- 1. Hybrid events are here to stay
- Adapt your event strategy by offering a combination of virtual and in-person experiences, allowing attendees to choose the format that best suits their needs.
- Build an online community for engagement
- Create dedicated spaces such as social media groups or chat rooms where attendees can interact with each other and connect over shared interests, fostering a sense of community.
- Offer sponsored digital sessions, exhibit halls, networking lounges, and gamified challenges
- Collaborate with relevant industry partners to provide sponsored content and experiences that attendees can participate in.
- Build a digital library of recorded content
- Record sessions, panels, and keynotes from your event and make them available for on-demand access after the live experience has ended. This provides flexibility to attendees who were unable to attend in person or preferred a more asynchronous approach.
- 2. Data and analytics will play a critical role
- Focus on leveraging engagement data to gain insights into attendee behavior, preferences, and pain points.
- Use that intelligence to enrich the customer experience
- Provide personalized recommendations based on attendee interests and activities during the event to enhance their overall experience.
- Over the longer term, analytics provide a better toolbox to quantify ROI of events
- Implement multi-touch attribution models to track attendee behavior throughout their buying journey and demonstrate how your event contributes to revenue generation.
- 3. Contactless check-in and attendance will become the new standard
- Embrace modern technologies such as NFC wearables for contactless payments, lead retrieval, access control, session tracking, materials distribution, etc.
- Modern check-in solutions enable quick and contactless event entry
- Allow attendees to print their own badges or use self-scanning stations for a streamlined and touchless experience.
- Facial recognition software can create personalized and contactless welcome at scale
- Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations by making photo postings optional, using digital signatures for event-specific purposes only.
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The pandemic has created unprecedented challenges, but event marketers are known for resilience and innovation. Event marketing will rebound, driven by pent-up demand and new opportunities.
I’m confident that event marketing will emerge intact as we work together for solutions that drive customer safety and business growth.