2 7 Steps for A Successful Event Marketing Campaign
So, what are the vital facets to be considered for an effective marketing campaign for the event? Here comes a list of seven points that will help in optimizing event marketing campaign
2.1 Exhaustive Research
Inevitably, the most successful marketing campaigns need exhaustive market research. Without thorough research, the campaign will be misdirected and will not reach the target audience. Thus, researching the target audience is critical for the success of the event campaign. Understanding the ecosystem of the target audience will give a better insight into their demands as a consumer and will help to tailor a design and strategy of the campaign.
Ideally, the research should be able to answer the following questions:
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Who will be interested in this event?
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Why are they interested in this event?
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Is the event unique for the consumers?
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Who is the competitor for the same target audience?
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What will the audience gain by attending the event?
2.2 Set a SMART Goal and Budget
Design the marketing campaign by clearly outlining the demand of the target audience and setting a SMART goal and fixing a budget. SMART is a mnemonic acronym, which stands for – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Result-Oriented and Timely.
By identifying the specific goals of the event campaign, it will be easier to communicate with the team and get everyone on the same page. It will help to derive ideas to accomplish the targets. Moreover, the goals must be measurable in order to properly assess the campaign performance. It is necessary to keep goals achievable so that the target seems easy to accomplish. It will also add motivation to stay consistent in achieving the target. Being results-oriented is vital to emphasize how each objective will affect the result. Finally, being timely with the goals and setting tough deadlines will ensure that the targets are accomplished and the campaign is accurately progressing.
2.3 Strategize With Suitable ROI Metrics
Once the goals for the event marketing campaign are established and agreed upon, it is vital to decide the metrics with which the goals are to be measured. Fixing a budget for the campaign plays an important part. Event ROI indicates the net value an organizer gets from an event against the investment made. It could be the revenue generated from registrations, sponsorships and partnerships, lead generated for the sales, and more. For example, for building brand awareness the ROI metrics can be the number of registrations in the event, number of social media impressions, number of website visits and number of website visits for the event page. Hence, it is mandatory to select the right metrics to accurately analyze the ROI of the campaign.
2.4 Select an Event Marketing Campaign Attribution Model
Concurrently with event ROI, the question about event marketing attribution arises. Event marketing attribution is the bridge between the event and additional revenue. For instance, whether a participant turns around as a potential customer is easy to track down, But, what if someone leaves the event without conversion? For verifying the event ROI, tracking the lead becomes important till the final conversion. Additionally, it is noteworthy to know what other marketing activities contributed to that final conversion. Here comes, the role of the event marketing attribution model which helps to determine the event ROI in a better way.
One of the examples of an event marketing campaign attribution model is the W-shaped model. This model is considered as the most appropriate representation of event ROI and also the toughest to implement. It analyzes all the different marketing initiatives that finally led to the conversion. For example, let us presume a potential customer visits a website event page, attends a webinar, attends the event, and then finally gets converted as a customer. The W-model will keep track of all these parameters and diversify the credit accordingly.
2.5 Prepare a Timeline and Book a Venue
Once the event goals and metrics are all set, it is time to prepare the timeline to achieve the targets. While outlining the timeline, it is imperative to focus on setting strict deadlines against the task list. A process timeline will provide a detailed view of the tasks that are on priority and make necessary modifications as the process progresses.
A timeline helps to plan a promotion that gives a clear picture about what to be released and when. It also helps to analyze the interest of the target audiences and release the information accordingly to boost the goals of the event campaign.
Booking a venue for in-person events is also a significant step. An ideal venue that compliments the intent of the event boosts the outcome. Although, it is a relaxed option for marketing campaigns for virtual events.
2.6 Promote the Event Marketing Campaign
Once the campaign is ready to go live, working on its promotion is crucial so that people get to know about the event. Further, promoting an ongoing event also should not stop to a aattracting the attention of the participants. It will help them to learn about the products or services, offers, and increase the chances of registrations.
Social Media strategy, email marketing, paid advertising, content marketing and creating an event microsite are a few of the ideas that entrepreneurs utilize for promoting an event. According to Event MB, 74% of the marketers listed social media as the most effective tool for event marketing followed by email marketing almost 66%, and websites almost 60%.
2.7 Stay Relevant
Staying relevant to the dynamic needs of the event campaign is crucial for entrepreneurs. Hence, to meet the needs, technological involvements are necessary. Selecting the right event campaign management software is one of the few requirements. The ideal platform should help to collect valuable event data and extract valuable insights from it. Typically, the platform must monitor event registration in real-time, it should be customizable to allow updates, or even has an app for event networking. Platforms like these will help to align with event goals and objectives.
Further, if multiple software is used to manage the event campaign such as a marketing automation platform or a customer relationship management system (CRM), integrating all the software will provide a robust, high-level synopsis of the event data. Integrations significantly enable efficiency, productivity, and provide organized insights.