Here’s Why 97% Of Marketers Think In-Person Events Have A Major Impact On Achieving Business Outcomes

There are almost endless benefits to hosting in-person events. Yet, there was a shift from in-person events to virtual ones as the pandemic forced companies to find new ways of working. Now that business operations are returning to normal and in-person events have the green light, it’s time to think about the plethora of benefits they bring. 

One of the most essential measurements to take, if not the most crucial, is the ROI for in-person events. The statistics show that the average ROI is 25-30%. Still, hosting in-person events isn’t always easy. Let’s explore how to host an in-person event and maximise the ROI. 

Why Use In-person Events?

The question should be, why not use in-person events? Events have consistently ranked as one of the best ways to generate new business, with 97% of marketers believing events are the best way to achieve business outcomes. Similarly, virtual and hybrid events are now just as popular, with 84% of marketers believing virtual or hybrid events allowed them to reach more prospects. Still, that’s simply because it’s easy to have hundreds of people from across the globe attend a virtual event with just the click of a button. The power of in-person events is unwavering. 

With in-person events, it’s far easier to create meaningful collaborations, spread brand awareness, and engage with prospective businesses personally. The issue with virtual events is engagement, with many reports revealing death by Zoom meetings to be a real problem. 

How To Host An Interactive And Engaging Event

Interactive and engaging should be the theme of any in-person event. An interactive and engaging event is far more likely to generate ROI – death by presentations is just as much of a problem for in-person events as virtual ones. Companies like Massive can help you create an interactive and engaging event by researching the event needs and finding staff that can achieve that – check out https://weareeventpeople.co.uk/ .

There are a few staples to an in-person event that, when included, help to drive new business. A range of interactive stands with rewards, meet-and-greets, and guest speakers can drive engagement and prevents the event from being nothing more than one long presentation. 

To boost engagement and spread brand awareness, you should also consider social sharing the event through hashtags. You can encourage attendees to share the event via social media by creating a prize for the most shares. Or a great idea could be to have an interactive photo booth with props and an associated hashtag for attendees to share their photo booth snaps. 

What Not To Do

Sometimes it’s just as essential to know what not to do as it is to know what to do. In-person events can be highly effective, but they also have their pitfalls. How an event operates is very industry-specific, but death by PowerPoint or presentations is one to avoid no matter what the industry is. That’s a one-way street to a lack of engagement and a negative association with a brand. 

A lack of event marketing – yes, you have to market for an event that’s a marketing event – is also one to avoid. Marketing the event itself is the best way to drive attendance and generate the best ROI. 

Social media platforms, company blogs, and emails are the best way to spread event awareness. 

A lack of coordination is a mood killer – yet so many events have a distinct lack of coordination that leaves attendees missing out on speakers or opportunities to connect with the event. Clear signage and a programme of the day can prevent it, but it’s generally up to the staff at the event to provide clear communication and coordination. Careful event planning beforehand to create clear and concise goals and a collective vision about how the day should go can prevent a lack of coordination. 

Planning coordination should include time for breaks and account for parts of the day that may run over. For example, guest speakers might run over, and failing to account for that could mean attendees miss the next part of the event. 

The power of in-person events is unmatched. Although some marketers feel they have a better reach with virtual events, they don’t have the same personalised experience as in-person events. Hosting in-person events remains one of the top ways to promote brand awareness, form new working relationships, learn about industries, and grow a company.