Content marketing has grown by leaps and bounds during the past five years. Unfortunately, too few event organizers fully embrace the long-tail, pull benefits of content marketing. Likewise, many conference professionals have no idea what embracing the long-tail, pull benefits of content marketing even means. It’s a foreign concept to them. Most marketing and communications teams agree that content marketing serves as the foundation to their conference marketing strategy. Still, very few … [Read more...]
The Crisis of Connection
We’re lonely. And not just a little lonely. We’re experiencing a global epidemic level of loneliness. Last week, the U.K. appointed Tracey Crouch as the Minister of Loneliness after the British parliament released a five-year study on loneliness that found more than 9 million people in the country reported they often or always feel lonely. Across the globe, loneliness is fast becoming one of our most serious health epidemics and is a greater predictor of early death than obesity, smoking … [Read more...]
Ninja Moves for Improved Conference Session Marketing
Better session copy helps put butts in seats! As conference education trumps the exhibit hall experience at many association meetings, or creeps into your trade show experience to create a solutions-driven, holistic experience for your attendees, upping your game with session titles, descriptions, and learning objectives has become more important than ever. In 2013, we partnered with Tagoras on a research project and produced The Speaker Report. 48 percent of the 120 conference/education … [Read more...]
Your Trade Show Attendees: What Do They Really, Really Want?
This is the first in a series of posts on the findings of reports published by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) based on research recently conducted on attendee retention strategies. It’s likely that the Brexit vote last week is on my mind and that’s why the Spice Girls’ tune, “Wannabe,” popped into my head as I wrote: “Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.” A key takeaway from Part One of CEIR Attendee Retention Insights study, is the schism between … [Read more...]
Using FOMO to Convert Conference Fence Sitters
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...]
Beguile Potential Conference Attendees
Want to spike your conference registration? Try an emotional call to action. It captivates fence sitters and potential first timers. The only reason anyone does anything is to change the way they feel, says Tony Robbins. With the right emotional call to action, you can help potential attendees begin to experience those feelings right now. And continue those emotional feelings at your event. Feel-Act-Think According to True Impact Marketing (TIM), a Canadian neuromarketing research and … [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...]
Testimonials Don’t Convert Conference Prospects
You've heard the litany: Testimonials are great third party endorsements. Using testimonials will increase your conference attendance. Yadda Yadda It’s all bull. Two big reasons you should do it anyway. 1. Smart testimonials will make people pause. Testimonials can give marketers what they want...a better chance of being heard and considered. Our lives are cluttered with emails and advertisements. So much comes through every day that we’ve become a nation of skimmers. A well … [Read more...]
