2017 Event Marketing: Social, Visual, Data-Focused

Event professionals can look forward to some exciting new marketing trends in 2017--especially in the social, digital and data arenas--as recently highlighted in both an EventManagerBlog survey and a post by MarketingTango, the marketing blog for brands like PIP and Sir Speedy. Data, with a social twist, remains key, with many event professionals reporting to EventMB that they saw an increase in the amount and quality of data available through social media in 2016--data that can be used to improve retargeting and create better multi-channel campaigns in 2017. MarketingTango points out that tighter targeting of the right VIPs and digital influencers will allow marketers to ride their social media coattails to higher Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram traffic and maximize social data ROI. Underlying social media's growth as an event tool is its ability to boost engagement and professional connectivity. Certainly, per EventMB's survey, using contests and giveaways for posting or tagging in social media is a big trend with exhibitors, who not only reap booth traffic but free marketing buzz as people tag and share. MarketingTango likewise notes the growing use of a "digital social wall" to engage attendees in real-time and harness the power of hashtags to own conversations. Social media also offers more ways to connect, and EventMB's surveyed event pros reported increased use of Snapchat and Snapchat geolocation filters to meet and connect as well as use of guest-generated pop-up events such as Twitter meetups. Event marketers further stressed that today's attendees want websites and landing pages that are easy-to-use, faster and more concise, preferring bullets and visuals over wordy pages. Image-based platforms are winning more followers, and many event pros forecast growing popularity for video in event invitations and advertisements, virtual reality experiences to sell venues, etc. For more, go to http://www.acculistusa.com/2017-event-marketing-social-visual-data-focused/

Online Crystal Ball Sees Video, Mobile & Price Hikes

While many digital marketers are focused on the upcoming holiday frenzy, at least one online marketing guru is already looking ahead to next year's challenges. A recent Forbes magazine post by Jayson DeMers, an online marketing consultant, suggests preparing for these seven top online marketing trends in 2016: 1) videos will increase their ad dominance now that Google, already involved via YouTube, is adding video ads to search results for 2016; 2) watch for an explosion of dedicated apps that boost reach beyond mobile-optimized web pages; 3) the crowning of mobile as a digital marketing power is assured now that mobile traffic overtook Google's desktop traffic and Google unveiled its mobile-favored search algorithm; 4) look for a new kind of online optimizing to take advantage of popular digital assistants like Siri; 5) the launch of more virtual reality devices next year portends the arrival of a new advertising medium; 6) emergence of more wearable smart devices, in the footsteps of Apple Watch, will help wearable technology gain traction as a marketing application; 7) and now the bad news--expect a continued rise in online ad prices. DeMers' crystal ball may not be on target for all 2016 trends. Online marketers probably have time to prepare for VR, digital assistants and wearable technology, but failing to plan for the impact of video, mobile and pricing is less wise. For the full post, go to http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/09/29/the-top-7-online-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2016/