management seminar
• VisionMonday > Quick Poll Results: Aviators Are Taking Off this Summer - http://shar.es/Gz8W
• Have a Happy and Healthy July 4th weekend! Remind your patients about the importance of safety and fireworks.
• 89% of Americans believe that a particular shape of eyeglasses best suits the shape of a person's face, data courtesy of VisionWatch