The event marketing industry is witnessing tremendous growth even against the backdrop of digital marketing techniques. According to Market Charts, 83% of B2B marketers today leverage event marketing to boost growth and their budgets in events are increasing gradually. 56% of marketers increased their event budgets in 2016 according to a Selligent 2016 Marketing Survey.
According to a similar study by Marketing Profs & Content Marketing Institute, 77% of use in-person events for their content marketing strategy. 67% of B2B marketers believe events are a more effective marketing strategy today again highlighting the potential for event marketers.
Overcoming Unique Emerging Challenges
With these numbers in mind, it is important to reposition your event marketing strategy in order to harness the potential in the industry. Event management today faces unique challenges especially with the advent of online marketing. Some of the major challenges cited by event marketers that you have to create strategies to overcome include:
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Lead and traffic generation
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Measuring of ROI for ongoing marketing efforts for the business.
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Securing a sufficient marketing budgets in the backdrop of increasing costs of operation.
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Short lead times
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Retaining relevance in the modern age of distraction especially online
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Disruptive technology that threatens the traditional event format
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Targeting content for a global audience
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Finding the right people for your marketing team.
There are many other challenges, many of which keep changing. Two decades back, no one would have thought social media would become a major game changer in business, but today any firm that is not leveraging social media networks is on its way down. As such, it is important for an event organizer to keep refreshing their marketing strategy in order to stay ahead of the competition.
How to Stay Ahead of the Pack
While these challenges might seem insurmountable, you can leverage emerging technologies to stay ahead. Social media, video marketing and other new technologies might be labelled disruptive, but a suave marketer will turn them into an opportunity.
Below are just a few proven strategies that you can now capitalize on to get your event marketing company ahead:
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Optimizing Influencers’ in your Niche
Influencer marketing is now real and while this idea has always existed in business, it is now even more crucial with the rise of internet technology. Influencers are a great way to help make your events conspicuous. If an influencer mentions your forthcoming event in a blog post, you can bet many people will flock to see what you are doing.
However, you have to appreciate that influencers have multiple requests from other businesses and you have to stand out in the terms of the content you are sharing before asking for a recommendation. Take time to research the best influencers and follow them on social media to make yourself noticed. When the time is ripe, send your request.
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Prove Your Social Standing
The first thing people look at when they are looking for an event management company is your reputation. Who are you and what makes you the best option? If you don’t stand out in your city then don’t expect orders from clients. You have to leverage social media and remember it is not a one-off project, but a long term strategy that involves a lot of hard work.
Create your profile and nurture your social media accounts gradually as you angle yourself as an authority. Make sure your events are creating a buzz on social media by getting people to share them on Instagram and other networks. The more people get to know you, the easier it becomes for them to engage with your brand.
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Pay Affiliates to Market You
Truth be told, event marketing is not for the fainthearted. It is a multi-billion dollar industry where you will be competing with renowned entities. As such, you have to use the most creative avenues to market your events in order to get noticed. Start small with an affiliate program through local bloggers and businesses. Offer complimentary tickets to events and other goodies to make your offers irresistible and share your spoils with affiliates.
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Stay Close to the Community
As an event marketer, your target market is mostly local and this should not sound like a bad thing. In fact, with tools such as Google Maps, local SEO has never been easier. Well, research shows that customers love local brands that are giving back to the community. This means your event marketing company must do something to get noticed. Think of promoting your events and giving back part of the proceeds to a local charity or maybe hype up charitable works in your marketing.
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Share and Keep Sharing
Whatever you do, never forget the power of social. Everyone today is on social networks and you have to go big in order to win over customers. Use Facebook remarketing, videos in your tweets, post amazing picture of your past, current and upcoming events and give incentives to promote sharing.
Like most local businesses, you might be going through a rough patch especially due to debt. This should not be allowed to drag you down. It is however important to refocus more energy on debt management for your business to operate without undue risks. you will find a debt relief program that suits you perfectly. Whether you want to go for consolidation or debt settlement, there are many partners ready to help get you back on your feet.
There are many other considerations in event marketing and your team should always be rehashing its strategy to stay ahead. Make sure you leverage visual content marketing, social media networks, influencers, discounts and bargains to clients, blogging, customer reviews and analytics. These factors will ground your event marketing business even as competition gets stiffer.
Author Bio
Isabella Rossellini is a marketing consultant based in Chicago. She helps local businesses in event management to cope with emerging challenges such as disruptive technology and rising costs. She is also a part time debt counsellor.