Response from tweets has Las Vegas chamber officials chirping

The Las Vegas business community is showing signs of life. At least that's what a little bird known as Twitter is indicating.

Enthusiasm over the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce's 2011 Business Expo on Wednesday generated nearly 100 tweets, and that's exactly what organizers were hoping for.

"We added something extra this year, and it makes people think about (social networking) while doing business," said Kristin McMillan, the chamber's president and CEO.

Realizing the enormous marketing potential of social media outlets such as Twitter, the chamber themed its 2011 Business Expo around getting the tweet out.

A wide-screen monitor broadcast tweets about the event, with some 2,000 attendees stopping by to see if their tweets made the showroom floor during the event at the World Market Center.

People aren't just communicating on a social basis with social media. They are looking to market their products and services, the chamber president said. So, the chamber is also taking to Twitter, Facebook and blogs to get its own message out.

"To differentiate our product from other (events), the social networks really help," McMillan said. "You can use social media to build your relationships you start at the expo."

A steady stream of tweets were sent out prior to Business Expo 2011 by both chamber officials and those planning to attend. Attendees could tweet using #BizExpo if they wanted their posts displayed for all on the showroom floor to see.

The plan seemed to have worked. About 85 expo-related tweets had been posted with an hour left in the event, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Cara Roberts said.

"Social media is making a big difference," McMillan said.

The 2,000 expo attendees matched the 2010 count, Robert said. The event drew another 180 companies as exhibitors in the World Market Center showroom.

For the first time, the chamber released a "tweet sheet" of exhibitors' Twitter accounts. AARP communications director Deborah Moore Jaquith was happy her group made the list.

"That's really cool. It is a nice added benefit," she said. "Probably we will tweet about the event."

AARP officials were also pleased with the turnout. Interested attendees crowded around the small AARP booth, jutting out into the aisles and keeping the organization's representatives busy.

"We had a really good response," Jaquith said. She gathered about 200 business cards and 100 to 200 signatures on petitions designed to save Medicare and Social Security from cuts. And that was just in the first three hours of the five-hour event.

Dunkin' Donuts representatives had a much less political agenda. Iced tea and doughnut holes brought enough people around.

The restaurant regularly uses Twitter to connect with its customers, making the event a good fit, said Kerri Escobar, Dunkin' Donuts district manager.

The chamber approached Dunkin' Donuts about having a booth at the event for the first time, and were also satisfied with the foot traffic, Escobar said.

"We had 50 to 70 people come by in the first hour," she said, while watching the line build at the booth.

One start-up company that already knew the value of working through Twitter and Facebook was Gogivit. The company is one of the first Facebook storefronts.

Merchants sign up with Gogivit and customers order gifts through Facebook. The recipient, such as someone's mother, is then notified they have a gift. People can also post gift wish lists on Gogivit's Facebook page, said Sarah Moore, Gogivit's marketing director.

"We have been signing up merchants all day. They will be added to our (online) merchant catalog," she said.

Louise Helton took a gamble by buying space at the expo, but was pleasantly surprised. The owner of 1 Sun Solar barely had a moment to talk during the event.

"We have a booth way in the back, and we've been busy all day," Helton said. "And we are not even giving away anything."

Contact reporter Valerie Miller at
vmiller@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-387-5286.