5 Reasons Why Event Marketing Hosting Is Important For Your Business

Introduction

We have all gone to a great event where we say to ourselves, “that was awesome!” Whether it is a sports arena, theatre, office, or your local restaurant, there is value behind having an event. Do you ever wonder why your local city council plans out an event such as a harvest festival? Along with the positivity and family fun that come along with the carnival, there is value in the exposure that a local government gets to experience with interests in the future. An example that is more at scale can be Tech Crunch’s Disrupt, an event that is oriented towards startups, investors, tech leaders, and other entrepreneurs. In this article we will go over some of the benefits and why event marketing could be important for your business which includes:

• Contribution to Community
• Branding Exposure
• Networking
• Industry Authority
• Post-Event Marketing

Contribution to Community

If your origin and intent of event marketing are simply to collect data and leads so that you can close, you will lose. Now those may be some results that can happen from proper execution, but there should always be a value proposition asking, “why & how is this valuable for this particular community?” This community can be a local city, local organization, industry group, or an event that your own business is holding. There needs to be a valuable takeaway that leaves your audience wanting more. This doesn’t necessarily mean wanting your services, but can mean how someone can participate next in your next event marketing efforts. You cannot go wrong with educating your industry in a social/entertaining way to have your audience keep up with what is going on in a particular industry. Your event doesn’t even need to be related to your services, such as an event for veterans and how your organization is showing support. Many people are attracted to good works in event marketing, just ask Honda.

Branding Exposure

No matter what type of event marketing you are conducting know that, if executed properly, your company or organization will have brand exposure. Your audience is not naive, the authenticity of your actions and what you are supporting play a huge role. Remember this, your audience will not remember what you said with your event marketing efforts, but will remember how you made them feel. What knowledge, emotions and social activities would you want to be associated with your brand? These are all key factors to keep in mind when planning and conducting your event. Whatever you decide to support and theme your event, from the announcement, your organization will be attached & associated with your event marketing efforts. Concentrate on the customer experience for your attendees to make sure that they are welcomed and catered to. Also, remember to not over-do your branding efforts, a subtle logo could go a long way. 

Networking

I wanted to keep this one 3rd, not last or first, for a reason. This should not be your most important goal for your event marketing efforts, your contribution/value proposition should be. Networking is a by-product and a result of you executing the proper steps to have a highly-reviewed event. If you think about it, event marketing requires networking throughout the whole entire life-cycle of your event. People need to know about your event, so by contacting high-value connections, you are networking. Keeping registrants updated and reminded of the upcoming event involves networking. Promoting your event at other locations and organizations is a form of networking. The day of the event offers the most valuable form of networking, it always helps if you had a great event and your audience is in good spirits. Your event marketing efforts will support your networking, give something valuable (knowledge/entertainment/connections) to your audience first before handing them a business card and setting appointments (inbound). If you are in professional services, there is no question you should be doing event marketing to establish and grow relationships. 

Industry Authority & Credibility

Let’s face it, everyone out there is the next guru, or have the software that will make your business 100x bigger in a week. We have all seen these types of event marketing efforts, and they are as bogus as what they are advertising. This is a perfect example of not having the end customer/attendee in mind and only being into the event for the data collection and marketing. If and when you do provide something valuable to your audience, your attendees will see you as an authority in your industry and/or local community. Your event marketing efforts should give you credibility and earn trust in your audience that you are competent. This doesn’t necessarily need to be related to your services or skills, but can show that you have a great culture in your organization which can earn trust in your attendees. Some of the best marketing efforts are done without expecting anything in return and making the audience feel welcomed. If you are aiming towards your own skillset, bring something to the table that your audience has never thought about and evoke the provocation for them to look at their lives/businesses differently.

Post-Event Marketing

After everyone leaves and all the music has stopped, the work has barely been scratched. Sure there were many efforts from the beginning and hosting the actual event, but they don’t call it event marketing for no reason. Data collection from registrants, content captured at the event, post-event emails/cards/phone calls thanking everyone for attending is a great way to execute on tangible assets that you have, the contact information & the attention of the attendees (if the event went well!) The post-event marketing involves a lot of preparation that needs to take place. For example, have a dedicated content creator (video/photo) who is capturing great moments. Hint, people love high-quality photos of themselves to use to show where they have been to friends and families. Don’t turn into a spam bot and treat your attendees like a directory. Have conversations that can lead to collaboration and/or future attendance to your events!

Conclusion

We hope that this article made you think about how event marketing could potentially be valuable to your organization. There is no better way than to be in the trenches with your contacts and be able to talk to them in a competent setting that is representing your brand. People have a great heart for efforts that help local communities and organizations be the catalyst and moderator to potentially do this for your own geographical area. The ideas are endless, brainstorming with others, as well as collaborating with other organizations, could be a great way to start if you have no experience in event marketing. Start networking with others who have had events and see where you can contribute so that you can get your feet wet. 

If you would like guidance and more information on how to optimize your event reach out to us at SurgeDigitalConsultants.com, or call Cris at 909-534-0238.

Sincerely, 

Surge Team

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