Event Marketing mistakes by event planners and how to rectify them

Event planning includes various different elements, from event management to event marketing. It is the task of the event planner to keep all these functions in line to achieve the bigger picture. As event planners handle so many functions in one go, there might be the case that a particular function gets lesser focus, which leads to mistakes. In this article, we will list similar mistakes when it comes to event marketing.

Ignoring pre-event marketing

More impressions mean more ROI 

Ineffective tracking of metrics

Sticking to one channel

Not leveraging technology

Ignoring pre-event marketing 

Why ignoring pre-event marketing is a mistake?

• The audience that you are targeting for your event has got various other options.
• The number of events is on the rise and so is the number of your competitors
• It’s next to impossible to get good results without a proper pre-event marketing strategy

What you should be doing? 

• Leverage event technology for pre-event marketing.  
• It will be more cost-effective and result-oriented. For instance, a personalised event app is an engaging tool for event planners to build and promote the community of potential event attendees. 

More impressions mean more ROI 

Most of the pre-event marketing campaigns focus on generating impression, which is not something that event planners need for their event. 

Why focusing more on impressions is a mistake?

Impressions are important criteria, they aren’t sufficient to define the value that the campaign provides.

The real success of the marketing campaign is defined by the business it generates.

What should you do to improve the event ROI? 

• It is possible only when you’re targeting the right audience from the relevant industries and regions.
• It’s the segmentation of the audience which plays a major role here. As an event planner, if you are able to attract attendees who are genuinely inclined towards your event agenda, it will be beneficial for all the stakeholders of your event. 

Ineffective tracking of metrics    

With ineffective tracking of metrics, event marketing doesn’t reach its full potential and event planners don’t get a clear direction for their campaign. 

Why is it important to track metrics? 

• Your marketing campaign needs an analytical approach to be fully intent-driven.
• The regular tracking of the metrics helps you identify the strong and weak spots of the campaign. 

In case of online pre-event marketing, you can get real-time analytics on the user journey from impression to conversion. These days, such tracking is even possible on the site of the events. RFID enabled wristbands and similar event technology solutions allow the onsite tracking of event attendees. Event Marketers can easily get useful visitor insights from such tracking systems. It also helps the event planners in enhancing the overall onsite event experience. 

Sticking to one channel

Why is it a mistake to stick to one marketing channel? 

Event Marketing needs diversification and sticking to one marketing channel doesn’t allow the campaign to reach its full potential. Instead of putting all your efforts into a single channel, it’s a smarter idea to diversify your marketing through multiple channels

Why should you go for multi-channel marketing? 

• The 360-degree marketing approach enhances the chance of exposure to your event. It helps you reach the new audience at the right time via channels that they prefer. 
• Social channels, mobile apps, newsletters, websites, custom ads: you can leverage many different channels to enhance the visibility of the event. 
• It also provides you with insights to identify the channel which works the best for your event category. Then, you can reinvent your strategy to decide the channel which needs maximum effort. 

Not leveraging technology

Why it’s a mistake if you are not leveraging technology 

• The easiest way to reach out to your potential attendees is via technology because they are also surrounded by technology. 
• Your competitors are also using advanced technology tools in order to attract attendees to their events. 
• Technology needs initial investment but it automates the process and makes it more effective and accurate. 

In modern times, it’s impossible to be a successful event planner if you are not tech-savvy. From event marketing to event operations, event planning needs to focus on the attendees through an experiential approach. Event technology makes this task both effortless and accurate. Event apps enhance the branding of the event. Attendees are able to access the event updates right from their smartphone. It also improves the engagement rate. 

Event Marketing has the potential to take your overall event planning to the next level. A well-planned event marketing strategy with the smart use of technology is what you need to make your next event a big success.