Tips Sessions

Join in on small-group sessions at the AIIP 26th Annual Conference, where presenters will provide tips and tricks to help you grow your business.

Session 1 - Friday, May 4
2:45 - 5:00 p.m.

This 135-minute session will include time to hear from four presenters, plus a short mid-session break.

• Arthur Weiss, International Information for Intelligent Info-pro Intelligence
• Jocelyn Sheppard, Pre-Venture and Start-Up Companies Can Be Good Clients
• Danielle Conklin, The Green Info Pro: Eco-Friendly Practices for the Office
• Brandy King, How to Create an Engaging Social Media Presence
• Richard Torian, Quickbooks: Useful Reports & Other QuickBook Information
• Michele McKenna, To Be or Not to Be? That Is the Question:  Designing Effective Questionnaires
• Edlyn Simmons, What Every InfoPro Should Know About Patents
• Ed Vawter, Top Twitter Tools to Help You Connect
• Scott Brown, Top Mobile Apps for AIIPers
• Mary Ellen Bates, Joyful Marketing

Session 2 - Saturday, May 5
2:15 - 3:45 p.m.

This 90-minute session will include time to learn from three presenters.

• Marilyn Harmacek, Web Analytics: Use Your Stats to Improve Your Status
• Mark Goldstein, Gadgeteering for Info Pros Tips Session
• Cynthia Hetherington, Self-Promotion for the IIP’er
• Ellen Naylor, Competitive Intelligence
• Marge King, Nonprofit Organizations as Paying Clients
• Peggy Garvin, Government Information Update
• Barbara Wagner, Why Would an IIP Want a Mentor?
  

Session Details

Arthur Weiss, International Information for Intelligent Info-pro Intelligence

Finding international information is important for many projects. However what works in the US is often different internationally. It’s not just language that differs – and finding non-English language sources is a key skill we’ll consider. The types and range of information can also differ as can the legal elements. We’ll look at finding financials, government & statistical sources and also general business data. The focus will be Europe as an example, but non-European international sources will also be considered.

Jocelyn Sheppard, Pre-Venture and Start-Up Companies Can Be Good Clients

Independent info pros are well positioned to support early-stage companies. This session will focus on three key questions: 1) What types of assistance do these clients typically need? 2) How can info pros market their services to these clients? 3) Where does the money come from to pay for these services?

Danielle Conklin, The Green Info Pro: Eco-Friendly Practices for the Office   

We all get caught up in the daily grind of running an office, which makes it easy to forget about the impact that our work makes on the environment. Fortunately, there are many simple ways to mitigate our potentially harmful practices and bring about a positive change. Recycling, energy efficiency, and offsetting our carbon footprints are just a few of the tips that will be covered in this session. (This is based on an article of the same name published in the September 2011 issue of AIIP Connections.)

Brandy King, How to Create an Engaging Social Media Presence    

Independent information professionals have been using Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to extend their brand presence to social media. But are we using it more like a megaphone or more like a telephone? The key to successful social media is to create content that encourages interaction. In this Tips Session users will gain ideas for content and presentation style that will motivate followers to talk back and talk to others. Whether you've been using social media for years or you're just starting to think about it, everyone can benefit from thinking about new ideas for content to share.   

Richard Torian, Quickbooks: Useful Reports & Other QuickBook Information   

QuickBooks reports useful to information professionals will be identified and discussed. Such reports include cash flow tracking, 1099 vendor payments, and gross profit margins by job. Questions will be addressed on these and other reporting needs, as well as any other QuickBooks questions participants have.

Michele McKenna, To be or not to be?  That is the question:  Designing Effective Questionnaires   

Designing effective questionnaires is a specific skill. We will discuss what constitutes good versus bad questionnaires and how to obtain meaningful responses.

Edlyn Simmons, What Every InfoPro Should Know About Patents   

What Every InfoPro Should Know About Patents, will cover the definitions of patents, patent families and patent searches, and will discuss mistakes commonly made by patent searchers.

Ed Vawter, Top Twitter Tools and Tips to Help You Connect   

Do you want to become a better Tweeter? Or use Twitter to find helpful information? If so, this session is for you. We will discuss some of the best tools and tips on Twitter to help you stay connected and make better use of your tweeting. The tools and tips will help you analyze your activity and followers, post more efficiently, search and find information, and integrate your tweets with other social media. We will also discuss some of the Twitter clients available and their strengths and weaknesses.

Scott Brown, Top Mobile Apps for AIIPers   

There are a ton of mobile apps out there. But what ones do we REALLY need to know about? Which ones are best for AIIPers? In this tips session, we’ll look at the short list of apps that will save you time and make your life easier – and you’ll have a chance to share your favorites with your colleagues as well. 

Mary Ellen Bates, Joyful Marketing   

Yes, you can build your business by doing only what you love to do to do. Mary Ellen’s tips will enable you to create a business you love by just being yourself, in some new and creative ways.

Marilyn Harmacek, Web Analytics   

Web analytics is the study of visitor behavior on websites. Walk away from this Tips session knowing the difference between basic web statistics and analyzing user movement. Gain insight into the analytic information available and how to report the data for maximum impact. Put these tips to work for your website or for client research. 

Mark Goldstein, Gadgeteering for Info Pros Tips Session   

Mark Goldstein and session attendees will discuss the latest and greatest new gadgets for business effectiveness, personal productivity, improving quality of living, and just plain fun. We’ll share our forward-looking radar view of evolving technology and applications that will capture the imagination (and perhaps pocketbooks) of information professionals this year and beyond.

Cynthia Hetherington, Self-Promotion for the IIP’er   

Grow your company with confidence, as we learn the resources and techniques for promoting yourself and your business.

Ellen Naylor, Competitive Intelligence   

Bring your questions, experiences and great ideas to our competitive intelligence tips on the terrace session. It will be led by Ellen Naylor, who has been a full-time CI practitioner since 1985. She has worked both in corporations and as a consultant in this space. Her specialties are sales intelligence, including win/loss analysis as well as primary collection, that is picking up the phone or gathering information face-to-face. Ellen connects with people since she thinks about why they would be motivated to share, even when cold calling. She is pretty well read in this field having been a SCIP member since 1990, and owns most books written in CI, although she hadn’t read them all yet! She has also learned that how you present what you find is crucial and that a template or a one-size fits all approach, does not work in competitive intelligence.

Marge King, Nonprofit Organizations as Paying Clients   

In this session we will discuss the nonprofit culture and how to assess whether a potential client within the nonprofit sector has the budget to pay for your services. We will also discuss the value of project-based pricing for nonprofit clients.

Peggy Garvin, Government Information Update   

Share tips on exploiting the government resources available to you online and free of charge. We’ll hit the highlights: data sources (StatsCan is now free!), government on social media and mobile platforms, and fabulous new features of old favorites.

Barbara Wagner, Why Would an IIP Want a Mentor?   

AIIP's Mentoring Committee wants you to know how the mentoring program works for members and why those who are planning to start their business in a few months could benefit.

page updated 18 Mar 2012

Conference Planning Committee

Linda Stacy, Tips Sessions Moderator

Twitter tag: #aiip12

AIIP 26th Annual Conference
May 3-6, 2012
Hyatt Regency Hotel,
One South Capitol Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA