Any event marketing agency in New York can tell you that it is no secret that our economy is driven by attention.
People have their limits as to how much of their attention resources they’re willing to donate to companies. While that’s true, there’s also a booming number of media channels and brands that are fighting for an ounce of that well of attention resources.
Nowadays, it’s nearly impossible to be noticed and make your company or brand stand out from the crowd.
Not only are you competing with other businesses in your prospective industry, but you’re also up against hundreds of other distractions (both big and small) that claim they will deliver immediate solutions or the instant gratification everyone needs and looks for.
From wordy blog posts and SEO-driven articles to cute cat videos, there’s a continuously growing overflow of data on the internet. Sure, your social media, blog, or podcast posts will help boost your visibility, but that’s not enough for growing a valuable audience.
The immediate gratification game can’t be played continuously.
You would have to convert your company into a real media house. So it’s time to switch up your game plan. One way to do that is by making the most of your event marketing.
The truth about event marketing
Events are a powerful means of communication that companies can use to their advantage when they want to convey their brand story and expressively increase their company’s audience reach.
The truth about event marketing is that at the core it is the the most effective form of promoting your business when your goal is to leverage in-person experiences and engagement. Usually event marketing is deployed in the form of conferences, seminars, product launches, workshops, etc.
Event marketing is the most efficient way of generating new prospects, educating the people about the products you sell or the services you offer, which in turn, increases your customer’s experience.
“CMOs are investing more in live events because they deliver brand messaging effectively amid the growing cacophony of digital marketing in our daily lives.” - Greg Oates
So, if you’re one of the New York Event Planner who hasn’t taken event marketing as serious as you should, no may be the time for you to start testing the waters with this transformational approach.
How can event marketing help your brand grow?
Utilizing event marketing to promote your brand is not as simple a task as when you publish Instagram or Facebook posts daily. As a matter of fact, besides needing to have some strong affiliates in your contacts list, efficient event marketing will demand that you have a strong vision.
Nonetheless, if you are still trying to dissect how to make event marketing work for your business, there are a few approaches that the team at The Event Planner Expo recommends you take:
Give your attendees something to talk about
First ask yourself this, why is it that people even like attending events?
The answer is quite simple: People find events to be astonishing and are usually looking forwards to whatever the surprise element of the event will be.
Besides that, events are an excellent escape from the day-to-day nine to five routing. Events can also provide new industry insights along with providing a networking platform to build your contacts.
As stated by the Experiential Marketing Content Benchmarking Report,
“There is no other marketing medium that provides anywhere near the power of live experiences to generate authentic customer content that event participants share enthusiastically with their friends, family and social networks.”
Therefore, your goal shouldn’t be to just plan and host an event where you’re aiming to display new products or services.
The absolute opposite is true, you have to gear your focus towards designing a memorable experience that your guests will love, share out on their social media profiles, and discuss with others.
Transform people’s perception about your brand
Your audience, whether it be a social or corporate event, don’t care too much about your products or services. What they actually care about is how your brand is making them feel.
Events are an excellent platform for your company to provide gratifying and positive dynamics that are going to make people want to connect to your brand.
Add massive value during events
Events are not where you want to convey how awesome your products and/or services are. Instead, what you want to use events for is creating opportunities where you demonstrate ways that you can add actual value to your guests.
You can add value by contracting keynote speakers that will offer new insights or by scheduling actionable workshops that attendees will find helpful to overcoming industry challenges they’re experiencing. In other words, you need to shift the dynamic to giving something to your audience rather than asking something of them.
This is an effective approach to strengthening the relationship between your brand and the audience.
Create a space for real connection
Everyone has become accustomed to the digital world we are living in, but it’s important that we not overlook the snowballing significance of face-to-face experiences. A 2017 study conducted by The Experience Institute, named “The Decision to Attend,” emphasized that 76% of the people who were interviewed (from various generations) vowed for the relevance that live events have because of the positive environment they afford us for building connections.
Consequently, these new connections can strengthen your brand’s entire network. Additionally, it will help your team interact more with your prospects and customers in a more personalized form which will help your company learn what their expectations are and understand their needs a lot more.
Conclusion
If your goal is to connect or reconnect with your prospects, existing customers, or your staff, event marketing is one of the most operative forms to convey your brand’s message while keeping the motivation on serving (not selling to) your guests.
If you’re an Event Planner who specializes in event marketing, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact us to be featured on our blog as a guest blogger that can contribute a valuable article for event professionals.
