Why do people camp outside Best Buy before Black Friday sales? What about those constantly checking their Facebook news feed? It is the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) The Word of Mouth Marketing Association defines FOMO: “At its root, FOMO is a sort of social anxiety that occurs when one is concerned with missing a social interaction, experience of value, talk-worthy event, or monetary gain.” Why Should You Care? With so many channels and opportunities to learn and engage, individuals feel … [Read more...]
Sponsorship Mattering: From Logos and Noise to Emotional Experiences [Free eBook]
Sponsorships featuring logos, eyeballs and impressions don’t carry the same value they once did. At the same time, sponsorship buyers are becoming more sophisticated about the dollars they invest and how they leverage emotional marketing. They’re also refining their palate to deliver more intimate customer and prospect experiences including hosting their own exclusive events. Conference and trade show organizers now find themselves immersed in a prove-it-or-lose-it sponsorship environment. … [Read more...]
Use Social Proof to Increase Conference Registrations
Most of us don’t read emails from people we don’t recognize. We may skim the contents, but most of the time we just do the quick delete. Unless there’s something that makes us look twice. So imagine you’re catching up on email, you see one from an unknown conference trying to convince you to purchase. The organizer states, ABC Conference is a must attend for industry professionals. We’re providing 70 education sessions and networking experiences. Does this make you want to attend? Do … [Read more...]
Enabling Influence Trumps Spraying and Praying
List buys and promotional email blasts rarely convince and convert the attendees you want for your conference or trade show. Today, you need to earn the privilege to be seen in a professional’s email inbox. Attendance acquisition has shifted forever from push to pull marketing. While you want to be in it for the long-run…earning inbox access and protecting that privilege, you can accelerate that through partnering with communities who represent a demographic segment that you want to … [Read more...]
Sponsorship Ideas From Super Bowl Fan Experiences
Super Bowl fans paid big money to attend the experience in Arizona. Sponsors paid big money for game day ads. And some paid for unique customer experiences, some onsite and some online. The savviest sponsors engaged fans before they ever hit the turnstiles or clicked their remote. They knew that getting the most from their sponsorship dollars required a separate activation plan to engage potential customers. Conference Experience Tips From The Sponsor Pros We can learn a lot from the … [Read more...]
Increase Conference Attendee Acquisition With Targeted Message Maps
How often are your conference communication pieces in lockstep with your attendees' needs? Do your conference emails tend to go out as a one-size-fits-all blast to your entire database? Or is your copy customized with critical issues for each primary target audience segment? If you want to increase your conference attendee acquisition, you need targeted emails and marketing. Message maps are one way to create customized conference marketing content. Customizing Conference Marketing … [Read more...]
3 Social Media Take-Aways From #pcmapower
The PCMA Power chapter hosted industry veterans and Hospitality majors from Kent State University last week in social media roundtable discussions. The mix of ages and experiences brought interesting insight to the role social media can play in attendee acquisition and engagement. Here are three big ideas of what they had to say. 1. Connect with people not programs. Put people first, not your conference. Stop creating bland and sterile communications. Give us someone specific to … [Read more...]
Your Conference Logo Needs Policing
Ok, you get it – Your Conference is a Brand. You’ve moved beyond the “annual meeting” into something more meaningful to your attendees. You’ve got your conference mission. You know how your conference will advance the profession and what’s in it for your participants. Now it is time to put your hard work into action. Design your conference logo. Adopt a repeatable look and feel (visuals) for communicating the benefits of attending. Creating A Conference Logo Why take the time to create … [Read more...]