Today, more than ever, we hear marketers talking about the benefits of an event marketing strategy. If you google the term, you will get a long list of the definition event marketing, tactics, tools, and implementation tips.
So, if you are a beginner in this field, you might as well feel a little lost. That’s why we have decided to start with the basics. What is event marketing, where can you implement this definition, and how?
Let’s dig into it!
The Definition – Event Marketing
Event marketing refers to all activities related to promoting a brand, product, or service. Here, we can mention holding, participating in, or attending events, as well as establishing connections with new customers or re-engaging with old ones.
If you are hosting an event, the marketing strategy should include activities before, during, and after the occasion. Generally, this strategy can help you attract new customers, increase conversions or ROI, find partners and sponsors to acquire resources.
As mentioned, the definition event marketing also includes attending events as a guest. At this point, the representative of your company should show expertise or some skills to improve your brand reputation.
Lastly, you can choose to sponsor an event as part of your event marketing strategy. Most of all, sponsorships help raise brand awareness. Thus, it’s especially beneficial in the long term.
Where To Implement The (Definition) Event Marketing?
Nowadays, unlike before, businesses need to incorporate online activities in their event marketing campaigns. In other words, it would be best to think of a comprehensive strategy, including online and offline events, to reach your target audience and metrics.
There is no limit as to where you can implement an event marketing strategy. After all, you and your team will create it. So, you might as well develop it according to your needs.
To be more specific, you can implement the definition (event marketing) in your:
- Physical events
- Trade shows
- Conferences
- Seminars
- Online events
- Virtual events
- Livestreaming events
- Webinars
You might have the time and resources and are willing to put in the effort to implement the definition event marketing. So, the only question left is, how can you develop a successful event marketing strategy?
Developing A Successful Event Marketing Program (Step-By-Step)
If you want to establish a profitable event marketing strategy, you should be aware that it’s a process first. It cannot happen overnight, as it requires several steps at different points in time.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on implementing the definition event marketing.
Set Realistic And Targeted Goals
To start, you must have a plan. You should set your goals upfront so that your marketing team and other supportive departments know the direction they are headed in. You should also establish the budget so that you know what you are working with.
For instance, you might want to reach new audiences or expand to another region. However, your goal might also be to increase conversions or strengthen the relationships with existing customers.
Each goal should satisfy the SMART criteria, meaning it should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. So, it should not be vague. Instead, you can say, we want to attract 200 new customers to our upcoming event. Once communicated to your team, they can look for ways to attain it.
Prepare Your Marketing Content
As with the goals, you should plan your content ahead. An excellent tool for this point in the process is an event marketing timeline. It should include the event schedule, speakers, key messages, etc.
Also, you need to plan the creation of your site, communication channels, tools, automation, or email campaign. The only thing at this point is to be unique, as it’s vital for creating and maintaining a competitive advantage in today’s modern business world.
Use Third Parties To Your Advantage
Third parties, such as customers, partners, or sponsors, play a crucial role in the definition event marketing. People tend to believe the word-of-mouth that comes from these people more than your in-house team.
Essentially, all your employees, sponsors, speakers, and exhibitors share the same goal, to increase your brand visibility by attracting more attendees. You can ask these people, including influencers and affiliates, to post on social media and promote before, during, and after the occasion.
The customers, in turn, can help your event marketing campaign with testimonials and reviews. You can also offer them discounts for referrals, increasing your event visitors’ number.
Start Promoting To Your Target
You should identify and segment your audience, say according to age, gender, or industry. Then, you can use these stats to find the best ways to reach these people. For example, older generations use Facebook, while teenagers mostly use TikTok. To get real-time analytics, such as webpage traffic, the location of your visitors, or the devices they are using, you can use automated tools.
Having this information, you can better match the customers with the platforms in your social media event marketing campaign.
General Vs. Personalized Tactics
At this point, you should summarize your communication tools. While you can use general access, such as an email campaign, to inform people of your event, you’ll probably need to get in more detail as well.
Say you are using Mailchimp for automated emails. No doubt, it will get the word out. However, you will also need to tailor the messages to attracts people’s interests. At this point, you can use the customer segmentation once again.
For example, if you reach out to existing customers, you can add some old event videos to the message. You can also offer them early-bird discounts, showing them the importance of customer relationships for your brand reputation.
The Importance Of The Last-Minute Push
The last few days before the event are especially important. You can use all remaining resources to engage the audience that you hadn’t been able to reach until this point. You can offer last-minute deals to grasp their attention or release the names of the keynote speakers.
Interpretation Of The Definition Event Marketing
The definition event marketing is undoubtedly a broad one. Each business or individual can develop an understanding of this term, depending on their needs and preferences. Either way, what’s important is the ultimate goal.
All activities as part of the definition event marketing are directed toward strengthening a brand reputation. It can be used to spread awareness to new targets or improving the current customer relationships. Either way, it increases the ROI for the in-house team, as well as sponsors, partners, and other third parties.
