Growing Our Online Presence (or how to be in more than one place at the same time) - by Matt Hamnett

When I first joined the conferencing team at the University of Leeds in 2009 there were two social platforms that we knew we had to be a part of if we wanted to communicate with our customers online. 

The social space has been shaken up over the past few years creating a much broader market share and a new approach to sharing content online.  For a long time marketing via social media began and ended with Twitter and Facebook but as more and more social platforms have gained ground, and members, it’s become impossible to ignore the places where our customers are spending their time online.

Facebook and Twitter are now the veterans of the social media world as an endlessly growing number of social networks provide new spaces for people to hang out, pin photos, create videos, share experiences and make buying decisions.

Pinterest was launched just 3 years ago but already has over 70 million users and gets over 2.5 billion page views each month.  It’s also been reported that it drives more traffic to websites than Twitter and LinkedIn combined – and who doesn't want their customers to end up on their website?!  These figures alone are enough for us to realise that it’s a social space that we’d like to be part of but what really drew our attention to the network was that it seemed an ideal place to showcase the breadth of facilities that we can offer.  Our Pinterest board is still very much in its infancy but it’s a fun place to be and we see a lot of potential in it.

Google is going to incredible lengths to make sure that its social network, Google+, is a success.  Recently they've replaced YouTube’s comments with G+ comments, given G+ more impact for local businesses and a G+ presence will even mean a higher placement in Google search results. So far all of this seems to be working - a study last year showed that G+ has over 343 million monthly users and 34% of all social logins; that surpasses both LinkedIn and Twitter.

We started using Google+ a while ago and love its clean interface and easy to use experience.  The fact that it helps people find our facilities online too is, of course, a great bonus!  Add YouTube and the importance of Google Maps to online search and Google are certainly doing plenty to keep us busy.

It’s not just social media that’s changed at such a pace either.  Email marketing is still as important as ever, websites are crucial hubs that should collate all of your online activity, responsive websites are expected by anybody visiting your site on a mobile device and 2014 is apparently the year that content marketing will fully mature.

Thankfully, Meet in Leeds have always enjoyed being ahead of the game and so we’re growing our team to make the most of what’s to come.  We look forward to seeing you on the next big thing!

Reacquainted with Oxley - by Lisa Wood

I recently took a trip down memory lane and visited Oxley Hall with my colleague Natalie Ruecroft (AKA Ginger).  I used to be the Assistant Hall Manager at Oxley Hall some 16 years ago and I must say I felt like a queen living, and working, in such a beautiful hall.  What a way to start my University career!

Working in the central sales office we have recently had a number of new enquiries for Oxley, hence our visit to introduce Natalie to the hall, and for myself to be reacquainted with the venue that kick-started my career.

I have fond memories of Oxley and the lovely surroundings. There are new flats in the grounds now as well as the main hall bedrooms, enhancing the selling opportunities – perfect for my current role!

Since visiting I have already secured a hockey camp booking for the Hall (ideal with it being next to Weetwood playing fields that are managed by the University’s sports department) and potentially a government booking at the venue also.

Post by MEETinLEEDS.

Knowing the Hall as I do I am confident that they will all have a fantastic stay and that they’ll all enjoy a real Oxley Hall welcome!

Oxley Hall is our #venueofthemonth for February.  You can find out more about Oxley Hall at www.meetinleeds.co.uk/oxleyresidences

Our Big Day! - by Natalie Ruecroft

As you've no doubt read already, September 1st 2013 saw the University of Leeds host its very first wedding fayre at Devonshire Hall.

This was a project that the sales and marketing team had begun working on only 3 weeks prior to the fayre taking place so needless to say, those 3 weeks were jammed packed with planning and also excitement! Who doesn't love a good wedding?!

The lead up to our very own big day saw new MEETinLEEDS web pages created, regular tweets and Facebook statuses and an advertising campaign taken out with the Yorkshire Post. One of the newspaper adverts even featured an interview from yours truly – a very proud moment for my mother I'm sure!

The day itself was a huge success. With over 40 brides in attendance, wedding cars displayed in the courtyard, the live band playing and the foyer filled with exhibitors the day had a fantastic atmosphere. It
really was a brilliant day that everyone enjoyed, including the MEETinLEEDS staff who dressed up for the occasion complete with button holes and corsages courtesy of our exhibiting florist.

As a result of the fayre so far we have 3 happily confirmed brides and more enquiries in the pipeline waiting to confirm The University of Leeds’ very own Devonshire Hall as their dream wedding venue.

Socially Adept - by Matt Hamnett

For a conference sales office at a major UK university we like to think of ourselves as a sociable, friendly and interesting group of people who will go out of our way to help our customers. For those of you who have been keeping up with this blog I hope that this has come across well: perhaps we’ve helped you manage your event, understand your competition or even cater for your in-laws?!

In order to show everybody just how sociable and helpful we are we use a number of very different online tools; we have a YouTube channel, a news page, a Flickr account, a regular email newsletter and of course this blog. 

All of these have been fantastic ways to keep in contact with our growing number of customers but it is our twitter account that has seen the most online progress.

Just recently we’ve moved past the 500 followers mark. Ok, we’ll never be a Stephen Fry or Justin Bieber, but seeing as we rarely promote ourselves on twitter we’re very pleased to have made an impression on so many people.

To satisfy this demand for more information on our venues and services, and in order to reach out to a different audience, we’ve developed a Facebook page.

We’re interested to see where this latest social space will take us and we hope you will join us by liking our Facebook page.