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Solving Your Biggest Marketing Challenges Through Better Engagement. The Marketing Challenges Workshop (MCW) was created to address the hardest challenges, which marketing practitioners are facing. Given the tougher economy and difficulty in the attracting and keeping quality audiences for market leading conferences and expositions, marketing professionals have an urgent need to find timely solutions to hit market attendance goals. This is the presentation by Chris Justice.
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Making A Posi,ve First Marke,ng Impression:
Conver,ng Website Viewers to Event A<endees
Agenda
• Overview of Event Websites • New Expecta,ons – A<endees – Sponsors – Speakers – Exhibitors
• Timelines and Technology • Top 60 Tips for Event Website • Summary and Ques,ons
Overall Industry Trends
• Satura,on and Shiny Objects – A<endees are overwhelmed, informa,on is free, events are not.
– Adver,sing is a diluted medium and more people opt-‐out.
– A<endees expect exclusivity, insight, in,macy, and follow-‐through.
– A<endees expect to be marketed to and discard most materials.
• Social Media and Reputa,on Management – Complaints are easy, compliments are rare.
Overall Trends Con,nued
• Localiza,on – Regional priori,es and approaches. – Emerging markets will require more marke,ng spend.
• ShiTing Priori,es and Analy,cs – Highly measurable media
– Integrated marke,ng metrics – Awareness and educa,on vs. promo,on
Expecta,ons for A<endees
• Current informa,on (weekly/monthly) • Benefits for registering early • Free informa,on and industry news
• A reason to return and contribute • Pulse communica,ons
• Cost jus,fica,on and convienence
Expecta,ons for Speakers
• Speakers expect organizers to promote them. • Call for speakers process must be transparent.
• Nego,ate. • Recording and rebroadcas,ng – a must.
• Affiliate registra,ons and merchandizing for speakers.
Expecta,ons for Sponsors
• Fact sheet and detailed a<endee demographic metrics.
• Nego,ate early and decrease flexibility with par,cipa,on.
• Document everything. Or the sponsor will.
Points to Remember
• Your speakers and sponsors are your most effec,ve marke,ng channel. – They cost the least and have the farthest reach. – Compensate them well.
• One free a<endee is worth five paid a<endees.
Event Website Tips
Top Tips for Building A<endance
Tip #1: Build for Mobile First
A"endees Demand It • Schedules • Changes and Urgents • Venue logis,cs • Upsell opportuni,es • Direc,onal informa,on • Include link to full experience • Do NOT use Adobe Flash • Unidirec,onal scrolling • No pop-‐ups • HTML 5 no WAP
Tip #2: Simplified Mul,-‐Part Registra,on
• Condense ,cke,ng process and remove registra,on steps. – Collect payment –
• Addi,onal booking steps aTer ini,al ,cke,ng. – Customizable experience. – Reduces abandonment. – Lower cost of development and integra,on.
– Adapts to collect more detailed a<endee profile data.
Tip #3: Event Archives
• Snapshot of all Event Content – Speakers, sponsors, presenta,ons, pricing. – Include all data from past events and a “slice in ,me”.
• Search Engine Rankings – Maintain old vanity URLs for 3-‐5 years. – Cross linking, speaker promo,on, planning content, contacts, etc.
Tip #4: Integrate Staff Services
• Provide log in for volunteers and staff – Keeps them looking at your site
– Include private chat, directories, email, file upload
• Distribute support to groups – Include individuals including volunteers on group lists. More informa,on is be<er.
Tip #5: Affiliate Registra,on Marke,ng
• For high a<endance events, provide methods to compensate a<endees with merchandise, future discounted rates, giT passes.
• Applies to a<endees, speakers, sponsors and adver,sers.
• Easy to implement – Online form, refer a friend, link tracking.
Tip #6: Contests and Awards
• Provide a method for community par,cipa,on and nomina,on. – Simple email forms – Any relevant topic
• Innova,on, design, growth
Tip #6: Inbound Linking
• Inbound links increase search visibility and increase ranking.
• Inbound link sources: – Conference directories – White papers
– Blog posts – Speakers, sponsors and adver,sers
Tip #7: Video Opener
• Single most reusable marke,ng element. – Easily syndicated, viral and inexpensive.
• Record a minimum of 20 hours of sta,onary camera video.
• Create mul,ple videos.
• Invest in targeted communica,ons: – A<endees – Sponsors
Tip #8: Syndica,on
• Ensure all news and blog posts have XML and RSS feeds AND they are published. – Feedburner
• Ensure all resource libraries, white papers, data sheets and materials are in the feeds.
• Ensure all materials are op,mized Adobe PDF files.
• Social linking and social media are expected so provide short URLs.
Tip #9: Educa,onal Workshops
• Cri,cal for extending the value and crea,ng • Sessions should include technical and non-‐technical topics.
• Provides cost jus,fica,on for a<endees and valida,on of importance.
Tip #10: Technology is Easy, Content Isn’t
• 100-‐100,000 a<endee events can be easily served through any hos,ng account and content management system.
• Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, Expression Engine and many others are easy and free.
• Registra,on does not need to be complex and a<endees expect to self-‐serve.
• Cri,cal Event Content (CEC) should be complete. Do not orphan the site.
One more thing…..
Tip #11: Include a Job Board
• Let’s face it, please go to events to learn, mingle but they are always looking for opportuni,es. Give it to them.
• Distribute resumes to sponsors and adver,sers if requested.
• Events are conduits not faucets.
Conclusion
• Event a<endees are demanding more for less. – Feed them informa,on.
• Exhibitors are demanding more for more. – Be generous, be transparent and be flexible.
• Speakers are demanding…… – Quality is key, ask for proof and reach.
• The event industry is growing in value and shrinking in volume. That’s good news.