Rethinking Event Marketing in a Digital Age

Nobody can argue that if your marketing is ignoring the digital space, you are throwing away your money. Not having a user friendly website that’s accessible by mobile, with a blog that speaks to your audience, is like not having air to breathe. Your business will eventually suffocate and die. However, there is something to be said for some old fashioned tools of the trade, updated and adjusted for the desirable millennial audience. One often overlooked element to any company’s marketing plan is the event marketing piece. Some may defend the accusation of negligence with a list of trade shows or conferences they attended. They will point out the exorbitant cost of sending people to these events, they will whine about how the amount of work that’s missed makes the participation moot, and the most analytical will nervously argue the ROI just isn’t there.

That’s some shortsighted, myopic thinking. It’s wrong.

Event marketing doesn’t have to look like a $5,000+ 10x10 tradeshow booth. It can be hosting a guest bartending fundraiser. It can be holding an Instagram frame and collecting followers by snapping pictures in a public place and having people tag their profiles. It can be setting up a networking event hosted by you, your business, your sales team, your marketing team, maybe even at your place of business. Sponsor an event that would attract your target audience. Basically, do anything at all that’s going to speak to your potential customers and meet them where they are. Event marketing done right can be natural, it can be inexpensive, it can be fun and organic, and it can work!

Event marketing isn’t what it used to be. Getting face time with your people provides huge opportunities to connect on a level you simply can’t online. While we are deep in the digital era of sales and marketing, relationship building as a foundation for growing your business isn’t going anywhere. It’s time to get creative and get out there.