4 Ways Event Marketing Can Elevate Your Brand
LEARN TRIED & TESTED METHODS OF EVENT MARKETING TO INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS
when to use event marketing
With the holidays fast approaching, you might be thinking about planning client Christmas parties, staff get-togethers and social gatherings. While these events may be popular close to the holidays, you can also use event marketing to increase your brand awareness year-round.
It is quite common for companies to plan parties and events around the holidays. Although these events can boost your brand during the holidays, they can be a great way to connect with customers and clients all year.
If you think that event marketing is an expensive investment that doesn’t give a clear ROI, you might not understand the difference between direct marketing and brand marketing. The difference is having a brand versus having a company. If you’re unsure of the difference, read our article here.
Do you want to gain an upper hand in your industry and lead the way in the marketplace? Event marketing is one of the best ways your can build relationships, communicate your brand directly to your customer, and to build brand loyalty. If you own a business and you want to have a buzz around your brand, keep reading. We’re going to tap into what event marketing is and why it is pivotal for your business.
Event Marketing is More Than JUST a party
When we look at event marketing as a whole, it can mean a lot of different things. From in-store displays, to conferences, to webinars and panel discussions. Event Marketing defines spaces where in-person engagement can be used to its fullest potential. However, we’ve seen companies overlook event marketing, as it is usually associated with the big budgets, complicated planning and difficulty tracking ROI.
Event Marketing Increases Brand Value
We see companies looking at ROI only in dollars and cents, but creating a successful brand relies on much more. In order to create a successful event, clear goals and measures of success need to be defined upfront. This ensures your event planning, budget and execution delivers true value. You might decide to do an event in order to increase your leads, sales, followers, or email subscribers. However you decide, it’s critical to consider your goals before you start planning your event.
We found four different reasons developed by Marketo for including events in your marketing mix.
How Event Marketing Keeps Your Brand Relevant
Brand Awareness
Firstly, brand awareness can be a reason for event marketing. Participating in events through sponsorship, or by hosting them can be a great way to enhance your brand in the mind of your customers. If you are the host of the event, you have the opportunity to grab customers’ attention and create memorable experiences that they can take with them and associate your brand with. Additionally, sponsoring an event can lead to great opportunities to build off popular brands or worldwide events.
Virtual events can work too! Ask yourself if you can still achieve virtual brand awareness based on your goals. Depending on time, space and physical gathering restrictions, virtual events might work better for you. Since the pandemic, your audience is more accepting of virtual gatherings (now more than ever). So, if it lines up with your goals and objectives, virtual events can be a great way to market your brand.
Lead generation
If you’ve ever gone to a networking event, typically each have a specific audience in attendance. With an audience that thinks and acts in similar ways, it is a great opportunity for you to generate leads. You can host an event, inviting prospects and current customers that you know will be interested one (or a few) topic(s) and have the whole room (physical or digital) to yourself to showcase your products or solutions and how you can help your customer.
Customer Engagement
Events offer a great way to reach customers directly – you don’t have to compete with daily distractions when you have your target audience choosing to be at an event you’re hosting. This environment has already prepared your audience and it’s the perfect time to share knowledge about your brand and your products.
Education
Lastly, educational initiatives can be a great reason for you to host an event for your audience. For instance, think of the product launch events that Apple does every year to highlight what the newest addition to the ‘iFamily’ will look and function like. Events can be great to share knowledge or drive your brand forward as a thought leader in your respective industry. These events are easy to transform into virtual form, and amazing for building rapport with your audience.
Got an event in mind, or, interested but don’t know where to start? Contact us