4 Quick Tips for Event Marketing Success
There’s nothing as good as being there. Live. In person. It’s great news for those of us in experiential marketing — it makes us irreplaceable. At the same time, we must always challenge ourselves to do our best to make live events exciting. Your goal is to induce FOMO for those that can’t be there. With that said, here are some things I always focus on when activating events.
1. Know what you want to accomplish.
Think about personal party planning: On one side you can simply say to all your friends “come thru on Friday.” Or, on the other hand, you might pick a theme for the party and plan a playlist and even put some thought into the menu. Typically, having an idea in mind — even for a party at home — makes a big difference.
Here’s the thing, if you don’t know what you want to accomplish with your live event, how do you know if you’re successful or not? Always set measurable goals for your experiential marketing. There may not be a Nielsen or Google Analytics we can turn too, but data should remain central to what we are doing.
Don’t get distracted by vanity metrics, focus instead on the ones that matter. With the right metrics, you can truly determine:
If your experience is resonating
When you’ve targeted the right audience
What can you truly attribute to the event
What you need to tweak for next time
2. Plan out the social element.
Not everyone can join you at a live event. That’s part of the joy for the participants. You also want to make your experience shareable. But, again, plan what story you would like your attendees to share. Give them a hashtag to use, but also guide their story by providing short, easy to understand, and compelling messages.
Ensure there is content on your own pages and social streams that your audience can easy amplify. Provide the social sharing buttons, too, so that all they have to do is hit “share.”
90% of people feel that live brand experiences deliver more compelling brand engagement. — Freeman Global Brand Experience Study
3. Pick Brand Ambassadors Wisely.
This can not be overstated. Just yesterday, we were telling one of our new hires how we've been burned by bad brand ambassadors.
Some events are staffed by the brand’s own sales, marketing, communications, or other representatives. This is great because these folks truly understand the brand and and its story. However, someone has to remind folks that this is an opportunity to engage with customers and clients. We all know its fun to socialize outside of the office, but if the company’s people only crowd together you’re missing an opportunity to tell your brand story.
When working with a staffing firm, you want to select personable, professional people who will actively try to make connections with your customers. Plus, you want to train them well.
4. Follow Up After the Event.
Thinking your job is done once the last customer heads home is a big mistake. You just put all of this effort into bringing these people together and showing them a good time while giving them the opportunity to engage with your brand. Now the fun begins.
You want to strike while the iron is hot (Is that a Southernism? I pick up new ones each day since we’ve moved to Texas) and your participants are still feeling the afterglow of being part of your experience. Follow-up with a post-event survey, get them to follow you on social media, contact them with a lead gen email, send them to a contact offer, offer them a special discount, invite them to a webinar…you get the idea. Just don’t waste this opportunity to build on what you accomplished with your live event success.
What’s an absolute must for you when it comes to event marketing success? I’d love to hear what other people think.
