How Event Management Companies Use Digital Marketing

Event Planning and management companies are involved in managing events where they are involved in all aspects of the event, from its initial conception and idea generation stage through to the actual execution of the event. Organizers want their events to run smoothly and using an events management company help them reduce stress and enable them to enjoy the event.

Companies uses a mix of a communication strategy to attract customers; their integrated online and offline communication channels make it easy for the company to communicate with the different sections of people, making it easy to hit the target audiences. Over the years, a lot has changed in the way people and businesses communicate, with the digital medium playing an important role in improving marketing, sales, brand awareness, communication and virtually all aspects of business.

The events industry is no exception. Here we take a look at how event companies are successfully using digital marketing to create the right kind of buzz around their events, and to promote the event effectively for maximum benefits.

There are many event companies that are successfully using digital marketing today to promote their events effectively. While companies use a mix of traditional media as well as online media to connect with customers, digital marketing has become extremely popular in recent times, because of the cost-advantage and also because of the control it allows you over the campaigns.

So, for example, for multi-day industry events such as NASSCOM Events, the objective of their digital marketing efforts would be to create awareness about the event so that maximum people register for the events and visit the event. Similarly, for a music concert by a leading artiste, such as the Bryan Adams concert in Mumbai, the aim would be to create more buzz about the event and drive maximum online sale of tickets for the event. The same thought process goes behind popular sports events as well.

Marketing Objectives

Multi-day events organized by an industry (such as the ones organized by NASSCOM), music concerts by top celebrities, sports event, high-profile weddings, etc. are all managed by event companies.

Often event management companies hire the services of an external digital marketing company with the right kind of expertise. Once a digital marketing agency is hired by an event company, the first step is to understand the requirements of the event, and the marketing objectives.

In general, the marketing objectives for events are as follows:

• Manage the digital presence of the event. Carry out digital marketing activities including Social Media, PR, and Newsletters.
• Create a buzz around the event by sharing updates, maintaining interest, generating buzz, which helps maximize interest.
• Manage social interaction and reputation during the event.
• Promote the speakers/celebrities taking part in the event
• Maximize online registrations or online ticket sales for such events. Create a strong digital presence and keep the audience engaged before and during the event to ensure that the registrations continue till the day of the event.
• Proactive communication even allows event companies to limit damage control in case of unpleasant situations.

Strategies Adopted

When devising a strategy to use digital marketing, the first step is to make sure the company has the right set of digital assets required to communicate with the audience.

This means having a website in place, something that is easy to navigate, and shows up clearly on all kinds of devices that the visitor might be using. Website is a platform where the customer will get detailed information about the event, with clear links to register for the event and to buy tickets.

The company will also need to create social media accounts to attract and engage more followers. The top social media sites are a great way to tell the audience about the brand, offer the right set of tools to cultivate relationships and can also be used to drive social media traffic to the website. Keeping a close ear on what’s being said on social media, brands can also better understand what people, in general, think about their brand.

Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and are great for sharing image-rich content and videos, which should be the case for event companies. The company will need to regularly share nice images and short videos on social media, which are creative and informational; creative pictures and videos make users view the content and great for engaging them.

The company should also earmark some budget for paid advertising, on FB, Instagram, and on Google. The advantage of paid advertising is that it allows a company to reach to a wide audience much faster.

The company should also chalk out a plan for Email marketing, which is also a great marketing method. It involves sending a commercial message to a group of people on a list (that you build by capturing email-ids). In email marketing, the email communication is sent to every potential or current customer residing on the list.

Once these digital assets are in place, a company can plan its marketing efforts.

An event company will need to adopt two strategies when it comes to using digital marketing.

1. One is to promote the company itself within its industry, which should be done keeping in mind its long-term objectives. The company should be clear about how it’s going to differentiate itself from the rest in the industry and will need to come up with a plan to meet those objectives.
2. The other strategy will be to promote the various events as and when required. The company will require a different strategy and approach to market individual events.

Recommendations

In general, for promoting any event, an event company should to run a marketing campaign that will focus on the following.

• Offline Marketing (depending on the budget)
• Promotion on Social media
• Email Marketing

The company should also create a detailed plan. Here’s how Event companies should use digital marketing for effective marketing of their events.

• Create a digital marketing strategy – Start with the objectives, decide what type of content will be created, how and where it will be shared.
• Create a detailed plan to promote and execute the various online activities.
• Create informational blog posts relevant to the event and publish it on the website.
• Create video content – make several short videos and share it on the various digital assets – website, YouTube and social media
• Create content that encourages user interaction through fan activities and contests. Provide coupons and discount to fans to increase buzz.
• Create a content calendar that will clearly show (dates, frequency) how content will be published, shared
• Use email marketing to promote your events to your existing audience
• Use social media in all aspects of planning, promoting and executing an event
• Use metrics to see how all the actions are performing, and use analytics to improve the performance on future events

For efficient usage of digital marketing, it is important for event companies to use various techniques and strategies such as SEO, social media marketing, video advertising, paid advertising, work towards improving conversion rates, and take further cues from the various metrics.

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