IMEX America, the meetings industry trade show, kicks off this week in Las Vegas. While the event and its sister show, IMEX Frankurt, each last three days, the IMEX team works year-round to foster its community of event professionals — and keep the shows buzz-worthy in the months before and after they take place.
Social media is key to building these bonds. "IMEX brings our industry together twice a year — but our social media allows us to engage with our community, and for our community to engage together, all year long," said Suzanne Medcalf Mulligan, IMEX's head of engagement.
Mulligan took over the company's social media in 2017, and credits IMEX CEO Carina Bauer with supporting "new things on social and giving me room to really explore what works, what people connect to and why they connect."
How IMEX does it
The social media engagement strategy includes Instagram and LinkedIn videos on topics that range from announcing education sessions, new show features (for example, this year's revamped appointment system) and explanations of hosted-buyer meetings policy.
The posts that generate the most buzz are the fun, day-in-the-life videos that feature members of the IMEX team prepping for the upcoming show, such as one showing Bauer and Mulligan hitting a rock-climbing wall last week, or of Mulligan introducing an IMEX partner to the joys of the Vegas Strip.
Creating content beyond the shows
Social videos also are shot during IMEX America and IMEX Frankfurt, to create content that's posted throughout the year. At IMEX Frankfurt, an interview with Norwegian celebrity chef Bengt Sjöström was a huge hit, according to Mulligan, as was a Gogglebox-style video (based on the British reality show that features families critiquing television shows) that poked fun at an IMEX Frankfurt highlight reel.
"One of my favorite comments about our social media is that it is so joyful — we have so much fun, so it makes me so happy that the joy shines through," said Mulligan.
This week, Mulligan and the social media team will be putting together more content that will be shared in the coming weeks.
Looking ahead to 2024, the IMEX engagement team will boost its postings on YouTube and will begin posting on TikTok. Contentwise, the community can expect to see more microstorytelling and more peeks behind-the-scenes of the two shows. The company recently added a digital and social media manager, and the videographers IMEX works with will be be producing more between-show videos, said Mulligan.
