Social Media & Event Marketing in 2010: Engagement!

Social Media continues to grow as a channel in the integrated Event Marketing mix. Any of a myriad of surveys and polls validates this trend, including one conducted by eMarketer, which notes 60% of the respondents planning to increase spend in Social Media in 2010. The confluence of the platforms and technologies available and the recession has, in short, driven Event Marketers to look at Social Media as an avenue to cost-effectively generate interest and demand for event portfolios.

There are a slew of Social Media options available, and new ones appear almost daily. But  Event Marketing strategies, tactics and campaigns don’t have the luxury of waiting for the next big platform: once an event – either live or virtual - is set, marketing commences with the tools in hand. Which begs the question: in which basket should Event Marketing leaders place today's eggs?

The over-arching answer, of course, is to explore and test a variety of social media platforms to determine what works. My take is that social media in the communications space: blogs and micro-blogs (i.e. Twitter), professional and social networking sites (LinkedIn, Facebook), and content-sharing platforms (YouTube, Flickr, SlideShare, etc.) are the keys for Event Marketing. Between them, an Event Marketing campaign team should develop a strong social media mix to support an event or event portfolio.

HOWEVER, I also think these all are only pieces of the ultimate goal: engagement. Continued, ongoing engagement. Social media has quickly brought many changes to Event Marketing, including the altering traditional communication strategies for both attendees and prospects. Event Marketing communication should no longer be on an “as needed” basis, tactically starting at X weeks out with a Save the Date email and ending with a post-event Thank You email, then re-ramping when the next promotional cycle ensues. Instead, B2B audiences will increasingly come to anticipate and expect social media-driven communities, networks and forums in which interaction – and engagement – is ongoing. Event marketing leaders who invest their increased Social Media spend in this arena will, in short, have the most to gain.

At a minimum, utilizing LinkedIn and Facebook both for their Event listing capability and Group feature (and, with Facebook, for its Fan Page) should be a starting point. Ning is another platform which, while mirroring LinkedIn, is set up for individual networks and communities. (If you are not familiar with Ning, do check out Eventpeeps.com, a site is built in Ning.) And of course, there are software options available as well. Pathable is one example of such software, this one happens to be event-specific and acts as an aggregator of various SM platforms. (I am not affailiated with or endorsing any of the above, but noting them as the types of options available. Please use due diligence if you explore them.)

Planning and executing Event Marketing using Social Media is a topic and discussion for another post: the take-away here is, if you have not already, begin to take a serious look at how you can start building continued, vital communities as a continued engagement strategy surrounding your events.

Good luck!

John

Susan Boyle and the On-Site Experience

From my perspective, there are two things that keep the world going around – good marketing and insane social-media driven phenomenon – such as the whole Susan Boyle craze that has been in play since last Saturday night. Thirty two million views on YouTube really says it all.

In Susan Boyle, you may immediately wonder, what does an unemployed person of Scottish descent in their 40s have to do with event Marketing? [Those of you that know me: irony intended] This may be a stretch – but I have to argue that Ms. Boyle reinforces the importance of you, as a marketer, being intrinsically involved with the on-site/user experience at your event or of any product.

This is a leap of faith of an analogy, but Boyle is like a session at an event – a part of something individuals spent time and capital to attend (or watch). A session, granted, that attendees went into grudgingly, but came out with a “Holy Cow!” look on their faces. She is really about, in this context, first of all exceeding expectations, and, more to the point, capitalizing on the experience – marketing it - to the fullest. Boyle didn’t happen in a vacuum; the marketing team at Britain’s Got Talent had their ducks in a row and ensured that buzz was created.

And it’s our job to remember to do this – on a smaller scale – on site at events. When you’re on site (and you should be on site – as I commented on earlier) you should make sure you’re:

• Attending sessions – seeing and learning first-hand what the attendee is experiencing
• Talking to attendees – getting feedback on their “wow” moments
• Getting On-Site survey results ASAP – and leveraging what was seen as valuable.
• Pending budget and time, filming attendee interviews for content.
• Tweeting – and encouraging attendees to Tweet – about their on-site experience.

And, post-event, acting on the “wow” moments – developing content from edited session clips, interviews, etc. and uploading the content to YouTube (and/or your site). Develop podcasts. And get this content out on the Web. Get your PR – and your buzz going – submit releases to relevant portals including the links to the content you’ve built.

Not that you can expect an event or piece of content from an event is going to get eight-figure (and counting) hits on YouTube within a week of posting. But not sure the folks on Britain’s Got Talent really did either. But it was a great story communicated and marketed quickly and efficiently.

Good luck!