By: Travis Blythe

We swarmed Austin, Texas for the annual South by Southwest Interactive festival. In keeping with the Austin tradition of keeping Austin weird, we sent our crack team of oddballs to Austin to count the bats. We found out a lot about ourselves this year at SXSW. Although none of us melted in the rain, some of us do not float, our hair gets frizzy and rain boots are once again popular (we made our own custom Bswarms branded boots, don’t be jealous, we can show you how too!)

Brands that made us turn our heads and be deemed BUZZworthy:

Guide Hop – Not only are they just a cool bunch of guys, but Darren Woodson is part owner! Yes that does mean they are from Dallas and if you are not sure who DW is, he is #28 in your program and #1 in our hearts as the best safety to play for our beloved Dallas Cowboys!  Meeting them at the Guide Hop party the first night was Freakishly Awesome!  You want to find some cool things to do no matter where you are? Here is your guide!

@guidehop     facebook.com/guidehop

Clik – We found these guys on our way in to the conference expo center. Probably because it rained so much we missed them, but the product they offer is actually really cool.  Imagine you were hosting a conference, trade-show, or an outdoor event.  Now imagine a huge jumbo-tron playing videos for all of your attendees or registrants to watch.  With several options from using as a video sounding board to having your attendees upload their own videos, this could be a great way to promote, educate and generate Dangerous BUZZ around your event. Plus we made it in their promo video!

@clik     facebook.com/Clik-Interactive-Inc

Locai – Our good friends at Locai were at it again.  Launching version 3.0 right in time for SXSW, brilliant idea! More than just a check-in based app, this one is about the conversation you have after the check in.  They have features to post polls, direct message your friends and get rewards from local businesses.  While you do not get any badges or points for checking in, the most fun is uploading pictures of where you are and asking thought provoking questions, getting votes or just chatting about what just happened! Another feature that we LOVE is the survey section.  If you are an event or location and want some feedback, just post a survey monkey on there and let them answer it once they check-in!

@Locaii       facebook.com/locai

Groups we thought were Freakishly Awesome to be around!

While encountering the masses at SXSW, we came across some interesting folks. We thought we would give a shout out to our new friends!

It is not everyday you come across a group of people and they let you into the “Trusted Circle” especially when the group is comprised of an industry specific type of job.  The TNL group, a group of HR Recruiters, while that sounds like they would be a dry bunch, they are some of the most interesting people I have ever met.  Even though they span many different countries and many different states in the USA, they all have the same focus, to bring the companies they work for the best talent available.  They have several conferences every year, look at a city near you and find out how you can get in the click!

So I came across these ladies while I was standing under the heater on Friday night. Yes that is right, standing outside huddled under a tent as it is pouring rain in 40* temperatures (which is cold in Texas). So the #SX3B ladies get a mention because A. they were funny and B. anyone who drives from Toronto, Canada to Austin, Texas is okay in my book! Not to mention they convinced Ford to give them a Focus to drive, all they had to do was keep blogging and talking about the Ford Focus. I would totally sound like a NASCAR driver in every post, driving my Ford Focus!

Other fun stuff we were able to experience:

While in Austin, other than attending the sessions, we did some other pretty cool stuff, we got to see Third Eye Blind play, played Foursquare with the creators and developers of foursquare (BTW we also claimed the Superswarm (250), Super Duper Swarm (500) and Rodeo Swarm (1000) badges while at SXSW), got interviewed by Jugnoo at the #ProductTank session and met a ton of fun people. We can’t wait until next year to show the world the power of the swarm!

Until next time, keep CREATING – PROMOTING – BUZZING!

A dilemma many event organizers face is finding cost effective ways to promote their events. Whether you tackle that initiative on or off-line, finding creative ways to extend the budget can be challenging.  We spoke with some our top notch buddies and decided to give you a small sample of ways to effectively get out your message for close to nothing other than investing in time.

1. LinkedIn – Not just for finding jobs anymore.  Complete your profile 100% then utilize the powerful features of Groups, Events, and the Business profile page.
2. Facebook – Facebook is more than just a way to keep in touch with Aunt Bee.  Create your fan page and utilize it to engage with your fan base.
3. Twitter – is not just for celebrity potty breaks and self-deprecating bathroom mirror photos. Twitter is actually a powerful tool to use in conjunction with other social media outlets. Amongst other things, talk about your event to the people who attend.
4. Youtube – While we all want to “go viral” the object here is to just promote.  Create your own video, infomercial or basic commericial and utilize the “big 3” social media outlets above to promote and create awareness.
5. Location Based Apps – Let’s face it, the world has gone mobile. Social Media is no longer a fad and you can’t ignore the amount of smart phones and tablets taking over our everyday working needs. Tap into the power of the people and use them to help spread the love about you and tell their inner circles where they are. Apps like FourSquare and Locai are ideal for this.
6. Slideshare Presentations – Create a presentation about your event, one idea is a sponsorship proposal presentation to show potential sponsors.  Include links and lots of information.
7. Email Marketing – Email Marketing is more than bombarding your carefully cultivated list with newsletters and “buy me” ads.  Use targeted marketing strategies for certain demographics and locations.
8. Email Signatures – While Email marketing is important, so is your normal everyday email signature. While the basics are important (name, title, phone) you should also include a logo, website link, and social media links.
9. Online Registration – Using a company like Bswarms, you can increase your attendance and keep the event organized.
10. Industry Website Listings – every industry seems to have a “niche” in which you can find specific related websites where people congregate outside the world of normal social media.  Find these websites, blogs or forums and contribute you knowledge about the industry and also post about your event. If your industry has specific calendars you can post the dates and information on for free, then add to them all!

As a bonus we added another nugget of information for you to think about.  Don’t forget your website!

1. Website presence – Having a website which gives information on your event is a must. We don’t recommend spending your whole budget, but first impressions are important when it is you versus your competitor and your audience has one event to choose from. Having a registration page with very large “Register Now” buttons are very important!

So there you have it, 10 +1 small tidbits on how you can market your event for free. The event doesn’t matter, sports to business to fundraising, it can all apply.

From time to time we are asked, “What sets you apart from your competitors?”  We can give you the dog and pony show with a list of our features and benefits, but the reality is, there are just too many to mention.  Truth be told, we sit around and argue anyway over which feature is the best.  So, we rounded up the best minds within BSWARMS and asked them their thoughts on what is truly “Freakishly Awesome!” Here is what they had to say:

Mike The Account Manager

 

The most innovative feature we offer is the addition of our iPhone app. The new age of smart phone technology calls for a more advanced registration system, and the App answers that request. The new App allows for electronic check-in which dramatically speeds up the line. It also reduces the stress of keeping up with last minute registrants. Forgot to print out the updated attendance sheet? Problem solved! No more paper cuts, highlighter stains, or lost names.

 

 

Erica The Graphic Genius

 

The dashboard has continued to evolve. By simplifying the appearance and highlighting points of interest, we have allowed the user to focus on what really matters. At a glance, organizers can quickly monitor the success of their swarm. With the addition of the “Checklist,” organizers have a quick visual reference as they plan their swarm. It’s brightly colored green check marks help the user determine what is left in the swarm planning process.

 

 

Our Guest blogger!

 

As an event organizer, the feature that I like the best is the “show form responses” page.  This allows for quick access of important information that is ever changing.  With one click, I have all the information I need.  As an event nears, the information we gather from attendees is vital to the success of our event.  With other registration systems this is a multi step process, which requires downloads and manipulation of data.  Not with Bswarms!  It’s all right there in one location and pre-sorted for you…It’s the little things that make the life of an event planner easier!

 

Travis The Hive Director

 

The feature I think is the best is actually one of the simplest and least glamorous of them all.  I actually dig the email notification the organizers receive when they have activity on the swarm.  Not only do I get a ton of compliments on how great it is, it actually saves the Event organizer time during the busy and hectic days leading up to an event.  I mean seriously all the important information you need is right there when you wake up and check your email.  You get the financials, the number of people registered and a quick notification on the countdown to your event.  The best part is, this is still our beta model, the more robust version is yet to come.  I can’t wait to see the look on the faces of the Bswarms faithful when they get that email!

Dwamian The Candlestick Maker

 

Being the wizard behind the curtain, asking me to pick a favorite feature is like asking me to choose a favorite child.  I think every feature we have is “Awesome” if you must know.  However, one of my favorite organizational tools has to be the “Checklist”.  After you enter your main dashboard, whether for the first time or continually throughout the various stages of your event, the checklist reminds you exactly what you have done and what you have not.  We tried to keep it as simple as possible without over bearing you with all of the items you need to do in order to have a successful event.

 

 

Swarmmy Says!

 

We choose to make the lives of our clients just a little easier than before.  One way is with the brand new email and text messaging system which was just released in version 2.0.  We are not trying to replace your email marketing machine; however we are trying to save you precious time by making it easy to contact people associated with your event in just a few simple steps. Future ad-ons to this feature include voice messages and the ability to upload lists.  So send messages the morning of your event in a text message if you want to, after all, who doesn’t like a morning text saying welcome?!

Want to argue with us and give your two cents? Head on over to the Hive, create your account and see which feature you think is Freakishly Awesome! We know there are more, and we want to hear from you!

Since we were kids we have always had the urge to collect, use and put stickers all over the place. We would get stickers as rewards for being good students (never got a gold star!) to committing awesome plays in football.  I remember having everything from the stickers that came in my football cards to Garbage Pail kids.  I put stickers on everything, including my bicycle and my trapper keeper not to mention the photo album I had to collect them.

Now you can relive some of the old days too.  For a limited time only, register your event on BSWARMS, publish it live and you will receive 1000 FREE stickers.  From December 20 through January 20, any event you list with us and “make it live” by accepting registrations, you will be eligible for this offer.

You can utilize these stickers to promote your event, your brand or whatever you want! Just click on the button below to get started!

stick me

Thanksgiving is all about celebrating what you are thankful for. Spending time with family and having a large meal shows that you appreciate the people in your life and the food you have available to eat.

For many of us here in the HIVE, we celebrate a little different, but that doesn’t mean we necessarily are worlds apart.  Our unique differences are make us work so well together. We come from other countries, other states and have various differences in everything from the food we eat to the music we listen to.  Those differences are what makes us the awesome group that we are.

One thing we all agree on is our love of sports and the Dallas Cowboys! So while we all indulge in our guilty pleasures and are miles apart from each other, we all know, we are thankful for each other.  Without a doubt we will be texting, facebooking, tweeting and wishing each other a glorious day with our respective families. (GO COWBOYS!)

Here are Bswarms we are thankful for our wonderful, hardworking and loyal employees who have made our company what it is today.  We are also thankful for all of our clients who have utilized our services, provided us with your feedback and help us achieve our goals in this industry. We are also thankful for our families, with the love and support of them none of this would be possible.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy this weekend with your family and friends as we will be also. We are taking some time off for the holidays to charge our bee batteries. Have a Safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Travis Blythe is a co-founder and Director of Business Development at Bswarms.

Smart phones are getting smarter every day. We just made yours even smarter! Bswarms is proud to announce the launch of its first Mobile App for the iPhone. Now you no longer have to worry about how you are going to check registered attendees or participants into your events.  Use your phone to do it.  Our first release of the App is very simple to use and has some awesome features.

Hive Sync: When you check in an attendee it will sync automatically with your swarm.  When an Internet connection is available, check ins are immediately synced with our servers and to any other devices you’re using at the event.  Whether you are utilizing several phones, iPads or a laptop, they are all instantly synced.

PDF Ticketing: When your event attendees print check-in passes (event tickets) after they sign up for your event, each ticket will have a QR code that uniquely identifies them and allows for easy check-ins at your event.

Multiple Attendee Check-in Options: Our App allows two ways for you to check in your attendees, you can manually find their name in the list of attendees (just like your contact list on your phone), or use the QR code scanner built into the app.  Yes it really is that simple.

Hands-free scanning: No buttons to push, just point and shoot like your favorite camera!

Stop carrying around that bulky clipboard of your event attendee Lists. We have an app for that! This App is just the beginning of the mobile revolution lead by Bswarms.  Stay tuned for the Android version coming in the near future.

Want to join the HIVE? Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and join the conversation!

The whole reason Bswarms exists it to address the pains and frustrations expressed to us by many of our clients about the experience they’ve had with other online registration service. Our primary mission is to encapsulate power and flexibility, in an easy to use service. Our first version was a big hit and got rave reviews. Not too shabby for a newbie on the scene right? Well, excuse us for not being satisfied.

In our continued effort to provide the level of service we think organizers deserve, we have launched version 2.0 of the system, affectionately named Honeycomb.

Here is a run-down of a few new and improved features.

PDF Ticketing

Your event attendees can now instantly print check-in passes (event tickets) after they sign up for your event. Each ticket has a QR code that uniquely identifies them and allows easy check-ins at your event.

Attendee Check-in

Our system now handles onsite check-ins of your attendees using either the web interface or our cool new iPhone application to scan tickets. All aspects of the check-in process is synced with the database of your attendees within Bswarms.

Event Check-in iPhone App

Stop carrying around that bulky clipboard of your event attendees. We have an app for that!

Private Event Sessions

Running a special on a daily deal site? Organizers can now designate private event sessions which will be hidden from general public view. Public sessions can also be hidden when viewing a private session to streamline the promotion of that session.

Contextual Export

Our fancy title for a feature built to make your life simpler. Contextual Export automatically updates the export function to export just the data-set returned by any search you do within the system. No complicated check boxes. No Hassle.

Detailed Transaction Reporting

See the full details of all transactions and which attendee each transaction is associated with. Organizers can also do detailed searching and contextual exports of transactions by date range and keywords.

Advanced Attendee Search & Save

Bswarms performs powerful searches against your attendee data with an easy to use search interface. Use natural language to get the right data. Organizers can also save the search for later use.

Advanced User Permission

Control what each user can manage within your Bswarms account.

Scheduled Email and SMS communications

Send scheduled email or sms communication to your event attendees.  This new feature can also send to just the attendees of a saved search.

Custom CSS

Wanna get a little more creative with your event page? Know a little CSS? Have at it. Organizers can now enhance the look of their event page with powerful custom CSS code.

… and over 50 other enhancements.

We are a little obsessive about Bswarms, so stay tuned as we continue to roll out features that are sure to rock your world. BTW, we didn’t mention a pretty exciting feature we currently have beta testing called D.A.D.E. D.A.D.E is sure sure to change your expectations of other event registration system, enhance your event organizer productivity and increase your event attendee. If you would like to join the beta program for this feature please send an email to ai.dade@bswarms.com

Peace.

- Dwamian Mcleish is a Co-Founder and Director of Technology at Bswarms. “I won’t stop until we can create web applications that taps into every physical and meta-physical sense we have”, says Dwamian. Let’s cheer him on.

By: Mike Walsh, Former RRCA State Representative – North Carolina

How one club cracked the code on holding safe events with minimal controversy

We all know the stories of the safety issues caused by lack of awareness by headphone wearers in race.  From those that impede emergency vehicles trying to reach a medical problem to those that injure other participants because they can hear neither, the safety issues are clear.  Equally clear is that a new generation of runners accustomed to using their headphones is entering our races, with an oftentimes heated clash resulting between races that wish to ban headphones and users who want to wear them.

In 2006 I was the president of the North Carolina Roadrunners Club (NCRC) in Raleigh, NC, and as a club we made a commitment to following the RRCA guidance of a no-headphones policy in our races.  Over the next four years the implementation was honed and perfected.  Today NCRC enjoys a nearly perfect compliance to the headphone ban, minimal controversy, and overall safer and more enjoyable races.  And despite worries in our sport that a no-headphones policy will negatively affect runner turnout, today NCRC races are larger and more successful than ever.

What follow are the 3 key steps that clubs can take to a pain-free implementation of a no-headphone race policy.

1. Decide your policy and consequences for violation

First part is simple.  Make your commitment to banning headphones in your races and to seeing the policy through any initial bumps or resistance.  For most clubs, the easiest language is to say “The use of headphones is prohibited in our race for safety reasons.”  My advice is that with the shifting rules in the running governing bodies and different insurance conditions, avoid trying to point at rules or insurance as external justification. Keep the message simple.

The next part is the one you want to discuss.  What should be the consequences for a violation?  In most of our NCRC races a headphone user is immediately disqualified (DQ) and does not receive a race time or place.  Some of our race directors feel strongly enough about the issue that they will permanently ban any violators from future occurrences of the race.  The important part is to make the consequences something that you can and will follow through on.

2. Communicate, communicate, communicate

Your headphone policy and consequences for violation should be prominently communicated anywhere detailed information on your race is featured including your race brochure, application waiver, race poster, web page and online registration page.

Remember to communicate at your race site as well.  As a club we had signs made for placement at the parking lot entrances to communicate the headphone ban and to be placed on the registration tables.  You could even have a “headphone check” of a cardboard box with plastic bags and a pen to label the bag with the owner’s name – remember to collect just the inexpensive headphones (not the expensive music player).

Be sure to have several announcements about the headphone ban made by your PA announcer, including one final announcement right before the start.  One additional touch you might consider is to have club members walk through the field before the start to politely mention the ban to anyone still wearing headphones – they probably never heard the announcement of course!

3. Enforce your policy

All will be for naught if you fail to enforce your policy.  Because we took the measures in steps 1 and 2, as a race director I only had to DQ one person over three years.  Her response to me was “But NOBODY actually enforces that rule!”  Trust me, to get compliance the word needs to get out that you are serious.  But, once the word does get out, your job becomes much easier.

The simplest way to enforce your policy is to station special course monitors to look for headphone violators and to note their race numbers.  Once the monitors return to the finish line, they turn in the race numbers of the violators to the timing company to DQ those runners.  If you are short on volunteers, one monitor a short distance from the finish line will catch most violators, but ideally you want a monitor at start, finish and at several points on the race course.

Should you get complaints from a user who is disqualified, our experience is that you must avoid over explaining the policy and that the race director should field all complaints.  A race director is well served to keep their response brief and to the point: “As director of this race it was my judgment that headphone use would create a safety issue and as a result our policy was no-headphones for this race with a penalty of disqualification for violation.  We communicated that policy in the race brochure, on the website, in the application waiver, made four PA announcements and had signage in the parking lot and at the registration tables.  I had no choice but to disqualify you for violating the no-headphones policy which we more than adequately communicated to all participants.”  Avoid getting into an argument or defending your decision – it is your race, and it is your responsibility to provide a safe experience for your runners.

And that’s it.  Three simple steps, but effective ones to implementing a pain-free no-headphones race policy.  Through clear communication to our participants and commitment to seeing the policy through we’ve had minimal complaints from runners.  In fact, we have had many compliments to the effect that runners appreciate being able to race without any of the safety problems of headphone use. Our experience at NCRC has been very positive, and we hope other clubs can benefit from what we learned.

Spice up your trade-show or expo event with photo fun at your exhibit

What makes Labor day special? For some it is the end of summer and back to the fall grind, school starts, the pools are closing, and football is kicking off. We found an interesting statistic compiled by Hotwire on the top Ten destinations on Labor Day weekend for 2011. Our beloved city and hometown of Dallas, TX is ranked at #9.  All I can say is wow, who would have thought of all the travel destinations in the world, Dallas makes the top ten? Well, we for one did! We love Dallas and it is no surprise people flock here to spend time with us. We have evolved into more than just a cowboy hat and boots kind of city. We have everything from big business to elite sporting events and teams.  Bswarms has a mirror image to Dallas in that way, we are just as versatile when it comes to the type of events you can create and manage in our system.  That flexibility is the key to what makes us just as unique as our beloved city.

Now that the summer is winding down, Labor Day also signifies when our family vacations have all been taken, and after our three-day weekend we get back into the work grindstone.  This usually signifies the second peak time of the year in terms of conferences, trade shows, expos and work related learning and educational meetings.

With that being said, now is the perfect time to either start planning your event for early 2012 or to get your last minute registration started.  Either way, Bswarms has everything you need to get started. We purposely created our system to keep the Labor to a minimum for you.

We sincerely wish all of our family and friends a safe and enjoyable  Labor Day Weekend!

~Queen BEE