5 Solid Event Marketing Strategies in 2021 To Deliver Successful Campaigns

Among some of the most affected industries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person events were one. Several sports, conferences, summits, and B2B events were either suspended or became virtual overnight. A few months after the pandemic, virtual and hybrid events have now become the new normal.

From an organization or marketer’s perspective, events are not just social gatherings but a powerful marketing tool. They help businesses create brand awareness, educate audiences through thought leadership sessions, attract potential leads and customers. They are also an excellent avenue for gathering valuable data. However, with the pandemic affecting in-person events, there is increased pressure on meeting pipeline demands. With most events going virtual overnight, many businesses are trying to navigate the new reality.

Studies have shown that virtual and hybrid events will become the norm. According to a survey by Bizzabo,Opens a new window about 97% of marketers were confident that hybrid events would become more prominent in the future. However, these events bring their own challenges to marketers. Hence, businesses need to develop a comprehensive strategy to make these events successful.

We asked a few experts what event marketing strategies businesses should focus on in 2021 to maximize outcomes. Here are a few tips.

Learn more: Q&A: An Event Marketing Manager’s Tale of Hosting Virtual Events And (How To Maximize Those Event Dollars)

1. Use Strategic Targeting To Attract Attendees

Like marketing your products and services, targeting and personalization are important aspects of attracting the right audience to your events. Realize that not everyone in your database has similar interests or motivations to attend an event. Hence, understand what inspires them. For example, some may look for networking opportunities, while some may want to learn more about a particular technology. Others may want to know more about your offerings.

Further, understand what type of content and communications work with them best; is it a phone call, an event video, or an educational material? Once you know these factors, you can tailor your communications using emails or an appropriate marketing channel. With advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), you can create highly targeted communications.

Smart targeting strategies that utilize tech like AI can help in the planning process to capture the right leads and target the right audiences. Large amounts of not-so-targeted outreach can waste time and annoy contacts that may not be the best fit for the event.

– Wanda WeigertOpens a new window , chief brand officer, GlobantOpens a new window

2. Enhance Events By Offering Tailored Experiences

While virtual and hybrid events have become a reality, a reality of ‘Zoom fatigue‘ also exists where people are exhausted and feel drained with work calls and videoconferencing over platforms like Zoom. Hence, when creating virtual events, you should keep in mind to create experiences that will keep them hooked to the event.

There are several ways you can achieve this, especially if you are running events over a long duration. Sruthi KumarOpens a new window , associate director of field & partner marketing at SendosoOpens a new window , suggests, “Find unique ways to engage during the event with live polling, crowdsourcing ideas for charity donations.” You can create games, quizzes, or polls where audiences earn points or a clue when they visit a sponsor’s stall. They can use these points or clues to stand a chance at winning an exciting reward. Alternatively, they can complete specific tasks amid the event or at the end to win discounts for your next event or a product/service.

Another strategy to enhance attendees’ experience is to organize short, intimate, and helpful events that are focused on discussing the customer pain points.

We have seen the most success with small, intimate events that speak to prospects’ actual pain points. Like our events where clients spoke about their projects. Or engaging events that offer some semblance of a real-life experience, like our wine or coffee tasting; and events that support prospects’ families, like our Little CEOs Boot Camp in which young girls had the opportunity to build a business plan. Each of these types of events offered unique conversations, experiences, and support, which was our goal for relationship-building with clients and prospects. Going into 2021, the biggest takeaway from this year will be to offer human, helpful events that deserve our clients’ attention.

 – Challin MeinkOpens a new window , senior director of marketing, AvionosOpens a new window

She further says, “Heading into the new year, marketers must prioritize initiatives that build brand awareness and purchase consideration through empathetic interactions – both areas drive business impact. Every marketing activity should ladder up to these two items because they increase credibility, attract quality talent, and ultimately drive revenue. They are also measurable, which is key to proving your business’ value.”

Learn more: Winning With Hybrid Events: Bizzabo Bags $138 Mn in Fresh Funding

3. Use Event Data To Curate Audience Specific Content

As more events go online or become hybrid, people have more choices. They also get easily distracted and have shorter attention spans, making personalization necessary before, during, and after the event. Event organizers should use data and technology advancements to understand user interests and personalize the content and sessions accordingly. For example, after attendees attend a particular session, you can group them in a particular segment. You can then put them in a nurture sequence and send them communications and content for related workshops and events.

“For planning an event in 2021, most events will likely remain virtual due to the ongoing pandemic. That is why it will be important to provide personalized experiences such as multiple speakers and topics versus an “a la carte” style event,” explains Weigart. “This will help increase engagement for virtual events because attendees can select from and ultimately attend the experiences most of interest to them, rather than sit through the entire event if they’d rather not.”

4. Add Physical Elements To Virtual Events

“Personalization goes together with creating experiences that can free attendees from the screen. Sending print material with attendees can deepen what they see online,” informs Weigart. One way to enhance the experience of the events is to add physical elements to them. For example, if you have been giving a gift hamper, flyers, or brochures to participants of physical events, you can continue to distribute them in virtual events. Further, if it is a hybrid event, then your virtual attendees should not feel left out. You can also create welcome videos or have a presenter to introduce your event and what you can expect from it.

You can have virtual kiosks for your sponsors, which the attendees can explore during recess or between sessions. You can also include a virtual information center to download the required information. Suppose your physical event has networking, community building, or breakout sessions. In that case, you can utilize tools such as Facebook Groups and Slack channels to create the same feel of a physical networking session.

Further, you can incorporate elements such as sound and music in virtual events. Several companies and summits have invited DJs to their virtual events to create the same atmosphere as a physical event in recent times. “Or closing the event with a delivery of a gourmet tasting, entertaining activities that require moving around or motor skills can help attendees retain information and stay engaged,” Weigert adds.

5. Craft Rich Content To Improve Audience Engagement

“Content is critical to these events now more than ever. You do not need to have a travel destination attached anymore. Understand and know your intended audience and curate content that will leave them satisfied,” suggests Kumar. While creating engaging experiences is one way to improve the attention span of event attendees, organizers and marketers should also craft rich content that will help the audience. According to Kumar, “If you have done a great job with your content, the best marketers will not be thinking of the virtual event as a one and done. Content can and should live on to help your audience going forward.”

Furthermore, event organizers will have to overhaul the content structure and flow compared to that of physical events to improve audience engagement. “It is important to aim for short, diverse and content-packed presentations, as daily screen time has risen dramatically due to the pandemic, and people will try to avoid spending more and more time in front of their computers on top of their existing activities. Using mixed formats like alternating between speaker presentations and smaller workshops can help,” explains Weigart.

Even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, we can expect B2B events to be virtual or hybrid for the foreseeable future. Hence, event organizers and marketers must learn to adapt to this new norm. For marketers, the right technology, user data, strong content, and personalization will lead to successful events, resulting in better conversions.

Learn more: How’s Event Marketing Evolving in 2020? Splash Becomes Adobe Exchange Accelerate Partner

What do you think are important event marketing strategies businesses should focus in 2021? We would love to know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .