Cathy Song Novelli is the Chief Marketing Officer at Hubilo.
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A possible recession is looming. While budgets and investments may decrease, our business goals must stay on track. When we can’t travel or host big events, we can turn to the lessons we learned from the Covid-19 pandemic to survive anything that comes our way. Event professionals, marketers and attendees have learned (and loved) much about connecting in a virtual world––and what consumers, event attendees and professionals actually want when it comes to effective marketing. With a little creativity and by unleashing your teams to execute the best ideas, you can elevate your event from “just another” virtual tie-in to a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can create results, build loyalty and set your brand apart.
Things To Keep From The Pandemic
As disruptive as the last two years have been, the shift to digital events gave us a lot to keep. From increased audience reach to a better ROI for dollars spent to better audience data, we created a solid foundation to build on in case the business environment gets challenging once more.
The ‘Everywhere Audience’
You’ve noticed how contentious a return to the office has been for many companies, and that speaks to the popularity of some pandemic accommodations. Your event audiences may feel the same emotional tug-of-war with a return to in-person-only events. They want to connect and be there, but some still have health-based concerns, some have taken on additional roles at work and home that preclude their attendance, and some have just realized that they are more comfortable logging on instead of stepping in. Additionally, in a post-pandemic precaution world, consumers are likely to consider how your brand prioritizes accessibility on multiple channels (including voluntary in-person accommodations).
These are important audiences for your brand. Those who value well-done virtual events are also likely to be digitally savvy in other ways, making them natural allies––or critics––online. As influencers gain more hold in marketing and entertainment, it’s important to ensure your events are well perceived and well rounded.
It also makes appealing to this group tricky: Digital audiences have more competition for their attention than a captive, in-person audience. From video streaming services to TikTok, virtual events compete with some of the best content online. That’s where knowing what your audience values from your brand––before the pandemic, during and moving into “after”––can give you focus. Make sure you research your audience after these two years of upheaval. Whether you use surveys, consumer research, evaluation of social media or event KPIs, or solicitation of direct feedback, intentionally set out to learn how your audience has evolved.
Creativity
In-person attendees feel the buzz in the atmosphere and all the benefits that come with being together physically. Get creative to give virtual participants the same feeling of exclusivity to their connection method. This real and immersive experience that only you can provide has the power to pull virtual audiences away from other distractions in the digital sphere. As a leader, it’s on you to set a tone for discovering the best marketing for your brand and your current audience rather than relying on now-irrelevant past operations.
As event marketers, we want to connect people through events. These days, we should look for ways to connect attendees and allow them to replay conversations or revisit content they may have missed the first time around. Empower your virtual audience to be a part of the event on their schedule, not yours. Give them the experiences they’ll want to log into in real time so they don’t miss them––and the flexibility to avoid the fear of missing out on smaller stages or trade-show halls.
If you want them to stay hooked, make it simple for your target audience to interact with the content and each other. People want to be part of the action and see the action, so help your team find ways to create opportunities for participation. For example, consider organizing breakout rooms, networking opportunities and private lounges, or incorporating gamified features like live polls, leader boards and contests.
Building On Results
The more your audience engages in more experiences, the more they can actively tell you what they want. It’s not always direct, though, so it’s important to determine how you’ll collect detailed data on your target audiences. This data can also make your event more valuable to sponsors and exhibitors because you’ll be able to demonstrate ROI.
Consumer data from third parties is becoming increasingly less reliable due to updated privacy policies and users opting themselves out of web cookies and in-app tracking. That’s why you should gather your own data from your own target audiences tied to your own goals to use internally or to show ROI.
Consider your own marketing strategy and pipeline to ensure your virtual event format can capture the pertinent KPIs. You can measure just about anything with a virtual event, from who downloaded what resource or spent how much time at a vendor booth to actual customer journeys.
As many parts of people’s lives are likely to go or remain digital in the coming years and decades, I believe virtual events will remain in demand. Putting effort into finding the right mix of ingredients for your own once-in-a-lifetime experiences will keep your audiences coming back and your marketers able to meet their expectations.
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