The MatriX Files

Last week, I attended and spoke at the International Foundation’s Technology and Benefit Communications Conference, held in Boston, MA. I spoke on the topic of “Next-Generation Tools to Enhance Your Communications,” or next-gen tools to communicate benefits to employees. At the end of the conference, there was an Open Forum, during which select speakers took […] The post Budget for Communications and Marketing When Proposing New Initiatives appeared first on The MatriX Files.

I’ve been thinking a lot about work 3.0 and how to make sure that my company continues to foster collaboration and create social capital, even though we’re all remote. I found this great article in Forbes by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky. I heard Dr. Tsipursky speak during one of my Vistage Worldwide, Inc. meetings and have […] The post How to Make Your Remote Culture Work: Coworking and Virtual WaterCoolers appeared first on The MatriX Files.

As you may well know, Google Analytics is a digital analytics service from Google that helps you track and analyze your website traffic. It is the most widely used analytics platform on the web, and most of us would be completely lost without it. It allows us to see where our site visitors are […] The post What is Google Analytics 4 and Should I Upgrade? appeared first on The MatriX Files.

A couple of weeks ago, I got invited by my buddy Heinan Landa, CEO of Optimal Networks, to an event by CADRE, which bills itself as “a way for elite professionals to learn from the top experts in the world, while connecting and developing meaningful relationships with like-minded peers.” The event itself was lovely, but […] The post An Example of a Really Great Event Registration Email Confirmation appeared first on The MatriX Files.

I attended the Matrix Group Security and Compliance Committee meeting this month and I asked them what we’re doing this month to make our clients and Matrix Group more secure. We talked about a lot of things, including new protocols, ongoing reviews, and our yearly security assessment. One thing kept coming: our clients need to […] The post It’s Really Time to Use Strong, Unique Passwords (Really!) appeared first on The MatriX Files.

I never really stopped traveling during the pandemic. Yes, I traveled a whole lot less, but I have seen my mom several times, I went on vacation, and I have attended out of town conferences. Just since the start of the New Year, I’ve been to San Diego, San Francisco and New York. Whenever I […] The post What’s It Like to Travel These Days? appeared first on The MatriX Files.

During the pandemic, Matrix Group has hired new staff. Most of them are out of state because, you know, why not? We are all remote anyway, so why does it matter if Mark is in New Jersey? Not to mention the fact that finding great talent is so tough right now, who cares if Mark […] The post Onboarding New Staff During a Pandemic and the Power of Company Fundamentals appeared first on The MatriX Files.

It’s a new year and with a new year comes new year’s resolutions. Many of us resolve to tidy up our closets and garages. This past holiday season, I decided to declutter my digital life. Here’s what I ended up doing: Cleared my Email I have unlimited storage in Gmail, which is a good thing […] The post Ready to Declutter Your Digital Life? appeared first on The MatriX Files.

It’s 2022 and it feels like 2021 again. We’ve got another COVID wave, more lockdowns, more virtual schooling, more work from home, canceled trips, and a country more polarized than ever. I can sense fatigue and hopelessness from my family and my staff. During these times, I turn once again to a great video from […] The post What the Vietnam War and the Stockdale Paradox Can Teach Us About How to Face 2022 appeared first on The MatriX Files.

It’s December 22, 2021. Phew! Another year has come and gone and as usual, I’m thinking about the coming year. I’ve been having conversations with my team, friends in the industry and fellow CEOs about what to expect in 2022 and we all agree that next year will be another wild ride. Who wants to […] The post Reflections from 2021, Thoughts for 2022 appeared first on The MatriX Files.

Want to elevate your next in person or virtual conference? Consider hiring a professional emcee! We recently hosted the SQF Unites conference for the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI) in BeSpeake, our virtual meeting platform. SQFI wanted to elevate their virtual conference and ensure that their attendee journeys were meaningful and intuitive. To help with […] The post Elevate Your Next Conference with a Professional Emcee appeared first on The MatriX Files.

We all know that video rules. Check out these amazing video statistics from 2021. I recently attended Non Dues a Palooza (NDaP) in Nashville, TN. NDaP is devoted to helping associations and nonprofits learn new ideas for generating non-dues revenue. Yes, I attended in person and it felt great! Teri Carden, the conference organizer and […] The post Using Video to Promote Your Meetings and Conferences appeared first on The MatriX Files.

My younger son and I are listening to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Andy Weir also wrote The Martian, which was a great movie and an even better book. Both The Martian and Project Hail Mary are adventure books set in space. Both are full of science and science fiction. If you love space […] The post How the Air and Space Museum is Using Virtual Docents appeared first on The MatriX Files.

I’m attending Non Dues-a-Palooza (NDAP) next week in Nashville, in person. NDAP is a conference devoted to helping associations and nonprofits increase their non-dues revenue by bringing together execs and solution providers, through case studies and panels. This will be my third NDAP event and I’m pretty excited. Even though the event will be in […] The post Combine Virtual and In-Person Networking Before Conferences to Increase Engagement appeared first on The MatriX Files.

I attended the Virtual ASAE Annual Meeting last week. Unlike other virtual meetings I’ve attended recently, this one had a hybrid pop-up strategy. 10 cities hosted half-day in person events. I got to attend the DC pop-up on Monday, August 16. How did it work and was it successful? Here’s my review. The Venue The […] The post Review of ASAE 2021 Annual Meeting Hybrid Pop-Up in D.C. appeared first on The MatriX Files.

Heinan Landa (CEO of Optimal Networks) asked me last week: As we’re slowly returning to the office and in-person meetings, what lessons from 15 months of virtual meetings should endure? It’s a great question. Over the past year, I’ve had many clients bemoan virtual, but I’ve also had many clients express joy over the benefits […] The post What Have We Learned About Creating Engaging Meetings from Virtual Conferences? appeared first on The MatriX Files.

When it comes to search engine optimization there’s one very important thing to always keep in mind: Google doesn’t like cute, Google likes clarity. When writing any online content, whether it’s for your blog, about us page, store or resources, you must always consider the Google gods, and craft your content accordingly. While “writing for […] The post What Are Natural Language Queries and Featured Snippets and Why Do They Matter? appeared first on The MatriX Files.

“How do we add fun to our virtual meeting? How do I get people chatting during our sessions? How do we get attendees interacting with each other? These are just some of the questions we get when we meet with BeSpeake clients each week to plan their virtual meetings. While there’s no magic formula, here […] The post How BeSpeake Clients are Adding Fun to their Virtual Meetings appeared first on The MatriX Files.

Matrix Group is working on an email signup project for a longtime client. This client wants to create an easier way for members and non-members to see all the newsletters the association has to offer, and easily subscribe to receive them. Some newsletters are open to the public, while others are members-only. The client has […] The post Why Journey Mapping is so Important to Creating Amazing Member Journeys appeared first on The MatriX Files.

During a kickoff meeting with a new BeSpeake client, I asked this question: What did not work during your annual meeting last year? Answer: While the education offerings were excellent, there were few opportunities for attendees to connect and network, and the few that did exist, were simple text chats. This client isn’t alone in […] The post We Need to Bring Back the “Meet” in Meetings appeared first on The MatriX Files.