Are live events dead?
My name is Bari Baumgardner, and I’m the founder of SAGE Event Management. Want to know what’s very near and dear to my heart? Live events. They’re still the best way to promote your brand, even with all the new online technology that’s available now. Back in the day, it seemed like the writing was on the wall. The economy was tanking, technology was rising, and many thought that live events were going extinct. Even trade shows seemed to be a hassle when similar results could be reached virtually.
Here’s the Reality: Online and Offline Work Best TOGETHER
You need both. Why? There’s still a real demand for both, as shown right here. We spend so much time online today that offline experiences have become much more valuable.
Even Facebook, the pioneers of the live technology feed, didn’t even utilize their own tech to make it happen - they announced it at their annual F8 conference. In person. At a live event.
Facebook utilized the power of the live event. Let that sink in for a moment and realize….
The Live Event Is Your Equalizer in Marketing
Offline experiences offer a real-life connection that online will never equal. Let me tell you a story:
A few years ago, my husband and I took a little trip to Paris. We strolled through the gardens of Versailles and shared dessert at Le Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. Every day was an adventure.
Before we left, we had to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Sure, we could Google the painting on our phones and see it anytime, anywhere in the world. But there’s just something magic about seeing the real thing in person. Standing before a masterpiece. Crammed together in a room of strangers, staring at one of the greatest works of art on the planet. For a brief moment, we were all connected.
This power of real-life connection can be harnessed at every live event. Picture hosting your event at a hotel ballroom. There are no distractions. No dogs barking. No kids coming home from school. No cute cat videos.
A webinar allows for those distractions. And you know how people are - one distraction, and they leave your webinar.
At Live Events, You Create the Environment and You Control the Experience
During a live event, you control when the participants arrive, when they leave, and what they hear. It’s direct. It’s the happy hostage syndrome, which I love! Your participants are delighted to be at your live event, being held hostage. They’re having a good time and making real connections.
Your “hostages” are focused only on you. Your message, your content, your connection, your community: all of that for the entire time they’re in that live event. You’re practically guaranteed conversions in a live event, and here’s why.
Online marketing supplements the live event experience, creating a tremendous effect. While hosting your live event, you can live-stream your message around the world at the same exact time. Think about the Democratic National Convention, the Republican National Convention, and of any major news broadcast that you see. Put a live stream at a convention center with thousands of people, and you can reach millions more. There’s power in that. True power. Your message becomes more than a message.
It becomes a movement.
The Beautiful Thing About This Combo Is That There Are Now SO Many Ways to Harness the Power of a Live Event
You can multiply the your marketing effects by combining offline and online strategies. The results on your revenue will be astonishing.
SAGE Event Management has the proof right here; we’ve generated over $50 million with live events. For this reason, we know that live events aren’t dead. They have evolved!
