20 – The Social Media Hat

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Do you have a bread maker?

I got just one as a present for my wedding ceremony nie a 10 years ago. It sits, forlorn-like, on a shelf, staring at me when I walk by as however it is my fault it’s overall existence is dependent on my lackluster will need for bread.

I’m absolutely sure it is a high-quality bread maker as bread generating devices go, I just really do not have an overpowering need to shell out cash on distinctive bread generating flour and eggs and baking powder (or is soda?), an assortment of other substances, and the time it will get to mix them up, drag out the bread maker, make room for it on the counter, plug it in, re-browse how to use it, get anything poured in and set, then wait around for the bread to arrive in an odd square-with-hole. Not when I can invest in a loaf for a couple of bucks.

Probably you can relate.

Hey friend, I hope you are having an awesome day. I have been tremendous targeted on digital occasion technique in latest months as you might be knowledgeable. I’m functioning with SaaS brands who want to develop the most unforgettable activities for their virtual attendees, and I have been documenting a large amount.

You know me, I appreciate to publish and blog, and when I opened up an all-new category for digital events on The Social Media Hat blog site, it was a pantry begging to be filled with, ahhh, bread.

But actually, it is been fun producing new content material and seeing it carry out, and brainstorming thoughts. I previously have dozens of site article ideas and drafts in my Evernote that will shortly be shared.

What I wished to discuss to you about these days nevertheless was the platforms on which digital occasions are run. These are typically software package as a support (SaaS) subscriptions you’d pay back for month to month or yearly, and use to put with each other the aspects of your subsequent celebration. What it is identified as, when it is likely to be, what the agenda will be, and so on.

At Agorapulse, I have employed quite a couple diverse virtual event platforms in excess of the decades, and have been a speaker for other people’s situations on many others. I’ve also labored with purchasers on still a lot more platforms.

When the time arrived for me to contemplate which digital function platform we’d use at Agorapulse for the coming year, and the big digital summits I experienced scheduled to arrange, I started of system with the platform I’d employed most not long ago, Airmeet. It’s a fantastic platform that aided to make our Agency Summit a huge success in 2021. But due to the fact my event plans for the 12 months are possible to end result in 15,000 – 20,000 attendees, my desires are ordinarily priced into the Business selection and the tends of 1000’s of bucks.

In buy to justify that spending budget and expenditure to my CMO, I needed to do my due diligence and go browsing. I swiftly booked demos for fifty percent a dozen digital party platforms that I knew and needed to get a new search at and estimate from. Hopin, Kaltura, Cvent, Whova, Hubilo and Bizzabo. A several other platforms popped onto my radar while I was in the midst of discovery and right before I realized it, my calendar was stuffed with 20+ demos and gross sales calls.

I nonetheless have a couple stragglers coming in but that was an extreme week of Zoom conferences, permit me explain to you. And for the most aspect, all of these platforms are providing proposals that are significant investments.

Now, I’m preparing three key virtual summits for Agorapulse that are going to carry in countless numbers of attendees as I talked about, and our neighborhood workforce is also fascinated in jogging social meetups. But that bought me thinking…

How else could we use a virtual function platform?

Or set it another way: who claims we only have to use this costly tool after a quarter for a virtual occasion?

Is this the most high priced bread maker at any time?

I envision you, as well, have your share of computer software or subscriptions that you’ve obtained that have quite distinct, special purposes and benefits. But I also envision your investment was much, much less than what I’m hunting at for a virtual function system.

If you are thinking about hosting a virtual function this 12 months, and I strongly advocate that you do, I’m pleased to have a chat about it in simple fact and just chat by way of regardless of whether it would be a superior idea for your brand. But if you are thinking about it, then you’ll require to be considering about a virtual party platform, if you haven’t presently. So wouldn’t it be wonderful to have other works by using for the device beside that big event?

I assumed so as well.

In reality, I think it’ll be a lot easier for me to get funds acceptance if, in addition to powering my gatherings and these of the group staff, I’ll be in a position to tick off 8 other boxes of approaches we can leverage the financial investment!

Unquestionably, we can operate more events. That’s a offered. In point, I’d presently regarded as that and included an additional party in Q3 to my first system of Q2 and Q4 functions. I also believe it could be wonderful to run scaled-down, a lot more interactive webinars and panels in the course of the year, and the digital celebration tools I have been looking at are supremely very well suited for this intent.

But hold out, there is extra.

What if we set aside some time later on this yr to place on function that was devoted to our own shoppers exclusively?

No… Mike… you just cannot do that, you won’t carry in any new potential customers, you say!

As a SaaS enterprise, Agorapulse is unquestionably centered on new shoppers, new month to month recurring income, of program. But we’re also seriously invested in producing positive our buyers are prosperous so that they carry on to want and want Agorapulse and, as a consequence, carry on their subscriptions. We want to reduce churn and raise the life time worth of our buyers.

Think about if I were to host an event the place ten thousand Agorapulse buyers ended up invited to understand market finest tactics, listen to about the enterprise eyesight from the CEO, see the roadmap of the solution, and community with Agorapulse’s electrical power people. They may possibly even get their fingers on some astounding swag and equipment.

Very first, I think you’d agree, people people would arrive out of that function motivated and thrilled and eager to leverage their financial investment in Agorapulse even additional in the coming calendar year. There’s no question it would have a good impression on consumer retention, proper?

Second, if planned nicely, the digital function would have crucial attributes and possibilities, these as embedded gamification, that encouraged attendees to share their encounters to social media. Now suddenly there could be 1000’s of Agorapulse end users tweeting and publishing about how brilliant this event is – oh and by the way, it’s only for Agorapulse buyers, sorry non-customers.

That produces excitement and FOMO and manufacturer consciousness and interest exterior of the present person foundation.

Really don’t assume I can deliver in new sales opportunities with a user conference? Observe me.

And that is just 1 of several tips I arrived up with how a firm can use their shiny new digital celebration system. Other strategies provided team retreats, onboarding and far more. I comprehensive all of them in a new post on The Social Media Hat if you’re interested. You’ll also come across an post and webinar outlining ten substantial advantages that makes, SaaS providers in distinct, can know thanks to virtual functions.

We have by now talked about two of them here now! Qualified prospects and Shopper Retention.

But there’s so, so substantially far more that virtual events can do for your brand, so give that a browse or sign up for the webinar if you’d like me to stroll you through it in a video clip.

And remember, if you or a model you know is thinking about web hosting a digital occasion this yr and wishes to make it a Marketed Out Summit, select purchasers can reserve a VIP Approach Working day and get their entire function strategy knocked out in an afternoon. Let’s talk shortly.

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