Tag: event technology

3 Tips for Calculating Social Marketing ROI for Event Management

Posted on by Eventsforce

Untitled design (56)Social media has become a critical tool for the successful promotion and execution of events. Justin Guinn, market researcher at software reviews site, Software Advice, believes that this is largely due to how social today has such a great impact on event awareness and enrollment. It also helps that most event management software options on the market offer various social tools and integrations.

Event managers are catching on to the benefits of social strategies, which explains why 40 percent of businesses are already using social media for event marketing, and 78 percent of event organisers plan to increase their use of social media in the future. But with the rise in social media usage, many event marketers are still falling short in one critical competency: calculating the ROI of their social media strategy.

According to the 2015 Gartner report How to Measure Social Marketing ROI (available for Gartner clients), only around 56 percent of social marketing leaders are calculating an ROI for their social programs.  And without proof that their social campaigns are contributing to the success of their events, social marketers will have a hard time making a case for additional resources down the line.

As such, proving an ROI on social marketing should be a priority for event management teams who market on social channels. That’s why we’re listing three tips to help you calculate the ROI of a social marketing for event planning. Follow these guidelines to build buy-in for your social strategy.

Untitled design (26)1. Track Attendance Driven by Social Engagement Campaigns

There’s no one right answer for how to track event enrollment via social channels. As a general rule, you should be tracking the number of times a visitor lands on your website from a social networking site and also the number of those visitors who convert into customers or attendees.

The most popular tracking method for social traffic to your site is to include UTM tracking codes on your hyperlinks. UTM codes are enabled by Google Analytics and require some knowledge of that platform. Google Analytics training, which Google offers for free, is a good place to start if you’re a UTM/Analytics novice.

The UTM codes themselves are attached to the end of the hyperlinks you include in social posts, and they work as identifiers for Analytics to track various valuable metrics. They offer an invaluable snapshot of traffic driven by each post.

As Michael Stancil of PracticalEcommerce explains: “You may be wondering, ‘Why do I need to know clicks and conversions if the Facebook ad dashboard tells me this?’ That’s a valid question. But with the data provided to you in Facebook’s ad dashboard, you’re only scratching the surface. You won’t see how that traffic actually interacts on your site. And if you’re concerned about other metrics (as you should be) —such as time on site, number of pages viewed and bounce rate—you won’t be able to find them.”

Regardless of how you go about it, accurately tracking the traffic your social campaigns are driving is hugely important. Proper tracking enables you to see just how much traffic each social post is driving, as well as how much money that traffic is generating. Monitoring these various metrics will make it more clear what works and what doesn’t, and enable you to steer your social strategy in the best direction for your business.

2. Recognise the Importance of Engagement and Social Listening

Tracking social-driven traffic and tying it directly to revenue is one of the most tangible ROI calculations you can provide. But there is plenty of other value that engagement on social channels can provide.

One important metric is social listening. Engagement through social listening manifests itself in many ways, but most often takes the form of responding to concerns and complaints launched by customers at your social accounts.

According to an event marketing-focused social media article from The Bizzabo Blog, there was an 800 percent increase in social media complaints about businesses in the U.K. over one year. Likewise, the Guardian reported that one in four social media users in the U.K. used social platforms to voice complaints in the first three months of 2015 alone.

Of course, you never want customers to complain about your business, brand, products, events etc. But there is a silver lining here—recurring complaints can signal trends that need to be addressed.

Even a single complaint has value, in that it organically opens the door for you to engage the customer and respond to their complaint. And if you’re going to respond, be timely about it. The Bizzabo Blog states that 40 percent of customers who complain on social media expect a response within one hour.

Your engagement, whether it’s to offer a solution, recompense or even simply acknowledge the complaint, is a successful social touch point that contributes to the overall customer advocacy of your organisation. In fact, Bizzabo found that when a complaint is answered by a business, it leads to a 25 percent increase in customer advocacy.

calc3. Leverage Social as a More Efficient Channel of Communication

The third metric for calculating the ROI of social media marketing for your events is the cost savings. Social marketing is incredibly efficient when compared to more traditional marketing channels.

Take, for example, the Kissmetrics Blog’s stat that around 77 percent of event marketers are leveraging social to engage with attendees and build hype and awareness prior to events. How else would that hype have been built, if not through social channels? Emails, phone calls, print campaigns, TV and radio advertisements? These are all lofty investments in terms of additional resources, labour hours and materials involved.

Click to get in touchDepending on your business’s size, you could potentially operate your social campaigns and manage customer/attendee questions and complaints through those channels with one dedicated employee.

The greater operational efficiency social offers can go a long way to winning greater buy-in and approval for even more resources from those in charge. Especially if you can turn a minimal-spend social strategy into an actual profit centre for your business. Even if it’s only a percentage of your total revenue, it’s coming at virtually no cost to the business.

 

Software Advice Bio PicJustin Guinn is a Market Researcher at Software Advice, a company that hosts research and reviews of event management and registration software comparisons, and software for small businesses and non-profits. His work has been cited in dozens of notable publications, including The New York Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post and TIME Magazine. His research explores the impacts of emerging software and technologies, and he has conducted primary research with both consumers and business owners to get a full picture of technology’s role in these markets today.

 

 

 

Olympics Extravaganza and 5 Other Tech Stories Event Planners Should Read

Posted on by Eventsforce

Tech Stories to readThere have been a number of important technology stories over this past month that are of particular interest to our industry – from the incredible projection work at the world’s biggest sporting event, to new developments in the world of wearables, social media and 3D printing. We’ve also come across some really innovative and out-of-this world high tech entertainment ideas for those of you searching for inspiration.

Have a look below at the top event tech stories you don’t want to be missing out on:

The Drum: How Facebook Live Became a Big Part of the Rio Olympics

The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro came to a close on Sunday and we saw a number of creative applications of event tech both in and around the games.  Starting with the opening ceremony, there was some very impressive use of pyrotechnics, lighting and 3D projection – which made the relatively low-budget production look like it had all the money in the world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLLt2mSqpd0

What really stood out at the games, however, was the way organisers, sponsors and athletes used technology to engage with their audiences.  This article from The Drum puts a particular focus on how Facebook Live played a huge part in delivering real-time, behind-the-scenes looks into the Rio games. According to the company, 277 million unique people had 1.5 billion interactions on the platform throughout the two-week event. The American swimming champion Michael Phelps’ Facebook Live stream came at nearly 4 million views! Other technology highlights at the event included a ceiling installation from Coca-Cola which lit up in gold whenever athletes won a gold medal during the games and a 4-D kayaking virtual reality experience from Samsung.

 BBC News: Inside a 3D Printed Restaurant

Last month, a pop-up restaurant where the table, chairs, plates, cups, cutlery and food were all 3D-printed opened in London for three days. The Food Ink menu included fish and chips paste, mock caviar jellies and swirly-shaped chocolate puddings, all precisely and elaborately created by the robotic hand of a 3D printer.  Some experts are saying that the next generation of 3D ‘food’ printers will have built-in ovens and microwaves and replace a lot of the steps that chefs currently do manually. One guest at the launch event saw this as the future of restaurants – will it also be the future of catering at events?  Have a look at this video and judge for yourself.

MillennialsContently: The Inevitable Shift of Snapchat Demographics

So it seems that Snapchat is being marked as the next big thing for events. Typically associated as a messaging tool for the younger generation, many organisations are now considering it as an important platform to promote engagement across much wider demographic groups.  We saw it happen at Wimbledon this year, where Snapchat was used to share Live Stories at the tennis tournament.  The platform was a success and was also used to create ad spots for sponsors.  This infographic from Contently looks at how Snapchat’s older audience is now growing at a rapid pace. In fact, 50% of users are now 25 or older and this segment is growing twice as fast as the under 25s. Not only that, 7 out of 10 users are now millennials. So if you’re targeting them for your events, it may be worth the consideration.

If you still need convincing, we would recommend this read from the Event Manager Blog which looks at why Snapchat is so relevant for live events.  It makes a compelling argument on how Snapchat is good in using FOMO to create an addiction.  This ‘Fear of Missing Out’ is a very powerful tactic for events. Having a platform that pushes people to watch the content they initially signed up for or forever losing the chance to see it has made Snapchat today second only to Facebook in average time spent on the platform by users. Creative branded images that can be added to Snaps also gives attendees greater context and an opportunity to further engage with your brand or event.

Tech Crunch: Instagram is Going to Start Livestreaming Events

While on the subject of social media, Instagram has announced that it too is going to focus on livestreaming events – along with Facebook, Google and Twitter which have already launched similar functionalities. The new ‘Event’ channel will be personalised for each user and feature videos from concerts, sports games and other live events depending on what’s happening around the world, the kind of live events users are interested in and the type of accounts the user follows.

Any real-life event can become an ‘event’ on Instagram as long as it’s popular enough amongst users and there is enough content to create a channel. It is already available in the US and will soon be deployed worldwide. It will be interesting to see how this evolves across our industry over the coming six months.

crowdBizBash: New Digital Wristband Measures Crowd Reaction at Events

Lightwave is a new form of wearable technology for events that debuted at a Pepsi-sponsored music event at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. The digital wristbands provide real-time data on audience movement, temperature, and sound levels – information that can be used to create more on-the-spot personalised experiences.  At Pepsi’s event, the audio-visual team and DJ used the information to adjust the lighting and song selection to generate more excitement among the crowd. So when organisers noticed the accelerometer readings were not where we they wanted them to be, they dimmed the lights and as a result, people started dancing more.

In addition to the accelerometer that measures the wearer’s movement, the wearable technology also include a microphone that transmits audio levels and a sensor that measures body and ambient temperatures. At the event, a leaderboard displayed various metrics, such as applause levels and the results of a dance-off competition between male and female attendees. At a trade show, it might be used to tell you how people are feeling during a keynote or what talking points are resonating (by measuring applause levels), or what booths people are spending time at.

Event Industry News: The Next 3 Big Tech Acts to Watch Out For At Events

Entertainment at events is becoming less and less about the entertainment itself and more about the experience it creates for attendees. This story from Event Industry News looks at some innovative entertainment options that integrate technology into their acts. One of them includes a digital magician with an interactive stage show that allows attendees to use their phones as part of the magic trick. Another example is a hologram illusion, which combines hologram technology with a magical performance. Have a look at this incredible video from Hologram illusionist, Hiroki, performing in this year’s series of America’s Got Talent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fa6ZvgiHBA

Click to get in touchAnother form of new and emerging tech acts is Out of the Box Video Mapping, which takes 3D video mapping to a whole new level. By combining hand drawn illustrations, music, poetry, acrobatics, dance and physical theatre, you can create a unique multimedia experience that is more fantasy animation than glorified video.

Finally, if this kind of thing sounds interesting for your events and you’re looking for a bit of inspiration, have a look at this news report from CNN which features a very unique and magical light installation in Japan.  The work responds to user interaction so people can use their smartphones to release virtual butterflies and walk through a psychedelic body of water. Enjoy!

Whether it’s wearable technology or generous freebies, for further inspiration for how to make your event stand out take a look at our recommended reading below or contact us.

 

How Can Technology Be Used to Create Experiences at Events?

Posted on by Eventsforce

Untitled design (50)Endlessly monotonous PowerPoint presentations are out, and experiential events are in. With better technology, enhanced creativity, and intelligent strategy, events have become highly engaging experiences. Richard Twamley, creative director at communications agency, drp, believes that with more to do and more to see,  there is an opportunity to get involved in interactive activities that bring people and ideas together.

Experiential events, or “engagement marketing” involves a strategy that directly engages consumers, as well as invites and encourages them to participate in the evolution of a brand. Experiential can add an exciting element not only to events, but also to exhibitions, large conferences and road shows. This exciting and diverse approach to events is an experience that delegates want to share and shout about, whether that’s physically loudly with their voices, or loudly online via their social platforms.

So how can technology be used to create an experience at an event?

Below we have listed 3 unique experiential events, and the tech used, which hopefully will ignite ideas and inspire event planners.

1. ‘Internal Engagement’ – Jaguar Land Rover F-PACE Launch Event

To launch their brand new F-PACE, Jaguar land Rover delivered an external PR stunt that involved the F-PACE defy gravity in a Guinness world record-breaking 360 degree loop de loop in Frankfurt Motor Show. The loops were shaped in the numbers ‘8’ and ‘0’ to celebrate their 80th anniversary. The F-PACE successfully completed the loops showcasing its lightweight design, agility, sports car speed and performance.

In line with this momentous F-PACE product launch drp delivered a record breaking internal campaign for Jaguar Land Rover employees. The internal attraction campaign titled – ‘Who’s in the Driving Seat?’ initially focussed on the mystery behind the identity of a heavily disguised driver and started with a pre-reveal film shown at Jaguar Land Rover’s offices and posted onto YouTube.

The campaign’s real impact was delivered by the experiential installation titled ‘You’re in the driving seat’ answering the previous question ‘Who’s in the Driving Seat?’, which demonstrated to the employees that they themselves are the real drivers of the business and the success of the products made. Employees were filmed wearing the racing suit worn by the driver of the loop de loop in Frankfurt, and this was then instantly edited with the original footage so that each employee appeared to be the actual driver of the F-PACE.

Image 1 - Jaguar Land RoverThe experiential solution allowed employees to feel connected to the product whilst creating a unique activity that would encourage them to share, and ultimately contribute, to overall product marketing activity.  ‘Selfie’ installations and digital signage positioned the F-PACE in front of a backdrop displaying the F-Pace logo – employees then stood in front of the car and photos were uploaded to Facebook for them to share. The video installation element combined video technology with installation art – in this case digitally stitching the loop de loop from the Frankfurt with the employees own video inside the F-PACE.

The brief required the campaign to provide a shareable communication solution that delivered a reach of 100,000 people via Facebook. The initial pre-reveal film posted onto YouTube received over 12,000 click-throughs to the embedded post and 400 shares by employees, over 91,000 content appearances and in excess of 100,00 video views. As a result of the launch activation element of the campaign there have been to date over 1 million content appearances, 264,000 individuals reached and 50,000 people have liked, commented and shared the content.

Jaguar Land Rover employees were engaged with a unique experience that was worth sharing with their family and friends. The experiential element was unique for each person, and the employees could share their experiences via social media.

2. ‘Multi-Faceted Experience’ – JCB Global Dealer Event

Image 2 - JCBJCB wanted to bring together their dealers and customers from over 40 countries to exhibit the capabilities of the full JCB product range via demonstrations, which were impossible to replicate in their worldwide dealerships. JCB was keen to ensure all 3200 international delegates, who spoke 14 different languages between them, were ‘wowed’ from the beginning.

The main experiential highlight within a series of programmes running across five weeks saw JCB’s plant machinery at centre stage. By showcasing the staggering capabilities of these vehicles, audiences experienced them first-hand and engaged with the products face-to-face. Cavernous, temporary structures were set up to allow audiences to be within an arm’s length of the stars of the show: dump trucks, excavators and industrial forklifts, scooping, shifting and lifting heavy loads. 28,000 watts of sound cranked up the atmosphere as well as 578 production lights. JCB plant machinery was also pitted against rivals’ nearest models, allowing the audience to fully appreciate JCB’s competitive edge. Hands-on testing made the experience even more immersive, as people felt, saw and heard the quality of the awesome machinery on display.

This first-hand experience enabled worldwide dealers and customers to fully comprehend the capabilities of JCB. Data was gathered before and after the event, measuring delegates’ shift in understanding around key areas of the programme, including perceptions on products and JCB’s support mechanisms. Substantial upward shifts were seen across the board. The success of the event persuaded JCB to add four further rotations for local schools to enjoy a similar experience.

3. ‘Possiblers Campaign’ – drp 35th Anniversary

Image 3- 35th Anniversary CelebrationsLast year drp celebrated its 35th Anniversary, and the company launched an integrated campaign to celebrate this milestone and connect with their clients. The event was the opportunity to introduce clients to new areas of the business, find out about the latest developments and ultimately, increase engagement and sales. Hosted at West Midlands Safari Park the event was attended by 950 guests including the drp team, friends and clients. The event consisted of park tours, workshops, a gala dinner, and showcase finale including live production show, choir, fireworks and production to rival a festival.

‘The Possiblers’ were a series of 3D animated characters created as part of the company’s ongoing integrated marketing campaign. These characters, Parker, Olivia, Sinclair, Stella, Iggy, Becca, Lance and Erica each represented one area of the organisation forming an integral part of the entire campaign and the event itself. The first initials of the characters spelled the word ‘possible’, in sync with the drp strapline ‘anything’s possible’.

The many experiential elements of the event gave delegates a chance to experience, learn, and immerse themselves in drp and their services. The digital and interactive activity workshops were run by the multiple drp departments, from digital to design, film & video, print and more. There was the chance to learn how to code, film, edit and create a video, or photoshop your face on a poster with the design team.  Delegates could also bring the ‘Possibler’ characters to life by creating their own versions.

drp exceeded their target of attendees, in terms of social, they ran and delivered the most successful and far reaching campaign. They reached a total of 112,687 accounts and hit 265,883 impressions across channels. Alongside this viewership figures reached 991,144 individuals, but conservatively drp only take 25% of this figure which is 247,786 individuals. The anniversary campaign and event proved to be extremely successful with a robust ROI, increased engagement, introducing clients to new areas of the business, from the history to the future of the business.

Overall…

Click to get in touchExperiential events don’t have to include the latest gadget, VR headset or AR iPad, all that’s needed are strong aims, marketing objectives, and creative ideas. Jaguar Land Rover simply required their own products a green screen, cameras, editors, and social media. JCB needed production, fireworks, and their own products. drp utilised their departmental teams across all areas of the business, including design, print, video, and event production. Event tech is incredible, however, it’s not the only resort, there are plenty of ways to be experiential and market a brand without it.

Written by Richard Twamley, Creative Director at drp

(Winner: C&IT Awards Agency of the Year 2014)

Why Events Need a Crisis Communications Plan

Posted on by Eventsforce

Terror attacks are now a constant threat to society and consequently, security has become top of agenda for many businesses – especially for those organisations involved in running events in big city destinations.  Knowing what to do at a time of crisis has never been more relevant.

As an event planner, you may already have your organisation’s own crisis management policy that you and your team have to follow. The hotels and conference facilities you use for your events will also have their own health and safety procedures that need to be adhered to.  What is equally important, however, is a carefully prepared crisis communications plan around your events.  Knowing whom you communicate with in a crisis, as well as how and when you do that communication can mean the difference between failure or success. And this doesn’t just apply to a terrorist incident, but to any crisis situation that has the potential to disrupt an event – from fire outbreaks and flooding to any other kind of emergency evacuation.

Getting crisis communications right is not an easy thing.  There are countless stories of how organisations got it wrong – from the BP oil spill in the US to the United Airlines passenger scandal earlier this year.  The ones that have done it well are usually the ones who were well prepared. So don’t leave it to chance and don’t underestimate the consequences. Think about it now and have it as an integral part of your overall event management strategy.

Have a look at these five fundamental steps for an effective crisis communications plan around your events:

1) Find Out Who Are Your Key Audiences

GlobeThe first step is to think about all the different types of people you deal with at and around each of your events.  In most situations, the stakeholders will include your attendees, on-site suppliers (security personnel, technology, staff, venue, catering), partners such as speakers, sponsors and exhibitors, as well as journalists and colleagues (on ground and off-site).

2) Identify Audience ‘Owners’

Once you have these stakeholder groups listed out, create your internal crisis team by assigning the relationship ‘owners’ for each of your audience groups.  You need to have these dedicated points of contact – you can’t have one person managing everything if you want to be affective with your communications. Each of these relationship owners should create contact lists for their audience groups, which can include mobile numbers, email addresses and social media handles.  Collate these lists from your event management systems and make sure they are regularly updated so that you have the most current information on the day of your event.

3) Identify Your Different Communications Platforms

calcThe next thing is to determine how you will need to communicate with all your stakeholders. Quick, clear and frequent communication will be appreciated at a time of crisis.  It will also protect your organisation’s reputation on how well you manage the safety of your attendees. Social (especially Twitter) are very powerful communication tools, especially given the 24-hour information cycle we currently live in. However, it is important to note that social media does not guarantee mass reach. According to MarketingLand, about 2 percent of your Twitter followers see your Tweets. Similarly, AdWeek has stated that Facebook organic page reach stands at a fairly shocking 2.6%. Having said that, social media is key to providing information and access to media and key influencers who help amplify your message. In fact, journalists are the largest, most active verified user group on Twitter.

Aside from social media, you also have your email databases which can be created using the stakeholders lists you put together. You may have an event app, which is also a great tool to push notifications and update attendees on what they need to do.  You can also put up notices on your event website or screens you may have up around your venue.

4) Find the Best Platform for Each Audience

Notifications via event apps, emails and social media are usually the best option with your attendees. However, not all your stakeholders may be at your event.  Some may be offline and miss the notices you’ve posted online.  So think of other options too like text messages and phone calls. The management team of your organisation, for example, will probably need to be updated by phone.  Communications between your on-site team members may be better through group calls or messaging on mobile apps like WhatsApp or your own company app. Bear in mind that immediately after a major incident like a terrorist attack, mobile networks may be unavailable due to excessive demand. Sit down with your management team and identify the most appropriate crisis communications channels for each of your audience categories and have contingency plans for every situation.

5) Put Together a Communications Plan

Untitled design (32)Once you’ve identified your audiences and have a good idea on how you’ll be reaching out to them, the next step is to put together a communications plan. It’s difficult trying to figure out what you’re going to say if you’re not sure what crisis you’ll be facing. However, the last time you want to worry about on the day is putting some sort of plan together and chasing all the necessary approvals.  Have your crisis communications plan pre-approved and ready to go.  You could have a detailed plan for each type of crisis situation or you could have a more generalised one with clear action points.

Make a list of potential crisis situations – whether that be a terror attack or a power outage – and draft the key messages you want to communicate with each of your stakeholders.  Be personal, transparent and genuine and make public safety your number one priority. Explain what has happened, what actions need to be taken, what information is available and the contact details of each stakeholder ‘owner’.  Include what your organisation’s stance is on the on-going situation, as well as details on when and where they should expect another update. The more information you provide, the less chance of creating an information vacuum, which often causes unnecessary panic and false speculation.

Click to get in touchLastly, train your team members through life-like simulations of all the different crisis scenarios outlined in your plan. Make sure they don’t talk ‘at’ your audiences at a time of crisis without listening and responding to them first as this will undermine their trust in your organisation. Conduct these exercises annually or around each event.

Are there any other steps you’d like to add to the list?  We’d be happy to publish your views!  

Source:
Raconteur: Terrorist attacks are a constant threat for the events sector
Crisis Management Strategist: 3 Steps to Successful Crisis Communications
Meetings PR: Reactive or Proactive? 7 Factors for Effective Communication for International Meetings
Cision: 6 Social Media ‘Musts’ for Crisis Communications

Top 8 Considerations When Choosing a Payment Gateway for Your Events

Posted on by Eventsforce

Untitled design (45)

So you’ve taken the decision to charge people attending your events. You need a payment gateway that will allow you to process payments on your event website but aren’t sure where to start. Or perhaps you are hosting an international event and the payment gateway you are currently using doesn’t support the currency of the country many of your delegates are coming from. Or maybe you’re just not happy with your current provider and would like to make a change.

There are many different options for you to choose from when looking at payment gateways. The big names include the likes of Sage Pay, Worldpay, PayPal and Stripe but there are dozens of possibilities out there. So how do you know which is the best fit for your organisation?  Decisions about event payment processing, more often than not, is something that is usually headed up by finance teams.  It is worth noting, however, that there are a number of important factors that need to be taken into consideration when choosing a payment method around your events. And the role of the event planner is key to ensure these requirements are met.

Have a look below at some of the top things you need to think about when considering event payment processing and gateways:


Untitled design (36)1) Is Your Organisation Already Using a Payment Gateway?

The first thing to do is to find out if your organisation is already using a particular payment gateway for other parts of the business.  You may be required to use the same one as part of your company policy. Payment gateways can take time to set up and will be subject to security checks and audits from your bank. There may also be different levels of bureaucracy and hierarchy regarding approvals within your own organisation.  Going through this timely (often complex) process may not be worthwhile if there is already an existing deal with a gateway that your organisation is happy with.

Payment gateways aren’t the only thing you need to think about. You also have to think about the merchant accounts, which is essentially where your attendee payments go into (different from your regular business accounts). Some payment gateway providers offer just a payment gateway and require you to have your own merchant account. Other payment providers such as PayPal offer a combined payment gateway and merchant account. What you decide on really depends on what kind of existing arrangements your organisation may already have in place.

2) Can The Payment Gateway Be Used with Your Registration System?

The next thing would be to check which payment gateways are supported by your current registration or event management software.  This can significantly narrow down your choices. Choosing one that already integrates with the system makes it a lot more convenient and saves you time – it also means you may not have to spend additional money on development time.  Ask your event tech provider what they recommend – they have a lot of experience in this and can provide good advice on which gateways are better suited for certain types of events.

Like we mentioned above, your organisation may want you to work with a specific gateway solution.  In which case, you will have to work with your event tech provider in building the right type of integration between the two systems in exchange for a fee. Each gateway solution has different versions of the product – with different features and functionalities. Bear in mind that each one of these will have their own type of integration. For example, your organisation may use the ‘Worldpay Corporate’ integration, but your event software may only support ‘Worldpay Business’. Again, this will require additional investment in development time, so make sure you factor all these things in when making a decision.

3) How Do Event Management/Registration Systems Manage Payments?Untitled design (46)

The other thing you need to take into account is how your registration systems takes payments details from your event attendees.  There are two options here.  Does your system support non-hosted payment payment gateways? This is when your attendees are able to enter their card details without leaving your event website. Though it is the smoothest check out experience for your attendees, it is also the least secure. To take payments onsite you typically need an SSL certificate and you will also have to comply with PCI-DSS requirements. It’s worth taking a look at this article that gives good information on PCI-DSS compliance and what it means when dealing with delegate card payments. The fines for non-compliance can be hefty!

The alternative is to use a hosted payment gateway which redirects users to a ‘hosted’ payment page.  Once a payment has been made then your attendee will be returned to your website and the payment will be confirmed. It will likely be the case that your event tech provider may only support these ‘hosted’ payment gateways so that they don’t have to take responsibility for PCI-DSS compliance.

4) How Quickly Do You Need It Up and Running?

Setting up a merchant account and payment gateway can typically take anywhere around 3-4 weeks – although providers like PayPal and Stripe let you sign up without a merchant account so you can get started straight away. On the other hand, set up can also be a long and complex process – particularly if you’re a new or ‘high-risk’ business.  For example, banks can sometimes be reluctant to approve merchant accounts to event organisations because of the ‘interval’ between the time delegates make a payment and the event itself. In which case, you may be requested to provide detailed application forms so that the bank gets a better understanding of your business.  This isn’t a big issue but you need to bear it in mind and find a gateway that can support your specific needs, as well as meet your event deadlines.

Untitled design (7)5) Don’t Forget About Your Cash Flow

Once a delegate payment has been processed, it typically takes a few days for that payment to be settled into your bank account.  However, these payment timings can vary significantly from one provider to another. Gateways that are also merchant accounts generally sit on your money for a lot longer. This can slow down your cash flow and has a real impact on small businesses (think about the payments you need to make to venues, caterers and other suppliers).  Other providers on the other hand can settle your funds as quickly as the next day, while some may also only pay out funds on set days. Ideally, look for a provider that pays out every day.

6) The Kind of Events You Run Will Determine the Fees

The fees you pay for the payment gateway and merchant accounts can include monthly fees, fixed fees per transaction (whatever you are charging attendees for), variable fees based on a percentage of transactions, as well as other fees for things like payments from international cards.  So an organisation running one major international event can have complete different requirements to one that hosts several local events with a greater number of attendees.

Make sure you get a good overview of fees and ask to see a full schedule of charges before committing to one provider. Don’t forget some payment providers (not all) have been known to lock organisations into lengthy contracts – so make sure you understand what you’re signing up for.

Untitled design (13)7) Do You Need to Support Multiple Currencies?

If you are hosting events across different countries and need to take international payments or have a large number of international delegates – you should check whether the payment gateway offers international and multi-currency payments or even an interface with multiple languages. The APAC region, for example, only accepts payments through specific gateways and some global systems like Worldpay aren’t actually accepted all over the world. You should also check whether there are any additional fees for accepting multi-currency payments or payments from other countries and whether you will need to have a merchant account in a specific country.

8) Your Events Can’t Afford Downtime. How Important is Reputation?

The short answer is very.  If you are processing payments from your attendees, you’ll want to work with a provider who has a good reputation in the industry and one that won’t let you down if things go wrong. Some payment gateways have had problems with outages and others have blocked merchants’ money unexpectedly without cause. Look at providers who take PCI-DSS compliance seriously and who provide a good level of support.  Find out how responsive their support service is, where their support team is based and whether or not they work the same hours as you. Do you need to pay extra for this support? Be sure you to do your research thoroughly before signing up with one.  Read reviews and get recommendations from organisations you can trust and use comparison sites which highlight the key features of each gateway.

 

DO YOU NEED A PAYMENT GATEWAY FOR YOUR EVENTS?

Untitled design (46)

Eventsforce offers quick and easy integrations of its software with a number of major payment gateway providers, including Sage Pay, Worldpay, PayPal and many others.  If you’d like to have a chat about event payment processing, please get in touch here. Alternatively, if you would like to read more about how we integrate with payment gateways, please click here.

 

Click to get in touchSources:

https://blog.socious.com/how-to-choose-the-right-payment-gateway-for-your-organization-and-ensure-secure-transactions

https://gocardless.com/guides/posts/payment-gateways/

Why Video Is a Big Deal for Marketing Your Events – Part 2

Posted on by Eventsforce

Untitled design (43)We all know how important it is to create a feeling of excitement around your events as it makes it easier to convince people why they should attend in the first place. We know that if we do this successfully, people will share their experiences afterwards and come back year after year. And video is a great way of doing this.

Last week, we talked about why online video is one of the most practical uses of your marketing time and budget (Why Video is Becoming a Big Deal for Marketing Your Events – Part 1). In this post, we’ll focus on the key things you need to take into consideration when putting together a video strategy, as well as some creative ideas on how to use videos when promoting your events.

Get Your Video Strategy Right

Untitled design (42)Start by identifying your target audience(s) and the message you are trying to convey to them. The most common mistake is trying to cram too much in or making it too sales-y. Don’t try to target everyone, otherwise you risk losing them all. Set your key goals and identify how your video content is going to help you reach those objectives. So if you want to attract last year’s attendees, then maybe make them the focus of your video. If you want to attract more delegates from overseas, then focus your content on who they will meet and what they can do in the city you’re hosting your event in.  And never end the video with a blank screen – always provide some sort of call to action, whether that’s registration, an offer or links to related material or content.

Make sure your videos are mobile responsive.  According to Cisco, mobile video traffic accounted for 55 percent of total mobile data traffic in 2015.  This figure will increase 11-fold by 2020, accounting to 75 percent of total mobile data traffic, globally.  If you’re targeting millennials, this is even more important as they are three times more likely to watch videos on their mobile devices.

Distribution is another important thing to think about.  It used to be enough to make a video, post it on your website and YouTube and that would be the end of it.  But these days, you have to think about distribution across different social media sites that can help maximise your reach. Each platform has its own creative constraints and this may mean ‘tailoring’ your content for each site. Facebook, for example, supports any length of video, while Instagram has a limit of one minute.  On the other hand, both Facebook and Instagram can play videos silently in the timeline, so you may need to think about adding subtitles to ensure your message comes across. Also, don’t forget to share your video content with other third parties involved in the event so that they can use it for their own marketing and promotional activities.

Finally, don’t forget about tracking metrics.  The success of your video campaign can easily be measured – whether it is sent via email, posted on your event web page or on social media.  You can track all sorts of meaningful data including the time spent watching the video, time spent on the page, click through rates and the number of viewers who followed through with your intended action.

How to Use Videos Before Your Event

7 Practical Ideas to Use Videos to Promote Your EventsFor some practical ideas on how to use video content to promote your event, have a look at the list below:

1.Save-The-Date Videos: This can be a great way of letting people know about your upcoming event and mark it in their calendars.  Share the video via email with your delegates, post it on your event website and on social media.  Make it fun, short and snappy.  The video-sharing service, Vine, is a good tool for this as it allows you to easily record and edit short looping videos.

2.‘Event Highlight’ Videos: If you’ve hosted your event in the past, then you’ve most likely filmed it. Have a look at this one from last year’s Sports Technology Awards. It highlights what happened at their event with plenty of B-roll footage of people chatting and having a laugh. It also includes testimonials from the many different voices and personalities. Use old videos to make totally new videos. Swap out the soundtrack and voiceover, add some new stock footage and you may be surprised with how good it turns out!

3.Video Testimonials: Again, this assumes you’ve hosted the same event in the past. Collate testimonials from different people talking about why the event was valuable for them, including some from your speakers, volunteers and staff. Going back to our earlier millennial stats, almost 70% find video customer testimonials helpful when making a purchasing decision but two in three lose interest when a video is too promotional.  So keep it simple and don’t oversell.  Focus on your attendees’ experiences and make it fun and personable.

4.Video Conferences: These can be a good crowdsourcing tool to use in the run up to your event to connect with your attendees and do some research on the kind of things they would like to see or experience at your event. A study from Eventsforce found that 62% of event planners use crowdsourcing tools to determine things like agendas and session topics, speakers and dining preferences. Though it may be quicker to do this via registration forms or other crowdsourcing platforms, a face to face informal video discussion with a select group of delegates can create long-term loyalty around your events.

5.Video Ads: This is probably the most popular form of video content used around events. It highlights the key sessions, provides details about your speakers and focuses on what delegates should expect at your event, including things like transport and accommodation.   If you are going to feature your organisation, make sure the video presents someone who is actually going to be at the events as it makes the person more approachable on the day.

6.Video Blogs: Make your promotional videos more interesting by producing informal blog-style videos. This can be things like venue tours or a list of the top ten reasons why your event will NOT be a waste of their time. It can be a list of some of the best places to relax at the end of each day or even a list of quirky places they can visit at your event destination. Ask your suppliers and see what they can provide. By focusing on their event and personal experiences, you will establish more trust with your attendees from the start of your campaign.  And by having this trust, you are far more likely to get them to read all the other content you send their way.

Click to get in touch7.Speaker Videos: Video is also a useful tool to woo your speakers. Show them videos of your last event and speakers. Perhaps send them amusing thank you videos after they’ve accepted your invitation to speak. Give your viewers a ‘sneak-peek’ into your event by creating videos of your speakers talking about things they’ll be covering at the event and the sessions they’re interested in attending themselves.  Get them to ask viewers what topics they would like them to cover or ask them a few questions about recent trends that are relevant to your industry today.

 

 

 

 

Why Video Is a Big Deal for Marketing Your Events – Part One

Posted on by Eventsforce

Video Blog 2Let’s face it.  Video is a great tool for marketing your events. It gives your attendees the opportunity to learn more about your event and does a good job of conveying the personality of your organisation. It also is a lot more engaging than text.  Forrester Research claims that a minute of video can be equivalent to 1.8 million words1.  That, by the way, is the equivalent of 3,600 typical web pages. So if you write an average of one web page an hour, it would take you 150 days of writing to achieve the impact of one minute of video – assuming of course that your content is good in the first place!

It’s true that video content marketing has been gaining a lot of momentum over the last few years. The trend first started with publishers, then marketers and now we’re seeing it become a lot more prominent in the events industry. A poll last month by Eventsforce revealed that 84% of UK and US event planners are using video as part of their marketing strategies to promote their events. In fact, the overall pace at which digital video consumption is growing right now is really quite staggering.  By the time we reach 2019, it is said that video will make up around 80% of all consumer Internet traffic globally2.  We expect this kind of growth to be reflected across our own industry as organisations increasingly try to find new and creative ways of attracting people to attend their events.

The recent advancement of technology is a big contributing factor to its popularity.  Simple animation tools and Smartphones devices are allowing people to produce slick and professional looking videos without the need for the sizeable investment that was required not so long ago. The ease in which videos can be put together and uploaded on traditional platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo has also played a part.  So has the recent surge of new video offerings from social media platforms like Facebook and SnapChat that are helping video content go viral – did anyone not see this Chewbaca Mom video last month? It has broken the record as the most-watched Facebook Live video – ever.

The impact of video on your events can really be significant. It can be a great way to generate enthusiasm amongst your attendees and equally present a really good case for those who haven’t yet registered. So if you’re doing it already and doing it well, then you’re on the right track because it will become an integral part of any event marketing campaign over the coming few years. But if you’re still unconvinced and feel that it is something that can take a lot of effort with little gain, then read on.

 The Business Case for Video Content

Video BlogWe’ll be looking at the key considerations you need to take before putting together a video strategy, as well as some great ideas on how to use video prior to an event (more on that in our blog next week).  Before doing that, however, it is important to look at why online video is one of the most practical uses of your marketing time and budget:

  1. Video more engaging than text – Compared to text, video offers your attendees more of an enjoyable ‘sit back’ experience that promises to be short and interesting. From a psychological point of view, it is said that visual makes up around 90% of all the information our brains pick up and that we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.3 With this in mind, you can see how video can simplify your whole event communications process. It can also help overcome things like language barriers by allowing you to explain things to any number of people anywhere around the world.
  1. Return on Your Investment – Incorporating video into the digital marketing strategy of your event can be a really cost-effective way of reaching your target audience. A study has found that video converts better than other forms of digital content, with 71% of respondents indicating it performs better for them than text and images. The report also found that marketers are seeing very positive engagement rates from using video, with a majority indicating that video is a good vehicle for lead generation4.
  1. Improves Search Engine Optimisation – Video is good for your SEO ranking. Search engines lead people to your event website so the significance of this is quite important. Posting a video on YouTube moves up your search engine rankings due to Google’s high rank for YouTube. Posting a video on your event website will also help it move up the ranking pages – the advantage of this over YouTube of course is that the traffic coming in is likely to stay on your site. On YouTube, you risk attendees getting distracted by other videos instead of following your call to action – whether that’s registration or a sign up to your app. It’s best to use both methods at the same time, but it is recommended to vary your videos if you can.
  1. Expands Your Reach to Millennials – If your events target millennials, then you’ll find this interesting. A recent report from online video maker, Animoto, shows that 50% of millennials will read an email from a company if it includes a video – something worth thinking about when sending out your email invitations.  The study states that 76% of millennials follow companies or brands on YouTube and that they are three times more likely to watch a video on their mobile devices. The numbers speak for themselves.  If your attendees are millennials, then you can’t afford to ignore video.
  1. Click to get in touchIncreases Click-Through Rates – People tend to show more interest in an email or website if it contains video. According to one infographic on video marketing trends, using the word ‘video’ in an email subject line can boost open rates by 19%, click-through rates by 65% and reduce unsubscribes by 26%2. When done right, video also has the potential to boost landing page conversions by 80% – so a video on your event site encouraging people to register by promoting an early bird discount can have a significant impact on your numbers.

Next week: Top considerations when putting together a video content strategy along with some great ideas on how to use videos to promote your events

Sources:
1 Market Wired: A minute of video Is worth 1.8 Million words, according to Forrester Research
2 Cisco Visual Networking Index
3 iMedia: Why people respond to video more than text
4 Tubular Insights: 71% of marketers confirm video converts better than other content