Want to Make a Connection? Make It In Person

We live in the age of social media. Whether you’re connecting with your customers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or all of them — that connection is happening instantaneously. Your brand is in the public consciousness right this second, pinging on mobile phones, appearing in Facebook feeds, and flashing in 140-character Twitter blasts.

In this environment of virtual meetings and online audio/video communication technologies, are you even bothering with live events anymore?

You should be, because they still have tremendous value!

Businesses are realizing that although tech-based communication has many day-to-day benefits, it’s not always the best way to make a lasting impression. To really make a personal connection, you sometimes need to do it in person. With live events, you have access to your customers’ reactions and body language. There’s simply no better way to strengthen your brand, your business relationships, and your corporate credibility.

It’s real, it’s emotional
Remember that human beings are social animals; we have a biological need to get together. We value meeting people who have like interests and enjoy sharing experiences with that community. All the social networking and exclamatory tweets in the world won’t add up to the power of an enthusiastic crowd cheering together. These are tangible things that you can feel, touch, and watch come alive.

Now that you’re feeling the need to return to live events, what are the keys to success? The Post Advertising blog offers several tips:

• Make it entertaining! If your message is useful or entertaining, your audience will be more likely to share it with their friends and networks, “creating a snowball effect in marketing momentum.”
• Generate buzz! Being entertaining is easy; being unique and buzz-worthy takes more work. Your goal is to be so cool that you’re embedded in people’s Facebook news feeds, Twitter streams, blogs, emails, and multimedia text messages. Then, you’re suddenly reaching all-new audiences.
• Communicate your brand’s essence! Be sure to align your entertainment with your brand, at all levels. Involve your employees, use your products as prizes, and communicate your message at every opportunity.
• Create marketing momentum! You don’t want to merely host a great event; you want it to live on in customers’ minds and networks. You want it to be legendary! How can you keep your audience working for you? What can you do after the event to ensure that the customer’s experience doesn’t start and end the same day?

When you have these keys in place, you might start a movement that carries into the technological realm and beyond. That’s when you’ll really connect with your audience.

We saw a great example of how a live event can bring participants together and generate spontaneous energy at a show we organized for the United States Marines this year. Watch the sizzle in this short video.

Contact Pro Sports MVP to find the right celebrity to bring the entertainment, buzz, and momentum to your event, that will make people remember your brand.