Tag: social media

3 Things Event Planners Can Learn From The Paralympics

Posted on by Eventsforce

Paralympics Wheelchair AthleticsAfter 11 days of competition across more than 20 sport disciplines, the Paralympics games came to an end this month with a celebration of 500 medal-winning athletes. Despite all the controversy around poor ticket sales (only 12% of tickets were reportedly sold just three weeks prior to the games), organisers still managed to sell more than 64% of the 2.5 million tickets as the curtains rose on the night of the opening ceremony. The success, of course, was not just limited to the stands. The class of 2016 ran faster, jumped higher and finished stronger than a lot of their predecessors in both London and Beijing.

So what can event planners learn from the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games?

1. Help Your Audiences Understand

While the BBC is a veteran of sports broadcasting around the world, Channel 4 is still in its infancy. However, following the channel’s success in covering the London 2012 paralympic games, it went all out for Rio 2016. Not only did it increase live coverage, online streaming and in-depth information on athletes and events, it also introduced an upgraded version of its LEXI classification system.

LEXI was first introduced at London 2012 to help viewers understand how athletes are grouped and classified so they can compete fairly against one another. The system uses 3D animations to demonstrate the different classifications for each sport, replacing the more text-based system of 2012, with actress Julie Walters providing the voice element.

C4 Paralympic presenter Clare Balding said: “You have to make sure people understand who they’re watching, what they’re watching and why they’re watching.” And this applies to any type of event. Event planners need to ensure their audiences understand what is going on.  Never assume that the content of your event is simple and self-explanatory. You should perhaps consider providing alternative sources of information, including video streaming, handouts or a resource section on your event app.

2. Ensure Your Tech Is Up To The Job

On the first Saturday of the Paralympics, 167,000 fans packed into Rio’s Olympic Park – 10,000 more than on any day during the Olympics. Coping with the connectivity needs of this many spectators is one thing – let alone all the teams, athletes and partners who will be streaming, tweeting, blogging, vlogging and posting the odd selfie at the event. While Twitter, Facebook and Instagram continued to be the dominant platforms for news and engagement, we also saw the explosion of bandwidth-hungry live streaming apps via Twitter’s Periscope, Facebook Live and Snapchat Live Stories (see Snapchat continues Rio 2016 push as it partners with IPC for first global Paralympic Live Story from The Drum).

So don’t get caught short with your tech capabilities. You may not be expecting 167,000 people to attend your event but, chances are, those who do will expect good, reliable WiFi connectivity at your event.

3. Make Your Events More Accessible

Paralympics Closing Ceremony

Accessibility options should always be a consideration for any event planner – e.g. availability of wheelchair ramps, audio induction loops for hearing aid users, BSL interpreters, service dog facilities, etc. However, it’s also worth considering some of the innovative ways the Paralympics and broadcasters have ensured global access to everyone.

Channel 4 announced prior to the Games that this would be its most accessible Paralympics ever. The plan included subtitles available across all coverage; live audio description and signage of both opening and closing ceremonies; as well as audio described and signed editions of selected shows.

Meanwhile, the Paralympic Committee unveiled its first multi-sensory selection of medals for the event winners. Not only do all of the medals feature the words ‘Rio 2016 Paralympic Games’ written on them in Braille, but they also make a sound when shaken that tells visually impaired athletes if they are gold, silver or bronze.

Each medal has a device inside that uses tiny steel balls to make a sound when they are shaken, allowing visually impaired athletes to identify which colour they are. Bronze medals have 16 balls and make the lowest sound, silver medals have 20 balls and the golds have 28, producing the loudest noise. Such a simple introduction to include visually impaired athletes has been praised by commentators but has led some to wonder why it wasn’t thought of sooner.

If event organisers fail to consider disabled people when planning their events, they’re ignoring an important and potentially sizeable part of their audience base. Similarly, ignoring an audience that doesn’t speak your native language could also present a lost opportunity. Catering to a multilingual audience online can be one of the most cost-effective ways of marketing your events, attracting new delegates and building relationships. See Why Your Events Could Benefit from Multilingual Websites for more on how to boost your event by having an international outlook.

Click to get in touchThese key takeaways from the Rio Paralympic games are important lessons for any event, regardless of size. Having additional information via event apps and handouts are always a welcomed addition by delegates so they don’t need to scribble down notes in a hurry.  Having the adequate technology infrastructure that will support your audience needs before, during and after the event is also critical. And, ensuring inclusivity for all involved will increase ROI by growing customer satisfaction and partnership opportunities while building brand loyalty and recognition.

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.

 

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

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

6 Creative Ideas to Make Your Event Marketing Viral

Posted on by Eventsforce

Achieving the one guerrilla campaign that will keep people talking about your event for the next six months is far less about budget and much more about creativity and understanding your customers’ mindset. Unfortunately, it is also far less of a science and much more of an alchemist’s dream.

The problem is that great campaigns have to be such a fine balance of so many competing things. Guerrilla campaigns have to be one part creative genius, two parts intense planning and strategy, one part cool and one part strange or quirky. They need a big pinch of social resonance but be subtle enough to avoid labelling or cliché and include a dusting of cultural subversion.

That all gets pounded in a crucible of online scrutiny and after a puff of purple smoke you either turn lead into digital gold or burn your eyebrows off. Some campaigns have not worked because the balance has been wrong and have resulted in millions of pounds in fines and even prison sentences. The fact is: not only is it getting harder to be noticed it’s also getting harder to predict what people take notice of and why.

That said, there are some great examples out there that event organisers can have a think about when planning their marketing campaigns. We’ve listed some of these creative event marketing ideas below: 

Reverse Graffiti

reverse grafitti With only a handheld pressure washer and a pre-cut stencil, Paul Curtis, a.k.a. Moose, was able to quickly create a style of street art that was championed online for its environmental credentials and boldness. He’s worked with Starbucks, Philips, 1Channel 4’s Big Brother and Vans’ ‘Off the Wall’ campaign. Here he makes a statement for a homeless charity crisis.org.uk that was eye-catching and perfectly legal. After all, you can’t get in trouble for cleaning up the streets. Can you?

https://streettoolbox.wikia.com/wiki/File:17012008_124452_abbey_road3.jpg

Flash Mobs

 

 

Flash mobbing is not new but internationally since 2000 they have been increasingly popular. US prank collective Improv Everywhere really kicked off modern flash mobs with their ‘No Pants Subway Ride’ in 2007, which is now an annual event. With some amazing covert planning in 2008, the group succeeded in bringing together 200 people in New York’s Grand Central Station, to form Frozen Grand Central, causing no end of confusion to station workers and passers-by. Some even rang local radio shows completely bewildered by what they were seeing. In the UK, 2009 saw one of the most memorable flash mobs: T-Mobile’s ‘Life’s for Sharing’ event saw amateur dancers cover the floor of London’s Liverpool St railway station in a seemingly spontaneous act of collective musical magic. The YouTube video received 39.7m views. They tried it again however with ‘Welcome Back’ at Heathrow Terminal 5 in Oct 2010 but the impact was less than half of the original, still gathering a huge 14.6m YouTube views.

Rumour and Cultural Subversion

rumourNot since Orson Welles interrupted radio programming on Halloween in 1938 to read ‘War of Worlds’ has anything managed to cause so much panic and so successfully blur the lines between fact and fiction. In 1999, three unknown actors and two independent filmmakers achieved it with nothing more than handheld cameras some woodlands in Maryland and very dodgy lighting. Haxan Films’ The Blair Witch project had a budget of only $20,000 and ended up grossing $248.6m, one of the most successful independent films ever made. The film creators successfully orchestrated a rumour mill that was able to stay ahead of the growing public demand for answers and drive audiences to the cinema. By first responding with silence, then insisting the urban legend was real, only much later revealing the truth that the whole thing was invented, generated a new urban myth that many people bought into. The Blair Witch Project remains today one of the most successful guerrilla marketing campaigns with its blend of half-truths.

https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33465/9-of-the-Most-Shocking-Guerrilla-Marketing-Campaigns-of-All-Time.aspx

Authentic Viral Marketing

Lots of things get labelled ‘viral’ when they don’t truly belong to the catalogue of incredibly successful campaigns. No-one really knows why they occur or when they strike. They tend to be extremely low budget but if creativity were currency these would be up with the biggest global campaigns. The Evian 2009 ‘Roller Babies’ campaign racked up 25m views in eight weeks, earning itself a place in the Guinness World Record books as the most viewed online advert. Its 2013 re-boot ‘Baby & Me’ has amassed an incredible 96.71m views to date.

 

The Australian Metro’s Dumb Ways to Die campaign targeted young people and the dangers of the railways but instantly went viral and hit 92.9m views on YouTube, with 11m downloads of its two apps. Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ campaign generated record-breaking online interest, yielding more than 114m views in four weeks. Using a blanket approach, Dove uploaded the video in 25 languages to its official YouTube channels, reaching consumers around the world.  And just in case you are wondering – Asian pop star Psy’ Gangnam Style, still holds the record as the most watched video on YouTube ever with an incredible 2.1bn views.

Record-Breaking Stunts

 

It cost an estimated $30m and risked one man’s life but many people do not even recognise it as event marketing. So clever was Red Bull’s Stratos Mission that its efforts to send champion skydiver Felix Baumgartner to the edge of space (128,100ft) saw it claim a fistful of new world records including: the first person to break the speed of sound in freefall; the highest skydive; the longest freefall and the highest manned balloon flight, and record concurrent YouTube viewers. Ground breaking? Yes. Clever? Definitely. Marketing? You and eight million other viewers were left to decide.

Urban Placements

urbanProduct placements have always worked well in the movies but a whole new guerrilla marketing sector has grown up around urban placements to encourage online engagement. Subversive item placements are increasingly common and rely on powerful and humorous material to grab people’s attention or subvert the norm. At their best they become street art installations and attract both big brands, charities, campaign groups and start-ups. Coca-cola recognised the potential of subverting its own brand with its ‘Share a Coke’ campaign, while Vodafone’s ‘Well-meant thieves’ made people think about their phone insurance when it hired professional pick pockets to drop awareness flyers into people’s bags and pockets at railway stations with warnings about how easy it is to pick a phone from someone’s pocket.

So, what do you think? Will you be using any of these creative event marketing ideas to promote your event? If so, we’d love to hear about your plans and how successful they are. Tweet us your thoughts @eventsforce.

https://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/vodafone_phone_insurance_wellmeant_thieves

6 Simple Technology Tools for Greener Events

Posted on by Eventsforce

shutterstock_12539635As sustainability starts to creep back up the corporate agenda, event planners are again looking to create more environmentally friendly events that reinforce and further promote their client’s green credentials.

From wearable tech and event apps to end-to-end management software, the latest technology is playing an important role in helping event organisers reduce their client’s environmental impact.

Everything helps, from ditching paper delegate badges; switching to fully online registration processes; video conferencing for international speakers, and mobile event apps to cut out printed maps, brochures, event guides and leaflets.

Below are just some of the platforms that can help event planners enhance their client’s environmental credentials.

Twitter 

You may have heard of it already but the power of Twitter is only now being fully realised in corporate events. The increasing adoption of social media throughout an event’s lifecycle is helping not only attract more delegates but is removing a lot of wasted paper.

Event-specific hashtags allow you to provide information in a much more dynamic way and of course it is a lot cheaper than sending out email bulletins or printed materials. Paper presentations, questionnaires, flyers, guides and other promotional materials can all be put online and shared much more widely.

Not only has Twitter made events more engaging, it has made them greener too. In an interview last year with Kerrin MacPhie, ICCA UK & Ireland Chapter Chair and Director of Sales at ACC Liverpool, said the expectations of delegates are changing in line with growing demand for the integration of social media. She said: “A key challenge is reversing old-school habits; many associations have been around for many years and are very successful, why reinvent the wheel? However, people are changing, the new millennial generation live their lives through digitisation and social media, emails are even seen as passé to this group. Immediate interaction is paramount so for the younger generations attending conferences, Twitter should be a staple ingredient. Not only at conferences but also social media platforms as a norm should be adopted in day to day comms for associations looking to grow.”

Smart badges

 NFC-enabled smart badges are changing the face of exhibitions and corporate events. For many people, attending large conferences can be stressful. Wearable tech such as Loopd means delegates can focus on enjoying the event while the chip collects the data they will need, later pushed to an app for them to access. It takes smart badges to the next level, collecting data and offering attendees a huge number of benefits. As the delegate moves around the event, the chipped lanyard collects key data from ‘beacons’ positioned around the event.

Strea.ma

 Strea.ma is an exciting cloud-based platform that allows you to easily create your own Twitter wall by combining and displaying social media updates from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It allows you to promote your hashtag in real time during the event and encourage interaction on the day, to share the discussion, run polls and encourage further engagement.

GoToMeeting

Using video conferencing software rather than flying in keynote guests is a far greener approach to hosting international speakers. GoToMeeting, from Citrix Systems, is an online desktop-sharing platform that allows users to ‘meet up’ in real time. Although not billed particularly as events software, for conferencing in particularly, it would allow for high-definition video conferencing support for up to six users.

Insight Mobile

Insight Mobile is an award winning Brighton based native iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Windows, Android and Web app development company that specialises in developing world class apps for a range of business sectors. Their solution allows delegates to easily access personalised apps for an event with all the relevant data they need. It goes beyond providing Wi-Fi log in instructions, venue maps and speaker programmes. They can save thousands of sheets of paper, cutting out the need for a lot of the associated paperwork that goes with an event. It can include real-time schedules, gathered contacts from networking, social media updates and more.

SlideShare

Click to get in touchSlide deck presentations are re-energising the humble PowerPoint into shareable content. The popularity of slide hosting apps such as SlideShare mean you ditch cumbersome paper handouts and move to more succinct online versions that are engaging and insightful. Conferences have been publishing online for a long time but apps such as SlideShare take it to the next level, allowing contacts who were not at the event an opportunity to engage (and book for next year). SlideShare condenses information into visual bites that can be easily shared after an event.

Sustainability in the events industry is fast becoming big news again and will be increasingly important for event planners and organisers as it moves up the client’s agenda. Don’t be the one to miss out!