Consistently branding your event helps address all of these factors. Your organization’s brand reinforces its mission and values while emphasizing the professional aspect of your association. Using your brand strategically will draw attendees into your event, allowing them to have a memorable experience that leaves a positive impression of your organization.

In this quick guide, we’ll look at three areas of association events where you can use branding to communicate your mission:

• Registration Forms
• Promotional Materials
• The Event Venue

Before you dive into branding your event, Loop recommends compiling your association’s brand guidelines into a single document. This brand guide will then serve as a reference for anyone who works on your event branding to ensure every aspect is cohesive.

Registration Forms

Registration marks the beginning of the event experience for attendees. Create a good first impression by making your association’s branding pop on your registration website and form!

In particular, ensure these aspects of your branding are front and center as members sign up:

• Logo. Your logo is the visual representation of what your association stands for, so it serves as a “seal of approval” that connects your event materials back to your organization. Place it in the top corner of your registration form so attendees see it right away.
• Fonts. Choose fonts that look professional and are easy to read on a screen—sans serif tends to work best. Use different typefaces for headers and body text to add visual variety, but avoid having more than two distinct fonts on the form so it doesn’t look cluttered.
• Colors. As you incorporate your brand colors into the form, make sure there’s enough contrast between the text and background colors so it’s easy to read. Let’s say your association’s colors are red, black, and light gray. You could use black text on a light gray background or vice versa and then include red as an accent color to make the form more visually interesting.
• Messaging. Branding extends beyond visual communication. It also applies to how your association presents itself in writing—like the informational content on your registration form. Keep your written tone, word choice, and mechanics consistent so your members can be confident they’re registering for your event.

To provide the best possible sign-up experience, your registration form’s branding should be consistent with the rest of your organization’s website. This cohesion allows for a seamless transition between the informational page about the event and the form, as well as other parts of your site where first-time attendees might look to learn more about your association.

Promotional Materials

In addition to your association’s website, feature the above branding elements in all of your other event promotional materials, including:

• Email marketing. Create a branded letterhead for email blasts about your event that includes your logo, fonts, and colors, and reference your messaging guidelines as you write the copy. Additionally, when association staff members respond to questions about the event, have them put your logo in their email signatures to instill trust that the responses are from real people at your organization.
• Social media. Ensure your association’s visuals and messaging shine on every social media platform. According to Getting Attention, Facebook is the top ROI-generating social media site as of 2023, with Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok all tied for second place. Advertise across all of these platforms for the widest possible reach—along with LinkedIn, since its users are probably looking for professional development opportunities like your event!
• Direct mail. Although many organizations focus on digital marketing, direct mail isn’t dead. Rather, it’s a great way to make your brand more tangible for event attendees! Use your brand fonts and messaging guidelines to communicate what benefits members will receive if they attend your event, and incorporate color into your invitation letters wherever possible to catch their attention.

If you promote your event through co-marketing opportunities, ensure your partners or sponsors include your association’s logo alongside theirs and add direct quotes from your organization that capture the essence of your mission-driven messaging. Not only will you make your association’s brand recognizable to your sponsors’ audience, but you’ll also communicate even more about your mission by showcasing your partnerships with organizations whose values align with yours.

The Event Venue

Branding a space looks different depending on whether your event takes place in person or virtually. We’ll cover each of these options in the following sections.

In-Person Events

Some of the best places to feature your brand colors, fonts, and logo at in-person events include:

• Signage and banners at the venue
• Your event app and other interactive tools
• Name badges for attendees, speakers, staff, and volunteers
• Event swag like notepads, pens, water bottles, and phone wallets

Incorporating your brand in these ways makes your venue look cohesive and professional, in addition to showcasing your association everywhere at the event.

Virtual Events

For virtual events, you’ll primarily brand the technology associated with your event, including your:

• Online event agendas
• Hosting platform’s waiting rooms
• Livestreams and pre-recorded videos
• Presentation slides

Additionally, your association may already send member and donor gifts through the mail, so why not mail out swag packs to virtual event attendees as well? That way, they’ll have a tangible reminder of your event (and your mission) in addition to seeing your branding throughout the virtual experience!

Communicating your association’s mission through branding doesn’t end when your event is over. Incorporate your brand into thank-you messages and other follow-ups to keep it top of mind even after attendees leave. Also, include a couple of questions in your post-event survey about brand recognition and your association’s mission to determine how much your efforts resonated with your audience.

The post Communicating Your Mission Through Branding at Events appeared first on EventMobi.

In fact, networking is one of the biggest reasons members join organizations! According to the 2023 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, 64% of associations believe members join to network with others in the field.

Keep reading to find out more about what makes a great networking event, the best times to host one, and what type of networking event you should organize.

What is a Networking Event?

A networking event is a gathering where people meet to build professional relationships. These events come in many forms from casual meetups in a café to formal conferences. They can be held in person, online, or a hybrid of both.

What Are the Benefits of Holding a Networking Event?

Hosting a networking event offers loads of benefits, including: 

• Relationship building for your attendees and your organization
• Lead generation. Meeting new people–and learning about their needs–creates opportunities to connect with potential customers or partners
• Brand building. Networking events are a great way to get your brand in front of new people!
• Positioning yourself as an expert through sharing knowledge and expertise
• Learning opportunities from speaking to people from different industries and backgrounds

Among many other potential benefits for your org and your audience!

When Should You Host a Networking Event?

Need help deciding when you should hold a networking event for your members or community? With all the benefits networking events can offer, you can consider hosting one whenever you:

• Launch a new product or service
• Want to share knowledge or boost brand visibility
• Need to conduct market research
• Would like to connect with new people or strengthen community connections

There are a few considerations to keep in mind when planning a networking event. When you choose a time to host your event, make sure you:

• Consider the schedules of your target audience. When are they most likely to be available for an event?
• Consider whether they’d be most interested in attending an in person, online, or hybrid event
• Choose a time that’s convenient for people to travel to and from your event if you’re hosting it in person
• Avoid scheduling your event during major holidays or other busy seasons

Ready to find out what types of networking events you can organize? Read on! 

22 Types of Networking Events You Can Organize

There are many different types of networking events, each with unique benefits. Let’s take a look at 22 of the most popular ones:

Networking meetup

Networking meetups are relaxed, informal gatherings often held in a casual setting, like a bar, restaurant, or coffee shop. These are perfect for mingling and just getting to know others in a low-pressure environment!

Networking workshop

A networking workshop is an educational event offered by professional associations, career centers, and employers. These workshops teach participants how to network effectively and typically focus on topics like:

• How to start conversations at networking events
• How to build relationships within your network
• How to follow up after meeting someone at an event

An example of a networking workshops is this one hosted by the New York Institute of Technology:

Networking seminar

Networking seminars are similar to networking workshops but are often more formal and in-depth. While workshops provide a hands-on environment, seminars offer a more structured format that might include keynote speakers and panel discussions. Networking seminars are an excellent place to learn and share industry insights!

Social networking events

Social networking events are informal networking events that are great for making friends and building professional relationships. For example, team-building events or meetups with activities like happy hours or cocktail parties. More informal social networking events can include game nights or themed parties.

Corporate networking events

Corporate networking events are hosted by companies for their employees, customers, or partners. To encourage camaraderie and collaboration, companies might host different types of business networking events, including team-building exercises, product demonstrations, or awards ceremonies.

Networking party

Networking parties are fun events that can include social activities like dancing, karaoke, and games. This type of networking event provides the ideal atmosphere for socializing, meeting new people, bonding with others in the community, and simply having a good time!

Speed networking

Ever heard of speed dating? Well, speed networking is the professional equivalent! Participants are paired up for short conversations and rotate to a new partner every few minutes. Speed networking can be quite fun and is a fantastic way to practice your elevator pitch–since you only have a small window to make an impression and exchange information! 

Online networking events

Online networking events are—you guessed it—networking events that take place online. The convenience of virtual events allows attendees to join from the comfort of their home (or office!) and organizers don’t need to worry as much about the logistics of event set-up. 

To host an online networking event, you can use an event management platform to help attendees share and connect. For example, EventMobi’s event app offers networking features like:

Networking at conferences

Networking is a staple at most industry conferences, which bring together attendees to discuss the latest trends or to strike up new business opportunities. Outside of the main conference sessions or presentations, organizers might set up special luncheons or after-hours social events to help attendees network.

Networking mixers

Networking mixers are events that bring people from different industries together. They may be held at bars, restaurants, or event spaces.

Executive networking groups

Executive networking groups are exclusive gatherings for senior-level executives. They provide a platform for executives to network and share high-level discussions or strategies.

High-end networking events

Looking to rub elbows at a more exclusive venue? High-end networking events can be expensive to attend but offer the opportunity to network with some of the most successful, high-profile people within a specific industry.

Trade shows

Trade shows are industry-specific events where companies showcase their products and services. Although they might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of different types of networking events, trade shows can be a great place for exhibitors, sponsors, organizers, and attendees to network with potential customers or partners!

1:1 networking meetings

Unlike other events where you meet and interact with multiple people at once, 1:1 networking events are private meetings with key contacts. More intimate meetings allow for more in-depth discussions, which makes 1:1 networking ideal for building deeper relationships with new contacts.

For example, attendees might meet 1:1 to discuss a session they both attended–or opt for 1:1 messaging to get to know contacts during an online event.

Breakfast or lunch networking

Nothing bonds people as quickly as sharing a good meal, which makes breakfast or lunch networking events perfect for meeting people in a low-pressure environment.

Alumni gatherings

Whether you’re looking to reconnect with your former classmates or meet new people from similar backgrounds or fields of study, an alumni gathering can make for a powerful networking opportunity. Plus, the shared experience of attending the same school gives you something to bond over, makes it easier to break the ice, and allows for deeper connections.

Professional association meetings

Some associations hold professional networking events for members. This type of networking event provides a forum for members to meet, reconnect, learn from industry experts, and share updates and trends.

Examples of professional association meetings include the Summer Academic Conference by the American Marketing Association (AMA):

As well as the annual conference for HR professionals held by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM):

Meet-and-greets

A meet-and-greet is an informal networking event where you can meet new people, introduce yourself, and make some initial connections. This type of networking event is often held at bars, restaurants, or coffee shops.

Mentorship programs

Mentorship programs are networking programs that pair experienced professionals (mentors) with less experienced professionals (mentees). They provide an excellent opportunity for mentees to learn from an experienced professional while building valuable relationships.

VIP Receptions and Events

VIP receptions and events are exclusive gatherings where you can mingle with VIP guests—who are likely influential individuals within your industry.

Roundtable discussions

Roundtable discussions are small-group networking events where participants discuss a specific topic. They are a great way to have in-depth conversations and share knowledge and expertise with other people in your industry.

Happy hours

What’s more classic than a happy hour networking event? These laid-back events allow attendees to meet, chat, and make connections over a round of drinks and appetizers.

Improve Your Attendees’ Networking Experience with the Right Software

Whatever type of networking event you’re planning, event management software like EventMobi can greatly enhance your attendees’ experience! Maximize attendee networking with a range of networking features, including:

• Attendee Directory: Allow your attendees to set up their profiles, search for other attendees, and contact each other during and after the event
• Private Chat: Attendees can communicate directly and privately without leaving the event app
• Appointment Booking: Encourage attendees to build lasting connections by letting them schedule 1:1 meetings through the networking app
• Live Session Chat: Attendees can interact with speakers or panelists by asking questions and engaging during session presentations
• Activity Feed: Group discussions where attendees can ask questions, share photos, start conversations, react with emojis, and reply to each others’ posts
• Gamification: Encourage networking by awarding points for connecting with others, attending sessions, or completing certain tasks

With event management software like EventMobi, you can improve the networking experience for attendees and help them make lasting connections! Interested in learning more? Contact us today.

Enhance Networking and Foster Conversations with an Event Management App

Hopefully, you’ve learned something new about the different types of networking events and how to best use them to your advantage! Done right, networking events can be a lot of fun as well as a great way to meet new people, make connections, and explore opportunities.

Whether you’re planning a small meet-and-greet or a VIP reception, remember to tailor your networking event to suit your audience’s preferences and professional goals.

Organizing a networking event? EventMobi lets you maximize engagement with a variety of interactive networking features. Watch the product tour to learn more!

Watch the Product Tour

The post 22 Types of Networking Events You Can Organize in 2023 appeared first on EventMobi.

A strong event marketing strategy isn’t just about getting the word out about your conference, expo, trade show, or event; it’s about compelling your audience to take notice and take action by registering and attending.

From in-person gatherings to virtual meet-ups, event marketers face a range of challenges and opportunities. To be effective, event marketing requires a perfect balance of creativity, strategy, and adaptability–and your event marketing strategy can make all the difference.

As we delve into event marketing best practices, we’ll arm you with tools, tips, and tricks that can transform your next event from just another date on the calendar to an unforgettable experience.

What Are Event Marketing Strategies?

Event marketing strategies cover the tactics, techniques, and plans event organizers deploy to promote their events and drive attendance. Event marketing strategies are kind of like your party-planning playbook. 

But don’t be mistaken—this doesn’t simply involve advertising. Think of your strategy as a holistic approach that integrates elements like branding, target audience identification, communication channels, and content creation to ensure your event reaches the right people and creates a buzz. Connecting the event’s purpose and goals to its potential attendees ensures they see the value of participating. 

What does that look like? We’re talking eye-catching digital ads, compelling emails, relatable social media posts, and maybe even an influencer shout-out or two. It’s all about the build-up, making sure folks don’t just hear about your event, but that they’re excited to be a part of it!

Why Is an Event Marketing Strategy Crucial for Associations, Corporations & Academies?

Whether you’re organizing a local workshop, a global conference, or an exclusive product launch, planning an event is no easy feat. After all the time and effort you’ve put into organizing, it’d be a shame if those who’d love to attend didn’t find out about it!

That’s why creating a sound event marketing plan is paramount. Sticking to a plan ensures every decision you make aligns with your overarching objectives. Nailing your marketing strategy can provide:

Increased revenue

Think beyond just ticket sales. We’re talking about sponsors who want their logos everywhere, vendors setting up stalls, and perhaps even selling that amazing keynote speech later on. A great marketing strategy gets more eyes on your event, which translates into more revenue.

Stronger client and industry relationships

Alright, we all know events aren’t just about fancy presentations. It’s about meeting folks, getting to know key players in the industry, and making those all-important connections. The better your marketing, the better the crowd, and the better the post-event chat in the industry!

New leads for your database

Every registration, every QR code scanned means someone potentially saying, “Hey, I want to hear more from you!” Remember, as you pull in the crowds, you’re also building a high-value list for your next event or product launch.

Increased awareness

Got a big announcement? Maybe a new product or a groundbreaking bit of research? A solid marketing plan ensures your message doesn’t just echo in the hall but creates a real buzz within your industry. Remember: Marketing your event isn’t 100% about filling empty seats. It’s about making waves, growing, and being the talk of the town (or industry!). And the right event marketing strategy? Well, that’s your ticket to success!

17 Types of Event Marketing Strategies

Getting started with event marketing tips and strategies can feel a bit like navigating a bustling city for the first time. There are so many avenues to explore, each promising unique opportunities and challenges.

Let’s take a guided tour through the different channels and see what each brings to your event marketing table.

Paid marketing

The marketing equivalent of the fast lane! Paid marketing, like pay-per-click (PPC) ads and sponsored content, offers immediate visibility. It’s perfect for reaching a specific audience quickly, but it often comes at a higher cost.

Email marketing

The best email marketing is personalized, direct, and often expected by your audience. A well-crafted email campaign can not only inform but excite potential attendees!

Social media marketing

Platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok allow for dynamic interaction. They’re ideal for providing regular updates, engaging teasers, and getting real-time feedback.

Updating your website

Your website is like your home base. Optimizing your event page ensures that those who are curious about you can find answers to all their questions. Plus, it’s the official go-to for registrations and detailed info about your event!

Content marketing

Content marketing is a great way to inform your audience and build your reputation as a thought leader within your industry. Whether you focus on blogs, videos, podcasts, or something else, you can leverage content marketing to educate your audience and build anticipation for any upcoming events.

Influencer marketing

Collaborating with industry influencers can amplify your message, especially if they have a following that matches your target audience.

Event listing sites

The town bulletin board. Posting on sites like Eventbrite or Meetup can increase visibility, especially for those just casually browsing for events.

PR

The town crier! Press releases or media collaborations can generate buzz, especially if you can make your event stand out from the crowd.

Forum engagement

Engaging in niche forums or groups can be like joining local clubs. That’s where you find genuinely interested folks and can have deeper, more focused conversations.

Email signatures and footers

Sometimes, the small gestures make a big impact. Adding event info in email footers subtly keeps it in the forefront, especially for regular correspondents.

Direct mail

Direct mail is old school, but it can help you stand out in today’s digital age. A well-designed invite or brochure delivered to their door can make recipients feel truly special.

SMS marketing

Texting your audience with SMS marketing is quick and direct! It’s like a tap on the shoulder, perfect for reminders, promos, or last-minute updates.

Existing events

Promoting your event at other similar events can tap into an already interested crowd, and it’s a great live event marketing method. 

Mobile apps

Your event in their pocket! Event mobile apps can enhance the attendee experience, provide updates, and even facilitate networking.

Remarketing

Ever walked past a store and then decided to return? Remarketing is the digital version of that, reminding potential attendees of what they might be missing.

Community activation

Engaging your existing community, like members or past attendees, is a great way to rally your fans and advocates. With a little encouragement (and maybe a small incentive!), they can be your event’s most ardent promoters.

Swag and merch

Everyone loves goodies. Branded merchandise can create buzz and make your event memorable long after it’s over. 

How to Create an Event Marketing Plan

Now that we’ve looked at the different types of event marketing, it’s important to remember that you don’t need to invest in every single channel.

Rather than trying to market everywhere, focus on the channels and tactics most aligned with your event and audience. After all, a good event marketing plan is about making genuine connections and creating memorable experiences.

Not sure where to start? Here’s an overview of the steps you need to reach your destination:

Define your goals

What’s your destination: Are you aiming for brand awareness, attendee engagement, or a certain number of ticket sales? Nail down what success looks like for you.

Set a budget

Remember, every great event has a budget. Know what you’re willing to spend on marketing to get the desired outcomes. This will guide your choices down the road.

Create your brand and voice

Your event’s personality! Decide on the colors, fonts, and tone that will represent your event. Consistency is key to being memorable.

Choose your tools

There’s an array of event marketing tools out there—from email marketing platforms to social schedulers. Make sure they align with your strategies.

Define your audience

Who are you speaking to? Identifying your audience’s preferences, demographics, and habits will help tailor your message.

Find your audience and channels

Now, where do these folks hang out? Is it Instagram? LinkedIn? Email? Direct your efforts where they’ll be most seen and appreciated.

Create an event marketing calendar

Plot out key dates. When will you launch your PR? Send your first email? Having a timeline keeps things on track.

Create your marketing collateral

Brochures, banners, and digital ads, oh my! Having these ready in advance ensures a consistent and timely rollout.

Refine your CTAs

Your call to action is the hook! Make it compelling, clear, and aligned with your goals.

Test and QA everything you need to

Nothing spoils the mood like a broken link or typo. Double—no, triple-check everything.

Go live across channels

It’s showtime! Execute your plan and watch the magic happen.

Send out your PR blast

Get the media involved. A well-timed press release can amplify your reach.

Ask your speakers to share 

Your speakers have followers too! Equip them with shareable content and collateral, and watch your visibility soar.

Track success, pivot as needed

Not everything goes as planned, and that’s okay. Track metrics and be ready to tweak your event marketing strategy for even better results.

Measure results

Post-event, it’s analysis time. Did you hit your goals? What worked, and what didn’t?

At the event: Track session and event attendance

Track attendance at specific sessions and ask attendees what they love and where you can improve.

Post-event marketing

The event might be over, but the marketing isn’t. Share highlights and photos, and engage with attendees online.

Benchmark for next time

Note down what worked best. That’ll be the foundation for your next event’s marketing plan.

What Are the 5 Ps of Event Planning?

The 5 Ps are the guiding principles of event planning. Whether you’re focused on live event marketing or creating a virtual event marketing strategy, the 5 Ps remain timeless in their importance. 

• Plan. Every great event starts with a plan. Your event marketing plan is the blueprint of what you want to achieve. It should outline everything from the event’s objective to the tiniest details like napkin colors. A thorough plan can make the difference between an event that feels seamlessly orchestrated and one that doesn’t.
• Partner. Unless you’re a magician, it’s tough to pull off an event solo. This is where partners come into play. From vendors to sponsors to keynote speakers, choosing the right partners can elevate your event to the next level.
• Place. Your venue is more than a backdrop—it sets the mood for your event. Whether you host an event in a grand ballroom, a cozy cafe, or a virtual space online, ensure the setting aligns with your event’s purpose and accommodates your audience comfortably.
• Practice. Ever heard of a dress rehearsal? Just as actors practice before the curtain rises, event planners should run through the day’s events in advance. This helps iron out any wrinkles and ensures everything runs smoothly on event day.
• Permission. In the age of data protection and increased focus on privacy, ensuring you have all the necessary permissions is crucial. This might relate to venue licensing, data collection from attendees, or even content and media permissions. Better safe than sorry!

When you master the 5 Ps, you’re not just planning an event—you’re orchestrating an experience that attendees will remember.

12 Event Marketing Tools to Amplify Your Strategy

Simply having an event marketing strategy in place isn’t enough on its own—you also need the right tools to bring that strategy to life. From designing visually appealing graphics to managing your team’s tasks, there’s a tool for almost everything!

 Let’s unpack some of the finest tools in the event marketer’s toolbox:

Canva

Your event deserves to shine brightly and Canva helps it do just that. This graphic design platform makes it easy to create promotional materials, even if you’re not a design pro. With templates galore, you can whip up everything from event posters to social media graphics in no time.

Asana

If managing your event marketing feels like a juggling act, a tool like Asana can ensure you don’t drop the ball. This task management tool lets you keep tabs on every detail, assign tasks to specific team members, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

HubSpot CRM

You already know that a healthy relationship with your attendees is gold. A customer relationship management tool like HubSpot CRM helps you maintain this bond by managing and analyzing customer interactions and data. Stay on top of leads, ticket sales, and attendee preferences with ease.

HubSpot

In the world of event marketing tech, HubSpot stands as a beacon for inbound marketing, sales, and service. Create content that attracts attendees, manage your leads efficiently, and analyze the success of your campaigns—all under one digital roof.

Google Analytics

If knowledge is power, then Google Analytics is your event’s powerhouse. Track your website traffic, see which marketing campaigns are most effective, and gain insights into what your potential attendees are looking for.

Google Search Console

Want to see exactly where your event website stands in the vast sea of search results? Google Search Console can tell you everything you need to know. It’ll give you insight into your site’s search performance and potential issues, ensuring your audience can find your event when they tap that search bar.

Hootsuite

Social media and events go together like popcorn and movies. Hootsuite is a social media management tool that helps you take control of all your social media channels in one place. You can use Hootsuite to schedule posts and engage with your audience to ensure your event gets the online buzz it deserves.

Mailchimp

Email might be old school, but it’s still a major player in the event marketing game. Platforms liek Mailchimp simplify the process of designing, sending, and tracking your email marketing campaigns, ensuring your invites and updates land in the right inboxes.

Buffer

Think of Buffer as your social media butler. It lets you schedule, publish, and analyze all your social media posts in one place, which is perfect for ensuring consistent updates about your event across different platforms!

Sprout Social

Social listening is the name of the game with Sprout Social. Monitor your brand mentions, engage with your audience, and dig into analytics to understand the social pulse of your event.

Trello

For visual thinkers, Trello is a godsend. Create boards, lists, and cards to organize your event tasks. It’s like having a digital whiteboard where your whole team can collaborate and visualize the event planning progress.

Google Drive

Collaboration is the backbone of event planning. Google Drive offers a space for your team to store, share, and collaboratively edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

How to Measure Event Marketing Success

So, you’ve put in the hard yards with your event marketing strategy and want to make sure it was all worth it. Determining the success of your event marketing is crucial not only to justify the resources spent but also to refine and optimize future campaigns. 

Here’s a dive into how you can measure the success of your event marketing:

Define clear objectives

Understand your goals, whether that’s boosting brand awareness or fostering networking. Having a clear event marketing strategy and goal extends to your post-event evaluation!

Track registration and attendance numbers

A high sign-up rate is great, but how many of those registrants actually attend? Track these numbers to understand event appeal and identify possible pain points.

Measure attendee engagement

Use live polls, Q&A sessions, and event marketing tools throughout your event to see how involved your attendees really are.

Evaluate networking effectiveness

Good networking is a sign of event marketing success. Consider counting the number of meetings booked through your event app or the number of leads your exhibitors were able to capture.

Assess feedback and satisfaction

Post-event surveys are a  goldmine of attendee feedback! Learn from comments and refine your event marketing plan for the future.

Calculate financial ROI

Compare your costs against revenue. If you’ve got a positive return on your investment, that’s event marketing success you can take to the bank.

Analyze digital engagement

With tools like Google Analytics, you can track website visits, social mentions, and more to gauge your virtual event marketing strategy.

Study long-term impact

Look beyond the immediate aftermath. Did you land new business deals, find new partnerships, or make plans for collaborations down the line? Those are valuable post-event results!

Leverage event technology

From tracking app usage to virtual booth interactions, using the right event marketing tools can give insights into your campaign’s success. Based on the data and insights you collect and analyze post-event, you can make adjustments to evolve your event marketing strategies to achieve the best outcomes!

Do You Need an Event Marketing Consultant?

Even with a robust event marketing plan in hand, executing it to perfection can be tricky. If your team has limited experience or you’re venturing into new event territory, a consultant might be the boost you need to get ahead!

Event marketing consultants are seasoned pros who have the expertise to ensure you’re applying events marketing best practices. They can also provide invaluable insights tailored to your specific needs.

Of course, bringing on a consultant is an investment. But think of it as gearing up for a mountain trek. Sure, you could do it solo, but it’d be safer—and potentially more rewarding—with the help of an experienced guide. An event marketing consultant can help you avoid pitfalls, maximize ROI, and truly shine in the spotlight of your event. 

Navigating the Event Marketing Landscape

Success in event marketing doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a blend of meticulous planning, understanding your audience, leveraging the right tools, and staying adaptable.

With the right event marketing strategies, tools, and perhaps even a knowledgeable consultant by your side, your events can transform from mere gatherings to powerhouse opportunities for brand growth. Remember, every event is a unique chance to showcase what you bring to the table, foster relationships, and create lasting impressions.

Event management software like EventMobi can help you keep up with event marketing trends. Come chat with our team to see how we help you host an event that not only captivates but converts! 

Ready to measure the success of your event marketing strategy? Use our social media dashboard to track engagement in real time!

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The post 17 Event Marketing Strategies to Boost Engagement & Drive Sales appeared first on EventMobi.

So how do you attract customers and inspire them to act? Through personalization and real-life experiences! Called experiential marketing, this approach hinges on creating interactive and emotional connections between brands and their target audience to drive results.

If you’re wondering how to get into experiential marketing, read on to understand the benefits of this strategy and examples of it at play. Soon, you’ll be ready to incorporate experiential marketing into your own organization’s strategy!

What is Experiential Marketing?

Experiential marketing is a promotional strategy that engages consumers through creating experiences. Doing so reinforces a brand’s value proposition in ways traditional ads can’t! 

From pop-up shops to webinars, experiential marketing campaigns ensure a closer bond between the consumer and the brand by engaging them in memorable interactions. Your audience will remember your brand because of the great experiences they have with you!

Of course, experiential marketing is not only about the event or the experience itself but also about providing rich opportunities for content creation and social sharing. And nowadays, events and experiences are more popular than ever! 

Did you know:

• According to Agency EA, 90% of B2B marketers and 70% of B2C marketers organized in person events in 2022
• In 2022, 33.5 million people attended a live show, compared to 27 million in 2019
• EventMarketer’s 2022 Experiential Intelligence Report found that 68% of B2C brands are more confident about the importance of marketing events than before the pandemic
• The same report also found that 65% of brands consider experiential marketing events to be related to sales success

Regardless of whether your organization focuses on B2B or B2C marketing, event and experiential marketing will take your marketing strategy to the next level!

What Are Some Experiential Marketing Examples?

The kind of experiential marketing activities you choose to organize can vary widely based on the industry, target audience, and marketing goals. In other words, the sky’s the limit! 

Here are some examples of experiential marketing events you can turn to:

Classes, workshops, and webinars

These provide an opportunity for attendees to learn something new about your product or the sphere your product is associated with. 

This option is perfect if your objective is to position your brand as an expert in the field and give participants a tangible skill or benefit to take away. For example, a company providing eCommerce optimization services can conduct a workshop on optimizing Magento 2 page speed.

Webinars are digital seminars that can be either live or pre-recorded. As a virtual option, they can reach a global audience and are cost-effective. The webinar format also allows for interactive elements like Q&A sessions, polls, and breakout rooms. Just keep in mind that your webinars will be easier to host with a proper virtual event platform.

Webinars can even be recorded for future use! Take the SEO platform Semrush, which has been hosting webinars on SEO tips. These webinars are available even if you don’t use the platform, so Semrush promotes their brand by conveying helpful information that’s available anytime, anywhere.  

Pop-ups

These are temporary retail spaces or experiences that ‘pop up’ for a limited time. This is a great experiential marketing option if you sell physical products. The temporary nature generates a sense of urgency and excitement! 

Pop-ups are often seen as exclusive and limited-time experiences, which can generate social media buzz. Translate that buzz into sales by planning them with your audience and goals in mind. 

For example, location is important for these experiential marketing events! Choose an area your target audience frequents, like near a mall or shopping district. Or, extend your reach by organizing the sale in a city or town where you have followers but no permanent physical store. You’ll get customers flocking to your pop-up, especially if you offer exclusive or new products!

Product presentations

These events are specifically designed to showcase and introduce new products. They give consumers firsthand experience with a product before they decide to buy, allowing them to see, touch, and sometimes even taste or try the product in real-time. 

Encourage your guests to share their experiences on social media, perhaps with a hashtag and photos! For added visibility on social channels, you can invite an influencer or two to join your presentation for an exclusive experience. 

Contests

Who doesn’t love the chance to win a prize? Contests are an exciting way to engage your audience and spread brand awareness. To make the contest work for you, invite participants to answer questions about your brand or items as a condition of entry. 

And if you’re looking to create additional hype for a virtual giveaway? Allow additional entries from your audience based on how many friends they tag on your posts!  

Your team will be able to collect user information, feedback, and content from the entry phase. And the chance to win an experiential prize—especially if additional entries are as simple as liking and sharing or tagging on a post—will get your socials buzzing! 

So how would an in person contest work? Irish beer brand Guinness presents a great example! Guinness ambassadors visited pubs throughout the United Kingdom while wearing flight attendant uniforms, offering the chance to win different prizes. The giveaways started with basic key chains, but the grand prize was a private jet vacation to Dublin. Now that’s an incentive!

6 Ways Experiential Marketing Improves on Traditional Marketing

If you’re new to experiential marketing, it might not be immediately clear what benefits it can offer compared to your other marketing strategies. You might even be wondering how to measure experiential marketing impact!

Most ads, both online and offline, rely on explicit messaging and visuals to sell a product or service. Though effective in some contexts, these methods often miss out on building deeper, more emotional connections with consumers. 

This is where experiential marketing truly shines! 

Instead of simply telling consumers about a brand’s value, here are 6 ways experiential marketing demonstrates it:

1. Improves communication with your audience

Experiences are an effective way to create a positive and long-lasting impression. Events are all about connecting with attendee emotions, which are the beating heart of effective marketing.

Imagine the difference between seeing an ad for a product online vs. trying it at a real-life event that connected you with a like-minded community on top of an intriguing product presentation. Wouldn’t you feel more interested in a product or brand that you could engage with firsthand? 

2. Provides unique content opportunities

According to Chaos Theory, 98% of event attendees generate digital content. Apart from the chance to score some high-quality user-generated content (UGC), experiential marketing provides the perfect occasion to create your own creative content! 

Use your events as an opportunity to record how consumers and attendees interact with the experiences you design to sell your business. Post pictures, videos, and reels on your socials using custom hashtags to encourage other attendees to share more content! 

Not only are you posting throughout your experiential event marketing, but you can keep these posts as content for future campaigns, branding, meetings, and other purposes. Check out how Figma, Grammarly, and Mailchimp use their experiential marketing events as a valuable source of social media content:

3. Fosters collaboration

Live events are also an opportunity to meet new people. Most of the time, such activities draw people with similar interests, careers, or pain points. 

For instance, a company promoting its SEO tool through a workshop will likely engage small business owners, digital marketing managers, copywriters, etc. Such an audience may not only share SEO insights but also find collaboration and employment opportunities. When a community forms because of you, that’s a great recurring audience for your future events!

4. Helps create a desirable impression

Positioning is a crucial aspect of any company’s image. In traditional marketing, it’s associated with such instruments as tone-of-voice, design, ambassadors, etc. 

Experiential marketing is a way to either make a particular image even more stable or to take a bold new direction. It’s up to you to decide on the kind of event you run and to set a matching mood. Be it a formal and professional class or a fun and cheerful contest, your event can leave a strong impression with proper planning!

5. Inspires UGC and word-of-mouth promotion

People usually share their good experiences with others. So after visiting a good event, you can be sure word-of-mouth will do its job! 

We’ve already mentioned the potential for experiential marketing to produce user-generated content. When your attendees share UGC images and videos online, they’re effectively promoting the event (and your brand!) to their followers. The built-in promotion ensures broader recognition, a higher level of trust, and a wider audience for upcoming events.

6. Provides valuable insights

Collecting data for experiential marketing might range from analyzing post-event surveys to using demographic data from registration. The most effective marketing strategies examine the available data and use it to segment consumers, personalize experiences, deal with problems or recommendations, and assess efficiency. 

Experiential Marketing Best Practices

Defining goals and choosing the right strategy is only half the story! Once you’ve decided on the basics, it’s time to start organizing. Here are some tips to make the process easy for your team and maximize ROI.

Integrate social media

It should come as no surprise that social media reach plays an integral role in experiential marketing! 

By using hashtags, competitions, and giveaways, you can attract people to your events and encourage attendees to share updates on their socials as well. This way, you win new customers and benefit even after your event is over.

Combine different kinds of activities

Experiential marketing strategies may be blended to produce a perfect campaign for your objectives. Why not organize a professional contest where the top prize is a speaking opportunity at a workshop, for instance? This would help you engage a knowledgeable audience and let them exchange valuable experiences.

Plus, combining different types of activities into a single experiential campaign allows you to create a truly unique experience.

Utilize storytelling

Every brand has a story. And the more your story resonates, the more relevant it’ll feel to your audience! Just like with other marketing strategies, you should focus on the narrative you want to tell and the takeaway message you want your audience to receive from your event.

Use a dedicated app

When you’re creating a memorable event, you’ll want a reliable tool to make planning easier. A tailored event app can help you create long-lasting relationships with your audience by:

If you’re ready to use an event app at your next experiential marketing event, check out EventMobi’s features to see how they can support your event!

Connect remote attendees

Events can unite people with similar life experiences and passions! But we’ve all learned how hard networking can be, especially during online events. 

Build in opportunities to network at your event and use networking tools that facilitate connection with features such as:

When you support these connections, you can offer attendees a meaningful experience with lasting relationships. And that can mean a lasting relationship with your brand, too! 

Creating Your Next Experiential Event

As technology improves and consumers crave more new and personalized experiences, businesses will want to develop increasingly immersive and engaging events. You can expect to see emerging technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality used more frequently in experiential marketing efforts!

Of course, experiential marketing can have a more limited audience compared to traditional marketing. One-on-one engagement is the ideal strategy for ensuring that the consumer has the whole experience, which implies that you can only focus on a specific group of customers at once.

But with the right marketing personnel and a hands-on approach to customer service, experiential marketing makes for an excellent marketing strategy. Make the extra effort with the right tools, and you’ll soon be forging more genuine human relationships with your customers as your brand’s star rises!

Recommended Resource: Looking to create an experiential marketing event? We’ve got you covered with our experience design guide!

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This post was contributed by Kate Parish, CMO at Onilab, an eCommerce development agency.

The post The Power of Experiential Marketing: Leveraging Events to Engage and Inspire appeared first on EventMobi.

That’s because the most effective websites for events aren’t just online brochures. Instead, they act as virtual handshakes that welcome attendees, sponsors, and speakers, leaving them eager to experience the real deal. 

In this article, we’ll unravel the elements that make up a stellar event website, cover how you can create an incredible event site that stands out from the crowd, and provide real-world examples to inspire you.

What is an Event Website?

At its core, an event website is a dedicated online platform that serves as the central hub for information about your event. 

Your website should provide potential attendees with all the details they need to know about your event–from the schedule and session descriptions to speaker bios and information on how to register. You can think of your site as a one-stop shop that answers the who, what, where, when, and why of your event. 

But here’s the thing: The best event websites are more than just informational resources! 

So, to get the most value out of your event website, you need to treat it as a powerful marketing opportunity. With the right design and strategy, your event website can help generate buzz, attract attendees, and create an immersive experience–well before your event officially kicks off!

Want to elevate your event experience to new heights? EventMobi’s Experience Design Guide: A Complete Guide to Creating Memorable Events will show you how!

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What Makes a Good Event Website? 15 Best Practices to Follow

A good event website isn’t just about listing details. It’s about creating an engaging user experience that hooks your audience from the get-go. 

Here are some best practices to consider when creating your event website:

Include a Descriptive Navigation Menu

Ensure your website is easy to navigate with a clean layout and intuitive menus. Visitors should be able to find the information they need quickly and easily.

Place Clear CTAs on Every Page

Your calls-to-action (CTAs) need to be clear and compelling. Whether it’s registering for the event or downloading the agenda, make sure it’s easy for users to understand what you want them to do.

Incorporate Your Event Branding

Your website should reflect your event branding. Consistent colors, logos, and messaging can create a cohesive experience that resonates with your audience.

Optimize for UX

User experience (UX) should be at the forefront of your design process. Ensure your site is responsive and easy to navigate, with quick load times and user-friendly event website design.

Test for Responsiveness on Different Devices

Make sure your website looks and functions well on all devices. With more and more people accessing websites on their phones, a mobile-friendly site is a must.

Make It Easy for Attendees to Register

The easier it is to register for your event, the better. Keep forms simple, and consider integrating with ticketing platforms to streamline the process.

Use Analytics and Tracking

Implement analytics to track user behavior and measure the success of your website. These insights can help you make data-driven decisions to improve user engagement and conversion rates.

Let Attendees Build Their Own Schedules

A clear, easy-to-use schedule makes it easier for attendees to plan their time at your event. Consider using interactive schedules that allow attendees to create personalized agendas.

Promote Your Sponsors

If your event has sponsors, make sure to showcase them prominently on your site. This not only gives them visibility but also adds credibility to your event.

Leverage Social Proof

Testimonials, reviews, and endorsements can boost your event’s reputation. Consider adding a section on your website to highlight positive feedback from past attendees or notable figures.

Connect Your Website to Your Event Tech

Integrate your event tech stack into your website. Whether it’s a registration system, a networking platform, or a virtual event platform, seamless integration can enhance user experience and streamline event management.

Set Up Notifications

Use push notifications or email alerts to keep attendees informed about event updates. This not only keeps them engaged but also builds anticipation leading up to the event.

Play Around with Interactive Design Elements 

Use animation and interactive design elements to create a dynamic and engaging website. These can help bring your event to life and make your website more memorable.

Embed Video Content

Videos can provide a more immersive and engaging experience than text alone. Consider creating a video library to house promotional videos, speaker interviews, or teasers from previous events to pique interest and build excitement.

Don’t Forget About SEO

Last, but certainly not least, optimize your website for search engines. Use relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and alt text for images. This can help improve your website’s visibility and attract more organic traffic.

How to Create an Event Website that Resonates with Attendees

A well-designed event website is user-friendly, engaging, and a true reflection of your event. Now, let’s look at how you can put these best practices into action.

Designing an event website can seem daunting, but with a solid plan and the right tools, you can create a site that not only looks great but also helps you achieve your event goals. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create an effective event website:

Choose Your Team

Identify the key players who will contribute to your website creation. This might include a web designer, copywriter, and project manager to keep everything on track.

Define Your Brand

Your website should reflect your event’s brand. Decide on a consistent color scheme, typography, and overall aesthetic that aligns with your event’s image.

Decide on CTAs

What actions do you want your visitors to take? Whether it’s registering for the event, downloading a program, or contacting your team, identify your CTAs early on.

Decide What Features You Need

Will you need a blog? An event calendar? A ticketing system? List the features you want your website to have.

Create a Sitemap

Plan out the structure of your website. This helps ensure a smooth user experience and aids SEO efforts.

Choose Domain and Hosting

Your domain name should be simple, memorable, and relevant to your event. Choose a reliable hosting provider to ensure your site remains accessible and performs well.

Optional: Outsource Design & Development

If you don’t have the expertise in-house, consider hiring a professional to design and develop your site.

Research, Explore, and Select a CMS

A Content Management System (CMS) allows you to easily manage and update your website’s content. Options range from WordPress to Joomla and many more.

Plan Your Event

Before you can build a website for it, you need to have a clear plan for your event. Know your schedule, speakers, and activities.

Design Your Website

This is where your event website comes to life. Keep user experience and visual appeal in mind.

Write Your Content

Craft engaging and informative content for your website. Make sure it aligns with your brand and conveys all necessary information.

Develop the Website

With the design and content ready, it’s time to build the site. Ensure that it’s responsive and loads quickly.

Choose an Event Tech Partner

An event tech partner can offer software solutions that simplify event planning and execution, such as ticketing systems or attendee engagement tools.

Create a Post-Registration Event Page

Once attendees have registered, direct them to a post-registration page that provides additional event details and builds anticipation.

Test & QA

Before launch, thoroughly test your website to ensure everything works as it should. Check all links, forms, and features.

Launch It!

Now that you’ve got everything in place, it’s time to hit publish and unveil your event website to the world.

Decide What to Change Post-Event

After your event concludes, decide what changes you’ll make to your website. Will you add a photo gallery, share speaker presentations, or start promoting your next event?

A strategic and branded event website is the cornerstone of your event marketing strategy. By following these steps, you can create a site that captures your audience’s attention and drives event registrations.

The Best Event Websites: 15 Examples of Conference Websites, Corporate Event Websites, and More

1. PCMA EduCon

PCMA EduCon is a gathering of professionals in the business events industry where they share insights and experiences in an interactive setting.

What we like about this conference event website:

• The crisp, high-contrast design
• Effective navigation with clear CTAs
• Interactive agenda section

Takeaway: The power of effective visual communication and a well-structured event agenda.

Collision

Collision is one of the world’s biggest tech conferences, attracting attendees from across the globe.

What we like:

• Strong branding and bold color choices throughout
• Engaging multimedia content
• Live countdown adds a sense of urgency

Takeaway: The role of solid branding and engaging multimedia in not only capturing visitors’ attention–but also keeping them clicking around your site.

Experiential Marketing Summit

Experiential Marketing Summit is the world’s largest conference on experiential marketing.

What we like:

• Bold and vibrant design
• Clear overview of the event
• Engaging animations

Takeaway: The effectiveness of bold designs and animations in driving user engagement.

Inbound

Inbound is a conference hosted by HubSpot that brings together marketing, sales, and service professionals.

What we like about this conference website:

• Clean and minimalist design
• Well-structured schedule
• Integrated social proof

Takeaway: Never underestimate the power of a minimalist design complemented by well-structured information.

IMEX Frankfurt

IMEX Frankfurt is a worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings, and events.

What we like:

• Intuitive navigation system
• Comprehensive information on speakers and exhibitors
• Multilingual support

Takeaway: The importance of a comprehensive website that caters to an international audience.

MPI WEC

MPI WEC is a platform where meeting and event professionals learn and connect.

What we like:

• Eye-catching visual elements
• Detailed overview of the event
• Prominent registration CTA

Takeaway: Impact of visual storytelling in event promotion and easy registration process.

B2B Marketing Exchange

B2B Marketing Exchange is a hub for the latest tactics in B2B marketing.

What we like:

• Effective use of video content
• Easy access to session recordings
• Integration of social media

Takeaway: The power of integrating multimedia and social media for effective event marketing.

Dublin Tech Summit

Dublin Tech Summit brings together global leaders in innovation, technology, and business.

What we like:

• Dynamic, responsive design
• Showcase of speakers and partners
• Easy-to-navigate schedule

Takeaway: Balancing aesthetics and functionality for an effective user experience.

CES Digital Health

CES Digital Health is a platform that showcases innovations in healthcare technology.

What we like:

• Emphasis on media and press, making the latest news accessible
• Innovative use of graphics
• Neatly divided into thematic sections

Takeaway: Importance of thematic organization for easy navigation and integrating a press section for media engagement.

HIMSS Global Health Conference

The HIMSS Global Health Conference is a can’t-miss health information and technology event.

What we like:

• Clean, professional design
• Easy-to-access key information
• Interactive elements for an engaging experience

Takeaway: A clean and intuitive interface can provide a seamless user experience.

FinCon

FinCon is where money and media meet—a conference for personal finance influencers and their fans.

What we like:

• Engaging video content
• Information segmented by attendee type
• Extensive use of testimonials for social proof

Takeaway: The power of segmenting information for different user groups and incorporating social proof.

MoneyConf at Web Summit

MoneyConf is a fintech conference at Web Summit, one of the largest tech events in the world.

What we like:

• Clean, modern aesthetic
• Detailed speaker bios
• High-impact imagery

Takeaway: The impact of a clean, modern design and detailed speaker information.

Collaborative

Collaborative is a conference bringing together nonprofit professionals to share, learn, and be inspired.

What we like:

• Use of high-quality images
• Impressive speaker lineup
• Social proof through past attendee testimonials

Takeaway: Quality visuals, prominent display of speakers, and social proof enhance credibility and attract visitors to this nonprofit event website.

The Fold

The Fold is a literature festival showcasing diverse Canadian authors and books.

What we like:

• Captivating design with a unique, artsy aesthetic
• Comprehensive event information
• Integration of social media feeds

Takeaway: Unique aesthetic design and social media integration can create a vibrant, engaging website experience.

Frankfurt Book Fair

The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world’s largest trade fair for books, attracting exhibitors from across the globe.

What we like about this event website:

• Clear navigation and organization of information
• Multilingual website catering to a global audience
• Eye-catching design elements and consistent visual branding across every page

Takeaway: For international events or organizations catering to a global audience, a multilingual website is key to improving the user experience and accessibility.

Analyzing the event website examples listed above (or any that catch your eye in the wild!) is a great way to gain insights into best practices and discover innovative ideas to incorporate into your own event website. 

When in doubt, remember that a successful event website balances aesthetics, functionality, and user experience to effectively convey information and drive conversions.

Looking for even more inspiration for your site? Check out these 17 association website examples!

How to Create an Event Page: The Attendee Experience

Designing an event page is about crafting an immersive, engaging, and smooth experience for your attendees.

This is where an event content management system (CMS) like EventMobi’s Experience Manager comes into play. The Experience Manager is designed to make creating and managing an event site a breeze, so you can provide an engaging–and organized–attendee experience. 

Curious about how Experience Manager can help you create better event experiences? Here are some of the ways you can use this powerful CMS to elevate the attendee experience: 

Personalize Your Event Page

You have the freedom to tailor your event page to reflect your brand and event theme. Whether you want to change the colors, add sponsor logos, or adjust the layout, Experience Manager makes it easy to create a unique look and feel that resonates with your attendees.

Streamline Navigation

Prevent attendees from getting lost in a sea of information by organizing your content with custom menus and folders. From the event agenda to speaker bios to video libraries, make it simple for your attendees to find what they need in just a few clicks.

Engage Your Attendees

Integrate interactive features such as Live Polls and Surveys directly into your event page. These elements keep your attendees engaged and provide opportunities for valuable feedback and interaction.

Update in Real-Time

Running an event can mean dealing with last-minute changes. With Experience Manager, you can make updates on the fly to ensure your attendees always have the most current information at their fingertips.

Deliver Content Efficiently

Whether you need to distribute presentations, PDFs, or other resources, Experience Manager makes it easy to upload and organize your content in one place–allowing you to curate an accessible one-stop resource hub for your attendees.

Optimize for All Devices

EventMobi ensures your event page looks great and functions smoothly across all devices. Whether your attendees are using a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, their experience will be consistent and user-friendly.

The Best Event Websites Deliver an Experience

Remember, the goal is to build an event management website that not only informs but also engages your attendees by providing them with an immersive and seamless experience. 

With tools like EventMobi’s Experience Manager, you’re not just building a website, you’re creating an engaging attendee journey from the very first interaction.

Interested in seeing EventMobi in action? Book your personalized demo of EventMobi’s Event Management Software platform today!

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The post The Best Event Websites (With 15 Best Practices + 15 Examples!) appeared first on EventMobi.

From events to perks to special resources, here are 15 unique member appreciation ideas to show gratitude and drive meaningful results for your organization.

Why Does Member Appreciation Matter?

Showing member appreciation isn’t just an act of kindness—it’s also a business strategy.

Putting dedicated effort into recognizing your members helps with:

Retention

High member retention rates are what keep you from having to constantly seek out a fresh membership base. On average, members have a 50% retention rate in their first year, which jumps to 80% in year two and then keeps growing! Leading with appreciation secures your future long-term cheerleaders.

Community building

When your event is over, building year-round community will bring in ongoing revenue and increase overall engagement. Member appreciation ideas that bring people together don’t just make people feel good about your organization—they also inspire a deeper desire to connect.

A culture of gratitude

Staff, volunteers, and board members play an enormous role in keeping your organization operating. When you get in the habit of saying thank you to members, it becomes natural to say thank you to colleagues. Considering that over 80% of employees say they work harder when their manager appreciates their work, that organizational culture bodes well for your future!

4 Ways To Show Member Appreciation

Member appreciation ideas will typically fall into 4 categories:

In person member appreciation events

Holding in person events like a member appreciation day both creates positive memories for members and boosts engagement! According to the Naylor 2022 Association Benchmarking Report, 74% of associations consider event attendance to be the best measurement of member engagement.

Valuable in person member appreciation events:

In person events give you an opportunity to put a face to your organization and engage members one-on-one. The space you curate represents the energy of your organization, and makes membership value feel more tangible!

Virtual member recognition ideas

While in person events generate a live, energetic atmosphere, virtual events and member appreciation ideas:

Take a member appreciation week as an example. While a full week of in person events would require a lot of resources, it’s much less complicated to schedule social media shout outs, webinars, and virtual games in close succession.

Gifts & perks

Some members get excited about receiving special goodies like:

All member appreciation gifts should be relevant to your members’ interests and tie back to your organization. For example, members of a writer’s union might appreciate receiving book bags full of titles from sponsors! 

Giving out these gifts and perks on special anniversaries is one way to use them as a targeted member appreciation strategy. However, if it’s within your budget, offering a discount code as a way to say thanks can also be a pleasant surprise—especially in the months leading up to renewal.

Resources & opportunities

If you run an organization like an association, members will especially appreciate receiving exclusive resources and opportunities like:

For example, running a special feature in your newsletter featuring the accomplishments of long-time members shows that you believe they are valuable to your organization. Plus, giving your members some time in the spotlight fosters your organization’s community spirit!

Recommended Resource: Looking for a strategy to engage and appreciate your event attendees? Check out our guide to year-round engagement! 

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15 Virtual & In Person Member Appreciation Ideas

Ready to show your members your gratitude? Here are 15 virtual and in person member appreciation ideas to get your gears turning:

Member appreciation day or week

A member week or day should include multiple components of member recognition and celebration, such as:

If you want to take a hybrid approach, you could include one in person member appreciation day during your members week. This can help activate your local community while engaging members on a broader level!

Mentorship programs

Facilitating connections between emerging professionals and established mentors is how you create longevity in your industry and community.

Take the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) Mentorship Program for example. By doing the work to pair mentees with compatible mentors, they show recognition for their members’ unique needs and appreciation for what they have to offer.

Educational resources

Similar to mentorship programs, educational resources show your members that they’re important to your community, and that your organization wants to invest in their presence and development.

These resources could include:

As your members level up in their industry knowledge, send out some congratulatory messages and encouragements. A learning streak is well worth celebrating!

Member of the month

Announcing a Member of the Month in your newsletter and on social media is a personal way to show member appreciation. Including a small prize alongside the title adds extra value to the program.

You can choose this member based on criteria like:

• Participation in discussion boards
• Number of referrals they’ve brought in
• Notable accomplishments in your community

For the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ Member of the Month program, members send in applications to be featured. If your organization has a larger membership program, this strategy saves time searching out monthly candidates!

Socials shout outs

Give your members a shout out on social media for their:

Making someone feel appreciated often comes down to being specific and personal. Noting and celebrating these details in members’ lives (with their consent!) shows that they’re more than just numbers to you.

Partnership invitations

If you learn that one of your members has a business, program, or initiative that aligns with your organization’s values, inviting them into a partnership is a great way to show member appreciation.

Signing onto a partnership:

Check out Community Tool Box’s toolkit for creating and maintaining partnerships between different organizations.

Inbox gifts

In a world of spam emails, it’s always exciting to find a little gift in the inbox!

Some gift-centered member appreciation ideas include:

According to one survey, 63% of customers think businesses should show their appreciation by offering discounts to loyal customers. Whether or not you’re running a for-profit business, the sentiment stands—people love an opportunity to save money!

Appreciation videos

Appreciation videos from staff members, board members, and volunteers is a member appreciation idea that keeps things personal. If you have the budget, getting a Cameo from a supportive celebrity can add an element of surprise and delight to your videos!

In general, adding video into your event strategy helps to deliver content in a fresh way while driving excitement. Plus, it’s a way to put faces to names in your organization and demystify who’s working behind-the-scenes.

Birthday perks

Why not turn someone’s birthday into a member appreciation day?

This could include:

Perks don’t have to be complicated or expensive—automating birthday emails with attached gift card codes is plenty effective when your resources are stretched thin.

Community outing

Bringing your members together for a community outing offers them an easy opportunity to connect with one another. Offering free or affordable activities and events is a great way to show appreciation while encouraging participation.

Some community outing ideas include:

Want to know some key factors to keep in mind? Check out our post on planning an outdoor event, which includes weather and accessibility considerations.

Gala

Lots of people appreciate the opportunity to get a little luxurious—and a gala allows you to do just that! Holding a formal event in a classy venue tells your members that you think they’re worth some extra extravagance.

Galas are also an opportunity to incorporate other member recognition ideas, such as:

This sort of member appreciation event will come with a higher start up cost, which also makes it an opportunity to connect with sponsors.

Welcome gifts

Did you know it can be 7 to 10 times more costly to attract new members rather than retain existing ones? Delivering a strong welcome from the moment of sign up shows members that appreciation is a priority of yours, and ups your chances of keeping those new members.

These welcome gifts could look like:

These gifts also do best when they come with a thorough welcome packet that teaches members how to access all of their benefits. Give your new members a one-stop shop for all their membership perks!

Referral program

What’s truly better for an organization than referrals? Having members talk up your organization to friends and colleagues is an organic way to build an event community. While many members will feel inspired to chat away, a set referral program gives them extra incentive.

This program can come with perks like:

• A free month of membership for every referral
• Points towards a “Member of the Month” prize
• Special gift swag

If you’ve got a referral all star, show some member appreciation by inviting them to be on a committee. Not only will this give you a valuable resource, but it’ll also emphasize how important you find their contributions to your community.

Merch for long time members

Some of the best membership appreciation ideas come with physical milestone gifts. Give your members something to cherish after years of membership!

Award special merch to members who have:

Conduct surveys & connect with members

Gifts, events, and resources are a great way to show appreciation—but often, members simply want to know that they are being listened to.

If you don’t currently have the budget to invest into complex member appreciation ideas, it is more than enough to:

Asking members what they want, and then giving it to them whenever possible, is the most authentic way to show you appreciate their voice. 

Recognition & Gratitude in Member Relationships

Member retention largely comes down to value. When people feel like their membership is valuable and that they are valued by the organization, they’re more likely to stick around! With member appreciation strategies in place, you can build the genuine relationships that help your organization thrive as a community.

Interested in learning more about EventMobi? Book your personalized demo of EventMobi’s Event Management Software platform today!

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The post Member Appreciation: 15 Unique Ways to Show Your Members Matter appeared first on EventMobi.

Diverse revenue streams are crucial to the success of any organization. If you have a dip in membership renewals one year, you need another stream to keep you covered!

Integrating a non dues revenue strategy into your business plan will support your organization’s long-term growth and stability. Long term, that means your association will foster trust with members who see reliable programming, stable finances, and excellent business planning.

Which…can lead to more member renewals, and better dues revenue, too!

It’s all connected.

Read on to learn how to grow your non dues revenue streams, even in the face of challenges that every association goes through.

What Is Non Dues Revenue?

Non dues revenue refers to the income generated by organizations through sources other than membership fees. 

Some examples of the more popular types of non dues revenue streams include: 

Whether your association is large or small, you can start with this list if you’re looking for non dues revenue ideas to diversify your revenue streams. 

Non dues revenue matters because it supports your organization if traditional membership dues stagnate, and helps you grow your organization as you require more resources.

Why Does My Organization Need Non Dues Revenue?

Generating non dues revenue plays a vital role in your organization. It lets you:

• Diversify revenue streams
• Increase financial stability
• Grow your program offerings
• Attract new members (with non-member/blended events)

Diversify revenue streams

Say you have 2,000 writers each paying $150 in dues every year. That’s $300,000.  Imagine, suddenly, there’s a writer’s strike, and pay is reduced for your entire member base. You might see unusually high turnover that renewals cycle, and it would take you a long time to catch up.

If 25% of that member base fails to renew, that’s $75,000 lost for the following year—and probably means less headcount or fewer programs for your association. Building a non dues revenue strategy reduces your reliance on membership fees, and gives you confidence that if one stream hits a wall, you’ll still be okay.

Financial stability

The ultimate reason for diversifying your revenue is financial stability for your association. Financial stability means you can grow your team, offer more programming, and give your members (and staff!) a sense of security. That can also be great for getting buy-in from your board or keeping members around for years (or decades!) at a time.

Growing your program offerings

Non dues revenue allows organizations to expand their program offerings and enhance the value they offer to their member base. That could mean more networking events, new member acquisition events, bigger conferences, or super-value certification programs! Financial stability looks good on you, too, and can draw in more exciting partnerships to enrich your member benefits. And we all know better member benefits = longer-term members!

Attracting new members

Non dues revenue campaigns, such as non-member events or blended events open to members and non-members, create opportunities to show off your organization’s value. These events are perfect non dues revenue ideas for associations that need to increase their reach and find new members. 

6 Reasons Organizations Struggle to Grow Non Dues Revenue

Associations that grow non dues revenue blast through barriers and think creatively to overcome the challenges that most organizations face.

Barriers to diversifying and leaning into non dues revenue for associations are often:

1. Small staff

Limited staffing can make it hard to start any new initiative—including a non dues revenue strategy. When team members wear “too many hats,” it can feel overwhelming to stray from what is comfortable and successful.

To overcome this, try allocating resources strategically, using technology and automation, and outsourcing specific tasks to become more efficient. Non dues revenue is more than a temporary financial boost. It can help you long term: even with building a stronger team!

2. Low (or no) budget

The old saying “you need to spend money to make money” comes to mind here, and often organizations are hesitant to do so. Start by building an event budget around ROI, setting goals for the amount of revenue you want to drive per dollar spent, and finding opportunities to drive revenue without spending anything at all. 

When a low budget is a big factor, associations can explore cost-effective alternatives, seek partnerships and sponsorships, and invest in low-cost marketing tactics (like organic social media or comarketing) to overcome budget limitations.

3. Too many ideas

A surplus of ideas can lead to scattered efforts and a lack of focus. Too many chefs in the kitchen don’t make a good meal, so non dues revenue generation campaigns need to be laser-focused and clear. 

Your association should prioritize its revenue-generating initiatives based on feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with your objectives. Implementing a clear and strategic roadmap and setting clear priorities will make execution a piece of cake!

4. Reliant on memberships

Change is always challenging, but organizations that rely heavily on membership fees could face future financial problems. If you’re in an environment that’s “always done things this way” or has faced barriers to generating non dues revenue in the past, learning about stakeholder management, business planning, and ROI will help you to create a plan that’ll get buy-in, fast.

Where to start? Explore non dues revenue opportunities that align with your organization’s offerings, target audience, and industry. Think outside the box, and growing your revenue streams can be fun! 

5. Competition

While your specific space might feel crowded and saturated, there are always ways you can differentiate your organization. Stand out from your competitors with unique member benefits, innovative event activations, personalized experiences, and effective marketing strategies. 

For example, you could run a conference that leverages industry-leading event gamification, providing your attendees an exciting and unforgettable experience. 

6. Hard to prove value or ROI

Demonstrating non dues revenue initiatives’ value and return on investment (ROI) can take time and effort. To overcome this challenge, you can establish clear metrics, track and analyze data, gather participant feedback, and communicate the tangible benefits of their events and conferences. 

Nowadays, event feedback and lead capture is easier to track than ever, with a simple app that lets you collect, score, and follow up with leads. Don’t be afraid to use technology to prove the value of your non dues revenue strategy, especially when it comes to events!

How to Grow Non Dues Revenue

With so many types of non dues revenue ideas to look into, it can feel overwhelming to choose one to start with. Here’s how your organization can start building a successful growth strategy.

Set SMART goals

SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. This type of goal-setting framework is perfect for non dues revenue growth, which provides clarity and ensures focus on results.

Put someone in charge

Designate a dedicated team or individual responsible for driving non dues revenue. This person should possess strong organizational and leadership skills, understand marketing and event planning, and really get revenue generation.

Watch the competition

Stay informed about your organization’s industry trends, competitors’ offerings, and successful revenue-generating practices. When you monitor the competition, you can quickly identify gaps, innovate, and adapt your strategies to maintain a competitive edge.

Take inspiration from everywhere

Look beyond your industry for inspiration! Explore successful strategies employed by other verticals, such as business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C) companies, and nonprofit organizations, to adapt and implement innovative revenue-generation ideas.

Get the right tools in place

Use proven event technology, email marketing platforms, job boards, analytics tools, and accounting software to streamline operations, enhance attendee experiences, and track revenue generation effectively. You don’t have to rely on traditional marketing tactics anymore. The digital world has put event planning and success at your fingertips, so find the right platform and stick to it. 

Hold regular check-in meetings

Foster open communication and collaboration among team members involved in your non dues revenue initiatives. Regular meetings and check-ins offer the opportunity to share progress, address challenges, and brainstorm ideas for improvement.

Track ROI

Develop a system for measuring non dues revenue activities’ and their potential ROI. When you use analytics tools, you can evaluate event success and track key performance indicators to assess the success and impact of revenue generation efforts.

Send surveys & get feedback

Collect feedback from attendees, members, sponsors, and partners to continuously improve the value and impact of non dues revenue initiatives. Surveys and feedback loops will help your organization better understand participant needs and preferences, driving revenue growth through enhanced offerings.

Trying to decide which non dues revenue strategy to try first? EventMobi’s ready-made guide to sponsorship strategy will teach you everything you need to know to secure sponsorships that generate dependable event revenue.

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15 Non Dues Revenue Ideas for Associations and Chambers of Commerce 

So we know:

• Non dues revenue is a non-negotiable program for associations
• Associations face tons of challenges when growing their revenue streams
• There are plenty of tactics you can use to overcome those challenges

But what about actual non dues revenue ideas for chambers of commerce and associations?

Here’s fifteen.

Ongoing events

Organize industry-specific events, networking events, and trade shows that cater to your member needs. Generate revenue through ticket sales, sponsorships, exhibitor fees, and partnerships. Need to land new sponsors? Build out a sponsorship package that shows you understand what value you’re really going to bring to the table.

Conferences

Host conferences that bring together industry experts, thought leaders, and professionals. Offer premium tickets, corporate sponsorships, and exhibitor packages to generate revenue. Conferences can also be an excellent way to show your organization’s position as a thought leader in the field!

Fundraising events

Are you able to accept donations? Plan fundraising events, charity galas, silent auctions, and benefit concerts. You could even expand your reach by partnering with local charities or nonprofits who resonate with your member base, which could have the dual purpose of landing you new members!

Online fundraising

Want the fundraising without the event? You can use social media and crowdfunding platforms—or even your own website—to launch online fundraising campaigns. Develop creative donation strategies and partnerships that encourage giving. Leverage online tools to track donations, understand donor habits, and optimize fundraising efforts.

Grants

Pursue grants from foundations, government entities, and corporate philanthropy programs to fund events and initiatives. By developing compelling proposals and demonstrating your alignment with the grantor’s objectives, you can raise your chances of receiving the grant! The critical step in this process is researching and finding grants that align naturally with your organization’s mission. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck doing new programs you might not care about!

Sponsors

Partner with companies and brands that align with your members’ interests and values. Offer sponsorship packages that provide brand exposure and lead generation opportunities. Not sure where to start? Knowing how to create a sponsorship strategy is the key to generating a strong sponsorship ROI. Make sure you’re tracking the analytics most important to them, like sponsor booth or content engagement.

Sell ad space

Provide opportunities for vendors to advertise their products or services during events. This doesn’t just mean traditional paper advertising—instead, give vendors opportunities to promote their business through your event website, event app, digital signage, programs, and more. Your vendors will thank you for the additional promotion, and you get a reliable revenue source every time you host an event. 

Partnerships

Collaborate with complementary businesses and organizations to co-host events, share resources, and leverage each other’s networks for revenue generation. This can help your money go farther—and split the workload across two staff teams instead of one. Plus: you both get to market to one another’s audiences!

Education & training

Offer educational workshops, certification programs, and training sessions related to your area of expertise. This could be through webinars, virtual seminars, or even physical workshops. 

Certifications

Certifications offer a valuable opportunity to generate non dues revenue while providing members and professionals with recognition of their skills and expertise. In addition, by providing certification programs, organizations can contribute to the professional development of their members, and they can establish themselves as trusted authorities in their respective industries. 

An example of a certification program is Google’s Grow With Google program, which offers certifications in Project Management to Cybersecurity. Think about how you can transform your organization’s space with a trustworthy certification!

Merchandise

Creating merchandise can be an investment that takes time to see good ROI. But it’s both a great marketing tactic and a source of ongoing revenue that you can tap into even without holding an event! Just remember to develop high-quality and relevant inventory such as t-shirts, tote bags, and other useable branded merchandise. Think about what would really speak to your audience so that your merchandise will see regular use!

Job boards

Create a job board or career center focused on your industry. Becoming a central hub for career growth is a great way to build relationships with both job seekers and job posters in your space. In addition, you can generate non dues revenue by charging businesses a fee to post job listings and provide job seekers access to relevant opportunities.

Add-on services or benefits

Are you able to offer an upgraded experience? Look at developing a VIP or premium service that charges $$$ and provides an elevated version of your events. From giving them designated recovery space in your venue to offering a meet-and-greet with the speaker at your conference, offering premium add-on services or benefits will enhance the attendee experience. In turn, the additional price lets you garner more non dues revenue by building on existing event plans.

Renting/leasing your space

If your organization owns or has access to any event venue, consider renting or leasing the space to other organizations for their events or meetings. This can be a great way to generate an additional stream of revenue while allowing others to take advantage of your space, and building community in the process.

Donations

If you are able to accept donations, make it a priority at your events! You can invite your audience and participants to donate voluntarily during registration, online, or at the event. This serves as an additional revenue stream and allows your attendees to show their appreciation through monetary support!

Grow Non Dues Revenue with the Right Event Tech

Event technology plays a pivotal role in maximizing non dues revenue.

Some essential event tech solutions include:

• Event management platforms for streamlined registration, an online event space, and conference apps
• Email marketing tools to effectively promote events, nurture leads, and drive registrations
• Google Analytics for data-driven insights and tracking website performance
• Accounting software to manage financial transactions and track revenue and expenses
• Virtual event platforms for hosting online events and conferences, reaching a wider audience, and generating revenue from virtual attendees

The right blend of technology will make the most of your budget, energy, and time to generate the best return on your investment.

EventMobi’s association event tech has been used by thousands of event organizers over the last 13+ years to help boost their ROI, and our customer success team helps put on hundreds of annual conferences every year.

Want to see if we’re right for you? Book a call with our team!

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Conclusion

Non dues revenue holds immense potential for any organization looking to get to relative stability. With non dues revenue, your organization can diversify its revenue streams, improve financial stability, expand program offerings, and attract new members. 

Don’t be afraid of getting creative and thinking outside the box to overcome challenges such as limited resources or industry competition. Through effective use of event technology and a focus on innovative revenue-generation ideas, you can help your organization stay on track to achieve your goals. 

The post Non Dues Revenue Strategy: 15 Ideas for Associations and Chambers appeared first on EventMobi.

Many keynote speakers and breakout session facilitators have extensive, active networks both on and offline. 

By enlisting the aid of speakers to reach out to their existing connections, event planners can tap into an unmined pool of potential attendees.

But you can’t expect your event speakers to do all the work themselves. To get the most out of our event speakers, you need an event marketing strategy that equips them with the right information, tools, and resources to draw their network to your event. 

Here are 8 tips to engage event speakers and facilitators in pre-event marketing. 

1. Make it easy to share content

As you release information about the event on social media, through email, and via other channels, make it easy for your event speakers to share it as well. 

Instead of simply sending them a link to your latest promotion, give them assets they can share in one or two clicks. Consider sending them weekly or monthly promo packages, including: 

• Promo graphics sized for social media posts 
• Pre-written Tweets and image captions
• Customized assets featuring their name, topic, and event details 
• Clear instructions for deals and updates you’d like them to share

By giving them all of these important items in a way that’s easy to share and understand, you’ll greatly increase their participation rate.

2. Conduct pre-conference interviews

Creating “sneak peek” content is a great way to grab the attention of your potential audience before the event begins. 

Have someone from your organization interview each event speaker, asking them questions like: 

• What are some topics you’ll touch on at the event? 
• What are you most looking forward to during the event? 
• What questions will you answer for people who attend your event? 
• What’s something attendees can look forward to from your upcoming talk? 

You can record these interviews over Zoom, or host them on a streaming platform like YouTube Live or Streamyard. Your event host will have a chance to promote themselves and your event, and you’ll have heaps of content to use for further promotion prior to the event.

Recommended Resource:  Planning to live stream, record, and share your event content? Download the free Release Form Template for Event Recordings to ensure there are no limitations on your right to publish your event content!

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3. Host a social media takeover

If you are already using social media to promote your event, consider hosting a social media takeover, where event speakers post on your social media channels. 

Hosting a takeover is quite simple. Ask each event speaker to submit content for a set number of posts: Perhaps three or four tweets, an image or two of their books or day-to-day life, something they want to promote, etc. 

Once you have all of their content, schedule it onto your social media channels, along with a few posts prior to let your audience know when the takeover will be happening. Ask each event speaker to do the same, and you’ll see a lot more activity on your event social feeds. 

4. Collaborate on a guest blog post

If you have a blog for your event or business, then you have an opportunity to feature your event speakers prior to your event to drum up excitement. 

Once again, it’s all about making the process easy for the guest speakers. You can ask if they have a blog they’ve already written that you can repurpose, or you can offer to send them questions via email or conduct a live interview that you can turn into a blog. 

When it’s done, send them a few promotional images and suggested social post text, or ask them to share the blog in their newsletter. Be sure to provide a valuable backlink to your event speaker’s website within the blog, to give them credit for their work and provide them with some enhanced online visibility.

5. Give attendees pre-event Q&A opportunities

Want to get your attendees engaged well before the event starts? Then give them the chance to pose their questions to your event speakers before the launch date. 

You can collect questions by surveying your social media audience or creating a survey with your Event CMS to send out to all registrants before the event begins. You may want to save some of the best questions for the event itself, but select a handful for your event speaker to answer via social media or in a pre-event video interview or live stream.

6. Promotional video clips and pre-roll

With a creative approach, video has the power to go viral. Make it clever and upbeat. Use clips from your speakers. Share the video both on and offline. Vimeo, YouTube, and Instagram are just a few possibilities. YouTube offers targeted pre-roll: short clips that run before viewers access the content they have requested.

Once you have videos, definitely Tweet them. Don’t forget to post them on LinkedIn where videos are underutilized but highly visible.

7. Keep promotion going after the event has ended

When your event is over, your job as an event planner isn’t over. If you use event management software like EventMobi, you now have a library of content to share with your audience or use in future marketing campaigns. 

You can include your event speakers in post-event marketing as well. Share any footage you’ve created with them to pass on to their network, again providing them with the assets, text, and captions you’d like them to include for ease of uploading. 

Give them plenty of warning when you plan to feature them in your post-event marketing campaigns and be sure to keep them informed about future opportunities to speak again.

In Summary

Speakers can be your best event advocates if you let them know what is expected and find effective strategies to manage the relationship. Event speakers can help build excitement for your event and ensure that event marketing efforts go more smoothly.

Recommended Read: Discover 7 Smart Ways to Add Video Into Your Event

Recommended Resource: Watch 8 short videos to learn how to you can easily design and deliver in-person events that engage attendees and offer sponsors more value.

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The post 7 Tips for Leveraging Your Speakers as Event Advocates appeared first on EventMobi.

Unless you’ve got plenty of funding, you’ll need sponsors’ support to bring your event to life. The right exhibitors can boost your event’s name recognition, and help you grow your audience. 

Here are three methods to draw in more of the right sponsors and exhibitors, and encourage them to invest in your event. 

Use Lead Capture Technology to Give Them What They Want

Exhibitors and sponsors both want the same thing out of your event: 

Leads. 

They want to know that when your event is over, they’ll walk away with a list of potential customers they can easily contact. 

Making it easy to attract leads at your event is crucial to attracting the right sponsors and exhibitors. 

Fortunately, technology can be a huge help here. You can make your event stand out to potential sponsors and exhibitors by doing away with the archaic forms of lead capture, like business cards or sign-up forms, and replacing them with something new and streamlined. 

EventMobi’s lead capture technology simplifies the lead retrieval process at any event. Here are the benefits you can present when reaching out to sponsors and exhibitors:  

QR Codes Make it Easy

Using EventMobi’s badge printing and design software, you can place a unique QR code on every attendee badge.

During the event, sponsors and exhibitors can scan these QR codes in a matter of seconds, using any mobile device—including tablets. 

Once scanned, the attendee’s information is automatically uploaded and stored in the lead capture portal. No more shuffling through mountains of business cards or manually entering information into a CRM.

Qualify Leads on the Spot or After the Event

Giving your exhibitors and sponsors an enormous list of leads is attractive enough on its own. But you can add an extra layer of value by equipping them with ways to qualify and sort through all those leads quickly and efficiently. 

Qualifying leads can be done on the spot—exhibitors and sponsors can type in any details and reminders they need when meeting a lead, and this data will be uploaded to the lead capture portal along with everything captured by QR code. 

On the other end of the event, anyone who has access to the lead portal can also help qualify leads by adding custom questions to the form, then filtering leads before exporting them to upload into their system. 

These kinds of benefits are hard for sponsors and exhibitors to resist, so if you’re using lead capture technology, put it front and center within your outreach. 

Interested in learning how lead capture will help your exhibitors scale up their event ROI?
Book a demo with one of our event tech experts today!

Offer Multiple Pricing Packages to Attract More Sponsors

The way you package and price your sponsorship offers can make an enormous difference in how successful you are at drawing the right businesses. 

Your pricing structure needs to be clear and benefits-focused, and provide multiple options to choose from. This will give you a much better chance at attracting sponsors who want different things (and have different budgets). 

There are two models for designing an event sponsorship package. 

Tiered Package Pricing: When you offer several different packages, each with more options and a higher price tag. (Example: A bronze, silver, and gold package). 

A La Carte Pricing: When you offer an array of sponsorship options with different price tags, and allow sponsors to build their own packages. 

Both are effective—the best option depends on your event and your ideal sponsors. You can try out both models by downloading these free templates:

Showcase your organization and planning

If you’re courting sponsors who have attended events before, they’ll be on the lookout for any sign of disorganization. They’ve likely been burned in the past, attending an event that was poorly planned, chaotic, or underattended. 

You can increase the number of sponsors and exhibitors you attract by making it clear that you are prepared to throw an incredible event:

• Give exhibitors and sponsors an advance copy of your show plan
• Share promotional materials with sponsors 
• Frequently share accurate ticket sale numbers
• Use testimonials from previous sponsors and exhibitors from your event 
• Be on hand to answer any questions quickly and thoroughly 

This kind of dedication will show exhibitors and sponsors that you’re trustworthy, and that their investment in your event won’t go to waste. 

Need to Save & ?
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The post 3 Ways to Attract Sponsors and Exhibitors for Your Next Event appeared first on EventMobi.

What are corporate sponsors really thinking?

I’ve interviewed a lot of corporate sponsors over the years. Sponsors have expressed concerns like:

• “Recognition is probably the least important driver of sponsorship value.”
• “Our company markets 365 days a year; our conference sponsorship is only 3 days a year.”
• “For the money, time, and energy [the sponsorship involves], I can create other opportunities.”

Now associations have a new challenge: During the more than two years that associations have been forced to cancel their conferences and expos – or present these events virtually – due to the pandemic, sponsor companies were pursuing alternative ways to market their products and services.

Companies have generated their own outreach and created lead lists with social media; presented educational content via company webinars on Zoom; and posted case studies and guides on their company website. Companies have also partnered with trade publications and for-profit webinar and expo producers.

It’s no longer “a given” that companies that sell products or services to an association’s members will sponsor the association.

Recommended Read: Looking for detailed advice on designing an event sponsorship package that will be competitive in today’s market? Download the free Sponsorship Strategy Guide to learn how!

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Survey Reveals the State of Sponsorship Engagement

The Partnership Professionals Network and Dynamic Benchmarking partnered on a survey of association sponsors. The results – released in January 2022 – reveal some interesting insights.

Companies reported they are not achieving their sponsorship objectives; only 21 percent are achieving their objectives “most of the time”. One reason sponsors’ objectives aren’t being achieved is because associations don’t know sponsors’ goals; only 21 percent of the companies said “most” of the associations they sponsor to understand their goals.

The third related factor leading to sponsor dissatisfaction is that sponsors report only 30% of associations are asking sponsors for feedback on sponsor packages.

Taken together, these survey findings indicate a disconnect between associations and sponsors.

Why do Companies Sponsor Associations?

How can we alter these challenges to create successful sponsorship programs? One way is to understand why companies sponsor associations. 

Interviews, focus groups, and conversations with sponsors during the past decade consistently demonstrate that companies seek to derive three value propositions from sponsorships. 

• Companies want to create business development and growth. This can take the form of access to a segment of the association’s membership or conference attendees; opportunities to generate leads; and driving traffic to the company’s website.

• Companies want brand exposure and differentiation; they don’t necessarily want brand exclusivity, however, they want to be viewed differently than their competitors that are not sponsors. This can take the form of brand awareness to position or reposition the company; distinguishing the brand from its competitors; and establishing credibility by being affiliated with the association.

• Companies want to be portrayed as thought leaders. This can take many forms, such as featuring sponsors’ educational content; including sponsors as faculty on webinars and workshops; interviewing sponsors on podcasts; and partnering with sponsors to produce research.

In addition, there are ways to achieve all three company value propositions, such as arranging for top-tier sponsors to attend brainstorming meetings with the association’s board of directors; organizing focus groups or roundtable discussions of members for sponsors; holding briefings for sponsors with the association’s staff; and featuring sponsors on social media posts.

10 Ways to Structure a Sponsorship Program for Success

Based on what we know about sponsors’ concerns and why companies sponsor associations, we can structure a sponsorship program for success. 

1. Members’ first

While a successful sponsorship program must meet the needs of sponsors, association sponsorship programs first and foremost must be in alignment with the association’s mission and the needs of its members.

2. Year-long:

While there will always be interest in “one-off”, transactional sponsorships of things like logos on name badge lanyards, many companies are more interested in year-long, integrated sponsorships instead of a series of tactics.

3. Customized:

Each company that might be interested in sponsoring an association has different business objectives and marketing goals. Therefore, customized sponsorship programs are of far greater interest to companies than standard Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze sponsorship levels.

4. Transition:

Companies are unlikely to be top-tier sponsors if most of the sponsor benefits are logo placements, visibility, and a shout-out from the podium at the annual conference. The goal should be to transition from these transactional benefits to transformational benefits.

5. Content:

There is a value other than revenue for associations to have sponsors. Companies have a wealth of market research, trends data, case studies, best practices, etc. that can be of value to the association’s members. This content can be bundled in a year-long, customized sponsorship package.

6. Educate:

Companies should be advised to use their sponsorship to educate members. A slogan to use as a guide is, “Educate to sell, don’t sell to educate”.

7. Conversation:

Historically, many associations have developed a prospectus with levels of sponsorships or lists of sponsorable items. Often the result is few top-tier sponsors and some low-fee sponsors. For companies that have been – or have the potential to be – top-tier sponsors, it’s best to have a conversation. Marketing agencies have exploratory meetings with prospective clients to identify each company’s needs; then the marketing agency develops a customized set of services for each prospective client. Associations should do the same: talk with each company about its marketing goals and challenges, how the company wants to impact the association’s members, and how the company defines a successful marketing initiative or sponsorships; then develop a customized sponsorship proposal.

8. Budget cycle:

Companies are more likely to find room in their marketing budgets for sponsorships if associations talk with the company when it is making budget decisions. Have conversations with company executives when they are developing their marketing budgets (not when the association wants companies to sign up or renew). 

9. Internal support:

Successful sponsorship programs have the support of the association’s board and staff. Companies are less receptive to associations that have one or two staff people “dialing for dollars” and more interested in associations in which the entire organization is providing value to sponsors.

10. Service:

Year-long, customized sponsorship benefits should be delivered purposefully. This is done most effectively when there is a single designated account executive at the association to service the relationship with each sponsor.

A Note About Virtual Conferences

While many associations have been challenged by the rush to virtual during the pandemic, most associations acknowledge that some type of virtual education will be part of their offerings in the future. 

Virtual conferences can offer significant value to sponsors because of the ability to derive detailed information on each attendee, which sessions they attend, which documents they download, etc.  These data are useful to sponsor companies that want to identify the segment of members who would be most interested in the company’s educational information. 

How Much to Charge Corporate Sponsors/Partners

It is important to cover the association’s costs: hard costs, staff time, etc. (However, if the association’s costs are high and value to the sponsor is low, it will be difficult to cover the association’s cost with the sponsor fee.)

Sponsor fees should be based on the return on investment (ROI) for each company. I once worked with a sponsor that was a bank; the marketing VP told me that if the bank obtained one new building financing from a member as a result of the sponsorship, that would cover the $100,000 sponsor fee for the year. 

Other companies might have a more “general sense of success”. Or the determination of value might be based on “moving the needle” on corporate social responsibility. 

When I have interviewed sponsors during the past decade, I ask the question, “if the association provided more sponsorship value, would your company pay more?” I consistently get the same responses:

• One-third say “yes”
• One-third say “maybe”
• One-third say “I’m not sure”
  

I seldom get a “no” response, even when companies are paying $50,000, $100,000 or higher sponsor fees.

Striving for the Win-Win-Win

Successful association sponsorships are a win-win-win, providing:

• Content that members need
• Value for each corporate sponsor
• Revenue for the association, plus membership and sponsor growth
  
  

Bruce’s Bio

Bruce Rosenthal has advanced corporate partnership programs for more than 20 years. He is a strategic advisor, consultant, and educator to associations and not-for-profit organizations, creating corporate partnership programs that increase revenue, add membership/constituent value, and foster organizational sustainability.

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