If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either an event marketer, or are very interested in learning more about event marketing. Maybe you’re even considering starting your own consultancy or agency, and you’re looking for a platform to do so. Or perhaps you’re a communications or marketing executive at a small or medium-sized business, and you’d like to find a way to communicate effectively with your customers, while also staying in touch with your influencers.
In any case, you’re in the right place. Here, we’ll discuss four tools that can help you run your event marketing strategy effectively and efficiently, while also providing you with the data you need to ultimately make smarter, more informed decisions about your campaigns.
1. Evento
While there are plenty of standalone software solutions for event marketers, such as Event Marketing Software, you might find that you have a better experience when using a content management system, like WordPress.
In particular, the Evento platform by HubSpot, allows you to plan and manage your entire event workflow in one place. Not only that, but it also integrates with your other marketing and business functions, such as Google Analytics, and Salesforce, to name just two.
The power of this integration should be self-evident. Especially if you work in a large corporate environment, where you might have to deal with multiple departments and teams. For example, if you’re the manager of a B2B marketing department, and you’ve got a big marketing plan for the next year, incorporating events into your strategy might not be as easy as you think.
Until you’ve tried it, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Whether you plan on using a private room at a venue, or you need to organize a series of street festivals in the city you live in, Evento allows you to build out a flexible schedule with ease.
2. Event Booster
If you plan on using inbound marketing methods to grow your business, you’ll eventually run into the issue of event marketing. After all, your target audience tends to be either digital or physical, and those two groups interact differently.
If you’re throwing a digital event, for example, you might want to consider using Event Booster, or a similar tool. This piece of software, by HubSpot, helps you determine the best course of action for each individual interaction. For example, if you have a live video chat with a customer, should you have someone from the sales team join the call, or should you send them a recap of the video chat, along with some additional content?
The key difference between Evento and Event Booster is that while the former is a content management system, the latter is a CRM solution. Essentially, Evento provides you with all of the building blocks required to plan an event, while Event Booster provides you with the tools to measure and analyze the success of your efforts. So, while you might wonder what the difference is between the two, the answer is quite simple: CRM is about analyzing your existing customers, while content management and event planning is about creating new content, for new customers.
Even if you already use a content management system for your daily routine, you might not be utilizing its full potential. Especially if you’re a marketer, and you’re more concerned with getting the right message out to the right audience, than you are with keeping track of your content.
If you have a small business and a limited marketing budget, you might not have the luxury of trying out every new tool that comes along. In those cases, it’s important to look for tools that you can use, already, for your daily activities. If you’re running a WordPress site, for example, you can use the Visual Composer add-on, to embed a full-featured event planning page, right into your site. This way, you can plan your events and milestones in advance, without having to worry about finding a suitable template or hiring someone to build you a new site from the ground up.
3. Meetup
If you sell your own product or provide a service, or if you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll eventually have to deal with customers, face-to-face, in person. So, it’s important to have tools that allow you to connect with your audience, wherever they may be.
Meetup is a great example of a platform that doesn’t fit neatly into any one category. It was originally designed for local groups and communities, to enable their members to connect and meet in real life. But today, it’s much more than that. With over a billion members worldwide, and the number steadily rising, it’s clear that Meetup is establishing itself, not just as a platform for local communities, but as a way for businesses and individuals, to connect with others, and build a network of contacts.
Meetup is, essentially, a combination of a social media network and a network marketing platform. So while you can use the software, to connect with business owners and professionals in your area, you can also use it, to find like-minded individuals, across the globe, who share your passion for a particular niche or topic.
If you’re running a business and you want to take your relationship with your customers, or potential customers, to the next level, Meetup can help. Especially if you’re looking for a way to establish your own consultancy or agency, and would like to have a platform, that can help you grow your network and establish yourself as an expert in your industry.
4. Zoom
If you’re throwing a physical event, and you want to hold a meeting, or a call, with your attendees, using video chat technology might be a good option. Especially if you want to provide additional value, or information, to your audience.
Zoom is, arguably, the most popular video conferencing solution currently available. With over 300 million monthly active users, it’s clear that Zoom is establishing itself, not just as a tool for businesses and conferences, but as a way for individuals, to hold meetings and calls, with their peers and colleagues.
Zoom is a fantastic blend of a video conferencing solution and a web browser. So while you can use the platform, to hold Webinars, or virtual meetings, with your team, or customers, you can also use it, to access your favorite websites, or to stream content, such as YouTube videos, to your attendees.
If you’re looking for a platform that can help you organize events, whether they’re digital, or physical, Zoom might be a good fit. Especially if you want to keep track of your entire event planning process, in one place. Not to mention that you can download the app, to any iOS or Android device, and use it on the go.
Final Takeaway
When it comes to event marketing, there are many platforms that you can choose from. However, whichever tool you decide to use, or combination of tools you decide to use, make sure that you find a way to keep track of your plans, and analyze how everything is going. This way, you’ll be able to determine, not just if the event was a success, but whether or not you should repeat the process, or implement some other course of action.
With so much competition, it’s important to find ways to stand out from the crowd. One option, of course, is to offer a unique service, or product. But even if you’re selling the same thing as your competitors, you can still use the right tools, and the right approach, to stand out.