A presentation on running events in the 21st Century. Franco DeBonis - Head of Digital Marketing with Snap presented this at the June OMiG meeting (Online Marketing in Galway) - Snap Galway sponsored this event

1. How Irish Pride and
Snap can work
together
21st Century Events
Promoting, & Running
Events In A Digital Age

2. WHAT WILL WE COVER?
• Why Are We Here?
• What Do You Need? (Core Elements)
• Driving Engagement For Events In The 21st Century
– Before The Event
– During The Event
– After The Event

3. WHY ARE WE HERE?
Source: http://www.eightytwenty.ie/blog/social-media-statistics-ireland-infographic/
(Apr 2013)
• The traditional way of planning,
promoting, running and
follow-up for events is DEAD
• Social Media has changed
the landscape
• It provides more
opportunity, and reduces
workload, but more competition
too

4. Source: http://www.eightytwenty.ie/blog/social-media-statistics-ireland-infographic/
(Apr 2013)
WHY ARE WE HERE?

5. On average
30% of visits
to Irish
websites are
by users on
mobile
devices
WHY ARE WE HERE?
Forget
Mobile
Web at
your Peril!
In 2011 smart phones out-sold
PC/Notebooks for the first time ever!

6. How Irish Pride and
Snap can work
together
No Mobile Website
=
Bad Customer Service
30% of 61%
=
18% Of All Visitors!
MOBILE VISITORS = HIGH EXPECTATIONS

7. Main Drivers For
Mobile Usage
Email & Social
Media...
Source: IDC March 2013

8. For Many,
Digital
Strategies For
Promoting
Events Is An
Afterthought
Let’s
Investigate
How We Might
Change That

9. Change Your Mindset – From This

10. Change Your Mindset – To This
+
+

11. THE
ENGAGEMENT
FUNNEL

12. CORE ELEMENTS
• Events Website
– Main site with account creation/sign up
– Sub sections with a “microsite" for each specific event
– Account creation captures contact information and allows you to
promote future events to everyone
– Account provides visitors with access to private area and registration
for individual events
– Ensure that it’s fully mobile compliant (Adaptive Design)

13. CORE ELEMENTS
• Strong Social Presence
– Setup accounts on relevant platforms:
• LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Slideshare, YouTube (public vids), Vimeo (private vids).
Perhaps even Facebook
• Where there is concern around opening a new channel, then create it just to
promote events
• Formalise your Social Policies (if not already done)
• Content Policies
• Nominated posters
• Approval Processes
• Management Platforms (Hootsuite, Sprout, Tweetdeck)
• Define tagging strategy
• #snapevents
• #webdesign
• #snapdigital
• In some cases tags may have inappropriate traffic/be too busy,
therefore use them but create your own (#snapwebdesign)

14. CORE ELEMENTS
• Webcast System
– Establish a system for delivering professional webcasts
– Ensure the webcast supports most advanced features
• Dual window for separate presentation and video feed
• Recording of event to downloadable and editable format
• IM during events

15. BEFORE
THE
EVENT

16. BEFORE THE EVENT
• Create theme for event
and design for sub sites
• Define hash tag/s for event
& promote them
• Create content plan on a
calendar
– Create events in LinkedIn, etc.
– Major points in slides are
tweets
– Major slides in presentations
are posts
– Use Hootsuite/similar to
schedule tweets/posts
– Send series of emails
– Send webcast link
• Create promo video/s for event
• Send email to all
invitee/registrants
• Track online discussions about
event with Google Alerts and
Mention
• Participate in discussions
• BE SURE THE FACILITY HAS
EXCELLENT INTERNET ACCESS AND
CAN COPE WITH HIGH TRAFFIC!!!

17. DURING
THE
EVENT

18. DURING THE EVENT
• Webcast the event for
registered users through
login portal
• Tweet in real-time
• Promote your #tag & ask
people to engage
– Put tags on all major
materials
– Add relevant tags in footer of
every slide
• Post/Send preview of day’s
events at the beginning of
event/each day
• Use a Go-Pro to create
Time-Lapse Video
• Post/Send highlights of day’s
speakers at the end of the
event/each day
• Assign a person as the Virtual
Attendee Ambassador
• Virtual attendees can ask
questions in real-time using IM,
#tag or @profile
• Intertwine these virtual questions
with the real ones
• Have a Twitter wall that shows all
tweets on one or more #tags
• Have a Photo-Opp Wall with
branding & #tag on it

19. AFTER THE EVENT

20. AFTER THE EVENT
• Respond to posts & tweets
• Reply to @ messages
• Follow those you feel are
influential in their fields
• Create content packages
– Documents
– Presentations
– Video highlights
– Full videos
– Twitter transcripts
• Load content to relevant sites
(Docstoc, Slideshare)
• Integrate feeds from 3rd party
platforms into site
• Release content in stages with
posts across all platforms to all
registered users and links back to
site/content
• Release it all over 2 to 4 weeks
following event
• Then create CD and send to
mailing list

21. AFTER THE EVENT
Don’t Be A Broadcaster!
If you want people to engage, you
have to engage with them
• Be sure to respond quickly to
questions and comments
• Respond to ALL questions and
comments
Remember that the event isn’t
over at the end of the day.

22. FINALLY
• Don’t worry if you can’t do everything from every stage
• Choose the most important elements for your business based on
your goals and capabilities
• But whatever you choose to do, do it completely
• Doing this will
– Create far larger engagement/attendance than you might have traditionally
– Create events that begin and end weeks before and after the event itself
– Reduce the need to chase/hound attendees

23. Franco De Bonis
Director Of Digital Marketing Services
Snap
franco@snapdmc.ie
01 905 2368
@sanitymarketing
www.linkedin.com/in/francodeboni
s