It’s safe to say that event marketing has evolved like crazy–even just over the past few years. Drawing people to an event is one thing, but keeping them engaged is getting harder and harder. With shorter attention spans and more distractions, events need to entertain, offer relevant information, and create an experience that is “shareable”.
Hybrid events are the new normal with everything hanging on your online presence. So how can you crush your event marketing in a hybrid world?
Here are our top 3 tips:
1. Hit Deadlines and Pay Attention to Budget
It may seem obvious but don’t underestimate the power of being on time and within budget. If you “make your bed” and do the little things in your business, the bigger things work themselves out. That’s why it is so important to stay on top of deadlines and pay close attention to your event marketing budget. We have found that focusing on cleaning up the financial side of your marketing can save you up to 50% of your budget! That’s not a statistic to balk at.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Do Things Differently and Make a Change
Humans are creatures of habit. This trickles into how we run our events and marketing, and that’s just fine, but it makes it all the more crucial that we bring new ideas in every now and then. Creating a diverse marketing team can naturally push you to do new things and make changes as you work with a variety of ideas and perspectives.
Don’t be afraid to ask associations or other event marketers why you can’t do something different. If they can’t answer, you are opening up opportunities to be cutting-edge and fresh in the field. Don’t be afraid to try something new and be willing to take risks. 9 times out of 10 you’ll be better off than if you just stay the same.
3. Utilize Virtual and Hybrid Tools to Reach Your Audience
These days it’s not just a fun idea to engage with virtual tools. You need to be connected in many ways to have the greatest impact and reach. Make sure to have something to offer on virtual and hybrid platforms as well as in-person. For the virtual experiences, remember to keep them simple and easy to access. People are bombarded all day with virtual messaging and what they are craving is a simple, clear, and catchy engagement. How can you connect what you are doing in person with your audience online? Consider what feeling you can replicate in a new medium. If your social media presence is the most successful, find a way to bring that into your in-person event. Don’t settle until you have captured engagement on both platforms. This will help you reach a wider audience and double the success!
Virtual is part of the New Normal
Like it or not, virtual is here to stay. If you don’t opt-in, you are missing a large part of your audience. That’s the reality. The industry is ever-evolving; these changes are happening in real-time in virtual settings, which is why it’s so important to engage there.
If you feel like you’re in over your head, you can think of it as any other sales and marketing tool. You have the opportunity to learn how to use it, or you can find those companies that know how to create tools for you. Work with the experts if you need to! They can help you build a sales marketing tool for your very specific purpose. An excellent starting goal for virtual engagement is to get your customers to keep talking about the in-person experience. If you are on your own with virtual engagement, keep it simple. Remember that it can just be an extension of what is going well for you already.