The event space has evolved into the experiential event industry. From event management platforms to concert venues and beyond, everybody in the space recognizes that it's about more than just creating an event-- it's about sharing an experience.
A good planner knows that their event starts long before the first guests arrive and that how their event is reviewed afterwards may be more important than the event itself. If your entertainment flops and everybody shares that information on social media, you're in big trouble despite any other successful aspects of the event. On the other hand, if your food was presented beautifully and everybody raved about it but couldn't get on the wifi or their social media accounts weren't incorporated into their event experience, you missed a major opportunity. If there aren't pictures, comments, and social sharing, it may as well not have happened.
There have been such impressive advancements in tracking the impact of an event across social media channels. But does measurement necessarily mean improvement? Yes. If you can track the right metrics, then you can see the effects of your various marketing initiatives and tweak them for the next event. But the increased emphasis on measuring and tweaking has taken away from what was obvious once upon a time: people share what moves them. People share things that taste good, look beautiful, sound crazy, and so on. Sure, allowing guests to link their social media accounts to an RFID chip will help marketers understand which portion of their event inspired what type of social media response. But do you need an RFID chip to know that people will post pictures and videos of the Red Bull Air Show?
Marketers are lucky to have the kind of data tracking tools that we do today. But it's important to know that measuring does not guarantee amplification. You also need to take a step back and put yourself in the position of the guest. It's not all about the little incentives to share a post, especially if those posts seem robotic or forced. How about spending some time to think about what makes guests share because they want to. An organic and flattering tweet can go a long way.
What's the most jaw-dropping event experience you've been a part of? Comment or tweet @squadup so fellow readers can learn and use them as inspiration.
