Is your event affected by the non-committal “California Syndrome”?

November 16, 2017

Is your event affected by the non-committal “California Syndrome”?

The “California Syndrome” as explained by Business and wealth coach JT Foxx. (JT is from Florida, and he’s got a refreshing perspective on Californians. I was attending one of JT’s seminars in Silicon Valley recently, and scribbled these notes.)

21728138_10155245649669051_8884119878215795637_n

Or: “Why everyone is so annoyingly non committal about committing to your event?”

JT quips: “It’s even worse in LA!”

Here’s an example from his event, which I attended:

Registered: 1112
Confirmed: 491
Actually showed up: 119

In my experience, having promoted more than 100 events, conferences and festivals, you need to invite 10 times as many people to your Facebook event page as you possibly hope to see. Yes, it’s the “California Syndrome,” also known as “FOMO” or “Fear of Missing Out.” There’s also the phenomenon of some of us only registering “Interested” to simply be polite to the host. Others will say they are “Interested” just to look cool. And some will lie and say we are “Interested” when we are actually “Going” because we want to protect our privacy and avoid stalkers.

Nobody tells the truth, unless it’s Eventbrite and they have to register. And even then about 25% of those who register and even pay will be no shows.

If you add the number of people who say they are “Interested + Going” you will come close to the actual turn out. So relax and don’t freak out when the number of “going” is much lower than you anticipate and your ticket sales are slow up until the 11th hour! It’s just “California Syndrome!”

social media

Posted by:

Giselle Bisson

I am a storyteller. I am a bridge between the worlds of high tech and high touch. The main communities I build are between thought leaders in Technology, Entertainment and Sustainability. (Kind of like a TED conference.) These are the early adopters, risk takers and super connected connecters who can set your ideas on fire! As a veteran Silicon Valley tech PR executive and product launch visibility expert, I have launched more than 30 paradigm-shifting products and consumer technology companies in my career — products that changed your life and are used by tens of millions of consumers. I was on the teams that introduced major innovations we now take for granted — like email, video editing, ink jet printers and mobile devices. I’ve promoted products that reached 5 million to 40 million customers — paying customers, not eyeballs. We did this almost 100% with free PR and social media — not paid advertising. Increasingly all business must be social, sustainable, sharable and conscious. And I believe social media is the catalyst of this conscious convergence and shift. I’ve learned that it’s not just about “content” or “engagement” — it’s about creating authentic communities around an event that share your news and spread the word for you. I combine social media with press relations, speaking engagements, events, social ads, email lists and street teams to generate waves of awareness that catapult your launch and sustain it. Move forward, into the future. I can help you make a Visibility Shift.

About Me

A writer, content marketer, publicist and event promoter, I have been helping visionary entrepreneurs and event producers get the attention they deserve for over 30 years.

What can I do to help you shift your visibility to the next level?

Giselle Bisson Visibility Shift