Promoting Events through Digital

CommunicationsGetting to the Behavioral Mindset of Experience and Engagement

Current PulseWhere Are We Now

Digital Communications for Events• Conference Website• Social Media & Communities• Banner Ads & Online Advertising• Ecommerce, Coupons & Receipts• Video Media• Email• Mobile App• Onsite Signage & Interaction Points• Webinars• Livestreaming/Virtual • Surveys & Polls• Text• Voice Mail Messaging

Today’s Challenges• Thinking in terms of logistics & not experience• Rethinking the event to be a longer time length• Discrepancies in skill gaps & digital understanding• Not taking the time to map out:• Participant Personas• Participant Journey• How You’ll Measure

User ExperienceUser Experience Design (UXD or UED or XD) is the process of enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product.[1] User experience design encompasses traditional human–computer interaction (HCI) design, and extends it by addressing all aspects of a product or service as perceived by users.[

Modern Participant Expectations

Historical Approach in Event Communications• FOMO on Registration• More at Once• Don’t Ask Too Much • Waaaaayyyyy in Advance• See Ya Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya

Modern Approach• Simplify communications• More communications, more frequently but with simpler messages

and calls-to-action (as in ONE call-to-action)• Much shorter time frames

Digital Marketers Dream: Events

• Content• Demographics, psychographics• Transactions• Isolated population to study• Multichannel opportunities• Actionable• Measurable• Multi-touchpoint

Digital Marketers’ Nightmare Events• Working in an inflexible framework• Zero to little budget included for the event• Trying to do new in ordinary time is VERY hard• Breaking out of crisis event mentality• Trying to do it all in-house in DIY mentality

Best Practices AreasWhere Organizations Are Working

The Engagement Valley

Why the Valley? • No time• No plan• No call-to-action• No continuity• No emotional reinforcement

Valley Effects

Offset the Valley Dip

Minimize the Valley• Start earlier• Continuous touchpoints• “Mini” events to build demand• More creative, more content• More mocial• Increased touchpoints/visibility for groups that wish to reach your target audience• More points to analyze & adjust

User Experience Flow

Pre-Event Ideas• Event groups on topics• Industry roundtables• Contests• Images on badges• Tweetchats & Meetups• Speaker-based discussions and blogs• Past presentation libraries and commentary• Janus Approach & Discussion

During the Event• Physical space for meetups, working groups• Special VIP parties, cocktails, rewards• Icebreakers based on social media contests/inquiries/discussions• “Tweetbody” for keynotes• Scribes per industry, topic, etc• Meet the speakers, authors, keynotes• Matchmaking & appointments

Post-Event• Webinars• Tweetchats• Blogs• Photo Galleries• Video Testimonials• Monthly topic discussions and calls• Guest bloggers• “Meet the Attendee”: First Timer’s View, etc.

Event Email• Move from paper to email-based daily

news during event• Increase in banner ad placement &

sponsor inclusion with tracking mechanisms• Completely tied into social media outlets• Content!

Contextual Emails

Social & Events• Not an after-thought! Central to event design

• Move from generic community to program-focused or topic-focused

• Adding communities around events year-over-year

• People that care will be recognized and rewarded

• UX-Design Rules!

Blogs• Faster & easier updates• Year-round communication• Bigger & better

Overview of Measurement

New Thinking to Drive Engagement

Engagement• Current Definition:

• Mystical idea to connote how involved someone is in a relationship with your product or organization

• Current Measurements:• Involve counts of attention-based or “like” activity

• Infancy Stage of Application

Typical Engagement Metrics• # Comments • Times Attended• # Posts to discussions/blogs• # Referrals• # Click throughs• # Opens• # Submitted help tickets

• # Forwards• # Likes• # Shares• # Direct links• # Visits• # Calls• # Views• # Retweets

Today’s Engagement Scores• Comprehensive, often weighted

score, that is used to determine which individuals are most active in your organization or product or event

• Transactions ($, frequency, duration, periodicity) = engagement score

Graphing Engagement

Graph You Want

Modern Engagement• Behavioral-based

• How you act, quality of actions

• Level of impact

• Level of energy, enthusiasm

• Level of advocacy/belief

Modern Behavioral Engagement Scores• Greater weight based on:• Monetary criteria• Clout/ level of influence• Number of connections/followers/years of service• Source of engagement

• Decide what is the right engagement score mix for your organization

Engagement Scores We Want• Comprehensive, often weighted

score, that is used to determine which individuals are most invested/attentive to your brand/product/offerings

• Transactions ($, frequency, duration, periodicity) + behavioral metrics = engagement score

Ultimate Goal of Digital + Events

Digital Communications+Events in 2016• Wild frontier of measurement

• Not used within context of greater campaigns

• Not seen as strategic

• Hidden, untapped power!

• Biggest area for ROI and member buzz