Exhibitionist? Well… not exactly – more of an exhibitor and exhibition visitor. I seem to be spending a lot of time in vast London exhibition halls lately – for both work and fun. Not to be confused with work or fun; the work is fun!
One of my clients provides facilities management services to hotels, so we recently set up a two-day stand at the Independent Hotel Show at Olympia to meet prospective clients. Trade shows are hard work. The environment is hot and airless, with miles of walking along aisles or hours standing – yet the opportunities to meet future customers is wonderful. I was working on their behalf, so I wasn’t targeting social media clients, but hoteliers. However, I did benefit from the eclectic range of free giveaways – bringing home everything from chocolates and coffee samples, to a few shiny bags of lovely mini toiletries – and a rubber duck!
Spending enjoyable time with the team easily balanced the exhaustion of two full days at Olympia, and I’m pleased that I introduced a good amount of prospective business to them. It’s all good networking. However, I must admit to having more fun at Olympia when I visited the Chocolate Show.
If you saw the photos I posted on Facebook and Instagram, you’ll know that I found the afternoon a great success! I have a very generous boyfriend who, like me, is a chocoholic, so I returned home weighed down with fancy bags full of delicious, mouth-watering treats. They’ve all gone now, but fortunately a well-timed birthday has restocked my treats cupboard!
In a month of chocolate-filled decadence, I took some time out, working at the very beautiful Hambleton Hall Hotel in Rutland. The autumn sun was warm and washed the lovely gardens in a glow that was more befitting to a summer’s day. I’ve long worked on the basis of have laptop will travel – and the beauty of social media is that so much can be handled from a phone. It’s a luxury I make the most of in my business. So I sat on the terrace with my hot chocolate and a smoked salmon sandwich watching the swallows swoop over the lake as I crafted a few client blogs and set the week’s tweets.
Back to the reality of the city and, by coincidence, another business exhibition, this time organised by YBC. I had a stand close to the buffet table (of course!) and chatted all day to people interested in how good social media marketing can boost their business profile. I was invited to speak on an ‘Expert Panel’ too, answering social media-related queries, and I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of incredibly interesting business-owners as a result.
Aside from the chocolate show, more fun-without-work visits to huge venues has included two trips to the O2: once with Gill to spend an evening in the company of Neil Diamond. This legend of five decades of success danced around the stage and sang in his still-sexy, unaged voice with a packed house on their feet, clapping, cheering, singing choruses.
The second time was with Sharon to view Prince’s collection of clothes, trophies and hand-written lyrics. So who do I quote today? Neil, or Prince? Prince, or Neil?
“Hello, my friend, hello. Just called to let you know – I think about you every night when I’m here alone, and you’re there at home. Hello.”
Of course, since Mr D wrote that in 1980, no one has to feel alone. Even from across the other side of the world, it’s so easy to send a message on social media any time, day or night, night or day; letting people know you’re here – whether it’s a friend you miss, or a business prospect you’re targeting. So if you’d like social media help from a business perspective, feel free to get in touch – any time!! (I might not reply until after breakfast!) Email hello@imaginativetraining or tweet: @WeekendWitch.
Leave a Reply