One of the buzzwords of 2011 is “community.” Everyone wants to build one, sustain it, and potentially profit from it. The question is, how do you build one around your event that is vibrant, active, and passionate? That’s one of the things we asked Justin Ramers, director of social media, and Eric Olson, general manager of events, with The Active Network, which offers online event management, marketing solutions, and registration software. Here’s what they had to say.

MeetingsNet: The Active Network has been a network for people who do marathons and other endurance events, those who participate in parks and recreation activities, and campers. Now that you’re getting involved in providing end-to-end enterprise event management for corporate clients like Cisco and HP, are you finding that companies and business-to-business associations expect the communities they build around their events to be as passionate and engaged as communities around, say, a triathlon event?

Justin Ramers, director of social media, The Active Network

Ramers: It’s a mistake to try to fit the super-passionate community model [at hobby sites] to B2B events. Not that you shouldn’t build a social media network around your event, but you do need to keep in mind the sharing and connections will be different.

Olson: While social networks and other communities, particularly when you’re talking about associations, may not be as exciting as those that center on a triathlon, they may be more meaningful. After all, associations are created to share information and connections around a common professional or trade bond. Community is at the core of the association world, and events support the community. But associations do need to adapt their business model to be more modern. Controlling information and holding it hostage by making people pay for access is an outdated concept. Social media can be a tool to help them survive.

Eric Olson, general manager of events, The Active Network

It all depends on the problem you’re trying to solve. In the corporate space it’s a little tougher, but it can be done. Look at companies like Cisco. A few years ago, they introduced a community around their biggest event, which was focused on collaboration among their developers. The next year, they took the event virtual to reach a whole new audience.

Folks who have done this well, whether on the corporate or association side, have stayed laser-focused on the mission of their organization and, more specifically, of their event. Those who succeed align the technology to their goals, not the other way around.

MeetingsNet: What are the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to incorporating technology into an event?

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