Stuck at social media 0.01

David Balfour is a managing partner at LightBlue

Agencies are failing to embrace the match between social media and live events

“Live event marketing is hardly news – product launches, promotional stunts and in-outlet activation are all proven ways to grab attention, just like that big billboard outside my office with Ronaldo kicking a ball of fire… ummm.

No, but really, if it’s done right and communicates with the right target audience, it can be a great tool for brands. What is new is the discovery of social media. This is where live events can build a bigger, more loyal community and, more importantly, generate a new revenue stream for brands.
Lots of agencies say they create brand experiences, but do they? You have to be smart and social media can help you, but without the brand and the experience you have nothing. So many times I’ve seen agencies over design and under deliver. Either it’s the execution or way over priced, but mostly it’s the logistics of the actual running of the event that lets it all down. Do we have a saviour? Can social networking strengthen relationships between agencies, brands and their target audience?

Currently I would say most agencies are still in social media 0.01 when it comes to what version they are using. But some of that blame mostly lies with the brand owners, who just don’t know what social media is. It’s not free advertising, contrary to what they might think.

We as humans thrive on being connected to people, ideas, experiences and information, although sometimes you just can’t beat face-to-face conversations. My mum is a great believer in this. I, on the other hand (due to my busy life and remoteness), prefer a more instant and effective way of staying in touch – Facebook, Twitter, Skype and YouTube. It’s my time and, well, at the end of the day I’m in charge.

Good communication is central to the success of any live event, even if it’s a one-off activation. Keeping in contact with everyone who attends could result in invaluable contacts or lifelong adopters. This is when we (the royal LightBlue) interrogate our brands and create ‘The Brand Adventure’. Only then do we decide where we will take the brand and the consumer through our journey – before, during and after the experience.

Social media is the term that describes the space overall and covers the activities around social interaction, content videos and images. The more we network within communities, the more your live event is going to be exposed to others – and that can help keep your event fresh
in the minds of your potential consumers and current brand loyalists. When a user of a social media website (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) discovers your event and likes it, they have the option to share it with their friends. This can cause the event to ‘go viral’ and be shared with even more people. This can deliver thou- sands of visitors to your event blog space and bring significant inbound foot traffic to your event. We have 15 million Facebook users in the Middle East and North Afirca and around 20,000 and rising Twitter users in the GCC. Promotion is key to any successful event. Without promotion, you will not attract the right people that you’re looking to bring in. There are several levels of promotion and dozens of social media tools available – enough to write another full article about – but the main thing is to make sure all these accounts are linked to your event page. And yes, some people do forget this key element.

You see, the days of live events are changing for the better. People are talking to each other more and the thing is we now know their true identity, as people are increasingly joining new social networks with their real identity, their real name, their place of work, and other details that define them as a person in a movement.

Technology helps us extend the communication between brands at live events and it drives brand engagement via Facebook, Twitter and, of course, the client’s/event page. Now, much more than ever, we can talk to the perfect audience, who in turn can talk back. Communication is good. Now the impact of events goes on long after the event is finished, from in-store activation at Virgin to owning your own space at Dubai Mall or activating your client’s sponsorship deal at The Dubai Desert Classic – the future of social networking is the key to great eventing.”