Lionakis Marketing Manager, Carole Wenell, and Marketing Coordinator, Megan Morgan, jumped at the chance to “Ride The Wave” at the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Pacific Regional Conference, held January 30-February 1 in Honolulu, HI. Selected as speakers from more than 60 applicants, Carole and Megan co-presented Lionakis as a case study for implementing a successful social media marketing plan while balancing the juggling act of proposals, business development, public relations and the many other responsibilities of A/E/C marketers.
Carole started their afternoon session by recalling the firm’s recent history and initial foray into social media, blog posting and content development. Megan then talked about how the firm has upped their social media content and posting which has resulted in an increased presence, both online and in the A/E marketplace as a whole. Together they shared strategies for developing and implementing a successful social media marketing plan and an outline of “how we got here” with tips and tricks that attendees can apply to their own marketing efforts.
Overall, the session learning objectives were to share strategies to start tackling social media, a quiz to determine specific ways to start on social media or where to go next, and ideas for content that could appeal to staff and clients alike. Acknowledging that finding time, being consistent and the differences between online social media platforms are the greatest challenges, the session wrapped up with lots of great questions from engaged attendees. Megan and Carole stayed long after the session finished to continue answering questions and connecting with everyone who wanted to know more.
The three-day conference on the whole was full of valuable marketing learning sessions and networking with A/E/C marketers from all over the Pacific Region, which encompasses SMPS chapters from California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. SMPS Sacramento had a very strong turnout of attendees and Chapter President, Christopher Tejeda hosted a lovely welcome dinner Thursday evening at Koko Kalia for the group.
To finish off the week, Lionakis’ Honolulu office organized a Friday night Pau Hana picnic (which translates from Hawaiian as “finished work”). Principals Chuck Hack and Maynard Feist were also on the island for work meetings, so it was a rare and wonderful chance to connect our staff from multiple offices in a beautiful sunset location at Kakaako Park. Bryan Fujiwara, who works out of our Honolulu office, took some fantastic drone footage of the celebrations in the video below. Mahalo!
