“Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.” ~ Walt Disney
Event marketing. A tried-and-true staple of branding, engagement, and revenue generation, it’s a juggernaut that remains prominently on the radar for enterprises, SMBs, associations, and everyone in between. Bizzabo’s Event Marketing 2018 Benchmarks and Trends report shows marketers are still betting big on events, with 63 percent planning on upping not just their event budgets, but also the number of events they participate in. Why? Well, according to the study, a whopping 95 percent say live events provide attendees with a valuable opportunity to form in-person connections in an increasingly digital world.
And indeed, this extra investment and confidence in event marketing seems warranted. Event Marketer’s annual EventTrack reports offer eye-popping insights. For example, did you know that 74 percent of event attendees say that after an event, they have a more positive opinion about the company, brand, or product? When three-quarters of your audience says events are important, that’s not the kind of thing you ignore.
But what about social media and event marketing? Let’s just say they go together like peanut butter and jelly, Batman and Robin, teenagers and selfies…well, you get the idea. Think about this for a sec: 98 percent of consumers create digital or social content at events and experiences, and 100 percent share that content. At least half of those attendees will generate two to five photos, videos, or social posts, and 14 percent will share more than six posts. That’s a whole lot of event-related social interaction going on.
So, what are you going to do about it?
Effective Event Marketing: Command Their Attention
Taking your event marketing strategy to new heights requires a couple of things: the willingness to fuse the tried-and-true with the new and unexpected, enlightened tactical execution, and lots of heavy lifting. But what does that mean, exactly?
Everyone has his or her favorite go-to tactics when drumming up an event marketing strategy. However, ask yourself – is sticking to the same-old-same-old tactics holding your event back? How much further could you push awareness and participation in your event if you shook things up even just a little? Adopting a more creative approach and integrating novel techniques can help you command greater attention from existing and future audiences, and drive that all-important Fear Of Missing Out (or FOMO for you hip kids).
Getting your target audience to push that “Register Now” button and engage deeply with your event…that’s what it’s all about, right? Whether it’s harnessing the power of social media in new ways, building an out-of-this-world experiential marketing encounter, or leveraging real-time user-generated content – interactive hashtag mosaics, anyone? – intriguing your audience and adding value to your outbound social communications is what truly matters.
Interprose Goes to Washington
Guess what? The concept of powering up event engagement and participation is a topic that’s near and dear to our hearts here at Interprose. So much so that on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, Interprose founder and CEO Vivian Kelly; VP of Marketing D. Mark Durrett, and I will be making the trek to ASAE’s upcoming Marketing, Membership, & Communications Conference (#MMCConf) in Washington D.C.
During this MMCConf Learning Labs session, we’ll let you in on the secrets of how to turbocharge your conference and event engagement with real-time social sharing. We’ll be offering practical insight on crafting an effective social sharing strategy that wows audiences and gets them to become repeat attendees to events of every type and size.
If you can’t make the trip to Washington D.C., no worries. We’ll also be hosting a free companion webinar at 11am EDT on June 21, 2018 to reprise our MMCConf Boosting Conference Engagement with Live Social Sharing presentation and take a deeper dive into the art of hosting memorable events. Stay tuned for more details on what we’ll be covering and how to reserve your spot.
Remember – event marketing is among the most powerful tools in your marketing toolbox but as the old saying goes, a tool is only as good as the person using it. Be creative in your approach and augment tried-and-true tactics with a few edgier techniques, and watch as your next event becomes an unforgettable one.
See you in D.C.!
PS: Our next Interprose Master Class webinar, Boosting Conference Engagement with Live Social Sharing, is coming up at 11am EDT on June 21, 2018. Come join us!
