Here are the top 4 event marketing trends for 2018

1. Here are the top 4 event marketing trends for 2018 The events industry is rapidly evolving, and it is imperative that event organizers keep themselves updated with the latest trends to give themselves an edge over the competition. You need to be the best in class and just cannot risk playing catch up. Kick start your new year by learning the four biggest event marketing trends that can help you foster new connections and strengthen your existing ones. Use highly targeted emails With so much data being collected at events, it is indispensable to use highly targeted messages with personalized messaging. Email marketing will continue to play a vital role to drive attendance at events. Therefore, make sure you segment your list depending upon your contacts’ interest, location and how engaged they are with your brand. Segmentation of your list will ensure you continue to have a stronger sender reputation and build a strong rapport by offering meaningful content that interests your audience. Personalization of emails makes your receiver feel special. Sending your contacts an exclusive promo offer will make them feel special and reinforces the message that your event is relevant to them. Measure the performances of your emails to ensure that you know the areas of improvement. The three areas that you need to measure are your emails’ open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rate. Focus on onsite event experiences Stop focusing only on numbers, and pay attention to the event experiences. Experiential marketing is ideal for our digital era. You need to create innovative experiences at your next event to grab your attendees’ attention and get them excited. Swags and other stuff at events are quickly becoming dinosaurs. Event organizers are trying to build experiences at their events to make their marketing successful before and during the events. Instead of giving physical swags, try some digital swags that will stay with your attendees long after the event is over. With experiential marketing, you will not only create memorable events but also engage audiences like never before. Use innovative technology to boost event engagement No prizes for guessing this: event technology is here to stay. Only this time, event planners need to use innovative technology that can increase event engagement. According to a recent survey by Event Tech Lab, 67% of event professionals intend to boost their investment in event technology in 2018. And these professionals plan to invest in artificial intelligence, interactive screens, crowd sourcing, augmented, virtual reality or facial recognition. Certainly, event planners are looking for technology that is familiar to attendees and are easy to engage with. While it is clear that such innovative technologies are taking event planning to the next level, it might not be suitable for all kinds of events. In simple and straightforward events, badge printing and onsite check-in can be a good way to enhance onsite check-in experience. You can also think about engaging mobile event apps. It can be as basic as that depending upon the type of events you host. Connect even more with Social Media Social media is a powerful tool to further connect your attendees with your brand. Event planners around the world are using video in every aspect of their marketing. However, with the rise and development of Facebook Live and Instagram stories,

2. video marketing has reached a new level. In 2018, Facebook Live, an easy and inexpensive tool, will be heavily used to communicate brand stories and promote events. Similarly, Instagram Stories will also offer the opportunity to connect with your attendees and maybe your virtual audience. Both Instagram Stories and Facebook Live will become a strategic marketing channel and will become a great way to connect attendees with speakers, influencers and your brand. And to show just how vital virtual attendees can be, according to Digitell, 15%-30% of virtual attendees will come to your face to face event in the following year. Try to convert this 15%-30% of virtual attendees by first streaming your events for them on Instagram stories or Facebook Live. Conclusion In conclusion, event technology is only helpful when you know how to use them during the different stages of event planning. However, event marketing is just about connecting attendees and delivering some special opportunities that your attendees can’t find anywhere. As these trends indicate, 2018 will give event marketers access to more and more innovative event technologies. Make sure you use them to deliver an even better attendee experience.