New LinkedIn Videos for Event Marketing and 4 Other Stories Planners Should Read
This month’s round-up of top tech stories has a big focus on video and its impact on event marketing – from the new sponsored videos feature that LinkedIn is currently rolling out to a comprehensive piece from Corbin Ball with lots of fresh ideas on how video can be used effectively across an event’s lifecycle. We also look at what lessons event planners can learn from the Facebook data breach scandal from the perspective of GDPR and data security. Finally, we look at a new tool from Glisser that makes it a lot easier to connect virtual audiences to physical events and a great article from the team at MeetingsNet presenting the case for digital assistants when comparing them to traditional event apps.
Have a look at the top event tech stories you don’t want to miss:
AdWeek: LinkedIn is Making In-Feed Video Ads Available to All Companies Soon
LinkedIn began beta-testing video for sponsored content last October and it looks like the professional network will now make it available for all businesses over the next few weeks. The new native video ads appear directly in LinkedIn’s feeds as stand-alone posts, making it easier for B2B marketers to create awareness of their events via rich, visual stories and drive traffic to registration sites. LinkedIn’s superior B2B targeting capabilities means advertisers can hone in on traits including job title, seniority, company, industry and skills, and its ‘matched audiences’ options allow them to focus on their highest-priority accounts.
This article from AdWeek also suggests that the new features will mean better performance insights for advertisers too. You’ll be able to see what types of professionals are watching, engaging with and converting on your sponsored video content. You can also use LinkedIn’s conversion tracking tool to tally the number of leads, sign-ups, website visits and other actions generated by the ads. Read more.
TSNN: Glisser Launches Hybrid Audience Engagement Platform
Glisser, the audience-response system and event analytics platform has launched Glisser LIVE, a new online tool that allows event planners to promote and host hybrid and virtual events by making it easier to connect virtual audiences to physical events. The new offering combines the company’s existing slide-sharing and audience response app with a live video feed and brandable web platform to engage remote attendees. The event’s video feed can also be extracted from multiple sources, including YouTube Live. Read more.
TechCrunch: Facebook Urged to Make GDPR its Baseline Standard Globally
Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave the last few weeks, you’ll know something about the data breach scandal that’s hit social media giant, Facebook, and the way it mismanaged users’ personal data. The dramatic revelations can be seen as a game changer in data protection. Suddenly, everyone is paying attention. And according to TechCrunch, it seems Facebook is now facing calls from consumer groups to make the EU’s incoming GDPR data protection framework the ‘baseline standard for all Facebook services’ – globally. It’s interesting because it raises the prospect of expanding GDPR’s approach to privacy protection regulations to other countries – something many experts are predicting over the coming few years.
Are your events ready for GDPR? Get your eBook: ‘The Event Planner’s Guide to GDPR Compliance’, and learn what impact Europe’s new data protection regulation will have on event marketing, data management and event technology – as well as what steps to take NOW to get ready for the May 2018 deadline.
So how is this all relevant to the world of events? Event planners should use this opportunity to learn from the mistakes made by Facebook and think very carefully about how they’re going to look after the personal information of attendees in a post-GDPR world come May 2018. The issue of data security in fact is going to become a much bigger deal in our industry. A survey by Eventsforce last month assessing the GDPR readiness of more than 120 event professionals found that 81% believe data security will be a bigger priority for their events after the GDPR deadline. As an event professional, you may think that the whole issue of data security is something that needs to be dealt with by your IT teams – but the reality is that there are many things you and your team may be doing today that could put your organisation at serious risk of a data breach and non-compliance to the new GDPR requirements. Have a look at some typical examples here.
Read: Top 10 GDPR Red Flags for Meetings and Events
Corbin Ball: 50 ideas Using Videos to Promote your events
Let’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 words – which, by the way, is the equivalent of 3,600 typical web pages!
Corbin Ball has put together a great article that offers lots of ideas on how you can use videos to engage attendees before, during and after an event – from promo clips that give a quick overview of your event, to messages from your CEO/show organiser and behind the scenes time-lapse footage which can be played during an event. You’ve also got examples that use live-streaming and video competitions on social media channels. There are also significant opportunities to use videos of the content generated during the event to extend the life of the meeting after the event and for promotion of future events. Have a look at the full list here.
Read: Why Video is a Big Deal for Marketing Your Events
MeetingsNet: Why Your Events Need Digital Assistants
In 2016, Gartner analysts predicted that by 2020 the average person will have more conversations with bots than with their spouse. While that is a depressing thought, there is no doubt that chatbots are popping up everywhere, including hotels and events. There are different types of chatbots, from voice-activated personal assistants like Alexa to intelligent, purpose-driven bots designed to interact via voice or text message and ‘trained’ to provide information in a defined situation, such as conferences.
Currently, event chatbots are available on most texting apps, and while many use artificial intelligence, they still need ‘training’ by humans. The bot can gather some data from the event’s website, including dates and locations, but the meeting planner needs to supply it with other detailed information. When someone asks a question, the bot responds with an answer that will cover everything. For example, if an attendee texts the bot asking if there is free Wi-Fi, the bot could text back ‘Yes,’ or it could text back ‘Yes, here is the password, and this is the download speed.’ This piece from MeetingsNet covers some interesting perspectives on the use of chatbots vs. traditional apps, including the benefits and drawbacks – as well as some good case studies on the use of chatbots at events like ArtFest Fort in Florida and the IMEXLab in Germany. Read more.
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