Widen Your Customer Base by Hosting Hybrid Events

Last month I covered six marketing trends expected to emerge in 2022. To refresh your memory, they were hybrid events, content alignment, marketing companies investing in products they sell, companies that give back to the community, influencer marketing, and the move away from third-party cookies. Each month I’ll take a deep dive into each of these topics to help you incorporate them into your marketing plan no matter how big or small your company is. Hybrid events have become less of a “Wow! That’s cool” to them being commonplace and almost expected by consumers. One thing COVID has done for businesses is open up a whole wide world to audiences that may not have otherwise been able to participate or interact with your events. Here’s a great example from an email I received from Crystal Bridges Museum. This Thursday, Steve McCurry, a distinguished photojournalist, is speaking there; however, tickets are sold out to see him in person. As a service to those that aren’t able to see him in person, they are offering anyone the opportunity to livestream the event free of charge. This not only lets me as a patron know that they care about me and that I wasn’t able to score a ticket, but it also makes me want to do more business with them because I do feel that they care about me.  It also makes me take a mental note that I can’t drag my feet on buying tickets for future events. Hybrid events allow businesses to achieve big things in the realm of marketing and taking care of customers. Large and small businesses can host events to educate their clientele about products, offer them a new skill, or listen to a distinguished speaker. The possibilities really are endless. Don’t limit to yourself thinking your events need to be big, because bigger isn’t always better when it comes to virtual and hybrid events. Some customers are more comfortable with smaller events and may be more likely to engage. Case in point, New Year’s Day 2021, I took a hybrid goal-setting workshop. I attended in person, but a few people attended virtually. I was certainly more open to engaging with a smaller number of people rather than a huge mass of people virtually that I didn’t know or couldn’t connect to. When planning events, always think of your customer base and what you are trying to accomplish. To help you get started with your 2022 marketing goals and set up your hybrid event, contact CyberSpyder Marketing Services today, 479.782.0005.