It’s no secret that the economy affects the events industry. When event budgets are slashed, event attendance drops, attendees are less willing or able to travel, and those attendees who do show up feel the effects of the economy. Even in good economic conditions, exhibitors are being forced to scrutinize every detail to prove the […]
Tips to help attendees justify coming to your meeting
Tips to help attendees justify coming to your meeting.
How to run a top-notch business event without breaking the bank
Want to bring in the cash, attract clients with ease and network like a ninja? Here are seven essential event planning tips to consider when organizing small business events.
Event website and SEO best practices for meeting pros
How and where should you promote your event so the attendees you desire can discover it? Let’s take a look at some event website and search engine optimization (SEO) best practices—you want your attendees to find your event easily and through search channels they’re already familiar with.
Event marketing: Don’t stress out
Everything you do to market your event follows from knowing your audience. Your customers are your audience and today you need to know who they are in much deeper ways than ever before. It is important to reach them in the right places at the right times in the right ways to convince them to attend your event.
Study: Planners link email campaigns to event success
Email is the No. 1 communication channel for 85 percent of event planners in a study just released by the event-management software company Bizzabo.
Studies: Many event-minded marketers don’t track ROI
Two recent studies show that events make money, but that sizable percentages of marketers don’t know how much return they’re getting on their investments.
Determine your event’s ROI … and grow it
The simplest way to measure it is to look at which marketing vehicles enabled you to fill seats in the fastest, most cost-efficient way possible.
Need an event app? Meet Guidebook Builder
The platform has a drag-and-drop interface that lets planners with no programming experience build and manage mobile event guides and have complete control of the content before, during and after an event.
Ditch words. Use pictures to market your event.
Words alone can fail to evoke the same emotional connection or intellectual activity that a picture does.
6 steps to creating a targeted event marketing strategy
You can fail-proof your event, and it’s actually easier than you might think.
Let’s communicate: Start-to-finish strategies
Marketing before, during and after an event is about building an event brand — and generating loyalty.
Time running low? Put your creativity to work
Most participants need time to get an event on their calendar, but a last-minute push can work to your advantage.
Wait! Don’t tell me (you forgot to register)!
Event managers are getting creative and front-loading event attendance. Here are some of their strategies.
9 steps to finding your super fans and putting them to work
Find your best brand ambassador and put them to work for you.
Case study: Creating a team of brand ambassadors
Community-building tips can easily be adapted by meeting and event planners.
Mobilizing your mobile event-management strategy
A recent study found that 91 percent of mobile users keep their device within arm’s reach 100 percent of the time.
Revitalize your event marketing strategy with these 14 tips
The traditional model of event marketing is broken. Here are tips to get you back on track.
The smart way to market your partnership
Partnership is a new normal approach to how business gets done. That doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone. Check out five important things to keep in mind.
With the right video strategy, your event can go viral
Event promoters can increase the value of their events if they take their rich content beyond the four corners of the room with video coverage. Here are some tips.
The art, and science, of marketing strategy
In Marketing 101, there are the 5 P’s: Product, Placement, Position, Price, People. You must address these squarely from the start.
Technology primer: Part 2 – Virtual events
A virtual event, quite simply, is one that is broadcast over the Internet. It typically has audio of a presenter, and visuals in the format of slides.
Put YouTube to work for you
You probably knew that Google was the No. 1 search engine, but did you realize that YouTube.com was No. 2? If you’re interested in people knowing more about the events you organize, there’s no better way to spread the word than creating video content. Or, better yet, encouraging potential attendees to create content for you. […]
Technology primer: Part 1 — Marketing with QR Codes
QR codes are designed specifically to direct users to a mobile-optimized webpage. They are great for both pre-event marketing and on-site event engagement.
Building essential skills in Atlanta
If you weren’t able to join us in Atlanta for the March 1 PYM LIVE Event at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead, you missed a couple of incredible sessions on essential planning skills. Luckily we didn’t forget you, so we archived half of it, and the other educational session will be available as a […]
The principles of meeting design, Part V: Unity
What makes a meeting great? What is the elusive quality, the special magic, that gives your attendees the feeling that something extraordinary is going on? I believe the answer to that lies in committing to the fifth and final principle of meeting design – unity. In visual design, unity is defined as “the underlying principle […]
The three habits of successful social meeting planners (VIDEO)
There is a simple, step-by-step way to make social media put butts in seats. Whether you work for yourself, for a bureau or a not-for-profit association you can grow attendance with tools like Facebook, Twitter, podcasts, YouTube, LinkedIn and blogs. Whether you’re trying to get association members or corporate executives to attend virtual or live […]
The hidden impact of post-event marketing
Marketing is often seen as a one-trick pony — to drive attendance to the event — and therefore it is utilized almost exclusively in the pre-event phase. Yet marketing is capable of doing so much more. Post-event marketing does three things extremely well: It maintains momentum for the next event. It encourages and supports the […]
Where does marketing fit in the event planning process?
According to MPI’s recently released Meeting and Business Event Competency Standards (MBECS), marketing ranks low in importance after an impressive list of other considerations, including strategic planning, project management, risk management, administration, human resources, stakeholder management, meeting design and site management. So it’s no surprise that for many planners, marketing is an afterthought. Most likely, […]
How to make your event website work harder for you
Event websites that allow for online registration are often considered a part of event marketing. They certainly can be, but it isn’t an automatic function of these sites, which are offered by Cvent, RegOnline, ConstantContact, SignUp4, 123 SignUp and many, many more. Here are the top considerations that will transform your event website from a […]
The magic fix for low event attendance
Recently many successful events have seen attendance numbers dropping. Event stakeholder reactions vary wildly – from canceling the event entirely, to redoubling marketing efforts. Happily, neither of these approaches are inherently right or wrong. The trick is to know why attendees aren’t coming, and how organizations can then address the objections keeping those attendees away. […]
Program content is king. But how does it affect event marketing?
The answer to the question, based on numerous event ROI studies, is that exceptional program content is the single most important attribute of any event – more so than location, theme, activities, duration, timing and even cost. There is no doubt that attendees come to meetings and conferences for a number of reasons. Networking, recognition […]
E-mail promotions: Is more better?
When it comes to building awareness and driving attendance to your event, e-mails are still one of the best, fastest, cheapest methods. However, most planners struggle with building an e-mail campaign, especially when it comes to two very basic parameters: How many e-mails are the “right” number of touches? How often should e-mails be sent, […]
Should I theme my meeting?
It used to be that if you were hosting a corporate meeting or association conference, it was understood it needed a theme. Who can forget the classics? Right Team, Right Time Right Now. The Power of One. Focus on the Future. Better than Ever Together. Mission Possible. The theme sets the tone, in what planners hope […]
Six “must haves” for successful do-it-yourself event marketing
Every event is different — size, budget, attendee demographics — all vary widely. However, there are six key factors that will ensure your marketing is truly successful, regardless of whether your event is a wedding or a product launch. If you are like many planners, you might tend to jump right into tactics like a […]
Warning: @MeetingBoy is going to hate this post
If you need help thinking outside the box, you really need to follow our newest advice columnist @MeetingBoy, who really takes things to the next level with his flawless execution of humorous bon mots about office trolls, time-wasting meetings and other onerous workday realities. He talks about a lot of things, but he always circles […]
If Facebook is your storefront to the world, how are you merchandizing?
It’s difficult to ignore the fact that there are 500 million users on Facebook. They all may not be relevant to you, your company, events, social media goals or objectives, but the sheer size of this community makes a viable case for having an effective presence there. If we use a mall analogy, as a […]
Raising the bar with event marketing
As the event industry continues to evolve, one thing is clear: Not only are planners expected to give their clients more for their money, they are required to prove return on investment for each event they participate. It is important that planners have a clear understanding of what event marketing is and how to maximized their […]
Strategies to boost event attendance
In good fiscal years, as well as bad, the topic on every event planner’s mind is: How do we get people to sign up and attend our conference? Of course, in down economic times, that question takes on an even bigger urgency. Although there is no secret sure-fire trick, experienced planners say there are actions […]
Social market leadership – what’s your next move?
I’ve been in the consulting business for a long time and am convinced I’ve seen it all. An executive recently told me that he saw no value in social media, that it was a waste of his already limited resources. In his mind, he felt he must have done something right to have stayed in […]
Incorporating social media into your event marketing strategy
Events, conferences, and trade shows are an established means to help employees learn from area experts and build personal networks; meet with customers, suppliers, and distributors; generate new business; and see new products. But with the current economic climate, it’s no secret that event marketers are having a tough time maintaining attendance levels and augmenting […]
Innovative ways to attract exhibitors and sponsors to your event
Traditional event marketing at trade shows, sporting events, nonprofit events and conferences helps sponsors and exhibitors advertise services or products will help make customers’ lives better/easier/more fun. They have less than 30 seconds to attract potential customers/leads into an area to showcase their company’s services or products; then they have less than three minutes to […]
ROI metrics and measurement objectives for events
We’re not just meeting planners anymore, we’re also event marketing managers, which means we have to prove ourselves through ROI. I want to share a specific equation and other techniques on how to accomplish this very difficult task. RELATED STORY: Event marketing strategies for tough economic times Since ROI is the World Record-setting and gold […]
A meeting planner’s guide to PR
If you are not using public relations to promote your events, you may be missing a huge opportunity.
What is branding, and how does it relate to events?
Should you brand your event? The answer is almost always yes.
