Business events have taken the modern marketing world by storm, combining the unique benefits of face to face networking, print media and online marketing to create one super platform capable of delivering an exceptional ROI.
As ever, output is equal to input - and companies investing their time and effort into this popular marketing channel are reaping the rewards of their involved approach. From live product demonstrations to engaging exhibition stands, there are a number of tactics business owners can harness to make each event experience as gratifying as possible.
These are just a few of the ways event marketing can help ambitious businesses develop into household brand names.
Brand awareness
Whether you’re exhibiting on a stand of your own or simply attending for a few hours, networking is the key to coming away from an event with a contact list full of promising new leads. By working the room and making authentic connections with both industry competitors and potential customers, you can spread the word about your brand without resorting to aggressive sales messages.
Better yet, if the opportunity arises, why not take to the stage and conduct a talk on one of your specialist topics? By providing event attendees with genuine insight and actionable takeaways, you’re giving them a legitimate incentive to visit your stand and have a chat about your product or service. At the very least, this offers an ideal opportunity to get your name out there and create crucial brand awareness.
Brand recognition
Mobile marketing is every exhibitor’s best friend when it comes to maximising attendee engagement. Explore the App Store to access a number of state-of-the-art event apps designed to create interactive experiences for attendee and exhibitor alike - helping businesses expose visitors to their brand in the hope of securing their attention during the course of the event.
Geofencing in particular gives businesses a channel through which to increase valuable brand recognition, sending push notifications to visitors the moment they enter the event venue. This way, companies can make an instant impression and take full advantage of the event’s foot traffic - using these targeted messages to boost awareness and, in turn, attendance at their stand.
Brand power
To really inspire excitement in attendees, you’ll need to make sure your visual branding is on point. High quality display materials are essential when it comes to making an immediate impact - and by using print media to communicate key customer benefits and aspects of your company ethos, you can beat the fashion vs function conundrum.
From pop-ups to banner stands, creative visual displays have the potential to lure attendees in - giving you a chance to take this engagement to the next level and, ideally, convert interested visitors into promising new leads. By investing in a superior quality display, you can ensure your brand is presented at its very best and effectively conveys the qualities that set you apart.
Brand engagement
Taking attendees from introductions to your address book is no easy feat - but by adopting a creative and focused approach to engagement, you can significantly streamline this process. Offering exciting extras such as live product demonstrations helps you to immerse visitors in your brand and makes it easier for them to visualise themselves as a user of your product or service.
For bonus engagement points, consider the impact social media marketing can have on your success at an event. Live tweeting throughout the day draws maximum attention to your business - and including both your precise location and any relevant hashtags means you can drive as many interested attendees to your stand as possible.
Brand loyalty
A fleeting brand encounter is of little value unless you find a way to nurture this one-off engagement into a lasting relationship - and by harnessing tried and tested lead generation tactics, you can make this happen. Thanks to a range of apps designed solely to take the hassle out of collecting leads, businesses are able to amass valuable new contacts with a simple scan of a business card.
After that, it’s time to embark on the follow-up - and again, the strategy for success rests on the effort you’re willing to put in. Whether you choose to contact leads via phone, email, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other channel at your disposal, the key is to ensure your next encounter is targeted and, more importantly, timely. Give every lead an incentive to stay in touch and don’t give them a chance to forget about you.
With the help of a suite of innovative event marketing apps, combined with a professional and proactive approach, any business owner can make their next event a storming success and walk away with a bunch of purchase-ready leads under their belt.
By Tori Atkinson, content writer at Digitalab.
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