Poof! It’s that time of the year again – in the blink of an eye.
You hear the Christmas carols; the new year resolutions; the festive music, and it sets the right mood to get you reflecting and thinking, “What have I accomplished this year?”
“What did I do right this year?”
“What did I do wrong this year?”
“What can I do better next year?”
The best way for us to improve is to look back at history and pick out the key tips we can bring over to use in the next year. In the spirit of Christmas, here are 12 event management and event marketing tips from 2015.
1. Use Social Media Walls
Integrating social media wall platforms at your event can guarantee a higher level of interest and engagement with your attendees. With social media walls, you can:
- Promote your event through #hashtags and have #hashtag content appear on your displays to get people talking – which generates user content. Build your presence on social media and get bigger publicity.
- Bring live updates to your attendees and create spaces to feature both your sponsors and extra content.
- Spark conversations by having thought-provoking topics or questions up on the wall for attendees to respond to.
Check out 7 Social Media Wall Platforms for Your Next Event to consider.
2. Implement Virtual & Augmented Reality Technology
With new technological advancements and developments through the years, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (ar) has come a long way since. You now have a myriad of VR and AR devices available that bring the digital realm closer to reality. Event organizers are now experimenting and implementing with said devices to bridge physical distance and create opportunities for attendees to experience their events from any location in the world. You can now reach out to target audiences that you never thought you could previously. Embrace new technologies and design your events differently to increase your outreach.
See how Virtual & Augmented Reality are The Future of Events.
3. Leverage on Social Media Influencers
Bring the crowd in with social media influencers. With their popularity and credentials, attendees are more likely to listen to them and trust the things that they talk about. Their words have weight. Working with the right social media influencers can:
- Create both credibility and awareness for your events
- Spark and sustain interest for your events from start to finish
- Impress attendees through great engagement at different stages of an event’s lifecycle
If you’re not sure how to go about getting started, here are 5 Steps to Leverage Social Media Influencers for Events.
4. WOW Your Attendees Onsite
Leave a lasting impression on your attendees by WOWing them onsite. All the pre-event hard work might go to waste if your event doesn’t impress when they attend. To create an awesome onsite experience for your attendees, you should:
- Estimate the onsite registration attendance size
- Evaluate your onsite hardware
- Destroy the concept of queue lines
- ‘Tweeten’ the deal for attendees to attend
- Eventception – an event within an event
- The right onsite staff
- Proper event setup and training for staff
Read more on the 7 Tips to create an Awesome Onsite Event Experience and WOW your attendees at your next event.
5. Effective Email Marketing
Reach out to your attendees through effective email marketing campaigns that send the right messages to the right people. Increase email response rates and get more registrations for your next event. Achieve the registration numbers you want by ensuring your emails have:
- Segmentation
- Personalisation
- Call-to-actions (CTAs)
- Responsiveness
- Automation
Learn more about the 5 Simple Tips for Effective Email Marketing.
6. Compelling Call-To-Actions (CTAs)
Increase click rates on your websites and emails by creating compelling CTAs. Where you put it, how you design it and what the button says are all key in getting people to register. Content is king, yes, but you need to seal the deal with a great CTA. When creating CTAs, consider the:
- Position
- Language
- Colours
- Shapes
- Size
- Space
- Time
Check out the 7 Tips for Compelling Call-To-Actions (CTAs) and learn from effective examples that are live.
7. Frictionless Online Registration
Create a seamless and hassle-free registration experience for your potential attendees. No one likes to fill up too many forms or get frustrated while registering for an event. There are mandatory data fields you have to capture for analytical purposes, but there is also the experience to consider. Keep your forms simple, easy and responsive so anyone can register from any device quickly.
Follow these 3 Steps for a Frictionless Online Registration Experience.
8. Gamification
Get your attendees interested and psyched for your entire event through the use of gamification. Why so serious? Gamification methods could provide the necessary edge in your events to push visitors to visit exhibitors’ booths or achieve the goals you have set. Create incentives and reward your attendees accordingly to encourage the participative behavior you want onsite. Some objectives to consider are:
- Raising interaction between exhibitors and attendees
- Creating networking opportunities
- Building your presence on social media
- Creating a memorable event experience
Here are 5 Gamification Apps to Engage Attendees at Your Event to get you started.
9. Having the Right Social Media Persona
Open up the communication channels with your attendees. Create the right social media persona to share your event’s branding and awareness. Talk to people on social media and find out what attendees want – what attendees need. With your social media persona, you can:
- Identify the right target audiences
- Communicate the right messages
- Engage your attendees through topics or contests that matter to them
- Improve your events through the honest (sometimes brutal) feedback
- Promote future events and content that you normally couldn’t with other communication platforms
Still unconvinced? Here are 5 Reasons Why You Should Have a Social Media Persona for Your Event.
10. Sponsorship
Yes, sponsorship – a classic one. You can never get enough of sponsorships. They are extremely useful – and in some cases crucial to the success of your events. You want sponsorships for your events because:
- It is the way to go to get your events paid by a separate party, giving you more budget and space to create the best event there is.
- You can build credibility if you do not have the necessary ‘street cred’ with your target audiences.
- Some sponsors can get publicity and press coverage for your event – which only serves to bring your event to the next level.
Imagine what you could do with the large amount of resources you have at hand that would serve both you and your sponsors well. A win-win situation. If you’re lacking in sponsorship ideas for next year, check out 4 New Sponsorship Ideas to Thrill in 2016.
11. Promoting Through Inbound Marketing
What is inbound marketing? Well, Wikipedia states that “inbound marketing refers to marketing activities that bring visitors in, rather than marketers having to go out to get prospects’ attention. Inbound marketing earns the attention of customers, makes the company easy to be found, and draws customers to the website by producing interesting content.”
In this case, your customers are your attendees. On top of your current marketing campaigns, why not include inbound marketing strategies as well and start having attendees come forward instead?
This is a more cost effective approach that generates effective new leads for you because these are attendees who are already interested in what you have to offer before they come forward to register. You don’t want to miss out on that.
So how can you get started? Here’s How to Promote Events Through Inbound Marketing.
12. Integrating the IoT
The Internet of Things (IoT) is an environment in which ‘things’ are given unique digital identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network – without any human assistance. It ranges from things like remote lighting, smart thermostats, sensors for elderly care and more. When it comes to events, the IoT opens up many different ways to engage and analyze your attendees. Some of the things you could do with the IoT are:
- Automated Onsite Registration
- Heat Map and Movements
- Interactive Posters
Learn how you can Integrate the IoT with your event organizing efforts.
Conclusion
I hope these 12 tips come in handy for you in the coming year!
Kickstart your new year with the Gevme Xchange 2016, where you can get the latest trends and prepare yourself for the next wave of events!
Key in the promo code XMASGEVX2016 and get a 12% off this Christmas. Offer ends at midnight on 31 December 2015.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year folks!
