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Are you losing money on your event by not using digital packages?

Are you losing money on your event by not using digital packages?
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Sponsors and exhibitors are looking for new, innovative ways to get in front of their target audience. They want to connect with potential customers through digital channels, as well as in-person and hybrid events. If you're not offering the full suite of digital packages to your sponsors and exhibitors, you're missing out on tens of thousands in revenue! In this blog post, we'll discuss the benefits of offering a full suite of digital packages to your event sponsors and exhibitors.

Where do you start with digital revenues and events? 

As event sponsors are more attracted to programmes that prove ROI, you need to think more about the numbers and levels of engagement you offer. It doesn't mean you need hundreds of thousands of views to justify digital spend. You could be hosting a conference in a niche sector with an audience of only 100 but if that audience is engaged in your content all day or regularly after the event, imagine the potential for sponsorship that partners will pay to access your exclusive audience. 

Get creative with packaging and pricing

If you've got the data to show that your audience is valuable and engaged, use it! Create different packages for digital opportunities with a mix of features such as: 

  • Views or clicks - create your cost per view. How curated is your audience? 
  • Lead capture - cap an online fee at the number of leads generated or deliver a cost per lead model. 
  • Engagement rates - there's value in creating good content that captures viewers attention: articles, videos, sessions, engagement, or even how long they watched a sponsor speak? 
  • Social media amplification - how are you sharing your content and how big is your audience? What about its sharefactor? Is it ground-breaking industry news? 

Then price accordingly. If you have a package that suits a smaller organisation or one with a lower budget, don't be afraid to price this at a level that reflects their investment. You can also offer early bird discounts, or loyalty rates for long-term partners who have supported your event for many years. 

Top Tip - don't just give digital opportunities away as sponsors are likely to invest less time and effort if it's a free opportunity. Get the balance right and offer a mix of opportunities that will appeal to different types and sizes of organisation.

One size doesn't fit all - keep it personal

When you're selling digital packages - or any sponsorship or exhibition opportunity - it's important to keep the focus on the personal relationships. Why do your customers exhibit? Generate leads? Get product feedback? Meet customers? 

Just like reasons for exhibiting, not everyone has the same reason for spending online. Demonstrate how your audience will help them achieve their goals by asking lots of questions about their business objectives. The more you know about what they want to achieve, the easier it is to match them with the right digital opportunity and the more likely they are to invest.

Add smart notifications 

Providing smart event app notifications to drive lead generation for sponsors and exhibitors can really pay off. 

Your attendees get notifications about the latest offers, deals and content from your sponsors and exhibitors. The exhibitor or sponsor gets valuable leads, and your attendees get quick, easy access to the information they need without having to search through an app or website. 

You may think this only works for consumer events, but what if your exhibitor is offering a corporate subscription, or even better a networking hour? How can they (and you) notify everyone about the opportunity to get together? You have the ability to report on how many notifications were sent and read.

Retarget your audience 

You likely will have used some form of retargeting in promoting your event, but what about offering that opportunity to your exhibitors and sponsors? 

Ad retargeting is a form of online advertising that allows you to show ads to people who have visited your website or used your app. It's an effective way to keep your brand in front of bounced traffic after they leave your website and can be used to target people who have visited specific pages or taken certain actions on your site such as viewing an exhibitors page or speakers profile.

You have a highly engaged audience in a specific sector, why not give your exhibitors and sponsors the opportunity to target them with their own retargeting ads?

Lead Generation – changing the model 

There are more opportunities than purely charging per lead capture device rented at an event. Look at nearly every modern SaaS company online. Take Mailchimp, Asana or Hubspot as an example, they charge per user or per thousand of records. Why can’t events be the same? 

Remember, you’re now offering multiple opportunities to generate and collect leads: virtual (profile views, clicks, engagement) and in-person (badge scanners, smart badges) which also means you are able to prove in real-time how many leads a sponsor is generating or capturing. Calculate the value per lead from your event and charge based on your exhibitor objectives. 

It doesn’t stop there… If you 're using an online platform you can continue to generate leads long after the event has finished. By tagging content, you can keep track of what people are interested in and share that information with your exhibitors and sponsors. If someone watches a product demonstration but doesn't have time to speak to the sponsor, they can be quickly followed up post-event. 

This combination of virtual and in-person leads offers sponsors, exhibitors and organisers more transparency around how many leads are being generated and therefore more detail and proof about how a sponsors campaign is performing. 

In conclusion 

There are numerous ways you can generate additional revenue by offering digital packages to your in-person, virtual and hybrid events. By understanding the needs of your exhibitors and sponsors, you can create tailored packages that will maximise their investment, and your revenue.

An investment in digital packages will bring many benefits to your event.  You’ll generate additional revenue and make it easier for sponsors and exhibitors to do business with you. You'll also be able to track the success of your event more effectively, and demonstrate a higher return on investment to your stakeholders. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!

Learn how to drive better ROI for your exhibitors and more revenue for your event