5 Reasons Why Digital Is Essential For Events Marketing
Digital marketing has revolutionised almost every type of business in almost every sector, and the world of events is no exception. Studies have shown that almost nine in ten (87%) of business to business (B2B) brands use social media to promote events, with 75% also using email marketing. And with good reason, too – it works!
Here are 5 reasons why you must be using digital for events marketing.
1. Everybody Uses Social Media
30% of all time online is now spent using social networks, and this is proportionate across desktops, smartphones, tablets and apps. But the granddaddy of social media usage is still Facebook, which continues to dominate the space. Facebook has 32 million users in the United Kingdom alone – 96% of all UK adults use Facebook, and 50% of all social media users in the UK just use Facebook and no other social network. The absolutely most effective way to reach essentially everybody is through social media.
2. Facebook’s Social Graph Knows Everything About You
All of this connectivity in the UK and around the world has given birth to what Facebook calls its social graph. This is essentially a giant matrix of data that links all of us together by everything from our age, gender and location, but also more complex protocols like our interests, behaviours, values, intentions and beliefs. This data is collated both on and off Facebook, either through its partners, such as Spotify, where the music you listened to is tracked, and also the 50 million websites around the planet that use some kind of Facebook functionality on their sites.
What this all means is that Facebook essentially knows more about us as people than any other entity in history. The Facebook social graph is so rich that its ad manager platform has established itself as THE most powerful digital marketing tool that we have, allowing us to broadcast relevant content to vast numbers of targeted consumers in an almost limitless number of ways.
3. Live Video Is The Future
More and more businesses are utilising live video as part of their marketing arsenal, often with incredible results. Live video isn’t a fad: it’s a rapidly growing trend that is here to stay. With low start-up costs and almost limitless possibilities, it’s a fantastic way for businesses of all sizes and in every sector to reach and connect with customers and peers. Moreover, often the best results can be achieved by those brands willing to risk a more organic, “this is how it’s made” approach, which helps to humanise the company, build relationships and generate leads.
4. Email Is Still The King For Conversions
Email converts prospects into customers better than anything else in digital marketing. Always has, and likely always will. Social media is better for getting attention and raising awareness, and often for the acquisition of leads, but email is better for acquiring customers. Search might be better for enquiries, but email will help you finalise the deal. And better still, it can all be automated. That’s the whole point of the email funnel – push the prospect through with plenty of free, valuable content, until they pop out the other side as a delegate. And then keep doing it.
5. Return On Investment (ROI)
The correct use of technology on your exhibition stand can actually save you money, even after factoring in the initial spend – one recent report discovered that this saving could be as high as 20%. Moreover, event technology has been shown to increase productivity by 27% and event attendance by 20%.
