With engagement being the best performance indicator for event-holders and sponsors today, digital activations are more important than ever. We now live in a mobile first world where events, sponsors and your target market have the opportunity to engage 24/7 and 365 days of the year. This is great news for sponsorship because we can extend our reach and influence well beyond the actual one, two or three day event experience.
The more we can engage with our audience in a meaningful long-term way, the better our chances of sponsorship success. It means we can more accurately measure our efforts and how we've gone. We just need to get the right message out there on the right platform at the right time.
Here's a few ideas to change up your current digital strategy:
Post videos on Facebook
Consider posting your videos to Facebook instead of YouTube. According to the Wasserman Media Group, one of the best ways to use digital in sponsorships is to create platform specific video content for Facebook. When compared to YouTube videos, engagement can be up to 10 times more on Facebook.
Connect the non-attenders
Use your event experience to create content that connects those non-attenders with the event experience. According to The Marketing Arm, when you do this, you are creating a seamless connection between the digital and the physical experience. The more contextually-relevant you make your content the better. In saying this I mean the more relevant you make the content so it's understood by all users no matter where they are the better!
Seek new partnerships
Seek strategic partnerships with companies that are already working in the technology space to enhance the event experience. Anything you can do to align with consumers rather than pushing products on them will do your brand huge favours. There's heaps of technology companies already well established in creating a seamless event experience from the physical to the digital. Find out more about what these companies are doing and what you might be able to apply to your next event.
Create brand advocates
Consumers are not rejecting co-branded content as long as it's done well. While most consumers can discern the difference between branded and unbranded content, many are also happy to make purchases based on that content as long as they've received good value and it's believable. It's then the event-holders and sponsors job to look after these important brand advocates.
Find your talent online
Perhaps it's got something to do with reality television being ingrained in our culture but the dynamic of entertainment has fundamentally changed forever. It's not so much about celebrity-fronted entertainment as it is about authentic integrations with key influencers. A recent Variety survey shows YouTube stars are the popular choice for teens over celebrity-fronted content.
What all this says is that digital capabilities now allow brands and event-holders unparalleled access to and interaction with consumers. It's the people who receive our messaging that decide what happens with it and how it will be used and promoted. The more we understand how to leverage digital in an authentic and contextual way, the stronger our sponsorship results will be.
Want to learn more about how to use digital to make your next event a success? Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/eventsponsorsAU or register on our website for free www.eventsponsors.com.au
