A few weeks back, I watched a well-known quarterback being interviewed at a technology conference. I noticed that everyone was on their phones around me.
He said, “You know, I turned forty years old this year.” Everybody looked up. We could see the fear in his eyes and hear it in his words. What caused everyone to stop texting after this statement? Vulnerability!
Event marketing is almost impossible to recognize from its humble beginnings. Conferences and trade shows are still important, but they’re so much more modern than the corporate events of years past. Social media, email marketing, and webinars offer marketers a wide range of opportunities.
In 2019, technology was driving event marketing. This makes managing event management, event planning, event follow-up, and communication more convenient and efficient than ever. Your event can be done online via webinars or conferences, so you don’t have to see your customers in person.
All this technology may make marketing more accessible, but it can also reduce the personal touch of direct communication with prospects. We are seeing a rise in authenticity and transparency partly as a reaction to the “rise of machines” in the data-driven market.
Why event marketing is still important
Event marketing gives you ROI in all ways you can reach prospects in today’s digital marketing landscape. Bizz abo’s study found that event marketing is the most effective channel for companies to invest in.
Although organizing a physical event is expensive, digital events are cheaper to produce. However, the impressive ROI they offer proves their value to businesses.
Event marketing differs from other marketing methods in that it allows you to connect personally with your target audience.
People attend events not only to learn but also to build and strengthen relationships. Any other marketing method will not satisfy this human need. Virtual and augmented reality allows individuals to connect from around the globe, even when they are attending digital events.
How Marketers Use Digital Media to Show Authenticity
Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner, launched The Journey in 2017 as an episodic video documentary. This followed his efforts to increase ticket sales by more than 50% and the annual Social Media Marketing World conference.
The video series provided a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into the day-to-day activities of the largest social media marketing resource in the world, as well as a transparent and unfiltered view into the marketing process for the event.
Stelzner intended to reach the exact audience that found the videos’ content interesting. The documentary helped increase sales by raising awareness and building connections, likely more than any marketing activity.
Stelzner was inspired to create the GaryVee brand by Gary Vaynerchuk’s candid video series “DailyVee,” which successfully built the brand and catapulted GaryVee from being a marketing and social media expert to superstar status (the channel boasts nearly two million subscribers).
Stelzner highlighted that people are more inclined to buy from people they “know, trust, like, or respect.” His goal with the video series is to let people get to know him, not just as the CEO of a media company.
Social Media Examiners should have hidden marketers’ marketing techniques to get people to buy. It was completely transparent about its marketing strategy, including how they encourage followers to purchase through ” fear missing out,” how to identify and target its top leads, how to use emotions to sell, and what to do when things go wrong.
Be More Transparent with Your Event Marketing Approach
Although we need more resources to produce our reality TV series, there are some lessons you can learn from The Journey and put to good use when marketing your events.
Value People O data
The vast amount of online data has allowed marketers to target more campaigns better and measure success. Still, data-driven automated campaigns cannot replace talking face-to-face with prospects.